Reflection on Gender Identity

In our world and society nowadays, there are prejudiced standards of what a
man or a woman should be, the qualities of personality they should obtain and act upon,
that are then to be used to form how a person operates or lives their lives. Gender
identity is how a consumer perceives himself-his own inner sense and gender personal
experience. It is a guiding factor in our decisions, how driven we are to find a chance of
achievement. For this reason, it is crucial to determine one's gender identity.
Growing up, I already identified myself as the feminine one. Ever since I was
little, I have always been fond of cooking, dress-ups, and other girlish stuffs. I’ve always
been contented with the female body I was born with, I’ve never been confused and my
gender identity remained consistent as years go by. I didn’t even know before that such
thing is possible.
Initially, there are just two genders introduced and identified. The standard of
social order tells us that men should be men and women should be women. But there
are already numbers of potential gender identities that are out today! Individuals may
classify themselves as being one of the gender binary, as switching across genders, as
without any gender, or as a whole another.
In today’s period, where the LGBTQ++ community is rising continuously, I’ve
already met a lot of people who felt like their biological sex is not the one they want.
People experiencing gender identity crisis usually felt like they are aliens trapped in a
human body and are constantly confused of their gender.
Some of the Filipino parents still get upset when their children start to cross-
dress but nowadays, most of them are now learning to accept homosexuality and
respect their children’s gender identity. Besides, only their children understand how they
really want to dress up and how they want to show up their selves to the world. The look
and way of dressing of a person is part of their identity, and that cannot be changed by
banning clothing items.
One of the most crucial and difficult tasks parents face must be how to help their
transgender children while still establishing a certain kind of limitations and composition
that allow them to grow up and become great and productive adults. The Filipino
families should express their acceptance and support in the gender identity of their
child, whatever it may be. Studies show that care for communities increases stronger
self-esteem, social engagement and health condition.
There is more to gender identity than just being male or female. It's not "just an
initial stage," nor are they "just confused" Children have usually recognized their gender
orientation from an early age and find it very challenging to conceive about themselves
as any other way. People will seek to fit them in boxes. They may experience stress
such as "not fitting in," feeling handicapped when your gender doesn't fit preconceptions
or discrimination. But remember, that there is more to gender than binary gender.
 Being able to express a true gender identity is vital for emotional and mental
wellbeing of a person. So if you're one of those people, don't feel threatened or
ashamed to articulate your gender identity in your own way, you're not expected to live
up to the expectation of society, just remember that you're normal, accepted, validated,
and free!