Keliana
Apr 27, 2007, 4:59 PM
There have a been a few posts recently on the topic of transgendered/transsexualism and of course the never ending debate on the use of "shemale".
This brings me to start a new thread about labelling.
Labelling, (as defined by wikipedia) is defining or describing a person in terms of his or her behavior. For example, describing someone who has broken a law as a criminal. The term is often used in sociology to describe human interaction, control and identification of deviant behavior.
In most legal and official documents we complete in our culture, it is mandatory to identify our sex. Our culture places emphasis on this for many reasons but the underlying fact remains: labelling individuals as one or the other reinforces the dichotomies found so often in our society. These dichotomies that maintain the status quo, ensuring the oppressed remain disempowered while the privileged few benefit. As a result, the emphasis our culture places on gender reinforces systemic oppression.
For decades, the women's movement has challenged the barriers created in part by the dichotomies of female vs. male. Many feminist theorists have demonstrated the ways this duality reinforces women's oppression. The movement continues to lobby for pay equity, solutions to women's health issues, and ending violence against women--all of which are glaring examples of our culture's continuous oppression of people based on gender.
Much of our culture rests on the assumption that there has always been, and always will be, a distinct class of people called "women." This assumption not only denies the different cultural experiences of oppression experienced by women around the world; it also suggests gender has a biological foundation.
If we suppose gender is genetically determined, we fail to consider the wide scope of women's experience within our own culture. There are many examples of women and men who are excluded from narrowly defining women and men genetically: many women are infertile, many are without wombs or breasts. Many women have XY chromosomes and men with XX chromosomes. What about intersexed people? Or transgendered individuals? These are real experiences for countless men and women that must be acknowledged when we consider our definition of "woman" and "man".
Historically, feminist theory has challenged the use of the word "gender" as a synonym for "sex" because gender is the degree to which we are socialized to be feminine or masculine, whereas sex is based on visible male or female genital traits at birth. Our culture's polarized view of sexual identity, being "male" or "female", relies on assigning gender at the time of birth.
Gender is not what culture creates out of my body's sex; rather, sex is what culture makes when it genders my body. The emphasis our culture places on gender greatly influences our view of sexual identity.
We need to look beyond the labels of "lesbian," "gay," "bisexual" and "transgender" to effectively challenge oppression. Even though "bisexual" and "transgender" have been added to the LGBT Movement's noun list, they remain marginalized groups within society. Furthermore, gay pride reinforces the existence of the opposite dichotomy: heterosexual identity. By basing one's identity on her/his sexual orientation, we legitimize the concept that everyone should be socially defined by their potential contribution to procreation.
Therefore, while it is important to be inclusive, we must examine how such identities were produced because for every distinct identity added to the Movement, others remain silenced. We need to transcend dichotomies such as man/woman, gay/straight before we can make any progress in challenging the barriers we face based on gender. We need to move beyond fighting for the rights of any given equity seeking group, and create a culture where attention to the importance of diversity outweighs attention to the creation of categories.
Gender oppression is experienced by other people in our culture besides those struggling with orientation or identity issues.
Eating disorders among young women is due to societal pressures on women to be unnaturally thin. The high incidence of bullying in schools can be correlated to pressures on children to "fit in" to their gender-defined peer group. We a social movement to challenge gender as a basis for systemic oppression: "A gender liberation movement is not just about people who have died simply because of the way they expressed sexuality and gender. It's also about those who felt impelled and even empowered to kill to protect and preserve the regimes of gender."
Until we look beyond the dichotomies, the only people represented in the women's movement or the gay rights movement are those fortunate enough to possess the luxury of a simple and uncomplicated oppression.
The dichotomies upon which we base so much of our identities will continue to reinforce systemic oppression. Unless we transcend the dualities, we prevent ourselves from effectively challenging the barriers that exist for all people in our culture.
Peace and blessings,
Keliana
This brings me to start a new thread about labelling.
Labelling, (as defined by wikipedia) is defining or describing a person in terms of his or her behavior. For example, describing someone who has broken a law as a criminal. The term is often used in sociology to describe human interaction, control and identification of deviant behavior.
In most legal and official documents we complete in our culture, it is mandatory to identify our sex. Our culture places emphasis on this for many reasons but the underlying fact remains: labelling individuals as one or the other reinforces the dichotomies found so often in our society. These dichotomies that maintain the status quo, ensuring the oppressed remain disempowered while the privileged few benefit. As a result, the emphasis our culture places on gender reinforces systemic oppression.
For decades, the women's movement has challenged the barriers created in part by the dichotomies of female vs. male. Many feminist theorists have demonstrated the ways this duality reinforces women's oppression. The movement continues to lobby for pay equity, solutions to women's health issues, and ending violence against women--all of which are glaring examples of our culture's continuous oppression of people based on gender.
Much of our culture rests on the assumption that there has always been, and always will be, a distinct class of people called "women." This assumption not only denies the different cultural experiences of oppression experienced by women around the world; it also suggests gender has a biological foundation.
If we suppose gender is genetically determined, we fail to consider the wide scope of women's experience within our own culture. There are many examples of women and men who are excluded from narrowly defining women and men genetically: many women are infertile, many are without wombs or breasts. Many women have XY chromosomes and men with XX chromosomes. What about intersexed people? Or transgendered individuals? These are real experiences for countless men and women that must be acknowledged when we consider our definition of "woman" and "man".
Historically, feminist theory has challenged the use of the word "gender" as a synonym for "sex" because gender is the degree to which we are socialized to be feminine or masculine, whereas sex is based on visible male or female genital traits at birth. Our culture's polarized view of sexual identity, being "male" or "female", relies on assigning gender at the time of birth.
Gender is not what culture creates out of my body's sex; rather, sex is what culture makes when it genders my body. The emphasis our culture places on gender greatly influences our view of sexual identity.
We need to look beyond the labels of "lesbian," "gay," "bisexual" and "transgender" to effectively challenge oppression. Even though "bisexual" and "transgender" have been added to the LGBT Movement's noun list, they remain marginalized groups within society. Furthermore, gay pride reinforces the existence of the opposite dichotomy: heterosexual identity. By basing one's identity on her/his sexual orientation, we legitimize the concept that everyone should be socially defined by their potential contribution to procreation.
Therefore, while it is important to be inclusive, we must examine how such identities were produced because for every distinct identity added to the Movement, others remain silenced. We need to transcend dichotomies such as man/woman, gay/straight before we can make any progress in challenging the barriers we face based on gender. We need to move beyond fighting for the rights of any given equity seeking group, and create a culture where attention to the importance of diversity outweighs attention to the creation of categories.
Gender oppression is experienced by other people in our culture besides those struggling with orientation or identity issues.
Eating disorders among young women is due to societal pressures on women to be unnaturally thin. The high incidence of bullying in schools can be correlated to pressures on children to "fit in" to their gender-defined peer group. We a social movement to challenge gender as a basis for systemic oppression: "A gender liberation movement is not just about people who have died simply because of the way they expressed sexuality and gender. It's also about those who felt impelled and even empowered to kill to protect and preserve the regimes of gender."
Until we look beyond the dichotomies, the only people represented in the women's movement or the gay rights movement are those fortunate enough to possess the luxury of a simple and uncomplicated oppression.
The dichotomies upon which we base so much of our identities will continue to reinforce systemic oppression. Unless we transcend the dualities, we prevent ourselves from effectively challenging the barriers that exist for all people in our culture.
Peace and blessings,
Keliana