What Issues Are Raised by Attaching a Label to Someones Gender Identity or Sexual Identity - Essay Example

Topic: What issues are raised by attaching a label to someone’s gender identity or sexual identity? Should we give labels to the gender identity of other people? Should the medical profession be engaged in helping people change their genders? Introduction Earth is assumed to be inhabited by people of two main types: males and females. Until recently there has been no doubt about existence of any other type other than these two. However people were observed to claim their inner feelings of being a male/ female in spite of having the external genitalia of the opposite sex than which they claimed to feel. These sexual identities were those that one identifies with oneself but are not in synchronism with contemporary societal beliefs and norms for human gender identification. Such groups of people are increasing day by day as these people have slowly gathered confidence to express their views. The existence of such people many years back can neither be confirmed nor denied for all that we know is just about their acceptance of their status in recent years. Following essay deals with the gender identity issues prevailing in society today and whether the medical profession should be involved in helping people change their genders. Keywords: identity, puberty, eunuchs, family, community, society, acceptance, constitution, legal, psychology, understanding, existence Gender identity basically means classifying individual as a male or a female or neither of the two based on his/her internal feelings; here people can have genitals of one sex and bear the gender identity of the opposite sex (Friedrichs) i.e. although they look like men, yet they feel like a woman from inside and their way of expression can be best watched with their original feelings. Such identity determining factors can be characterized with the society that one resides in, the genetic components of a person and environmental impacts on him. A male has a homogenous chromosome structure and a female a combination of two chromosomes. Any slight variation in this combination can result into a human being different than these two types. Also hormonal changes, imbalances, hormone injections, etc can determine the gender identity of a person. The belief system of the society, that an individual belongs to, have a deep impact on the persons’ mind. It helps steer his/ her thoughts and has the ability to provoke determination to achieve justice for gender identification. Merely identifying the gender is an easy process because traditionally it is determined at birth by the external genitalia of the baby. The feelings are not a matter of concern during biological determination of sex. However with the person attaining the age of puberty, genital changes and psychological growth reach their peak and feelings are aroused in him/ her which start revealing facts about their gender identity. It is however a very sensitive issue to deal with. Sudden realization of gender identity issues can withdraw a person from the normal crowd of his age and make him reject himself. This can be considered by him as an aberration in his behavioural pattern and inadequate knowledge into the matter stops him from knowing anything further to form an opinion. If you have female genitalia as well as identity with already stated stereotypic expectations of feminine gender then it is pretty much easy to accept and be labelled as a female person. But it is extremely difficult the other way round if the genitalia and mental identity do not match with each other. It is the fear of dejection that might prevent a person from publicly declaring the person’s gender identity. We as a society are yet not prepared to face such situations; although some voices have begun to make a head away amidst this entire identity dilemma. Have you ever imagined calling a huge, obese person as a fat ass! You would be sent crushing down to earth by his blows and punches. Certainly it would prick the person’s mind and hurt him. Let us take this analogy to understand how difficult it can be to attach labels to someone’s gender identity as well. When tiny tots are also aware of what they are assigned to while talking with them, will it ever be so easy and smooth a process to stick a label of gender identity to someone? It is not only the concern of the person who is attached the gender identity but also of the person’s family, relatives, friends and all others he/ she identifies with. Outright acceptance of such a fact needs broader perspective of not the person concerned but that of the society to understand on his part. It is much easier said than done when it comes to sexual identity and related pleasures and pains coming with it. Theoretically we can easily assign such labels to everyone around us. Practically it is difficult to come with a valid explanation as to why these things occur. It would also affect their lives a lot; as they might have to change their insurance policies, license and legal documents and ration cards, etc to replace their previous sexual identities with the newly assigned sexual identities. Where acceptance of identity can also be a cause for concern, let us not forget that denial of such identity is also wrong and can create troubles in their marital lives and always deter their energy levels to a minimal level. It can also be considered a deception to keep your sexual identity hidden before until you are married. It again does not suffice any purpose but only promises breakdown of relations in the long term. Taking into consideration the opinions of our loved ones can boost our confidence and make us accept our identity to face life courageously. We have numerous examples of the transgender people: popularly known as eunuchs. Some of them have undergone voluntary sex transformation because of problems they identified with their sexual identity whereas, others have had to forcefully succumb to societal forces to become like them. Ultimately human existence is subject to perpetuation of its species and race in particular for every geographical part inhabited by humans. The transgender people are devalued and disrespected in most parts of the world. They haven’t yet achieved a status of identity where they would be considered equal to other people (either male or female) surrounding them. These people often have a profoundly developed brain, senses, sensitivities, and understanding. But they are denied recognition because society fails to identify with them. In such a scenario it would be a little absurd to emphasize assigning sexual identity to people. However, it is like the example of “hen and egg: what came first?” Well, if the identity is not labelled or if it is consistently ignored, these people shall never gain respect and their due concern. Part of their community has to undergo subjugation in order for future people to enjoy freedom of identity and self respect. It is also a matter of legal consideration to put into effect laws concerning gender identity. Different parts of world have different forms of bodies governing them: the democratic form, communist form, capitalist form, anarchy, monarchy and so on. Valid constitutional provisions need to be framed before people in a country undergo any such gender identity labelling. Granting those equal rights and providing them with the right to avail basic necessities as well as making job opportunities available for them are mandatory for country’s progress in right direction. Thus it becomes a matter of the ruling body to take the final decision and impose certain restrictions so as to avoid involuntary gender transformations. A sexual identity acceptance criterion is also a matter of religious concern. People desiring to undergo surgery to become coherent with their sexual identity must be given shelter by the religion they belong to. Sex change is a phenomenon a person wishes to undergo without knowing the real consequences which can differ from person to person. A person has to be mentally fit enough to be prepared to face the aftermath of the surgery. It has been reported that in several cases the patient is frustrated and negatively influenced by the operation and reactions of society. When we peep into our own minds, we need to ask one question: how far have we gone in understanding the issue of sexual orientation of an individual; be it a gay or a lesbian? We still have our own apprehensions. We first need to move out of this situation and learn to accept facts as they are and only then would we start respecting sexual identities of each individual. We also need to know that nature knows its laws the best. It has bestowed each one of us with equal rights to live and express our self. Hence we cannot have the right to interfere into someone else’s life beyond permissible limits. As an example let us know the third form of gender identity recognized in parts of Oman: it is known as ‘xanith’; these are male homosexual prostitutes dressed as females (Xanith). It wouldn’t be wrong to state that of late world has come to recognize and accept the people who do not completely belong to either of the traditional genders. The medical profession has a major share in transforming people into their desired genders. Here it needs to be evaluated if the gender transformation is genuinely needed by a person and is done only after his/her preparedness or is it seen as just another means to earn livelihood. Doctors cannot impose their desires on masses and they cannot even refuse the identity of people. The involvement of medical profession is solely dependent on the legal provisions involved and should not be a matter of baseless desire. Although we are slowly moving out of the ‘taboo’ as gender identity and gender transformation were once considered; still they haven’t got the unanimous acceptance and respect for their existence. We need to go miles before we can freely classify our gender identities into respectable forms. Works Cited Friedrichs, Ellen. What is Gender Identity? Retrieved on March 12, 2010 from http://gayteens.about.com/od/glbtbasicsforteens/f/whatisgenderid.htm The Wikimedia Foundation Inc website. Gender Identity. Xanith. Retrieved on March 12, 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_identity#Hijra Read More