It's 2017, and there are plenty of confusing things that are hard to understand. Astrophysics, for example. Doing taxes is another great example. Now, something that is actually quite easy to understand and yet is blown out of proportion is gender.
Let's start with biology. In human biology, we learn that there are two sexes- male and female. This is accurate, and excluding medical anomalies such as hermaphroditism, there are only two sexes. Gender, however, is a separate concept from sex. Gender deals with psychology, which is not so black and white. In order to further understand gender, let's look at some definitions.
"Either of the two sexes (male and female), especially when considered with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones. The term is also used more broadly to denote a range of identities that do not correspond to established ideas of male and female." - The Oxford Dictionary of English
"The behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex." - The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of English
"Gender refers to the socially constructed characteristics of women and men...it varies from society to society and can be changed..."- The World Health Organization (see their website for the full definition)
If you're willing to disagree with the World Health Organization, then be my guest, just know that the WHO tends to have highly valued opinions. Now, once these definitions are taken into consideration, it's clear to see that gender is something different than sex. Gender is a concept, and gender norms are determined by society. For instance, women wore dresses for many years and were not allowed to wear pants. Once women started wearing pants, people disagreed with it wholeheartedly, but eventually, enough women challenged this that the gender norm for women changed. In today's society, we obviously see nothing wrong with women wearing pants. So clearly gender norms are subject to change. What defines masculinity and femininity is not concrete, and that may make some people uncomfortable.
Our brains start looking for clues to differentiate between sexes at an early age. For example, blue equates to boy and pink equates to girl. Long hair equates to girl and short hair equates to boy. Our brains are hardwired to set gender norms, so it's no wonder why they exist and why they're so hard to change. Sometimes, it may feel as though our identities are being challenged as these gender norms are being challenged, but change is good. If a man wears makeup, it doesn't affect you or make him any less of a man, so let him do what he wants. If a woman shaves her head bald and has a lot of muscle, it doesn't affect you or make them less of a woman.
One last thing. People tend to like to make fun of "a number of genders" and say that anything other than male or female is made up. Do you believe that every person's DNA is completely unique? Do you believe that because of this biological fact, every person is unique? If you're willing to believe that every person is infinitely unique, that everyone's psychology is infinitely complex, then why would you stop believing at gender? If you believe that each one of seven billion people is unique, then you should have no trouble believing that each one of seven billion people has a unique concept of gender.
Yes, the world is changing, and it may seem sudden, but with change comes liberation, and we all have the opportunity to liberate ourselves from crushing gender norms. It starts with the individual and ends with the world.
