gender identity

American  

noun

1. a person's inner sense of being male, female, or another gender, usually developed during early childhood as a result of parental rearing practices and societal influences and strengthened during puberty by hormonal changes.

---

Sensitive Note

One's gender identity may continue to evolve over time and may diverge from the male/female gender division. See the usage note at gender ¹ .

Example Sentences

But I’m not talking about my gender identity.

From Los Angeles Times • May 22, 2026

Under the country's Sex Discrimination Act, it is illegal for providers of goods or services to discriminate against another person on the ground of a person's gender identity.

From BBC • May 15, 2026

It would ban practices which intend to change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity.

From BBC • May 10, 2026

All these works are overshadowed by Morris’s gender identity, which is no longer as perplexing as it was at the time.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026

It is clear by this that sex of rearing, rather than genetic determinants, plays a greater role in the establishment of gender identity.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides