Thursday, March 12, 2015

Gender Rant

Our discussion in class today was based on comparing two different kinds of identity - gender identity and biological gender identity. However, something struck a chord in me during this discussion. I've come to the conclusion that a biological gender identity doesn't actually exist. Gender is simply an illusion caused by conditioning, a closed-minded concept that will never be fulfilled.
Sex and gender are two completely different things - sex is based on your physical body and gender, now that is something different. Gender is a social construct, almost exactly like race. People in our society look at somebody's physical being and, of course, gather information that helps them come to a conclusion about the person. 
When you look at somebody's body, you see their sex. You don't see their gender. You may see outward expressions of their gender. But this really only leads me to question what gender actually is. Is a man wearing skinny jeans expressing his gender or his sexuality? Or is he just wearing skinny jeans? 
I believe each and every person has both beautiful masculine and feminine qualities within them, and these are nothing to be ashamed of. Feeling like you must be more masculine than you are is simply not accepting yourself and trying to conform to societies hopeless categories. 
Personally, I don't conform to any gender label. I call myself a "guy" for reasons of convenience, but what does that really mean? How am I supposed to know if I feel like a man? 
Is there a potion that I can drink that can show me how a true man feels and then I'll be able to tell if I'm a man? 
Pretty much what I'm left with now is a further affirmation that a given gender doesn't exist. You just are yourself - your ever present personality - and gender is a social construct that we use to try to categorize people and create false expectations. It's really sad the vast majority of people in our society are looking for something that isn't there! It's time to cut out that internal dialogue of "was that manly of me?", "what would a real man do?" out! I promise your heart knows what is best for you. 
So this rant was extremely all over the place but that's okay. I think I mostly got my point across. 

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