Gender Binary is the way we as individuals are categorized based on sex . Males fall on the more masculine side while females are on the feminine side. According to dictionary.com “a classification system consisting of two genders, male and female.”, it is also defined as “a concept or belief that there are only two genders and that one’s sex or gender assigned at birth will align with traditional social constructs of masculine and feminine identity, expression, and sexuality”. In our constantly changing society, beliefs, ideas, and so on concerning gender are consistently changing to create a safe space for those who may not identify or go against such traditional or societal norms.

Alok V Manin discusses Gender binary in-depth and concepts beyond the gender binary in his publication “Beyond The Gender Binary”.Within this excerpt, Manin takes a non-binary approach urging society to take a different look at gender. Manin believes that gender is not as black and white as we may view it be and that who an individual is in terms of personality and the things they enjoy. Manin who is non-binary, meaning they do not identify as a man or woman in terms of gender ultimately argues that gender is flexible and should be used as a means of truly expressing one’s self. It is no secret that deciding to go against these norms comes with its own backlash, Manin even discusses meeting other people who were once like him and changed due to societal pressures quite like the individual who stopped them in the grocery store to ask why they dress like that from a place of curiosity  and people who just downright don’t agree with liberating oneself from the restriction of gender and tend to be more hostile

Gender fluidity is complex, especially in a society that is conditioned to think a certain way. The concept of identifying as non-binary for many can be confusing because our sex is so closely linked with our gender. Today more than ever those willing to step outside the box especially those from minority groups are being targeted by legislation and political agendas thus taking the conversation beyond the gender binary. As argued by Manin, the pushback regarding gender and gender binary ideals is rooted in control and establishing power within however many do not realize this because it is portrayed more as a body argument than what it truly is another means of oppression and control. In conclusion, as a society, we must begin to seek a deeper understanding of the things taking place around us and the behaviors of higher-ups when those who are oppressed begin to create a space for themselves. The hands of the oppressor seek to add a political or religious influence to these things and not in an effort that is for the betterment but in an effort to maintain control at all times.

The first time I heard of the term that is utilized as the title of this image was when I was in middle school during a class reading of “Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry” by Mildred D. Taylor but it was used as an insult. To my knowledge, it remains a derogatory term but the image itself is open to interpretation and not necessarily tied to its title. In response to Safiya’s post, this painting reminds me of Menon’s text in which they state,  “I do not have the luxury of being. I am only seen as doing. As if my gender is something that is being done to them and not something that belongs to me” (Beyond the Gender Binary, 16) because this image seems to be painted through the eyes of the observer, instead of being depicted through the individual’s experience as they discover their identity. There also appears to be some sort of expression being represented through the colors that were utilized for this painting. The black that remains between the masculine and feminine representations can be interpreted as the oppressions that keep the two from being able to blend in socially “acceptable” ways and so one is forced to be one or the other because society constantly fights to keep its norms because it is what feels safe to those who have the power of sticking to what has been assigned. It is the misinterpretation as well as misinformation of what it means to be non-binary that does not allow the concept to flourish. Menon states, “The scrutiny of our bodies distracts us from what’s really going on here: control. The emphasis on our appearance distracts us from the real focus: power.” (17), expressing that although there are greater oppressors to focus on, the focus is placed on an individual’s identity.

The colors on the other hand appear to represent a sense of liberation in oneself and because it is a journey of self discovery that is not linear, the colors of each individual represented in this painting remains incomplete. Going back to the term that was chosen as the title of this painting, I think in a way, it reflects the forces of oppression that a non-binary individual faces because it is a derogatory label, in the same way that these forces serve as a form of degradation and dismissal. This dismissal of an individual’s personal experiences and the yearning to have a control over prevents an individual from fully developing themselves into who they are. Menon states, “This is not about erasing men and women but rather acknowledging that man and woman are two of many–stars in a constellation that do not compete but amplify one another’s shine.” (60), in response to the forces of oppression as well as fear from those who wish to remain within societal norms. I think this split in society is also represented through the backgrounds chosen in the painting, possibly with hopes of one day blending with acceptance, like the numerous cultures, such as the Native American culture, in which gender is not fixated on simply male and female. One more thing that I would like the point out within this painting is that lack of facial features for the two people, which in a sense could support the idea that masculine and feminine features do not have to be represented in any particular form.

Living as someone who is gender nonconforming or gender nonbinary means you are subjected to constant questioning, ridicule, and victim blaming. In a society that constantly focuses on their appearance, it allows for people to deflect from the main issue at hand. Their expression is reduced to costume wear, entertainment, or an act instead of their genuine identity and portrayal of it. Cisgender people have the privilege of not being constantly asked why they dress the way they do, why they look the way they do, or why their existence should be acknowledged and at the very least given the same respect as everyone else’s. Racially, this problem becomes exacerbated when you factor in the dangers of being a certain race added in with your gender. Black trans women and black transfeminine people are murdered at an alarming rate and yet no attention or support is given, because this society allows one’s murder to be pinned on their gender identity instead of the person who committed the act in the first place. The same goes for homelessness, and the discrimination faced in the workplace. Rather than blaming the killer they’d rather blame the ones who cannot speak to defend themselves anymore. It is almost always perceived as deceit or trickery when someone expressing their gender is neither of those things, and will never be an excuse to harm someone. Cis people have always had the privilege of not worrying that if they were harmed, that it would be because they decided to express themselves in the way they did. 

More value and weight is given to Cis people’s opinion of those who are gender nonbinary than the actual gender nonbinary people living among us. It is silencing. It doesn’t allow for queer voices to be heard at all let alone given meaning or weight in these discussions. As Menon stated in Beyond the Gender Binary “People’s fixation on “proper” grammar or “new terms” often hides a more sinister motive, even if it’s not conscious. They are ok with language shifting as long as it’s the people in power and not us.” Non genderqueer people are reluctant to do something as simple as respecting someone’s pronouns. It’s something they never have to worry about themselves but they still can’t extend that same social respect to others. Vanique in their content response said “Cis people defend the gender binary as if we are being erases from existence, when we are the ones doing the erasing. Too often cis gendered people flip the script and play victim, Alok talks about this in their book. Cis people need to decenter themselves and listen to other people for a change.” and I heavily agree. The behavior exhibited by cis people when the gender binary is challenged or is being actively dismantled is immature to say the least. We often pretend as if we are being threatened and harmed when we are being asked to simply give gender queer people the same protection and respect we were born with. However I don’t believe at this point that it’s entirely due to ignorance. The refusal to act with their privilege to positively benefit nonbinary people comes from a place of not wanting to relinquish power.

Allison Williams

9/17/21

GWS 100

Section 170W

Introduction of my response to Rayomah Williams’ snapshot

I agree with the snapshot that Rayomah provided for this class because of many people in society who are androgynous get harassed everyday for their appearance due to the way they dressed using a combination of both masculine and feminine fashion to address themselves with the pronouns as “they/them” instead of their true gender. Six people standing side-by-side next to each other in the snapshot and has their own colors each corresponds to the gender expressions. It also shows more than a variety of gender expressions for equility. According to the book “Beyond The Gender Binary” made by the author Amok Vaid-Menon, it expresses their experiences about people criticizing them on the clothing they worn in public and that they were also concerned about their own safety from society. They also thought that the public was against them for every move they made. The author goes on to mention about people interrogating about their body and they asked them with the quotes such as “Are you dressed up for a theater production?”, “Oh, it must be Fashion Week again!”, and about whether the author was wearing a “Halloween costume” (page 16). These sorts of comments made the author feel uncomfortable and violated, because it targeted them for the choices they made in society.
They are also afraid to go to public areas such as bathrooms, schools, parks, etc. The important example is that there’s transfeminine people of color who are at greater risk of harassment and violence. Because of the nature this, they become susceptible of having anxiety about entering the social world. Furthermore, the state of Tennessee tried to prohibit gender non-conforming people from entering public places. Throughout the country, there’s legislation that allows business to deny services to non-gender conforming customers and that’s already affecting the non-conforming gender community. For my experience, I have not seen any transgender people that I met in-person who have been harassed in public. But I have seen a documentary called “The Pregnant Man”, it is about a man named Thomas Beatie who was born a woman, who became pregnant from using IVF and fertility treatments and faced harassment once the public found out that he was born female. They often faced multiple threats from strangers ranging in phone calls, text messages and being chased by the paparazzi which led them to efforts in order to hide their family. A few months later, the couple had given birth to their daughter and the world was desperate to see a glimpse of the infant. They couple take their pride in raising their child with their families and enjoying what they wished for. Anyone can choose what gender they prefer to be called, whenever the gender pronouns are he or she or even chose not to disclose their gender as they like to retain privacy due to harassment wherever they go out in public. As in society, people should never judge a person by their intersex and appearance.

Gender Binary is described as “The idea that there are only two genders is sometimes called a “gender binary,” because binary means “having two parts” (male and female). In our society the straight gender have more value than transgender. People misunderstood those who are not straight. Most people – including most transgender people – are either male or female. But some people don’t neatly fit into the categories of “man” or “woman,” or “male” or “female.” For example, some people have a gender that blends elements of being a man or a woman, or a gender that is different than either male or female. Some people don’t identify with any gender. Some people’s gender changes over time. And they called Binary gender. Society like ours only know two gender. Male and Female. Some of them not all of them make their own body like that. Everyone should try to talk to them to learn more about who they are.

Gender Binary is described as “The idea that there are only two genders is sometimes called a “gender binary,” because binary means “having two parts” (male and female). Therefore, “non-binary” is one term people use to describe genders that don’t fall into one of these two categories, male or female”.  Reading this definition made it easier to understand the article, and there is more than one opinion in life. Reading the “Beyond the Gender Binary” on (page 16) the quotation “The truth is, I still cannot go outside without being afraid for my safety. There are few spaces where I do not experience harassment for the way I look. Something as simple as running errands leads to strangers interrogating me about my body, trying to find some way to explain why I look like this. “Are you dressed up for a theater production?” “Oh, it must be Fashion Week again!”’ stands out to me because it made me realize not everybody knows about Gender Binary, growing up most people were only taught or learned there are only 2 gender boys or girls. By being taught this it’s weird for people who don’t know about it which leads to people judging or disrespecting the Binary people. Getting criticized for dressing a certain way based on your gender, a male is supposed to dress masculine that include suits with ties, no skirt or legging or jean short, those things make them look too feminine, which means that they can’t run a business properly. Reading an article online explains how the person “Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity” by Justin Healey,  “Beyond the Gender Binary” was feeling (page 26-27). “United Nations human rights experts have confirmed that international law prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity” what Healey is trying to say is that humans shouldn’t be judged based on what they do. Everybody is their self, they shouldn’t be a law because if people respected each other as they expected people to treat them, sexism wouldn’t be happening, more people would be getting jobs based on their knowledge and not based on their gender. Society shouldn’t have a say in how people should express their feelings, people should be able to express their feelings and ideas even if people have different opinions, we should create our own opinion instead of going along with someone’s opinion that is hurting someone else without fear. It holds diverse viewpoints, it allows freedom of expression, everyone’s voice to be heard, and having a different opinion and still be respected.

The theme that stands out the most to me about the examples of different people’s arguments about non-gender conforming people or behavior or style etc. is that in several cases, these people are very upset about something that doesn’t involve them in the slightest. Some of them are upset about it being “shoved in their face” when often it’s them that are strangely obsessed with someone else’s appearance to the point that they won’t look away and then get in a stranger’s business. I’ve noticed that some people also tend to see anything that goes outside of an assigned norm for binary genders as a threat to them or their children. When Lil Nas X posted several pictures of himself with prosthetics to make him look as he was pregnant, I noticed a lot of people were upset that this was going to influence their kids somehow. Strange thinking that it would first of all, since I knew plenty of boys who put balloons and soccer balls under their shirts and imagine themselves pregnant. And second of all, it made no sense to me that if it DID influence their kids, how that was in any way a bad thing. I understand the sentiment that if your child wanted to dress or act outside of their assigned gender norm they would probably experience some form of bullying or mistreatment. But if this is what they’re afraid of, why be so concerned with changing your child and not the people that treat them that way? The blame always goes to them that are outside the gender binary and not to the people that actively hate them.

Another thing that often gets to me is how often people will cite “science” as a way to completely discredit different genders. These people are usually unable to provide so much as an article, or a piece of information that goes beyond what they were taught in high school biology if it even goes that far. If people were interested enough in science and they really cared about the subject matter, they would be able to find out that those ideas are completely unfounded and don’t make much sense in the first place. Gender and sex has no norms in the biological norms, there are even several animals that swap sexes within their lifetimes, and I think most people are familiar with the factoid that “male” seahorses give birth to their young. Life on earth has an amazing amount of diversity that completely dances around these ideas of male and female, which is part of what makes life beautiful. Why work so hard to restrict these things and shove them into simple categories when there is so much more to explore, know, and appreciate? 

I hope that the trend of exploring gender and those norms continues to allow more people freedom to express themselves as the more people are honest with themselves and can express themselves publicly without harming anyone, the easier it will be to live together and work on other pressing matters that require people to work together.

When I read the excerpt “Beyond the Gender Binary” by Alok Vaid-Menon, it reminded me of a Disney movie called “The Greatest Showman.” This movie tells a story about the uprising of a man name P.T Barnum who’s basically lived in poverty his whole life, especially when he got older and had his own family. Yet, even though his family was happy, he always craved more. He first opens a museum, but it does not work out, turning it into a circus filled with “freaked” performers—one of these performer’s names is Lettie Lutz, the bearded lady. She is one of many characters in the film that portrays a voice about her rejection and being shunned by society. According to Alok, “It’s almost as if they move their definitions precisely to exclude us. We are both too much and never enough. We are always made out to be the problem. But maybe we aren’t the problem; maybe the whole gender system.” (Alok, 26-27) It brings light to the idea of abnormalities or even our sense of creativity that is never rewarded that makes us feel ashamed but must be embraced because the system of conformity will never reward it.

The snapshot that I am responding to is Genawang’s post. Gender is only separated into two categories, boy and girl. This is where the true problem lies because it is either one or the other. From the moment someone is born, and the gender is identified, there is already a division of what clothes they should wear, room decorations, and toys they should play with. It’s never a neutral movement where we let children and even adults explore and adapt to these different areas of genders. As you get older and become an adult, things would be easier, but they aren’t. It is harder because our jobs define how powerful we are, the way we dress, hobbies, and even the sports we play define our femininity and masculinity. It continues to push this idea of authority and what’s wrong with us. When people see things out of their comfort zone or even things they would normally see in their bubble or society, they pinpoint the negative and not the positive. It is lit up by fear that comes from the awareness of people’s decisions and flexibility to create diverse areas in gender.

When I was growing up, my mom and I always had a rough relationship because I wasn’t girly enough for her. I was one of these girls that liked to dress up with sneakers. You could always find me with a nice blouse and sneakers. Even when I did dress up in a dress or even a skirt, I wasn’t allowed to be myself because I wasn’t sitting ladylike or it wasn’t appropriate to play with boys my age. There was always a comparison between my cousin and me because she was very feminine compared to me. It was easier for her to get love and support from my mother than it was for me because I was a tomboy sometimes.

I loved this picture Pedro Mardones Lemebel and Francisco Casas Silva posted by Lizbeth Bolanos. This makes me think of when people say “We are all the same on the inside” But this time it’s not just about race but also gender. This picture showing the hearts connecting to one another because we are all humans in search of love in some shape or form. Alok said in her book Beyond the Gender Bianary “The gender binary is like a party guest who shows up before you get the chance to set the table” A baby is a baby, the people around the infant should be worried if they are fed, healthy and happy. What they shouldn’t be worried about is if the little boy likes a barbie doll or if the little girl likes dinosaurs. From the time they are announced they are put in a boxed gender from then on they aren’t able to choose who they want to be until they are able to have a thought for themselves. Adding to that, being taught from such a young age what a child is supposed to like or dislike sometimes doesn’t give the person the thought of being something other than the gender they were assigned because in a way they were brainwashed.

On the other hand, I also see a form of toxic love in this picture. The person on the left is giving their life form to the person on the right, while the person on the right is sucking all the life forms of the person on the left. In a way, it shows that they need each other to live since they are such outcasts in society still to this day. They literally depend on one another but it isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. Like Alok said in her book Beyond the Gender Binary “When I was in high school, I was tormented for being effeminate. Years after graduating, one of my most vicious bullies sent me a message apologizing….revealing that he had since come out as bisexual.” Many people are ostracized for being themselves rather than what is society “normal” and many times it’s by the same people who are also int eh LGBTQIA family. They feel jealous that a person can live so freely while they are in the closet and haven’t been able to come out yet.