Spiritual implications/reasons for gender identity crisis

[Reaper]

I do not think that questioning the biological, cultural, emotional and spiritual factors that contribute to gender and sexual identity is at all insensitive. I think it is interpreted that way by those who are insecure because to those individuals, implying that one's state of identification isn't completely arbitrary implies a rejection of their being. 

While I may take some heat for this, I don't believe that those who identify as transgender, homosexual, etc. are the way they are "just because." There's plenty of evidence that things like brain chemistry, environment, parental influence and cultural stereotypes do effect how one perceives themselves in regards to gender and sexuality. The changes in all of these things over the years could certainly play a role in creating offshoots from that which, from an evolutionary, procreative perspective is most efficient. Take the same person and raise them in two completely different environments, and you may get two completely different sets of identification. Alter their hormone production and the way they feel about themselves may change entirely. I experienced this to a small degree myself when I took pills that lowered my estrogen production, which caused a dramatic change in the way I behaved.

There is also the spiritual factor. Incarnating as one sex over and over and then suddenly incarnating as the opposite sex can have very confusing effects on a person's subconscious. In stressful situations they may tend to "revert to type" or the preferred gender. I believe that those aware enough to make their own choices when entering the incarnation choose their race, gender, etc. for a reason, and to reject the state one purposefully chose for themselves is basically a coping mechanism suggesting one doesn't want to face the challenges they set out for themselves.

I personally feel that I have been male much more than female, and chose a female incarnation in an attempt to process a lot of emotional constipation I've effectively ignored through several lives. While I've never experienced a full dis-identification with my gender, I do tend to act in a very masculine way when I get nervous or when I am confronted with a strong emotional stimulus. In times of great stress I have even felt the desire to cross dress and "feel manly", or wished I was a man. I've often thought "It would be so much easier to just be a man." or "I should have been a man!"

I've also considered that, at this particular point in time, some people may willingly choose to come in with these particular distortions to act as a certain type of catalyst. Because "being gay" or "being transgender" tends to have specific, set meanings to certain groups of people, incarnating with a gay or transgender bias would be a way of addressing the thought paradigms involved.

I'm sure a lot of people would look at what I just said and immediately jump to the conclusion that I think all those outside the sexual norm are substandard and/or they should be "fixed." This is absolutely not the case. It is not my place at all to judge how another person expresses their lessons, and my opinion of what is and is not "healthy spiritual development" is entirely subjective. Regardless of what I think has caused this movement toward gender-fluidity, it is an opportunity to show compassion and open-mindedness toward a group of people who are being challenged and persecuted- to accept them as fellow beings of the Creator. I honestly don't give two ducks about what gender a person wants to date, or what gender they'd like to be seen as, and I would never try to make them into someone they don't want to be.

I feel that in many cases the imbalance lies on both sides of the issue, and that those who identify with some alternative form of gender or sexuality can be just as judgmental, self-righteous, defensive and persecutory as those who don't. Because I am heterosexual and cisgender, using my logic to try to understand another state of being makes me some sort of bigoted monster, and asking questions makes me insensitive? Yeah, that is just childish. There is a huge difference between someone denouncing a lifestyle, and someone who lacks political correctness in their questions simply because they are ignorant. Compassion, patience and acceptance is needed toward those who are seeking to understand as well.

Understanding the factors that contribute to one's state of being is beneficial, regardless of whether one uses that understanding to change themselves, or simply to accept themselves the way they are with a more informed perspective. It is also a good opportunity to evaluate the way we perceive gender and sexuality as a cultural whole, and how that definition may be changing as the planet changes.