This is the blog for History 128, U.S. Gay and Lesbian History, Claremont McKenna College, spring 2017. It is open only to members of the class. Please post items relevant to the themes of our course, and please comment on other posts as well. Check back regularly for updates!
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Genderbread Person
Here's a link to the image of the Genderbread Person that we discussed in class. The image aims to illustrate spectrums of sex, gender, and sexuality. And here's a discussion guide, using that image, that you might find interesting.
Wow, this is so different than what I learned in school about gender! I actually can't remember ever talking about gender as different than sex actually. I wonder if this image is cemented into the discussion of gender, or if it will evolve over time. I'm inclined to think more things will be added because we first talked about sexuality in terms of desire, behavior, and identity, and now added expression and romance to talk about gender. Maybe familial role could be added as another scale? I also see where it might be shaved off: gender expression. I think this is the most public of the factors because makes gender tangible, present, and a thing that must be acknowledged. It relies on "how those presentations are interpreted by gender norms," and maybe in a few (or few dozen?) generations, expression will not be able to be divided into masculine or feminine. This would profoundly impact trans identities because a lot of it deals with presentation. On a semi-related note, I saw his funny post about an idea for a baby shower: "A gender reveal party where you reveal that gender is a social construct," followed by comments that maybe it should be called a sex reveal party! Anyway, thank you for sharing and I'm excited to see what my children learn about gender!
A gender reveal party where people step away from their freaky obsession with the genitalia of newborns and the supposed (mystical, horoscope-like) significance thereof!
Also here is another visualization similar to the genderbread person but different in several ways: the gender unicorn! http://www.transstudent.org/gender
In my Sociology class we had learned about the Genderbread Person, but this diagram includes one aspect that had not been included when I learned about it: expression. I think the fact that expression covers the entire body is a truly accurate representation, and I am surprised that it was not included in the version that I had previously learned. I would be interested to learn how frequently this model is being taught in primary education as it would be essential to child development. I did not see anything like this till my Junior year of college, which is problematic.
Wow, this is so different than what I learned in school about gender! I actually can't remember ever talking about gender as different than sex actually. I wonder if this image is cemented into the discussion of gender, or if it will evolve over time. I'm inclined to think more things will be added because we first talked about sexuality in terms of desire, behavior, and identity, and now added expression and romance to talk about gender. Maybe familial role could be added as another scale?
ReplyDeleteI also see where it might be shaved off: gender expression. I think this is the most public of the factors because makes gender tangible, present, and a thing that must be acknowledged. It relies on "how those presentations are interpreted by gender norms," and maybe in a few (or few dozen?) generations, expression will not be able to be divided into masculine or feminine. This would profoundly impact trans identities because a lot of it deals with presentation.
On a semi-related note, I saw his funny post about an idea for a baby shower: "A gender reveal party where you reveal that gender is a social construct," followed by comments that maybe it should be called a sex reveal party!
Anyway, thank you for sharing and I'm excited to see what my children learn about gender!
A gender reveal party where people step away from their freaky obsession with the genitalia of newborns and the supposed (mystical, horoscope-like) significance thereof!
ReplyDeleteHere are some funny tumblr posts the gender reveal thing reminded me of:
ReplyDeletehttp://slightlykylie.tumblr.com/post/119447872966
http://wildewomyn.tumblr.com/post/135668582518
http://averyterrible.tumblr.com/post/126670575318
http://hellotailor.tumblr.com/post/65448351472
Also here is another visualization similar to the genderbread person but different in several ways: the gender unicorn! http://www.transstudent.org/gender
ReplyDeleteIn my Sociology class we had learned about the Genderbread Person, but this diagram includes one aspect that had not been included when I learned about it: expression. I think the fact that expression covers the entire body is a truly accurate representation, and I am surprised that it was not included in the version that I had previously learned. I would be interested to learn how frequently this model is being taught in primary education as it would be essential to child development. I did not see anything like this till my Junior year of college, which is problematic.
ReplyDelete