Comments on: trans terminology

By: queen emily

queen emily — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 06:26:30 +0000

I think “genderqueer” is becoming more popular as “third category.” I like it because it shows the affinity with other queers, and it’s loose enough to include a multiplicity of gendered positions (surgery? hormones? none?)..

And yeah, I use both trans and genderqueer to describe myself.

By: Moira

Moira — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 02:24:16 +0000

I’ve always liked ‘trans’ as a short form of transgressive rather than/simultaneous with the through/across/between meanings of the trans- prefix. It’s a personal sort of definition, but what the hell.

By: nexy

nexy — Thu, 24 May 2007 19:26:08 +0000

the problem is, when sex is framed as a binary, the stereotypes which you outline in your numbered list are supported and perpetuated. humans tend to see binary patterns, even if the binary is false. and while for reproductive sex, there is, in fact, a binary - either you produce eggs or sperm, and you need one of each to reproduce - many humans cannot reproduce.*

i agree that the items in your list are a problem, but i think it would be more difficult to eliminate the problems associated with binary thinking in regard to sex, than simply eliminating gender as a binary.

*though there is progress in scientific research that suggests the whole “you need a sperm and egg to make a baby” thing may no longer be true either.

By: eastsidekate

eastsidekate — Thu, 24 May 2007 19:11:12 +0000

At the risk of sticking out my neck, I don’t see the problem with the existence of some sort of binary. Most people see themselves as either men or women and most people have sets of character traits that are roughly defined as masculine or feminine.

IMO, the problem is not with acknowledging a binary, but rather with:
1) Ignoring the massive variation around the two poles
2) Insisting that all traits are masculine or feminine, and not simply human
3) Insisting that all masculine traits are the “opposite” of feminine traits
4) Insisting that the natural order of things is for all people to have bodies that are “perfectly” male or female, and for all persons to possess character traits that correspond to their sexed-bodies.