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Essay / Transgender Identity and Gender Identity - 1460
Some people may view gender as interchangeable with biological sex and think that naturally, people should be treated according to their biological sex. But gender has to do with how people perceive themselves socially and psychologically, while sex is part of biology (Diamond, 2002). When I was raised, I was allowed to pursue my interests, even if toys weren't assigned a gender, but I never felt like I was a boy. Psychologically, I've never felt like I'm in the wrong body, and socially, I feel pretty comfortable with my role in society, with the exception of some aspects of gender conformity which are expected of me but to which I do not comply. But because of the way I was raised, I can also understand why other people don't conform to strict gender roles and identities. Especially in the case of transgender and intersex people, strict gender roles and stereotypes can cause others to view them negatively. In a report on the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, 63% of their survey participants had experienced discrimination (Grant, Mottet, Tanis, Harrison, Herman, & Keisling, 2011). Many transgender people face discrimination because they differ from what is considered normal, but they are still people and should be treated with the same respect as others. While