The Gender Problem

The way our culture, politics, and legal system treats femininity, masculinity, and
everything in between.
What is LGBTQ?
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Lets break down the alphabet soup: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender,

Queer, or Questioning (LGBTQ). When speaking of sexual orientation people

understand what gay, lesbian, bisexual, and questioning mean, but what about
transgender and queer? Transgender and Queer have very little to do with sexual
orientation and more to do with gender identity. So why is the T and Q in the alphabet
soup important? What is the difference between sexual orientation and gender identity?
Why is it important to discuss gender identity?
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First lets clarify the difference between sexual orientation and gender identity.

Defining Gender, Sex, and Sexual Orientation

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Sexual orientation is in regard to what sex a person is attracted to, i.e.

heterosexual means attracted to the opposite sex; homosexual (gay or lesbian) means
attracted to the same sex; bisexual means attraction to both sexes. Sex is defining the
sex (genitalia) of a person male or female. Gender identity refers to the gender one
identifies with, gender identity differs from what was assigned at birth, transgender and
queer falls under the umbrella of gender identity. For example someone born male but
identify as female would be identified as a transgender female. Queer is an umbrella
term for those who are sexual or gender minorities, meaning those who identify as
queer could be gay, transgender, or may not even want to be put into a category with
their gender or sex. Gender identity is not about the sex of the people you are attracted
to, but the gender you identify with, the gender you are. People who are cisgender are
people of their own gender who agree with the sex they were assigned at birth, meaning
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they agree with the sex and gender identity that was assigned to them. An example
would be a man who identifies as a man and vice versa. For a table of definitions please
refer to page 6.
The Gender Problem: Society, personal and political struggles.
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It is important to understand that sexual orientation differs from gender identity,

because we need to make sure all the problems of both gender identity and sexual
orientation are accounted for. So why is the T and Q in LGBTQ? Its because they share
the same goals and experiences, like employment non-discrimination. The shared
experiences with the coming out process, whether a person is coming out as a gay or
transgender. Sexism and acceptance, are the two major struggles shared by both
people understanding their sexual orientation or gender identity. The people who are
bullying or harassing non-cisgender individuals are often times the same people
harassing LGB people. This is why it is helpful to understand the LGBT community as a
whole.
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This time in history is very important. This year marriage equality has become

legal in all fifty states by decision of the Supreme Court. Its now socially acceptable for
a man to marry another man but, it is not socially acceptable for a man or boy to wear a
pink sparkly dress and be more feminine or a girl to cut off her hair to be more
masculine in her appearance. It is still not OK for a biological born male to dress as a
female and self identify to society as female and vice versa.
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In America we are herded into the stereotypes of what it is to be male or female

and we have reenforced these societal standards right at birth. For example, if a woman
is pregnant she is likely to start purchasing clothing and toys that are associated with

the sex, i.e pink clothes and dolls for girls, blue clothes and trucks for boys. This is
continued throughout a persons entire life. The media, movies, music, and fashion
industry tells us how a man and woman should look, act, and behave; and not only that,
we are being told what
to find attractive in
others, with movies like
Magic Mike we are
being told to be
attracted to more
masculine, butch men
who have rock solid abs.
!

Unlike the battle of marriage equality, the fight for a different approach to gender

IMG Source http://movies.mxdwn.com/

not only affects the LGBTQ community, but it affects the heterosexual community as
well. We are all striving for gender equality, people are now fighting against sexist ads,
movies, and programs that are portrayed through the media and fashion industry. The
gender problem is a universal problem that has affected everyone on some level or
another.
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This new gender rights movement has its origins from three previous civil rights

movements; Black Civil Rights, American Feminists and the Gay Rights Movement. All
of these movements used ongoing litigation, media management, political advocacy,
demonstrations, and non-violent protests. In a way the gender rights movements should
be unnecessary because gender was the core of feminist movement, however that is

not the case. We can use the same tools from these previous movements to establish
gender equality. Actresses Laverne Cox, Caitlyn Jenner and Patricia Arquette are using
their position in the media to help spread knowledge and understanding about gender
equality. There are companies like Dove who are breaking the social norm by using plus
sized women in their campaigns to break down the stereotypes of what a woman should
look like. Transgender model Andreja Pejic portrays her non-binary gender in her
modeling work. America is on the right track to establish gender equality however there
is still a lot of work ahead of us.

IMG Source: https://starpluse.com ! !

IMG Source: https://celebrity.yahoo.com

Individuals who do not fit into the binary gender system face many struggles.

Transgender people feel uncomfortable in public situations where they are required to
change clothes, like going to the gym, swimming pool, or using public restrooms.
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Transgendered people do not want to be put in a situation where they have to explain
themselves, but more times than not they have to. !
!

Sexism, another problem that non-binary gendered and cisgendered people have

to deal with, whether you are male that identifies as female or female that identifies as
male, there is sexism on both sides. For women, men may have offered to carry bags or
open doors for them, now as a transgender man they may have the societal expectation
to perform those tasks and other more masculine tasks. As a transgendered female
being critiqued by your appearance, weight, age is just a few examples of sexist
expectations society has on women.
Youth and gender.
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Another obstacle is within our youth, people are now understanding their gender

identity at younger ages, there are children as young as eight years old trying to
understand their own gender identity. Jessica Herthel, the co-author of the picture book
for transgender kids "I Am Jazz," tells struggling parents of transgender or non-binary
gender children to love the kid that you were given, not the kid you thought you were
going to get.(Herthel) Parents believe they are helping their child become what he or
she should be by pushing them to fit into the gender binary system that was assigned to
them at birth, but in reality the child should explore their own identity. If the son wants to
wear a dress, let them explore that, if the daughter wants to shave her hair off, let her
do it. The only way to find identity in gender or otherwise is to explore and experience
the possibilities and find an identity that is true to the individual.
Statistics

A recent study conducted by Ann P. Haas (et al) at The Williams Institute on the

National Transgender Discrimination Survey (NTDS) shows that transgender individuals

who are rejected by family and friends, discriminated, victimized, or experienced
violence have a higher risk of attempting suicide. 78% of the people surveyed suffered
physical or sexual violence at school and attempted suicide, as did 65% of people who
suffered the same violence at their place of work. Over half of those who experienced
harassment or bullying in school reported lifetime attempts at suicide, and 57% of those
reported that their family chose not to speak or spend time with them.These numbers
tell us is that we have to educate and love our community members, co-workers, and
family members who are non-cisgendered. Like Jessica Herthel said, Love the kid you
were given. By rejecting these individuals you maybe putting them at higher risk of
harming themselves.
!

Even though non-cisgender people are becoming more accepted in society and

even though there is a strong presence of transgender people in the media we still have
long road ahead into acceptance. Not only for the transgender community but for
everyone, for the little boy who wears pink shoes, or the little girl who wants to dress up
like Iron Man. It is time for the gender revolution to begin, it is time to break down the
walls of discrimination and let the light of love and acceptance to shine through.
Gender Identity

The gender one identifies with, the gender a person is.

Queer

Those who are sexual or gender minorities.

Sex

Male of female, biological sex.

Sexual Orientation

What sex a person is attracted to.

Transgender

The gender one identifies with, it is different from the sex they
were assigned with at birth. Ex. Male to Female.

Bibliography:
1. Ann P. Haas, Philip L. Rodgers, Jody L. Herman, Suicide Attempts Among Transgender and Gender
Non-Conforming Adults January 2014
http://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/research/suicide-attempts-among-transgender-and-gender-nonconforming-adults/#sthash.TzMeC9fk.dpuf
2. Corvino, John Gay Rights and Trans Rights Dont AlwaysIntersect Web.Updated April 15, 2015
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/10/15/are-trans-rights-and-gay-rights-still-allies/gay-rightsand-trans-rights-dont-always-intersect
3. Graff, E. J. "What's Next?." Newsweek. 27 Sep. 2013: 1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 23 Jul. 2015
http://sks.sirs.com/cgi-bin/hst-article-display?
id=SUT0342-0-7437&artno=0000357312&type=ART&shfilter=U&key=gender&title=What%27s%20Next
%3F&res=Y&ren=N&gov=N&lnk=N&ic=N
4. Mac Scotty McGregor, 4 Things You Have to Find Out the Hard Way When You Transition Updated:
July 18, 2015 9:59 am ED http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mac-scotty-mcgregor/four-things-you-have-tof_b_7813682.html
5. Marilyn, Roxie What is gender queer? May 172011. http://genderqueerid.com/what-is-gq
6. Wilchins, Ricki Queer Theory, Gender Theory; Alyson Publications; Los Angeles, CA 2004
7. Williams, Cristan Parents Dont Always Know the Risks of ReparativeTherapy Web. January 8, 2015
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/01/08/is-it-child-abuse-to-make-a-trans-child-change/
parents-dont-always-know-the-risks-of-reparative-therapy

Image Sources:
1. Magic Mike http://movies.mxdwn.com/news/channing-tatum-possibly-to-direct-magic-mike-sequel-withsteven-soderbergh-as-dp/
2. Vanity Fair: https://celebrity.yahoo.com/blogs/celeb-news/introducing-caitlyn-jenner--see-the--vanityfair--cover-163558833.html
3. Fall FashionNew York: http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/
2014/10/16/10_gender_bending_androgynous_celebri?page=10