Gender is a primary category in which individuals both identify themselves and are identified by others. Gender is not a set of binary categpries, but rather a spectrum. The concept of gender can be restrictive in many ways. People are generally expected to identify as a particular gender, the one which has been assigned to them, and act in specific …
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Transgenderism
Transgenderism is the practice of transgressing gender norms. A Transgender person is someone whose gender display at least sometimes runs contrary to what other people in the same culture would normally expect. Transgender folks come in several flavors: FTM (female to male) are people who were born female but see themselves as partly to fully masculine. MTF (male to female) …
Read More »Defining Sex and Gender
The following definitions form a helpful guide to understanding issues around gender dysphoria. Physical Sex: To what sex do the organs of the body match, i.e. male, female or hermaphrodite. Gender: is expressed in terms of masculinity and femininity. It is largely culturally determined and effects how people perceive themselves and how they expect others to behave. Gender Identity: The …
Read More »Intersex and Gender Identity
There is a growing tendency to assume that all the varieties of phenotype (apparent physical sex), gender identification and sexual orientation are all merely different shades in one large rainbow. It is becoming increasingly common to hear people lump together transsexual, intersexual, transgender, gay and lesbian in the one sentence with the implication that all these issues share a common …
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