User:DanielPerez144/sandbox

The term gender binary describes the system in which a society splits its members into one of two sets of gender roles, gender identities, and attributes based on the type of genitalia. In the case of people born with organs that fall outside this classification system (intersex people), enforcement of the binary often includes coercive surgical gender reassignment. Intersex people often identify anatomically as male or female; however, their innate sexual identity may be different. Gender binary therefore focuses primarily on one's innate identity irrespective of their anatomical features including genitalia, chromosomes, hormones etc. Gender binary refers to a person's gender role, often defined by social norms and the media for example. Gender roles shape and constrain people's life experiences, impacting aspects of self-expression ranging from clothing choices to occupation. Traditional gender roles continue to be enforced by the media, religion, mainstream education, political systems, cultural systems, and social systems. Major religions such as Islam and Catholicism, in particular, act as authorities for gender roles. Islam, for example, teaches that mothers are the primary care givers to their children and Catholics only allow cisgender men to serve as priests.

Worldwide, there are many individuals and even several subcultures that can be considered exceptions to the gender binary or specific transgender identities. In addition to individuals whose bodies are naturally intersex, there are also specific social roles that involve aspects of both or neither of the binary genders. These include Two-Spirit Native Americans and hijra of India. Feminist philosopher María Lugones argues Western colonizers imposed their dualistic ideas of gender on indigenous peoples, replacing pre-existing indigenous concepts. In the contemporary West, non-binary or genderqueer people break the gender binary by refusing terms like "male" and "female". Transgender people have a unique place in relation to the gender binary. In some cases, their gender expression aligns with their sex. Attempting to conform to societal expectations for their gender, transsexual individuals may opt for surgery, hormones, or both, which can be difficult if the individual does not "pass" as cisgender.

Within the LGBT community, gender binarism may create institutionalized structures of power, and individuals who identify outside traditional gender binaries may experience discrimination and harassment within the LGBT community. Most of this discrimination stems from societal expectations of gender that are expressed in the LGBT community. But many LGBT people and many youth activist groups advocate against gender binarism within the LGBT community. Many individuals within the LGBT+ community report an internal hierarchy of power status. A specific example of this would include a white, gay man who behaves as "masculine" as being more powerful. However, those who do not identify within a binary system experience being at the bottom of the hierarchy. The multitude of different variables such as race, ethnicity, age, gender, and more can lower or raise one's perceived power