"Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender."
The gender one identifies as, which may or may not correspond with the sex they were assigned at birth. This topic explores the various ways in which individuals define and express their gender identity.
Gender Theory: An examination of theoretical frameworks that define and explore gender, including essentialism, social constructionism, and intersectionality.
History of LGBTQ+ Rights: A study of the activism and policies that have propelled the LGBTQ+ rights movement forward, including the Stonewall Uprising, the AIDS crisis, and the political and legal battles to gain equal rights.
Transgender Studies: The exploration of issues specific to transgender individuals, including transitioning, discrimination, and the medicalization of transness.
Queer Theory: An exploration of theoretical frameworks that consider non-normative identities and bodies, including challenges to heteronormativity, the intersections of identity, and the fluidity of sexuality and gender.
Sexism and Misogyny: A study of the ways in which sexism pervades society and reinforces gender-based oppression, including the role of patriarchy, gender roles, and the objectification of women.
Intersectionality: An exploration of how multiple identities intersect to create unique experiences of oppression, privilege, and discrimination.
Race and Ethnicity: An examination of the relationship between race, ethnicity, and gender identity, including the impact of racism on LGBTQ+ people of color.
Arts and Media: A study of the representation of gender and queer identities in film, literature, visual art, and music.
Public Health: An exploration of the relationship between gender identity, sexual orientation, and health outcomes, including HIV/AIDS, mental health, and access to healthcare.
Contemporary Issues: Examination of contemporary issues such as bathroom bills, marriage equality etc to recognize and address the problems prevalent in the society.
Man: An individual who identifies as male.
Woman: An individual who identifies as female.
Nonbinary: An individual who identifies as neither entirely male nor female, but somewhere in between or outside of the binary.
Genderqueer: An umbrella term used to describe individuals who identify as both male and female, neither male nor female, or a combination of male, female, and other genders.
Agender: An individual who identifies as having no gender at all or not identifying as either male or female.
Two-spirit: A term used by Indigenous North Americans to describe individuals who identify as having both a masculine and feminine spirit.
Genderfluid: An individual whose gender identity is fluid, meaning it can change over time.
Demigender: An individual who identifies as partially one gender and partially another gender.
Bigender: An individual who identifies as both male and female simultaneously.
Androgynous: An individual whose gender identity and expression are both perceived as being neither specifically male nor female.
Transmasculine: An individual who identifies as male but may not identify with all aspects of traditional masculinity.
Transfeminine: An individual who identifies as female but may not identify with all aspects of traditional femininity.
Neutrois: An individual who identifies as having a neutral gender, neither male nor female.
Third Gender: An umbrella term used to describe any gender identity that does not fit neatly into the binary of male and female.
Quoigender: A term used to describe individuals who feel that their gender identity is hard to describe or quantify.
"Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it."
"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."
"The gender binary refers to a basic division between gender attributes assigned to males and females in most societies."
"Some of those people may call themselves transgender, gender non-binary, genderqueer, gender expansive, or something else."
"Some societies have third gender categories."
"Gender identity develops surprisingly rapidly in the early childhood years, and in the majority of instances appears to become at least partially irreversible by the age of 3 or 4."
"Considerable scientific evidence has emerged demonstrating a durable biological element underlying gender identity."
"There do not seem to be external forces that genuinely cause individuals to change gender identity."
"Essentialists argue that gender identity is determined at birth by biological and genetic factors."
"Social constructivists argue that gender identity and the way it is expressed are socially constructed, instead determined by cultural and social influences."
"The term gender identity was...popularized by the controversial psychologist John Money."
"The gender binary includes expectations of masculinity and femininity in all aspects of sex and gender: biological sex, gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation."
"In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the individual's gender identity."
"With exceptions, 'Gender identity develops surprisingly rapidly in the early childhood years.'"
"Individuals may make choices due to other factors in their lives, but there do not seem to be external forces that genuinely cause individuals to change gender identity."
"Gender identity and the way it is expressed are socially constructed, instead determined by cultural and social influences."
"Individuals may make choices due to other factors in their lives."
"Gender identity...appears to become at least partially irreversible by the age of 3 or 4."