More Expanding Gender Identity

As society becomes more divisive and polarized, not just from a political perspective, but from a cultural one, I wonder how opinions of the country can advance so fast. Same sex marriage is a great example. According to the Pew Research Center, 57% of the country was opposed to same sex marriage in 2001, but by 2016 55% were in favor. The internet has created comfortable niches and filter bubbles which reinforces our own opinions. This makes me ask how conservative and/or rural teenagers will become accepting of the notion of expanding gender identity when they don’t really encounter it in their media consumption. Forms are beginning to change beyond the binary choices and it will be interesting to watch who drives this change and how accelerated the change happens.

Jeffrey L Cohen

Jeffrey L Cohen