Gender binary: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Classification of sex and gender into two opposite forms}}

{{hatnote group|{{Redirect|Binarism|3=Binary (disambiguation)}}{{About|gender from a sociological perspective|further information|Sex and gender distinction|Discrimination based on gender|GenderismGender (disambiguation){{!}}Genderismdiscrimination|the movement rooted in discrimination based on gender and gender theory|Anti-gender movement}}

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[[File:Sexsacks.jpg|thumb|alt=Opaque grab bags labeled "girls" and "boys" |The gender binary in everyday life]]

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The '''gender binary''' (also known as '''gender binarism''')<ref name="Garber1997">{{cite book |author=Marjorie Garber |title=Vested Interests: Cross-dressing and Cultural Anxiety |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rCzYJisHWHAC |access-date=18 September 2012 |date=25 November 1997 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=978-0-415-91951-7 |pages=2, 10, 14–16, 47}}</ref><ref name="Card1994">{{cite book |author=Claudia Card |title=Adventures in Lesbian Philosophy |url=https://archive.org/details/adventuresinlesb00card |urltitle-accesslink=registrationAdventures |access-date=18in SeptemberLesbian 2012 |year=1994Philosophy |publisher=Indiana University Press |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-253-20899-6 |page=the [https://archive.org/details/adventuresinlesb00card/page/127 127]}}</ref><ref name="Rosenblum2000">{{cite journal |author=Rosenblum, Darren |year=2000 |title='Trapped' in Sing-Sing: Transgendered Prisoners Caught in the Gender Binarism |journal=Michigan Journal of Gender & Law |volume=6 |ssrn=897562}}</ref> is the classification of gender into two distinct forms of [[masculine]] and [[feminine]], whether by [[social system]], [[Culture|cultural]] [[belief]], or both simultaneously.{{efn-ua |In this context the word "binary" often functions as a [[noun]], unlike several [[Binary (disambiguation)|other uses of the word]], where it is an [[adjective]].}} Most cultures use a gender binary, having two genders ([[boys]]/[[men]] and [[girls]]/[[women]]).<ref name="Nadal-re-binary">Kevin L. Nadal, ''The SAGE Encyclopedia of Psychology and Gender'' (2017, {{ISBN|978-1-4833-8427-6}}), page 401: "Most cultures currently construct their societies based on the understanding of gender binary—the two gender categorizations (male and female). Such societies divide their population based on biological sex assigned to individuals at birth to begin the process of gender socialization."</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Sigelman |first1=Carol K. |last2=Rider |first2=Elizabeth A. |title=Life-Span Human Development |date=14 March 2017 |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-1-337-51606-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M2M1DgAAQBAJ&pg=PA385 |access-date=4 August 2021 |language=en |page=385}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Maddux |first1=James E. |last2=Winstead |first2=Barbara A. |title=Psychopathology: Foundations for a Contemporary Understanding |date=11 July 2019 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-429-64787-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q-ChDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT1028 |access-date=4 August 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

In this binary model, ''[[gender]]'' and ''[[sexuality]]'' may be assumed by default to align with one's [[sex assigned at birth]]. This may include certain expectations of how one dresses themselves, one's behavior, [[sexual orientation]], names or pronouns, which restroom one uses, and other qualities. For example, when a male is born, gender binarism may assume that the male will be masculine in appearance, have masculine character traits and behaviors, as well as having a [[heterosexual]] attraction to females.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Keating |first1=Anne |title=glbtq >> literature >> Gender |url=http://www.glbtq.com/literature/gender.html |website=www.glbtq.com |publisher=glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture |access-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403155153/http://www.glbtq.com/literature/gender.html |archive-date=3 April 2015}}</ref> These expectations may reinforce negative [[Attitude (psychology)|attitudes]], [[bias]]es, and [[discrimination]] towards people who display [[Gender expression|expressions]] of [[Gender variancenonconformity|gender variance or nonconformity]] or those whose [[gender identity]] is incongruent with their birth sex.<ref name="Hill-2015">{{Cite journal |last1=Hill |first1=Darryl B. |last2=Willoughby |first2=Brian L. B. |date=October 2015 |title=The Development and Validation of the Genderism and Transphobia Scale |journal=Sex Roles |volume=53 |issue=7–8 |pages=531–544 |doi=10.1007/s11199-005-7140-x |s2cid=143438444 |issn=0360-0025}}</ref> Discrimination against transgender or gender nonconforming people can take various forms, from physical or sexual assault, homicide, limited access to public spaces, in healthcare and more. The gender binary has been critiqued by scholars of [[intersectionality]], whosome of whom have saysuggested that it is a structure that maintains [[Patriarchy|patriarchal]] and [[White supremacy|white supremacist]] norms as part of an interlocking hierarchical system of gender and race.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Scaptura|first1=Maria N.|first2=Brittany E.|last2=Hayes.|chapter=The Intersection of Race, Gender, and Extremist Violence.|title=The Routledge International Handbook on Femicide and Feminicide|date=2023|editor-first1=Myrna|editor-last1=Dawson|editor-first2=Saide Mobayed|editor-last2=Vega}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first1=Jean Ait|last1=Belkhir|first2=Bernice McNair|last2=Barnett|title=Race, Gender and Class Intersectionality|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41674988|journal=Race, Gender & Class|date=March 2017|issn=1082-8354|pages=157–174|volume=8|issue=3|jstor=41674988 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first1=Kimberlé|last1=Crenshaw|title=On Intersectionality: Essential Writings|url=https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/books/255|journal=Faculty Books|date=1 March 2017}}</ref>

==General==

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=== Language ===

In English, some nouns (e.g., boy), honorific titles (e.g., Miss), occupational titles (e.g., actress), and [[English personal pronouns|personal pronouns]] (e.g., she, his) are gendered, and they fall into a male/female binary.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gustafsson Sendén |first1=Marie |last2=Bäck |first2=Emma A. |last3=Lindqvist |first3=Anna |date=2015 |title=Introducing a gender-neutral pronoun in a natural gender language: the influence of time on attitudes and behavior |journal=Frontiers in Psychology |volume=6 |page=893 |doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00893 |pmid=26191016 |pmc=4486751 |issn=1664-1078 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Personal pronouns in the English language are typically associated with either men ([[he/him]]) or women ([[she/her]]), which excludes situations in which people who do not identify as a man or a woman.<ref name="Lab-2022a">{{Cite web |last=Lab |first=Purdue Writing |title=Gendered Pronouns & Singular "They" // Purdue Writing Lab |url=https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/grammar/pronouns/gendered_pronouns_and_singular_they.html |access-date=2 May 2022 |website=Purdue Writing Lab |language=en}}</ref> However, [[Gender neutrality in languages with gendered third-person pronouns|gender-neutral pronouns]], such as [[Singular they|singular ''they'']] pronouns (they/them) are sometimes used by nonbinary and gender nonconforming individuals as well as in situations where the gender is unknown.<ref name="Lab-2022a"/><ref name="them.-2020">{{Cite web |date=22 May 2020 |title=Gender-Neutral Pronouns 101: Everything You've Always Wanted to Know |url=https://www.them.us/story/gender-neutral-pronouns-101-they-them-xe-xem |access-date=2 May 2022 |website=them. |language=en-US}}</ref> A 2019 study found that "close to 1 in 5 Americans personally know someone who uses gender-neutral pronouns such as 'they' instead of 'he' or {{"'}}she{{'"}}.<ref name="Worthen-2021" /><ref name="BBC News-2020">{{Cite news |date=19 February 2020 |title=Should your email say if you're he, she or they? |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51331571 |access-date=2 May 2022}}</ref> In addition, people may use [[neopronoun]]s in place of other personal pronouns.<ref name="them.-2020" /> Examples of neopronouns include [[wikt:xe#Pronoun|xe]]/[[wikt:xem#Pronoun|xem]], [[wikt:ze#Pronoun|ze]]/zim, and [[wikt:sie#Pronoun|sie]]/[[wikt:hir#Pronoun|hir]].<ref name="them.-2020" />

According to Hyde and colleagues, children raised within English-speaking (and other gendered-language) environments come to view gender as a binary category.<ref name="Hyde-2019">{{Cite journal |last1=Hyde |first1=Janet Shibley |last2=Bigler |first2=Rebecca S. |last3=Joel |first3=Daphna |last4=Tate |first4=Charlotte Chucky |last5=van Anders |first5=Sari M. |date=February 2019 |title=The future of sex and gender in psychology: Five challenges to the gender binary |journal=American Psychologist |volume=74 |issue=2 |pages=171–193 |doi=10.1037/amp0000307 |pmid=30024214 |issn=1935-990X |doi-access=free}}</ref> They state that for children who learn English as their primary language in the United States, adults' use of the gender binary to explicitly sort individuals (i.e. "boys" and "girls" bathrooms and sports teams), and not just the presence of gender markers, causes gender biases.<ref name="Hyde-2019" /> Those biases can appear in information processing, and can affect attitudes and behavior directed at those both inside and outside of the gender binary language system.<ref name="Keener-2023">Keener, Emily, and Kourtney Kotvas. "Beyond He and She: Does the Singular Use of 'They, Them, Their' Function Generically as Inclusive Pronouns for Cisgender Men and Women?" ''Gender Issues'', vol. 40, no. 1, Mar. 2023, pp. 23–43. ''EBSCOhost'', {{doi|10.1007/s12147-022-09297-8}}.</ref> An example of this would be the use of gendered language in job descriptions and advertisements: those who are excluded by the language used may not apply for the position, leading to a segregated field of work.<ref name="Keener-2023" /> For example, women could be systemically excluded from a workplace or career that exclusively uses the pronouns "he" to advertise new job openings.<ref name="Keener-2023" /> The exclusive use of "she" and "he" (binary pronouns) can also systemically exclude those who do not fit within the gender binary and may prefer gender neutral language.<ref name="Keener-2023" />

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Along with using the gender binary to categorize human bodies, cultures that obey the binary may also use it to label things, places, and ideas. For example, in American culture, people identify playing sports as a masculine activity and shopping as a feminine activity; blue is a color for boys while pink is for girls; care work is a feminine profession while management is associated with masculinity, etc.

Some languages [[Grammatical gender|gender their words]] into masculine and feminine forms, such as French or Spanish.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wade, |last2=Ferree |first=Lisa, |first2=Myra Marx |title=Gender: Ideas, Interactions, Institutions, Second Edition |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-393-67428-6 |pages=11–12}}</ref>

=== Education ===

The gender binary is introduced unconsciously at a young age, often within familial and school settings. For example, those considered to be girls are expected to be emotional, affectionate, talk excessively, complain more than average, and be picky about their surroundings and appearances, while boys are expected to be cruel, dominant, and act as a leader in group settings.<ref name="deMayo-2022">deMayo, Benjamin, et al. "Endorsement of Gender Stereotypes in Gender Diverse and Cisgender Adolescents and Their Parents." ''PLoS ONE'', vol. 17, no. 6, June 2022, pp. 1–16. ''EBSCOhost'', {{doi|10.1371/journal.pone.0269784|doi-access=free}}</ref> These characteristic while stereotypes, can be encouraged and influenced through objects like toys (e.g. baby dolls introducing maternal and domestic labor) but also in schools. Girls are often expected to excel in English classes, while menboys are expected to succeed in P.E. and STEM courses.<ref name="deMayo-2022" /> Early childhood stereotypes like boys being better at math than girls have been linked to the disproportionately small number of women pursuing math related careers, and a general disengagement from math related courses in education.<ref name="Block-2022">Block, Katharina, et al. "Exposure to Stereotype-Relevant Stories Shapes Children's Implicit Gender Stereotypes." ''PLoS ONE'', vol. 17, no. 8, Aug. 2022, pp. 1–18. ''EBSCOhost'', {{doi|10.1371/journal.pone.0271396|doi-access=free}}.</ref> There has been an increase in publishing children books targeted at girls to encourage more participation in STEM fields and to dismantle gendered stereotypes taught to children by popular media.<ref name="Block-2022" />

=== Religion ===

Major religions often teach a gender binary and act as authorities for gender roles.{{Citation needed |date=March 2024}} Many Christians teach that the gender binary is both good and normal, pointing to the gender binary evident in the creation story of the [[Book of Genesis]] in the [[Bible]], where it is declared that, "God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Schwarzwalder |first1=Rob |date=May 31, 2016 | title=Sexual Madness and the Image of God |url=https://erlc.com/resource-library/articles/sexual-madness-and-the-image-of-god |access-date=17 December 2019 |publisher=[[Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Yuan | first=Christopher | date=14 December 2019 | title=He Made Them Male and Female: Sex, Gender, and the Image of God | website=Desiring God | url=https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/he-made-them-male-and-female | access-date=29 March 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=What does the Bible mean by "male and female He created them" (Genesis 1:27)? | website=GotQuestions.org | date=16 February 2021 | url=https://www.gotquestions.org/male-and-female-He-created-them.html | access-date=29 March 2024}}</ref> [[Carol S. Wimmer]] suggests that the Genesis creation narrative implies a linguistic gender binary of "form, essence, or purpose of role" but not of "sexuality, sexual function, or sexual activity".<ref>{{cite web | last=Wimmer | first=Carol S. | date=10 June 2021 | title=Male and Female in Genesis 1 | website=Carol S. Wimmer | url=https://carolwimmer.com/male-and-female-in-genesis-1/ | access-date=1 April 2024}}</ref>

== In the LGBTQ+ community ==

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In the contemporary [[Western world|West]], [[non-binary]] or [[genderqueer]] people do not adhere to the gender binary by refusing terms like "male" and "female", as they do not identify as either. Transgender people have a unique place in relation to the gender binary. In some cases, attempting to conform to societal expectations for their gender, transgender individuals may opt for surgery, hormones, or both.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Transmen and FTMs: Identities, Bodies, Genders, and Sexualities |last=Cromwell |first=Jason |publisher=University of Illinois |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-252-06825-6 |___location=Chicago, Illinois |pages=511}}</ref>

[[Ball culture]] is an example of how the LGBT community interprets and rejects the gender binary. ''[[Paris Is Burning (film)|Paris is Burning]]'', a film directed by [[Jennie Livingston]], depicts New York's ballroom scene in the late 1980s.<ref name="Livingston-1990">{{cite AV media |author=Livingston, Jennie |author2=Xtravaganza, Angie |author3=Corey, Dorian |author4=Dupree, Paris |author5=LaBeija, Pepper |author6=Ninja, Willi |title=Paris Is Burning |oclc=1269377435}}</ref> To compete in the balls, men, women, and everyone in between create costumes and walk in their respective categories: [[Butch Queen]], Transmale Realness, and [[Femme]] Queen to name a few.<ref name="Livingston-1990" /> During the balls, the gender binary is thrown out the window, and the people competing are allowed to express themselves however they interpret the category.<ref name="Livingston-1990" /> Within the scenes of people competing in various categories there's is a narrative that describes life outside the gender binary in New York. Since the film came out, there's has been a decline in the ballroom scene due to the rise of media and the appropriation of the drag culture.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Green |first=Jesse |date=18 April 1993 |title=Paris Has Burned |language=en-US |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/18/style/paris-has-burned.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=21 April 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==Criticism of the binary==

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Gendered stereotypes maintain the gender binary and the systems of power within it.<ref name="Jacques-2022">Jacques, Sarah A., et al. "Perceptions of Nonbinary Identifying Individuals: Through the Lens of Gender and Race." ''Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research'', vol. 27, no. 1, Spring 2022, pp. 46–58. ''EBSCOhost'', {{doi|10.24839/2325-7342.JN27.1.46}}.</ref>

People outside of the gender binary also experience harmful stereotypes, and are both affected by cisgender stereotypes and biases regarding being transgender or gender nonconforming. For example, the labels "mentally ill" and "confused" are stereotypes uniquely assigned to transgender individuals by cisgender people.<ref name="Howansky-2021">Howansky, Kristina, et al. "(Trans)Gender Stereotypes and the Self: Content and Consequences of Gender Identity Stereotypes." ''Self & Identity'', vol. 20, no. 4, June 2021, pp. 478–95. ''EBSCOhost'', {{doi|10.1080/15298868.2019.1617191}}.</ref> Interesting enough, transgender children themselves appear to endorse less gender stereotypes at a young age and are tolerant of larger levels of gender nonconformity.<ref name="deMayo-2022" /> Often, stereotypes applied by cisgender individuals to transgender and gender nonconforming people are a combination of stereotypes surrounding biological sex and broader stereotypes about transgender identities. These result in conflicting and false images that directly and violently harm trans people; a study in conducted in 2021 found that cis individuals would stereotype a trans-man as "aggressive like cis-men, weak like cis-women, and mentally ill like trans-women."<ref name="Howansky-2021" /> [[Transphobic]] stereotypes like these contribute to violence against trans and gender nonconforming communities, where transgender individuals are physically assaulted or killed, misgendered, denied access to spaces that affirm their identity, and are legally blocked from changing their identifies on government and other official documents.<ref name="Howansky-2021" /> Discrimination and assault rates are even higher for trans and gender nonconforming people of color than their white counterparts. In 2017, a study found that it was 2.7 times more likely for BIPOC trans and gender nonconforming individuals to be sexually or physically assaulted and intimidated than white transgender and gender nonconforming people.<ref name="Jacques-2022" />

=== Cisnormativity ===

[[Cisnormativity]] is a product of the gender binary that assumes people are cisgender, meaning that their gender identity matches their sex assigned at birth.<ref name="Worthen-2021">{{Cite journal |last=Worthen |first=Meredith G. F. |date=1 September 2021 |title=Why Can't You Just Pick One? The Stigmatization of Non-binary/Genderqueer People by Cis and Trans Men and Women: An Empirical Test of Norm-Centered Stigma Theory |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-020-01216-z |journal=Sex Roles |language=en |volume=85 |issue=5 |pages=343–356 |doi=10.1007/s11199-020-01216-z |s2cid=233903735 |issn=1573-2762|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Both binary and nonbinary transgender individuals are excluded from this ideology.<ref name="Worthen-2021" /> This leads to individuals outside the gender binary experiencing disparities in health and violence at individual, interpersonal, and institutional levels due to their non-normative status.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=LeMaster |first=Benny |date=2017 |title=Unlearning the Violence of the Normative |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.14321/qed.4.2.0123 |journal=QED: A Journal in GLBTQ Worldmaking |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=123–130 |doi=10.14321/qed.4.2.0123 |jstor=10.14321/qed.4.2.0123 |s2cid=149243928 |issn=2327-1574|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

== Discrimination ==

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=== Healthcare ===

Gender binarism poses limitations on the adequacy of medical care provided to gender-nonconforming patients. There is a large gap in medical literature on non-binary populations who have unique healthcare needs.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Edmiston |first1=E. Kale |last2=Donald |first2=Cameron A. |last3=Sattler |first3=Alice Rose |last4=Peebles |first4=J. Klint |last5=Ehrenfeld |first5=Jesse M. |last6=Eckstrand |first6=Kristen Laurel |date=2016 |title=Opportunities and Gaps in Primary Care Preventative Health Services for Transgender Patients: A Systemic Review |journal=Transgender Health |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=216–230 |doi=10.1089/trgh.2016.0019 |issn=2380-193X |pmc=5367473 |pmid=28861536}}</ref> A lack of cultural competency about nonbinary gender identities among providers contributes to nonbinary transgender individuals facing greater health disparities than both binary transgender and cisgender individuals.<ref name="Hana-2021">{{Cite journal |last1=Hana |first1=Tommy |last2=Butler |first2=Kat |last3=Young |first3=L Trevor |last4=Zamora |first4=Gerardo |last5=Lam |first5=June Sing Hong |date=1 April 2021 |title=Transgender health in medical education |url=http://www.who.int/entity/bulletin/volumes/99/4/19-249086.pdf |journal=Bulletin of the World Health Organization |volume=99 |issue=4 |pages=296–303 |doi=10.2471/BLT.19.249086 |doi-broken-date=5 December 2024 |issn=0042-9686 |pmc=8085635 |pmid=33953447}}</ref>

== In media ==

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==See also==

{{Portal|LGBTQ}}

* {{annotated link|Androgyny}}

{{Columns-list|colwidth=35em|

* [[{{annotated link|Anti-gender movement]]}}

* [[Androgyny]]

* [[{{annotated link|Butch and femme]]}}

* [[Anti-gender movement]]

* [[{{annotated link|Dyad (sociology)]]|Dyad}}

* [[Butch and femme]]

* {{annotated link|Effeminacy}}

* [[Cisnormativity]]

* {{annotated link|Endosex}}

* [[Dyad (sociology)]]

* {{annotated link|Complementarianism}}

* [[Effeminacy]]

* {{annotated link|Gender dysphoria}}

* [[Endosex]]

* {{annotated link|Gender essentialism}}

* [[Feminism]]

* [[Complementarianism{{annotated link|Gender complementarity]]in Bugis society}}

* [[{{annotated link|Gender dysphoria]]polarization}}

* [[{{annotated link|Gender essentialism]]policing}}

* [[{{annotated link|Postgenderism]]}}

* [[Gender in Bugis society]]

* [[{{annotated link|Sexual inversion (sexology)]]|Sexual inversion}}

* [[Gender polarization]]

* [[Gender policing]]

* [[Gender variance]]

* [[Heteronormativity]]

* [[Heterosexism]]

* [[Masculinity]]

* [[Non-binary gender]]

* [[Discrimination against non-binary gender people|Non-binary discrimination]]

* [[Postgenderism]]

* [[Queer heterosexuality]]

* [[Sex and gender distinction]]

* [[Sexual inversion (sexology)]]

* [[Social construction of gender]]

* [[Third gender]]

* [[Two spirit]]

* [[Trans bashing]]

* [[Transphobia]]

* [[Violence against LGBT people]]

}}

==Notes==

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==Further reading==

* binaohan, b. ''decolonizing trans/gender 101.'' biyuti publishing, 2014. {{ISBN|978-0-9937935-1-6}}

* ''GenderQueer: Voices from Beyond the Sexual Binary'' (Alyson), ([[Joan Nestle]], Clair Howell Co-Editors) 2002 {{ISBN|978-1-55583-730-3}}

* {{cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2012/09/pregnant-males-and-pseudopenises-complex-sex-in-the-animal-kingdom/ |title=Pregnant males and pseudopenises: complex sex in the animal kingdom |date=9 September 2012 |publisher=[[Ars Technica]]}}