Beyond Binary - Emma Wade



Beyond BinaryEmma N. WadeGlobal Studies and World Languages AcademyAbstract Gender has always interested me. I’ve always wanted to know who I really am, and because of that this paper will be discussing who or what actually decides gender and sex. Their differences and similarities. The research consists of historical, medicinal, biological, and original data to compose the conclusion that gender is completely separate from sex, however the culture and society an individual resides in decides what gender is.Beyond Binary One does not simply wake up and decide that they’ve become a boy or girl, however, as human beings, each individual differs from the other. The two chemicals that dictate masculinity from femininity will also vary amongst individuals. These two chemicals: estrogen and testosterone, are two of the biggest influences on one’s thoughts, behaviors, and actions. One’s expression, romantic interest, and Gender identity are almost defined by human hormones. The reason that it doesn’t decide entirely is because there are other influences on Gender identity: Science, Society, and one’s life, all ingredients add into one’s perception of Gender and identity. These “ingredients”, as many as there are, pose the question: Who or what decides gender? The terms we know today as “transgendered”, “genderqueer”, “non-binary”, are said to be fabricated recently, and that those who represent these identities are “making it up”. And they are; These terms, were created in the past few decades, in fact according to the British based news site, the Independent, it was only recently that the Oxford dictionary added a gender neutral honorific (Ms., Mrs., Mr., and now Mx.). However contrary to popular belief, the existence of these “other genders”, have always existed throughout history. Other genders have only recently been the talk of the town, even though historically have always been present. It is only now that we have the medicine and technology to have the insight that exists today. Unfortunately when studying gender and identity by oneself rather than learning or taking classes, the data retrieved tends to be very qualitative. Not much numerical data or documentation, most of the data found here specifically was an attempt to focus on that which is quantitative so that it proves overall more analytical than opinionated.Limitations and methodology of gender research Methodically researching Gender has become tedious, but rewarding; dictionaries, Doctors journals, blog spots, and foreign languages have proven a great effort to prove the aforementioned point. Too many blog posts from the internet and these claims will seem outrageous. To help give more numerical data there was original research gathered for this paper. In the original research a survey was posted on survey monkey with 3 simple questions. The goal was that; simple, quick, easy to answer questions, so a variety of individuals could respond and have it not consume valuable time. If the survey was too long or complex, some may not be able to answer the desired questions. After a matter of 3 weeks the survey had gotten 100 plus responses. The data itself became slightly bias to those who are gender-queer, after posting it to a blog for publicity. For it Is said birds of a feather flock together, but these results even if skewed will still prove important in the existence of those who are gender queer and that socially, as a group, are still not accepted.Literature ReviewLauren Porosoff, a primary and secondary school teacher, found on Rethinking , taught A Midsummer night’s dream to her English class. After one student asked her if they were going to do more with the classic than just dissect or translate it, Porosoff decided to go in a different direction. She began enlightening the kids of gender diversity and sexual orientation through the story’s characters. Porosoff broke the students into four groups and assigned the different characters to each group then asked them to describe those roles using adjectives. The outcomes were varied, but made her teaching very blatant. Many pupils gave words with negative stigmas attached to them to describe femininity such as, desperate, whiny, or bossy. While on the other side of the continuum described masculinity with positive words like, strong, brave, and persistent. Even after delving into the stigmas of the traits of Masculine Versus feminine traits, the kids were beginning to think with a more open mind, placing certain characters on different sides of the spectrum. Even though Puck was male they placed him more toward the middle, closer to the feminine side of the spectrum, recognizing that as people, each being different, can vary regardless of sex. Several students came out of this class knowing stigmatized terms and societal views of the genders and sexes that are forced upon labels of society. The lesson that came out of this article, is that as a society, people can change stigmas, and definitions. Porosoff displayed that for everyone to see. Those students came out of that class knowing more than most did about gender diversity. This lesson can and should be learned from and should be introduced into newer classes and schools.Societal definition of gender Gender itself is proven to be a social construct built by the reflected society. An example would be gender roles, which are also fabricated from the society in which they derive from; the best example would be the land of liberty and freedom, the good old USA. In America women and men still have gender roles. Women are called bossy, rude, “a bitch”, when they have a role of power. For men they are considered, powerful, intelligent, and bold. These gender roles exist today for a specific reason: the society America was built upon. Specifically focusing on the 13 colonies, remember the puritans? Women being only house keepers, child caretakers, and if a woman was raped she was the Adulterer, not the man. This was one of the few religions that America was built on, establishing the country’s beliefs centuries before women get voting rights, rights to work, and rights to property after divorce. Even Masculinity has stigmatisms held to it to this day such as, being a man means protecting the woman, skirts and dresses aren’t meant for boys, and to be tough and physically fit. Both genders hold stigmatisms from the early colonies that began America. And these beliefs have carried on today even if it is harder to realize. To play devil’s advocate, there are certain traits that contribute to a man being male and a woman being female. Women naturally are supposed to have more estrogen than testosterone, making women, by nature, more emotional, empathic, and nurturing. Same goes for men; naturally more testosterone should be present to be making the male able to retain more muscle, angrier, and more confidant. The hormonal factors do exist so that there are differences in men and women however not everyone is born with the “perfect” amount of each. It is simply how humans evolved. Sheri Berenbaum, psychologist at Pennsylvania State University said: “Genetic and hormonal factors are just two of the many influences on gender identity and gender-typical behavior--social influences are certainly very important as well…And all of these factors seem to interact throughout a child's development." The idea of gender being a social construct is, well, ‘controversial’, more or less. Many individuals of this day and age will say there are boys, and girl; boys like monster trucks, action figures, and tough toys. While contrary to that girls like pink purses, make up, and frilly dresses. These are not simply just gender roles imposed on by stereotyping in the media and marketing, but these stereotypes also exclude those that are *non-binary (outside of the Male/Female and vice versa) or Trans. There is indeed a binary, but similar to sexuality, this country was founded on a strict two sided belief: black-white, Democrat-Republican, Girl-boy. The idea that everything is “black or white” has run through the veins of America throughout its’ history, never recognizing the “grey” areas (i.e. being mixed, independent party, intersex…). Society’s morals and ethics can be analyzed many ways, in fact one of the best ways to analyze Society’s beliefs, especially when trying to deconstruct gender roles and its’ social definition, is through advertisement. AKA, how one is to spend their money.What’s on TV? The media has become an infinite loop between itself and Society. The culture of a society determines the media’s perception and beliefs, however it also comes back around creating a cycle; the media impacts or represent society’s values. Hence when tackling a topic such as gender’s role in society it can be a technical and objective area of study. For instance when watching TV or listening to the radio, one could pick out several examples of girls and boys. Nothing else, just girls and boys. This is also a factor of why homosexuality hasn’t become fully acceptable, if one thinks about it, how many homosexual couples are written, mentioned, shown, in a TV show as a “norm”, without their character’s entire existence being written around this one trait. The same goes for identity and gender. Those who aren’t under the binary (I.e. boy/girl, Black/white, straight/gay) are erased from existence in the media’s views. Children grow up watching TV shows which shapes their perception of the world.The Market Marketing truly enforces these ideas of genders and their roles. There is a reason one will see sleep, sexual, and romantic enhancement drugs at night correct? Well similarly to gender based products and how they’re shown. Why is it that women are typically more self-conscious than men? It isn’t because of the previously mention hormonal balance between males and females. It’s because of marketing. Make up is almost never sold towards men. Over time this created the stigma that men are “too masculine” for make-up. Women are told in commercials they need this product because it’ll make them look beautiful, that they aren’t beautiful without it. Women are also told to shop more and spend more, so products for women typically cost more. For men products like, deodorant, cologne, and shampoo is sold to them with advertisements claiming “they’ll get all the ladies if they use this product”. Slowly over time concepts given by these advertisements have morphed these ideas of society like, “men can’t wear dresses”, “beauty is everything”, and “this is what makes you a woman/man”. Marketing being as sexist as it is, is the leading antagonist against Gender diversity and equality. Because advertisements like these make them more money. And this idea that marketing impacts the media proves the conclusion that gender is built through society. If more clothing stores began advertising gender neutral clothes and depicted each sex wearing them it’s more likely to create a less gender bias society and a more open minded society. The values of the population shape media and marketing but those who rule over those branches are the ones who impact the population.Culture, history, and gender Jacob Sloan, the author of the article: third, forth, and fifth genders in cultures around the world, discusses ancient cultures that included non-binary genders. He gave a few examples making clear points such as he said here: “Long before Cook’s arrival in Hawaii, a multiple gender tradition existed among the Kanaka Maoli indigenous society. The mahu could be biological males or females inhabiting a gender role somewhere between or encompassing both the masculine and feminine. Their social role is sacred as educators and promulgators of ancient traditions and rituals.” Another ancient culture mentioned happened to be a more well-known culture, The Incas. Before being colonized, the Incas worshipped a god named chuqui chinchay, a dual-gendered god. This god had shamans that performed rituals, whom of which displayed themselves androgynously to express “a visible sign of a third space that negotiated between the masculine and the feminine, the present and the past, the living and the dead.” Meaning neither man nor woman, gender neutral, the “grey” area. Many factors of androgyny go unnoticed in the media and history, like the previously mentioned Incans go ignored and erased from school teachings of their culture altogether. And it is not the culture itself but this idea of androgyny goes ignored in the media. For instance one nugget of information some Christians may not necessarily know or purposefully ignore is the fact that in the bible it is stated that angels are gender neutral: neither man nor woman, however all angels use masculine pronouns. (Matt. 22: 30). Historically other gendered beings have existed in the past, it is only recently that these terms and revelations come “new” to society. Why does on think that is? All these cultures were indigenous peoples to an area that was colonized. Transgenderism, homosexuality, and “queer” identities have existed throughout history. Stated by Mercedes Allen’s article Transgender history: Trans expression in ancient times“History is written by the victors. Unfortunately, this tends to mean that a lot of truth gets lost over the eons…Such is the case with most things transgender or homosexual, which at one time were seen to be rooted in similar human need.”-Article by Mercedes Allen on the Bilerico Project Another example is from the World Health Organization, as they describe The Berdache (of North America), the fa’afafine (Samoan for “the way of a woman” in the pacific), and the kathoey (Thailand); whom of which are all examples of differing gender categories contrasting to those cultures of the west. Sex Development and Gender Speaking socially, many such as Amber Pawlik, Author of Objectivist Sexuality: an outline for happily ever after, describes there being only male or female, but the definition of being a woman or man is one who embraces their Femininity/masculinity. But if one were to come from the scientific, biological, side then one would assume that their answer would parallel that of Pawlik’s. There only exists male and female; well in fact many doctors and researchers disagree. The World Health Organization supports the idea of gender being a socially developed construct, (not biological) and that sex is completely separate, stating that the differences between men and women result from two processes: sex determination and sex differentiation. Sex determination is the biological process of whether the male or female sexual pathway will be followed. Sex differentiation is the development of the given sex. These processes follow genetically hierarchical steps, the aforementioned article blazons that more than 95% of the Y chromosome is specific to males. This being given, later in life one male would develop the second sex traits: development of testes, Gonads, and the male phenotype. Those who have the Y chromosome are phenotypically male. So this being said, one could be born female, but if both parents had possessed four X chromosomes and a Y, or pieces of, the Girl given birth is more likely to act/possess male typical traits due to more testosterone and the trait of carrying the Y chromosome (I.E. enlarged labia, higher muscle retention, masculine body structure). Same goes for Males lacking in the Y chromosome, one’s body would produce less testosterone usually resulting in, smaller Penis, feminine body structure, and higher emotional levels. “…[but] in the rare cases where they do not [have the correct X & Y chromosomes], when prenatal development goes awry and genetic boys are born looking more like girls or vice versa, physicians and parents generally assign the newborn a sex. Most often the child becomes female, because female genitals are easier to construct, says William G. Reiner, MD, a child psychiatrist and urologist at the University of Oklahoma health services center.” This quote, is validation of ‘intersexism’, its existence. Although it mentions “rare cases”, after Sex differentiation being explained let’s delve deeper into this idea of intersex. So now it has been stated that sex is determined by chromosomes and genetics, and being humans, one can say that every baby birthed isn’t the same, and that these processes do go awry occasionally. This being said, intersex isn’t one simple case of an “inebtweener”, it is describe as by the Intersex Society of North America as: “a general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male”. As intersexism exists in different forms, the answer of “what counts?” varies and there is no determined or set form. One could counter argue with, “well if everyone is a mix of one another than wouldn’t that make everyone intersex”? This question though can be answered by science yet again, because being intersex is leaning toward having the presence of both (secondary) sex traits and hormone levels. For a personal reference my best friend has the normal testosterone level of a boy, whom of which, is biologically female. However they could be considered intersex due to their hormones and their secondary Sex traits they show which develop after puberty. Biologically Females are supposed to have significantly less amount of testosterone than estrogen, but the aforementioned friend of mine has almost equal (and extremely high) amounts of both hormones. The existence of intersexism does not necessarily say who decides gender, but this little science lesson here determines how an individual would behave or certain mixed physical and psychological traits one may notice.Language and Gender On a similar side of the analyst rather than the innovator, let’s talk about Language. How does Language fit into gender? Well first off the Dictionary definition as a noun is told as: “the state of being male or female (used in reference culturally or social differences rather than biological ones).” Even the dictionary describes gender being a “state of”, rather than what sex traits or what body parts you have. It even says in reference to the culture or society. Another point in the “society-decides-gender” score. A similar note would be that in foreign languages aside from English, many have different genders for their articles. I take Russian and German, and have taken pieces of French, Spanish, and Latin, and each one of them have different gender categories for their words. In German there are three articles and four categories; Feminine (Die), masculine (Der), neuter (Das), and plural (Die). Now 3 of these articles are actual grammatical genders in German, plural is simply… well plural: more than one of the subject. So that, in the German Language means there are 3 genders. Now English we do not have a Neutral article which may add to one reason of androgyny or Agenderism being less accepted and developed in the USA especially (take into consideration that American English has deviated to a completely different language than British English). Now just because these languages have similar set ups of, Feminine, masculine, and neuter does not mean they accept the idea of different genders; however one must consider that the country origins of these languages are much older than the American English and the country itself. However many countries are also new to this idea of a spectrum and separation of gender and sex, almost all of the aforementioned languages derive from Latin, and those times of this language was when such ideas were accepted. Similar time periods to the cultures mentioned in the Historical referencing paragraphs. These languages, German, Spanish, English, and vice versa, were all developed from one root language, Latin. Whom of which were accepting of male homosexuality, and in their beliefs had many non-Binary gods, deities, and stories with characters of that area. Along with many other cultures of those time periods before mass colonization from the Europeans.Original Research and Conclusion Aside from Grammar and language, psychology could be another great science to back up this point and also counter argue. For if one believes that being a woman means having ovaries then said individual will believe it unless confronted with new information. One will believe what society tells it. Hence why in the United States it is considered Taboo for Men to wear makeup, because it is defined by being a ‘womanly’ thing to do. Because of these stigmas created by society and its’ markets, many problems result from this. Almost never has society advocated being androgynous or being in-between a boy or a girl. Society creates this standard for what makes a man, and what makes a woman. And sadly due to overt sexualization of the human body, human anatomy plays a part in these social definitions of gender. Even if biology, grammar, and history say otherwise, the culture and society in which an individual lives decides who or what “gender” is. Times are progressing and now we as a race are seeing people continue to progress also. Specifically in America and developed countries contain a continually growing population of the Queer community (both of sexual and gender orientation). And the reason is because times are changing and soon we may have acceptance of a variety of labels and ways to define one’s self. Imagine being at an ice cream bar with toppings. Rather than just being vanilla or strawberry, one may say they’re vanilla but want the chocolate sprinkles and strawberries on top. Or rather consist of a vanilla-strawberry swirl with no toppings. Soon this may be an option for society. But individuals can’t decide who is and isn’t marginalized, society decides. And right now anyone outside of the binary are told they are different and said to be “fake”, “a special snowflake”, and vice versa. Many deny the existence of these “other genders”, however the original research done for this research paper would say otherwise. That these gender roles place among society aren’t as strong as we think and do not define every man and every woman by the assigned role. For this original research a survey was posted on survey monkey, a poll creating website, asking 3 questions. “What is your sex?” “How would you rate these attributes [expression, romantic/sexual preference to…]?” “And what is your gender identity?” The first question was a multiple choice question. The second one asked how to rate your attributes on a scale of 0-5, zero being none whatsoever and 5 being a lot, and this scale was used in reference to Romantic and sexual interest, and expression to Feminine, masculine, and androgynous traits. The results were varying but fruitful. Of the three sexes there were 5 Intersex individuals, 14 males, and a whopping 81, females. And the circle chart is severely unbalanced one could imagine, however even though the majority were female the results for attraction and expression were completely equal. Each category: feminine, masculine, and androgynous, as held 33% of the graphs, tying them. What does this say? Even though those who are male and intersex do not match up to the females, it still shows that as humans, we all are different, and perhaps accepts feminine and masculine traits, even embrace them. Those who were male that took the survey did answer in a surprising manner, such as showing how those respondents themselves aren’t resentful of expressing their gender through femininity or androgyny.Society is the main defining factor of one’s Gender. It’s been stated that there are other factors than just what society tells you, however these other factors; biology, grammar, media, marketing, and vice versa are all influences yes, play a role in one’s behavior an ability and desire to express who they are, but it is truly the society which said individual resides that will decide whether having other genders is acceptable. And though for some it is a new concept, just remember at some point homosexuality was the same way [taboo] until a man known as Alfred kinsey began researching male sexual behaviors. His Research ran into more knowledge of human sexuality than anyone before. Although gender and sexual preference are totally separate, In Kinsey’s book, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male , he makes a huge statement that not only resulted in the Kinsey Sex scale, but has an impact even today in gender studies, women’s studies, and psychology, even today.Kinsey states: “Males do not represent two discrete populations, heterosexual and homosexual. The world is not to be divided into sheep and goats…The living world is a continuum in each and every one of its aspects." This simple statement could be used to change this societal set up of Gender being binary, or every controversial topic being black or white. “The living world is a continuum in each and every one of its aspects.” This is what I’ve been trying to explain the entire article. As humans we are not apples vs. pears, we are apples, pears, and everything in-between and around! So yes, society and culture does determine gender, however the people control culture, society, media, and its’ development. The more these ideas become accepted the more likely it is that our world can truly go beyond just the binary.Citations"A Midsummer Night’s Gender Diversity." A Midsummer Night’s Gender Diversity. Lauren Porosoff, 1 Nov. 2015. Web. 16 Dec. 2015."Gender Bender." American Psychology Association. Sadie F. Dingfelder, 1 Apr. 2004. Web. 16 Dec. 2015."Gender and Genetics."?WHO. World Health Organization. Web. 16 Dec. 2015."History of Transgenderism - Part 2 (1900 - 1969) (Photos)." . Tammy Reed, 23 Feb. 2013. Web. 16 Dec. 2015."SEX EXPERIMENTS OF ALFRED KINSEY." SEX EXPERIMENTS OF ALFRED KINSEY. Jim Kieth. Web. 16 Dec. 2015."The Roots of Gender: Defining Femininity and Masculinity." The Roots of Gender: Defining Femininity and Masculinity. Amber Pawlik, 2010. Web. 16 Dec. 2015."Third, Fourth, and Fifth Genders in Cultures around the World - Disinformation." Disinformation. Jacob Sloan, 19 Mar. 2013. Web. 16 Dec. 2015."This Microbe Isn't Male or Female, It Has Seven Options to Choose between." Smithsonian. Colin Shultz, 29 Mar. 2013. Web. 16 Dec. 2015."Transgender History: Trans Expression in Ancient Times." Bilerico Project RSS. Mercedes Allen, 12 Feb. 2008. Web. 16 Dec. 2015."What Is Intersex?" What Is Intersex? Intersex Society of North America. Web. 16 Dec. 2015. ................
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