Gender Identity
People often confuse sexual orientation with gender identity, largely due to stereotypes about gender roles and non-heterosexual behavior. In psychology, however, these are related but distinct concepts. Sexual orientation refers to patterns of attraction, while gender identity refers to one’s internal sense of gender.
gender identity and gender dysphoria
Gender identity is a person’s deeply felt sense of being male, female, nonbinary, or another gender. For many people, gender identity aligns with their sex assigned at birth, but this is not true for everyone.
When a person experiences distress because their gender identity does not align with their sex assigned at birth—or with how others perceive their gender—this distress is referred to as gender dysphoria.
Gender dysphoria is a diagnostic category in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR). To meet diagnostic criteria:
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The incongruence between experienced gender and assigned sex must persist for at least six months
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The experience must cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning
cisgender and transgender
Cisgender is an umbrella term used to describe people whose sense of personal identity and gender corresponds with their sex assigned at birth, while transgender is a term used to describe people whose sense of personal identity does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth.
Approximately 1.4 million U.S. adults or .6 percent of the population are transgender according to a 2016 report.[1]
Many people who are classified as gender dysphoric seek to live their lives in ways that are consistent with their gender identity. This may involve dressing and presenting themselves in accordance with a gender identity that differs from the sex assigned at birth. These individuals may also undertake gender-affirming hormone therapy to make their bodies better align with their gender identity, and in rare cases, they may even elect to have surgeries to alter the appearance of their external genitalia to resemble that of their gender identity.
Not all transgender people experience gender dysphoria, and not all pursue medical transition.
Estimates suggest that approximately 0.5–1% of U.S. adults identify as transgender, with higher identification rates among younger generations—likely reflecting increased social visibility and acceptance rather than a true increase in prevalence.
Changing Gender Norms
Our scientific knowledge and general understanding of gender identity continue to evolve, and young people today have more opportunities to explore and openly express different ideas about what gender means than in previous generations. Studies indicate that the majority of Millennials (born between 1981 – 1996) regard gender as a spectrum instead of a strict male/female binary, and that 12% identify as transgender or gender non-conforming. Additionally, over half of people ages 13–20 know people who use gender-neutral pronouns (such as they/them) (Kennedy, 2017).
This change in language may mean that Millennials and Generation Z (born between 1997-2012) people understand the experience of gender itself differently. As young people lead this change, other changes are emerging in a range of spheres, from public bathroom policies to retail organizations. For example, some retailers are starting to change traditional gender-based marketing of products, such as removing “pink and blue” clothing and toy aisles. Even with these changes, those who exist outside of traditional gender norms face difficult challenges. Even people who vary slightly from traditional norms can be the target of discrimination and sometimes even violence.
This video about transgender immigrants’ experiences explains more struggles faced globally by those in the transgender community.
Cultural Factors in Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity
Gender is deeply cultural. Like race, it is a social construction with real consequences, particularly for those who do not conform to gender binaries. To fully understand gender as a concept, it is necessary to expand the language we use to describe gender beyond “masculine” or “feminine.”
gender expression
Gender expression, or how one demonstrates gender (based on traditional gender role norms related to clothing, behavior, and interactions) can be feminine, masculine, androgynous, or somewhere along a spectrum. Although gender has traditionally been considered in binary terms (male or female), increasingly gender is being seen as a spectrum; however, our vocabulary is still limited in terms of how we describe gender identity.
Issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity are very much influenced by sociocultural factors. Even how we define sexual orientation and gender vary from one culture to the next. While in the United States exclusive heterosexuality is viewed as the norm, there are societies that have different attitudes regarding variations in cisgender or heterosexual behavior.
In fact, in some instances, periods of exclusively homosexual behavior are socially prescribed as a part of normal development and maturation. For example, in parts of New Guinea, young boys are expected to engage in sexual behavior with other boys for a given period of time because it is believed that doing so is necessary for these boys to become men (Baldwin & Baldwin, 1989).
Gender Systems
While the United States largely operates within a two-gender system, other cultures recognize additional gender categories. For example:
- In Thailand, kathoey refers to people who may be described as transgender or gender-diverse in Western contexts.
- Many Indigenous cultures historically recognized third-gender or Two-Spirit identities.
Intersex variations
Intersex is an umbrella term for people born with sex characteristics (chromosomes, hormones, or anatomy) that do not fit typical definitions of male or female. While most newborns tend to display XX or XY sexual characteristics, in rare cases a child may be born with components of male and female genitals (Creighton, 2001; Hughes, et al. 2006). Intersex traits are a natural part of human biological variation and are not inherently disorders. Intersex characteristics may be apparent at birth, emerge at puberty, or be identified later in life.
- Flores, A., J. Herman, G. Gates, and T. N.T. Brown. "How many adults identify as transgender." The Williams Institute. http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/How-Many-Adults-Identify-as-Transgender-in-the-United-States.pdf. ↵