The Misconception of Gender Identity

When it comes to gender and sexuality, people believe there are only two options for each, male and female, gay and straight. That is not the way it should be. These aspects of identity, the sense of being a man or a woman, for instance, are distinct but  related. There is an increasing number of people who say they aren’t one or the other but instead could be neither or both.

At debate is the opinion that if you’re born a female/male, you are a female/male.. For example, someone might be biologically female, but if they say they are non binary, demiboy, genderfluid, etc, they are not a female in reality because gender is kind of a social construct. Research indicates that various aspects of sexuality, including both gender identity and sexual orientation are more fluid than previously understood, especially in youth, says the American Medical Association Journal of Ethics. There's a difference between being born that way and choosing one’s gender expression. “This is a much more advanced thing..is it biology or nature? I don’t know why we can't let that debate go. We are always, at every point in time, the product of both,” says Stephanie Sanders, an Indiana University Senior scientist.

Gender is often misunderstood or assumed based on one's style. In fact, factors that are determined by genes can change over life. For example, hair color and texture are genetically determined. Hair can be present or absent at birth, change color over time, revert from curly to straight, or straight to curly. This is the same for gender identity (one’s sense of self), gender socialization (how people are expected to act), and gender expression (how a person dresses or styles their hair).

A question many have is "How can you be 14 years a female, but, all of a sudden you’re not?" It's not all of a sudden, most of my life, the feeling of dysphoric with being a girl, having girl parts, or even using she/her pronouns doesn’t just dawn on you. It takes time for you to realize ‘oh being a girl makes me uncomfortable and even dysphoric. "'According to Imogen Binnie, an American Transgender Novelist. 'Nobody really wants to be a trans woman/man. I.e nobody wakes up and goes ‘ whoa maybe my life would be better if I was transitioned..'"

I have heard statements such as,  “Why isn’t this apple a broccoli then?!” which makes you just sound stupid. That’s not even a question; that’s discrimination against us, comparing us to food. “Gender identity can change in prepubescent children. The majority of younger children who experience gender dysphoria dont go on to be transgender adults,” says psychiatrists Jade Drescher & Jack Pula.

How is it acceptable to breed dogs to make a new breed,  but not to be non binary or something else outside of your biological gender? According to World Professional Association for Transgender Health, contemporary biological evidence does not support the notion that gender identity results solely from a single gene or even from the presence of a specific number of x and y chromosomes. Rather, gender identity emerges from interactions among genes, the environment, and other factors. 

Others might argue that "being trans is just a phase" or "when we were younger, none of this existed" when in fact, it did exist, people were just too afraid to tell their feelings and express themselves. Children who do not identify with their assigned gender can face higher rates of depression, suicide, and self harm.  “Supporting a young persons gender identity has been linked to better mental health “ says Melinda Moyer, Editor of The New York Times Magazine.  Transgender identities deserve to live and flourish in life without fear for their safety.

Works Cited

Moyer, Melinda Wenner. “How to Support a Child on the Transgender Spectrum.” 

The New York Times, 15 Mar. 2022. NYTimes.com, 

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/15/well/family/support-child-gender-identity-trans-non-binary.html.

Powell, Tia, et al. “Transgender Rights as Human Rights.” AMA Journal of Ethics, vol. 

18, no. 11, Nov. 2016, pp. 1126–31. Journalofethics.ama-assn.org, 

https://doi.org/10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.11.pfor3-1611.

Steinmetz, Katy. “Beyond He or She: The Changing Meaning of Gender and 

Sexuality.” Time, vol. 189, no.11, 27 March 2017. Time.com, 

https://time.com/magazine/us/4703292/march-27th-2017-vol-189-no-11-u-s/. 

Accessed 14 Apr. 2022.