The Everyday Effects of Gender Identity and Expression
My school is still a bit old fashioned when it comes to choral concerts. The choirs are different in that the males have to wear tuxedos that are apparently a bit difficult to put on and the females have to wear ill-fitting black dresses with a set of pearls. The males don’t really seem to mind their tuxedos as much as the females hate their dresses. After all, wearing jackets and pants isn’t much different from their everyday attire, while women haven’t worn dresses everyday since the 1950s. Most come to school in the same sort of jeans and and t-shirts the males do. Some of the females in the choir find the dresses uncomfortable for more than just that.
There is a reason for why I use the term “female,” because everyone in the Women’s Choir is biologically female, but their gender isn’t necessarily the same. There are people who could be transgender, gender non-binary, and agender, like myself, all who, simply because they are born female, have to wear a dress and are considered women by the choir. These sort of traditional views on gender are still present in most of the world despite the fact that there are many people who are not cisgender out there.
In terms of biological sex, I am female. In terms of gender identity, I am agender, and of gender expression I am masculine. There are distinct differences between each and all relate to how people view one another. Biological sex is nothing more than biological, meaning that people have certain genitalia and are put into two categories, male and female. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that people identify with their assigned sex, which is where gender identity comes in. Gender identity is the gender people identify as. I am agender, so I do not have a particular gender, but there are people who identify with the opposite gender of their assigned sex, transgender, those who identify with both, bigender, and those who identify with one sometimes or the other other times, gender-fluid, just to name a few. Gender expression is how one chooses to express their identity. I choose to wear more masculine clothes and have a more masculine haircut, others dress more femininely and some even mix and match with masculine and feminine clothing.
The fact that some choose to recognize someone’s gender by the way they dress or appear is a display of ignorance on the subject of gender, which only proves to propel the problem of societal influence over an individual. In no way am I attempting to blame issues like these on society as if it is a separate entity from myself because I know full well that I am a part of American culture and society, and as of yet, I have not done anything to draw awareness to the difference between expression and identity. However, I try my utmost to be open-minded and accept people as they are. My belief, when it comes to gender identity, is that how a person identifies won’t be known by their appearance, therefore, the requirement to learn this information is simply to ask.
I am aware that some may find it uncomfortable to ask about a person’s gender identity, but there are many that would be grateful that someone took the time to ask them what pronouns they would like people to use. Some of the teachers at my school asked me first thing when I introduced myself as Harry despite my name being Hannah on the attendance sheet. I was at first a little surprised, but I was, ultimately, delighted that someone would care enough to ask and many people feel the same way.
There are more than just the pronouns ‘he’ or ‘she’ - some wish to be addressed as ‘they,’ and some prefer as obscure a pronoun as Ze, Xe, Ne, E, or Ve. These pronouns are hard to guess without asking first, which makes asking for pronouns even more necessary. However, I find that when I’m in doubt and too nervous to ask, I usually use the pronoun “they” because it is a common, neutral pronoun and even though people do generally correct me, I haven’t met anyone who gets offended by it. It’s an easier way to find out what someone’s pronouns are because they probably won’t get too upset if it’s wrong and will correct you if necessary.
There are people who decide to dress differently from the typical person using their pronoun. Tomboys are an example of a more subtle kind of someone’s gender expression not matching their gender identity because they choose to express themselves in a traditionally masculine way, instead of a traditionally feminine one, yet still use the pronoun “she”. An Everydayfeminism.com article called “Separating Out Gender Identity and Expression,” is written from the perspective of someone who does not identify themselves as a woman, but they have long hair, frequently shave their legs, and wear their “girlfriend’s tiny turquoise athletic shorts.” They choose to express themselves in a distinctly more feminine way. They actually identify themselves as “masculine-of-center,” which is someone who leans more towards the masculine side of the gender scale.
I have seen many people attempt to disqualify someone’s gender comparing genders to objects or animals. For example, I once heard a high schooler say “I identify as a narwhal,” when joking with their friends about someone who identified themselves as bigender. I was appalled to say the least because the majority of my friends and myself, as well, consider our genders to be non-binary, not male or female. I was concerned because I didn’t expect such a negative response to a person’s gender identity, especially not from teenagers, who are growing up with a developing LGBT community around them. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the courage to say anything at the time because they were a group of boys and were much bigger than I am. Even my step-sister doesn’t really understand gender identity, but she isn’t afraid to discuss the issue with me, which is more than I can say for most people who don’t believe there are more than two genders. She is willing to talk about what the letters of LGBT represent and can recognize that the people in the community are a part of the society around all of us and, therefore, the gender issue affects everyone.
Some people believe that someone’s gender identity is just a phase or that they only developed their idea of identifying as a gender different from their biological sex because of the media. However, there is a factor of science and some develop a gender identity before they’re old enough to be affected by the media. For example, a nine year old girl named Oti was born biologically male, but when she first learned to talk she described herself as a girl. This isn’t only for people who are transgender, an eight year-old named Jonathan identifies as both a girl and a boy since they were two and a half.
Gender may also be affected by certain genetic traits, which can cause a child to be born with intersex characteristics, such as a syndrome called CAIS (Complete Androgen Sensitivity Syndrome) where an XY chromosome fails to be expressed to its full degree for an embryo, so the resulting child may appear female. Enzyme deficiencies and a lack of a DHT hormone, a potent form of testosterone, can result in something similar. Gender is a combination of chromosomes, hormones, psychology and culture, so one can’t use any single element of it to make the claim that it shows what gender someone is.
Psychologists are doing research to find out just how deeply embedded a person’s gender identity is. So far, the general term for it is “gender dysphoria,” where there is a conflict between a person’s assigned sex and gender identity. There are certain ways to reduce or eliminate this conflict, like getting a sex change surgery, hormone treatment, or changing the way they express themselves. However, simply because a person doesn’t necessarily identify as their assigned sex, doesn’t mean that they want to change their body. Some may decide to change their clothes or mannerisms. Others simply ask to be referred to as the gender they identify as. I changed my appearance to look more masculine, gave myself a relatively unisex name for people to call me, and I don’t have any intention of changing my body because it functions the way I need it to and I don’t want to change it.
In a recent edition of Time magazine, the cover story, “Beyond He or She,” described how a thousand people were asked if Facebook’s 60 gender options were too excessive and the majority of them responded that there was just about right the right amount or, even, too few. Which just goes to show how many people out their are affected by the different gender identities. The article even states that “20% of millennials say they are something other that strictly straight and cisgender, compared to 7% of boomers.” This shows both how times have changed and how many different people there are in the world, a fact which I think should be celebrated because it shows the individuality of people.
However, not all citizens of our country see this as a reason to celebrate. A new issue has been brought to national attention. The use of bathrooms, locker rooms, and other facilities for transgender people. The Obama administration was originally trying to allow transgender students access to facilities which match their identified gender. However, our new president, Donald Trump, decided to drop the issue. Ultimately, forcing transgender students to use their assigned sex’s bathrooms, locker rooms, and other facilities or, if the school is willing, use the single bathrooms meant for faculty and staff. This will only prove to promote the invalidation of transgender students, even though adults should be protect children and their rights instead of discriminating against them simply because some of their body parts don’t match their identified gender.
Unfortunately, it is not only non-LGBT people who discriminate against people whose gender doesn’t match their assigned sex. Although, it is considerably less common, there has been some opposition from the homosexual/bisexual community. This means that some transgender and gender non-binary people are completely surrounded by negativity, so they are very unlikely to be themselves because they are being stifled by their community.
I am not the only one in the family who is a member of the LGBT community, so I have a relatively high level of acceptance from them already. However, there are still people in my community and overall society that don’t accept people who are genderqueer, anyone who isn’t cisgender. It is my belief that people who aren’t informed, lash out at things or people they don’t understand. Therefore, it is important for people to know about this part of the LGBT community, so that they may understand them and perhaps change their behavior towards them for their good and for the good of society as a whole.
