EOI & TITLE IX GUIDANCE: January 2023

What is gender?

The World Health Organization reported that gender refers to social constructs that include the characteristics, norms, and roles associated with being a woman, man, girl or boy, as well as relationships with each other. Gender also refers to behaviors that society has classified as “masculine” and “feminine,” and generally refers to how one dresses, talks, and behaves. Because it is a  social construct, gender varies from society to society and changes over time.

Gender interacts with but is different from sex, which refers to the different biological and physiological characteristics of females, males, and intersex persons, such as chromosomes, hormones, and reproductive organs. Gender and sex are related to but different from gender identity. Gender identity refers to a person’s deeply felt, internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond to the person’s physiology or designated sex at birth.

Rigid gender norms also negatively affect people with diverse gender identities, who often face violence, stigma, and discrimination as a result, including in healthcare settings. Consequently, they are at higher risk of HIV and mental health problems, including suicide.

Gender-based discrimination intersects with other factors of discrimination, such as ethnicity, socioeconomic status, disability, age, geographic location, gender identity and sexual orientation, among others. This is referred to as intersectionality. 

Gender Identity

Gender Identity reflects how an individual feels on the inside. There are some people who have evolved beyond the binary of male and female because they do not identify with either man or woman and may identify as both genders, neither gender, between the genders or not gendered at all.

Cisgender: someone who identifies with the sex they were assigned at birth.

Transgender: people who do not identify with the sex assigned to them at birth. This includes trans men, trans women, genderfluid, genderqueer, and non-binary persons.

Trans man: transgender person who was assigned the gender female at birth, but whose gender identity is now that of a man.

Trans woman: transgender person who was assigned the gender male at birth, but whose gender identity now is that of a woman.

Non-binary: person who does not experience gender within the gender binary

Intersex: people who are born with reproductive or sexual anatomy, chromosomes or hormones  that does not fit the typical definitions of male or female. An intersex person can have any gender, sexual orientation, or gender expression.

Gender Expression

Gender Expression is how one expresses themselves to others. It’s an outward expression of their gender identity and is how they want to the world to see them. Some aspects of gender expression include mannerisms, dress, names, and pronoun choices. Some people maintain the same gender expression over their life, and some change their gender expression over time or based on circumstances.

What is sexuality?

The main difference between gender and sexuality is that gender refers to your own identity whereas sexuality refers to who you are attracted to.

Heterosexual persons are attracted only to people of genders other than their own.

Homosexual persons are attracted to people of the same gender. There remain some countries in the world where it is illegal to be homosexual and unfortunately, homophobia is still present in society. Within the group of homosexuals are Lesbians, who identify as women and are sexually or romantically attracted to others who identify as women.  Gay originally identified both men and women, who are attracted to people of the same gender. This term has evolved to include persons who identify as men and are sexually or romantically attracted to others who identify as men.

Sexuality, like gender, can be fluid. Persons who are not sexually attracted to anyone, regardless of their gender are Asexual.

Bisexual persons are attracted to people of the same gender and of other genders.

Pansexual persons are emotionally, sexually, and romantically attracted to people regardless of their sex or gender identity.

LGBTQ = Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning

Pronouns

When I interviewed transgender students at UNF previously, they informed me that they do not use preferred pronouns but rather they use the pronouns that relate to their identity. Therefore, the preferred term is “Personal Pronouns.”

EOI challenges all faculty and staff to be mindful of the pronouns they use to address persons on campus. When you introduce yourself, consider providing your pronouns so the person you are meeting knows that you are sensitive to this issue. It may make them feel more comfortable sharing their pronouns with you. When in doubt, call the person by their name.

Preferred Names

Please be mindful that class rosters will sometimes list a student’s legal name, as referred to as dead name with the preferred name in parenthesis. A dead name refers to the name assigned at birth Please DO NOT CALL the dead name during roll call. Rather just call the name in parenthesis. When a dead name is called, the student will feel uncomfortable especially when other students in the class were not previously aware of the dead name.

Gender Discrimination in the LGBTQ Community

Members of the LGBTQ community have experienced discrimination in employment, housing, education, and healthcare. According to WHO, there are 13 countries that criminalize transgender people and where it is illegal to change your gender in 47 countries. An additional 69 countries criminalize homosexuality.

In 1990, WHO removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders and instead recognized it as a natural variant of human sexuality. In 2018, India overturned a law that criminalized homosexuality and declared that it is unconstitutional and violates the fundamental rights of community members.

Resources for More Information

EOI is sharing these resources for you to educate yourselves about gender identity and sexuality. This listing is not an endorsement regarding the content of the information.

Documentaries


 

Movies

Moonlight (2017) United States

This 74th Golden Globes Award-winning movie became the first LGBTQ film with an all-Black cast. The coming-of-age film presents three stages of Chiron’s (Alex Hibbert) life: youth, adolescence, and early adulthood. The movie captures the difficulty he faces in discovering his identity and sexuality as a result of physical and emotional abuse he experienced in the past.

Call Me By Your Name (2017) United States

Set in 1983, this movie explores how being queer was still widely taboo and how individuals of all ages come to accept their sexuality.

Blue Is The Warmest Colour (2013) France, Belgium, Spain

A 15-year-old introverted girl named Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos) becomes confused over her sexuality after establishing eye contact with a woman, Emma (Léa Seydoux), on the street. She continuously has vivid fantasies about the woman and realizes that going out with a male friend from school did not feel right. On a chance encounter, she bumps into Emma in a bar and the film highlights their journey.  

Tomboy (2011) France

“Tomboy” tells the story of a 10-year-old girl, Laure (Zoe Heran) who pretends to be a boy named Mikael. The movie depicts Laure’s mental and physical development as she tries transforming herself into a new gender identity.

Tentang Dia / About Her (2005) Indonesia

“About Her” portrays the story of a schoolgirl named Gadis (Sigi Wimala) who comes close to running over a pedestrian with her car. Gadis apologizes to the poor woman, Rudi (Adinia Wirasti) who happens to be working at a food stall she likes to visit. The two women become close The film explores self-acceptance with sexuality

The Blossoming Of Maximo Oliveros (2005) Philippines

Maxi, short for Maximo (Nathan Lopez), is a boy who lives in the slums with his father and brothers who are petty thieves. Although the movie does focus on romance, it takes a hard look at how gender identity is perceived and portrays a family who fully accepts their son, no matter what.

Non-fiction Books

• Trans Forming Families: Real Stories About Transgendered Loved Ones, Mary Boenke (editor).
• Transparent: Love, Family, and Living the T with Transgender Teenagers, Chris Beam.
• Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink or Blue, Leslie Feinberg
• Transgender Warriors: Making History from Joan of Arc to Dennis Rodman, Leslie Feinberg
• Genderqueer: Voices from Beyond the Sexual Binary Joan Nestle, Riki Wilchins, and Clare Howell
• Read My Lips: Sexual Subversion and the End of Gender, Riki Wilchins
• Gender Shock: Exploding the Myths of Male and Female, Phyllis Bur

Websites

• Gender Education and Advocacy (GEA)
  GEA is an organization that educates and advocates for transgender people as well as all people who suffer from gender-based oppression. Their website gender.org offers resources and links to organizations across the United States.
• Gender and Sexuality
  This page on the eServer, a digital humanities venture based at Iowa State University, publishes texts which address gender studies and queer studies, with a particular focus upon discussions of sex, gender, sexual identity, and sexuality in cultural practices.
• Intersex Society of North America
  This site provides up-to-date information about the intersex movement as well as general information about the issues involving intersex children, youth, and adults.
• Transgender Training Resources of the Oberlin College Multicultural Resource Center
  Includes common definitions, resource lists, information on gender neutral pronouns, a trans accessibility worksheet, and resources for allies.

Spring 2023 Training Courses

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INVESTIGATIONS

Total EOI Investigations  

Current EOI Investigations 2022-2023

 *As of September 30, 2022

 **Note: Cases involving students must be closed by EOI before it can be referred to DOS. 

EOI Office Staff Directory

Director and Title IX Coordinator
Marlynn Jones, Esquire
marlynn.jones@unf.edu

Title IX and Civil Rights Investigator and Deputy Title IX Coordinator
Fantei Norman
fantei.norman@unf.edu

EOI Investigator
Leslie Hicks
leslie.Hicks@unf.edu  

EOI Coordinator
Courtney Monts
c.monts@unf.edu