There's a serious lack of understanding going around regarding non-heteronomrative gender identity. I thought I'd provide everyone with a glossary to promote basic comprehension. ^_^
Sex: Whether you are male or female physically.
Gender: Whether you are male or female behaviourally, and whether you identify emotionally as male or female.
Transgender: Someone who's gender is the opposite of their sex. A transgender woman is a person who identifies as a woman but has a physically male body, and a transgender man is vice versa.
Transsexual: Someone who has undergone sex change surgery (though sometimes used interchangeably with transgender).
Genderqueer: Someone who does not identify as "man" or "woman"; who has no gender. Distinctly different from transgenders/transsexuals, since trans people do identify to a single gender, it just happens to be the one different from the sex they were born with. Those who consider themselves genderqueer, however, do not identify as a gender.
Transgender, transsexual and genderqueer people are presently subject to more intolerance and prejudice than homosexuals/bisexuals. People are coming to terms with same-sex attraction, but alternative gender identity is still considered "weird" by most.
If you think about it, it's not that strange. I find it far more peculiar that sex and gender do correlate so much of the time; because they are essentially completely different things.
Belonging to one of the three demographics outlined above is not unhealthy or damaging in any way. It is not a delusion or mental illness, as too many people still think. There is no reason to object to it other than "oh no! it's different from me!"
Lets overcome that reaction, and throw the arms of social acceptance wide open to those who weren't lucky enough to be born the the physical body of the gender they identify with.
Sex: Whether you are male or female physically.
Gender: Whether you are male or female behaviourally, and whether you identify emotionally as male or female.
Transgender: Someone who's gender is the opposite of their sex. A transgender woman is a person who identifies as a woman but has a physically male body, and a transgender man is vice versa.
Transsexual: Someone who has undergone sex change surgery (though sometimes used interchangeably with transgender).
Genderqueer: Someone who does not identify as "man" or "woman"; who has no gender. Distinctly different from transgenders/transsexuals, since trans people do identify to a single gender, it just happens to be the one different from the sex they were born with. Those who consider themselves genderqueer, however, do not identify as a gender.
Transgender, transsexual and genderqueer people are presently subject to more intolerance and prejudice than homosexuals/bisexuals. People are coming to terms with same-sex attraction, but alternative gender identity is still considered "weird" by most.
If you think about it, it's not that strange. I find it far more peculiar that sex and gender do correlate so much of the time; because they are essentially completely different things.
Belonging to one of the three demographics outlined above is not unhealthy or damaging in any way. It is not a delusion or mental illness, as too many people still think. There is no reason to object to it other than "oh no! it's different from me!"
Lets overcome that reaction, and throw the arms of social acceptance wide open to those who weren't lucky enough to be born the the physical body of the gender they identify with.
The dream of social acceptance is a wonderful vision that needs many advocates, and needs to permeate all who believe in this mission of universal equal value of every person on Earth.
ReplyDeleteI'd just like to point out the flaw in the idea that gender is the identification with either male or female emotions and behaviour, as there is a hell of a lot more going on than that... Psychologically there is much much more than just emotions and behaviour so it strikes me as a little bit too much of an assumption to state that it's that straight forward. But that's just me being picky :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Ben. That was rather lovely. :)
ReplyDeleteLiam: The actual definition is arguable; it can be said the description of gender as "behavioural" refers to the way one's psychological disposition manifests itself in gender-specific behaviour. But the point is, the gender is the non-biological bit of being a man or woman. :)
woop for genderqueer! thanks sam, it needed to be said
ReplyDelete