Defaults show dominance, leaving those outside the default as outsiders. This is why there's a movement to erase those defaults, as being specific, while also increasing the amount of information in the system, also lowers the "otherness" quotient for those who are outside the default group. It came from an outgrowth of the equal rights and feminism movements. Each person has theree elements in their sexual matrix. Biological gender, formerly thought to be a polarity, deals with the biology. Sexual preference deals with attraction, and we've known for a long time now that it's a pure spectrum, with few people sharing a place on it. Gender identity is the third element, and it too is spectral in nature, though our society thinks about it as another polarity. In fact society has approached all three as polarities in the general population until recently, and many still do. But this type of three-pole approach explains things like MTF lesbians. There's a very good article out there titled "What's in Your Backpack?" (Lucy, it's on the server, ask me for the location if you're interested) that deals with a lot of this and how what's called "the mark of the plural" works. This is a concept that we stereotype anyone in the "other" category. Calling yourself Cisgendered is a sign of respect for transgendered folks. As a society we don't tend to do this well in the general population, or we'd refer to "whites" as European-Americans. (I sometimes refer to myself, even though I detest labels, as German/Irish-American, Northern European American, or Texan-American because my family has been here for at least six generations) I've said this before -- if you can't grok being gender incoherent, (the current term for this condition in the DSM-V released about a year ago) then I thank the gods for your lack of connection with this feeling. This is an experiental thing, and to understand it is to have it, much like understanding what it means to be pregnant or to go through a life-threatening encounter. For those who don't get the Gender Queer experience Kate Bornstein's book "Gender Outlaws", the follow-up to her "Gender Outlaw" book, has a lot of useful information in it, especially anecdotal accounts from folks who have no desire to conform to gender polarities. The Androgyny RAQ on the web also can provide some useful information on those who choose the middle path in gender expression, an area we lack effective pronouns for. (Zie and Hir are cumbersome) I'm living this, and I've spent a lot of time learning the theories, in's, and outs of it, so feel free to ask. (Not only Lucy, but others too -- I live to increase understanding for folks)
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timeasmymeasure
The Mark of the Plural
Date: 2014-02-24 02:00 pm (UTC)Each person has theree elements in their sexual matrix. Biological gender, formerly thought to be a polarity, deals with the biology. Sexual preference deals with attraction, and we've known for a long time now that it's a pure spectrum, with few people sharing a place on it. Gender identity is the third element, and it too is spectral in nature, though our society thinks about it as another polarity. In fact society has approached all three as polarities in the general population until recently, and many still do. But this type of three-pole approach explains things like MTF lesbians.
There's a very good article out there titled "What's in Your Backpack?" (Lucy, it's on the server, ask me for the location if you're interested) that deals with a lot of this and how what's called "the mark of the plural" works. This is a concept that we stereotype anyone in the "other" category.
Calling yourself Cisgendered is a sign of respect for transgendered folks. As a society we don't tend to do this well in the general population, or we'd refer to "whites" as European-Americans. (I sometimes refer to myself, even though I detest labels, as German/Irish-American, Northern European American, or Texan-American because my family has been here for at least six generations)
I've said this before -- if you can't grok being gender incoherent, (the current term for this condition in the DSM-V released about a year ago) then I thank the gods for your lack of connection with this feeling. This is an experiental thing, and to understand it is to have it, much like understanding what it means to be pregnant or to go through a life-threatening encounter. For those who don't get the Gender Queer experience Kate Bornstein's book "Gender Outlaws", the follow-up to her "Gender Outlaw" book, has a lot of useful information in it, especially anecdotal accounts from folks who have no desire to conform to gender polarities. The Androgyny RAQ on the web also can provide some useful information on those who choose the middle path in gender expression, an area we lack effective pronouns for. (Zie and Hir are cumbersome)
I'm living this, and I've spent a lot of time learning the theories, in's, and outs of it, so feel free to ask. (Not only Lucy, but others too -- I live to increase understanding for folks)