The Pros And Cons Of Gender Identity

Before taking Women’s Study I understood gender being, “...body building up whether male or female or feminine or masculine. Not necessarily just about the body parts.” This definition has evolved and bloomed to a more understood concept. The same is reflected from the definition of sexuality I quoted in my first class assignment, “…person’s preference or attraction. Whether towards male or female or any other identity.” These are concrete definitions I understood, but reading articles of several perspectives allowed me to think through the

Bisexual, gay, lesbian, transgender, asexual; these are all examples of different sexualities, and identities. One of the biggest problems with society today is that many people are resistant, sometimes violent, towards the unknown. People identify in many different ways, as many different things. Some ways of life do not allow a lifestyle straying from straight men, and straight women; being taught this from a young age for an entire lifetime will strike fear and hatred into the hearts of those who encounter otherwise. Other cultures, such as the Navajo people, celebrate these differences with love and overwhelming support. Individuals portraying both as their given sex at birth, and as the opposite sex (cross-dressing, referring to themselves with a name generally given to the opposite sex, using different pronouns, etc.) are given special titles (Two

Traditionally speaking, most people view sex and gender as interchangeable, synonymous, and biological. As more studies and research are done, more professionals are realizing the vital difference between the two terms. Sex, according to sociologist Doctor Zuleyka Zevallos, is the “biological traits that societies use to assign people into the category of either male or female, whether it be through a focus on chromosomes, genitalia, or some other physical ascription”. She goes on to say that the definition of gender is “the cultural meanings attached to men and women’s roles; and how individuals understand their identities including, but not limited to, being a man, woman, transgender, intersex, gender queer, and other gender identities” (Zeyallos, 2014). We see sex as something we are assigned at birth due to the body parts we are born with, and we see gender as the way one identifies with their assigned sex. In the majority of cases, assigned sex and gender identity line up, but less often it does not. In these cases, we see individuals who are transgender, gender queer, gender fluid, and more. More people are coming forward about these different ways they are experiencing gender, so many people assume these ways of experiencing gender are new.

Gender identity, as defined in Webster’s Dictionary is, “the totality of physical and behavioral traits that are designated by a culture as masculine or feminine” (Webster, 2014). The first words said in the delivery room are often “it’s a boy!” or “it’s a girl!” Intersex children, who fall in between the scientific gender spectrum for male or female, are put through genital mutilation surgery and hormone treatment to abide by one of the two categories. Children who are born with an intersex condition where reproductive or sexual anatomy that do not fit typical females or a typical male’s norms should not have sex assignment surgery performed. This should be decided by the child when they are mature enough to make that decision for themselves. This is morally wrong because the social and cultural need to place intersex individual’s into the category of one sex or the other can have negative impact on their mental and physical health and many of the surgeries done on intersexed infants were done more for the benefit of parents, healthcare practitioners, and society, than for the infant. In the long run, this surgery done at such a young age can cause an unstable quality of life filled with shame and a feeling of exclusion from society along with the possibility of losing sexual functions. I will be mentioning evidence of cases that demonstrate that it’s impossible for intersex individuals who have had sex reassignment surgery that it did not help them identify with the rest

Sex is defined as “the average, reliable, biological differences between males and females” (Auleb 1). One biological difference between males and females is in external genitalia: males have penises whereas females have vaginas. Sexuality refers to one 's sexual orientation, sexual behaviors, and capacity for sexual feelings (YourDictionary.com). Someone who is not sexually attracted to anyone may identify themselves as asexual. And sexual identity is one 's conception of themselves in terms of to whom they are sexually and romantically attracted, if they experience sexual or romantic attraction at all (Wikipedia.org). Someone who is attracted to people regardless of gender may identify as bisexual, or as pansexual if they do not adhere to the belief that there are only two genders.

Transgender can be defined as a person whose self-identity does not conform precisely to conventional notions of the male or female gender. This self-identity problem can usually be accompanied by numerous forms of treatment to change ones’ physical appearance, and make it more consistent with their identified gender identity. In many cases, the individual can identify with the gender of the opposite sex to the point one believes that he or she is a member of that gender group trapped in the wrong body. This is also called Gender Dysphoria or formerly known as Gender Identity Disorder. The person with gender dysphoria or GD at times does not know that he or she have an actual disorder but more of a general discomfort with his or her biological sex. This also creates complications in their everyday life, when they are unable to interpret their feelings or rationalize problems they experience in a social setting (Gender Dysphoria, 2014).

Proffering an acceptable answer to the question about sexual identity makes more sense by defining and explaining what exactly sexuality is. It is broadly defined as the summation of a person's sexual interests, behaviors and tendencies. It is can also be defined as one's responsiveness to sexual attractions. These sexual behaviors may live with such person through out such person's lifetime. Moreover, some commentators have defined it as the summation of one's feelings about the person's femininity or masculinity with the consciousness of one's self image in relation to interacting with others. Sexuality has a direct relation with the way one feels. Few of the determinants for sexuality are genetic factors, parental influence, influence of siblings and friends, societal influence and particularly how one feels about oneself.

In the journal article, “Sex/Gender Identity: Moving Beyond Fixed and Natural Categories” written by Maria Victoria Carrera, Renee DePalma, and Maria Lameiras, I will be analyzing what issues and complications in which the authors have presented. I also will be critically critiquing the methods the authors used and what evidences or data was presented to support their arguments in this article. Along with, was the article persuasive on proving their argument and what steps needed to be put in to place to achieve a better outcome within their argument.

It’s sad that people in this day and age are still scared of being themselves. It doesn’t even matter who you are: we should all be allowed to celebrate our lives regardless of our gender preferences and sexualities (and yes, there is more than one of them).

Bisexuality is a common term in modern society, meaning attraction to both sexes. Though this term has gained more awareness over the past few years, those who identify as bisexual face discrimination from both the heterosexual and LGBTQ communities.

Sex, gender or sexual orientation are a social construction. One of exemplified is the transsexual phenomenon. Transsexual has changed h/er natural body, for example, a man who feels has an identity as feminine, then changed h/er body to be female. Automatically, after sex as a biological fact has been turned into opposite then it will affect the change that determine the validity of such individuals to act in accordance with the provision of the fixed rules on sex, gender and sexual orientation. However, sex, gender and sexual orientation is liquid (fluid), not natural and it is changeable (and constructed by social conditions). Butler (1990) believes trans-gender and homosexuality are not social deviation, but a variation in the human identity that is based on a performative act (p.

Sexual orientation labels used by monosexual people include: Gay: generally refers to a man who is attracted to men. Sometimes refers to all people who are attracted to people of the same sex; sometimes "homosexual" is used for this also, although this label is seen by many today as a medical term that should be retired from common use. Lesbian: a woman who is attracted to women. Sometimes also or alternately "same gender-loving woman" or "woman loving woman." Straight: a man who is exclusively attracted to women or a woman who is exclusively attracted to men; also sometimes generally used to refer to people whose sexualities are societally normative. Alternately referred to as “heterosexual.” Polysexual Sexual Orientations Some people are attracted to members of multiple genders. Sexual orientation labels used by polysexual people include: Bisexual: attracted to people of one's own gender and people of other gender(s). Often referred to as "bi." See Bisexuality 101 to learn more. Pansexual: attracted to people regardless of gender. Sometimes also or alternately "omnisexual." Queer: similar to pansexual, queer can be an identity label meaning that a person is attracted to people of many genders;

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.

When I finished reading the story of little Storm, in that instant, I felt deeply sorry for Storm, a child who would have grown up normally like everyone else around him/her, everyone else except for his/her two brothers. However, a decision was made by Storm’s parents to break the convention of identifying children by gender, and as a result the chance for Storm to be raised like others. Storm’s parents, Witterick and Stocker are indeed doing something wrong. Their extreme and unusual parenting decision would make Storm a lifelong victim of prejudice.

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