Gender and sex seem like they go hand in hand but there is a difference between them. Sex has to do with the biological side of a person while gender is more what society deems as feminine or masculine. Sex is assigned biologically at birth, gender is thrust upon children from the moment they are born.
Gender is usually created for a person at the moment that the expectant parents learn the sex of their future child. When they learn that they are expecting a girl, the baby supplies are color selected to being pink or softer colors. If a boy is expected then everything that is bought is blue or often harsher colors.
This is what society has taught people to do, and it has taught them to condition and conform their children to what society has labeled as normal. This normality is that gender only exists as either being a man and masculine or a female and feminine. There is no overlap because society tells us that gender can only be two categories.
Transgender people are people that are biologically one sex but they do not self-identify with that gender associated with that sex. They identify as the other gender that is not associated with their sex, the association that society views as normal.
Sexual orientation and gender identity also differ. Gender identity is again the gender that a person identifies as normally either male or female. Sexual orientation is who you are sexually attracted to, and this does not always follow the dominant belief of society which is males have to be attracted to females. More recently this dominant belief is being challenged and the campaign of ‘Love is Love’ is being accepted by society. For a transgender person, their sexual orientation is not affected by what their gender identity is.
Gender identity can not be changed and living with a biological body that does not match the identity which they are, can be hard to live with. This is why a person will change their body to match the gender identity that they are. A transformation into the person that they always were, can make a difference in their lives.
November is the month that brings awareness to the Transgender community in the hope to educate others and advocate for themselves. Many transgender people face hardships, like abuse, violence and discrimination due to them being transgender. With education and avocation about the transgender communities, society will be in a better position to accept them for themselves.
For more information about the LGBT Community visit: