and thriving, haven’t we all heard “it’s a guy thing” or “it’s a girl thing” one time in our lives? And do we not all have “girlfriends” or “boys” that in fact understand us better than those of the opposite gender? Because of this fact it is undeniable that there is a comfort to be said when we are able to relate to the world around us with those that are the same gender. However when we speak of gender do we truly believe there are only two genders possible for an individual? Is this a feasible way to at the world around us, or in fact is it only a convenient way to see the world? Through this article I intend to give evidence that in fact gender like issues of sex and race, should be measured on a continuum. I will do this by examining the world views of gender, and the Early theories of anatomy as presented by Laqueur emphasized a strong urge for the ideology that in fact we were all one sex. The difference being that, female structures were placed internally and male structures externally. The idea of this was in fact so evident that early theorists named female structures as feminized masculine structures. It was Bartholin who first noted “We must not, think with Galen…and others that these female genital parts differ from those of Men only in Situation.”(Laqueur 92) Bartholin acknowledges here that females are in fact a distinct and separate entity and do in fact deserve to be thought so as rather than “an imperfect man”. This was an important step in assigning freedom and status for both sexes, however. With the discovery, and acceptance of the idea of the individual sexes, the relationship binding sex and gender was also created. subjectivity of masculinity and femininity in a culture. This is the same rigid lines we experience in our modern day American culture. Seeing that along with there being two sexes (male and female), there must be two genders as well (male and female), and the two must be congruent.
While we in the American culture have traditionally seen this notion of sex and gender saturating our everyday lives. Other cultures have seen the idea of gender as a continuum of masculine and feminine. For example the two spirits found
in many Native American cultures, these individuals embodied both male and feminine qualities. Individuals embodying these qualities would often perform a multitude of tasks, both masculine and feminine in nature. Two spirits were also used to communicate between both men and women as they had the unique perspective of both. Two spirited individuals were not strictly scene as male or female, but rather something in between, their own unique gender. Similar to the Native American two-spirit, we see in Indian culture by existence of the Hijra and the Urdu. The Hijra and Urdu are groups that act as yet another gender in the Indian culture that are neither male nor female.
Individuals identifying as Hijra or Urdu, are known to overly emphasis and mock masculinity and femininity by wearing makeup and dressing as the opposing sex. Unlike Native American culture however, Hijra are viewed as a lower part of society, however this is not due to their gender. In fact, the Hijra are looked down upon because of the professions most common among their gender such as, prostitution, thievery and other undesirable professions. However, what Native American and Indian culture have in common is the fact that they in fact view and acknowledge gender as being tied to a person rather than one’s biological sex. Additionally these cultures were very progressive in viewing gender as a continuum of masculinity and femininity. As our culture continues to grow and develop we too are beginning to recognize and redefine what it means to be masculine and feminine. Comparing our notions of the perfect housewife, and mother to today’s modern working mom is indeed a great example of this. Before World War II this would have been seen as unthinkable and inapplicable to the female gender role. However after the war, and with the empowerment of women, the modern concept of femininity has little to nothing to do with staying home. Additionally the rise of the “metro-sexual” has help redefined masculinity, and it’s role in the male gender. The old notion of women being pampered and prim has been slowly taking hold in the male gender as well giving rise to rigorous male grooming and personal hygiene habits. While these are improvements to the gender role, making masculinity and femininity more fluid, we as a society are still rigid in the idea that there are two and only two genders.
The idea that Men are in fact from Mars, and Women are from Venus is flawed. However we as a people help enforce this idea in our children, in our society and in ourselves out of fear. The idea of gender and position in society not being predetermined is a frightening concept. Therefore, we as a society have implemented and decided to continue to implement our imposed notion of gender, while broadening the idea of what it means to be masculine and feminine. Eventually we like other cultures may realize that in fact Men and Women are both from Earth, and therefore not as different as we’d like to think.
Works Cited
Andrew Calimach, World History of Male Love, "Homosexual Traditions", The Two-Spirit Traditon, 2000
Charles Havilland BBC correspondent, Auruvani- A day in the sun. Villupuram, south India, April 27, 2003.
Thomas Laquer. " Making Sex Body From the greeks to Frued" Harvard University Press. 1990.
Picture Citations:
Two spirits
http://www.transpiritual.com/images/crow-two-spirits.jpg
Hijras
http://www.transpiritual.com/images/hijra2.jpg
Cartoon:
http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/hsc1036l.jpg
No comments:
Post a Comment