Published on 12, July, 2020
A discussion in this forum made me ask myself this question, what's gender?. I googled it but what I found there didn't make much sense to me. I always thought that the gender of the other person doesn't tell me much about who they are. It just informs me about the appropriate pronouns that this person wants me to use with them. Frankly I don't care about figuring out my gender. I was born in a woman's body and I never felt like it's the wrong one. I think I'd feel the same if I was born in a man's body. I have never spent time thinking about this part of myself because I never thought that it's important enough to me. I'll be the same person anyway, no? I don't think it would change much about who I am... Can anyone share how they understand gender?
I have trouble with this to be honest. I can never tell if a debate is about biological sex or the 'appearance' of a social thing. I'm not really bothered what or how others address me - it doesn't change how I feel about myself. I can understand it like a Name, as I tend to find individuals who take great liberty with pet names off-putting.
And I'm aware when I was young I was confused why males seemed to be awarded more Power or Personal Agency because of their sex. So, I thought it was always more 'fun' to role play a male in theatre, but it would've never occurred to change me. Bad situation? Find the escape.
I can understanding feeling uncertain about who I am as a human, but I learned we grow into our selves and this might even take a lifetime. This is what a sort of authenticity is about and the nature of dealing with life in ways that can help us mature. if I cannot learn to accept and care for my self, how can I do this with another. And I do feel this is one crucial element overshadowing discussions. If suicide and depression and insecurities are already heightened, I think it's time we teach personal acceptance first.
But yes. I do feel a bit dizzy about it.