Questioning the Gender Binary: Insights from Contemporary Research

The assumption that humans are divided into two opposing groups in terms of gender/sex and that all individuals belong to one of these two groups is called “gender binary”. In this view, sex is considered as a biologically dimorphic system, and therefore all gender-related characteristics are also assumed to be dimorphic. In other words, it is accepted that every individual is born either male or female and that their hormones, brain structure, and psychological characteristics are shaped accordingly. On the other hand, the scientific validity of this assumption has been increasingly questioned based on the findings of empirical and meta-analytic studies in the last 2-3 decades. This article aims to present and discuss current research findings that challenge the gender binary. These findings show that humans exhibit diversity that cannot be confined to a binary categorization – neither biologically nor psychologically. Therefore, instead of the gender binary model, it is recommended to use alternative approaches that take into account the multi-dimensional, dynamic, and interactive nature of gender/sex.