Gender Identity As A Social Construct Essay

I will argue that gender identity is a social construct, as gender roles, created by society, are used to build ones idea of their own 'gender identity'. According to Lorber (1994), there are more gender identities then just man and woman. One can identify as a transsexual (someone who has gone through surgery to alter their sex) or a transvestite (one who dresses to be seen as the opposite gender). These people conform to the expectations of the gender they'd like to be perceived as. In other words, they go against their biological gender and/or gender roles, and take on the gender roles of the sex they wish to be seen as. Lorber (1994) also suggests the way we assign gender is “legitimated by religion, law, science, and the society's entire
In an article I read, Pyne (2014) discusses 'gender independent children', and how they are challenging the norms set by society of how a 'boy' or 'girl' should portray themselves. This, which was once seen as a disorder, is now being accepted as something that is simply different. Which suggests further that gender identity is a social construct, which can be changed. Pyne (2014) noted that children who are pushed to conform to the norms associated with their respective sex are often “prone to anxiety, sadness, social withdrawal, self deprecation, and other signs of internalized stress”. In all, I'd suggest gender identity is more fluid then it is commonly believed to be. An individuals gender is assigned at birth and they are bombarded with pressure to conform to that gender throughout their life. But gender is not simply as black and white as the sex one is born with, it is a spectrum that one can fall anywhere on. Pressure to conform isolates those who can't, as they don't fall into society's standards of what makes a 'man' or 'woman', further implying gender identity is constructed by