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Spectrums are one of the most integral parts of LGBTQ+ identity, though can also be one of the most complicated. The Gender Unicorn here is going to help us explain some of the differences between these parts of identity.
Let's start with the difference between Sex Assigned at Birth and Gender Identity.
Here we have Sex Assigned at Birth which is the thing we're all familiar with - male and female. This is what doctor's say when a new baby is born, shouting 'it's a boy' or 'it's a girl' based on the genitalia. However, the Sex Assigned at Birth check boxes are a little misleading as in reality biological sex too is also more of a spectrum. For more information on the Sex spectrum check out our Intersex page.
Gender Identity on the other hand, is about your mind, not your body. This is how you view yourself and how you know yourself to be. For example if you are a cisgender man, then your Sex Assigned at Birth and your Gender Identity match. But for some people, they may not correlate at all. And you can place yourself at different points on each of the spectrums. People who don't identify with any of the binary genders, man and woman, may be higher up on the Other Genders spectrum with low points on the Man and Woman scale. Sometimes Gender Identity can change over time, and that's okay too. Gender identity is about who you are and that may or may not correlate to your Sex Assigned at Birth.
Gender Expression is separate from Gender Identity. Where Gender Identity is who you are, Gender Expression is how you present yourself to the world via clothes, hair, makeup etc. Your gender expression does not have to match the presentation traditionally associated with your gender. So in terms of these spectrums, Feminine and Masculine refer to the traditional gender certain clothes are associated with (and thus what people on the street may perceive your gender to be). But remember, clothes don't have a gender, so wear whatever fabric makes you feel the most comfortable.
Physical attraction is who you want to be physically intimate with. Emotional attraction is who you want to be in a relationship or be emotionally intimate with. These are referred to as your sexual orientation and your romantic orientation. These can be completely different from each other - someone might be physically attracted to men and women but only be romantically attracted to women. For these spectrums, you can also place yourself all the way to the left of all the sliders, meaning you have no physical or emotional attraction to anyone. People who have no physical attraction to anyone are known as asexual, people who have no emotional attraction to anyone are known as aromantic
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