Genderless Identity Does More Harm than Good

​Gender identity has changed its definition over time. The psychological definition as stated from the social learning theory is that gender identity is the sense of being male or female. Seems simple but we now know in todays world the definition has broadened. Gender identity is now defined as one 's personal experience of one 's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with assigned sex at birth, or can differ from it completely. All societies have a set of gender categories that can serve as the basis of the formation of a person 's social identity in relation to other members of society. From the past when we had many strong women’s rights activist who fought so what your gender was did not

In her article, Timson (2011) states that Storm’s parents have “decided to keep the sex of their third child a secret” (p. 1), implying that this will deprive Storm of an identity. However, it is important to clarify that Storm’s parents, Witterick and Stock, are depriving the world of Storm’s sexual identity but not the child itself. As quoted by Timson

A significant point in Bems’ (1993) chapter in Lens of Gender on gender identity was the concept of the self-fulfilling prophecy when it comes to the treatment and development of young boys and girls in society. The first point discussed is how the ‘maternal instinct’ is not so biological as much it is women being confined to the private sphere, in turn having the most interaction with children. This point stood out as I was reading because I have known from a young age I did not want children. Many told me that my opinion would change when I grew older, and when you have your own child being a mother comes naturally. As I reflected I was reminded of the point later made by Bem (1993) that “adults in the child’s community

Gender identity is something that has created conflict among many individuals being harshly criticized for not identifying with the sex they were assigned at birth. These issues of discrimination towards transgendered people had been appropriately addressed in the story Smiley. The story is revolved around a young girl named Jill who lives with her family. However, Jill does not feel as though she truly is a female and is abused and mocked because of this. Jill becomes attracted to another girl and is once again abused and mocked because of this. One night, Jill’s mother instructs her to disrobe and get into the tub. Jill is reluctant but is eventually stripped of her clothes and is revealed to have made a penis out of a bird’s nest that her father referred to as looking like “Old man nuts” (Hamilton 1). Jill then reveals that she is no longer Jill, she says “I’m Jake” (3). Jake’s inability to back down and reluctance to listen to what anybody tells her demonstrates an important aspect of identity, identity is not determined by how a person is born but how they feel. Jake’s journey to discover himself is filled with hardships with nobody being accepting of him. Jake from the very start of the story that “[he wants to] be a boy” (1). His journey of self expression and identity is not halted by what anyone else thinks because his identity is how he feels and not how the world perceives him.

Gender identity is the personal conception of being a man or a woman and the society creates standards and comes up with gender roles basing them on existing norms and traditions which will in turn influence gender identity. For instance, most societies associate strength and dominance to be masculine roles while caring and assisting or subordination known to be feminine roles. This clearly makes gender identity be bred within the society. One’s identity is important as it influences his or her life through events like life experiences, how one is being taken or treated, how to do one associate or socialize with others, the type of job one will have to do and also opportunities that may come up favoring a certain type of gender identity. One is also likely to face obstacles or discrimination due to his or her identity.

Storm had braced himself for the onslaught sure to be coming his way. Dragging Michael’s only child through a protest in Sydney without his consent was bad, but much worse, was sharing a hotel room with her. At the very least, he expected to be berated for his arrest. He was wrong.

With the term “sex” we are considering the assigned biological characteristics at birth, dealing with genes and features, while for “gender” it’s more about what an individual feels and consider themselves as a female or a male identities created by the society. In other words, sex cannot be changed, none of us chose our own identity, it was given. Although transsexuals can be considered to be the certain sex they changed to, debates are still heating up because it was done with surgical procedures. (Though I believe they should use the terms of “he”, “she”, “f” or “m” according to the gender they changed). So, considering the mind status unlike transsexual, transgenders are those who behaves, acts and identify themselves as a female or a male

When Alex was born, his parents were delighted to add another boy to their family. As their baby boy began to grow and develop, they noticed that Alex began to express himself in a manner that they viewed as more feminine than masculine. He gravitated toward dolls and other toys that the culture often associates with girls. Concerned with the social ramifications associated with their child trying to be transgendered, they made the decision to not let Alex live as a girl. They came to this decision after foreseeing the criticism he would endure from his peers and other members of society. For example, children in the American culture who do not act according to the culture’s gender role may undergo name-calling. Children in Hispanic cultures may actually suffer physical violence if their conduct does not match the culture’s gender roles. Thus, when it comes to gender social influences have more control over a person choice of identity. Parents and culture are two of the most influential environmental factors shaping gender and sexual identity, children learn at young age that there are distinct expectations for boys and girls. As a person grow, they learn how to behave from those around them.

According to Storm’s parents, they want to love their children for who they are, not what genitals they have; they want to be supportive of the individualities of their children and

David had yet again stolen his sister’s dress but this time, his father was home to witness it. David loved cross dressing and playing kitchen. His father, on the other hand, was a strict ex-military officer. David’s father was a homophobic man who had zero tolerance for ‘gay’ behavior. David’s father believed that, “Cooking is a woman’s job, so men do not belong in the kitchen. If a man does things that are meant for a woman, that man is definitely gay!” Such beliefs of what a man can or cannot do restricts the self-expression of the man. Inadvertently, these beliefs also lead to misogyny. Women are seen as submissive objects to be toyed with. Men treat women as property, in order to appear ‘masculine’, or better yet. Gender identity is a

I am interested in the concept of gender and the deeper meaning of being considered a transgendered person. I feel that a lot of people do not know or care to know about these topics on a more in depth level. People who close their eyes to the idea that a person could be born with the physical aspects of a male yet have the psychological aspects of a female and vice versa, tend to be the ones who say that those people are going against nature or god. Discriminating against people on the principles that their view on the matter is right and their main source of information is the bible. I read posts on a weekly basis that have the writer angrily ranting on an ignorant comment made by another person. The posts usually give a very detailed

Gender is more than just the body one is born into, it is the way they choose to perform. In entertainment culture, there has always been a strong distinction between the male and female genders. In stories, paintings, and dances, the men are more dominate and strong while the women are soft and submissive. Men generally carry or have the strongest effect on the story line, while the women are only influenced by the men’s decisions. By using a traditional and stereotypical story, we can investigate the life of someone who experienced identifying as both genders.

Biological and psychosocial cultural identifies the meaning in gender identity. It is said that the sex of a child is biological (the genetic makeup) and the gender is psycho socio cultural (male/female defined by social status). Specifically, when addressing the gender it is defined as one's role and personality that they assume, for example in the American culture females are nurturing and the males are to be aggressive. Through social interaction, biology and the media gender identity is developed. This gender identity is misrepresented through social media which leads to a huge misunderstanding of this concept in society. These factors, unfortunately, set limits and define the standards of what is masculine and feminine, which lead to a harmful impact on society members, causing serious problems to an individual in particular and society in general.

Within recent years, the media has sensationalized the topic of gender and gender identity. This has allowed the public to maintain as an active participant in the fight for equal rights, whether it be the fight to end discrimination for: same sex marriage, gender equality, non-binary, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered individuals (LGBTQ). Since the needs and issues for members of the above listed communities have come into the eye of public voice many things have changed in North America. There has been an increasingly greater shift in public focus on the civil rights of LGBTQ peoples. Not only has there been an increase in public discourse but actual laws have been changed in the interest of social justice for members of the LGBTQ community, including but not limited to: same-sex marriage, that same-sex couples must be afforded the same rights as opposite-sex couples in a common-law relationship, protection from bullying due to gender identity. Currently, the only provinces that explicitly include gender identity under their human rights codes are Ontario, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and the Northwest Territories, although other provinces have begun debating whether they should add gender identity under their human rights codes. Federally, gender identity is not specifically mentioned in legislation. Bill C-279, which would amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to include gender expression or identity, is currently undergoing second reading in the Senate (Garrison,

Throughout today’s society, there are multiple views and opinions on whether or not there are more than two genders or if gender is even just a social construct. Each person has their own individual preference on how they express their gender. Therefore, we can no longer assume what someone identifies as just by looking at them. Over the years I have learned more about gender expression and gender identity as I gained friends who were homosexual as well as transgender. I feel as if I was introduced to all of these ways of life at a young age, therefore I can, in some ways, teach those who are uneducated and do not know what to think. I have personally never really thought about the different gender identities I could label myself as but as of right now I identify as a cisgender female