Respond in one or more of the following ways:

• Add to your colleague’s explanation of how gender identity affects an individual’s life-span development.
• Explain whether you might use your colleague’s strategy for applying the concept of gender identity to social work practice. Provide support for your position.

Colleague: Paul

A New understanding I have gained in the resource about gender identity.

Gender identity is the sex one identifies to be- male or female. I learned in the resource reading that human sexual orientation is influenced by genetic and non-shared environmental factors. There is correlation between Childhood sexual identity (CSI) and Adult sexual identity (ASI) I think when it comes to sexual identity environment is more influential than we thought. For instance, the expression of sexual identity where a young boy suddenly decides that he wants to be identifies as young girl is more common in a free society than in totalitarian societies like North Korea or Iran. Like the resources reading, I think sexual orientation is more genetic than environmental.

An explanation of how individuals’ gender identity affects their development through young and middle adulthood.

Gender identity affects people’s development through young and middle adulthood. In young adulthood which is typically from 18-40-year-old, this is the period in life development where people have accepted their gender roles. For instance, men at this age have accepted the fact that it is their role to provide for their family while women have accepted that it is their role to nurture and take care of the family. In middle adulthood, there is middle life crisis, in some people it is accompanied by depression or anxiety. Gender plays a role in how people go through their mid-life crisis. For instance, men may go out and buy a sport car, they begin to engage in something that will make them feel younger again. Women may begin to feel that they are no longer attractive enough and embrace the role of motherhood which makes them feel good.

A strategy I might use to apply my understanding of gender identity development to social work practice

I use the strategy of acceptance to apply my understanding of gender identity. Knowing that gender identity and expression is going to be different from person to person. Some people will identify themselves as the very gender they were assigned at birth while others will do the opposite. It is our responsibility as social workers to make everyone feel welcome and accepted whatever the gender they decided to identify with.

References:

Mayor, E. A. Reimers, S. Choi, J. Collaer, M.L., Peters M, & Silverman. I. (2007). Gender and sexual orientation differences in cognition across adulthood: Age is kinder to women than to men regardless of sexual orientation. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 36(2) 235-249

Nutbrock. L. A., Bockting, W. O, HwahngS., Rosenblum, A., Mason, M., Macri, M, & Becker, J. (2009) Gender identify affirmation among male-to female transgender persons: A life course analysis across types of relationships and cultural/lifestyle factors. Sexual and relationship Therapy, 24(2) , 108-125

Genger Role Changes in Middle Adulthood (2015) Retrieved from study.com/academic/lesson/gender-changes-in-middle-Adulthood.html.