Exploration of gender

Gender is the state of being male or female. The word itself has been used as a grammatical term since the 14th century using referrals to classes of nouns such as masculine and feminine. Although the words 'gender' and 'sex' both hold the same sense stating being either male or female, they are typically used in slightly different ways as sex usually refers to biological differences between male and female, whilst gender refers to cultural or social ones.

Although typically there is two sexes, categorising males and females into social roles can create problems in society. Globally, many countries are guilty of interpreting biological differences between the sexes to create social expectations that define how or how not to behave.

Gender identity is a persons recognition of their own gender, i.e. male or female - A common division in many societies, however it has become more and more common, or noticed that some individuals do not identify with some or all of the aspects of their gender that are assigned to their biological sex.

Not everyone believes that their gender identity corresponds to the sex that they were born with, which begins the birth of transsexuals, transgenders and intersex individuals, all of which are likely to experience gender dysphoria.

It has become possible to reassign sex surgically in recent decades, meaning a person who experiences gender dysphoria can seek out these forms of medical surgeries, support and help to have their physical sex match their gender.

"What we're seeing now, is a seismic shift in fashion, a widening acceptance of a style with no boundaries, one that reflects the way young people dress." Ken Downing, fashion director of Neiman Marcus

In the 21st century many designers are advancing their collections, aiding for people who experience gender dysphoria or even members of society that don't experience completely but do have desires to wear the occasional item from the other genders wardrobe. A handful of designers have been showing identical pieces aimed at both sexes and are shrugging off the conventional gender labels.