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BSS1: The Individual and His / Her World: Gender Identity

BSS1: The Individual and His / Her World
Gender Identity
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table of contents
  1. INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY
    1. What Is Sociology?
    2. The History of Sociology
    3. Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology
    4. Why Study Sociology?
  2. SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH
    1. Approaches to Sociological Research
    2. Research Methods
    3. Ethical Concerns
  3. SOCIETY AND SOCIAL INTERACTION
    1. Types of Societies
    2. Social Construction of Reality
  4. CULTURE
    1. What Is Culture?
    2. Elements of Culture
    3. Pop Culture, Subculture, and Cultural Change
    4. The Paradoxes of Culture
    5. Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism
    6. Theoretical Perspectives on Culture
  5. SOCIALIZATION
    1. Introduction To Socialization
    2. Agents of Socialization
    3. Socialization Across the Life Course
    4. Theories of Self-Development
    5. Why Socialization Matters
  6. GROUPS AND ORGANIZATION
    1. Group Size and Structure
    2. Types of Groups
  7. RACE AND ETHNICITY
    1. Racial, Ethnic, and Minority Groups
    2. Race And Ethnicity In The United States
    3. Theoretical Perspectives on Race and Ethnicity
    4. Prejudice, Discrimination, and Racism
  8. GENDER
    1. Gender
    2. Gender Enculturation Agents
    3. Gender Identity
    4. Stereotypes and Gender Roles
    5. Sex and Gender
    6. Sex and Sexuality
  9. RELIGION
    1. Introduction To Religion
    2. Sociological Approach To Religion
    3. World Religions
    4. Religion In The United States
  10. SOCIAL STRATIFICATION
    1. Introduction To Stratification
    2. What Is Social Stratification
    3. Social Stratification And Mobility In The United States
    4. Global Stratification And Inequality
    5. Theoretical Perspectives On Social Stratification
  11. MARRIAGE AND FAMILY
    1. What Is Marriage? What Is a Family?
    2. Variations in Family Life
    3. Challenges Families Face
  12. MEDIA
    1. Social media’s growing impact on our lives
    2. Global Implications of Media and Technology
    3. Technology Today
    4. Theoretical Perspectives on Media and Technology
    5. Media and Technology in Society
  13. INTRODUCTION TO THE SOCIAL SCIENCES
    1. Cases That Drove Research In The Social Sciences
    2. What Is Social Psychology?
    3. Social Influence
    4. Cultural Norms
  14. SOCIAL COGNITION
    1. Automatic vs. Controlled Cognition
    2. Cognitive Heuristics
    3. Counterfactual Thinking
    4. Overconfidence Bias
    5. Importance of Cognitive Biases in Everyday Life
  15. SOCIAL AFFECT
    1. Universal Emotions
    2. Cultural and Gender Differences in Emotional Responses
    3. Moods
    4. Misattributing Arousal
  16. SOCIAL PERCEPTION
    1. Impression Formation
    2. Nonverbal Behavior
    3. Implicit Personality Theory
    4. Attribution Theory
    5. Individual And Cultural Differences In Person Perception
  17. SELF & SOCIETY
    1. Self Concept
    2. Self Esteem
    3. Social Self
  18. CONFORMING
    1. Varieties of Conformity
    2. Obedience To Authority
    3. Person, Gender, & Cultural Differences In Conformity

Gender Identity

https://open.maricopa.edu/culturepsychology/chapter/gender-identity


Generally, our psychological sense of being male and female, gender identity corresponds to our biological sex. This is known as cisgender. This is not true for everyone. Transgender individuals’ gender identities do not correspond with their birth sexes. Transgendered males assigned the sex female at birth have a strong emotional and psychological connection to the forms of masculinity in their society that they identify their gender as male. A parallel connection to femininity exists for transgendered females.

A binary or dichotomous view of gender (masculine or feminine) is specific to some cultures, like the United States, but it is not universal. In some cultures there are additional gender variations resulting in more than two gender categories. For example, Samoan culture accepts what they refer to as a third gender. Fa’afafine, which translates as “the way of the woman,” is a term used to describe individuals who are born biologically male but embody both masculine and feminine traits. Fa’afafines are considered an important part of Samoan culture. In Thailand, you can be male, female, or kathoey (Tangmunkongvorakul, Banwell, Carmichael, Utomo, & Sleigh, 2010) and in Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Bangladesh transgender females are referred to as hijras, recognized by their governments as a third gender (Pasquesoone, 2014).

Because gender is so deeply ingrained culturally, it is difficult to determine the prevalence of transgenderism in society. Rates of transgender individuals vary widely around the world (see Table 1) and are shaped by social norms and cultural values. Transgendered individuals, who wish to alter their bodies through medical interventions such as surgery and hormonal therapy, so that their physical being is better aligned with their gender identity, are called transsexuals. Not all transgendered individuals choose to alter their bodies. Many will maintain their original anatomy but may present themselves to society as the opposite gender.

There is no single, conclusive explanation for why people are transgendered. Some hypotheses suggest biological factors such as genetics, or prenatal hormone levels, as well as social and cultural factors, such as childhood and adulthood experiences. Most experts believe that all of these factors contribute to a person’s gender identity (American Psychological Association, 2008). Unfortunately, transgendered and transsexual individuals frequently experience discrimination based on their gender identity and are twice as likely to experience assault or discrimination as non-transgendered individuals. Transgendered individuals are also one and a half times more likely to experience intimidation (National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, 2010) and be the victim of violent crime.

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