As gender variance becomes slowly more acceptable, the labels continue to get increasingly varied. Non-binary, gender fluid, gender queer, gender non-conforming, bi-gender, etc which have been added to the previous terms like transgender, transsexual and "crossdresser" (previously thought to be an upgrade on transvestite which many who do not question birth sex have begun to abandon for one of the other terms).
There may not be going back to the old perfect binary model except that settling into what this diversity means for society as a whole will take time. There is going to be some confusion regarding the interplay between expression and identity where some people want more free reign to dress and present as they please while others have deeply rooted investment in identity. Many who are questioning don't even know what to call themselves and within the space of years or even decades may come to revise what term best describes them.Therefore let's not lock ourselves into firm definitions and be open to discover who we are. Being 'Normal' may be fine when we are talking about statistics but it does nothing regarding honoring our respective natures as humans.
Less defining/more refining!
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DeleteI found the multiple terms along the spectrum to be helpful to me. I might have ended up repressing totally if there was only cis and trans. It was too far a jump initially for my mind to contemplate. Not sure my mind would have been able to open up. I had to peel back the layers for YEARS to unpack things. Along the way I redefined myself in multiple ways as I started to open up and allowing myself to be authentic.
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DeleteYes don't box yourself in until you've done your homework :)
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