Perceptions of Senior Highschool Students on sex change

Abstract

With the advent of gender equality worldwide, more and more people are now coming to terms with expressing their identities – be it heterosexual or homosexual. It is no longer taboo to 'come out,' rather what is encouraged is the expression of the real self. As such, young people's perceptions are essential because they voice out their thoughts on seemingly controversial topics. This study aimed to determine the views of the Senior High School students about themselves as to their gender identity, to know factors that influenced such perception, and to know their thoughts about sex change. The study intends to make the academic community a safe space for young people who belong to the LGBT++ community. The qualitative descriptive research design was primarily used in the study. It involved thirty Grade 12 Senior High School Students of the University of Baguio who were asked to answer an open-ended questionnaire. The researchers found out that the factors of acceptance, attraction to the same or opposite sex, biology, culture, and environment influenced how these young people perceived their gender. Moreover, in terms of their views on sex change, answers were clustered into three – those who agree that sex change is a choice of an individual; those who disagree that sex change is primarily against their respective religions, and those who are still undecided because they neither agree nor disagree with the idea of individuals undergoing sex change. In conclusion, it was found that gender identity is attributed to the respondents' various upbringing and social exposure. Young people are more open and accepting of the idea that individuals have various preferences for developing and expressing their gender identities.