GENDER FLUIDITY

New terms are entering the cultural lexicon as people endeavor to codify their sexual orientation or gender.

So, what is gender actually?

According to the definition given by the Oxford Dictionary, “The state of being male or female as expressed by social or cultural distinctions and differences, rather than biological ones; the collective attributes or traits associated with a particular sex, or determined as a result of one’s sex.

“Why didn’t you wear your make up today?”

“Why didn’t you paint your fingernails like you sometimes do?”

A simple reply to such questions given by a few volunteers struggling to fit in the gender spectrum was somewhat like this,

“I didn’t feel the need to.”

According to a study conducted by a psychotherapist helping such individuals to fit in their own self rather than having a place within the spectrum defined by the society, people arrived for the therapy with their fingernails painted a soft creamy beige and a dash of pink blush across each cheekbone on one day and came with jeans, shirt and sneakers the other day. It’s not easy for such individuals to let themselves be considered conventionally transgender, male to female. The pain of them not being binary or sometimes even anywhere on that binary spectrum is “intolerable”. They keep their feelings locked because they feel their daily experiences are inexpressible, unfathomable and extremely excruciating. Such individuals sometimes feel restricted by gender labels, and gender to them is an abstract concept. They endure a changing or “fluid” gender identity. But fluidity and discontinuity are central to the reality in which we live.

Gender is more than just expression. When I say expression I mean clothing choices and mannerisms. Gender is more of a feeling within you and less of a reflection of who you are as a person.

Gender-queer and gender fluid are not the same.

The thing that makes the identity of being gender-queer so unique is that it is different for everyone. Not everyone that uses this identity will feel the same way and express themselves the same way.

Gender fluid, on the other hand, means that you fluctuate between your identities. Gender fluid is more dependent on the expression of the individual and not solely based on how they feel.

Another way that gender-queer is different is that people with gender-queer identities are very rigid in their expression and feelings towards their gender and they never fluctuate. For example, a bi-gender person can identify as gender-queer or non-binary. Bi-gender people have two genders that don’t fluctuate whereas gender fluid people fluctuate in their gender. There is another identity that is often confused with gender fluid and that gender is known as gender-flux. The difference between the two is that gender-flux involves fluctuation in the intensity of the way the gender itself feels and not the gender itself. So gender flux is focused on the intensity of the feeling of gender whereas gender fluidity is focused more on the expression of gender. To simplify it a bit gender-flux can go under the gender fluid umbrella and the gender fluid umbrella is under the non-binary umbrella as a whole. There are a lot of overlaps in these identities.

Gender fluidity goes in a way like some days they might feel more masculine whereas some days they might feel more feminine and some days they might feel more androgynous or agender. Basically, where they find themselves on the spectrum is not necessarily patterned. They do feel a constant alienation from their own anatomy and their self-revulsion but are not sure what the right combination of feminine and masculine would be for them.

Gender fluidity is not a new idea actually.

In the eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, the female Pharaoh Hatshepsut was depicted in male clothing wearing the traditional Pharaoh’s beard. Ancient Greek mythology also includes numerous references to androgyny, cross-gender, and intersex. Portrayals of the god Aphroditus show him/her with both breasts and a penis.

Is gender fluid?

According to an article by The Guardian, Gender fluidity found its way into more headlines than ever in 2015. But regardless of the moment it’s having in both music and pop culture at large, to dismiss it as a passing fad or, worse, gimmickry is a mistake — one with echoes of that damaging and all too familiar phrase that queerness is “just a phase”.

Proclamations that “gender fluidity is the new black” may be well intentioned, but are unhelpful. Instead, the cultural landscape of the last year has afforded a new openness for artists who don’t identify with gender binaries. Miley Cyrus has been the most visible, declaring in June: “I don’t relate to being boy or girl, and I don’t have to have my partner relate to boy or girl.” She set up the Happy Hippie foundation in aid of homeless and vulnerable LGBTQ young people. In 2014, the indie singer-songwriter: “I believe in gender fluidity and sexual fluidity. I don’t really identify as anything.” Las Vegas-born rapper and singer Shamir echoed that statement, tweeting: “I have no gender, no sexuality and no fucks to give.”

EACH OF US HAS THE RIGHT TO DETERMINE FOR OURSELVES THE LABEL WE USE TO IDENTIFY OUR GENDER, IT’S MEANING, AND THAT WHICH WE WISH OTHERS TO USE IN REFERRING TO US.

Please do not feel pressured to pick a gender, there is nothing wrong with being a person that is questioning or has no label at all.

#MY_GENITALS_DO_NOT_DEFINE_MY_GENDER