Psychological Positions on Gender Identity

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In this paper I will be examining two different psychological positions on gender identity. These positions are; binary gender identity and diverse gender identity. After I have explained both positions I will analyze the two and put forth my argument that diverse gender identity captures a more accurate depiction of gender. This psychologically charged debate over gender identity and its presence in society has taken the form of intuitions over social necessity. In where one side is arguing that traditional binary gender norms are no longer relevant in today’s world, and that binary gender norms are damaging to the cultivation of a happy and healthy society. While the other side argues that traditional binary gender norms are paramount for a healthy family, for a proper social dynamics, and for the prevention of damaging individual’s lives. From both sides of the fence proponents have been using psychological analysis and statistics to bolster their claims. For the purposes of this paper I will begin with the pro binary gender identity theorists.

Binary Gender Identity

In order to properly unpack the position of proponents for binary gender identity I will first put forth a concept known as gender essentialism. Gender essentialism, in a nut shell, is the theory that a specific gender, let’s say female, holds a unifying quality that makes it that gender. For those arguing in favor for gender binary norms that unifying quality is biological. In other words, they argue, we are all born a specific gender and by benefit of this unifying biological quality we are concretely that gender. So in short, by this account, one's gender is determined by the sex they are born into. Furthermore, they argue that these...

... middle of paper ...

... doom ourselves to potentially keep striving for the unreasonable.

Works Cited

DiDonato, Matthew D. and Berenbaum, Sheri A. “The Benefits and Drawbacks of Gender Typing: How Different Dimensions are Related to Psychological Adjustment.” Archives of Sexual Behavior April 2011, Volume 40, Issue 2, pp 457-463 Web 21 Apr. 2015.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20364305

Eckes, Thomas. Hanns M. Trautner Taylor & Francis "The Developmental Social Psychology of Gender", May 1, 2000 Print.

Ehrensaft, Diane. "Boys Will Be Girls, Girls Will Be Boys" Psychoanalytic Psychology, Vol 28(4), Oct 2011, 528-548. Web 3 Apr. 2015.

http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/2011-12010-001/

Witt, Charlotte. "What is Gender Essentialism?" 2011 Web 12 May 2015.

http://pubpages.unh.edu/~cewitt/Site/My_Philosophical_Life_files/What%20is%20Gender%20Essentialism%3F.pdf

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