How is gender fluidity related to health in children and teens? But gender fluidity can look different for different people. Often, the term is used to mean that a person’s gender expression or gender identity - essentially, their internal sense of self - changes frequently. Ultimately, anyone who identifies as gender-fluid is a gender-fluid person. It’s wise to note, though, that they may never use the term gender-fluid as an identity label for themself. This person could be considered gender-fluid, because they experienced one or more changes in their gender identity or gender expression. This person would be considered transgender, but not necessarily gender-fluid.Īnother person who follows this developmental arc may only identify as a boy until they are in their 20s, and then identify as nonbinary, and then identify as a boy again later in adulthood. For example, a person who was designated female on their original birth certificate may identify as a girl until adolescence, then identify as a boy for the rest of their life. While some people develop a gender identity early in childhood, others may identify with one gender at one time and then another gender later on. What’s the difference between gender-fluid and transgender? While such changes can happen at any time during a person’s life, they’re more common during childhood and adolescence than later in adulthood. Thus, this child may feel freer to have a different gender expression or identity at home than out in public.įor many people, gender identity and expression develop early and stay the same over time. That same child may live in a town where most people believe that boys should “look like boys” and girls should “look like girls.” And this child might live in a society and at a historical time with similar gender norms as their community. Each of these may have very different norms and expectations about gender expression and gender identity.įor example, a child might live in a family that believes that gender is more complex than boy or girl, and encourages a diversity of gender expressions. Gender identity develops within multiple social contexts: a person’s family, their larger community, and the society and historical time in which they live. People typically begin developing a gender identity in early childhood, around the age of 2 or 3. Nor does everyone desire gender-affirming medical treatment to change their body to better align with their gender identity. Not everyone who experiences changes in their gender expression or identity identifies as gender-fluid. (Nonbinary means a person’s gender identity doesn’t fit into strict cultural categories of female or male.) Some people describe themselves as “gender-fluid.” As an identity, it typically fits under the transgender and nonbinary umbrella, which applies to people whose gender identity doesn’t match the sex assigned to them on their original birth certificate. For others, gender fluidity may continue indefinitely as part of their life experience with gender. Or both expression and identity might change together.įor some youth, gender fluidity may be a way to explore gender before landing on a more stable gender expression or identity. That change might be in expression, but not identity, or in identity, but not expression. Gender fluidity refers to change over time in a person’s gender expression or gender identity, or both. Cisgender means a person’s gender identity matches the sex - female or male - designated on their original birth certificate. Although my gender expression has shifted over time between less feminine and more feminine, I have always identified as a girl or woman. At other times in my life, I’ve had longer hair and frequently worn dresses and dangly earrings - and more feminine Halloween costumes. I’ve also enjoyed occasionally playing male roles in theater productions and dressing in costume as a man on Halloween. And, of course, these questions may also resonate with many adults.Īt times in my life, I’ve had shorter hair and a fondness for men’s dress pants and dress shoes. Questions like these can be especially valuable if you’re wondering about how gender identity and expression may shift as children grow up. Do you identify as a woman, man, or another gender: essentially, how would you describe your gender identity? How do you show your gender to other people through how you look or act - in other words, your gender expression? And has your gender identity or gender expression changed or stayed the same over time? Take a moment - yes, right now - to consider your gender.
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