Nick Tipsword

Critter

Prof. Zorn

11/2/16

Gender Definition

To define ones gender is to define ones identity. To truly understand this you

must first understand the separation between sex and gender. Sex does not define your

gender but is how you are anatomically born. Gender consists of all the secondary

characteristics that define who a person is and how they act. In the past if you were born

a certain sex along with that came a list of things you could and could not do. In 2016

things are changing and people are becoming more accepting of those who do not

conform to these gender roles, and along with that more and more people feel less

pressure to conform to the gender roles that are expected of them. It is my belief that

everyone should be allowed to decide how they identify their gender and the roles they

want to play in the world.

Gender roles were very clearly portrayed in a few of the documentaries we

watched. In The Mask You Live In we see countless stories from young men who have

been raised to believe that because they are born with a penis they must act like a man.

The longer we raise our kids this way the more destructive this ideal becomes. It is clear

that the ideal they are emphasizing is one where we teach young men to idolize

masculinity and reject feminine qualities, but we are also teaching boys that the only

option they have to identify themselves is as a cisgendered man. In Miss Representation

Nick Tipsword

Critter

Prof. Zorn

11/2/16

we see a similar problem portrayed through different means. In the media we see women

used as objects to sell products and pander to men, while this tackles the larger issue of

the objectification of women we also see a trend of developing gender roles for how

people born with a vagina must behave. If you are born female you according to the

media you must identify as a female and care about your looks, be hyper feminine in all

aspects of life, and enjoy doing domestic tasks. Teaching girls that they must be bound

by the confines of one basic gender is to teach girls that they cannot be who they are.

I personally identify with gender definition as a young gay man. While I still

refer to myself as male I do not conform to any of the ideals that are associated with that

phrase. Growing up I was always a very feminine boy and I was tormented for it.

Parents of my friends would refer to me as the gay kid long before I knew what the

word gay even meant. The only way I began to feel comfortable with the person I am

was by accepting that the textbook definition of my gender was not all there was. I did

not have to be a typical man. I got to decide the person that I wanted to be and how I

wanted to define myself by taking control of my own gender identity.

As young people today we are the generation that can begin to truly accept who

we are on a basic level. For hundreds of years the human race has been forcing each

other into boxes to restrict people from thinking beyond societies social constructs, but
Nick Tipsword

Critter

Prof. Zorn

11/2/16

its time for that to change. If we believe that everyone can use their gender to embrace

who they are then we can become a more loving and accepting world. While media may

continue to portray characters they are the ideals of a gender we must remember that they

are only portraying what viewers expect to see. It is up to us to break that stigma and

change how others see gender, and introduce a new age of self-acceptance.