Gender Identity vs Gender Expression in The Danish Girl Alexander Jordan College

The distinction between gender expression and gender identity is an important one that must be made before we begin to discuss The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff. According to the Human Rights Campaign, gender expression and gender identity have similar but clearly different definitions. Gender expression is defined as “the external appearance of one's gender identity, usually expressed through behavior, clothing, haircut or voice, and which may or may not conform to socially defined behaviors and characteristics typically associated with being either masculine or feminine” (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Definitions). The definition of gender identity is “one's innermost concept of self as male, female, a blend of both or neither – how individuals perceive themselves and what they call themselves” (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Definitions). These two can be related, but they do not have to be. Gender identity is internal, and gender expression is the external expression of gender identity. In simpler terms, gender expression is a form of performance, and gender identity is not. Relating back to The Danish Girl, Lili expresses herself as a woman because her gender identity is a female. She’s not a man...