Gender Fluid
Someone who is genderfluid does not have a fixed gender identity, which means that their gender identity may shift between male, female, both, or neither. Genderfluid people experience this fluidity in different ways, and the time periods in which they identify as a certain gender vary depending on the person. Shifts in gender identity may occur over hours or days for some, or weeks, months, or even years for others.
Being genderfluid is not the same thing as being nonbinary. Instead of the fluid, ever-shifting gender identity of genderfluidity, nonbinary people experience a single, constant gender identity – just one that isn’t represented by the gender binary of male and female. It is possible to identify as both genderfluid and nonbinary; it would just mean that the genderfluid individual is currently identifying or has at some point identified as nonbinary, and that it is subject to change.
Gender Norms
Gender norms are expectations on how to behave that are placed on members of a society based on their gender. Assumptions based solely off of gender norms are referred to as gender stereotypes. Some common gender stereotypes include men being aggressive, boisterous, or rugged and women being delicate, nurturing, or emotional. These stereotypes can lead to gender inequality due to preconceived notions of a certain gender’s work ethic, intelligence, physical ability, etc.
Social gender norms have no basis in biology; every culture has its own set of gender norms and many of them change over time. An example of this is the set of colors associated with gender in the West. In the early 20th century, when manufacturers were first pushing the concept of gendered colors in children’s clothing, the general consensus was that pink was for boys and blue was for girls. However, over the next couple of decades, the culture gradually shifted to accepting pink as a color for women and blue for men. The cultural trends were able to shift so drastically because they depended solely on widespread cultural acceptance. It only took a few pink-clad celebrity women like Mamie Eisenhower and Kay Thompson to alter the cultural perception of the color pink for the next century.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a mental health condition characterized by persistent anxiety, or extreme nervousness about different aspects of one’s life. Experiencing anxiety is a normal response to dealing with stress or uncertainty, but for GAD, the feelings of anxiety occur more frequently and intensely. Bouts of anxiety may be a result of valid stressors, like the loss of a job or a health issue, they tend to persist after the upsetting situation has passed.
Generalized anxiety disorder may cause physical effects as well. Some symptoms include insomnia, nausea, headaches, and muscle aches. The disorder also affects people differently depending on certain risk factors, like gender and medical history. Specifically, someone is more likely to develop generalized anxiety disorder if they are female and/or have other medical conditions, like depression or bipolar disorder. Substance use can also exasperate the effects of anxiety attacks.