Throughout our courses, and in our wider digital content, we will talk about girls, women and females. But it’s vital we include a discussion about sex and gender.

We want our content to be inclusive, and to support anyone who thinks they can benefit from learning about the female body and how that connects to health, wellbeing and performance. Talking about being female, or being a woman, can mean very different things to different people. So allow us to share with you our 101 of sex and gender so you know where we’re coming from, and what we mean when we use these terms.

Someone’s sex is biological – XX chromosomes make a female, and XY chromosomes make a male. That seems straightforward but the reality is not: we are understanding more now about infants born with intersex conditions where their genitals or reproductive system don’t match the typical definitions of male or female. Gender is a complex combination of cultural, social, biological and psychological factors. It’s how we look, act and feel. In a lot of people, biological sex aligns with their gender identity, for example a baby born with a penis and XY chromosomes grows up identifying as a boy or man. This is often referred to as cisgender. In people whose biological sex and gender identity don’t match, for example a baby born with female genitals, XX chromosomes but who grows up identifying as a boy or man, terminology varies but includes terms like transgender and gender non-binary.

In our courses we talk using terms like girl, woman or female. Unless we say otherwise, when we use these terms we are referring to people who were born with female genitals and two XX chromosomes; who were raised as girls and now identify as women. We are very aware that many people don’t fit this traditional classification.

As part of our work, we will also share our own stories. The Well’s co-founders are straight, cisgendered women, but we are not implying that our experiences represent the experiences of other women or all women.

Discussion of intersex and transgender people in sport is hugely important. While the inclusion of that discussion would enrich our courses, it is beyond our current expertise. Yet we aim, aspire and hope we can bring you stories and lessons learned as we grow and advance in our understanding.