tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413603525256803350.post946269504366416108..comments2024-02-21T04:53:57.234-05:00Comments on Walking in Two Worlds: A Trans Therapist's Journey: The Dialectic of the Gender ContinuumLauren Elisabethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03293724106380438921noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413603525256803350.post-30576835221649647942012-09-03T20:07:09.902-04:002012-09-03T20:07:09.902-04:00Thanks Nicole, That's the purpose of writing t...Thanks Nicole, That's the purpose of writing this article: to provoke thought and discussion. Glad you did. I am more convinced the biological variations in brain and other anatomical and physiological sex traits are the continuum, but gender identites, all valid, are mostly discrete with some synonyms for the same identities.Lauren Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03293724106380438921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413603525256803350.post-36826094186215490042012-09-01T23:34:21.958-04:002012-09-01T23:34:21.958-04:00Do buckeyes have a gender continuum?
I take it th...Do buckeyes have a gender continuum?<br /><br />I take it that you are defining "gender" to be the synonym of "sex". If that is the case, I would make a case for a binary.<br /><br />In my day to day observations for the last 3 years since I have grown my hair, it has become apparent to me that gendering (the process of one person determining the gender of another person) is an natural, automatic and perhaps unlearned process. I say 'perhaps unlearned' because I have seen the confusion on the faces of many very young children as they try to figure out whether I am a boy or a girl. These children have not studied gender and I doubt their parents have indoctrinated them in this subject. It is important to people to determine whether the person they are interacting with, or even just observing, is male or female. Several times I have heard young children asking their mothers, "Why does that man look like a girl?" They don't say, "Why does that person not look like a man or a girl?"<br /><br />But as soon as people start thinking about gender as a combination of sex (male/female) and gender (masculine/feminine) everything gets confused.<br /><br />I have written many times that sex is a binary and gender is a spectrum. By spectrum, some envision the colorful pattern resulting from white light traversing a prism. But spectrum can be more than just an ordered uni-dimensional set of related items. The third definition of spectrum in the Free Online Dictionary is: A broad sequence or range of related qualities, ideas, or activities: the whole spectrum of 20th-century thought. So gender then becomes the unique combination of masculine and feminine traits belonging to an individual. Gender spectrum becomes the range of all combinations of these related traits.<br /><br />Trans means across. To me, one is transsexual when their assigned sex is not congruent (across from) their subconscious sex. Uh-oh, what is subconscious sex? Is it the same as, or different from gender identity? And why must it say trans-sexual, when it is really trans-sex? Transgender is a fine word, except it is used both as a synonym for transsexual AND as an umbrella term for all people whose gender expression is not at the extremes of the false gender binary of masculine males and feminine females.<br /><br />So, I suppose I have proposed a very long and winding alternative hypothesis. And perhaps asked more questions than I have answered.<br /><br />I'm tired now!Nicole Amiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08934805513060343837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413603525256803350.post-6733388974917071962012-08-31T13:18:49.708-04:002012-08-31T13:18:49.708-04:00I'm sorry that you aren't able to contribu...I'm sorry that you aren't able to contribute to this discussion in a meaningful way. It's clear that you must feel personally attacked to respond in anger. Perhaps you thought that I don't consider other gender identities to be valid. That isn't the case and if you could be more dispassionate in your ability to approach this subject, you would have seen that in my writing. I do agree with you that it is for the best that I am not your therapist.<br /><br />Wishing you well, SherriLauren Elisabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03293724106380438921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413603525256803350.post-25417214784176415662012-08-31T09:32:41.969-04:002012-08-31T09:32:41.969-04:00The actual materialization of a tangible manifesta...The actual materialization of a tangible manifestation of the "gender continuum" would likely only be had as a result of our ability to realize the result of a qualitative research study based upon what abilities we have to map the brain and it's established development to a generated and accepted normative for what is considered male and female binaries. Now... because we have two other aspects working against us, this becomes difficult to do.... first off, we would need to establish a large cross section of the population and take MRI's or use other means to map a large cross section of the population and look at their brain developments and map those. That gives us the qualitative pieces. The part of the equation where this now becomes fuzzy is where we either ask the participant where they feel they are on the continuum (which gives us a subjective answer in return). The other issue before us is that they will describe themselves against a moving social target with moving terms. When I say moving social target, I mean that socially accepted norms change from year to year and century to century, as well as from country to country. The terms they use to describe themselves on that continuum will likely change as a result over time as well, which makes it difficult, against a social background, to manifest accurate qualitative results when measured against the "social normative moving target". What we in effect are doing is trying to map a subjective (how the person feels) against an objective (how the person is developed and measured through scientific means) and plot that against a dynamically changing societal target. Although I am not saying this is undoable, I am saying that there are enough subjective that any study will run into issues with those who will disagree with what we may consider to otherwise be tangible and qualitative results. Just my thoughts.... I still have not had my coffee yet so my brain is not yet fully awake....Catch me when I can actually think and this might be more literate....Christenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06095009678153723490noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413603525256803350.post-28670732471084257682012-08-31T09:08:18.438-04:002012-08-31T09:08:18.438-04:00I take your point. However, I regard myself and d...I take your point. However, I regard myself and define myself as a female and woman. The fact that at one point I COULD be called trans is meaningless noise to me. The continum as you call it was established by others so we could be categorized in some fashion, in other words it was for their comfort level not ours. We chose to allow this as it made things more clear for others and for professionals to use in our treatments (remember DSM?) We had to fit within the parameters chosen for us by that vile unit or else we were seen as *insane or diseased* to one degree or another. The continum you refer to was for their comfort not ours. When we are asked we chose instinctively male or female. Society will admit of no others than just male or female. The gender scale you refer to *if it exsists.* is for the comfort of others and a mere convience not an absolute. JinianVictoriaJinianVictoria@yahoo.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413603525256803350.post-70838290795900945882012-08-31T05:23:42.201-04:002012-08-31T05:23:42.201-04:00Nice Sherri, I always felt That trans' terms w...Nice Sherri, I always felt That trans' terms were something of which we picked the most appropriate for each of us and then embellished the definition to suit ourselves. Personally I knew from the age of 3 that I was female despite what the outside saw me as, and as with Christine Jorgenson have always felt more comfortable using the term transgender because for me I never considered it about how I functioned sexual or about my defined sexuality. But hey that's just me. Kimberley Louise Prance. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4413603525256803350.post-25718061205241364012012-08-31T00:55:13.190-04:002012-08-31T00:55:13.190-04:00Blah, blah,blah... blah, blah, blah... Venn diagra...Blah, blah,blah... blah, blah, blah... Venn diagrams, really? Just because it doesn't exist for you doesn't mean it doesn't exist for others. I'm glad you're not my therapist.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com