Gender, Sex, and Sexuality - Gender Identity

Gender, Sex, and Sexuality SOCI 1306 Gender Identity Gender roles can be acted out with some degree of flexibility in American society. It is possible for males to adopt some roles that are associated with women and vice versa, without affecting their gender identification. A person's firmly held internal impression of their gender is known as their gender identity. The sex allocated at birth to transgender individuals and their gender identification are not always the same. A transgender guy was assigned female at birth but lives as a man; a transgender woman was assigned male at birth but identifies and/or lives as a woman. Although the exact number of transgender people is unknown, estimates of their numbers include 1.4 million individuals (Herman, 2016) and 2 percent of American high school pupils (Johns, 2019). We should refrain from assuming anything about someone's sexual orientation based just on their gender identification, given the term "transgender" does not denote a specific gender expression or sexual orientation (GLAAD 2021). A process of transition may be experienced by some transgender people, whereby they go from living more in line with the sex assigned to them at birth to living more in line with their gender identification. A person's life may undergo a change in the social, legal, or medical spheres, but not everyone experiences all three. Pronouns, connections, name, and presentation of the individual can all change throughout a social shift. Legal transition might involve altering one's legal name, gender on official government or official papers, and other things. Certain individuals may have a medical or physical transition, whereby they modify their external physical attributes or sexual orientation to better correspond their physical selves with their gender identification (UCSF Transgender Care 2019). They might alternatively be referred to as female-to-male (FTM) or male-to-female (MTF). Not all transgender people decide to change their bodies; many will keep their natural anatomy while identifying as a different gender in public. This is usually accomplished by taking on the attire, haircut, demeanour, or other trait often associated with a different gender. It's crucial to remember that those who cross-dress, or dress in a way that is customarily associated with a different gender from their biological sex, are not always transgender. Cross-dressing does not always imply a person's gender identification or transgender status; rather, it is usually a form of self-expression or personal style (TSER 2021). There is no one clear-cut reason why someone is transgender. It can be challenging to pinpoint the genesis of transgender manifestations and experiences due to their extreme diversity. Some theories propose biological elements like heredity or hormone levels in utero, together with social and cultural elements like experiences in infancy and maturity. According to the majority of experts, each of these elements influences a person's gender identification (APA 2008). People whose sex features, reproductive architecture, hormones, or chromosomes deviate from the typical two ways human bodies grow are referred to as intersex. Certain intersex characteristics are detectable from birth, but others are not apparent until adolescence or later in life (interACT 2021). While some individuals who identify as intersex have distinguishable physical characteristics that are defined by medical terminology, both intersex individuals and infants are healthy. Medical ethicists suggest that any surgery to modify intersex characteristics or traits—if desired—should be postponed until an individual can make their own decision. The majority of the intersex and medical communities oppose needless surgeries meant to force a baby to conform to a specific gender assignment (Behrens 2021). A medical treatment such as surgery will be required if a physical characteristic or medical condition prevents a newborn from peeing or performing another physiological function (which is extremely unusual); in other circumstances, medical intervention may be necessary due to hormonal difficulties associated to intersex traits. The phrases "intersex" and "transgender" should not be used interchangeably since many transgender persons do not exhibit intersex characteristics, and many intersex people do not identify as transgender. While some intersex persons feel that the LGBTQ community should accept intersex people, others do not (Koyama n.d.). The term "cisgender," which comes from the Latin word "cis," which means "on the same side," is frequently used to describe people who identify as the sex they were given at birth. ("Trans" is a prefix that indicates "across.") Many people who identify as cisgender do not self-identify as such since they are the majority and do not have a potential component to transition. Similar to transgender individuals, the term "cisgender" or its usage does not denote a person's gender, sexual orientation, or mode of expression (TSER 2021). Along with being heteronormative, many civilizations also uphold cisnormative norms, which are based on the belief that everyone is cisgender and that deviating from this standard is abnormal. Language around sexuality, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation is dynamic and ever-evolving. Visit http://openstax.org/r/tsero to explore the Trans Student Educational Resources Online Glossary for a summary of some of the most often used words. Gender dysphoria is a condition in which people do not feel at ease identifying with the gender that corresponds to their biological sex. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, has a diagnostic category called gender dysphoria, which refers to persons who do not identify as the gender that most people would consider them to be. For the dysphoria to fulfil DSM-5 diagnostic criteria, it must last for at least six months and cause a substantial amount of discomfort or dysfunction. Children must express their wish to change genders verbally in order to be classified into this diagnostic group. It is crucial to remember that gender dysphoria is not a diagnosis that is acknowledged by everyone and that not all transgender persons have it. Gender identity disorder, for instance, was reclassified as "gender incongruence" by the World Health Organisation in 2019 and placed in the category of sexual health rather than mental illness. Professionals in the fields of medicine and mental health do, however, agree that having the diagnostic category helps individuals in need of assistance or therapy. At different ages, people become aware that they could be transgender. A person might become aware that their gender identification does not match their given gender at birth even if they do not fully (or even partially) comprehend gender terminology and its consequences. Transgender identities have not always been accepted by society, especially in the United States, but it is especially hard for us to embrace them while they are young. Many believe that youngsters "grow out of it" and are too young to grasp what they are feeling. It is also true that some kids who express their wish to live as one gender and/or identify as another may end up choosing to live as their assigned gender. However, a child's sentiments cannot be explained as a "phase" if they continuously identify as one gender (or both genders) and/or express themselves as that gender for an extended length of time (Mayo Clinic 2021). Like many transgender individuals, some youngsters may experience pressure to fit in with society's expectations, which might cause them to repress or conceal their identity. Researchers discover signs of gender dysphoria in kids as early as seven years old, which is the chronic suffering related to gender identity (Zaliznyak 2020). Even though the majority of kids have a limited awareness of the social and cultural ramifications of being transgender, they might still have a strong sense that they do not belong with the sex that they are assigned. Furthermore, given that many transgender persons wait until much later in life—well into their twenties—to come out or start the transition, they could endure that pain for a very long period.