Editing Gender identity (section)

==Gender variance and non-conformance==
{{Main|Gender variance|Transsexual|Non-binary gender}}
{{See also|Cisgender}}
Gender identity can lead to [[societal security]] issues among individuals that do not fit on a binary scale.<ref>{{Cite journal| vauthors = Hoogensen G, Rottem SB |date=29 June 2016|title=Gender Identity and the Subject of Security|journal=Security Dialogue|language=en|volume=35|issue=2|pages=155–71|doi=10.1177/0967010604044974 |doi-access=free |s2cid=55600340 |s2cid-access=free }}</ref> As of 2022, only 23 states plus Washington D.C. currently have state laws that explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Moreover, only "53% of [the] LGBTQ population live in states prohibiting housing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity", while "17% of [the] LGBTQ population lives in states explicitly interpreting existing prohibition on sex discrimination to include sexual orientation and/or gender identity".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/non_discrimination_laws | website=Movement Advancement Project |title=Nondiscrimination Laws |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227153852/https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/non_discrimination_laws |archive-date= Dec 27, 2023 }}</ref>
In some cases, a person's gender identity is inconsistent with their biological sex characteristics (genitals and [[secondary sex characteristics]]), resulting in individuals dressing and/or behaving in a way which is perceived by others as outside cultural gender norms. These gender expressions may be described as [[gender variant]], transgender, or genderqueer (or [[non-binary gender|non-binary]])<ref>{{Cite journal| vauthors = Besser M, Carr S, Cohen-Kettenis PT, Connolly P, De Sutter P, Diamond M, Di Ceglie D, Higashi Y, Jones L, Kruijver FP, Martin J | display-authors = 6 |year=2003|title=Atypical Gender Development – A Review|url=http://www.gires.org.uk/genderdev.php|url-status=dead|journal=International Journal of Transgenderism|volume=9|pages=29–44|doi=10.1300/J485v09n01_04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007055838/http://www.gires.org.uk/genderdev.php|archive-date=7 October 2008|access-date=28 September 2008 |s2cid=216148638|url-access=subscription}}</ref> (there is an emerging vocabulary for those who defy traditional gender identity),<ref>{{cite news|date=27 May 2011|title=Toronto couple defend move to keep baby's sex secret|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13581835|access-date=21 July 2018|archive-date=11 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311210348/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13581835|url-status=live}}</ref> and people who have such expressions may experience [[#Gender dysphoria and gender identity disorder|gender dysphoria]] (traditionally called gender identity disorder or GID). Transgender individuals are often greatly affected by language and gender pronouns before, during, and after their [[Transitioning (transgender)|transition]].<ref>{{cite web|date=18 May 2016|title=Words Matter: Affirming Gender Identity Through Language|url=http://www.insightintodiversity.com/words-matter-affirming-gender-identity-through-language/|access-date=24 October 2016|archive-date=1 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801082447/http://www.insightintodiversity.com/words-matter-affirming-gender-identity-through-language/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Vance SR | title = The Importance of Getting the Name Right for Transgender and Other Gender Expansive Youth | journal = The Journal of Adolescent Health | volume = 63 | issue = 4 | pages = 379–380 | date = October 2018 | pmid = 30286897 | doi = 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.07.022 | s2cid = 52921901 }}</ref>

Some people who experience gender dysphoria seek [[sex reassignment surgery]] to have their physiological sex match their gender identity; others retain the genitalia they were born with (see [[transsexual]] for some of the possible reasons) but adopt a gender role that is consistent with their gender identity.<ref name="Maizes">{{cite book | vauthors = Maizes V |title=Integrative women's health |date=2015 |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-021480-7 |edition=Second | page = 745 | quote = Many transgender people experience gender dysphoria{{snd}}distress that results from the discordance of biological sex and experienced gender (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). Treatment for gender dysphoria, considered to be highly effective, includes physical, medical, and/or surgical treatments [...] some [transgender people] may not choose to transition at all. }}</ref> Although sex reassignment surgery is expected to become more popular, the surgery is still not destigmatized in a lot of countries, including the United States. Such stigmatization has been shown to have adverse health effects on LGBTQ+ individuals, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wallach |first1=Sara |last2=Garner |first2=Alex |last3=Howell |first3=Sean |last4=Adamson |first4=Tyler |last5=Baral |first5=Stefan |last6=Beyrer |first6=Chris |title=Address Exacerbated Health Disparities and Risks to LGBTQ+ Individuals during COVID-19 |journal=Health and Human Rights |date=December 2020 |volume=22 |issue=2 |pages=313–316 |pmid=33390717 |pmc=7762918 }}</ref>