The idea that someone could identify with the gender not associated with their biological sex is extremely strange to me. Not only has the subject never been discussed in my conservative family, but society seems to marginalize it. I am not doubting the legitimacy of transsexual feelings, I am just very unfamiliar with the concept. I believe that many people feel this way, and that is why it is important to try to bridge the gap of misunderstanding.
The image above, a transgender symbol, argues that it is possible for someone to not be accurately defined by either the male or female gender. The third gender symbol is a combination of the other two symbols, which implies that there is a certain hybridization in some people. I have trouble understanding how this is possible. Ever since I can remember, I have always felt like a male and have never had any doubts about my sexual identity. If I had ever had any confusion or doubts when I was young, those would have been quickly subdued by my three older brothers. Society does an excellent job of making sure that people conform to social norms, one of which is accepting the gender of one's biological sex. Without this pressure, would I have experienced some ambiguity about my gender? I guess I will never know.
The logical part of me wants to explain this issue scientifically. "Maybe people identify with the opposite gender because they have a hormonal disorder" is what I tell myself. So maybe biological women feel like men because they have an unnaturally high amount of testosterone. I think this explanation oversimplifies the issue. I now realize that gender is a social construction, and that there is no intrinsic sense of being male or female. We learn how to be a man or a woman by observation. Therefore, maybe transsexual people simply don't follow the cues that society gives about how to properly act like a man or a woman. I assume that family, social surroundings, and mental makeup all play a big role in defining one's sexual identity, so chalking it all up to hormonal differences is very irresponsible.
Since I can remember, I have always thought that transsexual people has something "wrong" with them. However, now that I look at the issue more closely, maybe those of us that blindly accept our genders based on what society tells us are the ones that have a problem. We have allowed social customs to tell us how to act and how to live our lives. There is something very wrong there. Tolerance and acceptance of transsexual people are obvious necessities, but appreciation of them can help teach valuable lessons about independence and free thinking.
This goes back to the whole nature versus nurture debate. What society tells us to be is definitely not the only thing that plays a role in the gender we are. The John/Joan study shows that genetics do play a role in deciding what gender we associate with, it's not all our environment. John lost his penis in a surgical accident, so his parents decided the best thing to do would be to raise him as a girl. They gave him hormone treatments, but deep down Joan always felt as if she should have been a boy. Later, the parents finally told him of the accident and he immediately switched to the lifestyle of a male. Unfortunately this still was not enough and he committed suicide.
ReplyDeleteI think this is an excellent comparison to the less obvious social constructions in our world. This is a great example of how the influences of our family and friends can affect the way that we think or do something; we might proceed with the actions without thinking twice about what we are doing and sometimes these influences will help us realize that something is different about us. Just as Nicole mentioned, the social construction was strong, but John did not feel right which helped him lead to his real gender answer. I believe that social constructions are most valuable when we know they are present.
ReplyDeleteGender proves itself to be one of the most confusing social constructions in modern society, typically because it is presumed to be natural. It is sad however to see society so unwilling to incorporate individuals who had no control over their biological self(intersex) or even just choosing to live their lives the way they do. We create an environment that labels and stigmatizes people as abnormal or pathological. For some unfortunate individuals the label of insanity becomes reality which in turn becomes suicide.
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