Introduction
Gender is the complicated relationship people have with their mental state and their physical body. There are two categories within the topic of gender, gender identity and gender expression.
Gender Identity
Gender identity is the internal feeling someone has about their gender. Many believe this is something one can never change and is instilled within them from childhood or early adolescence, similar to sexual orientation. Many on the contrary believe that gender identity can be something that changes over time and can even change on a day to day basis. Unfortunately, most of the scientific literature on gender identity is still in its infancy, but a general consensus is that gender identity is an innate understanding of your body’s relationship between the mind and sex characteristics and is not simply a feeling or emotion, and is not an ideology.
Types of gender
There are two genders, man and woman, but there are many caveats. The intensity for which someone feels like a man or woman may fluctuate and can be different for each person, even for people who share the same gender identity. Some may consider not have any innate understanding of particular gender identity such as “non-binary.”
Gender Expression
There are primarily two types of gender expression: Cultural/societal and phenotypical
Cultural/societal gender expression is the way someone expresses and shows their gender identity to the outside world. This can be anything from the length of hair to the types of clothes worn and is highly culturally dependent. Unlike gender identity, one can change however they express themselves whenever they choose, but generally speaking one will try to emulate their gender identity with their expression.
Phenotypical gender expression is the presentation your body through sex characteristics, such as genitalia or muscle mass.
Sex and Gender
Sex is the biological identifier for a collection of characteristics that generally go together. For instance, people with a vagina typically have higher levels of estrogen, contrary to people who have penises and have higher levels of testosterone. Sometimes, these characteristics aren’t neatly filled in some people, and depending on how extreme the difference is will determine if someone is intersex, which is when someone’s sex is ambiguous biologically or the characteristics of the sexes are combined.
Usually, one’s sex and gender identity will overlap and function harmoniously, which is cisgender, however, sometimes the gender identity and sex of someone may misalign, creating someone who is transgender. Sometimes if this change causes intense discomfort or even mental anguish, this can result in the mental illness called gender dysphoria. Currently, the best way to counter this mental illness is to modify the phenotypical sex characteristics of the body to match the mind’s gender identity since it is currently impossible to change the gender identity of someone to match the body.
What does this all mean
Gender identity should generally be respected for everyone, even if someone’s gender identity does not match with their expression or even their biological sex. When someone’s gender identify causes mental aguish with their gender expression or sex, sympathy and comfort should be given and possible medical and mental help should be sought after. If a minor feels like their gender identity doesn’t match, then they should seek a mental health overview with a professional and see if they are transgender and/or have gender dysphoria. Sometimes, one may think they are transgender but many actually have an unrelated underlying mental issue that is causing them to think that. Only a professional can resolve this dispute. Once someone has figured out their gender identity, they should be treated as such with all the rights as anyone else.