Yesterday, I read an article about removing the “sex” box form birth certificates. I found this very interesting, because it brings to mind gender identity and how we view the roles on men and women. The article explained that when you are born, the doctors check off the gender box on the birth certificate as either male or female depending on your sex organ.
I asked a transgendered student, “How would it make you feel if the government removed the “sex” box from birth certificates?”
His response was, “It would make things easier and cut down on sex discrimination.”
Since we are checked into this box, some people feel obligated or pressured to conform to the social “norm” of being male or female.
However, as we get older, some people do not identify with their given gender identity. People who feel like they do not belong in their assigned role should be able to change it without backlash from society.
The backlash from society comes from people who do not fully understand how transgendered people know who they are. People who do not understand initially think something is wrong, which is not the case. They are just figuring out their gender identity.
Persons who are transgendered feel when they get older their gender identity does not match up to their biological sex. With the right hormones and surgical procedures, some choose to get the body that matches their gender identity.
Assigning our gender so early on is troublesome, because we do not know who we identify as until we are older. We are babies, so we do not know what we identify as until we are older and have this feeling of knowing who we are.
Society determines how males and females should act depending on their identity. Society tells us that women cannot do what men can do and vice versa.
This climate really does hinder what men and women can do in regards to doing activities. In my opinion, I think men and women can do the same thing as each other when it comes to physical activities. We just have to step out of what society wants for us and start doing for ourselves.
We are so concerned about what society thinks of us that we forget to think for ourselves and do what makes us happy. If anything the government should “unisex” the birth certificates and give babies time to grow and the freedom to chose whichever gender they identify as later on in life.
For more, check out the following:
The article on “The Necessity of Checking the ‘Sex” Box http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/10/19/is-checking-the-sex-box-necessary/for-starters-unsex-the-birth-certificate
Emma Diltz article on Laverne Cox speech on gender identity and expression http://www.themaneater.com/stories/2014/10/7/laverne-cox-speaks-gender-identity-and-expression/
