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

The petition also included reports citing a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, a condition causing anguish and other symptoms as a result of a disparity between a person’s gender identity and their assigned sex at birth.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 2, 2023

The 96-page guide also explains that doctors “assign” a baby’s sex at birth, but that for some, “that assigned sex doesn’t match who they know they are inside.”

From Washington Times • Dec. 7, 2022

Someone who neither has gender dysphoria nor is transgender, but rather whose gender identity aligns with their assigned sex, is known as cisgender.

From Salon • Nov. 9, 2022

Perhaps most famously, computer scientist Latanya Sweeney showed that almost 90 percent of U.S. citizens could be reidentified from just their ZIP code, date of birth and assigned sex.

From Scientific American • Sep. 21, 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