Many people see gender identity as an either/or situation trucks or dolls crew cut or ponytail firefighter ornurse. Either you like to play with trucks or you like to play with dolls. Either you are a boy and want to be a firefighter or you are a girl and want to be a nurse.

What about the girl who begs her parents for Matchbox cars, or the boy who follows his passion into the field of nursing? Likewise, what about the gay, lesbian, and transgendered population, who may feel more attuned to gender roles that are not “theirs”?

For this Discussion, review the Learning Resources for this week. Reflect on your own gender identity. Consider how your life might be different if you were born the opposite sex. Think about how your sex (male or female) has impacted your experiences, decisions, and gender identity. If you understand this information, you will be better equipped as a counselor to work with those struggling with their own identity formation.

Post by Day 3 an explanation of how your development might have differed if you were born the opposite sex. Explain how these differences might have impacted the constructs of your current identity and why. Include specific biological and social influences that might have impacted your development. Justify your response with references to this week’s Learning Resources and the current literature. Be specific.

Readings

· Broderick, P. C., & Blewitt, P. (2015). The life span: Human development for helping professionals (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

o Chapter 8, “Gender and Peer Relationships: Middle Childhood Through Early Adolescence” (pp. 282-323)

o Chapter 9, “Physical, Cognitive, and Identity Development in Adolescence” (pp. 324-367)

· Best, D. L. (2009). Another view of the gender-status relation. Sex Roles, 61(5/6),341–351.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

· Cobb, R. A., Walsh, C. E., & Priest, J. B. (2009). The cognitive-active gender role identification continuum. Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 21(2),77–97.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

· Ewing Lee, E. A., & Troop-Gordon, W. (2011). Peer processes and gender role development: Changes in gender atypically related to negative peer treatment and children’s friendships. Sex Roles, 64(1/2),90–102.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

· Gallor, S. M., & Fassinger, R. E. (2010). Social support, ethnic identity, and sexual identity of lesbians and gay men. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services, 22(3), 287–315.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

· Lev, A. I. (2004). Transgender emergence: Therapeutic guidelines for working with gender-variant people and their families. Binghampton, NY: Routledge.

o Chapter 3, “Deconstructing Sex and Gender: Thinking Outside the Box” (pp. 79–109)
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.