On the Topic of My Gender
Despite heated discussions around gender, gender identity, and gender expression, there is no consensus on what gender is. Some mistakenly believe gender is determined chromosomally or reflected in external genitalia. For clarity, when discussing my gender, I define gender as the socially constructed binary of man and woman. However, recent societal changes mark the acceptance of a third gender for people who don’t fit into the categories of man or woman. I should note, however, that the formation of gender is entirely abstract. Thus, there are an infinite number of genders. In my eighteen years of life, I’ve always been aware of my gender. My shoulder-length hair, wide hips, figure-hugging clothing, valley girl accent, cardigans, tote bags, and long nails have made the world aware, too. These physical attributes allow people to identify me: there goes that girl, and more recently, there goes that woman. They treat me accordingly. I’m frequently greeted with a smile and treated like I