assigned sex

American  

[uh-sahynd seks] / əˈsaɪnd ˈsɛks /

noun

1. a baby’s sex as determined or assigned based on the appearance of external reproductive organs and, sometimes, chromosomal testing.

   One's gender identity is not necessarily congruent with one's assigned sex.

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Sensitive Note

See sex reassignment surgery.

Etymology

Origin of assigned sex

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

Shumer said puberty is a big driver of gender dysphoria — a condition characterized by distress over gender identity that doesn’t match a person’s assigned sex.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 10, 2023

Treatment typically begins with an evaluation for the distress caused when gender identity doesn’t match a person’s assigned sex.

From Washington Times • May 17, 2023

Gender dysphoria, by contrast, involves a person experiencing mental health issues because their assigned sex does not match their gender identity.

From Salon • Nov. 9, 2022

“Being transgender is not a disability,” the court wrote in an opinion issued Tuesday, but “many transgender people experience gender dysphoria,” or distress over the discrepancy between their identity and their assigned sex.

From Washington Post • Aug. 17, 2022

A 2020 study of 300 gender-incongruent young people found that mental distress—including self-harm, suicidal thoughts and depression—increased as the children were made to proceed with puberty according to their assigned sex.

From Scientific American • May 12, 2022