Everyone has a SOGIE: understanding orientation, gender and expression

From time to time, we see individuals take to social networks and Q&A sites like Quora, seeking answers to gender and sexuality topics. The questions reveal a world seeking to understand LGBTQ matters, including the search for one’s identity, acceptance of LGBT in Japan and how to deal with rude comments from politicians like “LGBT lack in productivity.”

These are real concerns. Where should we start to address and understand the matters surrounding LGBTQ?

Understanding our SOGIE profiles

This is where SOGIE becomes useful as a first step to understanding LGBTQ and personal identity. SOGIE is an abbreviation of Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Gender Expression. In detail, Sexual Orientation refers to what type of gender one prefers sexually, Gender Identity is how one identifies oneself in gender, and Gender Expression is how people express themselves as what to wear or how one makes up.

The difference between LGBT and SOGIE is the number of people it includes. In short, everyone has SOGIE, while LGBT refers to particular people who are either gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. Not only is it useful for questioning individuals to understand themselves better, but it also provides a framework that the public can use to empathize with the multitudes of sexual orientation and identity.

SOGIE as a catalyst for human rights

There is an understanding at an international level that the issue should come from the equality of all people, the respect for human rights. SOGIE can bridge the current gap.

At the international level, “human rights” are “the minimum standard that must be protected,” and it’s not a radical idea that has recently emerged.

The United Nations adopted the idea of human rights and sexual issues, gender identity in 2011 for the first time. It means they expanded the protection to more people to the SOGIE level at this time. Since then, there’s been an awareness campaign called “Free & Equal.”

Promoting the understanding of SOGIE

SOGIE is essential to help everyone understand that sexuality is not binary nor lies along a binary scale. SOGIE shows us the myriad forms of sexual orientation and identity, and will foster a base of understanding for us to build foundations of human civilization.