The wealth of diversity

Culture can be very destructive to people who are outside the imposed, accepted and encouraged standards. It is very common for them to carry enormous pain, suffering and frustration for years because they do not feel free to express their sexuality or their gender identity. They don't fit, but they can't allow themselves to be who they are due to so many pressures, condemning looks, comments that hurt, or because they believe they are in sin, that they are against divinity and, sometimes, for not being able to accept themselves, and end up living a painful life, full of repression and guilt.

Something that for some can be so natural and beautiful, the fact that we are diverse, plural, unique, can seem like a great absurdity to prejudiced individuals, even with all the clarification and wealth of information that we currently have available.

Society determines the standards, orientations and identities that will be encouraged and those that will be discriminated against. And many times, we end up following this “behavioral playbook”, without stopping to reflect on how cruel this is. People are the target of violence and discrimination of different types because of these social rules imposed so harshly and still influentially.

Sexual orientation, sex and gender identity are not simply choices. Fighting what we feel, living by fitting into a certain model to avoid the pain of judgment can lead to even greater pain, psychological disorders and carrying enormous weights throughout life. Expressing one's sexuality is essential for the mental and emotional health of all of us.

For a better understanding:

• SEX – It is a biological determinant: male, female and intersex. It characterizes us physically, like the reproductive organs.

A biologically intersex person has the physical sexual characteristics of male and female.

• GENRES – They are what we culturally construct as masculine and feminine. That because we were born with a certain sexual organ, we are socially expected to have numerous behavioral and cultural characteristics related to it.

Hence, many speeches loaded with prejudice and imposition of limitations:

- Boys wear blue and girls wear pink!

- Girl doesn't sit with her legs open!

- This is not a boy thing!

- Boy can't do that!

- This is not for you!

- Football is for boys and ballet is for girls!

- Girls don't play with carts!

- That's too ugly for a girl!

And so on...

There are many limiting, castrating phrases loaded with prejudice and repression that we end up hearing throughout our lives.

• GENDER IDENTITY – It is related to the gender with which the person identifies.

The biologically female or biologically male person can identify with either the female or the male gender.

When a person identifies with the gender related to their biological sex, they are called sisgender.

When a person's identity differs from the gender related to their biological sex, they are called transgender.

• SEXUAL ORIENTATION – It is about which gender the person is emotionally or sexually attracted to.

It is usually divided into heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual orientation.

It is very possible that many people transition into different sexual orientations from their own life experiences. Therefore, a person's sexual orientation is not necessarily fixed.

The most important thing in all this is realizing that it is not up to dictate rules to the other, that we must all respect and naturalize that people live in a way that they can express their truth, their freedom and that they must be accepted as they are. Certainly, we all gain in quality of life, mental and emotional health, dignity and greater possibilities of being happy in society.

And long live diversity!