Problems with the Gender Binary System

Gender derives its formative meaning from culture and societal values, it is not a universal entity as there are various cultures, societal values, beliefs, and preferred ways of organizing collective life across the globe and even within a single culture the meaning of gender varies over time. Chapters three and four of Gendered Lives by Julia T. Wood helps to insightfully look at those views, and rhetorical movements (women and men’s movements) that have overtime influenced, defined and given various meanings to gender (masculinity and femininity).

Culture often thrives off of polar opposites—hot and cold, bitter and sweet, male and female. By setting up these opposing constructs, one can easily find a set definition for each. A hot surface could scorch someone or a cold temperature could cause them to shiver. In the same way, a bitter substance would be less enjoyable to eat than a sweet one. These terms are often defined by mentioning their antitheses. Because it’s comfortable to embrace specificity and certainty, topics such as gender and gender expression often get simplified into binary existences—however, they don’t quite operate under the same parameters. In an essay entitled “Bad Feminist”, Dr. Roxane Gay explores and warns against the dangers of binary thinking. Throughout

In this essay, I will firstly seek to define and address the distinction between the terms ‘sex’ and ‘gender’. Then I will explain how, basing on this understanding, will we be able to explore how societies used to function on more traditional approaches of gender association with sexes and the impacts that arose as a result of this framework. Lastly, I will attempt to show how, with greater researches and understandings of sex and gender is achieved, societies have evolved and the engendered implications.

A study conducted out of Adelphi University in New York, found that “the experience of hate crimes, racism and/or discrimination can be a source of acute and chronic stress that may result in negative physical and mental health outcomes such as increased blood pressure, anxiety, depression, and symptoms of PTSD” (Abu-Raz & Saurez, 2009, “Background,” para 2). This in turn, has an impact on the victim causing him or her “severe consequences for daily functioning long after the crime has taken place” (Keller, Rasmussen, Reeves, Rosenfeld, 2007, “The Effects of Torture,” p 734). For example, the victim changes the way they perceive their surroundings and perform tasks such as going to the super market, a bank or a restaurant with much fear and reluctancy. It is also possible that the effects of hate crimes for an individual and community are “augmented by secondary factors such as people’s attitudes and perceptions about members of the targeted groups” (Craig & Waldo, 1996, “Hate Crimes,” para 2). Some victims of hate crimes are selected based on how he or she is perceived rather than by something they did or said.

Based on the discussion from the Williams Institute, it is evident that there continues to be a prevalence of discrimination among groups that are not viewed as culturally acceptable in our county. In this article, it is reported that people are more likely to experience hate crimes based on their sexual orientations. For instance, 44% of people reported experience physical violence (without a weapon) because of their sexual orientation, and 80% had been verbally harassed (Herek, 2009). Although the Hates Crimes Statistic Law became effective in 1990, the stigma surrounding the LGBTQ community continues to affect their everyday life. It may defer a person by identified their sexual orientation for the fear of being discriminating in the workplace,

Carolyn Turpin-Petrosino, who is a Criminal Justice Professor at Bridgewater State University, states that crimes are committed for numerous reasons. However, when dealing with bias crime, also known as hate crime, the motivation stems from “prejudice or hostile” behavior that is “triggered by his or her perception of the victim’s ethnicity, race, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or gender” (Tupin-Petrosino, 2015, p. 2). When one thinks of a gender-based crime, many individuals concluded the crime’s victim is most likely a woman. However, in recent years, that statistic has been proven partially true. This is because the term ‘woman’ no longer refers to an individual who is genetically born with female genital, but rather defines those who are “non-normative or non-traditional” and not born with female parts (Kidd & Witten, 2007, p. 36). Quite often, our society places these particular individuals in a category of transgender.

The issue of the different impacts of offenses based on different factors whether be sexual orientation or race has been a topic of discussion. “Lesbian, gay, and bisexual people might be particularly vulnerable to negative effects of hate crimes….because sexual prejudice is still acceptable in some parts American society and antigay discrimination remains legal in some jurisdictions (Herek, 1997). The main goal of the study done by Herek was to compare the levels of psychological distress among gays, lesbians, and bisexual victims of hate crimes with victims of other types of crimes.

Victimization of LGBT community members is elevating as time passes. Researchers attempt to determine the prevalence of the violence committed against members of the LGBT community (Rothman, Exner, & Baughman, 2011). Many people that identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender that are victims of hate crimes have participated in studies where they insist that the crimes committed against them are based on their sexuality; not class, color, gender, or any other factor. In a qualitative study, Meyer (2009) conducted open-ended interviews with people who were victims of hate crimes. The participants were recruited at LGBT advocacy organizations. Those who presumed that their hate crime was due to multiple systems of oppression such as class,

Fourteen about fifteen years ago when Fred Martinez was sixteen he was murdered, his face was bashed in repeatedly with a heavy rock by a guy he had just met that night. Martinez was Navajo and described himself double spirited. His death is added to the steam of hate crimes that had shocked the public with what had happened. In the years since Martinez’s death conversations have ebbed and flowed in many community but it’s likely they never would have started without the death of a transgender teenager. He like to call himself Beyonce. Ten years after Fred Martinez’s death is still not completely figured out. Martinez was last seen the night of June 16, 2001. that night he was at the Ute Mountain Roundup rodeo where he had met Shaun Murphy

Gender as a Social Construction This annotated bibliography is focused on research that supports the idea that gender has been socially constructed. Haslanger’s chapter offers an understanding of what is meant by the term ‘socially constructed’ and how gender can be defined from this viewpoint. Zimman complements Haslanger’s argument by explaining that it is our discourse that influences our perceptions of gender. Eckert and McConnell-Ginet’s chapter is helpful when explaining how gender is socially constructed by exploring how from birth we are treated and labeled according to whether we’ are male or female.

Hate crimes are criminal infractions in which the victim is targeted due to his or her actual or perceived demographic status, that is, their race, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or national origin. Unlike many other violent crimes, hate crimes have an effect on both the immediate target and the communities of which the individuals are a member. As such, research (Herek, Gillis, & Cogan, 1999; McDevitt, Balboni, Garcia, & Gu, 2001) has shown that victims of violent hate crimes may suffer from more psychological distress, that is, depression, stress, anger, anxiety, among other psychological related concerns more than victims of other violent crimes. The purpose of this paper is to explore a subtopic of forensic psychology that is not commonly discussed, that is, bias crimes or hate crimes. In order to explore this topic, an examination of several aspects related to it will ensue, including a detailed review of the effects hate crimes have on victims, the effects hate crimes have on communities, people who are risk of being victims, the perpetrators of hate crimes (whether they are individuals or part of hate groups), an overall inquiry of hate-motivated offending as well as the different types, and lastly, addressing hate crimes and potential solutions. For this reason, the main question of focus for this paper, then, is why otherwise non-violent people commit violent offenses towards certain groups (i.e. minority groups) as well as the effects that follow for the victims.

Society has conditioned us to believe categorizing genders into “gender boxes” is the norm. We have all heard the classic trite sayings, “Men are the head of the house” or “Women should always cook dinner for their families.” Author, Aaron Devor tackle issues like male and female stereotypes in her article, “Gender Roles Behaviors and Attitudes”; and discusses in depth how gender roles and behaviors are not “natural” and more on the lines of “cultural constructs.” Qualities as such are also identified in Deborah Blum’s article, “The Gender Blur” which reinforces the idea that humans are not born with the stereotypical idea of masculinity and femininity but taught. By highlighting how society has a substantial impact on gender identify, Devor

Gender defines people in society. People may utilize their gender as an advantage or disadvantage, depending upon the situation. Whether it be a female or male, people can and will exploit themselves in order to achieve ‘happiness’ and goals. There is also many societal gender based stereotypes, for example if you are a man you behave a certain way and if you are a woman you behave a certain way although, there will always be stragglers who deviate the norm. Nevertheless they are judged for it.

The vast disparity between genders often ignites controversy among social relations. These attributes of the of the prolonged brawl has effected plenty of what we consider as the normality's of life, especially towards our behavior of the opposing gender. This ideology has conquered over many misogynistic, stereotypical standpoints that have been created over the years of humanity. This societal theory has impacted an immense number of literature works throughout history such as The Yellow Wallpaper, The Glass Menagerie, and Their Eyes Were Watching God.

The history of the world is a complex arrangement of happenings and occurrences that have shaped the current state of civilization. At a fundamental level, history is the driving force behind every element of society that exists today. Within history, there are several factors that have and continue to determine the way in which our society functions. One of the most significant of these factors is gender. Today, conceptions, viewpoints and ideas surrounding gender are always changing. It is this fluidity of thought that ultimately allows society to progress forward and create change. However, gender has not always been as openly discussed. Tracing back through history, gender has consistently been a point of identity among humans.