When it comes to gender identity it is the feeling and how a person self-identifies as. This is dissimilar from a persons’ gender or identity that a person has at present time. For instance, if a person is a female, that person feels and knows that they are a male. When it comes to sexuality it is in reference to what gender of person that they are attracted to. Even though gender identity is different from sexuality, there is a misunderstanding between the two. As a counselor dealing with both of these spectrums it is a common experience to confront in this day and age.
Gender Identity
As discussed before when it comes to gender identity is when a person self-identifies as either a female, male, both, and are neither from their opposite gender (Hays & Erford, p. 128). Gender identity is not when you label yourself as gay, lesbian, or a bisexual this deal with a person’s, sexual orientation which will be discussed later in the report. Furthermore, because of the diversity that people are going through today when it comes to their gender identity, it has been made publicly due to celebrities and local news. Yet, when it comes to counseling a person who is struggling and dealing with gender identity. It is important to have the client recognize and full articulate what their gender identity
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Gender identity experiences have been dated back to the biblical era. There are points in history where there was talk of transgender men and women. When we look back at the bible it mentions that Joan of Arc found himself in a transgender village (Hays & Erford, 2014, p. 107). When it came to the World Wars and even in the Civil and Cold War, there were instances where women would dress like men to fight (HistoryNet, Brown, & Stein, 2016). This has become an issue because of the attention that it is receiving in social media outlets, the news channels, newspapers, and our
In the beginning, there was man; at the same time (or shortly after, depending on who you ask) there was also woman. After those first men and those first women, there were more men and more women; evolving, shaping cultures, shaping practices, changing norms of work and of family size and of clothing. After hundreds upon hundreds of years, finally, gender began to change, too; the rigid lines between male and female behaviors started to blur, very slightly. As gender roles shifted, as the world got more progressive, as views of human sexuality evolved, people who understood gender not as a biological phenomenon but a cultural one felt safer to speak up; while being transgender was, and is, still not widely accepted and understood, it is significantly
Transgender is defined by Wikipedia as, “the state of one's gender identity (self-identification as woman, man, neither or both) or gender expression not matching one's assigned sex.” The article explains how a transgender individual may define themselves as having the characteristics that are normally associated with a particular gender but will choose to identify elsewhere on the gender continuum. It use’s the love story of Rhys Ernst and Zackary Drucker as an example. It took five years for Zackary to transition from male to female and Rhys from female to male. But both truly believe that they were born the wrong gender, and choose to correct this wrong with hormone treatments, surgery and personality changes that to the more tradition eye may seem absurd and abnormal. This is one of the main reason such transgender couples are talking about their transformations. To beach this gap between transgender’s and the rest of the population. It is believed that by educating society, we are more likely to accept something than if we do not fully understand the parameters that surround such an issue.
Proponents for a diverse gender identity argue that a society which operates using gender binary norms puts unwarranted hatred and stress onto individuals who do not fall neatly into the binary of man and woman, by being “challenged, chastised, or cajoled toward normativity” (Ehrensaft, 2015). In Ehrensaft 's article “Boys Will Be Girls, Girls Will Be Boys” she proposes there are at least nine gender identities. Those being; “transgender, gender fluid, gender priuses, gender tauruses, proto gay, proto transgender, gender queer, gender smoothies, and gender oreos.” Ehrensaft indicates that, while this list may seem large, it is still likely missing a lot. As a psychiatrist, she has worked with many families that are working to come to grips with a child who is non-gender conforming. In many cases these children have attempted suicide due to feelings of alienation and hatred from the outside
Gender plays an important role in society. It points out men, women, their actions, and how they should behave according to society's perception
Nowadays, there are lot of unexpected changes are coming in our lives every day which are challenging to our society. Gender issue is one of the hot topics among new changes. Transsexuality is a critical part of this gender issue. After reading the article “Night to his day” by Judith Lorber, I found a clarification regarding the social construction of gender. While looking for some facts about transgender, I have also found a lot of articles with different point of views from researchers, scientists and individuals who has transformed from their origin to transgender men/women. Now I am going to describe why some men and women want to change their gender, what are the impacts on individuals and in the society?
Gender and sex are commonly used as interchangeable terms yet when applied to interchangeable lifestyles, history has shown there are great delineations and disparities between individuals who overlay their biological and social identities. Sex is referred to as a person’s biological status comprised of internal organs, external genitalia, and chromosomal composition. (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) In contrast, gender refers to feelings, thoughts, and behaviors of cultural gender-normative, expectations, and congruent conformity between sex and gender roles (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Individuals that do not align with standard definitions have been classified as having a Gender Identity Disorder (GID) or as Gender-Variant (GV). Since the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) was published in 2013, all gender related diagnosis have been categorized under Gender Dysphoria (GD) (Zucker, 2009). To gain an in-depth understanding of gender dysphoria this paper will cover the history, criteria, treatment approaches and goals, as well as cultural and environmental issues related to the diagnosis.
According to the DSM-5, gender dysphoria is “the distress that may accompany the incongruence between one’s experienced or expressed gender and one’s assigned gender” (American Psychological Association, 2013). Even though studies have shown that not every individual suffers from distress, it is still possible that an individual might suffers from distress due to the hormonal treatment or surgical procedure(s). In the past, gender dysphoria has been referred to as “gender identity”. However, gender identity, by the DSM-IV definition is “a category of social identity and refers to an individual’s identification as male, female, or occasionally, some category other than male or female” (American Psychological Association, 2000). Individuals that identify themselves with another gender tend to change their sex, which has been proven to be a hard and long process.
When it comes to gender identity, one’s perception on which gender they would prefer has a sociological effect on them. The minor details in our environment can have a major effect on a person such as television shows, books, and many other things. What people are unaware of is this spectrum called a gender continuum that can help show the different ways people identify their selves; a gender continuum is an extension of the gender spectrum that includes various types of “genders”. Many people struggle with gender identity and they are thought to have gender dysphoria. Gender dysphoria is deemed as a mental illness in which a person feels distressed at the fact of them not being able to express their inner identity (web m.d.). Many people that suffer with this disorder go searching for a way to “treat” themselves, but there isn’t a treatment for GID. Psychologist often suggest the best way to help you deal with your gender identity struggles is to go have a talk therapy session with a therapist. It takes a conscious mind to deal with gender identification
For many individuals, sexual and gender identity is a highly controversial topic to discuss. Those who have inconsistency with their internal or mental sense of gender compared to their physical gender is now described as a psychological disorder and is found amongst adults and adolescents. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders gender dysphoria also known as gender identity disorder refers to the stresses that accompany with the variances between one’s physical gender they were assigned at birth and one’s expressed or emotional gender (5th ed.; DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Gender dysphoria can be contributed to many different stressors determined by ones social interactions. Throughout the years the diagnosis of gender dysphoria has evolved due to the progression of medicine and new treatment discoveries to help limit further mental issues that come with sexual identity disorders.
Gender identity has been a delicate issue when it comes to determining if a person's gender is set at birth or develops and changes as a person ages. A person’s gender is not as simple as being classified as either male or female. There’s a considerable amount of external factors that can influence someone's identity. Although society has a major role in gender identity, sex assignment at birth is not final; furthermore, a person's gender can be influenced by psychological, physiological differences and undergoing changes to the human body.
As a child grows and conforms to the world around them they go through various stages, one of the most important and detrimental stages in childhood development is gender identity. The development of the meaning of a child’s sex and gender can form the whole future of that child’s identity as a person. This decision whether accidental or genetic can effect that child’s life style views and social interactions for the rest of their lives. Ranging from making friends in school all the way to intimate relationships later on in life, gender identity can become an important aspect to ones future endeavors.
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 order to discuss the biology of gender identity and sexual orientation, it is necessary to first examine the differences between multiple definitions that are often mistakenly interchanged: sex, gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Sexual orientation is defined by LeVay (2011) as “the trait that predisposes us to experience sexual attraction to people of the same sex as ourselves, to persons of the other sex, or to both sexes” (p. 1). The typical categories of sexual orientation are homosexual, heterosexual and bisexual. Vrangalova and Savin-Williams (2012) found that most people identify as heterosexual, but there are also groups of people that identify as mostly heterosexual and mostly gay within the three traditional categories (p. 89). This is to say that there are not three concrete groups, but sexual orientation is a continuum and one can even fluctuate on it over time. LeVay (2011) also defines gender as “the ...
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,