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Gender binary

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This article is about gender from a sociological perspective. For further information, see Sex and gender distinction.
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[1]Gender binary (also known as gender binarism)[2][3][4] is the classification of gender into two distinct, opposite forms of masculine and feminine, whether by social system, cultural belief, or both simultaneously.[A] Most cultures use a gender binary, having two genders (boys/men and girls/women).[5][6][7]

In this binary model, gender and sexuality may be assumed by default to align with one's genetic or gamete-based sex, i.e. one's sex assigned at birth. This may include certain expectations of how one dresses themselves, their behavior, sexual orientation, names or pronouns, which restroom they use, and other qualities. For example, when a male is born, gender binarism may assume that the male will be masculine in appearance, have masculine character traits and behaviors, as well as having a heterosexual attraction to females.[8] These expectations may reinforce negative attitudes, biases, and discrimination towards people who display expressions of gender variance or nonconformity or those whose gender identity is incongruent with their birth sex.[9]

Cultures that adhere to the gender binary often separate places and things according to gender, including public restrooms.

General aspects

The term gender binary describes the system in which a society allocates its members into one of two sets of gender roles, gender identities, and attributes based on the type of genitalia.[10] Including, but not limited to,  people who are intersex, a general term for those born with sexual anatomy that cannot be characterized as male or female [11] as well as those who identify as non binary or an umbrella term for gender identities out side of the binary.

Settling on a male or female binary ultimately leads to gender roles in society. Gender roles are based on different expectations that society has on individuals based on their sex as well as what each societies values and beliefs are about gender. An example of this is in Western societies it is believed that women are more neutering while men are seen as leaders therefore it is believed that women and men should behave in that way.

Scholars who study the gender binary from an intersectional feminist and critical race theory perspective[12] argue that during the process of European colonization of the U.S., a binary system of gender was enforced as a means of protecting patriarchal norms and upholding European nationalism.[13] The feminist perspective shows that gender roles are not purely ideas about appropriate behavior for individuals in society but are also connected to the distinct levels of power that males and females hold.

Traditional gender roles are influenced by the media, religion, mainstream education, political systems, cultural systems, and social systems.[14] Major religions such as Islam and Christianity, in particular, act as authorities for gender roles. Islam, for example, teaches that mothers are the primary care givers to their children. The Catholic Church, the largest Christian denomination, only ordains cisgender men as priests. Christianity supports its adherence to a gender binary with the Book of Genesis in the Bible, where it is declared in verse 27 that "God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."[15] Orthodox Judaism also forbids women to be ordained as rabbis and serve as clergy in their congregations.[16]

In English, some nouns (e.g., boy), honorific titles (e.g., Miss), occupational titles (e.g., actress), and personal pronouns (e.g., she, his) are gendered, and they fall into a male/female binary.[17] In the American Psychologist Hyde and colleagues stated that children raised within English-speaking (and other gendered-language) environments come to view gender as a binary category.[18] They state that for children who learn English as their primary language in the U.S., adults' use of the gender binary to explicitly sort individuals (i.e. "boys" and "girls" bathrooms and sports teams), and not just the presence of gender markers, causes gender biases.[18]

In the LGBT community

Gender binarism may create institutionalized structures of power, and individuals who identify outside traditional gender binaries may experience discrimination and harassment. Many LGBT people, notably youth activist groups, advocate against gender binarism. Many individuals within the LGBT+ community report an internal hierarchy of power status. Some who do not identify within a binary system experience being at the bottom of the hierarchy. The multitude of different variables such as race, ethnicity, age, gender, and more can lower or raise one's perceived power.[19]

Worldwide, there are many individuals and several subcultures that can be considered exceptions to the gender binary or specific transgender identities. In addition to individuals whose bodies are naturally intersex, there are also specific ceremonial and social roles that that are seen as third gender. The hijra of South Asia and some Two-Spirit Indigenous Peoples of North America are often cited as examples. Feminist philosopher María Lugones argues that Western colonizers imposed their dualistic ideas of gender on indigenous peoples, replacing pre-existing indigenous concepts.[20]

In the contemporary West, non-binary or genderqueer people do not adhere to the gender binary by refusing terms like "male" and "female", as they do not identify as either. Transgender people have a unique place in relation to the gender binary. In some cases, attempting to conform to societal expectations for their gender, transgender individuals may opt for surgery, hormones, or both.[21][page needed]

Ball culture is an example of how the LGBT community interprets and rejects the gender binary. Paris is Burning, a film directed by Jennie Livingston, depicts New York's ballroom scene in the late 1980's.[22] To compete in the Balls, men, women, and everyone in between create costumes and walk in their respective categories: Butch Queen, Transmale Realness, and Femme Queen to name a few.[22] During the Balls, the gender binary is thrown out the window, and the people competing are allowed to express themselves however they interpret the category.[22] Within the scenes of people competing in various categories there's a narrative that describes life outside the gender binary in New York. Since the film came out there's been a decline in the Ballroom scene do to the rise of media and the appropriation of the Drag culture.[23]

Limitations and rejection

Gender neutral restroom sign

Some scholars have contested the existence of a clear gender binary. Judith Lorber explains the problem of failing to question dividing people into these two groups "even though they often find more significant within-group differences than between-group differences."[24] Lorber argues that this corroborates the fact that the gender binary is arbitrary and leads to false expectations of both men and women. Instead, there is growing support for the possibility of utilizing additional categories that compare people without "prior assumptions about who is like whom".[24]

This idea of a gender as a binary is thought[by whom?] to be an oppressive means of reflecting differential power dynamics.[25] Gender binarism also poses limitations on the adequacy of medical care provided to gender nonconforming patients. There is a large gap in medical literature on non-binary populations who have unique healthcare needs.[26]

In her paper "The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female Are Not Enough", Anne Fausto-Sterling discusses the existence of intersex people, individuals possessing a combination of male and female sexual characteristics, who are seen as deviations from the norm, and who frequently undergo coercive surgery at a very young age in order to maintain the two-gender system. According to Fausto-Sterling the existence of these individuals challenges the standards of gender binaries and puts into question society's role in constructing gender.[27][original research?] Fausto-Sterling says that modern practitioners encourage the idea that gender is a cultural construct and concludes that, "we are moving from an era of sexual dimorphism to one of variety beyond the number 2."[28][relevant?]

#DeGenderFashion

The hashtag movement to degender fashion was created by transfeminine writer and activist Alok Vaid-Menon. [29] There are public figures that have opposed the gender binary by wearing clothing not typically associated with their perceived gender, such as Prince, David Bowie, Kurt Cobain, Jaden Smith, Ruby Rose, Rain Dove, Billy Porter, and Harry Styles. [30][31][32] Harry Styles' appearance on the cover of American Vogue was the first instance a cisgender man doing so by himself.[33] This was lauded as both groundbreaking and controversial due to the fact that on the cover he wore both a dress, a clothing item associated with women, as well as a blazer, which is associated with men.[33][34] His embrace of clothing associated with women and men is a rejection of the gender binary.[34]

Disparities in health

An individual's discomfort due to incongruence with their gender identity and sex assigned at birth used to be classified as a mental illness.[35][36] "Gender identity disorder" entered the DSM-IV in 1980 and was used by doctors to pathologize transgender individuals.[35][36] While this has since updated to "gender dysphoria" in the DSM-V in 2012, transgender health is largely absent from medical curriculums.[35][36] This is especially evident for nonbinary transgender individuals, whom face greater health disparities than both cisgender and binary transgender individuals due to the lack of culturally competent healthcare providers versed in nonbinary health.[37] Health systems remain cisnormative and discriminative, which lead to adverse health outcomes for transgender populations.[35][37]

Violence

Transgender individuals are at a greater risk of physical and sexual intimate partner violence than cisgender individuals.[38] The rates of intimate partner violence among transgender populations are referred to as “epidemic levels” and they are classified as a high risk population.[38] Discrimination against transgender individuals is believed by researchers to contribute to greater risk of intimate partner violence.[38] This is especially prominent in areas where gender identity is not legally protected against discrimination.[38]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ In this context the word "binary" often functions as a noun, unlike several other uses of the word, where it is an adjective.

References

  1. ^ Wade,Ferree, Lisa,Myra Marx (2018). Gender: Ideas, Interactions, Institutions, Second Edition. p. 8. ISBN 978-0-393-67428-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Marjorie Garber (25 November 1997). Vested Interests: Cross-dressing and Cultural Anxiety. Psychology Press. pp. 2, 10, 14–16, 47. ISBN 978-0-415-91951-7. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  3. ^ Claudia Card (1994). Adventures in Lesbian Philosophy. Indiana University Press. p. the 127. ISBN 978-0-253-20899-6. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  4. ^ Rosenblum, Darren (2000). "'Trapped' in Sing-Sing: Transgendered Prisoners Caught in the Gender Binarism". Michigan Journal of Gender & Law. 6. SSRN 897562.
  5. ^ Kevin L. Nadal, The SAGE Encyclopedia of Psychology and Gender (2017, ISBN 1483384276), page 401: "Most cultures currently construct their societies based on the understanding of gender binary—the two gender categorizations (male and female). Such societies divide their population based on biological sex assigned to individuals at birth to begin the process of gender socialization."
  6. ^ Sigelman, Carol K.; Rider, Elizabeth A. (14 March 2017). Life-Span Human Development. Cengage Learning. p. 385. ISBN 978-1-337-51606-8. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  7. ^ Maddux, James E.; Winstead, Barbara A. (11 July 2019). Psychopathology: Foundations for a Contemporary Understanding. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-64787-1. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  8. ^ Keating, Anne. "glbtq >> literature >> Gender". www.glbtq.com. glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  9. ^ Hill, Darryl B.; Willoughby, Brian L. B. (October 2015). "The Development and Validation of the Genderism and Transphobia Scale". Sex Roles. 53 (7–8): 531–544. doi:10.1007/s11199-005-7140-x. ISSN 0360-0025. S2CID 143438444.
  10. ^ Lorber, Judith; Moore, Lisa Jean (2007). Gendered bodies : feminist perspectives. Los Angeles, Calif.: Roxbury Pub. Co. p. 2. ISBN 978-1933220413. OCLC 64453299.
  11. ^ Fausto-Sterling, Anne (2000). "The Five Sexes, Revisited". The Sciences. 40 (4). New York Academy of Sciences: 18–23. doi:10.1002/j.2326-1951.2000.tb03504.x. PMID 12569934.
  12. ^ Carbado, Devon W.; Crenshaw, Kimberlé Williams; Mays, Vickie M.; Tomlinson, Barbara (2013). "INTERSECTIONALITY". Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race. 10 (2): 303–312. doi:10.1017/s1742058x13000349. ISSN 1742-058X. PMC 4181947. PMID 25285150.
  13. ^ Narayan, Yasmeen (2018-10-02). "Intersectionality, nationalisms, biocoloniality" (PDF). Ethnic and Racial Studies. 42 (8): 1225–1244. doi:10.1080/01419870.2018.1518536. ISSN 0141-9870. S2CID 149928000.
  14. ^ Johnson, Joy; Repta, Robin (2002). "Sex and Gender: Beyond the Binaries" (PDF). Designing and Conducting Gender, Sex, & Health Research: 17–39. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  15. ^ Schwarzwalder, Rob. "Sexual Madness and the Image of God". Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission website. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  16. ^ Student, Gil (February 10, 2018). "Orthodox Union to enforce ban on women rabbis". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
  17. ^ Gustafsson Sendén, Marie; Bäck, Emma A.; Lindqvist, Anna (2015). "Introducing a gender-neutral pronoun in a natural gender language: the influence of time on attitudes and behavior". Frontiers in Psychology. 6: 893. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00893. ISSN 1664-1078. PMC 4486751. PMID 26191016.
  18. ^ a b Hyde, Janet Shibley; Bigler, Rebecca S.; Joel, Daphna; Tate, Charlotte Chucky; van Anders, Sari M. (February 2019). "The future of sex and gender in psychology: Five challenges to the gender binary". American Psychologist. 74 (2): 171–193. doi:10.1037/amp0000307. ISSN 1935-990X. PMID 30024214.
  19. ^ Farmer, Laura Boyd; Byrd, Rebekah (2015). "Genderism in the LGBTQQIA Community: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis". Journal of LGBT Issues in Counseling. 9 (4): 288–310. doi:10.1080/15538605.2015.1103679. S2CID 146423757.
  20. ^ Lugones, María (December 12, 2017). "Heterosexualism and the Colonial / Modern Gender System". Hypatia. 22 (1): 186–209. JSTOR 4640051.
  21. ^ Cromwell, Jason (1999). Transmen and FTMs: Identities, Bodies, Genders, and Sexualities. Chicago, Illinois: University of Illinois. p. 511. ISBN 978-0252068256.
  22. ^ a b c Livingston, Jennie; Xtravaganza, Angie; Corey, Dorian; Dupree, Paris; LaBeija, Pepper; Ninja, Willi. Paris Is Burning. OCLC 1269377435.
  23. ^ Green, Jesse (1993-04-18). "Paris Has Burned". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
  24. ^ a b Lorber, Judith. "Believing is Seeing: Biology as Ideology." In The Gendered Society Reader, edited by Michael S. Kimmel, Amy Aronson, and Amy Kaler, 11-18. Toronto, ON: Oxford University Press, 2011.
  25. ^ Boydston, Jeanne (November 2008). "Gender as a Question of Historical Analysis". Gender & History. 20 (3): 558–583. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0424.2008.00537.x. ISSN 0953-5233.
  26. ^ Edmiston, E. Kale; Donald, Cameron A.; Sattler, Alice Rose; Peebles, J. Klint; Ehrenfeld, Jesse M.; Eckstrand, Kristen Laurel (2016). "Opportunities and Gaps in Primary Care Preventative Health Services for Transgender Patients: A Systemic Review". Transgender Health. 1 (1): 216–230. doi:10.1089/trgh.2016.0019. ISSN 2380-193X. PMC 5367473. PMID 28861536.
  27. ^ Morgan Holmes (2008). Intersex: A Perilous Difference. Associated University Presse. p. 17. ISBN 978-1-575-91117-5. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  28. ^ Fausto-Sterling, Anne (March–April 1993). "The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female Are Not Enough". The Sciences: 20–24. doi:10.1002/j.2326-1951.1993.tb03081.x.
  29. ^ Weikle, Brandie (January 9, 2022). "Gender-fluid dressing could lead to renaissance in fashion, says advocate". CBC News. Retrieved April 28, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  30. ^ Weikle, Brandie (January 9, 2022). "Gender-fluid dressing could lead to renaissance in fashion, says advocate". CBC News. Retrieved April 28, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  31. ^ "Jaden Smith Opens Up About Being A Gender Neutral Style Icon To 'GQ' & It's Truly Inspiring". Bustle. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  32. ^ Geffen, Sasha (2020). Glitter Up the Dark : How Pop Music Broke the Binary. University of Texas Press. pp. 190–199. ISBN 9781477318782.
  33. ^ a b Mowat, Chris (2021-07). "Forum Introduction: Addressing Gender, Gendering Dress". Gender & History. 33 (2): 289–295. doi:10.1111/1468-0424.12539. ISSN 0953-5233. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  34. ^ a b Brown, Nina Luangrath-. "Harry Styles: Breaking The Gender Binary". The Roar. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  35. ^ a b c d Hana, Tommy; Butler, Kat; Young, L Trevor; Zamora, Gerardo; Lam, June Sing Hong (2021-04-01). "Transgender health in medical education". Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 99 (4): 296–303. doi:10.2471/BLT.19.249086. ISSN 0042-9686. PMC 8085635. PMID 33953447.
  36. ^ a b c Koh, Jun (2012). "[The history of the concept of gender identity disorder]". Seishin Shinkeigaku Zasshi = Psychiatria Et Neurologia Japonica. 114 (6): 673–680. ISSN 0033-2658. PMID 22844818.
  37. ^ a b Rider, G. Nic; Vencill, Jennifer A.; Berg, Dianne R.; Becker-Warner, Rachel; Candelario-Pérez, Leonardo; Spencer, Katherine G. (2019). "The gender affirmative lifespan approach (GALA): A framework for competent clinical care with nonbinary clients". The International Journal of Transgenderism. 20 (2–3): 275–288. doi:10.1080/15532739.2018.1485069. ISSN 1434-4599. PMC 6831004. PMID 32999613.
  38. ^ a b c d Peitzmeier, Sarah M.; Malik, Mannat; Kattari, Shanna K.; Marrow, Elliot; Stephenson, Rob; Agénor, Madina; Reisner, Sari L. (2020-09). "Intimate Partner Violence in Transgender Populations: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Prevalence and Correlates". American Journal of Public Health. 110 (9): e1 – e14. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2020.305774. ISSN 1541-0048. PMC 7427218. PMID 32673114. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

Further reading

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