The year is 2017. While sexists, misogynists and meninists are still alive and unfortunately well, the gender gap is slowly but surely closing. Makeup worn by men is not as secret as it has been, and women are now being encouraged to work in male-expected occupations. This positive and rapid change in history has me wondering: what would it be like if gender never existed?
It’s no secret that gender and sex are two completely different things. “Sex” refers to the biology one is born with, such as chromosomes and genitalia. Gender, on the other hand, is a social construct based on the two ideologies of feminine and masculine. When one is born with a vagina/typical “female” biology, they are deemed a woman, and when one is born with a penis/”male” biology, they are deemed a man. This has been the societal norm until recent years.
If the idea of gender never had existed in the first place, common things that are usual to us may not be apparent; makeup, pants, and bras may have never been invented. In turn, even more detrimental things such as the wage gap and sexism may not be alive today. If gender identity was nonexistent, oppressions against trans people, non binary/non-conforming people and women of all types wouldn’t exist either.
“Gender” itself is not the “bad” thing here, but society’s pressure on individuals to fit into said genders is. Being forced to fit the hyperfeminine and hypermasculine molds can be difficult due to judgement from others. Society says that men cannot cry and women need to stay in the kitchen at all times. Some people still think every woman’s sole purpose in life is to reproduce! Although some women wish to grow up to be housewives, which is fine based upon personal choice, not every woman on this earth has to grow up and become a housewife. The same goes for men pursuing a “manly” job such as a professional athlete or a CEO of a big company. These molds pushed upon us based on gender can be hurtful, detrimental, and, honestly are not fair.
So… is gender a bad thing? Not at all. But some (bigoted) people think that gender and sex are mutually exclusive, which is untrue. As humans, we are allowed to express ourselves regardless of the feminine or masculine chains tied to us. We are allowed to be fluid, to wear whatever we want, to be with whoever we want, and others cannot decide that for us. While it is one hundred percent okay to identify yourself as male, female, both or non-binary, it is vital for us as a society to accept one another despite our differences.
