How many genders are there?

[RebeccaFog]

Melissa said;

Well, I personally have no issues with my gender, my issues are with the sex of my body not matching what I believe it should.  The word transgender literally means "across genders" and since a transsexual's gender is not changing, it technically does not apply.  However the word transsexual would mean "across sexes" and since we are physically changing the sex of our body from one to the other, it is a perfectly appropriate word.

  Thank you, Melissa. That thought actually reigned in my sudden burst of dysphoria. I don't know if you could tell, but I was beginning to freak out a little.


Rebecca Fog

[bananaslug]

True to a point, but realistically speaking, we form part of this society whether we like it or not and as far as I am concerned, the society that I form part of functions in only two genders.....but of course I sometimes have dreams where I see myself living in a perfect, genderless world, but as soon as I open my eyes in the morning, I realize that they were just that, dreams.

tinkerbell  

I function perfectly well in society. The difference being that I don't define myself in terms of gender.
It doesn't follow that holding alternate views of gender automatically excludes one from society; that one is somewhow living in a dream world.
I'm not 'outside of society' or a 'gender rebel' as some have implied; far from it.  People are perfectly entitled to their binary gender system if that's what they feel is necessary to define society. People also have the right to believe in any religion or vote Republican/Democrat.

As an androgyne I have no problems in recognising other peoples' gender beliefs but I don't necessarily have to subscribe to them in order to be a well-adjusted and useful member of society.

[Casey]

I voted for three: male, female, and "something else". "Something else" can probably be broken down into both, other, neither, and none. I'm hardly a philosopher but from a practical standpoint I think that groups like with kind.

However, I'd imagine that since gender is the basis for social and cultural categories, somehow you have to follow society's binary gender system (i.e, names, types of clothing, bathroom issues, behavior issues).

That's the real trick isn't it? Trying to fit into a society that currently has no place for us. To me the keyword is "currently". Faced with the reality that sex and gender are not the same, society has started to change to reflect that reality. And if faced with the reality that some of us do not fit neatly into the binary system, and if we choose to do something about it, I believe society can begin to change to reflect that reality. I'm not asking anybody to be different, I'm just asking them to allow for the fact that I'm different.

The problem is we fit into different sides of the binary system depending on the situation, and sometimes we just don't fit at all. My sex is male and I don't claim to be a woman, so I use the men's room. Sometimes my behavior fits on the male side, sometimes it fits on the female side, and sometimes it doesn't fit anywhere in the binary. The same with my clothes. So we have to handle each situation as it arises.

Then too, society seems to be creating more gender neutral pockets. Maybe that's where we will eventually fit in, by being a bridge between male and female. (Now where have I heard that before?)

[Brianna]

People also have the right to believe in any religion or vote Republican/Democrat.

I agree with this intellectually, but wow is it hard for me to emotionally accept. I mean, one party and religion wants to destroy people like me. They get elected on this concept and brainwash the masses with their hate of me and my gay cousins. It impossible for me to accept other people like me enabling the very people that want to destroy us.

Still. Part of being a woman is respecting opinions I don't agree with.... the hardest part.

bri

[Ricki]

Brianna,
I can understand and respect your views and beliefs..
it's frustrating what a tangled web gets weaved around us as we live and breath.....
Peace and hugs...
Ricki

[ChildOfTheLight]

Twenty-three!

No, probably not.

Has to be at least four, though.  For example, I consider myself an androgyne, both male and female.  And as someone pointed out on here, that's like mixing blue and yellow: what you get is green, which is made from both blue and yellow, but by that very fact is neither blue nor yellow, but something else.

Then you could have someone who considers themself neither.

I think it goes beyond that, too.  Are "boy" and "man" different genders?  "Girl" and "woman"?  I think so...if they don't have different pronouns, they nonetheless have different expectations, different roles, and so forth -- everything that should define a difference in gender.  (In the interest of fair attribution, this isn't my idea.  I got it from one of Kate Bornstein's books.)

[Kim]

labels,labels and more labels. Why can't we just say we are all of one gender-human??!! Well, I tried. Too easy I guess!!lol

[kimmie]

I do not know, I am a gril but some think Iam a man
love Kim

[nigno]

There are as many genders as colours. Each person is different with their own ideas. Should we not try to accept others as we would like to be accepted?

[Kinkly]

3 sliding scales
Male - Female
Null - Omni
single - multi

you may sit comfortably or move around on any of these

[Natasha]

just two. male & female.

[Aiden]

I chose How many do you want there to be.

Binary thinkers think in only male or female.  But really there are as many variations of gender as there are personalities and people.  There is no true set of what is male/female, other than stereotypes and few entirely fit them stereotypes.  Therefor gender is really fluid.

[Yvonne]

There are two genders; male, and female (unless you're talking about grammar, in which case there are three).

Anything else is just a variation within those two.

[Nero]

There are two genders; male, and female (unless you're talking about grammar, in which case there are three).

Anything else is just a variation within those two.

totally agree. there's is only male and female and sometimes a mix of both.