No matter how much society progresses, the rules of the social atmosphere are mostly governed by the males. The patriarchy still rules society. Earlier this was very extensive but now with the passage of time this has decreased. Women are being given importance in today’s society to an extent. They are given freedom and liberty like the males nowadays. However the society still needs to uplift its ideology related to the other genders and their relations, like transgender, lesbian, gay, bisexuals and the queer.
People in society still consider that only two types of gender exist in society, that is, the males and females. The existence of other gender types normally in society is something which is very uncommon.
This article tells how sex is different from gender, and how sex is not all about determining gender and gender roles, rather it is about what makes you feel love and feels great.
How sex is different from gender?
Sex is something which is biologically determined by the anatomy of the individual’s reproductive organs and their secondary sex characteristics. Gender, on the other hand, is based upon the social roles of an individual and their personal identification based on their internal gender awareness.
The oxford dictionary defines gender as a euphemism for the sex of human beings. Gender often intends to emphasize the socially constructed roles, activities, and behaviors that are considered perfect for men and women.
Different kinds of gender that exist in society
There are various gender types that exist in society, like
- male,
- female,
- transgender (when you identify with a different gender that was assigned during your birth ),
- gender neutral,
- non-binary (neither strictly male or female),
- agender (not identifying with any gender),
- pangender,
- genderqueer (those who are neither heterosexual nor cisgender),
- two-spirit,
- third gender, etc.
Different kinds of gender relations that exist in society
- Heterosexual relation: when the attraction is towards a different gender from one’s own than such relations are heterosexual relationships. Like male-female relationship.
- Homosexual relation: when the attraction is for the same gender then it is called homosexual relation. This can be categorized into two types:
- Lesbian: when a female is attracted to another female
- Gay: when a male is attracted to another male
- Bisexual relation: when somebody is attracted towards two or more genders. Like, for example when a male is attracted towards both male and female gender then such a relationship is called a bisexual relationship.
- Pansexual: when somebody is attracted to all the genders and is not concerned about gender when he/she is attracted towards anybody.
There are some more gender relationships types which have not been discussed here. However, all these kinds of relationships that exist in the society are not given full approval except for one or two, like the man-woman relationship.
Gender identity
Gender identity is something which is related to the personal feelings of an individual. How a person feels and who they actually are, when it comes to their gender can be called gender identity. The very realization of one’s own gender or rather identifying one’s own gender is something called gender identity.
There are more than two genders, as discussed above. However only two basic genders are still normally identified in the social setup, that is male and female gender. They are known as gender binaries.
This kind of gender assignment is based upon the individual’s sex which is determined at the time of birth. However gender is not about someone’s birth, it is about what a person wants to be in real self.
Genders are diverse as discussed above and nowadays people are coming up with more complex gender identity, which seems very alien to different people.
It is therefore important for everyone to understand the different kinds of identities. They should take it naturally, not something indifferent to them. The very realization of one’s own gender identity makes the person more satisfied and happy in life.
See statistics about people satisfied and happy in life in this article from Our World in Data.
Society’s views on various gender relations
Relationships of a woman to a woman, man to a man, man to both man and woman, woman to both man and woman, etc are considered as social stigma till date and are not accepted by the people in general.
Lesbian / gay/ bisexual relationships
The society never accepts such uneven relations. They are looked down upon by the people and the so-called society advice the other persons to maintain distance from those men and women who practice such relationships.
These types of human bonding have been given social acceptance in few of the counties of the world and they have legalized these relationships, however in most of the counties, it is still a taboo and people choose not to talk about it.
People with different sexual identities were treated very badly in older days. The conditions today are not as bad as older times, but these things are till date stigmatized.
Transgender people and the social atmosphere
The condition of transgender people was no less bad than lesbians and gays in society. They were also treated as aliens and had to face:
- Social exclusions
- Marginalization
- Even untouchability at times
- Poor economic conditions
- They were deprived to have land
- Had no works to earn their livelihood
- They were even thrown out of their families so they had to join the community of transgender people.
However, this has improved a lot in recent years. The government has also taken good steps for the development of the transgender people.
Role of the government for the betterment of the transgender
The government has taken a lot of initiative for transgender people in the country. It has enabled them to have their basic needs and has been helping them in with the availabilities if their necessities.
Earlier the transgender people were not allowed to fill up form because they were not allowed to study but now the scenario has changed. In almost every form there is a separate column in the gender or sex section for transgender like male and female.
They are allowed to work in office so that they can earn their livelihood. Not only this, the government even punishes those people who create a problem for the transgender people.
The society is moving towards a change but this change has not been accepted completely. So people still need to understand the importance of various gender identities and should accept them.
Why is gender identity important?
- Gender identity is important because it makes an individual aware of their own identity. It brings them closer to themselves by making them aware of their own self.
This is not only important for genders like trans, queer, etc. Gender identity is important for all the genders as it increases one’s closeness with oneself.
It is mostly assumed that other than the binary genders, all require to know about their identity because the males and females are very well aware of themselves because they are considered as normal, unlike other genders.
- The interaction of an individual with the outer world is a reflection of his/her identity. Also how the world interacts with an individual also depends upon the identity of the person. Those who have a proper realization of their gender identity feel good about nature and are comfortable in interaction.
Therefore it can be said that if you are aware of your own self then you feel good about it and also you feel loved and cared.
This concept of feeling good about one’s gender and thus feel loved by the surrounding seems to have a different connotation for transgender, lesbians, gay, etc. Especially, the transgender people, who have a wrong identity chosen for them have been forced into an interaction with the world. However they feel unnatural in such a world.
- Gender identity is important, as it makes one feel natural and gives a feeling of belongingness in society.
- It is important to have a gender identity in order to break the gender-related stereotypes existing in society.
- It gives a sense of happiness to the weaker gender in the social setup.
- It reduces sexism, and gender bias.
- It helps in understanding one’s sexual orientation and thus leads to the discovery of one own self.
Biological determination of one’s sex does not relate to an individual’s gender roles. That’s why it can be said that sex is not all about gender. Sex only determines one’s biological being not all the gender roles. Gender determines who you are. It is very important to know “who you are” rather than knowing “what you should be” or “what you want to be”. Identity is the core or central idea that defines who you are; it is not a notion or whim that can be changed. It, therefore, brings happiness and solitude in one’s life.