Gender and Sexuality, Part 1

Friday, December 15, 2006

THOUGHTS ON BEING TRANSGENDER

PART ONE

WHY BEING TRANSGENDER DOES NOT NECESSARILY IMPLY A SEXUAL COMPONENT:
A CONFUSION IN TERMS



A key factor in discerning what it means to be transgender, or gender variant, requires the ability to differentiate between commonly accepted, but erroneous, labels. Even though it has been general practice, the identification of gender identity with sexual preference has led to an abysmal gap in our understanding. Simply put, it is a case of apples and oranges. Gender identity and gender presentation, on the one hand, and sexual preference or sexual orientation, on the other have, been confused and misconstrued for so long it is no wonder that, until recently, it was even a source of contention within the LGBTI community. Fortunately, through the advocacy of organization such as NCTE, NTAC, HRC and NGLTF, much of the inaccuracy has been dispelled. Still, the need for education is critical both within the LGBTI population and in society at large.

In part one of this article, I want to address just what the differences are. In part two, I would like to focus on the history that brought us this unfortunate conflation of gender and sexuality. Part three will look to the future and possibilities that exist when we address these issues with a new and different mindset.

Briefly, gender identity is whom I see regarding the person I believe myself to be and gender presentation is how I wish to present that person to the world. Sexual preference is to whom I am sexually attracted. I am not asserting that these two may, at times, not have an interactive relationship. Both are extremely complex and easily have an effect, one upon the other. But, their core natures are distinct and any attempt to confuse the two will invariably end up doing disservice to both.

Until recently, it has been commonly accepted belief that one’s birth sex was synonymous with one’s gender. If you were born with a penis, you were a male and were expected to act as a man. If you were born with a vagina, the role of female was to be the assigned role. Of course, this formula completely ignores the phenomenon of intersex, which should give us a clue that binary models for sexuality may not be accurate. It has been postulated that a continuum model may be closer to reality. If we look at sexuality from a sociologist’s perspective, and we include the diversity of sexual expression that is evident in today’s culture, it seems prudent to entertain the continuum model. It is even possible to go one step further and embrace a diversity model in which any modality we perceive in ourselves is an acceptable way of expressing sexuality.

Once we make the decision to explore the diversity model, it is not so difficult a task to understand and accept that sexual preference and gender identity are just two avenues in which diversity expresses itself. The reality is that the combinations and permutations of that manifestation are extensive. There is no distinct rationale to suspect that gender and sexuality are identical, or coextensive, and to do so makes the error of an assumption, which, in truth, has no basis in fact.

An appeal to reality will validate the accuracy of this model. We may find transgender persons who are attracted to men, to women, or to both. There is certainly no reason to suspect that, because one perceives oneself to be gender variant, one’s sexuality must necessarily change. Similarly, there are many different possibilities for the expression of gender variance, e.g., androgyny, gender queer, goth, m to f, f to m, pre-op, post-op, TG, TS, CD etc., just to name a handful. None of these has their essential basis in sexuality, which can express itself in another set of differing modalities. The bottom line to gender identity is to express, on the outside, the person one sees on the inside. True gender freedom means exactly that…no limits, no intolerance, no abridgement of civil rights. In that regard, freedom to express one’s gender perception and freedom to express one’s sexuality ARE similar to each other, and no different than freedoms other minorities claim as their birthright. When we equate gender with sexuality, however, we make the mistake of delimitation that echoes the same constraints majorities have historically imposed upon minorities. As is generally the case, such situations arise from misunderstandings and mistaken labels. Both can be easily avoided if we educate others as well as ourselves.

Next: A brief history of this confusion and it’s root within the phenomenon of patriarchy.


trickster108