Gender in its most basic definition is the characteristics of behavior, thoughts, and roles in society in relation to one’s assigned sex. Gender is not sex, but rather an interaction with sex. An individual who is considered cisgender identifies with the behavior that follow the societal expectations for their assigned sex. Transgender is a general terms for individuals who identify with a behavior that doesn’t follow the societal expectations for their assigned sex at birth.
There are numerous aspects that influence gender. Identity is comprised of an individual’s sense of self internally. Expression is related to how individuals present themselves. Presentation encompasses both behavior and appearance. These aspects aren’t static, they are salient. Gender is also heavily influenced by the culture that an individual is in. These experiences and expectations are heavily influential.
Biological sex of humans lands on a bimodal model. Sex is not unambiguous or nonoverlapping. A majority of the population clusters around either the female or male sex, but what constitutes as female or male? There is a large diversity within the concepts of male and female. They are not scientifically set as a binary structure. Consequently, there is no one system to categorize the entirety of biological sex. There are typical morphological traits, genotypes, and hormone balances for example. However, people have quite the variation in a lot of these characteristics. Different conditions and factors influence these. Some individuals may have triple chromosomes (e.g., XXX, XYY, and XXY) instead of the typical two (XX and XY). Other individuals may even have different cells vary being XX or XY. The morphological sex development is also reliant on things such the amount of gene copies and hormone levels at the stages of development, sensitivity of hormone receptors, and metabolic factors (e.g., can be chromosomally male, but due to androgen insensitivity had developed morphologically female). Biological sex is more complicated and it’s important to not view it in a reductionist approach.
When there is incongruence with assigned sex and gender identity, it becomes a breeding ground for feelings of gender dysphoria. It is important to support the genders of individuals through respect and seeing everyone as people. It is also important to note that the societal expectation of gender affect cisgender individuals as well as transgender individuals. Expectations and rigid beliefs can place people into boxes and constrict expression of individuality. Gender and sex should never impact agency of people. We must work to combat this in our world. I hope to actively work to destigmatize gender and help bring attention to the importance of gender in our society and every day lives, even if we don’t personally notice it.
So hey, my name is Mengxian and I use they/them pronouns. How are you?
I really like how you described gender as an interaction with sex. Gender has so much to do with how individuals internally feel rather than society’s socially constructed roles and should not be interchangeable with sex. I also liked how you discussed how gender should not be confined to a binary and how it isn’t “static” as it exists and can change/develop over periods of time. There is significant diversity in how people express and experience gender through the roles placed on them in society, their relationships with others, and the way gender is classified in society every day.