Why Gender Identity Matters In The United States

Gender can shapes a person's entire identity. Based on their biological features, a person is pushed toward certain interests that "fit" their features. We are seeing these standards being broken as individuality and self-discovery are being emphasized more in the upcoming generations. I believe it is important for a person to understand what they

Kristen A. Burgess, Emory University School of Medicine and Charles F Gillespie M.D., PhD, department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, state that “gender identity disorder is a mental disorder in which gender identity is incongruent with anatomical sex”. Individuals experience different degrees of unhappiness with their sex at birth, which in turn causes them to pursue the life and body of the opposite sex (2010).

The psychology of gender fluidity is a fundamental and contemporary subject. It is one which requires an in-depth analysis as it is an identity which is often misunderstood. Members of genderqueer community continuously experience stigmatization and discrimination due to societal norms. The societal norms are undeniably shaped from living in a gendered culture into which non-binary people do not easily fit in. Gender variance is commonly recognized as an absurdity and labelled as an unnatural behaviour. The experience of those who do not conform to a specific gender or those who do not identify as the sex they were assigned to at birth is one which is typically surrounded by difficulties with inner sense of belonging in addition to the discrimination, harassment, and denial of basic human rights. Subsequently, this strict way of thinking, too, often bring individuals with differing gender expressions into contact with mental health professionals. Therefore, this contact ultimately suggests a correlation between gender non-conformity and mental illness

In the history of the United States, there has been one dominant group of people. White males have been oppressing other groups since the country’s beginning. Not until 1865 was slavery abolished, and millions of black slaves had been allowed to live a life of their own. In 1920 women were granted suffrage, allowing them to vote almost a century and a half after the country was founded. But today, women and minorities are still oppressed, and most of government is made up of white males. The St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank lists unemployment statistic by race. Currently the unemployment rate for black Americans is just under 9%, and for white Americans it is around 4.5%. For Hispanic Americans, the unemployment rate is 6.5%.

As early as the age of four (Vitale, 1996), some children begin to realize that the gender their body tells them they are, and the gender their mind tells them they are don't correspond. The sense of gender and the anatomical sex of a person mature at different times and different regions of the body (Vitale, 1997b). Sometimes the gendermap, the template within the mind of a person that codes for masculinity, femininity and androgyny doesn't coincide with the body of the individual (Vitale, 1997a). This condition is commonly referred to as Gender Identity Disorder (GID). GID is characterized by unrelenting confusion or discomfort of one's own

This article discusses that gender identity (GID) can appear appear even in early infancy with variable degree of severity with prevalence in childhood and adolescence is below 1%. GID can show itself in different degrees of harshness from childhood and on. The research that this elected from is a Medline literature search, existing national and international guidelines, and the results of a discussion among experts from multiple relevant disciplines. There have not been many large studies to date on GID and no studies focusing on causal factors for GID, the evidence level for the origin model of GID have been submitted as generally small. Approximately 2.5 to 20% of all cases of GID in childhood and adolescence are the initial manifestation

In all the questions concerning gender identity it is important to acknowledge that gender identity and the biological sex are completely independent notions. Gender identity is more of an experience, an intuitive feeling that concerns not physical, but, first and foremost, emotional and psychologic state of a person. For many years, the problem of gender identity was dichotomic: male and female genders were the only recognized ones (Deogracias, 2007).

With so many different terms, it is hard to keep up with the language and understanding of the complex idea of Gender Identity Disorder. If “sex” is a biological term, and “gender” is a sociological term, and “gender identity” is

The bathroom debate is just one small part of what transgender people go through: transgender people have to fight for authenticity as well as equality. An average young person might have ID when buying alcohol or their passport checked at the airport. However trans people’s true gender identity is questioned very often, and in a very different way. For example, for young people or transgender individuals coming out it may be dealing with parents insisting

Throughout history there has been a controversy regarding the topic of sex and gender. This topic has sparked many debates and the discussion about the distinction of the two continues to grow. Through studying sex and gender, there has been an interest in learning about the relationships they form with sexual orientation. The study of sex and gender is a wide topic and has many subtopics within it that guide researchers with key information. Within sex and gender, there are circumstances in which a person’s gendered identity does not align with their biological genetics and they live as the gender they identify as. Due to social construction, the ideas of masculinity and femininity have popularized leading society to have an effect on gender and how we perceive it as it can facilitate the way in which gender is expressed and how it is transforming over time.1 Around the world many groups of individuals have been discovered who identify themselves as transgender or transsexual. As society and culture continue to evolve, it is important to learn about how gender roles effect the way an individual grows and views the world and how they perceive the differences of sex and gender.

Gender identity disorder (GID) or transsexualism is defined by strong, persistent feelings of identification with the opposite gender and discomfort with one’s own assigned sex. (“Psychology Today”) Due to a recent change to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM, “Gender Identity Disorder” will be replaced with “Gender Dysphoria”. For the purpose of this paper those two terms will be interchangeable. This paper will explore the symptoms that lead to a gender identity disorder diagnosis as well as the treatment process and obstacles a person with this disorder may face. It is a difficult process and is not something somebody would endure unless they truly

(Kenneth Merrell, 2012) Because the population of transgender students is so small, many professionals neglect to research and study the physical and emotional challenges of transgender students (many of whom remain hidden out of fear of rejection). Transgender students live in a world where they are made to feel isolated and rejected by their peers and society. Being African-American, I know that our culture doesn’t readily accept transgender people and we frown upon and ridicule a parent who allows their child to choose a different gender. When the situation arises where someone in our culture chooses to openly change genders we believe that it is a condition that will either pass or can be prayed away. This way of thinking forces our children’s worldview to be rooted in shame and embarrassment and they begin to feel “trapped in the wrong body” with no way out and no one to talk to. Their individual identity is questioned because they do not feel a part of any specific culture. Knowing that through the acknowledgement of a student’s identity, a school psychologist can avoid stereotyping them or approaching them in a stereotypical way, (Kenneth Merrell, 2012), it is important for transgender students to form a solid personal identity. However, so many transgender students feel like they don’t belong to any group of people and this is part of the reason why

Are gender issues as important as the media makes them to be, or is it as pointless as arguing over the correct pronunciation of tomato or tomatoes so to speak. While we can agree gender discrimination is not something to joke about, but is it that prevalent in today’s society? Is enforcing gender roles as damaging as experts argue? Finally the “issue” of gender identity, is it important at all? Is gender identity a more complex form of gender roles? What is the difference between someone deciding to wear the opposite gender's clothes and identity as the opposite gender? Gender discrimination is the only real gender issue, while it is not as prevalent today it is still important. Gender roles and gender identity are not as prevalent as the media paints them to be, the idea of gender is an over analyzed human conception and has no real importance.

From the moment we are born until we die people continually tell us what we should and shouldn’t do based on our sex. Even though our sex doesn’t equate to a specific gender, people assume that a person’s gender, referring to the social and cultural traits that are associated with either males or females is the same as their sex, the biological differences in anatomy between males and females (Lindsey, 4). Through the influence of my family, peers and religion, I have learned what it means to be a girl with many intersecting identities in the world today.

As a whole, our society has ways that we expect men and women to think, act, and present themselves. These gender norms have been in place for thousands of years, dating back to early civilizations. It is unknown how these roles became so defined in society today, but they influence us immensely every day. Gender norms negatively impact individual’s identities in ways that make them conflicted and fearful to express their personal feelings.