Third gender

Third gender or third sex is the concept that individuals are categorized, either by themselves or by society, as neither man nor woman. It also describes a social category present in those societies that recognize three or more genders. The term third is usually understood to mean "other"; some anthropologists and sociologists have described fourth, fifth, and "some" genders. The concepts of "third", "fourth" and "some" genders can be somewhat difficult to understand within Western conceptual categories.

Although biology determines whether a human's chromosomal and anatomical sex is male, female, or less often and in various ways, intersex, the state of personally identifying as, or being identified by society as, belonging to neither the male nor female genders is defined by the individual's gender identity and gender role in society. While some Western scholars have sought to understand the term third gender in terms of sexual orientation, several other scholars, especially the native non-western scholars, consider this as a misrepresentation of third genders. To different cultures or individuals, a third gender may represent an intermediate state between man and woman, a state of being both (such as "the spirit of a man in the body of a woman"), the state of being neither (neuter), the ability to cross or swap genders, or another category altogether independent of men and women. This last definition is favored by those who argue for a strict interpretation of the "third gender" concept. In any case, all of these characterizations are defining gender and not the sex that biology gives to living beings.