What Is Gender Identity?

Upon meeting someone for the first time, our brain automatically focuses on what our eyes see. We unconsciously begin a list of preconceptions based on what someone is wearing or the color of their skin. It happens so quickly and then continues the instant the conversation begins. However, beyond the color of our hair or our height, there is something that is even more unconsciously thought provoking and filled with preconceptions: our “gender.” It’s the thing that soon-to-be-parents look forward to knowing, what identifies us before our name. Gender is the “psychological, social, cultural, and behavioral characteristics associated with being female or male […] defined by one’s gender identity and learned gender role” (Weinclaw). The problem …show more content…
Discrimination for something that should have nothing to do with gender, and rather, with genuine interest and our innate attributes is almost heartbreaking because we all strive for happiness, and if we have created a society where our gender becomes a barrier, there is a problem! Parents who would never think of enrolling a son into a dance class because many consider it feminine, yet, enrolling a daughter would never seem “out of the norm.” If we allowed both genders to choose what attracts them most, without laying a gender down in the first place, “they [would be] able to use their talents more fully than if they restrict themselves to traditional gender roles” …show more content…
Since many girls are told to depend on men for safety, not to go out into the streets alone without a man protecting them, this unchanged idea follows when it comes to the workplace. Today we are still faced with the issue of unequal pay, a man and a woman in the same job and equally qualified, yet the man is being paid more simply because he is a man. We continue the tradition of men being more valued or important because men are seen as strong, when the reality is that it is not about strength, rather, about what we have to offer as