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Gender
Ira
What is gender?
Gender refers to how a person understands and describes their inner self and their experience and role within their social and cultural context.
Although gender is a vast spectrum, we are often assigned a binary gender of boy or girl at birth based on our sex characteristics, but not everyone’s gender is the same as that which was assumed at birth.
Gender diversity in Aotearoa
The Growing Up in NZ study found that when asked about their gender identity:
- 46.2% of young people selected ‘Boy’.
- 37.8% of young people selected 'Girl'.
- 15% selected ‘Mostly a boy’, ‘Somewhere in the middle’, or ‘Mostly a girl’.
- Just over 1.1% of the sample said ‘I don’t know’.
The Youth ’19 report found approximately one out of every 100 respondents identified with a minority gender (e.g. trans, non-binary).
Prior to colonisation, gender fluidity was widely recognised and valued in te ao Māori.
Hear from young people
Hear from rainbow young people about their experiences in sport.
Hear from rainbow tamariki and whānau at primary and intermediate schools in Aotearoa.
Key contacts
Contact these organisations for additional support.
Organisational inclusivity
Improve your organisational policies, procedures and strategy.
Practice inclusivity
Improve your practices when working with diverse groups of participants.
Community Stories
For more information
Additional resources, stories and insights.
Read:
What do we really know about gender diversity in te ao Māori?
Rainbow Pasifika caregiver stories
Giving trans kid a sporting chance
Advocating for Women and Girls
Watch:
Selena Pirika - Te Ao Takatāpui
Alesha Ahdar - Te Ao Takatāpui
Young people’s perspectives on Gender, Sex, and Sexuality
Follow:
References
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Diversity, equity, and inclusion is a complex space and we are determined to continually evolve the Hub so the content remains up-to-date, relevant and useful. If you would like to submit an addition to the Hub for consideration, please let us know.
If you require an accessible version of any content on the site please contact us and we will be happy to assist.
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