How Much Do You Know About Gender?
Test your knowledge on gender, how much do you really know? Will you learn anything new, or add your own thoughts below? This article is also topped off with “Comments from the transgender community”, so be sure to read on for those inspirational words, they are all truley amazing!
Article reviewed by members from the transgender community
Article as seen in the USW Sulci Psychology Magazine!
Gender Terms That You Should Know
Cisgender
People who associate their gender with their birth sex are considered as cisgender. This is when someone identifies their gender identity with the sex that they were assigned at birth. This can sometimes be abbreviated to “cis” and it’s a term medical and academic professional’s use.
Transgender
When someone learns that the gender they have been raised to be doesn’t fit with their identity, they may consider changing their gender to another that best fits their identity.
Transgender individuals may transition their gender from male to female (MtF), female to male (FtM) or from Male/Female to Nonbinary (NB), gender fluid, etc. It is important to note that not all transgender people have gender reassignment surgery to change their gender.
Gender Dysphoria
Gender dysphoria occurs when someone experiences discomfort when their gender identity does not match with their sex. When someone makes changes to their characteristics to match the definition of their gender, for example, cuts their hair or wears certain gendered clothing, this is known as gender affirming. Gender dysphoria is not a mental illness, but it may be the cause of some developing mental health problems.
Intersex
Intersex is a condition of having sex organs and the anatomy of both male and female characteristics. These individuals are not generally considered transgender, unless the person feels that their gender does not match how they were defined from birth. Some may go through gender correction surgery, others may not, it’s dependant on how the individual feels and how they identify.
Gender Identity
Gender identity is how an individual recognises their gender. This can be recognised through internal feelings and external expression. Gender identity can be expressed through labels such as, Man, Woman, Non-binary, etc, or gender can be expressed through clothing and pronouns.
Things That You Should Know About Gender
- Gender non-conforming people have been around for a very long time.
In India, a third gender, known as “Hijra”, has been around for thousands of years which is used to define a male with feminine characteristics, or if anyone does not identify as male or female. In the UK, there is history that resonates transgender and gender non-conforming identities that we see today. In the 18th century, someone known as Chevalier d’Eon lived as a man, but in later years lived as a woman located in London. (More historical records below: Other Articles) - Gender identity formation can be seen in both nature and nurture
Gender is typically described as a social construct, however, factors that can influence gender identity formation can be seen in both nature and nurture. On the side of nurture, gender identity can be formed through experiences from the environment and taught social behaviours. On the other hand, nature has been seen to influence gender identity by biological aspects such as hormones, chromosomes and other biological aspects that contribute to affirming one’s gender. - Gender & Sex are not the same
The sex of a person can be determined by genitalia, chromosomes and other characteristics. Gender is more of a societal taught concept which has originally stemmed from sex characteristics, for example, males who are assigned male form birth are described as boys because of their sex characteristics. However, gender is not restricted to the boy/girl binary, it is a spectrum.
The Genderbread Person on the right demonstrates how gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, and gender expression are all different and may not match all the time. For example, a transgender women may have the sex of a male while identifying as a woman. They may express their gender through feminine clothing if they choose.
4. Gender-nonconformance and neurodiversity
A correlation has been found between individuals who are gender non-conforming and neurodivergent. This may suggest that people with diagnoses such as ADHD or autism are more likely than neurotypical people to question their gender or change their gender that they were assigned at birth — however more research needs to be done in this area.
5. Pronouns
Pronouns are words we use every day to identify nouns and describe individuals or groups. For example, it, he, she, we, us, they and them. In context of gender identity, we typically identify males with “he/him” and females with “she/her”. For individuals who don’t fit within the binary of male or female, they may just go by “they” or “them”. Within the transgender community, some individuals use pronouns such as ze/hir or ze/zir if they feel that’s what bets fits their identity.
Some comments from the transgender community that they would like to share
Casccity, 18, Pontypridd, Non-binary
“Identifying as non-binary has made me feel a lot more comfortable with myself because I have never felt that I fit with the binary genders. I never felt secure in knowing that I am a boy or girl, when I discovered what non-binary was, I was like “Oh, hey, that’s me!”. The fact that non-binary as a label is such an umbrella remedy, I can experiment with different pronouns and styles I feel comfortable with without having to change or explain new labels to people.”
Ruben, 13, Cardiff, Transgender Male
“I’m unsure if supply teachers get the same training as normal teachers, but I’ve been told twice by supply teachers that I am not a boy! Once, the supply teacher pointed to the seat next to me and said to another kid, ‘do you mind sitting next to her…’ putting emphasis on ‘her’. I don’t think they realise how upset that makes me.”
Joseph, 21, Wales, Non-Binary
“I believe gender as a concept restricts people with expectations of behaviours, and getting rid of those expectations by identifying as neither has helped me be a lot more confident in who I am. I’m usually quite an effeminate person anyway, but I still have masc traits. But those aren’t the things that define me, it’s my personality and my own chemistry with the things I do, the ways I act, and the ways I present myself that make me who I am. Identifying as nonbinary has helped me bring more of those traits I used to repress out, since now I don’t think of myself as a man, I think of myself as Joseph. And Joseph is cool af.”
Lizzie, 21, Demigirl
“The LGBTQ+ community should be taught in school. This would be helpful because if people are ever to interact with anyone who falls within these categories, or if the kids themselves start questioning things about themselves, they will have the recourses to make informed choices about themselves and better understand the world around them”.
Lois, 20, Cardiff, Non-binary
“When it comes to gender, there are so many people who don’t realise how one sided it is. An AFAB (Assigned Female at Birth) can wear male and female clothing and no one bats an eyelid. Are they wearing tomboy clothing? No one minds. However, if an AMAB (Assigned Male at Birth) wears anything feminine, everyone looks at them, stares and judges. It should be acceptable for both clothing to be just fabric; it doesn’t need a gender. Why are we gendering plant fibres and dyes?”
Thanks For Reading!
Thanks for reading! I hope you learnt more about gender — I definitely did! Let me know your thoughts in the responses section, I’d love to hear what you have to say!
I ensured that all the information above is accurate by doing some extra research and confirming the information with members from the transgender community.
There is still a lot we do not know about gender, so it is important to keep an open mind and accept everyone for who they are — you don’t have to understand it. Be kind. 😊
Thank you to my most recent followers, Jason Provencio, Adriano Macedo (Coffee&Money💎), Luciano Latouche, Life's Gems, Hiranur Bulut, Martin Lostak and Sam Maloney. I appriciate your interest, and I hope you enjoyed this read too!
And a special thank you to Martha Lueck for following me and subscribing to recieve e-mail updates every time I post. That’s awesome!
