Maura’s experience as a woman without gender confirmation surgery is in align with the ‘trapped in the wrong culture’ theory as opposed to the ‘trapped in the wrong body narrative,’ where she experiences transphobia. Many theorists have argued and described transsexuality as someone who is ‘trapped in the wrong body;’ that one is either always a woman or a man at birth and surgery changes the “wrong” body to the “right body.” However, this narrative is exclusionary on the basis that sex and gender still must correlate with one another, perpetrating a binary model. “In opposing this medical model, transgender politics attempted to subsume transsexuality under an umbrella of ‘gender variance’ where the effect was to yield depathologized conceptions …show more content…
Instead, the ‘trapped in the wrong culture’ narrative more fully encompasses trans experiences where gender and sex are merely social constructions, not connected. Furthermore, Maura can be seen as having a resistant identity. From the Oxford Handbook, Bettcher writes, “Trans identities are resistant not merely in their opposition to dominant concepts, but by disabling the capacity of gender euphemisms to communicate genital status” (Bettcher, 416). Maura, with a feminine gender presentation and with “male” genitalia, proves resistant. While in inclusive trans communities “various features (such as possessing a penis) don’t count against a trans woman being a woman,” at the music festival Maura must experience the haunting effects of the societal construction of sex and gender. When Maura is waiting to use the Porta Potties at the festival, everyone in line begins to chant “Man on the land” when men employees come “to take the shit away.” Understandably, Maura is confused and asks about the
The definition of gender has become way more revolutionary and expressive compared to the twentieth century. Gender used to be similar to sex where someone would be identified as a male or female based on their biological genitals however, this day in age it is way more complex. Someone can be born a male but mentally they feel like a male. In “Sisterhood is complicated” Ruth Padawer explains the journey of different transgender males and the obstacles they face while attending Wellesley college. Wellesley is a women’s college that has been around for a very long time and is in the process of the battling the conflict of whether they should admit transgender students. Ariel Levy author of “Female Chauvinist Pigs” tackles the stereotypes and
The medicalization of transgender tendencies, under what was Gender Identity Disorder, was demoralizing to all transgender people. This resulted in a form of structured and institutionalized inequality that made an entire group of people internalize their problems, making them question not only their own identity, but also their sanity. Therefore, the removal of this disorder from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 2013 and the newest editions was important in that it shows society’s recognition and acceptance of the transgender
Being Trans gender is when a person’s self identity does not conform with their conventional sex. Talking about people identifying as a transgender individual is a difficult and very controversial topic to discuss. One author, Ruth Padawer has brought the topic to light, presenting us with examples from one of the most prestigious women’s colleges in the United States. In her piece, “Sisterhood is Complicated” from 2014, she ponders on the idea of if people who identify as transgender should be allowed in an all women’s college. In her piece, she states that “Some two dozen other matriculating students at Wellesley don’t identify as women. Of those, a half dozen or so were trans men, people born female who identified as men, some of whom had begun taking testosterone to change their bodies.” All of which made the switch to be transgender after being accepted into the school. So, in a college of all women, some are switching genders and it challenges the idea of an all women’s college. The piece continues to go through and tell us the story of three trans men and their experience at Wellesley college.
Part of the issue that transgenders face is living in a puritanical society that is ignorant, judgmental, and afraid of their sexual choices. This resulted in how her family ultimately related to her, like Jenner’s and the lecturer’s families did. My patient felt alone because she had little contact with her family, mainly her mother and sister. Her father had not talked to her in a couple of years because of his son being transgender. Perhaps, just the thought of his son wanting to be a woman threatened his sense of his own masculinity. The father may have dealt with his own conflicts by ignoring his
The stark expectations surrounding gender and sex of today’s society stem largely from a need to seek use of exclusionary language. Jacques Derrida, one of the many source contributors from which Judith Butler sought out to formulate Queer Theory as we know it today, pegged the idea that language is exclusionary in and of itself. His most commonly used example is that of “chair” versus “not chair”; how do you define a chair? If you were to look at a bench, a couch, a table, a swing, a bed- these things are “not chair”. Similar to this example is the situation that society forces every individual born into it to face- “male” and “not male”, or “female” and “not female”. Fausto-Sterling approaches this issue from a unique perspective that utilizes both her knowledge as biologist (looking towards the cellular basis of “sex”) paired with her self-proclaimed feminist perspective. Her perspective on a more sensible system of sex was initial...
To conclude, I chose this article as I found the discussion point interesting and wanted to bring to more people’s attention some of the underlying discrimination that is embedded in U.S. culture. Although transgender people are in the minority, they are no less than myself. I believe strongly that they deserve the same rights and opportunities that are presented to me daily. This article is relevant to the issues of Cultural Anthropology as it addresses questions surrounding gender stereotypes, gender discrimination, gender performance as well as relationship ties and kinship.
Whoosh! A phenomenal wave flew over my head, pulling me down with it. Next to me, to pull me back up was my brother, Matthew. Whoosh! Then came another wave, dragging me down again. My brother pulled me up once more. At that point I could see the haven-like shoreline becoming more distant; however, I was only ten at the time and did not understand why I was being pulled further away from it. I did not realize it at the moment, but a riptide had caught me.
In the western society, one of the core values is traditional gender roles. We expect everyone to identify as the sex they were born as, and accept the gender roles that are placed upon us, such as that men have to act in a masculine and dominate behavior and women have to be sensitive and lady like. Although, not only are these social expectations wrong, but they are also harmful to anyone who does not conform to a gender binary. Yet, many people are uninformed on what a non-gender conformist is, it is anyone who’s gender does not match the sex they were born as (ex: transgender man or woman, non-binary, gender queer). Also, any person whose identity matches the sex they were born as is known as cisgender. In consequence to this, many people who are not accepting of other genders than cisgender, will often show prejudice or discrimination to any gender nonconformist (transphobia). Not only is transphobia intolerant, but it often causes psychological damage and physical harm to many transgender people.
Mental health professional have tried to correct their ‘‘gender identity disorder’’ with brutal aversion therapies. Tran’s youth who came out often faced crises throughout their family and social systems. Once out, developing a sense of realness about their new gender became extremely important. An urgent need develops ‘‘to match one’s exterior with one’s interior’’ In ad...
In this article, Shaw and Lee describe how the action of labels on being “feminine” or “masculine” affect society. Shaw and Lee describe how gender is, “the social organization of sexual difference” (124). In biology gender is what sex a person is and in culture gender is how a person should act and portray themselves. They mention how gender is what we were taught to do in our daily lives from a young age so that it can become natural(Shaw, Lee 126). They speak on the process of gender socialization that teaches us how to act and think in accordance to what sex a person is. Shaw and Lee state that many people identify themselves as being transgendered, which involves a person, “resisting the social construction of gender into two distinct, categories, masculinity and femininity and working to break down these constraining and polarized categories” ( 129). They write about how in mainstream America masculinity and femininity are described with the masculine trait being the more dominant of the two. They define how this contributes to putting a higher value of one gender over the other gender called gender ranking (Shaw, Lee 137). They also speak about how in order for femininity to be viewed that other systems of inequality also need to be looked at first(Shaw,Lee 139).
on how trans phobia amongst the feminists population, can challenge the very beliefs and principles in
Gender Outlaws (Smith, 2010) breaks the laws of gender by defying gender normative rules that exclude trans, queer and other non-conforming gender expressions often oppressed by “gender-norming rules,” rules, “expected to observe” or be subject to ridicule and often times labeled as freak by those who consider themselves as normal (p. 28). A gender outlaw seeks to, redefine the notion of gender and are carving out spaces of their own” (p. 30).
Shakespeare explores the relationship between the theme of honour and conflict in his play Henry IV, Part 1. In the Elizabethan era, honour meant defending one's reputation against insult. This ‘masculine’ code of principles made honour highly valued by the male characters in the play. In the passage from Act V, scenes I, lines 60–101, Shakespeare uses the characters Worcester, King Henry, and Prince Hal to represent the ideas of honour and conflict. Worcester, one of the rebels, demands respect and honour from the king for the services he has done for him in the past.
Preves, Ph.D., Sharon E. "Intersex Narratives: Gender, Medicine, and Identity." Gender, Sex, and Sexuality. New York: Oxford University, 2009. 32-42. Print.
Gender Theory in Everyday Life”, the various definitions of “trans” depict that it is not possible to place one’s gender into only two categories. In the definitions of “trans”, transformation or transitioning is a common theme. Transforming into their true self or transitioning from one gender to the other. In the third definition, transgendered individuals are seen as transcending gender, thus making gender non-existent; not only to them, but when they view other individuals (Kessler and McKenna 1-2). The individuals in “When Girls Will Be Boys”, had to create a safe space, and find allies that would provide them with resources to help them in their progression as a trans individual. Trans people truly want to be integrated into society, but they are cognisant of the social standards in place that make them othered (Quart 49-50). In the instance of the varied definition of trans and the experiences of people in “When Girls Will Be Boys”, they are all going against the social norms and actively fighting to create a seat at the table. They refuse to to fit in the status quo of accepting that there are only two genders, and one must stay in either category. Instead, they challenge that thinking by being themself, thus having a hand in creating the new norm. These individuals are not passively combating the misconceptions, miseducation, and misinformation. They are actively creating a space for others and themself to grow in self and in