->-bleeped-<-: Identity and Language
http://bitranschristian.wordpress.com/2011/07/04/->-bleeped-<--identity-and-language/7/4/11
Given my training in languages and literary-critical theory, I'm very conscious of the degree to which much of the discourse on gender issues revolves around defining the (politically, epistemologically) correct language to use about gender issues themselves. There is, for example, a big debate in, shall I call it, the 'LBGTQI' community about whether 'transsexualism' should be classed as a sub-category of the 'transgender' umbrella term.
I myself have had my own issues with the term 'transgender', as part of my long-running efforts to define myself in gender terms, which have seen various designations come in and out of favour. For the time being, I am using 'androgynous' rather than 'transgender'; although I regard androgyny as being a sub-category of transgender. I have attempted to define what I mean by 'androgynous' / 'androgyny' / 'androgyne' in previous posts, so I won't go over all that ground again. Suffice it to say that my own version of androgyny is psychological rather than being physical (i.e. having an outwardly gender-ambiguous appearance) or relating to my social gender role (i.e. acting in ways that cross the conventional social barriers between masculine and feminine).
