Being an American woman, the media plays a huge role in how things are to be perceived, how people are supposed to act to conform to an identity, and even has set, unsaid rules about who you are, even if you do not match the exact definition of the blueprint the media has set for you. We are all about controlling people and placing people into a box, which limits you from behaving how you naturally behave, because it is “unladylike” or because “that’s how girls act”. Due to these innate assumptions, we are basically forced to act a certain way, appear certain ways, and live different ways, unless of course you have the balls to be called out for not conforming to the societal structure of gender norms. 

            As a woman, there are plenty of ways to be able to visually confirm if a being is a woman. Having breasts is probably the biggest indicator to determine if a being is a woman. Another visual cue that is used is the presence of facial hair. We also can use facial features to determine if a being is a woman. Wearing clothes that are deemed feminine by society can also determine if a being is a woman. Many of these assumptions are very problematic. One reason that this can be problematic is because gender is something that society has used to control how people behave. As more research is conducted, we are beginning to understand that gender is a socially constructed idea, meaning that it is not based off of sexual organs or the chromosomes that made you while a fetus, but it is something that defines you based off of how you want to appear to the world. If you are born with a penis, but dress or act as what society deems “feminine”, you have every right to be a woman. Another reason why using visual cues to determine someone’s gender is problematic is because it limits you to your sexual organs. In the article, What Makes a Woman, the author discussed the rhetoric of the Trans community, which includes many people’s confession of being born in the wrong body as the reason to undergo gender reassignment surgery. This idea can be problematic as it reduces a woman down to be a vagina and breasts (Burkett, 2015). As Caitlyn Jenner also said, she had felt “stuck in her body” and it seemed very important that she had gotten the gender reassignment surgery as it would be important to identify as who she has always been in order to prevent confusion from the media (Bussinger, 2015). It is understandable to want to appear as a woman, having perky boobs and the perfect body, since that idea is pushed onto us by societal norms, but I think that if you know you are a woman, it is not up to society to determine how you should have to appear. People are constantly being harassed, in fact, about 40% of the transgender population in America have faced physical violence towards them, due to the assailant disapproving of their lifestyle (Stotzer, 2009). Society has basically forced people to get this procedure, but in the end, they still face the violence and backlash of being a transgender individual.

            Before college, I was nowhere near as informed about transgendered individuals, gender fluidity, and intersectional individuals as I am today. Then, I based my ideas of gender on the dame typical concept as society has forced on us. If I were unsure of how someone identified, I would do what a lot of people don’t do, mind my business. It never concerned or bothered me about how someone identifies, especially then because I was very ignorant on the topic and did not want to make assumptions. I would honestly at times think about it to myself for a while, but I would definitely say that I allowed society to shape my ideas on how I perceived someone who did not conform to gender structures. Since starting college, my knowledge about gender fluidity and people who do not conform to social gender norms has changed drastically. I have not been able to fully understand the LGBTQ+ movement, but I have covered a lot of the consensus of the topic, and I have been able to let people who belong to this community shape my ideas of gender. They have taught me that it’s okay to be different and not to conform to the structure that society has created and that we should be doing everything in our power to destroy these unwritten, yet effective rules of gender. 

• Rebecca L. Stotzer, Violence against transgender people: A review of United States data, Aggression and Violent Behavior, Volume 14, Issue 3, 2009, Pages 170-179, ISSN 1359-1789, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2009.01.006.
• Burkett, E. “What Makes a Woman? The New York Times. June 6th, 2015. Online
• Bissinger, B. “Caitlyn Jenner: The Full Story” Vanity Fair Magazine. June 25th, 2015. Online