Gender refers to the cultural impression that
society implies based off of one’s biological sex in which a person is born
with; male or female. Although that is about accurate, gender identity is more
efficient in identifying a person. Gender identity is ones sense of his or
herself as male, female or transgender. People use their identities to express
who they are opposed to what they were born as. This can be recognized as
gender Dysphoria. Dysphoria is a condition describing the conflict between a
person’s physical gender and gender they identify as. Dysphoria is NOT a mental
illness, it is developed in many ways, some being when one questions their
biological sex multiple times, a strong preference to cross dress, and attraction
towards the opposite sex. (To learn more about Dysphoria go to http://healthresearchfunding.org/gender-identity-disorder-statistics/)
It is easy for one to be born with a vagina, but feel as equivalent with someone who has a penis, or vice versa. Ideally, identity is what matters most, not gender. A person can identify themselves as a female, male, neither or both. Today, it is very common to see people who identifies and self-expresses themselves differently.
Just because one was born with a specific sex does not mean it must be forced upon their character. Again, the biological sex may not be the self-image that a person reflects as or feels like; that sex is not what they hope for everyone to depict/perceive them as. Respect it.
Others find it difficult to accept those who identify themselves differently from what their biological sex is. Those individuals strive to be as happy and as comfortable as you are when you awake every day within your skin. All they want is to be what they feel is appropriate to their self-being, and live life without any remarks and judgments.
For those who may feel a certain way towards people who do not live by their biological sex or gender, think of it this way. They are just like you when you walk around, they are normal. A person should not be viewed as odd compared to the rest of us in society. Let’s all live freely and fairly. Try getting to know a person before judging their appearance. Some may agree to speak on their gender identity disorder, acknowledging others on their lives, and being open to speak on their personal decisions.
People who live based on the identity that they have created for themselves are living normal; it is when they are perceived by their forced upon biological sex that they feel uncomfortable and abnormal in their own bodies. Society needs to be less judgmental and more accepting of all people. Ever heard the saying, don’t judge a book by its cover? Well, it is time to do so.
I don't know what you did to the font on this page, but it's a lot harder for my middle-aged eyes to read on the screen. And you're not following the web page convention of non-indented paragraphs and blank lines between paragraphs.
ReplyDeleteWhich only makes more difficult my attempt to figure out what you're saying. A combination of your word choice, inconsistent comma usage and capitalization, wordiness, and logic hides your meaning.
If Dysphoria is NOT a mental illness, then why do you refer to it as "gender identity disorder"? According to the Dysphoria page you linked to, DSM-V has stopped using the "disorder" term.
Your attempt to get me to empathize via "think of it this way. They are just like you when you walk around, they are normal" is not compelling. The issue here is who gets to define "normal" -- the individual, or a majority of the social culture they live in. By definition, someone who does not conform to social norms will be "viewed as odd". Using this same definition, someone with dysphoria is *not* "living normal" when they live based on the identity they have created for themselves. Instead, they are "living outside the cultural norms."
Having said that, I will totally agree with you that all people, whether living normal or living outside cultural norms, should be not be judged by their appearance. They instead should be judged by their actions.
I agree with you when you say it is obviously possible for a human being to identify themselves male, female, neither or both. It is their body, so who are we to get involved?
ReplyDeleteHowever, based off your writing I have another viewpoint I wanted to bring to the table. I recently read a blog online about a woman who brought her child up as neither male or female. The child's name, "Storm" was gender neutral, and the child was never told by the parents if they were male or female.. it was for the child to decide when they felt ready. How do you feel about this perspective? You make some really good points, but do you think we should allow children to grow up with the identity they are born with until they are old enough to make their own decision based on what they WANT to be? Or do you think we should not identify a child a male or female until he or she decides what they are?
Just a question I was interested in that I thought related to your blog! Great points in this.
All a child has to do is look between their belly button and their knees to determine whether they are a boy or a girl. And the ready availability of internet pron will quickly inform them as to the gender differences.
DeleteWhat is possible is to shield the child from societal pressures for a child to conform to gender stereotypes -- and let the child decide which to ignore, which to follow, and which to blatantly contravene. And then the parent can support that child's decision.