Gender Expression

Gender expression is the way a person shows their gender to the world through choices like clothing, hairstyle, makeup, mannerisms, voice, and body language. It is distinct from gender identity, which is a person's internal sense of self, and from sexual orientation, which is about who a person is attracted to. Someone's expression does not always match their identity, and it can shift with context, comfort, or safety. A femme and a butch lesbian, for example, have different gender expressions while sharing the same gender identity. Terms like masculine, feminine, and androgynous are often used to describe expression, though every culture reads these signals differently.