Monday, April 13, 2015
Battle of the Sexes
In society we learn that we all have our places, but some people just don't feel that they don't fit that place. In coming here I have learned much more about transgender and non-binary, it was not a huge topic that was explored where I lived. Gender is a construct. I am interested in the issue because it was not something that I knew a lot about and now that I am meeting people who are affected by this issue. Granted there were probably people that I knew who suffered from not being able to be who they are, it is nice to know that this community is willing to accept the people in it. I think that it is an issue that needs more attention, to give everyone the right to choose how they would like to live.
One of the links that I included was a video on Ryland Whittington, a little girl who was stuck in the wrong body and made a change with the help of her family. This is one of the happy stories that makes it seem like making this change is widely accepted but that is not the case. Sadly, this is not the case for all the people affected. The second link is about the experiences of youth exploring genders binary/non-binary roles in society.
So the questions are:
Why is gender such a hard thing to break from?
What is the first thing that should be done to tear down gender constructions?
Is there something that we could do in childhood that would give children the opportunity feel free to choose who they really are?
If the links don't open:
http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Young-people-exploring-nonbinary-gender-roles-5225994.php
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAHCqnux2fk
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I think it's super important to give children the resources and support to explore themselves and their identities, and show them that gender is a fluid and beautiful thing. I think a lot of adults having kids right now, and maybe even some of our own parents, try to raise their kids with as little imposition of gender roles as possible. However, it's such a difficult thing to avoid, I think, because children are influenced by everything around them, not just their own parents.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I think really helps is having media directed at children that portrays gender less rigidly than we might be used to. I haven't actually seen the show, but I've heard some really good things about the Cartoon Network show Steven Universe's portrayal of gender. It combats toxic masculinity, there are canonically nonbinary characters, a majority of the characters are female (which is very different from the usual makeup of tv shows) and it sounds like it's doing a remarkable job of gently and inoffensively showing a wide range of characters with different concepts and identities with regards to gender. So, I think shows and media like that help kids see that there is a choice.
1. First off, similarly with you, where I come from, gender was not a huge topic. Before I came here I'd never really heard of non-binary, nor of gender as a binary system. I think it's so hard to break from because of this fact. Its such a construct in our current identity that it doesn't even occur to many groups to question its existence. For many its just as much a fact of life as gravity or that the sky is blue.
ReplyDelete2. The first thing to tear down gender constructions is just to acknowledge that gender is a non-binary issue. Instead of structuring our world around two defined genders, we should educate based upon our natural preferences, and teach that identifying as any gender, or non are both equally plausible and realistic.
3. Instead of teaching children male and female characteristics, we just need to let them decide for themselves what they want and in so doing, allow them to choose their own notion of gender.
I believe that it is entirely crucial to understand that gender is entirely non-binary. I believe that Conor is completely correct in his thinking that gender roles needs to be eliminated in order to acknowledge that gender isn't so black and white or binary. We are making huge stride in our nation currently to reduce homophobia and allow for same-sex marriage, and I strongly believe that the next stride that needs to be made is the deconstruction of gender roles.
ReplyDelete1. First off, similarly with you, where I come from, gender was not a huge topic. Before I came here I'd never really heard of non-binary, nor of gender as a binary system. I think it's so hard to break from because of this fact. Its such a construct in our current identity that it doesn't even occur to many groups to question its existence. For many its just as much a fact of life as gravity or that the sky is blue.
ReplyDelete2. The first thing to tear down gender constructions is just to acknowledge that gender is a non-binary issue. Instead of structuring our world around two defined genders, we should educate based upon our natural preferences, and teach that identifying as any gender, or non are both equally plausible and realistic.
3. Instead of teaching children male and female characteristics, we just need to let them decide for themselves what they want and in so doing, allow them to choose their own notion of gender.
I agree that gender is a construct and the dependence on the concept of a stark binary division is negative - but I do, however, think there can be strength to an association. While I firmly believe that gender should grow to include MANY more identifications than simply male and female, I think the ability to group with other people who identify of a similar gender (not in the stratifying/contrary way we currently see the division/identification/grouping) could be really helpful. What I mean by this I will show in a personal example:
ReplyDeleteIn current society, sexuality, etc. I am a heterosexual female - awesome, who cares. When I was raped I initially withdrew from a lot of the things I enjoyed, and least of all noticed by me, I stopped dressing the way I wanted to. Minimal skin exposure, baggy clothes, no colors - no attention. It didn't feel comfortable. Toward the end of my therapy, I am pretty sure it was my last session actually, I came in in a dress and floral shoes. My therapist said she was happy to see me dressing feminine again - in bright happy colors and with my legs revealed. The ideas of female and dresses and femininity and blah blah yes, I know, socially constructed. But if I like to dress that way, the adjective of 'femininity' described a milestone, and my therapist was not seeking to target/manipulate/degrade etc. by the use of the term - the category was nice to have. It was nice to see I was becoming myself again after a couple years of me being hard to recognize.
I'm sure many of you will argue with me haha - but I think it is important to expand the category with the thought that, despite all of our evolution, etc. we all really like to have a little space, an adjective which changes, that can help us define ourselves. I think the struggle is making all definitions/labels of gender equal, and to that end, we have much to work toward.
Why are gender roles such a hard thing to break from? Well I think we are breaking them down over time. It's much more acceptable now for a man to have traditionally feminine traits or a woman to have traditionally masculine traits than it was 50 years ago, 25 years ago, and even 5 years ago. We're definitely making progress towards more acceptance, but gender is very ingrained in our heads and society. And it all starts when we're kids. I read a study where most elementary school teachers ingrain gender roles and give more attention to boys than girls without even recognizing it. But these teachers were born at least 24 years ago. It's such a widespread deeply ingrained social problem that I think it takes the actions people are taking now coupled with time. It's hard to change the minds of people who have lived with gender as such a large part of their lives, but its easier to change the minds of young children.
ReplyDeleteI think gender is a hard thing to break from, at this point in our lives, since in the past generations it was something people didn't really see or heard of. Now that this change is happening people whom are so accustomed to traditional gender roles people get aggravated/surprised. I think it is a matter of time for people to get accustomed to in order for this to issue to be more flexible just because adaptation for someone whom has never seen this happen really does take time. I would compare this phase of gender roles to segregation and how some white people during this era looked down at people of color. After many wars and laws passed segregation has been accepted but i feel that there will always be that handful of people whom still look down upon it, towards people whom are different from the majority of the people.
ReplyDelete