• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Cade Hildreth

Everything You SHOULD'VE Been Taught in School.

MENUMENU
  • Blog
  • Finance
    • Investing
    • Increasing Income
    • Financial Q&A
  • Real Estate
  • Crypto
  • Lifestyle
    • LGBTQ+
    • Fitness
    • Nutrition
    • Nutrition Q&A
    • Confidence
  • Podcast
    • Audio Feed of the Website
    • "What You Should've Been Taught"
  • About
    • Testimonials
    • About Cade
    • Rugby Bio
    • Instagram
    • Shop
    • Contact
You are here: Home / LGBTQ+ / The Gender Spectrum: A Scientist Explains Why Gender Isn’t Binary
The Gender Spectrum: A Scientist Explains Why Gender Isn’t Binary

The Gender Spectrum: A Scientist Explains Why Gender Isn’t Binary

January 9, 2021 By Cade Hildreth 20 Comments

The gender spectrum is an understanding that gender is not binary, but rather a spectrum of biological, mental and emotional traits that exist along a continuum.

In contrast, the gender binary—also called gender binarism or genderism—is a belief that gender is composed of two distinct and opposite genders (women/men) in which there is not overlap.

Unfortunately for those who believe in a gender binary, it is not scientifically or medically correct. Gender can’t be binary, because it is a personal identity and is socially constructed.

Sex, which refers to one’s biological characteristics, also exists as a spectrum, because intersex people exist. A person’s sex can be female, male, or intersex—which can present as an infinite number of biological combinations.

Today, numerous scientific fields, including biology, endocrinology, physiology, genetics, neuroscience, and reproductive science, have confirmed that both sex and gender exist as a spectrum.

This is true for humans and across the animal kingdom.

Gender Spectrum vs. Sex Spectrum

When using the terms sex and gender, it is important to note that “sex” (female/male/intersex) describes biological traits. In contrast, “gender” is a broader term that reflects how a person lives within society. One’s gender identity could be woman, man, transgender, nonbinary, or an infinite number of other possibilities.

Because gender is a personal identity, is socially constructed, and has limitless possibilities, it takes no further explanation to explain why it is a spectrum.

Therefore, when people question the existence of a gender spectrum, what they are usually questioning is the existence of a sex spectrum. 

Sex (and Gender) are Bimodal, Not Binary

For all too long, the government, the medical system, and even our parents have assumed that sex is binary. Based on science, this is not biologically or medically accurate.

What is true is that sex characteristics tend to be bimodal, meaning there are clusters of characteristics that tend to be associated with people that we call “female” or “male.”

On average, males do have penises, and on average, females do have vaginas. This is what allows for reproduction. However, there are many examples where this is not the case, such as intersex people. External genitals (a biological marker of sex) present across a spectrum from full-size penis to small penis to micro-penis to clitoromegaly to enlarged clitoris to standard-sized clitoris.

On average, males tend to have XY chromosomes and females tend to have XX chromosomes. However, sex chromosomes come in a wide variety as well, with at least 16 different naturally occurring variations (see details below). This means that chromosomal presentation is not binary either.

On average, males tend to have more facial and body hair than females (a secondary sex characteristic), but there are also females with coarse and dense body hair and males who can’t grow a full beard.

On average, males tend to be taller than females, but there are most certainly females that are taller than some males. If skeletal structure (a biological marker of sex) was binary, then all males would have to be taller than all females, which of course, they are not.

As explained by these examples, sex is not binary, because people cannot be grouped into two separate, non-overlapping groups.

However, bimodal sex characteristics are not uncommon.

Bimodal means the presence of two (“bi”) statistical modes, which can be seen as peaks in a graph. The two modes represent probability clusters.

Sex and Gender Spectrum - Bimodal not binary

With regard to human sex, this means that for some sex characteristics, there may be common norms among people whom we tend to assign as “male” and “female.” However, there are also clearly overlaps present between the peaks. This is what makes sex bimodal, and not binary.

Finally, at risk of getting too mathematical, a bimodal distribution is by definition, a continuous probability distribution with two different modes.

In other words, biological sex is a spectrum that has clusters. 

If sex is a spectrum, then gender is unquestionably a spectrum, because gender includes aspects of biological sex, interwoven with how a person lives within society and self identifies.

Why Genitals Do Not Determine Sex

With regard to assigning sex to people by their external genitalia, it is an inaccurate system at best. There are several reasons for this, as described below.

1) External Genitalia Are Diverse

In newborn humans, genitals are extremely diverse in size and shape. Until about week 7 to week 8 of pregnancy, all fetuses have what’s known as a “genital ridge.”

This genital ridge is the tissue that eventually becomes the sex organs.

At the time of birth, a newborn’s genitals are usually labeled by a physician as male or female, even if the newborn presents with sex organs or characteristics that are intersex, ambiguous, or undefined. In a few places, such as Ontario (Canada), 19 U.S. states, and Washington, DC, “nonbinary” or “gender unspecified” options now exist, but this is not yet the norm.

All sex organs come from the same genital ridge, with the testes in men being equivalent to labia and ovaries in women and the penis being equivalent to the clitoris.

This is why the penis and vagina do not exist as a binary, but rather, as a spectrum that includes the following:

  • Full-size penis
  • Small penis
  • Micro-penis
  • Clitoromegaly, also called a “Pseudopenis”
  • Enlarged clitoris
  • Standard-sized clitoris

2) Intersex People Exist

Intersex means that a person was born with variations in their sex characteristics, such as the biological markers described above. These can include: internal genitals, external genitals, gonads, chromosomes, gene expression, hormone levels, receptor sensitivity, and brain structure.

Current research estimates that intersex people compose 1.7% of the population, which makes being intersex about as common as having red hair.

However, this metric is understated for the following reasons:

  1. Most doctors, parents, or individuals don’t release this confidential medical information.
  2. There are subtle forms of sex variations that do not show up until later in life which go undocumented.
  3. Definitions of what intersex is have not reached consensus.
  4. There are at least 10 biologically relevant markers of sex (described below), and all but one (external genitals) are not routinely assessed.

The following examples explain this lack of consensus:

    • How small does a penis have to be before it counts as intersex?
    • Do you count sex chromosome variations if there’s no external sexual ambiguity?
    • Do unusually high or low sex hormone levels (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone) make someone intersex?
    • If so, how high or low must these hormones levels be and where is the “cut-off?” (The Olympic Committee has struggled mightily with this question.) 
    • How do you classify someone whose secondary sex characteristics (body hair, facial hair, or muscle mass, for example) don’t match their genitals?

As these questions illuminate, sex may present as a spectrum for people who have not been classified as intersex, as well as those who have.

What about Chromosomes?

While chromosomes are another biological trait that some people try to use to explain the sex binary (male/female), chromosomes are also varied and diverse across the human species. On average, most people assigned male at birth have XY chromosomes, while most people assigned female at birth have XX chromosomes.

However, other sex chromosomal variations frequently exist as a result of the loss, damage, or addition of one or both of the sex chromosomes.

Chromosomes and Gender

In humans, the following sex chromosome variations are naturally occurring:

  • 45, X, also called Turner syndrome
  • 45,X/46, also called XY mosaicism
  • 46, XX/XY
  • 47, XXX, also called  Trisomy X
  • 47, XXY, also called Klinefelter syndrome
  • 47, XYY with normal phenotype
  • 48, XXXX
  • 48, XXXY
  • 48, XXYY
  • 49, XXXXY
  • 49, XXXXX
  • XX Male Syndrome
  • XX Gonadal Dysgenesis
  • XY Gonadal Dysgenesis

Where Gonadal Dysgenesis is listed above, it refers to reproductive tissue (gonads) being replaced by non-reproductive fibrous tissue during prenatal development.

Furthermore, even a newborn born with “binary” sex chromosomes (XY or XX) can present with intersex characteristics.

For example, either the fetus or the mother’s adrenal glands can produce elevated levels of androgens. When this happens, an XX (“female”) child can be born with a phallus (small penis). In some cases, these newborns may will appear to have a scrotum, due to the labia fusing together.

Similarly, an XY (“male”) child can be born with an enzyme deficiency, such as 5-alpha deficiency and 17-beta dehydrogenase deficiency. When this happens, that “male” infant can be born without a penis and labelled “female” at birth.

Other biological conditions can create similar incongruities between chromosomes and genitals. This is why it’s unfortunate that federal and state-issued documents use external genitalia to make a sex assignments.

The 10 Biological Markers of Sex

As a nonbinary person, I have heard people say things like, “Gender is determined by what is in your pants. If you have a penis you are a man. If you have a vagina, you are a woman.”

As we’ve already addressed, gender incorporates personal identity, so it is unquestionably a spectrum. Biological sex is also complex, and across all species, exists as a spectrum. With regard to this specific statement, external genitals are highly variable, may be ambiguous, and both male and female sex organs can be present.

More importantly, this statement is incomplete from a biological perspective.

While sex has traditionally been assigned based on external genitalia, this approach neglects that there are at least 10 biologically relevant markers of sex (and likely more).

Biological markers of sex include:

  1. Chromosomes – Types of chromosomal expression.
  2. Gonads – Organs that produce gametes (testes or ovaries).
  3. Hormones –Types and level of hormone secretion, which vary within and across the sexes.
  4. Secondary Sex Characteristics – Features that appear during puberty, but are not involved with reproduction.
  5. External Genitalia – Genitals visible outside the body.
  6. Internal Genitalia – Genitals present within the body.
  7. Skeletal Structure – Sex differences may be seen in the pelvis, jaw bone, brow, and limb length and thickness.
  8. Gene Expression –Levels and types of gene expression. Genes dictate the proteins made by the body. Known genes that impact sex include DMRT1, SRY (produces Testis-Determining Factor), and Foxl 2.
  9. Brain Structure – Brain structure characteristics (including the ratio of white matter to grey matter) and brain activation patterns vary by sex.
  10. Hormone Receptor Sensitivity – The response to sex hormones can vary, depending on receptor sensitivity. Some individuals may be partially or completely insensitive to hormones, negating their effect.

Given that there are 10 biologically relevant markers of human sex, using external genitalia is at best, a partial assessment. In some cases, it is wholly incorrect.

For example, it would be easy to identify a person with a vagina as female, but this person could also present with “male” gene expression or androgen insensitivity or an intersex brain structure. The same is true for someone who presents with a penis.

If you want to assess gender instead of sex, then you also have to add an 11th marker, which is personal identity. Personal identity is how a person self-identifies. This is often a result of many of the other factors interacting, making it a valuable scientific marker as well.

Gender and the Brain

The brain is another biological marker of both sex and gender that presents with great diversity, further supporting the concept of a sex (and gender) spectrum.

In a fascinating study published May 2018 by the European Society of Endocrinology researchers discovered, “Brain activity and structure in transgender adolescents more closely resembles the typical activation patterns of their desired gender.”

When MRI scans of 160 transgender youths were analyzed using a technique called diffusion tensor imaging, the brains of transgender boys’ resembled that of cisgender boys’, while the brains of transgender girls’ brains resembled the brains of cisgender girls’.

Put simply, transgender kids’ brains resemble their gender identity and not their biological sex.

Cisgender means that a person’s gender identity aligns with the sex assigned to them at birth, while transgender means a person’s gender identity does not align with the sex assigned to them at birth.

Gender and the brain

As stated by Julie Bakker, lead researcher from the University of Liege, “We now have evidence that sexual differentiation of the brain differs in young people with [gender dysphoria], as they show functional brain characteristics that are typical of their desired gender.”

This study explored the brains of cis girls, cis boys, trans girls and trans boys. The next step is for more sexes and genders to become integrated within this neuroscience research.

The Role of the Mind versus the Brain

Of course, the brain and the mind are also two different things.

The brain is the physical structure in your head that is composed of grey and white matter. It has neurons firing within it and uses neurotransmitters as chemicals messengers.

The brain can be thought of as your central processor, because it integrates and facilitates all of the functions within your body.

As noted by Julie Bakker (lead researcher in the MRI study above) and others, brain structure and activation patterns present along a spectrum.

The mind, on the other hand, is the conscious product of that biological activity that creates emotions, ideas, memories, interpretations, and creative thought.

It determines your personality, plays a role in how you prefer to present, and impacts how you interact with the world. The mind plays a central role in your gender identity.

Sex and Gender Identification at Birth

As described above, external genitals are not an accurate marker of sex to use at birth, because they are one of at least 10 biologically relevant markers of sex. External genitals are also highly variable, may be ambiguous, and can have both male and female sex organs present.

Furthermore, performing this gender assignment at birth based on external genitals does allow a physician to integrate information about the child’s internal genitals, gonads, chromosomes, gene expression, skeletal structure, brain structure, hormone receptivity, and most importantly, how the child will grow up and express themselves within society.

While I am not opposed to the option to note sex on a child’s birth certificate, I am opposed to:

  1. The requirement that parents select a sex for their child. Parents should be allowed not to indicate a sex for their child if this is their preference.
  2. Binary options for sex, when it is clear that sex exists along a spectrum. At the very least, there should be the option to choose Female (F), Male (M), or Other (X).
  3. That sex being glued to a child for the rest of their life, unless they present medical papers to prove otherwise.

Gender is not binary

Sex versus Gender

Although it has been useful to consider sex and gender separately for the sake of this analysis, it should be mentioned that they are not fully separate from each other.

Across many cultures, they are intertwined.

Examples of this include:

  • Two-Spirited People for Native American/First Nations people
  • Hijra for South Asian people (also known as Kinnar or Kinner)
  • Māhū for Kanaka Maoli (Hawaiian) and Maohi (Tahitian) cultures
  • Fakaleiti for Tongans
  • Ffa’afafine for Samoans
  • And many others

One of the people who has done a phenomenal job of deconstructing the concept that sex and gender are separate is Alok Vaid-Menon.

Alok describes the prevailing idea that gender is “cultural” and exterior and sex is “biological” as neglectful of the fact that biological sex is also cultural. Alok explains that in contrast to Western beliefs, many other cultures do not perceive clothing or adornment as a supplement to the body, but as foundational to its constitution.

Gender Diversity Across the Animal Kingdom

Finally, gender diversity is widely present across the animal kingdom. For example, seahorses, pipefish, and sea dragons all have pregnancy as a male reproductive process. In these species, the male fertilizes eggs that are deposited within a pouch in his belly and then he carries his developing embryos until they are ready to be birthed.

In another example, female spotted hyenas have a pseudo-penis that is capable of erection and can be as much as 90% the size of a male hyena’s penis.

They have two fleshy masses at the base of their pseudopenis that contain fat and connective tissue which appear analogous to a scrotum. Where you’d expect there to be a vagina, spotted hyena females have fused labia. Female spotted hyenas also dominate males behaviorally.

Chickens can also naturally undergo gender changes. This is because female chickens only use one functional ovary on their left side. However, they have two sex organs that are present from their embryonic stage onward through their lifespan. If the left ovary shrinks within a hen, then its right gonad may start secreting androgens, turning the hen into a rooster.

In short, sex and gender exist as a spectrum for humans and animals (and in fact, plants too). We might as well embrace it, because after all, natural variation has caused the rise of our species to 7.8 billion strong!


AUTHOR BIO: Cade Hildreth attended Dartmouth College & Smith College for Undergraduate Studies in Biology and then acquired a Master’s Degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with Specialization in Biotechnology & Bioinformatics from Georgetown University, where they were Valedictorian. Cade is the Founder/President of BioInformant.com, the world’s largest stem cell industry news site that attracts nearly one million views per year and serves all-star clients that include GE Healthcare, Pfizer, and Goldman Sachs. Cade has authored over one-thousand articles about the stem cells, interviewed hundreds of executives from across the industry, and presents at stem cell conferences worldwide. As a media expert on stem cells, Cade has been interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Business Journal, Xconomy, and Vogue Magazine. As a professional real estate investor, Cade owns a portfolio of income-producing residential and commercial properties across the U.S.


Do you have questions about the gender spectrum? Ask them in the comments below or contact me here.

Interested to learn more? Click here to join nearly two million other readers or connect with Cade on Instagram.

View the Portugese translation here.

4.6/5 - (1036 votes)

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: LGBTQ+ Tagged With: gender, intersex, nonbinary, transgender

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kris says

    December 4, 2021 at 1:43 am

    There is a blood test than can check your chromosomes. I found that I am mosaic turner’s by complete accident while looking for something else all together at the age of 29. It made so much of my existence make sense. So I have an incomplete x and several pieces of Y. This article touches on my chromosome abnormality and so much more, and I felt seen and understood reading this.
    Thank you, Cade.

    Reply
  2. Helen Silvis says

    November 2, 2021 at 11:13 am

    Thank you Cade I now feel confident about explaining why bio sex is a spectrum and my feelings about self ID have changed

    Reply
  3. Adam says

    September 28, 2021 at 3:50 am

    I followed everything besides how the size of a penis or an enlarged clit is relevant. Only part I didn’t quite understand, but I would love to hear why.

    Reply
  4. Holly says

    August 28, 2021 at 7:51 pm

    Holy crap this article is amazing!! Thank you for writing it so I could learn this! I came in with the private opinion that your genitals “make you” one sex or the other and that people that become trans must do so as a response to some kind of trauma in their lives to emotionally survive. But wow this is such compelling information to the contrary! I can see there are many biological (not environmental) reasons why someone could be trans now. And the existence of 10 sex indicators and the intersex spectrum completely (and rightly) dissolves that inner theory of mine. So thank you for teaching me. I’m so glad I was directed to look up the existence of other sexes besides male and female and found your article. Thanks for taking the time to write it so people with opinions like mine can learn this information and update their understanding accordingly. 🙏🏼 Sorry I held the view I did before.

    Reply
  5. Tj Gundling says

    July 17, 2021 at 4:30 pm

    I teach an Introduction to Transgender Studies course at my university, and as an anthropologist I take an approach that is intentionally and intensively biocultural. This is to say that it is a fool’s errand to try and tease out the biological from the cultural, and vice-versa, especially as pertains to Homo sapiens.
    The distinction of bimodal vs. binary is very useful, and I will incorporate this into my Unit on Intersex/DSD. If students can be persuaded, BY THE EVIDENCE, that biosex exists in clusters yet along a continuum, resistance to conceptualizing gender in an analogous manner will be greatly reduced.
    Thanks!

    Reply
  6. Natalie Baker says

    June 4, 2021 at 2:43 pm

    This article is excellent.

    Reply
  7. Roman says

    May 15, 2021 at 8:43 pm

    Extremely helpful! I’m writing an essay for school about gender identity, and this helped me a lot! Also, as a non-binary person, it was very validating and enlightening. Thank you for writing this!

    Reply
  8. Sean says

    February 25, 2021 at 5:16 pm

    Absolutely best and most helpful explanation I have ever read. Thank you.

    Reply
  9. Brian says

    December 27, 2020 at 5:36 pm

    Wonderful article, Cade! This is a fascinating and important topic which needs to be thoroughly examined – as you are doing – in order for society to evolve and find ways to help all people feel welcome and accepted.
    I have long believed gender and sex are on a continuum and I was pleased to see your explanation of the bimodal reality of both these attributes.
    A point of confusion arose for me when you mentioned you are non-binary. How can this be possible if there isn’t a binary? Shouldn’t one say non-bimodal or intersex…or intergender? I feel the non-binary term assumes a binary which, as you point out, doesn’t exist. How can one be non-binary if there isn’t a binary? And, in a sense, those who don’t wish to be known as non-binary but also don’t identify as “typical male” or “typical female” – but believe in the continuum – are a bit “imprisoned” by a term that assumes a binary.
    I would love your thoughts here if you have the chance to respond.
    Many thanks for your thoughtfully written and super informative article.

    Reply
    • marlene says

      January 31, 2021 at 8:16 pm

      non-binary is a necessary term for a society that widely believes in a binary gender system / functions with a binary gender system, even if that system doesnt make sense. so as long as this is the dominant perception of gender, people who dont identify as men or women have the non-binary label to describe that

      Reply
  10. Gerardo Heredia says

    June 29, 2020 at 12:33 pm

    Fascinating article. What I don’t have clear now is about those who identify as nongender. Is it possible no to have a gender? Does that mean they have not developed their identity?. I also was reading about the brain plasticity and how it is not a proof that gender is binary as it evolves according to our experiences and what we learn that happens to be determined by boys do this and girls do that. So that would also mean that the brain differences and changes would be irrelevant for gender identity as well if boys or girls start having experiences out of the social role assigned to their sex. I’d like to know your point of view on this.

    Reply
  11. Nana says

    June 21, 2020 at 2:46 pm

    I like that this article takes a more neutral approach than other LGBTQ+ claims supposed to be “based on scientific facts” (or is it just because the article itself is too vague and thus does not touch the bottom of the sex =/= gender issue?).

    This article shows that non-binary+trans genders exist naturally (as opposed to artificially).
    However, this leads to the ever-debated question of “Do parents have to let their child take hormonal treatment/surgery if their child identify more to a certain gender? And if yes, starting at what age?”, which is basically one of the two core gender issues of society today, the other one being the recognition of sex/gender differentiation by governements + “normal” population + LGBTQ+ population (yes, even the LGBTQ+ population has issues identifying and separating both!).

    Unfortunately, these issues are sociological and not biological, so they can only be solved by the continuing effort of communication to the “normal” population and governments by the LGBTQ+ population, in order to make society evolve toward a model where they will be recognized and accepted.

    However, this is truly a good and short enough article to refute all the ever-so-present arguments about non-binary genders being mind constructs!

    Reply
    • Jordan Lundenburg says

      December 10, 2020 at 3:50 am

      Hello! It’s important to be mindful of what a child says. If your kid’s sex is female and they begin to experiment with the idea of being more of something else, then acknowledge that. Personally, If my kid were to be having these thoughts around 5, I’d brush it off and see where it goes. If they’re still having these thoughts a year or two later, I would take them out to the store and get them clothes they’d be more comfortable in, start using the pronouns they want. See how they feel. If it ends up not being for them, that’s fine. If it is then I’d wait till puberty to get hormone blockers. If they want surgery, It would be at a time where I feel they’re mature enough to make the decision. Like 16. They can always do it themself at 18 anyway.

      Reply
  12. Simon B says

    January 17, 2020 at 10:36 am

    A very well written piece on sex and gender, which I intend to share with all my friends. I’m just a cishet guy, and my mum gave me this observation way back in the 1960s. She said, “Everybody’s different, but we are all human beings”, she really was an intelligent woman.

    Reply
  13. Finn says

    January 16, 2020 at 6:48 pm

    well done! thank you!

    Reply
  14. Erica Pelz says

    January 15, 2020 at 3:16 pm

    Thank you for an exceptionally well written piece on the spectrums of gender and sex. I’ll add this to my list of reference material, and look up the studies you referenced. By chance would you be willing to share the bibliography? I’m sure I can find it but would save me some digging. Thabks again!

    Reply
    • Allison Kasper says

      January 21, 2021 at 10:56 pm

      Hey, please let me know if you found that bibliography! I am a student at the University of Illinois at Chicago and I would love to read more into this. Thanks!

      Reply
  15. Ali Su says

    January 15, 2020 at 7:10 am

    How does one find out their sex genes? Is there somewhere to get tested. I identify as gender queer not transgender. Born female but always felt neutral about gender. Was wondering if maybe I have more than two X

    Reply
  16. JK says

    January 14, 2020 at 11:15 pm

    Great breakdown of a topic that comes up a lot with some religious/transphobic people in my life. I find this info extremely helpful!

    Reply
  17. Jason Masters says

    January 6, 2020 at 5:26 pm

    Excellent summary

    Reply

Tell Us What You Think! Cancel reply

Primary Sidebar

  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • TikTok

“As an LGBTQ+ entrepreneur, real estate investor, former USA Rugby Player, and fitness fanatic, I’ll teach you what your parents and teachers should’ve taught you, but didn’t know themselves.” -Cade Hildreth

Want to know what I learned making my first few million? Subscribe here.

Or, listen to Cade’s articles on the go as a Podcast.

⚠️Were you taught these 6 rules for revealing ⚠️Were you taught these 6 rules for revealing ab definition? ✅/❌

1. Eat a High Protein Breakfast: Protein keeps you full for a long time, is calorically sensible (only 4 calories per gram), and is required for new muscle growth. Kick your day off right. 

2. Own the “Big Four”: The squat, deadlift, bench press, and shoulder press are killer foundational lifts for physique improvement.

3. Whey Protein: Drink a whey protein shake during and/or after your workout. It’s a rapidly digested protein that will facilitate immediate muscle recovery.

4. Increase Your Training Volume: Your reps x your sets (total # of lifts) is your primary driver of muscle growth, called hypertrophy. If you want to see your abs, you’ll need muscle definition. 

5. Short Rest Periods: Stop scrolling your phone and limit your rest to 30 to 60 seconds between sets. This promotes muscle growth by releasing muscle-building hormones.

6. Have a Casein Shake Before Bed: Bedtime is your primary period of muscle growth and recovery (an anabolic period). Take advantage of your sleep—and the full 24 hr clock—by drinking this slow digesting protein before bed. 😴

Were you taught these 6 rules for revealing ab definition? Leave a yes (✅) or no (❌) below to let me know… ⬇️ 

.
.
.
.
.
#nonbinary #enby #genderless #gendernonconforming #genderfluid #genderqueer #lgbtqia #lgbtqcommunity #lgbtsupport #theythem
5 lessons I’ve learned from the school of hard k 5 lessons I’ve learned from the school of hard knocks:

1. Being who I truly am in a beacon to those who resonate with it. It is the most effective way I have found to attract the “resonate” people into my life and repel the “dissonant” ones. 

2. Pain is a good thing. The more pain you feel, the faster you move. Put your hand on a hot stove and watch how fast you move. 

This principle is also true for emotional pain. 

3. I feel proudest of myself not when I set a PR in gym or meet a revenue goal, but when I am emotionally courageous. 

Stepping toward my fears strengthens my respect for myself. 

4. When I communicate from a deep truth, the communication usually goes well—even when the topic or content of the conversation is controversial. It’s hard to say exactly why, but I think it’s because having a deep relaxation in your truth signals to the other person that you are not an adversary. 

Either way, I only control the outgoing communication, so speaking my truth—and not the other person’s reaction—is the component that matters. 

5. If I’m honest with myself, I don’t fear situations. Rather, I fear the feelings that my mind tells me these situations could create. 

Therefore, embracing my full set of emotions—especially the hard ones—feels like a superpower, because it means I can step toward any situation. 

Which of these truths resonated with you…or perhaps caused you to reflect? ✨💛

 

#lgbtqia #lgbtqpride #lgbtq #nonbinary #enby #trans #genderfluid #genderless #genderneutral #bigender #wisdom #theythem
Maya Angelou becomes first Black woman to appear o Maya Angelou becomes first Black woman to appear on U.S. quarter ✨

The U.S. Mint is issuing quarters featuring writer and civil rights activist Maya Angelou — making her the first Black woman to be featured on a quarter-dollar.

The new 25-cent coin will feature Angelou from the hips up, with her arms uplifted, a bird in flight and a rising sun behind her — “images inspired by her poetry and symbolic of the way she lived,” according to the U.S. Mint. 

To the right are the words “e pluribus unum,” Latin for “out of many, one,” a phrase also on the national seal. 

The agency will issue four other quarters this year, with the others honoring Sally Ride, an astronaut who was the first American woman in space; Asian American actress Anna May Wong; Cherokee Nation leader Wilma Mankiller and suffragette and politician Nina Otero-Warren.

Leave a “❤️” below you agree this is long overdue…
.
.
.
.
.
Sources: 
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/01/11/maya-angelou-us-quarter-coin-mint/

https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/10/politics/maya-angelou-quarter-issued/index.html

#representationmatters #diversity #diversityandinclusion #diversitymatters #blacklivesmatter #blackhistory #empoweredwomen #strongwomen #blackleaders #femaleleaders
Oriini Kaipara, 37, has made history as the first Oriini Kaipara, 37, has made history as the first primetime news presenter with a face tattoo. 

Kaipara has a moko kauae, a traditional lower chin tattoo worn by Māori women. For Māori women the moko is a rite of passage that marks the passage between childhood and adulthood and symbolizes transformation.

The Auckland, NZ, mother-of-four read Newshub's 6pm news bulletin at the end of December. 

She got the tattoo after a DNA test in 2017 revealed she is 100% Māori. 

Māori are the indigenous people of mainland New Zealand (Aotearoa).
🇳🇿

As Oriini described, 'I'm very much aware that I'm the first [with moko kauae] to anchor a six o'clock primetime news bulletin. It's breaking new ground for us as Māori, but also for people of colour. Whether you've got a moko kauae or not.'

——

After living in Christchurch, New Zealand, for a year-and-a-half, this touches my heart. Progress!✨ 

Amazing to see this and congrats to Oriini (@oriinz)!! 

Read more at: http://shorturl.at/jsuN7

#diversity #diversityandinclusion #diversitymatters #inclusion #representationmatters #powerfulwomen #empoweredwomen #lgbtqia #lgbtqcommunity #nonbinary #theythem #maori #newzealand
Here are fun ways to get creative with your upper Here are fun ways to get creative with your upper body training… ✨💪🏽

It’s good to mix things up in the gym, both for the training stimulus and for the mental variation. 

You really don’t need a lot of equipment to train…your body weight will often do. 

The side-to-side variations in video 1 will create a greater training stimulus through your arms and shoulders, while the lateral pulls-up in video 2 will help build up your back and lats. 

As always, if it’s too hard to do these pull-up variations with your body weight, then either: 

- use bands to assist you
or, 
- train with a partner who can help lift you up 

Most importantly, have fun with your training, so you can look forward to it!

If you’d like to see more training tips, then let me know below what areas or muscle groups you’d like to target… ☺️⬇️
.
.
.
.
#lgbtqia #lgbtcommunity #lgbtqcommunity #queerfitness #lgbtfitness #nonbinary #genderfluid #fitnesstips #trainingtips
Where you’d spend the holidays? 🎁🎄 I’ve Where you’d spend the holidays? 🎁🎄

I’ve been tucked away in our cabin on the hill with all my favorite companions! 💍🐶🦴🐔

#lgbtqcommunity #lgbtcouple #lgbtsupport #lgbtfamily #nonbinary #genderless #theythem #holidays2021
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Recent Posts

Gender Spectrum

The Gender Spectrum: A Scientist Explains Why Gender Isn’t Binary

invest 5k

How to Invest 5K? Simple Ways to Multiply Your Money in 2022

crypto staking

What Is Crypto Staking, Anyway?

Tax deductible investments

6 Tax Deductible Investments To Supercharge Your Returns

managing rental properties

A Complete Guide to Managing Rental Properties

Categories

  • Confidence
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Exclude
  • Finance
  • Fitness
  • Increasing Income
  • Investing
  • LGBTQ+
  • Nutrition
  • Real Estate

Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

COPYRIGHT © 2019 · CADEHILDRETH.COM | PHONE: ‪(202) 660-4705‬  | 800 CORPORATE DRIVE, SUITE 301, STAFFORD, VA 22554, USA

 

*Disclaimer: Nothing on this site should be construed as medical, health, or financial advice. Before making any health decisions, you should consult with your doctor. Before making any financial decisions, you should consult with professional adviser, such as a financial planner or CPA.