#5
27th Mar 2018 at 12:04 AM
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In lines of work like healthcare it's very important to know which gender (XX/XY/???-wise) a person is, otherwise you might overlook very important things about their health. A very bad tummyache can be a lot of things, but if a person insists they're male but still have female bits, you could overlook conditions related to pregnancy or the female reproductive system (and overlook thypical male conditions in a person insisting they're female but have male bits). Some conditions are more common for the male or female population, and some may only pop up for one gender. Overlooking such things could even prove fatal for the person.
I think it's important to distinguish between genders for such reasons, but at the same time it's also important to consider which gender people identify as, because it's important to them and their wellbeing.
Gender roles have over the time humans have existed been a part of how we've evolved. Over the generations, females have mostly been the person taking care of the kids and keeping the family going, while males did the hunting and protection. Our brains are not wired quite the same, even if both males and females are capable of taking over the other gender role if need be. However, society is changing, and gender roles are more washed out now.
There are people born with "no" gender, having both sets of reproductive systems, having no reproductive system, and even having a "female" or "male" mindset but being in the wrong body, or having multiple sets of chromosomes. In those who identify as the other gender from a very young age, there may be a good explanation in their genes as to why they do. For the rest, I don't know. It may be genetic, societal, or a mix. I honestly don't know.
For the whole gender roles and what people should wear - I think it's up to the individual person. Personally, I think it's strange to see a man wearing a dress, but if they want to wear a dress it's up to them, not to me. I also find it a little strange that two women or two men can be in love, or how anyone in their right mind can enjoy wearing high heels, or how some people can enjoy blue cheese - but my opinion or thoughts don't matter on what gender people identifies as, who they love, what they like to eat, or dress like, or anything else. Their feelings, preferences and opinions are not up to me to decide - just like it's not up to them what I feel, prefer, or have opinions about. People are entitled to their own opinions as long as they don't go around deliberately hurting other people.
I do however have to deal with gender in my work in the healthcare business, and there it does matter to a degree which gender people are. You can't always use the same equipment on a man and a woman, and most of the elderly men and women I work still have a touch of the old gender roles in their societal makeup. You try to talk to an 80 year old man about knitting or dresses, or to a 90 year old woman about cars and technical whatnots, and see how fast hey lose interest. Sure, when people in my generation get to that age, our interests may be completely different, but it's just a couple or so generations ago since most women stayed home caring for the family while most men worked to pay the bills.
If anyone wonders, I'm a woman, but sometimes still identify as a girl because I don't quite identify as 100% adult yet, even if I'm well beyond 18. I like pink and purple, I hate wearing high heels and makeup, I'm interested in computers and technical whatnots, couldn't care less about fashion (unless it's for kids below the age of 4 - I love all those cute little outfits!), and otherwise have a mix of thypical societal "girlish" and "boyish" interests. Today's society, the one I live in anyway, lets me do what I want even if I occasionally get challenged on some of them - and I'm lucky that way.
Not everyone is lucky enough to live in a society where males and females can do what they want. There are still societies where female members are looked down on, and where gender fluidity of any kind is not only frowned upon but is punishable by prison or even death. So if you live in a society where you can worry about whether to call someone "she" "he" or "???", you're actually quite lucky.