Is gender multi-dimensional?

[Metroland]

Since starting to explore my gender and being comfortable as non-binary, I have been observing how people express themselves.  I try to identify people along a feminine to masculine scale.  However I believe that gender is more multi-dimensional than we think.  I think that gender has been split into two because it was linked to sex, however I have a feeling that gender is more than just feminine or masculine.  I don't know how crazy this sounds but for instance if a person is sportive is this masculine or feminine? I think that it is neither and it can be considered a gender separately.

I tried to think of these traits as an extension of femininity and masculinity and I could not. A lot of traits could be genders. If a person is inclined to business is this feminine or masculine?

So I think that gender is more than just feminine or masculine.

What do you think?

[Julian]

I absolutely agree.

I saw a post on another site once that compared gender to, instead of a spectrum, a color solid.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_solid
There are so many combinations of traits that can make up gender that it's impossible to plot them all on one line, from masculine to feminine.

[AndrewL]

I definitely agree that gender is multi-dimension. I'd never heard of a color solid, but I like the image it raises in my mind.

Personally, to explain gender and sex I use a series of spectrum starting with the gender binary (black and white), then using a series of colors arranged from light to dark to demonstrate varieties in sex (DNA, hormones, physical characteristics) and gender (identity, expression, socialization, interests). I describe examples of people at each line, and demonstrate how few people are 100% male/female on those spectrum. I emphasize the various intersex conditions when describing sex before moving into the discussion on gender to demonstrate how variations between male/female/other are natural. I then use an eighth spectrum, which I term dysphoria, which indicates how comfortable a person is with were they are on the sex/gender rainbow. Rather than ranging from male to female it ranges from none (completely comfortable with self both in terms of sex and gender) to  very high (self-medication, strong need for immediate surgical intervention).

[Metroland]

"Rather than ranging from male to female it ranges from none (completely comfortable with self both in terms of sex and gender) to  very high (self-medication, strong need for immediate surgical intervention)."

This is very interesting. I am probably somewhere near the medium - high range.

So how does one know what their gender make up is? In the past it was easy, either male or female.  Now there are infinite possibilities. Where does one start to look?

I like this great song by Kira Willey called colors (). It goes with the theme of the colors mentioned.

[Kinkly]

charting gender is complex for most people gender is about how femme or MANly you are to chart using those 2 as Axises only can work well but there are many parts to gender and each of those could do with it's own chart.
There are many traits that are not gendered and should not be so proving that gender isn't as big an identifer as it seems to be I know I'm a lot more then just my gender.  Some parts of my gender change depending on a lot of things while other parts are fairly stable. to capture all parts of my gender could be done with about 6 charts each with  2 Axis each although I'd probably need some of them to be multi coloured or at least 2 toned

[caseyyy]

I think the ways in which we understand gender, our own and that of others, is invariably altered by our society and what we perceive to be masculine and feminine. I personally feel like I have broken free of those distinctions, by and large, but I think that as a whole it is impossible to explain ourselves to others without referencing these cultural signs.