Sculptor vs. Detective: An Analysis of Gender Identification

This paper analyzes whether we can shape our gender identity. This is presented through an analysis of the opposing sculptor and detective accounts of gender identity. The sculptor account presents that we have an active role in shaping our gender identity, and the detective account posits that we have a passive role regarding our gender identity. I argue that both are wrong and in doing so present that to capture the experiences of those in the trans community requires moving away from a model of gender identity as a determinate thing towards the probabilistic cloud model of gender identity, where it is not some determinate thing, but rather a cloud of possible identities that they feel, to varying degrees, reflects them. The rest of the paper involves explaining the nuances of the model and examining its various upshots.