What is Gender identity ?

A person's inner sense of being male or female, usually developed during early childhood as a result ofparental rearing practices and societal influences and strengt- hened during puberty by hormonal changes. There are, however,circumstances in which an individual experiences little or no connection between sex and gender; intranssexualism, for example, biological sexual characteristics are distin ct and unambiguous, but the affected person believes that he or she is-or ought to be of the opposite sex (see transsexualism). Individual's selfconception as being male or female, as distinguished from actual biological sex. Formost persons, genderidentity and biological characteristics are the same.

Gender identity is not fixed at birth; both physiologic and social factors contribute to the earlyestablishment of a core i dentity, which is modified and expanded by social factors as the child matures. Thus, gender role is often an outward expression of gender identity, but not necessarily so. In most individuals, gender identity and gender role are congruous. Assessing the acquisition of this congruity, or recognizing incongruity (resulting in gender-variant behavior), is important in the developing child. It is important also to note that cultural differences abound in the expression of one's gender role, and, in certain societies, such nuances in accepted gender norms can also play some part in the definition of gender identity.

 A person's sex is a primary state of anatomic or physiologic parameters. A person's gender is a conclusion reached in a broad sense when individual gender identity and gender role are expressed: Sexual identity is in the perineum; gender identity is in the cerebrum.. Note that just as gender and sex are not interchangeable terms, neither are gender development and sexual development interchangeable. Physiologic sexual development progresses through distinct stages from the neonatal period through infancy, childhood, puberty and adolescence, and adulthood. Such physiologic change is distinguishable from gender-related behaviors during each of these stages. The sexual identity that emerges beyond childhood is very clearly a separate entity from gender identity. Aspects of physical sexual growth, eroticism, and eventual sexuality, although closely related to gender, should not necessarily be used to draw gender inequality