Gender binary

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Gender binary (also known as gender binarism, binarism, or genderism),[1][2][3] is the classification of gender into two distinct, opposite, and disconnected forms of masculine and feminine, whether by social system or cultural belief.

In this binary model, sex, gender, and sexuality may be assumed by default to align, with aspects of one's gender inherently linked to one's genetic or gamete-based sex, or with one's sex assigned at birth. For example, when a male is born, gender binarism may assume the male will be masculine in appearance, character traits, and behavior, including having a heterosexual attraction to females.[4] These aspects may include expectations of dressing, behavior, sexual orientation, names or pronouns, preferred restroom, or other qualities. These expectations may reinforce negative attitudes, bias, and discrimination towards people who display expressions of gender variance or nonconformity or whose gender identity is incongruent with their birth sex.[5]

Overview[edit]

The term gender binary describes the system in which a society splits its members into one of two sets of gender roles, gender identities, and attributes based on the type of genitalia.[6] In the case of people born with organs that fall outside this classification system (intersex people), enforcement of the binary often includes coercive surgical gender reassignment.[7][8] Gender roles are a major aspect of the gender binary. Gender roles shape and constrain people's life experiences, impacting aspects of self-expression ranging from clothing choices to occupation.[9][10] Traditional gender roles continue to be enforced by the media, religion, mainstream education, political systems, cultural systems, and social systems.[11] Major religions such as Islam and Catholicism, in particular, act as authorities for gender roles. Islam, for example, teaches that mothers are the primary care givers to their children and Catholics only allow cisgender men to serve as priests.

Worldwide, there are many individuals and even several subcultures that can be considered exceptions to the gender binary or specific transgender identities. In addition to individuals whose bodies are naturally intersex, there are also specific social roles that involve aspects of both or neither of the binary genders. These include Two-Spirit Native Americans and hijra of India. Feminist philosopher María Lugones argues Western colonizers imposed their dualistic ideas of gender on indigenous peoples, replacing pre-existing indigenous concepts.[12] In the contemporary West, non-binary or genderqueer people break the gender binary by refusing terms like "male" and "female". Transgender people have a unique place in relation to the gender binary. In some cases, their gender expression aligns with their sex. Attempting to conform to societal expectations for their gender, transsexual individuals may opt for surgery, hormones, or both, which can be difficult if the individual does not "pass" as cisgender.[13]

According to Thomas Keith in Masculinities in Contemporary American Culture, the longstanding cultural assumption that male–female dualities are "natural and immutable" partly explains the persistence of systems of patriarchy and male privilege in modern society.[14]

Limitations[edit]

Some feminist scholars have contested the existence of a clear gender binary. Judith Lorber explains the problem of failing to question dividing people into these two groups “even though they often find more significant within-group differences than between-group differences.”[15] Lorber argues that this corroborates the fact that the gender binary is arbitrary and leads to false expectations of both men and women. Instead, there is growing support for the possibility of utilizing additional categories that compare people without "prior assumptions about who is like whom".[15] By allowing for a more fluid approach to gender, people will be able to better identify themselves however they choose and scholarly research will find different similarities and differences.[ambiguous]

Rejection[edit]

Anne Fausto-Sterling suggests a classification of 23 sexes and a move away from the socially constructed gender binary classification of male and female. In her paper "The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female Are Not Enough", she discusses the existence of intersex people, individuals possessing a combination of male and female sexual characteristics, who are seen as deviations from the norm, and who frequently undergo coercive surgery at a very young age in order to maintain the two-gender system. The existence of these individuals challenges the standards of gender binaries and puts into question society's role in constructing gender.[16] Fausto-Sterling indicates that modern practitioners encourage the idea that gender is a cultural construct and concludes that, "we are moving from an era of sexual dimorphism to one of variety beyond the number 2."[17]

In the LGBT community[edit]

Within the LGBT community, gender binarism may create institutionalized structures of power, and individuals who identify outside traditional gender binaries may experience discrimination and harassment within the LGBT community. Most of this discrimination stems from societal expectations of gender that are expressed in the LGBT community. But many LGBT people and many youth activist groups advocate against gender binarism within the LGBT community. Many individuals within the LGBT+ community report an internal hierarchy of power status. A specific example of this would include a white, gay man who behaves as "masculine" as being more powerful. However, those who do not identify within a binary system experience being at the bottom of the hierarchy. The multitude of different variables such as race, ethnicity, age, gender, and more can lower or raise one's perceived power.[18]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Marjorie Garber (25 November 1997). Vested Interests: Cross-dressing and Cultural Anxiety. Psychology Press. pp. 2, 10, 14–16, 47. ISBN 978-0-415-91951-7. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  2. ^ Claudia Card (1994). Adventures in Lesbian Philosophy. Indiana University Press. p. 127. ISBN 978-0-253-20899-6. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  3. ^ Rosenblum, Darren (2000). "'Trapped' in Sing-Sing: Transgendered Prisoners Caught in the Gender Binarism". Michigan Journal of Gender & Law. 6. SSRN 897562.
  4. ^ Keating, Anne. "glbtq >> literature >> Gender". www.glbtq.com. glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  5. ^ Hill, Darryl B.; Willoughby, Brian L. B. (October 2015). "The Development and Validation of the Genderism and Transphobia Scale". Sex Roles. 53 (7–8): 531–544. doi:10.1007/s11199-005-7140-x. ISSN 0360-0025.
  6. ^ Judith., Lorber, (2007). Gendered bodies : feminist perspectives. Moore, Lisa Jean, 1967-. Los Angeles, Calif.: Roxbury Pub. Co. p. 2. ISBN 1933220414. OCLC 64453299.
  7. ^ Fausto-Sterling, Anne (2000). "The Five Sexes, Revisited". The Sciences. New York Academy of Sciences. 40 (4): 18–23. doi:10.1002/j.2326-1951.2000.tb03504.x. PMID 12569934.
  8. ^ Fausto-Sterling, Anne (2000). Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality (1st ed.). New York, NY: Basic Books. ISBN 9780465077144. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
  9. ^ D'Innocenzio, Anne. "Breaking down the gender stereotypes in kids clothing". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2017-03-11.
  10. ^ Bank., World (2011-01-01). World development report 2012 : Gender equality and development. World Bank. ISBN 9780821388129. OCLC 799022013.
  11. ^ Johnson, Joy; Repta, Robin (2002). "Sex and Gender: Beyond the Binaries" (PDF). Designing and conducting gender, sex, & health research: 17–39. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  12. ^ Lugones, María (December 12, 2017). "Heterosexualism and the Colonial / Modern Gender System". Hypatia. 22 (1): 186–209. JSTOR 4640051.
  13. ^ Cromwell, Jason (1999). Transmen and FTMs: Identities, Bodies, Genders, and Sexualities. Chicago, Illinois: University of Illinois. p. 511. ISBN 978-0252068256.
  14. ^ Keith, Thomas (2017). Masculinities in Contemporary American Culture: An Intersectional Approach to the Complexities and Challenges of Male Identity. Routledge. p. 2. ISBN 978-1-31-759534-2.
  15. ^ a b Lorber, Judith. "Believing is Seeing: Biology as Ideology." In The Gendered Society Reader, edited by Michael S. Kimmel, Amy Aronson, and Amy Kaler, 11-18. Toronto, ON: Oxford University Press, 2011.
  16. ^ Morgan Holmes (2008). Intersex: A Perilous Difference. Associated University Presse. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-575-91117-5. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  17. ^ Fausto-Sterling, Anne (March–April 1993). The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female Are Not Enough. The Sciences. pp. 20–24.
  18. ^ Farmer, Laura Boyd; Byrd, Rebekah (2015). "Genderism in the LGBTQQIA Community: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis". Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling. 9 (4): 288–310. doi:10.1080/15538605.2015.1103679.

Further reading[edit]

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