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Gender identity =/= Gender expression: gender for beginners


Just Somebody

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Just Somebody

I love this article,  it explains in a very friendly and wise, broader perspective about the differences between our gender identities and our gender expressions:

 

https://everydayfeminism.com/2014/05/separating-identity-expression/

 

 

I kinda of always bring this up because the majority of people doesn't have a clue about it, too (including even Transgender people and people like feminists):

 

 

-Gender identities are just the words (labels/terms) people might feel more like to call themselves at a given moment. You can also view them as boxes of (sociocultural historical but i'll call them social for short) social groups or the box/social category or group you feel more comfortable and represented as being a part of at a given moment.

Examples of gender identities are: man, woman and the infinite non-binary gender identities/categories/groups/labels subtypes.

 

 

 

 

-Gender expression is what people can notice about you, including your clothes,  behaviors, body type, name and pronouns, gender roles and gender stereotypes in general,  etc.

 

 

 

 

Having an gender non-conforming (GNC) gender expression doesn't make someone have an gender non-conforming Transgender identity. 

 

 

 

 

 

Having an masculine gender expression doesn't make someone a man (or part of the sociocultural historical group or category of men), having a feminine gender expression doesn't make someone a woman (or part of the sociocultural historical category or group of women), having an genderqueer gender expression doesn't make someone non-binary (or part of the sociocultural historical non-binary gender identities groups or categories). 

 

 

 

 

I would say gender non-comforming  (GNC) is like the most vague and broad option when it comes to gender as its an umbrella term-word-identity-concept that includes both cisgender identities, the Transgender and the Intersex umbrellas.

 

 

 

 

Many people aren't ware of it but cisgender women can suffer from gender dysphoria as they may feel uncomfortable or distressed with how cultures of societies view  and treat them or with the pains that comes with a typical feminine body. In this case, they don't feel uncomfortable identifying with the word-term-concept-identity-box-social group of Woman,  They Feel Uncomfortable With the struggles that they face living in sexist societies as women and having feminine bodies during their lives.

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Very helpful and concise basics of gender identity vs expression!

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That's a good point about Dysphoria Due To Sexism.  I suspect that some men have a similar discomfort with "traditional" gender expectations.

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Just Somebody
2 hours ago, Ardoise said:

That's a good point about Dysphoria Due To Sexism.  I suspect that some men have a similar discomfort with "traditional" gender expectations.

Yup, gender non-conforming (GNC) cis-guys can indeed feel that way. 

 

Not really sure about gender conforming cis-guys, I haven't seen any disclosure about it, but cis-guys are taught to not talk about how they feel by cultures within societies, so I guess we can't really know . It's also kinda hard to imagine why they would have a problem with system of gender values and believes made by them for them if they comform to it. 

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Just Somebody
16 hours ago, Strange-quark said:

Hi, you're making great points! Sorry if this is a silly question, but I'm confused, probably because I'm having a hard time grasping the whole gender-thing. In this, do you mean only social dysphoria? And how (or why?) do we (do we?) distinguish between body dysphoria related to gender and other kind of not-feeling-like-oneself-in-one's-skin-feelings?

Another silly one: So GNC includes being cis? But I thought that being cis means that your body matches your gender identity, and usually biological sex is though to be binary (intersex people are an exception, of course). So what is the complement group of GNC?

Glad you asked. 

 

1 - people with cisgender gender identities (cis women and cis men)  can be be gender non-comforming (GNC) and fall under that umbrella, they also DON'T need to be intersex or have gender dysphoria to be.

As far as you are not the "perfect" expected cisgender person who express their gender as expected (matches and follows gender roles and stereotypes, behave like expected to and have a body type as expected, etc) inside the cultures of the society you're living in.

 

Gender non-conforming  (GNC) is the broadest umbrellas as not just Transgender gender identities and intersex people can go under it (only you can decide whether or not use this label-concept-word for yourself) but also some cisgender people (cis men and women).

 

 

2 - cisgender women doesn't need specifically to be gender non-conforming (as, on the other hand, cisgender men have to be) to suffer from gender related discomforts and pain (gender dysphoria) , this can be because of how their bodies are and work (problems with anatomy and physiology) OR/AND problems with the sexist values, point of views and believes of the cultures propagated by the societies they live in.

This can also go both ways for cisgender gender non-comforming (GNC) women (and also for cisgender GNC men), tbh, some may feel uncomfortable because they aren't socio-culturally considered "feminine enough", while others may feel uncomfortable because they are socio-culturally considered "too feminine".

 

Not everybody who suffers from gender dysphoria is gender non-conforming  (GNC), and not everybody who identifies with Transgender gender identities suffers or can be defined as such by suffering from gender dysphoria.

 

 

The standards of care for Transgender health, in it latest version 7, doesn't "diagnose" people anymore as being mentally ill  having Transgender gender identities based on that they must have been suffering from gender dysphoria. Version 7 is far more inclusive as it opened gates to the treatment of anyone who suffers from gender dysphoria (being them cisgender women or any kind of gender non-conforming (GNC) person that is not specifically Transgender).

 

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Just Somebody
54 minutes ago, Strange-quark said:

Thanks for the explanation! I'm just starting to understand just how diverse a phenomenon gender is! :o 

Makes me glad, bests for you. :)

 

gender is as diverse as our live's experiences, its  also part of our experiences, and everybody has it in their way.

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