Community Conversation > Transgender talk

Why does gender matter?

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HelloToYou:
I'm confused as to why being transgendered is that big of a deal.  All it really means is that you don't conform to a socially constructed stereotype.  Who cares if you fit a stereotype or not?  By the way, I am not meaning to offend anyone or deny that there are perspectives out there that are different from mine.  I simply do not understand it and have come here to look at it from another perspective.

Jenny:
I have always been a bit of a non-conformist and throughout my adult life I have enjoyed at times challenging peoples stereotypes.

However, the area of gender for me is different. My gender is internal to myself, yet it changes my life so completely in every aspect from the way people talk to me, to my relationship with friends and family, to the way I feel about and people respond to me physically.

So it's a big deal to me.

Of course, as a direct consequence of that I am placed back into challenging peoples stereotypes again - by walking down the street in a dress or whatever, I am challenging peoples stereotypes about gender whenever they realise that I might actually be (shock horror) a "guy".

I guess the real question isn't if being transgendered is a big deal to me (or other "sufferers") because it is a reality that we have to deal with. The question should be why is it a big deal to you, or other "regular" members of society?

Casey:
Gender is one of those things that we learn and take for granted are true. Most people assume that when they wake up they will be in the room they went to sleep in, the sun will rise in the east, and gravity will pull them to the floor when they get out of bed. And they assume that men are like this and women are like that. It's so pervasive that it's fairly invisible.

We sort of mess that up for people. By our very existance and our refusal to sink into the woodwork we challenge their (and our) view of the way things work. We make people question something that most of them have had no reason to question. That's why it's such a big deal.

Julie Marie:
Logically, it doesn't matter.  Socially, it matters depending on the society.  In the society I grew up in it matters because it is never questioned when told there are boys and girls, that's all.  There are countless stereotypes forced on us and by the time we're old enough to realize what has happened we are already deeply involved in fulfilling the expectations that go along with them.  

Julie

HelloToYou:

--- Quote from: Jenny on December 14, 2006, 06:03:40 pm ---
The question should be why is it a big deal to you, or other "regular" members of society?

--- End quote ---

Good point.  I guess it wouldn't be a big deal to you or any other trans person, if it weren't such a big deal to society in general.  I guess that must be the part I don't get.  Why is it such a big deal to society?  Hm...  I wasn't thinking when I made this post, was I?

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