1
00:00:00,100 --> 00:00:01,330
- [Narrator] This video brought to you

2
00:00:01,330 --> 00:00:05,560
by Wel Jong Niet Hetero will
explain the Genderbread Cookie.

3
00:00:05,560 --> 00:00:07,330
When you look around in this world,

4
00:00:07,330 --> 00:00:10,210
everyone seems to be a woman or a man.

5
00:00:10,210 --> 00:00:14,370
But what exactly does that
mean, being a man or a woman?

6
00:00:14,370 --> 00:00:17,710
And what does it mean when
people wanna change their gender?

7
00:00:17,710 --> 00:00:20,530
Or when they dress like the opposite sex?

8
00:00:20,530 --> 00:00:22,450
And how about people that identify

9
00:00:22,450 --> 00:00:24,373
as neither male nor female?

10
00:00:25,240 --> 00:00:26,690
And when you are gay,

11
00:00:26,690 --> 00:00:29,010
does that change anything
about your gender?

12
00:00:29,010 --> 00:00:30,160
To explain all of this,

13
00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:32,580
we need the help of
the Genderbread Cookie.

14
00:00:32,580 --> 00:00:34,900
Before we start, it's essential to explain

15
00:00:34,900 --> 00:00:37,950
the difference between
your sex and your gender.

16
00:00:37,950 --> 00:00:39,950
Sex is biologically-determined

17
00:00:39,950 --> 00:00:43,340
and has everything to do with
what's inside of your pants.

18
00:00:43,340 --> 00:00:45,090
It is often assumed that everyone

19
00:00:45,090 --> 00:00:47,580
is born either male or female.

20
00:00:47,580 --> 00:00:49,280
But what a lot of people don't know

21
00:00:49,280 --> 00:00:52,400
is that biological sex lies on a spectrum.

22
00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:55,160
Everyone who is not 100% male or female

23
00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:56,633
is called intersex.

24
00:00:57,500 --> 00:01:00,440
Now, what exactly is intersexuality?

25
00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:02,440
Approximately 1 in 3,000 babies

26
00:01:02,440 --> 00:01:04,580
is born with ambiguous genitals,

27
00:01:04,580 --> 00:01:06,630
which, for example, could look like this.

28
00:01:07,710 --> 00:01:10,440
In this case, doctors often
can't determine immediately

29
00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:12,563
whether the baby is a boy or a girl.

30
00:01:13,670 --> 00:01:15,130
There are also other ways

31
00:01:15,130 --> 00:01:17,600
in which a person can
be considered intersex.

32
00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:19,980
For example, through a
difference in the level

33
00:01:19,980 --> 00:01:23,593
of your chromosomes, your
gonads, or your hormones.

34
00:01:24,540 --> 00:01:28,080
So what does the passport of
an intersex person look like?

35
00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:30,580
In Belgium it is up to now only possible

36
00:01:30,580 --> 00:01:34,020
to be legally registered as an M or an F.

37
00:01:34,020 --> 00:01:37,120
This means that there is no
possibility for intersex people

38
00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:40,260
to have their biological
sex recognized by the state.

39
00:01:40,260 --> 00:01:41,940
So people often have to choose

40
00:01:41,940 --> 00:01:43,483
the sex of the baby at birth.

41
00:01:44,540 --> 00:01:47,000
In the entire world, only seven countries

42
00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:50,140
and five American states have
some sort of legal recognition

43
00:01:50,140 --> 00:01:52,403
for intersexuality, which is not a lot.

44
00:01:55,070 --> 00:01:58,090
We covered sex, but what about gender?

45
00:01:58,090 --> 00:02:01,850
Your gender or gender
identity denotes how you feel.

46
00:02:01,850 --> 00:02:06,320
A person can feel exclusively
feminine or ultra-masculine,

47
00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:08,750
but this too lies on a spectrum.

48
00:02:08,750 --> 00:02:10,420
It is perfectly possible to feel

49
00:02:10,420 --> 00:02:12,650
a little bit more masculine than feminine

50
00:02:12,650 --> 00:02:14,660
or the other way around.

51
00:02:14,660 --> 00:02:17,450
Some people feel both male and female

52
00:02:17,450 --> 00:02:19,923
or neither and just wanna be themselves.

53
00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:22,870
To define these gender identities,

54
00:02:22,870 --> 00:02:26,113
a lot of complicated names
exist, such as these ones.

55
00:02:27,610 --> 00:02:29,270
Each of these words describes

56
00:02:29,270 --> 00:02:31,310
a slightly different gender identity.

57
00:02:31,310 --> 00:02:33,430
However, this is not written in stone,

58
00:02:33,430 --> 00:02:36,593
and only you can decide
which word fits you the best.

59
00:02:38,020 --> 00:02:40,250
When one's sex and gender identity align,

60
00:02:40,250 --> 00:02:42,210
for example, when you are born female

61
00:02:42,210 --> 00:02:45,253
and you feel like a woman, we
call this person cisgender.

62
00:02:46,460 --> 00:02:48,440
However, when one's
sex and gender identity

63
00:02:48,440 --> 00:02:52,130
do not correspond, we call
this person transgender.

64
00:02:52,130 --> 00:02:55,310
We do not however use
the word transsexual.

65
00:02:55,310 --> 00:02:57,310
Originally, this word was used to describe

66
00:02:57,310 --> 00:03:00,600
trans people who had undergone
gender confirmation surgery.

67
00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:02,930
But nowadays, this is considered outdated

68
00:03:02,930 --> 00:03:04,920
and sometimes even hurtful.

69
00:03:04,920 --> 00:03:07,410
Besides, not everyone who is transgender

70
00:03:07,410 --> 00:03:09,223
wants to have a surgery, of course.

71
00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:11,490
The third aspect of our gender

72
00:03:11,490 --> 00:03:13,330
is comprised of how we present ourselves

73
00:03:13,330 --> 00:03:17,010
to the outside world and
of how others perceive us.

74
00:03:17,010 --> 00:03:19,440
We call this our gender expression.

75
00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:21,560
Just like the other
aspects, your expression

76
00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:25,653
can also be female or male
or something in between.

77
00:03:26,500 --> 00:03:29,870
A person's gender expression
exists of many layers.

78
00:03:29,870 --> 00:03:33,410
The most obvious one is, of
course, the clothing you wear.

79
00:03:33,410 --> 00:03:36,870
Do you wear manly clothes
or feminine clothes?

80
00:03:36,870 --> 00:03:40,050
However, also your
haircut, the way ya talk,

81
00:03:40,050 --> 00:03:41,700
the way ya move, walk, or sit,

82
00:03:41,700 --> 00:03:43,820
the hobbies or interests you have,

83
00:03:43,820 --> 00:03:46,270
the books you read, the
music you listen to,

84
00:03:46,270 --> 00:03:48,650
the movie jars you like,
and even the drinks

85
00:03:48,650 --> 00:03:50,450
you order on a night out are gendered.

86
00:03:50,450 --> 00:03:52,583
So, basically everything.

87
00:03:53,850 --> 00:03:55,270
Important to remember here

88
00:03:55,270 --> 00:03:57,840
is that what is considered
masculine or feminine

89
00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:00,650
is incredibly time and location bound.

90
00:04:00,650 --> 00:04:04,200
These ideas are not the same
everywhere and at all times.

91
00:04:04,200 --> 00:04:06,470
A funny example are high heels.

92
00:04:06,470 --> 00:04:08,130
While the Western world now sees them

93
00:04:08,130 --> 00:04:09,980
as typically feminine footwear,

94
00:04:09,980 --> 00:04:12,450
in the Middle Ages, it
was completely normal

95
00:04:12,450 --> 00:04:14,553
for men to wear shoes like these.

96
00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:18,900
Now, what exactly is
meant with transvestism?

97
00:04:18,900 --> 00:04:20,700
A transvestite is someone who takes on

98
00:04:20,700 --> 00:04:23,950
the stereotypical gender
expression of the opposite sex.

99
00:04:23,950 --> 00:04:26,350
Here, for example, you see Lady Gaga

100
00:04:26,350 --> 00:04:28,860
who takes on a male gender expression.

101
00:04:28,860 --> 00:04:31,250
Or the world-famous drag queen RuPaul,

102
00:04:31,250 --> 00:04:33,800
who takes on a female gender expression.

103
00:04:33,800 --> 00:04:35,760
It doesn't all have to be so binary.

104
00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:37,130
When someone doesn't limit themselves

105
00:04:37,130 --> 00:04:39,150
to the categories of man or woman

106
00:04:39,150 --> 00:04:42,810
and just mixes it all together,
we use the word androgyny.

107
00:04:42,810 --> 00:04:44,590
A widely known example of a person

108
00:04:44,590 --> 00:04:47,773
with an androgynous gender
expression is David Bowie.

109
00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:50,190
The fourth aspect of your gender

110
00:04:50,190 --> 00:04:51,900
has to do with who you are sexually

111
00:04:51,900 --> 00:04:53,950
or romantically attracted to.

112
00:04:53,950 --> 00:04:56,470
We call this your attraction.

113
00:04:56,470 --> 00:04:59,940
You can feel attracted to men or women.

114
00:04:59,940 --> 00:05:02,300
A person who likes people
from the opposite gender

115
00:05:02,300 --> 00:05:04,360
is called heterosexual.

116
00:05:04,360 --> 00:05:06,500
A person who likes people
from the same gender

117
00:05:06,500 --> 00:05:08,590
is called homosexual.

118
00:05:08,590 --> 00:05:11,090
You can also, of course,
like both genders,

119
00:05:11,090 --> 00:05:13,363
which is then called bisexuality.

120
00:05:14,230 --> 00:05:16,830
Once again, it doesn't have
to be so black and white.

121
00:05:16,830 --> 00:05:19,360
Human sexuality is considered to be fluid,

122
00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:21,730
which means that it is
changeable throughout time

123
00:05:21,730 --> 00:05:23,830
and depends on the situation.

124
00:05:23,830 --> 00:05:27,250
You can, for example, feel
incredibly attracted to men

125
00:05:27,250 --> 00:05:29,500
but also a tiny bit to women.

126
00:05:29,500 --> 00:05:31,270
Or, it could happen that even though

127
00:05:31,270 --> 00:05:33,570
you felt attracted to
women your entire life,

128
00:05:33,570 --> 00:05:36,580
all of a sudden you
fall in love with a man.

129
00:05:36,580 --> 00:05:39,690
Some people also identify as pansexual.

130
00:05:39,690 --> 00:05:42,050
In this case, your
attraction is not confined

131
00:05:42,050 --> 00:05:44,540
within the borders of the
binary gender spectrum

132
00:05:44,540 --> 00:05:47,470
and you actually feel attracted
to a person's personality

133
00:05:47,470 --> 00:05:49,580
rather than their sex.

134
00:05:49,580 --> 00:05:51,090
Another sexuality which falls

135
00:05:51,090 --> 00:05:54,230
outside of the spectrum is asexuality.

136
00:05:54,230 --> 00:05:55,620
Asexual people do not feel

137
00:05:55,620 --> 00:05:57,920
sexual attraction to others at all.

138
00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:00,210
This, however, does not
mean that they do not long

139
00:06:00,210 --> 00:06:04,253
for a romantic relationship
or affection, just no sex.

140
00:06:05,840 --> 00:06:08,170
Even though you cannot
choose your sexuality,

141
00:06:08,170 --> 00:06:10,400
identity and labels seem
to be very important

142
00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:12,150
to define one's attraction.

143
00:06:12,150 --> 00:06:14,900
Labels like gay and straight exist

144
00:06:14,900 --> 00:06:16,650
because a lot of people find comfort

145
00:06:16,650 --> 00:06:18,920
in the idea of belonging to a group

146
00:06:18,920 --> 00:06:20,350
and use these words as tools

147
00:06:20,350 --> 00:06:23,080
for explaining their identity to others.

148
00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:26,690
These labels are, however,
not clearly defined.

149
00:06:26,690 --> 00:06:29,050
Which labels you choose
to describe yourself

150
00:06:29,050 --> 00:06:31,480
and how you define them is highly personal

151
00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:33,260
and can never be wrong.

152
00:06:33,260 --> 00:06:36,380
After all, nobody knows
you better than yourself.

153
00:06:36,380 --> 00:06:38,270
Moreover, you are not obligated

154
00:06:38,270 --> 00:06:40,203
to give yourself a label at all.

155
00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:43,740
As you see, your gender
is a lot more complicated

156
00:06:43,740 --> 00:06:46,320
than what they expect from you at birth.

157
00:06:46,320 --> 00:06:48,930
The Genderbread Cookie's
not even complete.

158
00:06:48,930 --> 00:06:51,070
The construction of a person's gender

159
00:06:51,070 --> 00:06:54,490
is an incredibly complex process
which involves psychology,

160
00:06:54,490 --> 00:06:57,353
biology, sociology, and so much more.

161
00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:00,580
Capturing this process in a small cookie

162
00:07:00,580 --> 00:07:02,610
would be very ambitious.

163
00:07:02,610 --> 00:07:03,945
But it's a start.

164
00:07:03,945 --> 00:07:07,195
(bright chiming music)