WEBVTT

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- [Narrator] This video brought to you

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by Wel Jong Niet Hetero will
explain the Genderbread Cookie.

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When you look around in this world,

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everyone seems to be a woman or a man.

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But what exactly does that
mean, being a man or a woman?

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And what does it mean when
people wanna change their gender?

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Or when they dress like the opposite sex?

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And how about people that identify

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as neither male nor female?

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And when you are gay,

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does that change anything
about your gender?

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To explain all of this,

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we need the help of
the Genderbread Cookie.

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Before we start, it's essential to explain

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the difference between
your sex and your gender.

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Sex is biologically-determined

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and has everything to do with
what's inside of your pants.

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It is often assumed that everyone

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is born either male or female.

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But what a lot of people don't know

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is that biological sex lies on a spectrum.

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Everyone who is not 100% male or female

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is called intersex.

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Now, what exactly is intersexuality?

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Approximately 1 in 3,000 babies

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is born with ambiguous genitals,

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which, for example, could look like this.

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In this case, doctors often
can't determine immediately

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whether the baby is a boy or a girl.

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There are also other ways

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in which a person can
be considered intersex.

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For example, through a
difference in the level

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of your chromosomes, your
gonads, or your hormones.

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So what does the passport of
an intersex person look like?

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In Belgium it is up to now only possible

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to be legally registered as an M or an F.

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This means that there is no
possibility for intersex people

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to have their biological
sex recognized by the state.

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So people often have to choose

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the sex of the baby at birth.

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In the entire world, only seven countries

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and five American states have
some sort of legal recognition

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for intersexuality, which is not a lot.

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We covered sex, but what about gender?

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Your gender or gender
identity denotes how you feel.

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A person can feel exclusively
feminine or ultra-masculine,

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but this too lies on a spectrum.

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It is perfectly possible to feel

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a little bit more masculine than feminine

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or the other way around.

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Some people feel both male and female

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or neither and just wanna be themselves.

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To define these gender identities,

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a lot of complicated names
exist, such as these ones.

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Each of these words describes

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a slightly different gender identity.

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However, this is not written in stone,

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and only you can decide
which word fits you the best.

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When one's sex and gender identity align,

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for example, when you are born female

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and you feel like a woman, we
call this person cisgender.

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However, when one's
sex and gender identity

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do not correspond, we call
this person transgender.

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We do not however use
the word transsexual.

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Originally, this word was used to describe

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trans people who had undergone
gender confirmation surgery.

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But nowadays, this is considered outdated

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and sometimes even hurtful.

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Besides, not everyone who is transgender

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wants to have a surgery, of course.

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The third aspect of our gender

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is comprised of how we present ourselves

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to the outside world and
of how others perceive us.

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We call this our gender expression.

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Just like the other
aspects, your expression

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can also be female or male
or something in between.

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A person's gender expression
exists of many layers.

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The most obvious one is, of
course, the clothing you wear.

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Do you wear manly clothes
or feminine clothes?

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However, also your
haircut, the way ya talk,

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the way ya move, walk, or sit,

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the hobbies or interests you have,

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the books you read, the
music you listen to,

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the movie jars you like,
and even the drinks

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you order on a night out are gendered.

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So, basically everything.

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Important to remember here

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is that what is considered
masculine or feminine

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is incredibly time and location bound.

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These ideas are not the same
everywhere and at all times.

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A funny example are high heels.

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While the Western world now sees them

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as typically feminine footwear,

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in the Middle Ages, it
was completely normal

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for men to wear shoes like these.

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Now, what exactly is
meant with transvestism?

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A transvestite is someone who takes on

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the stereotypical gender
expression of the opposite sex.

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Here, for example, you see Lady Gaga

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who takes on a male gender expression.

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Or the world-famous drag queen RuPaul,

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who takes on a female gender expression.

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It doesn't all have to be so binary.

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When someone doesn't limit themselves

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to the categories of man or woman

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and just mixes it all together,
we use the word androgyny.

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A widely known example of a person

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with an androgynous gender
expression is David Bowie.

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The fourth aspect of your gender

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has to do with who you are sexually

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or romantically attracted to.

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We call this your attraction.

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You can feel attracted to men or women.

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A person who likes people
from the opposite gender

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is called heterosexual.

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A person who likes people
from the same gender

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is called homosexual.

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You can also, of course,
like both genders,

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which is then called bisexuality.

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Once again, it doesn't have
to be so black and white.

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Human sexuality is considered to be fluid,

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which means that it is
changeable throughout time

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and depends on the situation.

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You can, for example, feel
incredibly attracted to men

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but also a tiny bit to women.

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Or, it could happen that even though

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you felt attracted to
women your entire life,

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all of a sudden you
fall in love with a man.

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Some people also identify as pansexual.

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In this case, your
attraction is not confined

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within the borders of the
binary gender spectrum

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and you actually feel attracted
to a person's personality

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rather than their sex.

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Another sexuality which falls

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outside of the spectrum is asexuality.

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Asexual people do not feel

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sexual attraction to others at all.

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This, however, does not
mean that they do not long

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for a romantic relationship
or affection, just no sex.

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Even though you cannot
choose your sexuality,

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identity and labels seem
to be very important

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to define one's attraction.

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Labels like gay and straight exist

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because a lot of people find comfort

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in the idea of belonging to a group

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and use these words as tools

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for explaining their identity to others.

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These labels are, however,
not clearly defined.

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Which labels you choose
to describe yourself

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and how you define them is highly personal

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and can never be wrong.

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After all, nobody knows
you better than yourself.

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Moreover, you are not obligated

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to give yourself a label at all.

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As you see, your gender
is a lot more complicated

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than what they expect from you at birth.

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The Genderbread Cookie's
not even complete.

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The construction of a person's gender

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is an incredibly complex process
which involves psychology,

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biology, sociology, and so much more.

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Capturing this process in a small cookie

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would be very ambitious.

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But it's a start.

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(bright chiming music)