I have a question for everyone. What is your opinion of gender? I know this is a very complex question for being so short. The reason I ask this is that I have a friend who is very straight, when it comes to cut and dry homosexuals he is not in the least bit homophobic, his opinion is live and let live, but when you get into trans and drag queens and whatnot he starts to get somewhat freaked out and I tried to explain to him that gender is in the head, and your gender and your sex have nothing to do with each other. He just stared at me. I have become very comfortable with the idea that gender is a manifestation of psychology and the early hormonal influences on developing minds as opposed to what happens to the developing body, but it struck me that this concept was completely foreign to my oh so straight friend. What do people on this board think of this issue? And mean that in any way anyone feels like interpreting it.
Gender in the head.
- Thread starter Cigan
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Put simply, your sex is defined by what set of organs you have. Your gender is which sex you identify yourself as.
My opinon of gender? Well, I can't really say, since I'm not sure what the question is supposed to mean.
My opinon of gender? Well, I can't really say, since I'm not sure what the question is supposed to mean.
Sex v. Gender
I generally view gender as a spectrum and sex as a dichotomy, but in my studies I've found that dichotomy often to be false. I mean, there are male organs, female organs, adulthood m-2-f and f-2-m, at birth sexual organ manipulation, hermaphrodites. It's amazing what we take for granted, I think.
I have a hard time, though, viewing both sex and gender as social constructions. On the other hand, I have a hard time reconciling this view with most of what I've read concerning this issue. So I've pretty much decided that my view is imperfect, but not to replace it with anything for the time being.
Neither sex or gender are fixed, as far as I can tell. And I don't agree with the idea of biological determination, although I think that biology must play some part in how sex/gender come about. There just seems to be more that we don't know about the phenomenon of sex and gender than what we actually do know, or at least the variables that determine each/both are so many that there's not an easy formula.
I'd like to caution Cigan though to not confuse drag queens with transvestites. Although it could probably be argued that all action is performance, drag queens are typically categorized performers and transvestites are not. This means that a drag queen may not necessarily identify herself as feminine outside of a performance context. The performance may have very little to do with how he/she identifies as an individual. A drag queen typically sees herself as a separate entity than her male alter ego. This is not typically the case for transvestites.
I may not have chosen my words well, and I may have made too many generalizations, but I would like to hear others' views on the subject.
I generally view gender as a spectrum and sex as a dichotomy, but in my studies I've found that dichotomy often to be false. I mean, there are male organs, female organs, adulthood m-2-f and f-2-m, at birth sexual organ manipulation, hermaphrodites. It's amazing what we take for granted, I think.
I have a hard time, though, viewing both sex and gender as social constructions. On the other hand, I have a hard time reconciling this view with most of what I've read concerning this issue. So I've pretty much decided that my view is imperfect, but not to replace it with anything for the time being.
Neither sex or gender are fixed, as far as I can tell. And I don't agree with the idea of biological determination, although I think that biology must play some part in how sex/gender come about. There just seems to be more that we don't know about the phenomenon of sex and gender than what we actually do know, or at least the variables that determine each/both are so many that there's not an easy formula.
I'd like to caution Cigan though to not confuse drag queens with transvestites. Although it could probably be argued that all action is performance, drag queens are typically categorized performers and transvestites are not. This means that a drag queen may not necessarily identify herself as feminine outside of a performance context. The performance may have very little to do with how he/she identifies as an individual. A drag queen typically sees herself as a separate entity than her male alter ego. This is not typically the case for transvestites.
I may not have chosen my words well, and I may have made too many generalizations, but I would like to hear others' views on the subject.
I was not confusing them. I mentioned Drag queens because it was part of what sparked the reaction in my friend. I am well aware of the difference between them. There is a fair bit of transvestite in many drag queens, but I am well aware it is not part of the equation for many drag queens, and that it is pure performance in many cases.
I will try to explain my feelings in the fewest words possible- I am genetically a a male. That is a a given. However, when I lived every day as that male, I was absolutely unhappy, even angry all the time. I cannot explain why and do not try to figure it out. Why? Simply put, when I spend my days(and nights) completely enfemme, I am always happy, always smiling, and completely overcome with a feeling of peace and contentment. I feel so natural. I feel normal. I cannot explain this either, but it seems to me it must be the "gender" of which you speak that is truly inside of me. It doesn't even bother me that I am not genetically correct, either. To me, that suggests that my inner feelings of gender are the more powerful reality to me. I don't know if this has helped or not, but, the point is-those of us who feel gender taking over from inside don't really have a choice. It just happens. For me, it happens to reveal a much happier person, a much better person, and whether society can acknowledge it or not, the kind of person that in the ned makes this world a better place.
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You look remarkably happy for wearing heels that high, nicki! 
Cigan, I also have a friend who has no trouble with gay people but gets very upset when trans issues are brought into it. I guess it's the "gender in the head" thing that he's got a problem with...I don't really know.
Cigan, I also have a friend who has no trouble with gay people but gets very upset when trans issues are brought into it. I guess it's the "gender in the head" thing that he's got a problem with...I don't really know.
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