The gender that we’re assigned to at birth means that we’re expected to have certain characteristics and live by unwritten rules. These can dictate how we see the world, and in turn how the world sees us. In some ways gender can create a sense of togetherness and belonging among those that share the same gender and it can foster particular bonds.

But gender can also divide. Being socially conditioned from early on, on how we should behave due to expected characteristics that go with being a man or a woman, can be very limiting indeed. And for someone who doesn’t feel they fit within one gender or the other, life can feel isolating when the rest of society is conforming to the ‘norm’ that has been created.

For some people, they may see themselves as possessing both masculine and feminine traits and that simply choosing to either solely present as a man or a woman doesn’t feel akin to their true experience. They may also feel that sometimes they identify as one of the genders more than the other. In this instance, people may choose to be fluid with their gender identity in order to not feel confined or restricted because of societal expectations. Therefore they may change their gender over time.

For Sophie Scott, she has recently come to terms with recognising her own gender fluidity and she shares her story on the ITV Pridecast. Sophie works in content digitisation at ITV where she works on getting all the tape archive digitised and she is based in Leeds. As well as her day job, Sophie also volunteers at an event called Leeds First Friday which is the UK’s biggest trans social event which happens every month. You can also listen back to when Sophie was last on ITV Pridecast when she caught up with Emmerdale’s Ash Palmisciano to visit Leeds First Friday: https://bit.ly/3Al9tNI

If you’ve been affected by anything discussed in this episode of the Pridecast then head over to ITV’s general advice and helplines website for more information and support.