genders

Gender, as a construct, has traveled a very long distance from its traditional, binary, static nature to its modern, multidimensional, dynamic nature, far beyond the traditional Western view of gender as strictly related to biological sex assigned to an individual at birth. Sex refers to biological characteristics of the chromosomes and anatomy of the body, while gender, on the other hand, is a complex construct a complex interaction of the inner self-perception of the person and the outer self-perception of the person by the outside world. Gender identity has some association with the sex assigned to the individual, also known as cisgender. however, there has been an emergence of individuals whose gender identity is not the same as the sex assigned to the individual, also known as transgender and non-binary gender identity. Non-binary gender identity is an "umbrella term that refers to individuals whose gender identity is not exclusively 'man' or 'woman' including genderfluid, agender, bigender, etc., who do not identify as 'new' gender identity, as this has existed for centuries under different names, such as 'two-spirit' in North America, 'Hijra' in South Asia, etc." The other interesting thing is the difference between identity, who we are, and expression, the expressions we give to the world of who we are, such as clothing, hairstyle, body language, etc. The expression does not always "match" the identity, which is the ultimate challenge to the "pink and blue" stereotypes that so many people place on human potential and individual freedoms. Society is also a huge contributor to the way we come to understand identity, expression, gender, etc., as we are socialized by the toys we are given as children, the career paths we are encouraged to follow by our mentors, essentially scripting our behavior. With the progression of our global understanding, there has been a move towards a gender-affirming world, which allows people to be respected based on their identification of themselves, as opposed to the way society identifies them. This, in turn, allows for a mentally healthy world, which allows us to live without the fear of stigma or discrimination, recognizing the dignity of the human experience through the perspective of individual autonomy and lived experience.