Feminism: Gender Lines
I'm attempting to write a blog entry for GS on sex and gender, and am sad to realize how much I've forgotten in the last few years. Three years ago while executing my Affirmative case on the United States v. Morrison policy debate topic, I really knew my stuff and could have written this article with my eyes closed.
Truth be told, as my interest in Feminism has been nurtured, I've sort of abandoned more critical looks at sex and gender. Not because they aren't as important as the other elements of Feminism, but because I just haven't had the press to really examine them in the way it felt so imperative to do so while running The Woman's Question Method.
Obviously, gender has been cropping up quite a bit lately due to being pregnant. I'm adamant about avoiding gender role stereotyping where I can (obviously, I can't completely get away from it; because B refuses to name our child Atticus if it turns out to be female, insisting "It's a boy's name!") particularly given that I feel it's especially relevant in the raising of girls. Which, given my in-laws, is not so much a commentary on society as a whole and rather what I know inevitably awaits me should she, indeed, be born a girl.
In any event, I've been bothered by the cases out of Mississippi that seem determined to punish students who shake up our concept of sex and gender. Granted, Ceara Sturgis and Constance McMillen are lesbians, not trans, but given that they've been punished both on the basis of their sexual orientation and their insistence on wearing traditionally male clothing, it seems inconceivable not to notice the link between the gay community and the trans.
One of the parallels I see is that these two women are not asserting their sexuality in their decisions to wear tuxedos. Obviously, anyone who has spent any length of time in formal dresses can recall with no real pleasure the scrape of irritating material over chaffing thighs, as well as the awkward cuts that never fall totally into place and the riding up of pantyhose--more than once, I thought about donning a tuxedo myself to avoid yet another uncomfortable school dance of wishing I had a girdle to capture my curves in place. Not to mention the scoop-necked velvet drape of Sturgis' graduation attire suggests a feminine edge that is innately sexualized, exposing a curve of the neck bone and shoulder.
My point is, in the case of McMillen and Sturgis, I don't really believe their decisions for tuxes were motivated by being lesbians. Plenty of straight women prefer clothing that is traditionally seen as male garb (hell, Diane Keaton has made a career of appearing on the red carpet in pant suits and men's work shirts) while more than one lesbian prefers heels and lipstick. Simply put, in these cases, I don't think clothing choices were engineered by anything than a desire to be comfortable (though the definition of "comfortable" may go beyond just physical comfortability).
However, in some ways, the implication may be more troubling. If the school systems are to be believed and it wasn't ultimately the sexuality of McMillen and Sturgis that drove the disparate treatment, it would suggest the idea of women in clothing designed for men is inherently more problematic and thus presents an even greater stigma against those of trans origin than even against homosexuals. After all, while a number of states have adopted policies protecting against discrimination based on sexual orientation, trans individuals were famously left out of the newest anti-hate legislation.
Not to mention that the gay and trans community haven't always been happy about their general grouping, just as Feminists and gays in generations before were uneasy allies in the "enemy of my enemy is my friend" battle against the patriarchal discrimination.
The question then becomes how to more fully address such issues. In the case of McMillen and Sturgis, should high schools be the appropriate breeding ground for identity exploration? Should we eliminate our limited perception of sex and gender by doing away with "male or female" only options?
As for me, I'm not completely sure. It just seems to me that even as universally, acceptance is slowly trickling in for gays and lesbians, even greater abuse of trans is increasing exponentially.
Truth be told, as my interest in Feminism has been nurtured, I've sort of abandoned more critical looks at sex and gender. Not because they aren't as important as the other elements of Feminism, but because I just haven't had the press to really examine them in the way it felt so imperative to do so while running The Woman's Question Method.
Obviously, gender has been cropping up quite a bit lately due to being pregnant. I'm adamant about avoiding gender role stereotyping where I can (obviously, I can't completely get away from it; because B refuses to name our child Atticus if it turns out to be female, insisting "It's a boy's name!") particularly given that I feel it's especially relevant in the raising of girls. Which, given my in-laws, is not so much a commentary on society as a whole and rather what I know inevitably awaits me should she, indeed, be born a girl.
In any event, I've been bothered by the cases out of Mississippi that seem determined to punish students who shake up our concept of sex and gender. Granted, Ceara Sturgis and Constance McMillen are lesbians, not trans, but given that they've been punished both on the basis of their sexual orientation and their insistence on wearing traditionally male clothing, it seems inconceivable not to notice the link between the gay community and the trans.
One of the parallels I see is that these two women are not asserting their sexuality in their decisions to wear tuxedos. Obviously, anyone who has spent any length of time in formal dresses can recall with no real pleasure the scrape of irritating material over chaffing thighs, as well as the awkward cuts that never fall totally into place and the riding up of pantyhose--more than once, I thought about donning a tuxedo myself to avoid yet another uncomfortable school dance of wishing I had a girdle to capture my curves in place. Not to mention the scoop-necked velvet drape of Sturgis' graduation attire suggests a feminine edge that is innately sexualized, exposing a curve of the neck bone and shoulder.
My point is, in the case of McMillen and Sturgis, I don't really believe their decisions for tuxes were motivated by being lesbians. Plenty of straight women prefer clothing that is traditionally seen as male garb (hell, Diane Keaton has made a career of appearing on the red carpet in pant suits and men's work shirts) while more than one lesbian prefers heels and lipstick. Simply put, in these cases, I don't think clothing choices were engineered by anything than a desire to be comfortable (though the definition of "comfortable" may go beyond just physical comfortability).
However, in some ways, the implication may be more troubling. If the school systems are to be believed and it wasn't ultimately the sexuality of McMillen and Sturgis that drove the disparate treatment, it would suggest the idea of women in clothing designed for men is inherently more problematic and thus presents an even greater stigma against those of trans origin than even against homosexuals. After all, while a number of states have adopted policies protecting against discrimination based on sexual orientation, trans individuals were famously left out of the newest anti-hate legislation.
Not to mention that the gay and trans community haven't always been happy about their general grouping, just as Feminists and gays in generations before were uneasy allies in the "enemy of my enemy is my friend" battle against the patriarchal discrimination.
The question then becomes how to more fully address such issues. In the case of McMillen and Sturgis, should high schools be the appropriate breeding ground for identity exploration? Should we eliminate our limited perception of sex and gender by doing away with "male or female" only options?
As for me, I'm not completely sure. It just seems to me that even as universally, acceptance is slowly trickling in for gays and lesbians, even greater abuse of trans is increasing exponentially.