Gender In Susan Stryker's Transgender History

Traditionally, “gender” can be used interchangeably with “sex”, and consists of the options of “girl” or “boy”. In the field of Women and Gender studies, gender consists of multiple different aspects, and is in no way a straightforward binary. The three principal facets of gender are gender assignment, gender expression, and gender identity. Gender assignment is the label placed on an individual when they are born, dependent on primary sex characteristics, and is usually either “male” or “female”. Occasionally, the genitalia can be dubious, and the doctors and parents can choose whether to intercede or not. Gender expression is the way in which one presents themself through their behavior, clothing choice, and general disposition, and the way the presentation is interpreted by others. Gender identity is what gender an individual feels most closely matches them. …show more content…
Furthermore, she discusses gender’s use as a sort of social categorization system. While much of today’s societies organize its people into the two categories of male and female, some cultures can have as many as three or four. Gender is entirely dependant on outside influences, culture in particular. Because of the subject matter of the book as a whole, each definition is explained through a transgender “lens”. She discusses numerous terms in her paper but keeps them separate from her actual definition of gender, making the differences between gender and gender identity and roles, as well as sexuality and biological sex, much more apparent than what is typically