True Gender Identity

In Octavia Butler’s Dawn the idea of gender is deconstructed and reformed from the typical human’s definition. Often people do not consider the role of gender in society today. Usually the first thing one notices when meeting someone new is their gender or their presumed gender. However, there becomes a problem when the person whose gender we perceived identifies as a different gender. Butler forces the reader to examine how they judge and perceive gender. While the ooloi are actually “its” their personalities seem to imply a certain gender. The transgender community often brings up this issue because these assumptions of gender based on our judgments of what defines a male and what defines a female can skew how a transgender person is treated and addressed. In Chapter One of Gender Through the Prism of Difference by Anne Fausto-Sterling, the idea of expanding the number of genders based on one’s biological differences is examined through the five sexes theory. By now the concept of gender being defined solely by one’s biology has mostly been left in the past but the question remains of how do we truly define gender? How does being outside of the social norms that Michael Warner talks about cause us to feel shame when discussing our gender and our perceptions of gender? In this essay, I will argue that preconceived notions of gender create shame when a person’s own perception of their gender does not fit the social norms. This stigma around the limited and strict definitions

When I was a child I was exposed to many different forms of masculinity as well as femininity. But it was through activities, instead of things like house work and what not. Some of these activities that showed masculinity included snowmobiling, boating, fishing, and water sports. My grandfather is the epitome of masculinity. I remember when I was a child I was afraid of large bugs, my grandfather brought me over to an ant hill in the yard, as we approached most of the ants retreated to the hill.

He had achieved the shock value not only with myself as the reader, but ultimately who he was addressing. Jamison had been an educator of trans people, speaking out to audiences of college students of all ages. His goal of educating the public stemmed from his own experiences with choosing to change genders as well as a broad overview of the ideas that surrounded transsexualism as a whole. He communicates well that his experiences do not encompass all transgendered people’s experiences and that transformation from male to female (MTF) is quite different from female to male (FTM) transformation. The societal complications from FTM are well examined from Jamison’s view. Many people believed that females that wanted to become males could

Although this work of fiction opens up an aspect of sexuality that would not have been recorded in its own time period, it allows for a miss-categorization of a historically underrepresented minority. If we attempted to place the modern-day label of transgender onto this historical stage, it could never truly be an accurate representation. Lowe’s movement between the genders of male to female is not completely clear. Although, at the end of the novel, he says he now wears women’s clothing he is called by both female and male gender pronouns and does not note his preference, but simply wishes to be called Lowe (Powell 241). Lowe’s lack of preference leads to the conclusion that his gender is performative and possibly fluid.

Imagine living in a world where not knowing what’s under a person’s pants didn’t get under people’s skin because such private matters had never been a public thing. In an article from The Globe and Mail titled, “The genderless baby? Well-intentioned but wrong”, author, Judith Timson, criticizes the parents of the aforementioned baby, Storm, and their decision to hide Storm’s gender. Brandishing the words of Lady Gaga as if she were a credible source of research, Timson argues that Storm’s parents are depriving the child of a sexual and gender identity by keeping his or her sex a secret. However, as valid as Timson’s concerns are towards this controversial decision, it is important to note that Storm’s parents are not depriving Storm of his/her sex and consequently, Storm’s sexual/gender identity. If anything, the constant input of the public is the main struggle Storm will face in the exploration and development of his/her identity. Therefore, the genderless baby at the center of this societal storm, is not so much in risk of being deprived an identity as Timson contends, rather the child is at risk of being denied one.

Serano recalls her own experiences of being sexualized to shed light on how trans identities are sexualized. The story points out how a person’s transition from one gender to another, or being trans itself can be viewed as sexual solicitation, rather than a result of their own identity (Serano 257). The sexualization of trans people is based on a societal viewpoint that centers itself around male heterosexuality, as Serano expounds:

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

Cheryl Chase article “Affronting Reason” and “Beards, Breast, and Bodies Doing Sex in a Gendered World” by Raine Dozier both illustrates the struggles of intersex and transgender face in society. Cheryl article focus on a child who is born intersex and now is dealing with her parents' decision of having a clitorectomy surgery. In Breads, Breast, and Bodies we see how transgender female to male dealt with society at a new point of view. Both stories reflect on the negativities each individual faced and also rise above the norm to embrace their new identity. Betray can cause trusting issue amongst one another, especially when that person is a family member.

The word identity has become the most discussed idea in our society. It is described mostly, to be a word that stands for who we are. Therefore, because of who we are, identity has come to be a word that we use to claim and understand people’s actions in our society. So in this paper I will be analysing how social practices surrounding identity relates to gender in social, personal levels, through the work of three authors; by Ian Hacking on “kind making”, Margaret Somers on “Narrative construction of identity” and finally, Frederick Cooper and Rogers Brubaker on “beyond identity” . However, I will tilt more toward Frederick Cooper and Rogers Bruakers article on identity. This is because I feel that their article contributes better to my

“I am transgendered. I was born female, but my masculine gender expression is seen as a male…it’s the social contradiction between the two that defines

Bernard Cooper is able to explore and incorporate many themes in his essays which help the reader question exactly who or what we are. In his essay Burl’s, Cooper narrates his story through the eyes of an eight-year-old boy whose life changed one night at the diner where he saw a group of “women” with Adam’s apple and beards (Cooper 46), realizing that male could be female disregarding the different gender expectations of society regarding their dresses and behavior. From this day on, the boy’s perspective on sexuality had a complete turn, followed by interest, curiosity, and claims that “any woman might be a man” (Cooper 47). Accordingly, the child is later confused and intrigued by the idea that he was not able to tell what form his body would take… “the body of a boy or the body of a girl” (Cooper 47). Such statements by the author help bring awareness of the different gender expectations towards how a boy or a girl should look like and act like, which lead to confusion and

I couldn't imagine how it would feel to be born a gender that didn’t correlate with who you wanted to be. Growing trans is more than wearing the opposite sex clothes, it's a big step in life that is irreversible.

The authors suggest that gender identity transitions through various stages much like cognitive development. As children age from toddler toward more maturity into adolescence they move from less gender awareness towards a complete awareness of differences in sexual make up. Typically many of us have been socialized to participate in groups, dress and play with toys that are gender specific. Some examples that explain this is the way in which we bring babies home from the hospital. Girls are dressed in pink and boys are dressed in blue. This continues

The construction of a self-identity can be a very complex process that every individual is identity is developed through the lenses of cultural influences and how it is expected to given at birth. Through this given identity we are expected to think, speak, and behave in a certain way that fits the mold of societal norms. This paper aims to explain how gender perform gender roles according these cultural values. I intend to analyze the process in which individuals learned and internalized their respective gender identities, through their cultural background. I will be conducting a set of interviews with the intention to compare my experience as a self-identified male of Mexican descent, to the experience of another male character of Japanese heritage in order to understand how we come to self-identify as masculine in diverged cultures. In this paper, I argue that the construction of gender identities is a direct consequence of societal influential factors such as family values; values that reflect the individual’s culture. This analysis will not only utilize evidence from these identity formations, but also in explaining why and how these self-identities were constructed using both theoretical sources and empirical studies as a framework.

When I was younger, I honestly have no memories of being told, “only boys play with that,” or “girls wear dresses.” I come from a very open minded family who accepts me for who I am. According to the traditional ways in society, girls like pink and purple, and boys like blue and green. I do remember playing with a lot of Barbie dolls and wearing my pink skirt, but my favorite color was orange and I played football out in the yard with the rest of the neighborhood kids. When I was in the fourth grade I only wore jeans and long sleeved shirts, I would not even wear capris all the way up until I graduated high school. That was the year I first became self conscious about myself and learned what