Take a second — sure, proper now — to contemplate your gender. Do you determine as a girl, man, or one other gender: basically, how would you describe your gender identification? How do you present your gender to different folks by way of the way you look or act — in different phrases, your gender expression? And has your gender identification or gender expression modified or stayed the identical over time?
Questions like these may be particularly invaluable when you’re questioning about how gender identification and expression could shift as kids develop up. And, after all, these questions may additionally resonate with many adults.
At instances in my life, I’ve had shorter hair and a passion for males’s costume pants and costume sneakers. I’ve additionally loved sometimes enjoying male roles in theater productions and dressing in costume as a person on Halloween. At different instances in my life, I’ve had longer hair and regularly worn clothes and dangly earrings — and extra female Halloween costumes. Though my gender expression has shifted over time between much less female and extra female, I’ve all the time recognized as a woman or lady.
What’s gender fluidity?
Let’s outline a couple of phrases. Cisgender means an individual’s gender identification matches the intercourse — feminine or male — designated on their authentic start certificates. Gender fluidity refers to vary over time in an individual’s gender expression or gender identification, or each. That change is likely to be in expression, however not identification, or in identification, however not expression. Or each expression and identification may change collectively.
For some youth, gender fluidity could also be a technique to discover gender earlier than touchdown on a extra secure gender expression or identification. For others, gender fluidity could proceed indefinitely as a part of their life expertise with gender.
Some folks describe themselves as “gender-fluid.” As an identification, it sometimes suits underneath the transgender and nonbinary umbrella, which applies to folks whose gender identification doesn’t match the intercourse assigned to them on their authentic start certificates. (Nonbinary means an individual’s gender identification doesn’t match into strict cultural classes of feminine or male.)
Not everybody who experiences adjustments of their gender expression or identification identifies as gender-fluid. Nor does everybody want gender-affirming medical remedy to vary their physique to raised align with their gender identification.
How does gender develop and alter?
Folks sometimes start growing a gender identification in early childhood, across the age of two or 3. Gender identification develops inside a number of social contexts: an individual’s household, their bigger group, and the society and historic time during which they dwell. Every of those could have very completely different norms and expectations about gender expression and gender identification.
For instance, a toddler may dwell in a household that believes that gender is extra advanced than boy or woman, and encourages a variety of gender expressions. That very same baby could dwell in a city the place most individuals consider that boys ought to “seem like boys” and ladies ought to “seem like ladies.” And this baby may dwell in a society and at a historic time with comparable gender norms as their group. Thus, this baby could really feel freer to have a unique gender expression or identification at residence than out in public.
For many individuals, gender identification and expression develop early and keep the identical over time. For others, both one could change. Whereas such adjustments can occur at any time throughout an individual’s life, they’re extra frequent throughout childhood and adolescence than later in maturity.
What’s the distinction between gender-fluid and transgender?
Whereas some folks develop a gender identification early in childhood, others could determine with one gender at one time after which one other gender in a while. For instance, an individual who was designated feminine on their authentic start certificates could determine as a woman till adolescence, then determine as a boy for the remainder of their life. This individual could be thought of transgender, however not essentially gender-fluid.
One other one that follows this developmental arc could solely determine as a boy till they’re of their 20s, after which determine as nonbinary, after which determine as a boy once more later in maturity. This individual might be thought of gender-fluid, as a result of they skilled a number of adjustments of their gender identification or gender expression. It’s smart to notice, although, that they could by no means use the time period gender-fluid as an identification label for themself.
In the end, anybody who identifies as gender-fluid is a gender-fluid individual. Usually, the time period is used to imply that an individual’s gender expression or gender identification — basically, their inside sense of self — adjustments regularly. However gender fluidity can look completely different for various folks.
How is gender fluidity associated to well being in kids and teenagers?
Identical to adults, kids and teenagers who specific or determine their gender in a different way from their intercourse designated at start usually tend to expertise prejudice and discrimination. These experiences could create minority stress that’s harmful for their mental and physical health. In comparison with cisgender youth, transgender youth are two to three times more likely to have despair, anxiousness, self-harming habits, and suicidal ideas and habits.
All communities have expectations round what’s “regular.” A youth who’s gender-fluid could also be at better threat for prejudice and discrimination, as a result of their shifting gender identification or expression goes towards an expectation that every of those points of personhood develops early and stays the identical over time. And the dangerous interactions could not happen solely with people who find themselves cisgender. A youth who’s gender-fluid may additionally face discrimination from some folks within the transgender group who view them as “probably not transgender.” Seeing a youth who clothes extra femininely on at some point and extra masculinely on one other day could really feel complicated and even threatening to anybody with strict concepts about gender.
How will you help gender-fluid youth in your life?
I encourage you to consider gender fluidity as a part of the variety of human expertise associated to gender identification and expression. Whereas acceptance is essential in how we deal with anybody, it’s particularly essential for youngsters and teenagers.
- Hearken to youth and validate their expertise of their gender. Everyone seems to be the professional of their very own gender.
- Be affected person, as a youth’s gender fluidity could also be a part of their gender identification growth.
- Help gender-fluid youth in making knowledgeable selections about gender-affirming care, akin to hormone remedy and gender-affirming surgical procedures.
- Join them to help and assets to allow them to speak to others with comparable experiences. Gender Spectrum is a superb useful resource for each gender-fluid youth and the adults of their lives.
