You’re running together gender and sex and then saying gender isn’t real. The reality is more nuanced.
You’re born with your sex (biologically determined), 2) you’re also born with gender identity, and 3) the way you present your gender is called gender expression. So I can be born a biological male but have a woman gender identity and this would make me transgender. Now whether I choose to dress in masculine or feminine clothes this doesn’t change my sex or gender identity.
This is where it gets murky for me and I don’t understand it at all. If someone is born male but identifies as female, but doesn’t adopt feminine social norms… Then how is that identifying as female?
I’ve wondered this myself, but I’ve never asked it before. I’ve also wondered if being trans is sexist in some way because you are dressing and acting how you think that gender should dress and act. Whatever the case may be, I still support trans rights as basic human rights.
The idea is that gender identity is something you’re born with but gender expression is a choice. Consider three examples:
A trans person in a community that doesn’t accept them may decide to dress and act in accordance with their biological sex even though (secretly, on the inside) they have a different gender identity.
Tomboys. Born as a biological female, identifies as a woman, but she expresses her gender in a way that people usually think of as being masculine.
Drag/Crossdressing. You can be born as a man, identify as a man, but enjoy wearing woman’s clothes (as part of a performance on stage or just because you like it).
Just like sex and gender are separable, gender identity and gender expression are separable.
I don’t know any person like this so this is just my imagination guessing:
Could be that you were born with male phenotype and raised that way. But you discovered that your feelings are really more aligned with the feminine realm.
But since you look male you don’t want to appear strange for others, so you keep the way you have been looking all your life, how you are used to dress and behave, and just identify as female. Might make you feel better and more aligned with your inner self.
You’re running together gender and sex and then saying gender isn’t real. The reality is more nuanced.
This is where it gets murky for me and I don’t understand it at all. If someone is born male but identifies as female, but doesn’t adopt feminine social norms… Then how is that identifying as female?
I’ve wondered this myself, but I’ve never asked it before. I’ve also wondered if being trans is sexist in some way because you are dressing and acting how you think that gender should dress and act. Whatever the case may be, I still support trans rights as basic human rights.
The funny thing is that cisgendered people are also dressing and acting how they think their gender should dress and act
That is a fantastic point.
The idea is that gender identity is something you’re born with but gender expression is a choice. Consider three examples:
Just like sex and gender are separable, gender identity and gender expression are separable.
I don’t know any person like this so this is just my imagination guessing:
Could be that you were born with male phenotype and raised that way. But you discovered that your feelings are really more aligned with the feminine realm.
But since you look male you don’t want to appear strange for others, so you keep the way you have been looking all your life, how you are used to dress and behave, and just identify as female. Might make you feel better and more aligned with your inner self.