ask the marionette family

did makoto win a tiny merharu at the festival..? catch him on a paper scoop?? …makoto always takes good care of his fish, right?

(not part of previous ongoing yndrmako-merharu gif set, which will continue now that i got tiny festival fish merharu outta my system)

I feel like much of the world is in a social war over what gender is and is not.

I don’t feel that its my place to tell someone else what gender is. I believe that gender identity is something that an individual has to figure out for themselves. The being said, based on my personal experience with understanding my own gender identity, I can tell you what gender is not.

Gender is not the same as your sexuality. Gender does not have to define your sexuality. Gender and sexuality are two different subjects.

Gender has nothing to do with your genitalia. Gender is not defined by a doctor, despite what’s on your birth certificate. Gender identity is more of spectrum of variable options, instead of a binary with only two options.

Gender Identity & Gender Expression are not the same thing. Gender identity is part of the mental and emotional understanding of yourself. Gender expression is your style, how you’re most comfortable presenting to the outside world.

It is my belief that somewhere through out history, things like gender identity, gender expression, genitalia & sexuality somehow got all wrapped up into one single category called gender. However, it is also my belief that the people in this world are changing. Growing into a much more colorful way of thinking and understanding.

I hope the day will come when the majority will know gender to be a personal understanding of ones self, instead of an outward understanding of everyone else.