Gender Identity Is The Assumption Of There Being Binary...

Binary Logic: Another issue with research pertaining to sexual identity is the assumption of there being binary categories, such as gay/straight, male/female, etc. Research in this area is generally dichotomized (e.g. male/female, gay/straight), which can foster rigid identity assumptions, foster homogeneous understanding of research particiapnts and results, foster a divide between ‘normal’ and ‘deviant’ behavior, as well as mask inherent variation in different groups and populations (Johnson Repta, 2012). Bringing greater awareness to the complexity of sexual and gender identity could have transformative effects on how research is conducted. Some scholars in the social work field have begun to acknowledge and recognize the increasing evidence that sexual and gender identity are not binary categories, as well that categories might not even be an accurate way of understanding these phenomena (Burdge, 2007; Roche Gringeri, 2010). While an understanding that the binary mo del is flawed has gained some traction in social work research, the majority of researchers continue to ignore and disregard this possibility, consequently reinforcing this erroneous dichotomous paradigm (Rassi, 2011). It has also been noted that critiques from postmodern, poststructural, and queer theory perspectives, as well as from individuals or groups (e.g. transgender, bisexual, intersex) who do not â€Å"fit neatly† into binary categories continue to remain essentially absent within social workShow MoreRelatedGender Inequality Between Men And Women908 Words   |  4 Pagesand â€Å"gender† synonymously, it’s important to recognize the difference between the two. In West and Zimmerman’s article, â€Å"Doing Gender,† they make this distinction. Sex is defined as â€Å"biology: anatomy, hormones, and physiology,† and gender is â€Å"an achieved status: that which is constructed through psychological, cultural, and social means† ( West and Zimmerman; 125). Michael Kimmel, the author of The Gendered Society and a sociologist at Stony Brook University in New York, further defines gender as â€Å"[referring]Read MorePhysical Body And Genitali The Biological Perspective1452 Words   |  6 PagesCompare and Contrast Essay Biological Perspective: The biological perspective posits the idea that one’s biological makeup is responsible for determining one’s gender. The idea is that a physical body and genitalia is what mandates the person’s gender. Some researchers have suggested that on top of this biological determinism, genes pass on gender stereotypes like an increased ability for math in people biologically assigned male and maternal instincts in people assigned female at birth. Others have suggestedRead MoreThe Separation Of The Human Experience Essay1590 Words   |  7 PagesSociety is quick to label, quick to decide who people are before they’ve gotten the chance to discover it for themselves. As soon as one is born, they are assigned a gender. â€Å"It’s a boy!† or â€Å"It’s a girl!†, they don’t make any other balloons or cards. The habit humans have of dividing things into twos applies not only to the world around them, but is at work intrinsically as we ll. As with many of such partitions, the separation of people into males and females runs very deep. It is ingrained sociallyRead MoreSexual Identity And Gender Expression1399 Words   |  6 PagesTo conceptualise sexual identity and gender expression, Judith Butler (1990) proposes a poststructuralist perspective; that gendered behaviour (masculinity and femininity) is learned, a performative act, and that gender is constructed through a ‘heterosexual matrix’. She describes this as [A] hegemonic/epistemic model of gender intelligibility that assumes that for bodies to cohere and make sense there must be a stable sex expressed through a stable gender (masculine expresses discursive male, feminineRead MoreGender, Sexual, And Gender862 Words   |  4 PagesWithin Western society, frequently, we hear the terms ‘gender’ and ‘sex’. However, each of these terms are used interchangeably and therefore incorrectly. We are born, assigned a sex, and sent out into the world. For many people, this is cause for little, if any conflict. However biological sex and gender are contrasting; gender is not inherently nor solely connected to an individual’s physical anatomy. Even so, one’s biological gender or ‘sex’ is determined at birth through physical attributes,Read MoreWomen s Process Of Self Discovery1295 Words   |  6 PagesShe also states that transgender people are adding a new perspective to the narrative of gender t hat is why â€Å"non-transgender people, from religious conservatives to anti-trans feminists, may see transsexual identities as a threat to their own sense of identity† (Ladin, 2015). I imagine Ladin had in mind Germaine Greer, a renowned feminist when she wrote her article, Greer stated that â€Å"a post-operative transgender woman ‘can’t be a woman’† (Saul, 2015). Nevertheless, comments of this kind challengeRead MoreFeminism : A Feminist Theory1301 Words   |  6 PagesDue: 12/10/2015 Feminism is gender liberation Feminism needs to be more broadly defined in terms of gender liberation to encompass individuals from all walks of genders (or nongenders). Separating gender nonconforming issues from feminism is erasive; marginalized gender nonconforming individuals should not be told to fend for themselves and their own rights due to a multitude of oppressions experienced by these individuals (based on the prejudicial gender assumptions the patriarchy puts on them)Read MoreSex Tests And Gender Policies Essay1499 Words   |  6 PagesDominant groups in society often set up normative ideas about bodies, genders and sexualities in order to preserve the societal hierarchy that greatly benefits them. White, cisgender, heterosexual males are often at the top of this hierarchy and are the active perpetrators of their imposed rigid standards. Categories are created by these dominant groups to exercise their control and those who do not fit or refuse to categorize themselves are punished, either metaphoric ally or literally. In the sportsRead MoreThe Child Is A Child Essay1433 Words   |  6 Pagesdifferentiate between, gender and sexuality based of the sex of a child. Instead these three concepts are seen as intertwined based off of the sex of the child. Gender is a fluidic term that exists cross –culturally separate from the biological construct of gender. Gender within western culture has been labeled as a binary structure within the realms of the biological sex of a person. A person’s gender is determined by whether or not they are born with a vagina or penis. The concept of gender as a biologicalRead MoreGender Identity : Free Or Predetermined? Essay965 Words   |  4 PagesGender Identity: Free To Choose Or Predetermined? When Jordan Smith was fifteen years old she finally realized just how different she was in comparison to other girls her age. She hated wearing dresses, never wore makeup, had the â€Å"tomboy† look, and felt like she never fit in with girls her age. She always hung out with the boys and did what they did. She could have easily passed for a boy. So one day she finally decided that she was no longer a female and became a male. Jordan finally felt accepted