Gender Identity is a strong topic that many discuss in day to day living. It’s important to understand that gender identity has three different terms, according to Dictionary.com. A lot of people have many different opinions about gender identity. You’re probably thinking There is only two genders in this world male and female. I too, believe that there are only two genders in this world and that people are born straight. Grysman explains, “Gender is among the earliest categories that infants become aware of, and from toddlerhood on, children categorize both themselves and others as female or male.” (613.) People are not given a choice to be who they want to be, since your gender is assigned at birth.
In this essay, I will be explaining how
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In the past Johns Hopkins was a center for patients with a gender disorder. John Money, PhD worked in the Psycho-hormonal Group as a head. He had a very strange theory. He would apply his theory to actual patients, not knowing or expecting what would happen. The experiments he attempted on children and adult literally had no boundaries. One of well-known cases of gender identity disorder was about a boy. He was inducted into the Johns Hopkins center because of what happened during a normal ‘surgery’. The boy’s penis was accidently burnt during the circumcision. He underwent a surgery that made him have female body part. The little boy was raised as a girl. The boy raised as a girl felt as if he was a boy. When the family decided he was old enough to know they told him about what had happened during his circumcision. Once he had heard of this he decided to not be living as a female anymore. He later committed suicide. What we have learned from this experiment is that it comes with a lot of depression. Van Meter stated, “Because of the failures that began to materialize from Money’s ideology, the Psycho-hormonal group was abolished and Money was forced into retirement.” (239.) They are steps being taken to provide the best medical treatment and social environment with those who are suffering GID. I added this piece of information because I thought it was something we all show know about how the past has …show more content…
There are many different factors that display the “social norm” for genders. Religion plays a role along with social media. Females are to wear pink and play with dolls. As females grow from girls into women. They are supposed to clean, cook, do laundry, and anything their husbands ask them to do. They have the ‘okay’ to show emotions on how they feel about something and not get picked on it. As where boys, they are not allowed to wear pink or play with dolls. They are to wear blue and play with monster trucks or play in the dirt. They are not typically allowed to show emotions. When little boys grow up to be men, they are supposed to go to work, pay the bills, and they typically want their supper on a plate ready when they get home. Katz proclaims in his article, “More than anything else, boys are supposed to learn how to handle themselves.” (59.) Meaning, they are not allowed to show emotions to other kids not even to their own parents. They are just supposed to ‘handle’ themselves. How does a little kid just handle themselves and not show emotions? Pollitt states, “Women’s looks matter terribly in this society, and so Barbie, however ambivalently, must be passed along.” (74.) I must strongly agree with this remark. They do everything you watch on a TV. The TV Ads advertise women with makeup and being tall and skinny. Gardner claims, “By helping children understand the similarities of different
For those who feel unsure of their inner feeling of their sex they prefer to be described as other, they, or them. For example, in “The freedom to Choose Your Pronoun” by Conlin, she talks about the 16 year old Katy, who mentions ‘For those of us in the nonconforming gender community, it is great to see Google make the option more mainstream’”. Teenagers are by nature prone to rebellion and sometimes only act a certain way to make parents or others mad or just to give the contrary. With something like choosing your own pronoun, as in deciding if they want to be a female today and a male tomorrow shouldn’t be taken as serious, but if they insist on being a gender as oppose to the one they were born with, take them seriously and help them. Many clubs and organizations exist out there for those who need the help in deciding how they feel within themselves. Giving individuals the right to choose their pronoun will make them feel accepted in society. Now, not always will this happen. Naturally, everyone knows that if an individual looks like a girl and have all characteristics of a girl then she will be pointed as a her, she and vice versa for boys. Not everyone is going to have the same mentality, some people will not agree in letting a girl choose to be a boy and boys to choose to be a girl but the importance is how the individual
From the day they are born, parents play a huge role in socializing gender by giving their children toys to play with based on their gender. Boys are expected to like and play with toys such as trucks, cars, trains, and gross things like bugs and mud. Girls are expected to like anything pink, dolls, kitchen sets, and playing tea party with their dolls and stuffed animals. It is acceptable for girls to occasionally play with toys meant for boys but not vise versa. As they grow into their teenage years they are taught to like more things based on one’s gender. Kevin Macdonald writes, “boys like guns, boxing, wrestling and karate, team sports, and fixing things. Girls prefer dolls, sewing, cooking, dancing, and looking after younger children.” In their teenage years girls are not really suppose to like boy things and if they do they are seen as a tomboy. Through time though it has become more acceptable for girls to like a few guy things such as sports. As they become adults their expectations on what they like stays pretty much the same as teenage years. Men like things such as sports, cars, outdoor activities like hunting and fishing, and work. Women are expected to like things such as fashion (makeup, nails, clothes, shoes, etc.), cooking or baking, and doing
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.
We all come in to this world either as male/female and that’s something we don’t get to choose. However, we do get to decide who we like to identify as. Whether you stay the same, transition to the opposite sex, or identify as neither, it’s all up to you. That’s the power of “freedom of choice”. Well at least it is here in Northern America.
"A lot of people see gender as very one-sided, girl or boy, but in reality, even the choices of one, the other, both, or neither just don't feel right.” Many people don’t realize that there are more gender identities than just “male” and “female.” In June 2016, The Williams Institute at UCLA estimated that about 1.4 million US adult’s genders don't align with the one they were assigned at birth. One can identify as the opposite gender from their assigned sex, as no gender, as both, or as a unique identity not so easily categorized.
When two people are in love and plan on having a family, they look to the future and look at all the wonderful events to come. Yet, they do not think of any negative outcome that may lie in the future. No one likes to think that something different or unexpected can happen to his or her family, but rather image and focus on the great future that is yet to come. However, It seems that people are encountering more conflict with their gender identity and not only the individual but the families as well. This paper will point out how having a child who is gender confused suffers as much as the parents. It is hypothesized that parents who have a transgender child have a hard time accepting the child for who they are because of the negativity that
In another article by Emily Greenhouse “New Era For Intersex Rights” she tells us the story that Jim Ambrose (an interssex born child) lived while undergoing this condition, taking us back to Kitzinger’s definition of intersex. He tells us about his horrific childhood he experienced due to his parents not having been given much of an option by their doctor but merely “they had a problem and they could correct it” showing us “consequently, in the typical circumstance of a child being born with ambiguous genitalia, a ‘psychosocial emergency’ is declared with the intent of ‘fixing’ the child” (Kitzinger, 1999). His whole life growing up he lived as the opposite sex not being able to enjoy his childhood or even his life. Could not go on vacation with his friends because he had to go “get his testicels chopped off” instead. Ambrose tells us how he would have preferred to be allowed the opportunity to explore his own identity and then, him choosing “to later, have surgery” which would have made it easier for him identify formation as an adult. One final thing that i took from this article that really opened my eyes when he said that he has talked to many intersex people and says that not one of them has been happy with the treatment they have received from their physicians”. This is why it is important to educate ourselves on the matter on the specific interesex condition
What decides what your gender is? Some argue that it is a biologically based thing that a person truly has no choice in. With the study of hormones and how they differ in men and women, this has been a decently proven theory. Although, this is not the only form of belief that is held about gender and what makes a person at in accordance to their gender. There are people, like Judith Butler, who believe that a gender is a performative act. This means that some hold the belief that you are not actually born with a gender, but you develop and act in accordance to one as you grow up within your society.
Gender identity has always been a controversial topic in our society. While some people think of gender as either being a male or a female from the time of birth, some believe that gender does not necessarily have to be similar to the one that was assigned at the time of birth. Gender is an important phenomenon which needs to be taught to people in our society as it creates problem for those who identify themselves as homosexual, bisexual or transgender. This is because of the people still holding the traditional viewpoint of gender being either a man or a woman, and thus, not accepting the transgender or bisexual people, and further, forcing them to adhere to these societal norms. This concept of gender could be explained to people in an effective
When a person is seen they are first identified by their gender. We are born either male or female. Gender is given not chosen. It is supposedly meant to define our identity. In the World today, humans have decided and found ways to change their gender because they felt they did not connect with the one they were given. In the novel Some Assembly Required by Arin Andrews, Arin decides to become a transgender because he felt he would connect better with a different gender. His hatred for female fashion which led to his undeniable love for males’ fashion, his dislike for female puberty changes that made him like male puberty changes, and his non confronting of his given sexuality, shows that Arin’s gender does not in any way define his identity.
In today’s society, it can be argued that the choice of being male or female is up to others more than you. A child’s appearance, beliefs and emotions are controlled until they have completely understood what they were “born to be.” In the article Learning to Be Gendered, Penelope Eckert and Sally McConnell- Ginet speaks out on how we are influenced to differentiate ourselves through gender. It starts with our parents, creating our appearances, names and behaviors and distinguishing them into a male or female thing. Eventually, we grow to continue this action on our own by watching our peers. From personal experience, a child cannot freely choose the gender that suits them best unless our society approves.
The sex and gender binary is a socially-constructed classification of sex and gender into two distinct and biological forms of masculine and feminine. The binary is a restricting concept that enforces the ideology that solely two genders exist—it is a social boundary that limits people from exploring gender identity or mixing it up (Larkin, 2016). As Mann depicts it, the binary constrains us to take on one gender identity, and to follow through with the expected roles assigned to that gender. The implications are that it compels people to fit into the binary and follow the patriarchal, heteronormative traditions of society (Mann, 2012). However, the binary was not always so clear-cut, but certain concepts from scientific research such as the
Society expects different attitudes and behaviors from boys and girls. We are socialized to conform to certain gender roles based on our biological sex. For an example, masculine roles are associated with strength, dominance and aggression, while feminine roles are associated with passivity, nurturing, and subordination. Our family, friends, religious beliefs and media influence how we perform our
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...
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,