Gender is a complex topic that impacts how we see ourselves and interact with others. Riddles can be a fun and thought-provoking way to explore ideas about gender. Here are 65 riddles about gender along with their answers.
Gender Riddles
1. What has a face and two hands but no arms or legs?
A clock.
2. Some months have 30 days, others 31. How many have 28?
All of them.
3. What gets broken without being held?
A promise.
4. What has 13 hearts but no organs?
A deck of cards.
5. I am weightless but you can see me. If you put me in a bucket, I make it lighter. What am I?
A hole.
6. What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps?
A river.
7. What belongs to you but others use it more than you do?
Your name.
8. What gets wetter the more it dries?
A towel.
9. David’s father has three sons. Two are named Mind Your Own Business and Trouble. What is the third son’s name?
David.
10. A doctor and a bus driver are both in love with the same woman, an attractive girl named Sarah. The bus driver had to go on a long bus trip that would last a week. Before he left, he gave Sarah seven apples. Why?
An apple a day keeps the doctor away!
11. What word begins and ends with an ‘E’ but only has one letter?
Envelope.
12. I am lighter than air but a million men cannot lift me up. What am I?
Bubble.
13. The more you take away, the larger I become. What am I?
A hole.
14. What has many keys but can’t open a single lock?
A piano.
15. What has hands but can’t clap?
A clock.
16. What has a neck but no head?
A bottle.
17. What is broken every time it’s spoken?
Silence.
18. I have keys but no locks. I have space but no room. You can enter but can’t go outside. What am I?
A keyboard.
19. What can fill a room but takes up no space?
Light.
20. What gets wet while drying?
A towel.
21. What has to be broken before you can use it?
An egg.
22. I’m tall when I’m young, and I’m short when I’m old. What am I?
A candle.
23. What month of the year has 28 days?
All of them.
24. What is full of holes but still holds water?
A sponge.
25. What goes up but never comes down?
Your age.
26. What can you break, even if you never pick it up or touch it?
A promise.
27. What has a bottom at the top?
Your legs.
28. What has hands but can’t clap?
A clock.
29. What has 13 hearts, but no other organs?
A deck of cards.
30. What gets wetter as it dries?
A towel.
31. What has many teeth but can’t bite?
A comb.
32. What has words but never speaks?
A book.
33. When things go wrong, what can you always count on?
Your fingers.
34. What has a thumb and fingers but is not alive?
A glove.
35. What has a head, a tail, but no body?
A coin.
Gender Role Riddles
36. What makes a male, a male, and a female, a female?
Their gender identity and roles in society.
37. I cook and clean and care while my partner goes out to work. What are we?
People conforming to traditional gender roles.
38. Some say a woman’s place is in the home, but I know women can do and be whatever they desire. What am I?
An advocate for gender equality.
39. Though some may say a man should never cry, shedding tears does not make him less strong. What do we need?
To reconsider narrow views of masculinity.
40. He liked dolls and helping in the kitchen. She loved sports and building things. This challenged their parents’ views. What did they need to learn?
That interests aren’t defined by gender.
41. Though born a girl, inside he felt like a boy. What did he need?
Love, support, and the freedom to be himself.
42. They said boys are messy, girls are neat, but children are children, regardless of their feet. What was needed?
To look beyond gender stereotypes.
43. Some said her skills were not fit for a girl, but she persevered and rose above them all. What did she have?
Courage, passion, and the will to succeed.
44. Though he loved to dance, they said it wasn’t manly enough. How could they be so blind?
To his talent, passion, and the joy it brought.
45. She was told boys don’t like smart girls, but she valued her mind too much to hide. What did she have?
Confidence and the courage to defy limitations.
Gender Identity Riddles
46. A mind with one, a body with another. What lies between, known just to their owner?
A person’s unique gender identity.
47. Born one or another, but feelings unclear. Searching within to see what feels sincere.
Exploring one’s gender identity.
48. An inner voice whispering who you were meant to be. The strength to align outer with inner, and be free.
Affirming one’s gender identity.
49. Neither pink nor blue contains the hue of the person seen deep within you. What to do?
Express your true colors.
50. Not confined to borders that others invent. Trust thy heart’s truth, and on that path you’re meant.
Discovering your own identity.
51. By nature composed of one or two, but on the inside, an identity unique to you.
Gender as a spectrum.
52. The mirrors reflect what you’re supposed to see, but only you know your identity’s frequency.
Looking within to know yourself.
53. They gave you a name tied to rules they determined, but inside you know who you were meant to become.
Self-determination of identity.
54. Options limit those yet to be free, but gender’s horizon lies open inside of me.
Gender as unlimited potential.
55. Words divide and labels confine, but I know myself, and in that, I’m defined.
Self-knowledge defines you.
Gender Expression Riddles
56. Fabric stitched just for them, reflecting the beauty within.
Gender affirming clothing.
57. Hair above, shed and re-grown, shaping the style that matches their own.
Gender affirming hairstyle.
58. A chosen title and name, validating the person they became.
Chosen name reflecting identity.
59. Limb-lifting iron weights, for a shape meeting their own mandates.
Gender affirming workout.
60. Permanent inks marking the casing, picturing the spirit inside them embracing.
Gender affirming tattoos.
61. Upon the glass they gaze, seeing the face that gaze’s back with praise.
Gender euphoria in the mirror.
62. With color, palette and brush, they paint the portrait that is truly them.
Gender expression through make-up.
63. Fabricated shape worn below, for confidence and comfort in their own skin to grow.
Gender affirming undergarments.
64. Surface-deep only in name, within the real self stays the same.
Identity unchanged by expression.
65. However you walk through this life, be unapologetically, authentically you.
Live as your true gender identity.
Conclusion
Exploring ideas about gender through riddles can be an engaging way to think about this complex topic. While these riddles only scratch the surface, hopefully they provide some food for thought. Gender manifests in many ways, both tangible and intangible. At the core, being true to one’s identity and living authentically is key. There is no one right way to be a man, woman, or non-binary person. Respect and compassion should extend to people of all gender identities and expressions.
