Welcome to Gaia! ::

First of all, I want to clear something up: a person's gender refers to their psyche, whereas a person's sex refers to their genitals. For most people, these are one in the same, but for the sake of this discussion, try to keep the terms separate and not use them interchangeably.

How do you feel about your gender identity? Do you feel that you're expected to dress or act a certain way because of social gender roles? Have you ever felt insecure about your gender identity, either because you have a problem with your physical sex or because you just don't fit the social stereotype for being male or female? Do you think gender roles are important? Why or why not?

Now, I'm male. I've never had any problem with being male. No desire to be female. That being said, I fail to fulfill many "masculine" stereotypes. I'm not good at sports (besides horseback-riding, which is arguably sort of fruity for a bloke anyway), I lean towards more emotion-driven disciplines like the arts. I'm not very strong physically. I'm not physically aggressive. I'm skinny, not muscular. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I'm effeminate, but I am definitely rather lacking in the male stereotype. And I'm pretty okay with all that. It's who I am, and certain male stereotypes (like violence and poor hygiene) are not traits I would want to emulate anyway. I haven't even suffered all that much ridicule.

Gender roles are quickly disappearing. The lines of what is considered "masculine" and "feminine" are getting more and more blurry. As a believer in free will, I see this as a good thing. People should have the freedom to act and express themselves as they see fit, regardless of what's between their legs.

Of course, looser gender roles has also seen the decline of the traditional nuclear family, which some people find very concerning. Myself, not so much.

Anyway, how do you feel, both as it relates to you personally and as it relates to society at large?

Social constructs shouldn't influence Christians; society thinks one way, God thinks another. If anything influences our gender identity, it should be God's word.



Our lifestyle is an act of worship. If our life is in disaccord with his word, we're worshiping something else, usually ourselves or the world's ideology. So, as long as what you're doing is exemplified as "godly" or "not sinful" in scripture, it shouldn't matter or concern you how society is changing or defining anything. For one reason or the other he wants gender to be clearly-defined and tied to the person's sex (Deu 22:5) [inb4: i'm not implying skirts over pants, lol, b/c clearly both sexes wore robes back then; if you're a woman, you shouldn't dress in a way to pass off as a guy or vice versa, regardless of what gender people wish to be. Honestly, if someone loves God more, wishing to be a different gender shouldn't happen since gender doesn't define who they are as a person; God gives them their identity]. Gender roles function mostly in terms of authority in the household and marriage (Genesis 2:18-25; Num 30:3-15); the different sexes are even instructed to pray differently (1 Cor 11:3-6). So, it wouldn't matter if a guy felt like a girl on the inside; they should pray and prophesy like a guy.

YHWH doesn't seem to care about hobbies and careers nor the role in your family while you're under the authority of your parents (so, not married): for instance, Simon had the profession of a tanner, making leather (Acts 10:6), the apostle Paul a tentmaker just like Aquila and his wife Priscilla (Acts 18:1-3). Jacob spent most of his time in the house with his mother and cooked, well-enough to convince his brother (the stereotypical hunter) to give up the firstborn rights/blessing just for a plate of food (Genesis 25:27-34; Hebrews 12:16). His role in the family changed when he left his father's house and became a husband though.

Gender roles will continue to exist as long as marriage (as defined by the Father) continues to exist—that would mean up until Yeshua's return/the resurrection since people will continue to marry until the last days, emphasis on biblical marriage not what the world defines as "marriage", and once resurrection/translation/transformation occurs on our bodies, no one will even be given into marriage, so I imagine all gender roles will cease to exist then.

marriage until Yeshua returns:


the resurrected don't marry:



when the resurrection happens:


bodies changing:

The bible doesn't agree with that either: he told them to go make disciples out of all nations, not stay in your isolated groups 24/7 and never communicate with the outside world. The point is: are you cherishing their social norms, or are you living by the creator's instructions, how he tells you to interact with creation (including our own body, since we're creations). That's what it comes down to; not whether you exist on the same landmass or use a pencil or a computer, a flashlight or a torch. Whether we're living in a high-tech society or not, are we living in a way that doesn't violate his design and order?

I didn't mention raising kids or breadwinning because scripture doesn't limit that to either sex. That's the task of both parents. In Proverbs 31:10-31, that godly wife is not just a homemaker, she works too; In 2 Thessalonians 3:10, the man who doesn't work, has no right to eat. In 1 Timothy 5:8, we are told to provide for our families; since the man is the leader of the house most of the responsibility falls on him, but it's not limited to him only. Aquilas and his wife Priscilla, like I mentioned before, were both tent-makers. They're married. They both work. A child that grows up undisciplined brings shame to both mother and father (Proverbs 15:20, 19:13, 23:22-25, 29:15; Ephesians 6:4) Why? because they're both responsible for raising them. You're applying a stereotype as if that's what scripture supports when it doesn't. Certain groups with their man-made ideology might subscribe to such thoughts, but that's not what his word supports. No matter how you divvy up the chores and the workload, however, there is a hierarchy of authority in the family that God wants obeyed (1 Corinthians 11:3). I don't think we can argue with that, plus it's new testament.

I don't feel like I really have a gender. I'm fairly masculine for a female. I'm outdoorsy, I don't care about my hair or my nails, and I like action movies. I do enjoy some feminine things, too, though. And I'm really fascinated by "Proverbs 31 Housewives", which I think is weird. I find myself wondering from time to time whether or not I would enjoy that kind of family dynamic, or whether I just like the idea of it. sweatdrop

I am happy and proud to be a guy, despite how society makes us seem like idiots, or abusers. I am not into sports, in fact i get bored watching them, i dont have any real desire to be a bulky hunk of meat, though i do wish to work out, not to look good for the ladies or to be some body builder, but to keep my health up because of my heart condition i have to be careful, which is one reason i dont play sports. Stereotype wise i am Japanese who are depicted as masters of math, but me, i have brain damage which makes math harder for me. I enjoy it to a point but other then that i dont like it. Guys are depicted as people who enjoy to duke it out with others, but i try to refrain from fighting. I dont like how i feel when i fight, when i am fighting enjoy it way to much, which is not who i am. I am a calm, quiet, slow to speak quick to listen type of guy. I dont like being surrounded by people, i enjoy my solitude or small company.