We clarify

Pride Month: “There are only two genders!”

(Bild: ©lazyllama - stock.adobe.com)

June is all about the rainbow - it's Pride Month! People come together under colorful flags in many countries around the world. Not only to celebrate diversity, but also to raise awareness for the concerns of queer people and to stand up against their stigmatization and exclusion. We would like to address the most common statements and questions on this topic and dispel misconceptions and prejudices.

"LGBTQIA+ and so on, who's supposed to know anything about it?"
Admittedly, the term has changed a lot since it was coined in the 1990s. In its original form LGB (from the English), it stood for lesbian, gay and bisexual people. Over the decades, more and more letters were added to reflect the inclusion of other groups. It now also includes transgender/transsexual, queer, intersexual, asexual and other gender identities that are symbolized by the plus sign. This shows that the understanding and visualization of these groups is an ongoing process with the aim of including as many as possible.

LGBTQIA+ terms

• Bi: people who feel emotionally and sexually attracted to both women and men
• Trans: people who do not identify with the gender they were assigned at birth
• Queer: All sexual orientations and gender identities that do not correspond to the binary gender system
• Inter: People who cannot be clearly categorized as female or male
• Asexual: People who feel little or no sexual desire towards others
• Cis: People who identify with the gender assigned to them at birth based on their physical characteristics

"But there are only two genders!"
This is a question of definition. For example, there is a difference between biologicalsexand socialgender.

A complete binary is defined by the role of reproduction, i.e. in relation to egg and sperm. We are then one step further with characteristics such as genitalia, chromosomes and hormones, although this can vary depending on the animal species. In mammals and also in humans, the combination of XX chromosomes is considered female and the combination of XY chromosomes is considered male. However, there are deviations from this classification, both in the animal kingdom and in humans. In such cases, the sex is not clearly recognizable as female or male on the basis of anatomy, genetics, chromosomes or hormones. This is referred to as intersex. On the one hand, this shows that it is not as biologically clear as one might think, and on the other hand that chromosomes generally determine gender, but do not define it.

(Bild: Frank Lambert - stock.adobe.com)

Social gender is about the evaluation of appearance and body language, but also, for example, ways of acting that are seen as feminine or masculine. These are strongly culturally defined and are not a rigid concept, but can be changed. Here we are also in the area of gender identity - this expresses which gender a person feels they belong to. For example, someone may not identify as the gender they were assigned at birth or may feel that they belong to neither or both genders.

The human gender construct is therefore a complex topic that cannot be dealt with using purely biological terms. The diversity of sex and gender in real society shows that just as many scientific disciplines are needed to reflect this: Natural sciences as well as social sciences or psychology. The individual categories are not strictly delineated from one another. There is no "wrong" or "right", but rather an interplay of assumptions and perspectives that illuminate the entire spectrum.

Types of gender

• Chromosomal sex: Determined by sex chromosomes (XX, XY, XXY)

• Genital sex : Determined by the primary genitalia (vulva, penis)

• Gonadal sex: Determined by the gonads (ovaries, testicles)

• Legal gender: Assignment shortly after birth = officially recognized gender (female, male, inter, diverse, open or "no indication")
• Social gender: Assigned by the social environment

• Identity gender: Determined by one's own gender identity = the gender one identifies as

"Only heterosexuality is natural and normal!"
Sexuality is to be understood as a spectrum. "Natural" and "normal" are subjective terms; nothing more than a reflection of cultural norms that are subject to change. For example, what was considered "normal" a hundred years ago is no longer necessarily so today and vice versa. This idea also ignores not only the diversity of human relationships and lifestyles, but also that of nature itself. The fact is: homosexual behavior has been documented in over 1,500 animal species.

"There didn't used to be so many homosexuals!"
You might get this impression from the increased attention this topic is receiving, but appearances are deceptive. After all, people of different sexual orientations have existed at all times and in every society. According to various studies, the number of homosexuals varies between 5 and 15 percent depending on the country - around 10 percent is generally assumed - but this is not a new phenomenon. Rather, it is very similar to all other topics that used to be a big taboo, but are now fortunately increasingly losing this status: Just because a topic is hushed up doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It is merely repressed, just as the people it affects are repressed and excluded from society. After all, sexuality and gender are not something you choose like an item of clothing. So it is not possible to influence which gender you love from the outside. The idea that people are increasingly "becoming homosexual", for example, because people are talking about different types of sexuality in public nowadays is completely unfounded scientifically. What can be influenced by society, however, is how people deal with it, i.e. whether and how they feel about it. As we know, homosexuality was commonplace in ancient times, whereas in the Middle Ages it was taboo and stigmatized. And even today, there are still many countries where homosexuals cannot come out because they would otherwise face draconian punishments. This is one of the reasons why Pride Month is justified: It should show that people from this spectrum are still criminalized in parts of the world and have to deal with discrimination, hatred and hate speech, even though no one has to be ashamed of not being heterosexual. The goal should be to promote the visibility and acceptance of diversity so that queer people no longer have to hide in the shadows anywhere.

(Bild: APA/AFP/MIGUEL MEDINA)

In this first part of our Pride Month series, we have now learned about the most important terms when it comes to LGBTQIA+ and realized that there is not just one way to define gender. We also now know that homosexuality is nothing new or unnatural and even occurs in the animal kingdom. In the second part of this series, we will address further statements and questions. Suggestions are welcome in the comments section!