Gender fluidity

Last updated
Genderfluid
Genderfluidity Pride-Flag.svg
The genderfluid pride flag
Classification Gender identity
AbbreviationsGF
Parent category Non-binary
Symbol Genderfluid symbol.svg or Genderfluid infinity symbol.svg

Gender fluidity (commonly referred to as genderfluid) is a non-fixed gender identity that shifts over time or depending on the situation. These fluctuations can occur at the level of gender identity or gender expression. A genderfluid person may fluctuate among different gender expressions over their lifetime, or express multiple aspects of various gender markers simultaneously. [1] [2] Genderfluid individuals may identify as non-binary or transgender, or cisgender (meaning they identify with the gender associated with their sex assigned at birth). [3] [4]

Contents

Gender fluidity is different from gender-questioning, a process in which people explore their gender in order to find their true gender identity and adjust their gender expression accordingly. [5] Gender fluidity continues throughout lives of genderfluid people. [6]

History

Transgender people (including non-binary and third gender people) have existed in cultures worldwide since the pre-colonial era. One example is the existence of gender fluidity in many Indigenous communities. Although the earliest records of gender fluidity in Indigenous communities was written by those who colonized them, [7] current research shows that over 150 pre-colonial groups are known to recognize or have historically recognized more than two genders. [8]

The Navajo people are one group who historically recognized between four and five gender identities, one of them being nàdleehi ('changing one' in English). [8] In more recent history, two-spirit has been an identity adopted by Indigenous gender and sexual minorities. [9] The term challenges binary categories of sex and gender and enables some Indigenous people to reclaim traditional roles within their societies. [9] According to the 2012 Risk and Resilience study of Bisexual Mental Health, "the most common identities reported by transgender Aboriginal participants were two-spirit, genderqueer, and bigender." [9]

Another example of historical recognition of gender fluidity is the Philippines. In the Philippines, they use the umbrella term baklâ to refer to "those born male who currently exist with a feminine gender expression." [8] Although this definition of the term is most common, there are a variety of identities that exist within the baklâ umbrella. [8]

Impact of Colonization

European colonization strictly enforced the binary gender concept onto many groups, including those mentioned above. [7] [8] In the 1500s, Europeans landed in North America and enforced binary gender conformity onto the Indigenous communities occupying the land. [8] They criminalized different gender and sexual expressions. [8] It is believed that they did this in an attempt to "eradicate the two-spirit identity before allowing it to be documented." [8] As a result of this, the cultural legacy of many Indigenous groups was nearly erased following colonization. [7] [8] Going back to the Philippines example, enforcement of a binary gender concept began with the arrival of the Spanish in 1520. [8] The Spanish began to use the word baklâ as a slur in order to pressure Filipino people into adopting European ideals of gender expression. [8]

By forcing colonized groups to adopt European ideals of gender expression and identity, it erased key aspects of each group's history, culture and traditions.

The Modern Era

The modern terms and meanings of "transgender", "gender", "gender identity", and "gender role" only emerged in the 1950s and 1960s. [10] [11] [12] As a result, opinions vary on how to accurately categorize historical accounts of gender-variant people and identities, including genderfluid individuals.

The 1928 Virginia Woolf novel Orlando: A Biography features a main character who changes gender several times, and considers gender fluidity:

In every human being, a vacillation from one sex to the other takes place, and often it is only the clothes that keep the male or female likeness, while underneath the sex is the very opposite of what it is above. [13]

The first known mention of the term gender fluidity was in gender theorist Kate Bornstein's 1994 book Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us. [14] It was later used again in the 1996 book The Second Coming: A Leatherdyke Reader. [15]

As society moves forward, words change and new words arise to describe different phenomena. The fluidity of gender has always been around, but only relatively recently have we come up with words to describe the many different identities that humans adopt.

Symbols

The genderfluid pride flag was designed by JJ Poole in 2012. The pink stripe of the flag represents femininity, the white represents lack of gender, purple represents androgyny, black represents all other genders, and blue represents masculinity. [16] [17]

The flag is a representation of the fluidity encompassed within the identity.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bi-curious</span> Person who is attracted to experiencing bisexuality

Bi-curious is a term for a person, usually someone who is a self-identified heterosexual, who is curious or open about engaging in sexual activity with a person whose sex differs from that of their usual sexual partners. The term is sometimes used to describe a broad continuum of sexual orientation between heterosexuality and bisexuality. Such continuums include mostly heterosexual or mostly homosexual, but these can be self-identified without identifying as bisexual. The terms heteroflexible and homoflexible are mainly applied to bi-curious people, though some authors distinguish heteroflexibility and homoflexibility as lacking the "wish to experiment with sexuality" implied by the bi-curious label. It is important when discussing this continuum to conclude that bisexuality is distinct from heterosexuality and homosexuality rather than simply an extension of said sexualities like the labels heteroflexibility and homoflexibility would imply, due to the prominent erasure and assimilation of bisexuality into other identity groups. To sum it up, the difference between bisexual and bicurious is that bisexual people know that they are sexually attracted to both genders based on personal experience. Bicurious people are still maneuvering their way through their sexuality.

Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the individual's gender identity. Gender expression typically reflects a person's gender identity, but this is not always the case. While a person may express behaviors, attitudes, and appearances consistent with a particular gender role, such expression may not necessarily reflect their gender identity. The term gender identity was coined by psychiatry professor Robert J. Stoller in 1964 and popularized by psychologist John Money.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pansexuality</span> Sexual attraction to people regardless of sex or gender identity

Pansexuality is sexual, romantic, or emotional attraction towards people of all genders, or regardless of their sex or gender identity. Pansexual people may refer to themselves as gender-blind, asserting that gender and sex are not determining factors in their romantic or sexual attraction to others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Non-binary gender</span> Gender identities that are neither exclusively male nor female

Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are outside the male/female gender binary. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gender that is different from the sex assigned to them at birth, although some non-binary people do not consider themselves transgender.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to transgender topics.

The gender binary is the classification of gender into two distinct forms of masculine and feminine, whether by social system, cultural belief, or both simultaneously. Most cultures use a gender binary, having two genders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gender nonconformity</span> Non-conventional expression of gender in humans

Gender nonconformity or gender variance is behavior or gender expression by an individual that does not match masculine or feminine gender norms. A gender-nonconforming person may be variant in their gender identity, being transgender or non-binary, or they may be cisgender. In the case of transgender people, they may be perceived, or perceive themselves as, gender-nonconforming before transitioning, but might not be perceived as such after transitioning. Transgender adults who appear gender-nonconforming after transition are more likely to experience discrimination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ rights in the Philippines</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals in the Republic of the Philippines have faced many difficulties in their homeland, such as prejudice, violence, abuse, assault, harassment and other forms of anti-LGBT rhetoric. Many LGBT Filipinos are met with mixed attitudes and reactions by their families, friends and others in their communities, as well as professionals, educators, their national public officials, politicians, attorneys and others working for the government and the rest of the general population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Questioning (sexuality and gender)</span> Process of self-exploration

The questioning of one's sexual orientation, sexual identity, gender, or all three is a process of exploration by people who may be unsure, still exploring, or concerned about applying a social label to themselves for various reasons. The letter "Q" is sometimes added to the end of the acronym LGBT ; the "Q" can refer to either queer or questioning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gender in Bugis society</span>

The Bugis people are the most numerous of the three major ethnic groups of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, with about 3 million people. Most Bugis are Muslim, but many pre-Islamic rites continue to be honoured in their culture, including the view that gender exists on a spectrum. Most Bugis converted from Animism to Islam in the early 17th century; small numbers of Bugis have converted to Christianity, but the influence of Islam is still very prominent in their society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transgender</span> Gender identity other than sex assigned at birth

A transgender person is someone whose gender identity differs from that typically associated with the sex they were assigned at birth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transsexual</span> People experiencing a gender identity inconsistent with their assigned sex

A transsexual person is someone who experiences a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desires to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance to help them align their body with their identified sex or gender.

LGBTQ linguistics is the study of language as used by members of LGBTQ communities. Related or synonymous terms include lavender linguistics, advanced by William Leap in the 1990s, which "encompass[es] a wide range of everyday language practices" in LGBTQ communities, and queer linguistics, which refers to the linguistic analysis concerning the effect of heteronormativity on expressing sexual identity through language. The former term derives from the longtime association of the color lavender with LGBTQ communities. "Language", in this context, may refer to any aspect of spoken or written linguistic practices, including speech patterns and pronunciation, use of certain vocabulary, and, in a few cases, an elaborate alternative lexicon such as Polari.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bakla</span> Filipino word for effeminate individuals assigned male at birth

In the Philippines, a baklâ, bayot (Cebuano) or agî (Hiligaynon) is a person who was assigned male at birth and has adopted a gender expression that is feminine. They are often considered a third gender. Many bakla are exclusively attracted to men and some identify as women. The polar opposite of the term in Philippine culture is tomboy, which refers to women with a masculine gender expression. The term is commonly incorrectly applied to trans women.

Gender systems are the social structures that establish the number of genders and their associated gender roles in every society. A gender role is "everything that a person says and does to indicate to others or to the self the degree that one is either male, female, or androgynous. This includes but is not limited to sexual and erotic arousal and response." Gender identity is one's own personal experience with gender role and the persistence of one's individuality as male, female, or androgynous, especially in self-awareness and behavior. A gender binary is one example of a gender system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of LGBTQ topics</span>

The following outline offers an overview and guide to LGBTQ topics:

Accounts of transgender people have been uncertainly identified going back to ancient times in cultures worldwide. The modern terms and meanings of transgender, gender, gender identity, and gender role only emerged in the 1950s and 1960s. As a result, opinions vary on how to categorize historical accounts of gender-variant people and identities.

Sexual diversity or gender and sexual diversity (GSD), refers to all the diversities of sex characteristics, sexual orientations and gender identities, without the need to specify each of the identities, behaviors, or characteristics that form this plurality.

Cisnormativity or cissexual assumption is the assumption that everyone is, or ought to be, cisgender. The term can further refer to a wider range of presumptions about gender assignment, such as the presumption of a gender binary, or expectations of conformity to gender roles even when transgender identities are otherwise acknowledged. Cisnormativity is a form of cisgenderism, an ideology which promotes various normative ideas about gender, to the invalidation of individuals' own gender identities, analogous to heterosexism or ableism.

References

  1. Cronn-Mills, Kirstin (2015). Transgender Lives: Complex Stories, Complex Voices. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Twenty-First Century Books. p. 24. ISBN   978-0-7613-9022-0.
  2. McGuire, Peter (9 November 2015). "Beyond the binary: what does it mean to be genderfluid?". The Irish Times . Archived from the original on 22 November 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  3. Bosson, Jennifer K.; Vandello, Joseph A.; Buckner, Camille E. (2018). The Psychology of Sex and Gender. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications. p. 54. ISBN   978-1-5063-3134-8. OCLC   1038755742. Archived from the original on 28 May 2020. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
  4. Whyte, Stephen; Brooks, Robert C.; Torgler, Benno (25 September 2018). "Man, Woman, "Other": Factors Associated with Nonbinary Gender Identification". Archives of Sexual Behavior . 47 (8). Heidelberg, Germany: Springer Science+Business Media: 2397–2406. doi:10.1007/s10508-018-1307-3. PMID   30255409. S2CID   52823167. 2 out of 7479 (0.03 percent) of respondents to the Australian Sex Survey, a 2016 online research survey, self-identified as trigender.
  5. Katz-Wise, Sabra (December 3, 2020). "Gender fluidity: What it means and why support matters". Harvard Health Publishing. Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved April 12, 2023.
  6. Jolly, Divya; Boskey, Elizabeth R.; Thomson, Katharine A.; Tabaac, Ariella R.; Burns, Maureen T.S.; Katz-Wise, Sabra L. (2021-03-12). "Why Are You Asking? Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Assessment in Clinical Care". Journal of Adolescent Health. 69 (6): 891–893. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2021.08.015 . ISSN   1054-139X. PMID   34629230. S2CID   238580640.
  7. 1 2 3 Kamassah, Vashti E. (2024-07-02). "Sankofa: Embracing Gender Fluidity Through Decolonizing and Reclaiming Identities". The Educational Forum. 88 (3): 257–264. doi:10.1080/00131725.2024.2345652. ISSN   0013-1725.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Wick, Kate (2022-04-01). "Gender Through Time and Culture". WWU Honors College Senior Projects.
  9. 1 2 3 Robinson, Margaret (2020-10-14). "Two-Spirit Identity in a Time of Gender Fluidity". Journal of Homosexuality. 67 (12): 1675–1690. doi:10.1080/00918369.2019.1613853. ISSN   0091-8369.
  10. Oliven, John F. (1965). Sexual Hygiene and Pathology: A Manual for the Physician and the Professions. Lippincott.
  11. Janssen, Diederik F. (April 21, 2020). "Transgenderism Before Gender: Nosology from the Sixteenth Through Mid-Twentieth Century". Archives of Sexual Behavior. 49 (5): 1415–1425. doi:10.1007/s10508-020-01715-w. ISSN   0004-0002. PMID   32319033. S2CID   216073926.
  12. Mesch, Rachel (May 12, 2020). Before trans : three gender stories from nineteenth-century France. Stanford, California. ISBN   978-1-5036-1235-8. OCLC   1119978342.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  13. "Thousands of U.S. copyrighted works from 1928 are entering the public domain". NPR . Archived from the original on 2024-01-13. Retrieved 2024-01-14.
  14. Bornstein, Kate (2016). Gender Outlaw On Men, Women and the Rest of Us. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN   978-1-101-97461-2. OCLC   1155971422. Archived from the original on 2022-01-10. Retrieved 2023-01-22.
  15. Hernandez, Michael M. (1996). "Boundaries: Gender and Transgenderism". The Second Coming: A Leatherdyke Reader. Alyson. OCLC   757653724.
  16. "Flags and Symbols" (PDF). Amherst, Massachusetts: Amherst College. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  17. "Gender-fluid added to the Oxford English Dictionary". LGBTQ Nation. Archived from the original on 25 October 2016. Retrieved 2016-12-20.

Further reading

Bibliography