Duh Duh Duh!!!
No, not intercourse! Does it depend on the genitals? Is it gonads? Gonads are internal sex organs Is it chromosomes? What about just feeling male or female? Well, it’s possible that they all do But....
Gender variance occurs when people find it difficult to associate with a specific gender Reason is not important
Imagine someone you know pretty well Are they male or females? How do you know? The only real way to know is to check for genitals, gonads, or chromosomes If you haven’t done this how do we know? What are other cues we use to know one’s gender?
But what about if a woman is wearing a pair of pants? Or if a man wears a skirt? Are these scenarios confusing at all? When do we need to actually know someone’s biological sex?
All societies have specific sex/gender determined roles Some are physically defined, but most are arbitrary (no biological reason) By following a role, people advertise what sex or gender they are to others Other ways of advertising this are considered unacceptable in many societies
four headings: What females are expected to do What females actually do What males are expected to do What males actually do
How many of the following roles are determined by nature? How many have remained the same since the 1950s? How many are different in other cultures? Childbearing Childrearing Wearing pants Preparing meals Going out to work Cleaning the toilet Working on the car Fighting Ski jumping
Are certain behaviours really natural? Are women different to men? How do we eliminate gender inequality? Is it fair to consistently treat and identify someone with the opposite sex? How would you feel?
People don’t conform to their appropriate roles? The rules are broken? How can they be broken? Are some more serious than others? If so which? Why are some people more upset about this than others?
Biology? Friends and family? What feels best inside? Would you feel comfortable if you were the opposite sex?
Was born an identical twin boy After circumcision accident, underwent sexual reassignment surgery Raised as a girl named Brenda Did not identify with being female At age of 13 became suicidal At 14 took on male identity Later married a woman and became step father Eventually committed suicide
The way in which we associate ourselves with one sex or the other Some children may not learn about sexual differences until they are older Genitals help us to determine out gender but is not always the case What if our genitals are neither male or female? Gender identity becomes more important when things are not in sync What happens when our feelings are neither male or female?
Transsexuals Transgenders Transvestite Males Drag Queens
If gender-crossing challenges what it means to be hetero- or homo- sexual, how is gender identity tied in to sexual orientation? Transsexual people do not change roles simply to have sex in a more acceptable way Some people may discover that they switch their orientation when they cross genders Does the orientation change or direct the gender switch? Transsexual people can have the same sexual orientation as anyone else
How would you define ‘heterosexual’ or ‘homosexual’ if someone isn’t exactly male or female? Do you base it on the genitals they had or the chromosomes in their cells? What if those genitals are ambiguous? Do you base it on whether they have had surgery yet? Do you base it on their legal status? How do you classify a transsexual woman partnered with a straight man? Does the definition depend on whether the trans woman has had gender reassignment
Imagine someone in your family or a friend told you that they were going to change their gender. Write a bit about the problems and challenges you think they would be likely to face and the ways in which people might be able to help them. What sort of things would they need to change? What prejudices would they encounter? Once you think you’re finished share with someone around you and compare your ideas