How Do you Define Gender?

How do you define “Gender”?

According to the dictionary Gender is described as;
n. The sex of an individual, male or female, based on reproductive anatomy.
Sexual identity, especially in relation to society or culture.

It is easy to say that we easily can tell men from women by their anatomy. When we cannot see the anatomy, we look at the way the sexes dress. Women usually wear a dress and men mostly wear pants.
Men also have a different facial line compared to women. Men have an Adams apple and most women don’t. Women are usually shorter than men and a woman’s bone structure is much different than a man’s.

By describing gender as man and woman, then how do we explain hermaphroditism? For those who don’t know what hermaphroditism is, it’s an organism that has reproductive organs normally associated with both male and female sexes. Hermaphroditism is now known as intersex. Intersexuality is when a person’s sex cannot be classified clearly as male or female.

Then there is the term androgyny, sometimes used to refer to those without gender-specific physical sexual characteristics or sexual orientation or gender identity, or some combination of these; such people can be physically and psychologically anywhere between the two sexes.
Can colors fit a gender? In other words, does pink necessarily have to be a woman’s color? Does blue have to be a males color? Some people classify colors to specific gender, I don’t believe any color fits any gender and any color is perfect for the individual. Everyone has a right to like what they like and to think that a color makes them any less than what they are is just not fair to the person who likes what they do.

Gender is not as easily defined and sometimes we classify people by their actions, some males for example can have effeminate characteristics and some women can have masculine characteristics. Does that make either of them gay? Probably not, it’s hard to tell and we could argue that they are or aren’t gay by their characteristics. Sexuality is individual and it’s up to the person, as they only know whether they are gay or not.
A: Women enjoy a partner that is in touch with their feminine side, they find that their partner is more sympathetic to some of their feelings and situations, their partner could also exude similar traits. Then there are some women that want a partner that is stronger than them and take control of situations. These are just examples and not to say that one or the other is wrong.
B: Men can feel over powered by a woman that exudes a masculine side, for some men they feel a threat. To some men a woman should be genteel, weak and she should not be anything else but lady like. There are some men that do like a woman that can handle and take care of her own situations without the need of the man being involved. Again these are just examples of roles and characteristics that some people can see in other people.

Both male and Females can feel lost in their own gender roles. As aforementioned, men can be feminine & women can be masculine, and some feel trapped in their own body. Even though the outside gives a clear picture of what they look and appear to be. On the inside either their body or mind, tells them a whole different story as to what they feel like they are.
Thus comes the term Transgender, it is someone who appears or attempts to appear as the opposite sex, or a cross dresser. It can be physiological but physical. For either male or female, the act of cross dressing has been done throughout history.

Some people would associate it with a deeper rooted problem and probably a matter of mental health. It’s hard to say, but when a person feels drawn toward the opposite of what they are, they have to do what they can to make themselves feel some kind of comfort and that comfort can be dressing in clothes that aren’t their normal attire. Comfort can be in many forms and it’s hard to say what helps make a person feel comfortable.
What it comes down to is a matter of Gender Identity Disorder also known as GID. It is classified as a medical disorder rather than a mental disorder. It can be found in children through adolescence and to adulthood, which has been reported by some as intensifying over time.

Sex-role stereotypes are the beliefs, characteristics and behaviors of individual cultures that are deemed normal and appropriate for boys and girls to have. These norms are influenced by family and friend, the mass-media, community and other socializing agents.
Most cultures disapprove of cross-gender behavior, often results in significant problems for those affected by this disorder and those who are in close relationships with them.

Medical research on the brain of individuals living with this disorder, have the physical brain structures that resemble their desired sex even before hormone treatment, that is if hormone treatment is to be given to a person that wants to receive it. To put it in reduced terms, B’s mannerisms are G but when they research B’s brain they find out that it is actually G the whole time.

Some people do exude other behaviors that are not normal for them but that does not mean that they suffer from the aforementioned, some people just easily fit into these roles. To some the roles come naturally to them and they don’t think anything about it.

People diagnosed with GID may not regard their own cross-gender feelings and behaviors as a disorder and many may question what normal gender roles are. Some would argue that roles are specific to the sex they are born and are learned behaviors by the atmosphere in which they grow up in. Some would also argue that they are just prone to be this way and it’s not much of a learned but a genetic mix up.
Some people that are diagnosed with GID, feel that by dressing the role into which they feel a form of comfort, (this was stated above also). Some take it a step further and fill the roles into which they feel by reconstructing themselves and having the procedure called: Sexual Reassignment Surgery.

SRS as it is often referred to is the process into which a person is transformed from one sex into the other sex.
Unfortunately people that are diagnosed with GID are still fighting for recognition and the fact it is not a mental disorder. We here in the U.S. along with a few other countries continue to believe that this is a matter of mental illness.

So the question still remains open; how do you define Gender?