Under Construction Journal Issue 6.1 UNDER CONSTRUCTION JOURNAL 6.1 | Page 70

Whether you think our identity is determined by an immaterial soul, our physical bodies, our physical (or even non-physical) historical origins, or a stream of continuous conscious experiences, there is still no compelling reason to hold that gender is essential to what we are. Yet, we live in a society in which people still preserve gender roles through performativity and social conformity. That is why it is so important to people and can have a seriously harmful effect on some people's lives. However, the attitude is not backed up by rational philosophical reflection. So, gender, to a large extent, does impact our personal identity significantly, not essentially but socially. 61