Gender fluidity is a subdivision of the gender-queer
identity. According to Gender Diversity,
it is a sexual definition that "conveys a wider, more flexible range of
gender expression" that allows individuals to change their interests and
behaviors day to day. This means that a gender fluid person does not have to
say that they are strictly attracted to just males or just females, but that
they can be attracted to any of the two, or even both, on any given day.
Unlike other gender identities, gender fluidity does not
require any medical procedures to be done or any change in sexual orientation.
People have the ability to remain their original (or preferred) gender, despite
what their physical, romantic, or emotional attraction to others may be. The Gender
Equity Resource Center states that a gender fluid individual is a
person "whose gender identification and presentation shifts, whether within
or outside of societal, gender-based expectations." This means that, in
addition to shifting their sexual and romantic interests, gender fluid people
do not have to fit into the stereotype of any one sexual category.
This identity allows many people to move through different
stages of life, create new friendships, and discover what they look for in a
partner without having to worry about securing how they see themselves and how
others view them as well. Lisa M. Diamond, author of Sexual Fluidity, states
that “for some [people] love and desire are not rigidly heterosexual or
homosexual, but fluid.”
Works Cited
"Definition of Terms." Definition of Terms.
University of California, Berkeley, n.d. Web. 26 Aug. 2015.
Diamond, Lisa M. Sexual Fluidity: Understanding Women's
Love and Desire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2008. Print.
"Terminology." Gender Diversity. N.p., n.d.
Web. 26 Aug. 2015. <http://www.genderdiversity.org/resources/terminology/>.
Great post! I just have a question about fluidity and how it pertains to how people identify themselves. What effect does being fluid have on individuals as they identify? As most forms only ask if people are male or female, if someone is gender fluid, would they say which gender they feel like they are more of that day, or would they use their gender at birth? I realize this question may not be able to be answered straightforwardly, but the idea of fluidity does raise a lot of questions as it is not an idea normally understood by the general public.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete