Gender essentialism is the mainstream practice of saying, "these body parts are male" or "these body parts are female", and drawing similar conclusions about various behaviors. It's an attempt to make sense of bodies and identities by putting people into simple categories, based on observable traits. The rigid rubric of gender essentialism remains the dominant way of interpreting people's identities, and it gives rise to misogyny and transphobia.
The question is, "What does make me a woman if it's not my body or my behavior?" I don't have an answer, but I'm working to accept life's ambiguity. Maybe clarity will come with time, but it might not. That's okay. Not knowing all the answers is normal.
I don't think it's transphobic to designate certain parts "male" or "female", inasmuch as those are biological terms that apply to more than just humans. It is often necessary to fall back on those designations in a medical or scientific context. What does become suspect is extrapolating from there that "male" and "female" inherently equal "man" and "woman" - and that "man" and "woman" inherently equal "masculine" and "feminine".
ReplyDelete"Male" and "female" are too loaded with gendered messages--we need new, neutral words.
DeleteMaybe we do, but until those words arrive, I won't fault anyone (doctors, etc) for using the current ones when necessary.
ReplyDeleteYup. Gotta communicate!
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