In 1998 and if you had asked somebody how many genders there are, they’d look at you crazy with an obvious answer of “2, male and female, duh!” Fast forward to 20 years later, there are over 20+ gender identity terms, and half the times we have trouble remembering all of them and the other half trying not to offend anybody by assuming gender which is why it’s so important to have these different terms to refrain from doing so. The textbook definition of gender identity is: “a person’s perception of having a particular gender, which may or may not correspond with their birth sex.” One of the prime examples of utilizing gender identity terms of this decade is Caitlyn Jenner, formerly known as Bruce Jenner. There have been a number of researches …show more content…
is not the only place where there is fluidity for all to identify as what they want, in South Asia, there is a legal third gender that goes by the name of Hijras, due to a law that was recently passed which recognizes them. The Hijra community goes all the way back to antiquity. They can be eunuchs, men who have been castrated, intersex, one whose anatomy does not quite fit either genders, or transgender people. Hijras have more freedom and are actually quite respected and held to a certain power in India as opposed to a regular transgender or intersex persons. In the 1650’s, Franciscan travelers noted the first presence of “men and boys who dress like women.” in the streets of modern day Pakistan. Ramayana, an ancient Indian poem which consists of a prince by the name of Rama, struggling to rescue his wife from a demon. At some point in the story, Prince Rama turned to the people who followed him because they admired him so much and said “Ladies and gents, please wipe your tears and go away.” The people who did not identify as male or female stayed because they were not addressed and had no idea what to do. These people lived here for 14 years, and Prince Rama returned to find them all meditating. Although this story is a myth, it is believed this is why Hijras are held with such
For instance, sociologists would argue that characteristics of the male gender in a given society include independence, and dominance whereas females express more passive behavior. Gender identity, on the other hand is an individual’s sense of their gender or in other words, their sense as to whether they are feminine or masculine. Therefore, transgender is a term related to “people whose gender identity is different from the gender commonly socially assigned to them on the basis of their biological sex” (Morrow & Messinger, 2006, p. 7).“Biological theories assume that gender should be consistent with biological sex and there are only two genders and two sexes” which does not correspond to transgender people. Furthermore, transgender is also used as a general term to include people such as transsexuals and cross-dressers
With the “Orange Is the New Black” star, Laverne Cox being transgender and permitted to play a vivid character as “Sophia”, Caitlyn Jenner’s announcement on the Diane Sawyer interview in 2015, and the arsenal of social media, being non-cisgender (not the gender assigned at birth) in general, has been discussed more than ever. Due to the Internet’s broadness, people who met this classification are unraveling new identities such as non-binary and genderqueer (only people who are this can say this word as “queer” is a slur). Being cisgender is the norm in society. I am also non-cisgender and this is an unique thing that possessed many scars.
Hurst thinks gender and sexuality are constantly being influenced by human experiences and so they can change. According to Hurst, “The wide variety of self-identities, gender practices, and even biological differences found in contemporary society have led a growing number of scholars to urge replacement of the traditional dichotomies of male/female and masculine/feminine with more complex classification systems of sexuality and gender” 150. Hurst notes that the Western culture sees male and female as two separate categories while some other countries acknowledge more than two sexes, sexualities, and genders. An example of this is the hijras in India, “ while male at birth, define themselves as neither men nor women but as a third gender. They wear women’s clothing and may marry men.” 149. Hurst feels that as a Western culture we have such a limited acceptance of what masculinity and femininity look like that it leads to discrimination and inequality of
However, an umbrella term, or a word that covers more than one specific topic, such as transgender, does not only describe people who identify as the opposite sex; it also describes people who identify with both male and female genders, people who identify as genderless, or people who fluctuate between two or more genders. Many transgender people often refer to themselves simply as “trans.” Transgender does not define one’s sexual orientation, however; gender is considered a social construct while sexuality is not.
In this article, Shaw and Lee describe how the action of labels on being “feminine” or “masculine” affect society. Shaw and Lee describe how gender is, “the social organization of sexual difference” (124). In biology gender is what sex a person is and in culture gender is how a person should act and portray themselves. They mention how gender is what we were taught to do in our daily lives from a young age so that it can become natural(Shaw, Lee 126). They speak on the process of gender socialization that teaches us how to act and think in accordance to what sex a person is. Shaw and Lee state that many people identify themselves as being transgendered, which involves a person, “resisting the social construction of gender into two distinct, categories, masculinity and femininity and working to break down these constraining and polarized categories” ( 129). They write about how in mainstream America masculinity and femininity are described with the masculine trait being the more dominant of the two. They define how this contributes to putting a higher value of one gender over the other gender called gender ranking (Shaw, Lee 137). They also speak about how in order for femininity to be viewed that other systems of inequality also need to be looked at first(Shaw,Lee 139).
When discussing the meaning of gender identity, each and every person has a different view and perception. Most times, these views are instilled upon them throughout their childhood whether they are fully aware of it or not. As a result, some children feel forced to conform to the stereotypical gender roles and identities defined by society. For me, however, that was never a problem.
Thailand beholds the highest rate of Transsexuals throughout the world. According to Sam Winter, the numbers differ from about 10,000 to (unofficial) 300,000. Even if the number of 10,000 was "an accurate one, it would still represent an incidence substantially above that estimated for transgender in most other parts of the world" (6). To explain the case for this high number of transsexuals, I will refer to the impact of localization of Buddhism in Thailand and how it leads to the understanding of transsexuals in the current day. I will conclude by giving an outline of its effect on tourism in Thailand.
When someone says ‘gender categorization and identity’, I think of the 1950’s and places where women aren’t worth as much as men. They hold some negative connotations for me, but they aren’t bad in their essence. Categorization is placing things into classes, to organize them. We categorize gender as children because of our culture. A doll is assessed as a girl because it wears a dress, yet it cannot be female. People are assigned the most basic identity in gender, no matter who they are. A black male would be categorized differently than a black female would be. Erving Goffman takes this debate a step further to say that some behaviors are “somehow inherent in their sex” (qtd. by Tannen; 63). Behaviors of men and women seem to fall into patterns with their corresponding genders. Not everyone fits into these neat little boxes. This does, however, show gender categorization. Gender identity is the opposite of gender categorization. This is the way we see
In conclusion, Eastern and Western cultures clearly vary in the level of tolerance and acceptance they each have towards what is considered outside of the social norm for sex and gender. This is evident with the amount of acceptance of homosexuals and transsexuals in our everyday society as well as in some religious places of worship. There is also a great deal of tolerance for the idea of a third sex within the Indian and Hindu culture. Eastern cultures are definitely more accepting and open then Western cultures. Many studies have been done to prove this information and this paper draws on some of them.
There are many different diagnosed disorders known to society, each disorder, with the many symptoms and side effects, serious in its own effect. Many disorders have symptoms that impact numerous areas of a person’s life and cause distress for the one suffering from these symptoms. All disorders are something that people are naturally born with and must learn to manage during life. Among these disorders is Gender Identity Disorder. Gender is a term used in discussing the different roles, identities, and expectations that our society associates with males and females. Gender identity shapes how we think and influences our behaviors. Most people identify their gender with the biological sex determined by genitalia; however, some experience discrepancy between biological sex and the feeling of being born as the wrong gender. According to American Accreditation Health Care Commission, gender identity disorder is a conflict between a person's physical gender and the gender he or she identifies with (Health Central). In “Gender Identity Disorder : A Misunderstood, Diagnosis” Kristopher J. Cook says, “Gender identity disorder denotes a strong and persistent desire to be of the other sex (or the insistence that one is of the other sex), together with persistent discomfort about one’s own sex or a sense of inappropriateness in the role assigned to one’s own sex.” (DOCUMENT) As with any disorder, there are many hardships for those that are struggling with Gender Identity Disorder, also known as GID. Many who have this disorder often find themselves battling depression due to insecurities with who they are and the unacceptance from society. This depression will often lead to suicide attempts and some, unfortunately, succeed. A Truth ma...
Identities are an important part of the human experience. One of the many identities that creates a person is gender. Society, being the entity establishing social norms and social roles, plays a part in effecting the individual’s gender, and how they choose to express themself. The underlying or overlying identities also have the same effect. Gender is not only an identity, it is a lifestyle inside and out. Gender, like race, class, and sexuality; is not limited to the binary scale, and that is normal, natural, and human. The concept of gender is man-made, but it forces one’s hand to analyze the thought processes behind an individual's perception on gender through self, through society, or through the dichotomy and/or correspondence of the
In India there is a set boundary that is different from men and female. They are known as hijras which is a type of gender in India and they define themselves as neither male and female. It can be related back to queer gender, but it is still different due to the fact of cultural differentiation. In the article “Hijras as Neither Man Nor Women” by Serena Nanda it states that they all wear female clothes, male can still identify themselves as male, but can still take on female roles. Hijras are made up of various people. The people that would be considered hijras is if the males have no sexuality towards female and is impotent. While the females are considered hijras if they do not menstruate. Based on Indian culture if you were born with both male and female genitalia they would take the child saying that it is a hijra and needs to be raised with other hijras. In the United States we would call these hermaphrodites, but are still considered as hijras in India. India socially constructed a cultural boundary for those who do not consider themselves male or female, but as
In the early days most pregnant women would rely on their grandmother’s silly predictions or other old wives tales to predict whether their unborn baby was a boy or a girl. However, women had no way of knowing the sex of their baby until the actual moment of birth. The idea of gender determination has always been a challenge, and to this day one still cannot fully understand the concept of gender determination. However, with the use of modern day technology and much research, experts have found ways to determine the sex of unborn fetus.
Chettiar (2015) conducted a study on “Problems Faced by Hijras (Male to Female Transgenders) in Mumbai with Reference to Their Health and Harassment by the Police”. The Male to Female (MTF) Trans-genders in India commonly known as the Hijras are one of the hardly researched, abused, scorned, and callously neglected groups in Indian Society. This paper was part of the doctoral research submitted to the University of Mumbai entitled ‘The Status of Hijras in Civil Society: A Study of Hijras in Greater Mumbai.’ The objectives of this paper were to showcase briefly the socio economic status of hijras and to understand the problems faced by them with specific reference to their health and the harassment hijras face due to the Police. An exploratory
Gender identity is whether one feels as though they are a male or female. I never really thought about this much until I started taking classes that talked about gender identity. According to society, I am considered a female because my anatomical make up. However, I have never completely assumed the normal gender role or gender role stereotypes. As a child and teen, I loved to climb trees, lift weights, and play football. I did not enjoy playing with dolls, playing dress up or having tea parties, therefore, I did not do those things. I also was not sensitive like other females. As an adult, I do frequently adhere the gender role or stereotypes. Although, I still enjoy doing many male things like fishing, hiking, and camping but I also cook,