Is then gender just a mental construct? Are we all born identical and shape our genders as we are taught? I can’t believe it’s that straightforward. And as it happens I oppose the frantic bout of lawmaking aimed at transgenders.
Gender expression is a social construct
But gender identity, it seems, is not.
Trans people couldn’t have their gender identity if there weren’t a whole lot of cis people to use as a reference to define the genders in the first place. Cis people have to keep identifying according to their biological sex, otherwise gender identity terms would become meaningless. Although that maybe wouldn’t be a bad thing.
Not wanting to sidetrack the thread further, but the Washington Post has a decent article on Elizabeth Warren’s claims of Native American heritage.
What’s that actually mean though? Does it mean we can, or should, abolish gender altogether? Or create new ones?
It seems to mean that gender is no more linked to a person’s sex than their sexual orientation is. While the majority of people have an agreement between their genes, genitals and gender we can make accommodations for those who don’t.