[DrTiTus]

When you say "gender" you are probably referring to what I would call "clothing" - or the most common expression of gender. The same way birds may have different coloured feathers to signify their "biological purpose". If a man wears clothing that was intended to be worn by someone whose sex is female, then he is pretending to be ("identifying as") a woman. This part is not lost on me. I realize he is expressing his /desire to act as/ a woman.

His gender /expression/ is that OF a woman. He is identifying AS - but IS not - a woman. He may find that being in character AS a woman is fun, or perhaps a relief for his mental issues, and he may choose to live his life in character. But if he sees a stereotypical woman stuck on the side of the road with a flat tyre, he will still be able to stop, hitch up his dress, and change her car tyre to get her moving again. He has not lost his utility, despite his clothing. Nor has he gained any utility by wearing a dress. It's just clothing.

When Lou Ferrigno puts in coloured contacts and paints himself green, going into character, he is pretending to be - identifying as - the Incredible Hulk. But he is not actually a superhero. He just goes to the effort to look like one and while children with cancer that he hypothetically visits may be convinced he's actually "the Incredible Hulk", and he could change his name by law to be Bruce Banner, people with a bit more experience in the world know he's just pretending. A state manufactured ID card saying "Bruce Banner" while he's painted green does not make him an actual superhero.

If someone else also wears coloured contacts and paints themselves green, and expresses himself as "the Hulk", people will also realize who they are pretending to be. They may refer to them as "the Hulk" for the evening and buy them drinks and have a good time, and maybe go home and smear the sheets green if that's their thing, but they will know it's not the REAL Hulk. Simply wearing a costume does not make one genuine. The Hulk imposter may argue that there is no difference, change THEIR name to Bruce Banner, and that the Hulk is just a social construct, but the wise will not be fooled. The REAL Hulk is Lou Ferrigno. Despite the Hulk being a social construct - something that is not real and merely invented by society - it's a highly valued title which we will not happily bestow upon any cheap imposter. You can if you wish, but there is no reason that others have to follow your lead.