No, that's definitely not the issue. The problem isn't in the identities themselves, but in how some people execute them.
It's kind of like religion: the problem isn't in how someone believes or prays, but in religious practices that potentially affect other people. Once the practice of one's given religion (or identity) goes beyond oneself, it ceases to be about one's personal freedom and rights, and is instead about the freedom and rights of others.
Let me see if I can explain this without getting too wordy!
The two key pitfalls that often come with executions of strong gender identity:
1. The implication that gender is a binary, that it's indelibly linked with biology, or that it's in any way consistent historically or cross-culturally. In short: essentializing and/or mandating rigid ideals of butch and femme (usually for non-trans people, but trans people often get caught up in this, too; for instance, the insistence that FTMs are all supposed to be butch.)
2. The support of institutions and ideals that further the oppression of women and trans folks.
Let me do this as a couple of examples, which I hope make sense!
1. Christie is a cisgendered woman who feels very inclined toward biological motherhood. Because this feeling is so strong for her, and because of generations of cultural conditioning that have come before her, she has come to believe that biological motherhood is natural for all women, and that biological mothers are the ones who are naturally best suited for parenting.
Thus, when Christie talks about parenting, she talks about it exclusively in terms of biological motherhood. She teases her husband about "babysitting" his own children, admonishes other women for choosing career over family, insists that hardcore attachment parenting (which requires stay-at-home biological mothers) is the only way to do it, etc.
Christie's expression of her own interests isn't the issue. What's at issue is her insistence that her interests are universal, because that contributes to a culture in which people who don't fit her ideals of gender are considered lesser parents, and are frequently discriminated against: men and male-identified parents, people who choose daycare, adoptive parents (and their children), trans parents, women who can't do natural childbirth or breastfeed, etc. All of these people get the short end of the parenting stick--often in very damaging ways. And that keeps happening because of people like Christie who believe that birthparenting is an essential part of womanhood.
2. Sandy is a cisgendered, femme-identified middle-class white woman who lives in a liberal region. Because she enjoys wearing makeup, she buys products from large cosmetics companies that have historically promoted unreasonable beauty ideals for women--using heavily altered photos in their ads, directly or indirectly implying that women who don't use their products are inferior, etc.
Because Sandy is privileged enough to live in a subculture in which she is allowed not to wear makeup if she chooses, she doesn't understand that she's furthering the oppression of other women by patronizing those companies. She knows she has a choice, and incorrectly assumes that every other woman does, too. She doesn't understand that the sexist advertising of the company she's supporting is contributing to a culture in which women without her privileges are punished if they don't fit the ideals set by those ads.
Does that make sense at all? In short, it's not about how Christie and Sandy identify, or about the things they enjoy doing. It's about the specific choices they make in executing their gender identity, and how some of those choices make it hard for non-cisgendered people to get by.
I don't want to deny Christie the right to bear and breastfeed her children. I only want to ensure the right of others not to do so. I don't want to deny Sandy the right to wear makeup. I only want to ensure the right of other women not to.
Gender is a very personal thing, but it's also political. And while it remains so, it's important that people are mindful of the gender-related choices they make, and choose to act in a way that helps ensure the rights of others.
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momijizukamori
no subject
Date: 2012-07-02 11:44 pm (UTC)It's kind of like religion: the problem isn't in how someone believes or prays, but in religious practices that potentially affect other people. Once the practice of one's given religion (or identity) goes beyond oneself, it ceases to be about one's personal freedom and rights, and is instead about the freedom and rights of others.
Let me see if I can explain this without getting too wordy!
The two key pitfalls that often come with executions of strong gender identity:
1. The implication that gender is a binary, that it's indelibly linked with biology, or that it's in any way consistent historically or cross-culturally. In short: essentializing and/or mandating rigid ideals of butch and femme (usually for non-trans people, but trans people often get caught up in this, too; for instance, the insistence that FTMs are all supposed to be butch.)
2. The support of institutions and ideals that further the oppression of women and trans folks.
Let me do this as a couple of examples, which I hope make sense!
1. Christie is a cisgendered woman who feels very inclined toward biological motherhood. Because this feeling is so strong for her, and because of generations of cultural conditioning that have come before her, she has come to believe that biological motherhood is natural for all women, and that biological mothers are the ones who are naturally best suited for parenting.
Thus, when Christie talks about parenting, she talks about it exclusively in terms of biological motherhood. She teases her husband about "babysitting" his own children, admonishes other women for choosing career over family, insists that hardcore attachment parenting (which requires stay-at-home biological mothers) is the only way to do it, etc.
Christie's expression of her own interests isn't the issue. What's at issue is her insistence that her interests are universal, because that contributes to a culture in which people who don't fit her ideals of gender are considered lesser parents, and are frequently discriminated against: men and male-identified parents, people who choose daycare, adoptive parents (and their children), trans parents, women who can't do natural childbirth or breastfeed, etc. All of these people get the short end of the parenting stick--often in very damaging ways. And that keeps happening because of people like Christie who believe that birthparenting is an essential part of womanhood.
2. Sandy is a cisgendered, femme-identified middle-class white woman who lives in a liberal region. Because she enjoys wearing makeup, she buys products from large cosmetics companies that have historically promoted unreasonable beauty ideals for women--using heavily altered photos in their ads, directly or indirectly implying that women who don't use their products are inferior, etc.
Because Sandy is privileged enough to live in a subculture in which she is allowed not to wear makeup if she chooses, she doesn't understand that she's furthering the oppression of other women by patronizing those companies. She knows she has a choice, and incorrectly assumes that every other woman does, too. She doesn't understand that the sexist advertising of the company she's supporting is contributing to a culture in which women without her privileges are punished if they don't fit the ideals set by those ads.
Does that make sense at all? In short, it's not about how Christie and Sandy identify, or about the things they enjoy doing. It's about the specific choices they make in executing their gender identity, and how some of those choices make it hard for non-cisgendered people to get by.
I don't want to deny Christie the right to bear and breastfeed her children. I only want to ensure the right of others not to do so. I don't want to deny Sandy the right to wear makeup. I only want to ensure the right of other women not to.
Gender is a very personal thing, but it's also political. And while it remains so, it's important that people are mindful of the gender-related choices they make, and choose to act in a way that helps ensure the rights of others.