I believe that to move beyond the gender binary for Alok, we must first acknowledge that there is more than one option when identifying ourselves within gender. Instead of just viewing gender as manhood or womanhood we should expand our view on gender and acknowledge that gender is so much more tremendous and interesting than that. Rather than just accepting gender can only be a man or a woman; we must first accept that gender can be an infinity of options beyond woman or man. We must also regain control and power back that has been taken from us for so long by society’s norms and the outdated ideology of the gender binary system. If gender non-conforming individuals took control of the conversation and the narrative when it comes to gender then more voices would be heard and the future generations to come will have more options to identify and connect themselves with. In the end, the world would be more inclusive, understanding, and accepting. Even though I identify myself as a cisgender female my identity in a way goes against binary norms because I am not fully interested or invested in the things a woman would or should be within societys norms and the binary norm. I’m a female who views herself more as a tomboy who enjoys things that are labeled only for men like playing “manly” sports like football and dressing in “boyish” things that aren’t skirts, dresses, or high heels. I’m also a bi-sexual female and even though that focuses on my sexual orientation, as a female I feel as though that doesn’t fit the binary norm when identifying as a woman. Throughout some of our households, throughout school, and just every-day life it is drilled in our heads that man and woman were meant for each other; they were meant to reproduce and create more generations for the future years. However, we aren’t taught nor is it drilled in our heads that we can identify as so much more than that and we can freely express ourselves without worrying if it goes along with our identities. Instead these identities were put into a box and labeled the binary norm without any thought or room for change and expansion. My gender identity however, in some aspects fit into the binary norm just because I identify as a woman who is cisgender. That alone fits the binary norm neatly and is accepted effortlessly within society without question or judgment.
5 thoughts on “Sydney Maldonado – Discussion #3”
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Hello Sydney,
I enjoyed reading your thought on the subject and can agree with your points. I definitely agree that if gender non-comforting individuals took control of their narrative not only would they be heard but we can learn from them. I hope we can move beyond the binary norms so the future generation children do not feel like were forcing or drilling only two genders and they have liberty to be whoever they want to be.
Hey Sydney, I agree that we must take our control and power back. I think as a society though, we’ve come a long way. People are starting to become a lot more accepting than they were years ago. So I guess things are slightly better, but unfortunately, there are still so many ignorant people in the world that refuse to accept others and treat them respectfully.
Hello Sydney, that is so true in our households and in school it is drilled into our heads that man and woman are meant for each other, which is so unfair. Some people can’t help who they fall in love with and this creates so many issues, causing depression, confusion and fear to just be you, all because of pressure from society that has been created. I also feel the same as you, it is important to regain control and power and be set free of society’s norm.
Hello Sydney. I agree that in order to talk about the topic of gender binary, people need to understand that we now have several different options of gender to identify ourselves with. Many people might not understand them or feel negative towards those options but we can’t change someone’s true identity. I wish people would just be more open and keep their negative opinions to themselves.
Id rather know you what quality of human being you were before i knew what gender you prefer to be called, just my opinion. Bending gender norms is fine but i feel the more we start sectioning ourselves off into little groups , divides us even more from how much closer and how much unity we could have as one .