Understanding Gender and Transgender

ABSTRACT

In the binary of gender, women and femininity came to be associated with motherhood, nurturing, and beauty whilst men and masculinity were associated with productivity, protection, and strength. No longer are we to systematically categorize an individual's gender in terms of polar opposite of femininity and masculinity, but instead we must acknowledge all that resides in between those two poles and allow for identity terms that best express their sense of self. The term ‘transgender has become an umbrella term for a broader and more encompassing array of gender narratives outside of the binary norm of gender. Gender dysphoria is managed and treatable through psychotherapy and through the social and medical transition of gender. The support of transgender individuals' preferred gender through social acknowledgment, gender expression, hormone therapy, and surgery has been proven to alleviate symptoms of gender dysphoria in transgender people, enabling them to incorporate back into society.