Gender identity is the way an individual identifies with his or her gender . In short, it represents how the person recognizes himself: male, female, both or neither. Gender identity types
What determines gender identity is the way a person feels and perceives himself, as well as the way he wants to be recognized by other people.
Gender identity can be measured in different degrees of masculinity or femininity, and these can change over the course of a lifetime, according to some psychologists.
Types of gender identities
There are three main types of gender identity: transgender, cisgender and non-binary. Gender identity types
1. Transgender
A transgender person is an individual who identifies with a different gender than the one assigned to them at birth. For example: a person who is born with male characteristics (from a biological point of view), but who feels like a female; or the individual who has feminine physical characteristics, but who identifies as a man.
Contrary to what was wrongly thought in the past, transgenderism is not a mental disorder and any attempt to pathologize transgender people can represent a violation of the individual’s human rights. Gender identity types
2. Cisgender
The cisgender is the individual who identifies with his “birth gender.” For example: an individual who has biological characteristics typical of the male gender and who identifies (socially and psychologically) as a man. In this way, it can be said that he is a cisgender man.
3. Non-binary
The non-binary is the classification that characterizes the mixture between masculine and feminine, or the total indifference between both. Non-binary individuals go beyond the social roles that are assigned to genders, creating a third identity that escapes the “man-woman” pattern. Gender identity types
Difference between gender identity and sexual orientation
Many people confuse the two concepts, however gender identity is not related to sexual orientation.
A transgender woman (an individual who was born with a male sexual organ but who identifies with the female gender), for example, can have any type of sexual orientation — homosexual, bisexual, heterosexual, asexual, etc.
The term “gender” is used to represent the social and psychological difference between men and women . In this way, gender identity, as stated, refers to the identification that a person has with a certain gender — male, female, both or neither. On the other hand, sexual orientation depends on what gender a person is sexually attracted to.
Gender expression still exists , which represents the way in which the individual expresses his or her gender to society, whether through clothing, language, attitudes, gestures, etc.
