Gender Identity - This might offend some, but it is not meant to be inflammatory or demeaning in any way.

While there is obviously much debate over whether gender is a social construct, I think it is important to look into the etymology of the word. Looking back to the PIE root of the term, which is "gene", we find that it means to "give birth" or "beget". From this root it is easy to see its ties in diction to the latin "genus" which signifies a "kind or class [of things]". So the derivitive use of the word denotes the classification of a thing based on the empirically observable source from which it was birthed. In the context of humans, the two most distinct genders are male and female.

This is a bit different from, but nevertheless married to, the term "sex", a term derived from the latin "sexus", meaning, "a sex, either of male or female gender". This has apparent ties to the PIE "sek", which means "to cut", from which we get terms like "sect", "section", "sector", etc, all of which bear a strong semblance in diction and in meaning to the word "sex".

While these two terms are different, they both denote a classification based on distinct characteristics which are directly observable. So let's look at the binary aspect.

Humans are obviously a sexually reproductive species. Therefore we come in 2 varieties: male and female. Anything in between is biologically abnormal, and folks in that minority should unquestionably be treated as equal members of society. There is no reasonable justification for judging someone based something like this and to do so is a reflection of a lack of basic compassion and empathy. However, the fact that there are people whose bodies do not reflect the standard male/female binary in the population is not cause for elimination of the binary altogether. Statistically speaking it is absurd to assign a such a disproportionate weight or value to a minute proportion of outlying data points that they affect a drastic change in the mean. We have male and female, and since we are not machines, there is room for error; and that's OK!

So we can see that gender is not simply a social construct, and that any body which doesn't fit the binary is simply a body that was affected by factors which caused that body to not fully reflect either the male or the female gender. And this brings us to gender identity.

I'll just talk about this in terms of males, but the same applies to females. If someone has a male genotype and phenotype, then he is male. His attitude or sense of comfort regarding that fact is simply that; it has no effect on his biology, and the cause for any discrepancy between the attitude and the biology is not always easy to discern. It is most likely related to prenatal factors like hormonal imbalances, and/or environmental factors after birth, such as trauma for example. Regardless of the cause, however, it makes the most sense biologically and socially for a male to be comfortable being male. There are no discernable advantages to this not being the case. If anything there are only disadvantages, e.g. anxiety, negative self esteem, etc. This is why originally such a case was identified as a disorder. And so, since it is impossible to change the body by any method to make it truly female - and since the methods currently used inflict irreparable damage upon the body, rendering any male who may come to a point of regretting this choice incapable of restoring his body to a true male form - it seems that the most responsible way to address this would be to help such a male assimilate his male-ness and become comfortable with the body he has. Again, there is no reason to judge or mistreat people struggling with something like this; to do so is reprehensible, and reflects a lack of compassion and empathy.

So to wrap this up, gender and sex are not distinctly separate things. Gender identity should really only refer to one's sense of whether he/she is male or female, strictly speaking. And for those who identify as anything besides these two, perhaps a term other than "gender" should be used so as not to foster the growth of the ambiguity which has arisen in our society surrounding this subject. Those who are not comfortable with their respective genders should first be offered help in finding peace in the bodies they have before being given hormones and surgeries to alter their bodies permanently. And most importantly, we should all be honest, respectful, compassionate, and understanding toward our fellow humans.

While there is obviously much debate over whether gender is a social construct, I think it is important to look into the etymology of the word. Looking back to the PIE root of the term, which is "gene", we find that it means to "give birth" or "beget". From this root it is easy to see its ties in diction to the latin "genus" which signifies a "kind or class [of things]". So the derivitive use of the word denotes the classification of a thing based on the empirically observable source from which it was birthed. In the context of humans, the two most distinct genders are male and female.This is a bit different from, but nevertheless married to, the term "sex", a term derived from the latin "sexus", meaning, "a sex, either of male or female gender". This has apparent ties to the PIE "sek", which means "to cut", from which we get terms like "sect", "section", "sector", etc, all of which bear a strong semblance in diction and in meaning to the word "sex".While these two terms are different, they both denote a classification based on distinct characteristics which are directly observable. So let's look at the binary aspect.Humans are obviously a sexually reproductive species. Therefore we come in 2 varieties: male and female. Anything in between is biologically abnormal, and folks in that minority should unquestionably be treated as equal members of society. There is no reasonable justification for judging someone based something like this and to do so is a reflection of a lack of basic compassion and empathy. However, the fact that there are people whose bodies do not reflect the standard male/female binary in the population is not cause for elimination of the binary altogether. Statistically speaking it is absurd to assign a such a disproportionate weight or value to a minute proportion of outlying data points that they affect a drastic change in the mean. We have male and female, and since we are not machines, there is room for error; and that's OK!So we can see that gender is not simply a social construct, and that any body which doesn't fit the binary is simply a body that was affected by factors which caused that body to not fully reflect either the male or the female gender. And this brings us to gender identity.I'll just talk about this in terms of males, but the same applies to females. If someone has a male genotype and phenotype, then he is male. His attitude or sense of comfort regarding that fact is simply that; it has no effect on his biology, and the cause for any discrepancy between the attitude and the biology is not always easy to discern. It is most likely related to prenatal factors like hormonal imbalances, and/or environmental factors after birth, such as trauma for example. Regardless of the cause, however, it makes the most sense biologically and socially for a male to be comfortable being male. There are no discernable advantages to this not being the case. If anything there are only disadvantages, e.g. anxiety, negative self esteem, etc. This is why originally such a case was identified as a disorder. And so, since it is impossible to change the body by any method to make it truly female - and since the methods currently used inflict irreparable damage upon the body, rendering any male who may come to a point of regretting this choice incapable of restoring his body to a true male form - it seems that the most responsible way to address this would be to help such a male assimilate his male-ness and become comfortable with the body he has. Again, there is no reason to judge or mistreat people struggling with something like this; to do so is reprehensible, and reflects a lack of compassion and empathy.So to wrap this up, gender and sex are not distinctly separate things. Gender identity should really only refer to one's sense of whether he/she is male or female, strictly speaking. And for those who identify as anything besides these two, perhaps a term other than "gender" should be used so as not to foster the growth of the ambiguity which has arisen in our society surrounding this subject. Those who are not comfortable with their respective genders should first be offered help in finding peace in the bodies they have before being given hormones and surgeries to alter their bodies permanently. And most importantly, we should all be honest, respectful, compassionate, and understanding toward our fellow humans. http://ift.tt/eA8V8J http://ift.tt/2rNJWbW