Gender

Gender was a sense of identity relating to whether one was male, female, masculine, feminine, or anywhere along a diverse spectrum of gender identities. (PROSE: Island of Death) Gender was a fluid concept, varying from person to person, culture to culture, and species to species. (COMIC: Ophiuchus)

As the Fifth Doctor explained:

Gender is a very fluid concept, Nyssa. For some people, more than others. A Time Lord even more so.Fifth Doctor, explaining gender

Amy Pond had met species which had only one gender, or three, or, in one case, seventy-two. (PROSE: Borrowed Time)

Time Lords and gender

The Tenth Doctor told Rose Tyler that the Time Lords considered concepts like gender to be archaic. (AUDIO: The Sword of the Chevalier)

Prior to Rassilon, Gallifrey was ruled by matriarchal Gallifreyan leaders, the Pythia. (PROSE: Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible) With regeneration in play, gender could change from one incarnation to another. (TV: The Doctor's Wife, Dark Water, Hell Bent, Twice Upon a Time) As a result, the Fifth Doctor explained, gender was quite fluid in their society. (AUDIO: Ophiuchus)

The Twelfth Doctor explained to Bill Potts that the "most civilised civilisation in the universe" was billions of years beyond petty human obsession with gender and its associated stereotypes. However, she pointed out that they still called themselves Time Lords. (TV: World Enough and Time) Although "Time Lady" was also used, Missy considered the term "old-fashioned". (TV: Dark Water)

Later, while pretending to be the Doctor, Missy referred to Nardole and Bill as "Exposition and Comic Relief". When Nardole retorted that they weren't functions, she responded "Darling, those were genders." (TV: World Enough and Time)

History

Gender roles on Earth

Gender roles varied across cultures and time periods.

In the Tribe of Gum, on Earth circa 100,000 BC, "strong leaders" were exclusively men, who held the power to make decisions, "not old men and women". Women were not to be listened to. Hur was seen as a prized possession, owed to the leader of the tribe, and as his mate, she was willing to give herself to him. (TV: An Unearthly Child)

By contrast, Nefertiti, an Egyptian queen, refused to be seen as a possession by Solomon, a 24th century pirate. (TV: Dinosaurs on a Spaceship)

In the 13th century, English culture dictated that women ought to be subservient to men. According to Irongron their purpose was "to do the lowly work". Sarah Jane Smith, travelling from the 20th century, questioned the notion that men "owned the world", and told Meg they were being worked like slaves, always cooking and carrying for the men. (TV: The Time Warrior) Meg believed this was simply their place in the world, stating:

"Women will never be free while there are men in the world, girl. We have our place"Meg (The Time Warrior)

Around 1599 in England, women doctors were unheard of. Indeed, to William Shakespeare, even women actors and writers were the stuff of fantasy. Men played women's roles on stage. (TV: The Shakespeare Code)

At the time of the Mexican Civil War, Arturo Villar declared, "Women should never think." Of Zoe Heriot, he said, "For such a little woman your mouth is too big." Zoe, who hailed from the late 21st century, considered his ideas about women "knowing their place" quite primitive. (TV: The War Games)

Elizabeth Garrett Anderson became the first woman doctor in England, by gaining entrance to the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries. In so doing, she paved the way for an Act of Parliament allowing all women to pursue this profession. (COMIC: Nurse Who?)

In 1924, many men thought women should not participate in academia; those who did were thought to be "such bluestockings".

In the field of archaeology, it was considered inappropriate for a woman to enter a newly discovered historical site before any men. This was "no job for a girl". When Colonel Lifford had no choice but to ask Daphne Garsington to enter a Surene tomb first, to set up lighting, he made sure to clarify, "Of course, it's just the outer chamber. Leave the inner rooms to the chaps, huh? Don’t want you getting lost down there." Nevertheless, she was delighted at the opportunity. (AUDIO: The Boundless Sea)

1926 saw no women in the police force, either, according to the Tenth Doctor. (TV: The Unicorn and the Wasp)

In 1950s England, housework was considered exclusively a women's job, at least by Eddie Connolly. (TV: The Idiot's Lantern) By contrast, the use of weaponry was seen as only men's domain. (TV: Dinosaurs on a Spaceship)

In 1960s England, men were expected to do the heavy lifting, rather than "let the woman do the job for [them]". (TV: "The Forest of Fear")

Women were often kept out of the action, in relative safety. Victoria Waterfield wanted to join the men, but the Second Doctor convinced her she was far more valuable away from the danger. (TV: The Tomb of the Cybermen)

By the 1970s, (TV: The Invasion) women's lib began taking traction on Earth. As Sarah Jane put it, this was the position, among women, that men had no right to push them around. (TV: The Monster of Peladon)

Dr Ruth Ingram believed that both the Master's dictatorial manner and his courtesy came from "a bland assumption of male superiority". (TV: The Time Monster)

Around 1979, Isobel Watkins objected to Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart's assertion that photographing Cybermen was "no job for a [woman]". Jamie McCrimmon agreed with the idea that men were inherently superior. Zoe Heriot and Isobel were outraged by their "bigoted, anti-feminist remarks". (TV: The Invasion)

Gender roles on other planets

On Peladon, at the time Sarah Jane Smith visited, the ruler was always a man. Thalira was crowned Queen only because her father had no son, and even so it was mostly in title. Chancellor Ortron held the "real power". With encouragement from Sarah Jane, Thalira began to assert herself as ruler. (TV: The Monster of Peladon)

Adric, from a parallel 32nd century Alzarius, differentiated between girls and women, and thought women were all "mindless, impatient and bossy". Nyssa called him a chauvinist for holding this position. (TV: Four to Doomsday)

On Necros, women’s legs were to be covered at all times. Peri Brown, from 1980s Baltimore, thought this was "positively feudal". (TV: Revelation of the Daleks)

On Terra Alpha, a pair of male roof-top snipers complained that women always got the better jobs, and the better guns. (TV: The Happiness Patrol)