Alright, so let’s talk about this… what do they call it… gender identity thing. You know, like, whether you feel like a man or a woman, or somethin’ else. It’s kinda confusing, to be honest. What is gender identity? Well, from what I gather, it’s all about how you feel inside, you know? Like, deep down, do you feel like a fella or a gal? Or maybe somethin’ in between, or neither. It ain’t got nothin’ to do with what you look like down there, see? That’s somethin’ different.
Now, they got these smart folks, these psychology people, and they say it’s all about how you grow up. They say kids, little tykes, they watch their mommas and daddies, and they figure out what boys and girls are supposed to do. Like, boys play with trucks and girls play with dolls, that sort of thing. They call it learnin’ gender roles. And it seems like kids, they make up their minds about this stuff pretty early on. They got these little ideas in their heads, what they call “schemas” about what’s boy stuff and what’s girl stuff. I tell ya, kids these days, they’re learnin’ all sorts of new things I never even heard of when I was young.
- Some folks say this feelin’ you got, this gender identity, it’s set in stone from the day you’re born. Like, it’s in your blood or somethin’. They call ’em “essentialists”, I think.
- Then there’s other folks who say it’s all about how you’re raised and the world around ya. They say society tells ya what a man or a woman should be, and that’s how you figure out who you are. They call these ones “social constructivists” or somethin’ like that. Sounds fancy, don’t it?
Now, don’t get me wrong, this ain’t somethin’ new. People have probably been feelin’ different inside for ages. But now, they got words for it, you know? Like “transgender”. That means you feel different than what you were born as. Like, you mighta been born lookin’ like a boy, but inside you feel like a girl, or the other way around. Gender identity development, that’s what they call it, this process of figuring out who you are, man or woman, or somethin’ else entirely.
And then there’s this other thing, “sexual orientation.” That’s who you’re attracted to, who you wanna be with. Some folks like the opposite sex, some like the same sex, and that’s just the way it is. It’s all about who you love, not who you’re supposed to love. It’s like that song, “You are who you are.” I always liked that song.
This here psychology stuff, it’s all about understandin’ how people think and feel. And this gender identity thing, well, it’s just part of that. It’s about figuring out who you are deep down, and that ain’t always easy. But it’s important, you know? Everyone deserves to be happy and comfortable in their own skin, no matter how they feel inside. Now, I ain’t no expert, but that’s how I see it. It’s just about lettin’ folks be who they are, simple as that. They keep changin’ the words they use, but it all boils down to the same thing in the end, don’t it? Just be yourself, that’s what I always say.
And this ain’t just some newfangled idea, neither. These psychology folks, they’ve been studyin’ this stuff for a long time, doin’ all sorts of research and whatnot. They say gender identity is each person’s internal and individual experience of gender. It’s somethin’ personal, somethin’ inside ya that nobody else can see. And it’s different from your sex, you see. Sex is what they write on your birth certificate, male or female. But gender identity is how you feel in your heart and your head. For most people, these two things match up, but for some, they don’t, and that’s okay too. It’s all part of being human, I reckon. And it ain’t somethin’ you can see from the outside, either. You can’t just look at someone and know how they feel inside, can ya?
So, yeah, this gender identity thing, it’s a bit complicated, I guess. But it’s also pretty simple, when you think about it. It’s just about bein’ true to yourself, and respectin’ other folks for bein’ true to themselves, too. And that ain’t such a bad thing, now is it?
Tags: [ap psychology, gender identity, gender roles, sexual orientation, psychology, gender, identity, development, essentialists, social constructivists, transgender]
