Definition Essay On Gender Identity

To define gender one must be aware of two other definitions: gender identity and gender expression. Gender identity is the tag we accept to define who we are in terms of gender: woman, man, transgender, genderqueer, cisgender, etc. Gender expression is what we do on the outside that conveys to other people who we are based on things such as clothes, and what we say and how we say it. In a reading from week one that defines a few of these genders, there is a comparison that was extremely helpful to understand these definitions (Grollman). Gender identity is like a role in a play that is cast and the gender expression is how that character interacts with the other characters. With each of these gender roles there are societal standard tacked onto them. If someone wants to present themselves …show more content…
If someone is a woman, usually there is a dainty and submissive persona around them while a man is expected to be more aggressive and gruff. This is not always the case though. In fact, this is probably less the case than it is the case. Everyone is so different than everyone else it is so difficult to put people in a box that says they are a certain way. When “girl” comes to mind I initially think of pink, flowers, and sparkles. A lot of people probably think of similar things when in reality everyone knows that not all girls are interested in these things. It is just a societal standard that is attached to the idea of being a girl. I do not think anything is wrong with this though because so many little girls love these things. It does not make them any less a girl if they hate the color pink, love sports, and cannot stand anything with sparkles. This does not make a straight girl gay as much as it does not make a straight boy gay who is not a fan of sports and loves dance. This social stigma that goes with what it means to be a girl or a boy is terrible and should be abolished. Everyone is so