"Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender."
The process by which individuals develop their gender identity and gender role through socialization and personal experience.
Gender Identity: Refers to one's inner sense of being male, female, both or neither. It is the personal sense of feeling like a man or a woman.
Gender Role: Refers to the set of cultural norms and expectations that dictate how men and women should act, dress, speak, and interact with others.
Biological Influences: Refers to the role of genetics, hormones, and brain structure in the development of gender identity and gender-typed behavior.
Socialization Processes: Refers to the learning through which children acquire gender roles and the behaviors associated with them. This includes the role of family, peers, school, media and the broader culture.
Gender Stereotypes: Refers to the general beliefs about the traits and characteristics that are associated with being male or female.
Gender Differences: Refers to the observable differences in behavior, cognition, and emotion between males and females.
Cross-cultural Differences: Refers to the variation in gender roles and gender norms across different cultures and societies.
Gender Dysphoria: Refers to the psychological distress or discomfort that arises when an individual's gender identity does not match the gender assigned at birth.
Transgender and Non-binary identities: Refers to the experience of individuals who identify as a gender that is different from the sex they were assigned at birth.
Intersectionality: Refers to how various social categories, such as race, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, and disability, intersect with gender to inform experiences of privilege and oppression.
Biological theory: This theory suggests that biology, particularly the chromosomes an individual is born with, determine their gender identity and behavior. For example, individuals with XX chromosomes are female, while those with XY chromosomes are male.
Social learning theory: This theory suggests that individuals acquire gender identity and behavior through observation, modeling, and reinforcement of gender-appropriate behaviors.
Gender schema theory: This theory suggests that individuals form internal schemas or mental models of what is gender-appropriate behavior and what is not. These schemas guide their behavior and influence their gender identity.
Cognitive theory: This theory suggests that individuals develop their gender identity through cognitive processes such as categorization, conceptualization, and generalization.
Intersectionality theory: This theory suggests that gender identity is influenced by multiple factors such as race, ethnicity, culture, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, and disability.
Queer theory: This theory challenges the binary understanding of gender identity and suggests that identities are fluid, contextual, and can change over time.
"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."