Cross Gender Dressing

In the 2005 article Beards, Breasts, and Bodies: Doing Sex in a Gendered World, Dozier discussing the concept of gender and its tie to social interactions. Typically, gender is thought of as the socially constructed representation of biological sex, or the combinations of chromosomes, hormones, genitalia, and reproductive organs. However, if biological sex is ambiguous, those social constructs are used in place to determine and represent sex. Thus, Dozier (2005) asserts that sex, gender, and sexuality/sexual orientation are all socially constructed and uses interviews with eighteen female-to-male (FTM) transgender and transsexual individuals. Dozier (2005) also uses these interviews to assert that behavior is an important aspect of how gender

In Octavia Butler’s Dawn the idea of gender is deconstructed and reformed from the typical human’s definition. Often people do not consider the role of gender in society today. Usually the first thing one notices when meeting someone new is their gender or their presumed gender. However, there becomes a problem when the person whose gender we perceived identifies as a different gender. Butler forces the reader to examine how they judge and perceive gender. While the ooloi are actually “its” their personalities seem to imply a certain gender. The transgender community often brings up this issue because these assumptions of gender based on our judgments of what defines a male and what defines a female can skew how a transgender person is treated and addressed. In Chapter One of Gender Through the Prism of Difference by Anne Fausto-Sterling, the idea of expanding the number of genders based on one’s biological differences is examined through the five sexes theory. By now the concept of gender being defined solely by one’s biology has mostly been left in the past but the question remains of how do we truly define gender? How does being outside of the social norms that Michael Warner talks about cause us to feel shame when discussing our gender and our perceptions of gender? In this essay, I will argue that preconceived notions of gender create shame when a person’s own perception of their gender does not fit the social norms. This stigma around the limited and strict definitions

One example of a social norm would be the expectation that women wear clothes from the women’s section and men wear clothes from the men’s section. If someone doesn’t dress in clothing from the section that people believe they should, their labeled a crossdresser. Crossdressing can receive various reactions from different people. Some people just stare when they realize someone is crossdressing while some people feel the need to actually address it. Men typically will receive much more hateful reactions when they cross dress and have sometimes even been physically assaulted over it. Religious groups can also be shaming towards people who chose to cross dress because they believe it’s sinful. Parents of children caught crossdressing might yell

All in all, the documentary The Middle Sexes covers many controversial topics. Some of these topics include the biology of middle sexes, the dangers of being a transgender, and societies outlook on transgenders. With much analysis, I’ve realized that this film has too narrow of a perspective on transgenders and middle sexes. The restricted perspective prevents the audience from being

People with gender Identity crises do not feel their genitalia reflects who they are inside. They may feel a powerful drive to have their genitalia match their self-image opting for sex reassignment surgery. Gender expression is far more relaxed than it has been throughout our history in America, but it still poses a problems for some on a daily basis. Gender expression is one area where women have a social advantage over men. It is far more socially acceptable for a woman to dress masculine than for a man to dress feminine; although neither are without predigests.

Human beings have always fought for the right to control their bodies and engage in practices that please themselves and their bodies. Similarly, the society, in general, has tried to regulate the control of human bodies and set rules that do not favor everyone's opinion. The most common forms of body control that have been fought over for a long time include freedom of sexuality and freedom of abortions. In the case of sexuality, the society, mostly backed by religious institutions has tried to eliminate homosexuality despite the fact that many members of the society are naturally born gay or homosexual. Additionally, the society has done its best to prohibit abortions with minimal success. In the past, the freedom of sexuality

On October 6, 2017, I woke up and for an hour I thought about what social norm I was going to challenge for this assignment. After giving it careful thought, I decided I was going to challenge the gender roles, identity, and stereotypes that society has. “Gender roles are sets of behavioral norms assumed to accompany one’s status as male or female.” (Conley, 2017, p.133) I was going to challenge this with my clothing. So, I decided I was going to dress up like a man for the whole day. Gender roles are cultural and personal. They determine and control how males and females should think, speak, dress, and interact within the context of society. In the United States, these gender roles are

The first article is “The Social Construction of Gender” by Judith Lorber. In this essay she states that sex and gender is constructed through the society in which we live and that, “Gender is so pervasive that in our society we assume it is bred into our genes” (Lorber, 64). Lorber’s article takes the standpoint that physical gender expression is such an important topic to individuals because when the conventions of gender are shifted, “we feel socially dislocated” (65). An example of this is when people who are not used to gender shifts encounter a “transvestite,” or in modern terms a transgender person, their perceptions are disrupted. If someone does not express physical gender “normally” with their bodies—i.e. a

Many may wonder what being a transgender person really is, a lot of people may see or refer to it as someone who has gone gender transformation, or is confused with who they are. The word transvestite is very much used when referring to a person who identifies with the opposite gender, the word 'Transvestite' itself originated in 1910 by the well known German sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld, who also founded the Berlin institute which was where the first 'sex change' surgeries took place. 'Transsexual' was not used until 1949, the word 'transgender' not until 1971, and 'trans not until 1996, but they all refer to the same thing. The idea of being transgender goes as far back as 1503 BC to the Egyptians. It was believed that their second

Culture and society shape and mould us into who we are in today’s world, and it is apparent that the fluidity of culture and society is held responsible for one’s gender to change over time. In the East, most transgenders in countries such as India and Thailand challenge cultural and social norms to claim alternative gender in this world. In the West, however, most transgenders define themselves as the opposite gender than the one others would consider as matching the one they were born. Looking at the example of a male identifying as a female, Lewins (1995:48) mentioned the tensions intertwined to the culture one was born into to the confusion of one who

Finding neutral gender costumes was not found in Walmart. Except they had pictures of gender neutral costumes on the side but the age range on these costumes had to be under two or three at the oldest. The costumes found at Walmart were aimed for strictly male or women, never both. Which it could be different if going to an actual Halloween costume shop. I think it was impossible to find gender neutral costumes because as men and women grow up, women become more sexualized by each year and you will not be catching men wearing sexualized costumes. Finding out which costume was meant for males of females was not very hard. In the fist place, they all had "For boy" or "For girl" which clearly tells who it is for. Even if there was no labeling

However, studies have proven that many adolescents with Gender Identity Disorder grew up in families which at least at one time “cross-gender behavior was tolerated or encouraged, often viewed as ‘only a phase.” (Byrd 7)

Children learn at a very early age what it means to be a boy or a girl in our society. As children grow and develop, the gender stereotypes they are exposed to at home are reinforced by many elements in their environment and are thus perpetuated throughout childhood followed by adolescence. One major societal issue uprising with the way children are raised in today’s society is the gender specific dressing for boys and girls. The history with gender specific dressing is a one sided masculine enforced point of view for centuries. As children move through childhood and into adolescence, they are exposed to many factors which influence their behaviors and attitudes regarding gender roles. It is difficult for a child in today’s society to grow to adulthood without experiencing some form of gender bias or stereotyping. The question lies whether the view of gender specific dressing shall change or stay the same. As society continues to evolve and grow so does the tolerance of new uprising views for the general purpose of equality and freedom to do as pleased. Children regularly learn to adopt gender roles which are not always fair to both sexes. These attitudes and behaviors are generally learned first in the home but then reinforced by their environment, school experience, and media viewing. Nonetheless, the strongest influence on gender role development seems to occur within the family setting. Culture, values, and beliefs are the parents early role for passing on, both overtly

The realization of the homosexuality in the modern western world as a cultural, sexual and a social category has been a result of complex power relations that surround sexuality and gender. The acceptance of homosexuality in the society has met its fair share of resistance and skepticism. The view that homosexuality can be in the same league as heterosexual has led it to be viewed as a normal behavioral and moral standard (Gallagher & Baker, 2006). Inasmuch as the skeptics may not want to accept the existence of homosexuality studies show that the habit is rampant today with many gay people coming out in the open. Of interest is the political acceptance of homosexuality with passing gay rights so that it can be recognized by law. This move has given homosexuals the ability to engage in legal entities like marriage (Gallagher & Baker, 2006).

Transvestism was a common practice in a homosexual relationship. Transvestism is defined as the practice of dressing and appearing like the other sex. In Japanese history, male homosexuality is seen as gender misalignment, which is the totality of physical and behavioral traits that are designated by a culture as masculine or feminine. Transvestism is shown through cross dressing males who appear as females. This would be done to please their male partner’s heterosexual interest and was apparent throughout the societies of Japan. This was typical within samurai relationships, but there has been cases of this found with the chigo cross dressing to please the monk elites. The ideology of cross-dressing was accepted and encouraged through the religious norms. They would do this to fulfill the concept that they were in a relationship with a woman to suppress their desire to commit the sin of sexual intercourse with a woman and continue the cycle of attachment. “There is little effort to differentiate among the categories of homosexual male, transsexual, transvestite, and drag queen” (McLelland 158). Cross-dressing was most common in the Edo period because they felt the need to be in touch with their feminine side due to the introduction of Bushido. The difference between homosexual males, transsexual, transvestite, and drag queens was not apparent to the Japanese people. All of them were seen as the same and necessary to fulfil the need of their male partner. “The hero of Chigo