[SPECIAL GUEST] Gender
Let’s face it, gender can be pretty complicated and confusing! In a society that always tells us only men and women exist, finding out that gender goes beyond this binary can be pretty mind blowing.
There are so many different identities, expressions and ideas around gender that are super cool, but can be super difficult to wrap our minds around. Even people who know a lot about gender already, are constantly learning more every day as new info and ideas around gender grow and evolve. This can leave us with a lot of questions!
You might be able to answer some of these questions through your own self-exploration and studying of gender. However, it’s also good to talk about gender with other people, and ask questions if you don’t understand stuff. Everyone experiences gender differently and there’s a lot to learn from other peoples personal and professional experiences on the topic.
That’s where our special guest comes in! This month, it’s Dani Wright Toussaint, the Freedom Centre Coordinator in Perth, WA. Freedom Centre is a drop in space for LGBTIQ+ people under the age of 26. It’s a place where Dani has a lot of experience working with young, gender diverse people, and therefor has lots of knowledge to share! They’ll be taking about what gender is, how it’s different to sex and sexuality, challenging stereotypes around gender and gender expression plus heaps more!
Got questions you’d like to ask?
Click here and ask away!
You can submit the form multiple times if you have multiple questions 🙂
Join us on Tuesday the 22nd of March, at 9pm AEDT to talk all things gender!
Until then, check out this video from BuzzFeed which explores gender and how different people approach it:
Gender - how you chose to identify yourself
Sexuality - who or what you are attracted to
Sex - what you've got physically
Sex is about what body we have or our physical self.
Sexuality is who we are attracted to and how we relate to other.
Gender is how we feel as men, women and people, or how we see ourselves
Hi peeps!
To me it means the way I identify and feel in regards to social roles in our culture, expression of androgyny/femininity/masculinity and how people see my body.
But it can mean different thigs to different people too - what does it mean to you?
Thanks for sharing what gender means to you @Dani FC! For me gender is something that's completely socially constructed, and so it excites me that my options are completely limitless based on how I am feeling/dressing/acting etc. Does that make sense?
One of the things I love about being at Freedom Centre is hearing so many people's experiences and definitions/thoughts on gender 🙂
Hmm for me Gender has a lot of different meanings. I guess the one i like the most is that gender is something that you define for yourself in terms of the culture you're in. So different cultures and societies will say different things about a person's gender, and then you as the individual get to make a decision about what you identify or connect with the most. That can change over time and you can also just say "i don't think i fit with any of the definitions I'm making my own one!".
That's the definition i like the most, but i know that a lot of people aren't even aware that there's anything beyond being male or female or the possibility that you can choose! So there's a sadder definition out there unfortunately. But that's something we can change by talking about it!
haha @Dani FC yes this is true! I think they should have it open for people to fill out themselves, rather than being a drop down menu type thing. That way everyone can express themselves authentically. I may be getting off topic though? haha
