About a year ago, when I was about six months pregnant, I was at an event I had designed and organized, which incorporated stories and creative expressions of gender diversity in Bangladesh. At the event, a stranger humbly expressed his curiosity about the topic of the event. After a brief discussion, he hesitantly asked what a transgender person’s genitalia looked like. Assuming that he wanted to know about the sex organs of intersex individuals, I said what I always offer as an answer to this curiosity — it’s a diverse possibility, that it is exactly as it sounds like — anything between the male and female genitalia. Therefore, only an intersex person can tell what their sex organ looks like. He then said that he was wondering if an intersex person could bear a child because he couldn’t help overhearing me talking to my friend, and was very surprised to hear that I was pregnant. That is when I realized that not only did he not know the difference between transgender and intersex, but he also had assumed that everyone working on gender diversity had to be a transgender or intersex person. Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon scenario in Bangladesh. The sad reality is that the average perception of gender in Bangladesh is quite vague and misinformed. Sex and gender are often used interchangeably, and people rarely know the difference between transgender and intersex, or between sex and sexuality. To add to the confusion, in January 2014, the Bangladesh government officially gave recognition to hijras as the third gender/sex, with no clear definition or explanation whatsoever. Transgenders and intersex individuals are often considered to be hijras, and all these identities experience similar backlash from conservative sectors of society as homosexuals. Homosexuality is an entirely different and significant debate, given the murder of Avijit Roy, the writer of “Somokamita” (Homosexuality) in 2015, and Xulhaz Mannan and Mahbub Rabby Tonoy, the LGBTQ+ rights activists in 2016. Sexuality is a binary concept, and only heterosexual relationships are socially and legally acceptable in Bangladesh. Homosexuality is a punishable offense under the Bangladeshi Penal Code 1860, Section 377. I would like to keep the topic of sexuality aside while I try to clear the fog around gender identities in Bangladesh, specifically trans identities. In November 2023, transgender activist Hochemin Islam was refused entry to North South University while all set to speak at an event at the private university entitled Women's Career Carnival. A particular faction of students protested her presence, claiming that she was there to promote LGBTQ+ communities. When I was writing this piece, the authorities of BRAC University had already terminated Asif Mahtab Utsha, an adjunct faculty at the philosophy department, after he criticized the addition of a transgender topic in a textbook, which was followed by a backlash, either supporting or criticizing his stand. Such incidents highlight not only the widespread ignorance about trans identity among the general public but also possible deliberate provocations from some quarters, fueled by religious sentiment, which had been seen to be fatal in the past. Hence, It is crucial to find a peaceful balance between facts and assumptions while educating an uninitiated audience on the concept of gender beyond binary identities. It is essential to clarify the hijra identity while talking about gender diversity in Bangladesh, because hijra is not a gender identity, to begin with. It is a cultural identity of eunuchs, intersex people, or transgender people who live in communities that follow a kinship system that upholds unique community values, social hierarchy, economic practices, language, profession, religious beliefs, and lifestyles — an independent subculture, in a way. Even though many hijras are transgenders, and some are intersex, all transgenders and intersex individuals are not necessarily hijras. Being a hijra requires a formal initiation and a process of socialization within the community. By recognizing hijras as the third gender, the government has tagged a cultural identity as gender, which inspired further conflict within the communities of gender-based minorities battling for recognition and rights. The general stigma around sex and sex education in Bangladesh makes the matter worse by convoluted discussions that deliberately avoid specific technical details and lived experiences. As basic as it might sound, understanding the difference between intersex and transgender requires understanding the difference between sex and gender. Sex is biological, and gender is sociocultural. Male and female are sexes, while man and woman are genders.