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this post was submitted on 31 Oct 2024
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I don't understand this. We have two genders, how is it not binary and how is it made up? Honest question.
I'll take this as a good faith question, and the short answer is that gender is a lot more complicated than that.
Yes there are two archetypal roles involved in sexual reproduction, but even that isn't so simple. There isn't just one feature that defines male or female, but a combination of traits including chromosomes, gametes, anatomy, hormones, etc. In the real world, some folks are born with features that don't all agree with one or another archetype. Intersex people aren't common, about 1 in 2,000, but their existence proves that sex isn't just a binary. There's diversity to sex that requires a more complicated scheme to account for everybody.
Gender, likewise, doesn't follow the one-or-the-other model. Most folks are cisgender, but some folks have a gender that doesn't agree with what people assume their sex is, or no gender at all, or a gender that doesn't fit into the man/woman spectrum. It gets complicated quickly because gender is where sex and society intersect. Some cultures have different expectations based on gender, and some even have more than two recognized genders. That's why we say "gender is a social construct", because we all get to define for ourselves what it means to be a man, woman, or otherwise. And that's also how gender is constructed, it's a social project we all engage in collectively whether we realize it or not. Most just pass along the traditional gender roles that were passed to them, but those can change rather rapidly as society changes, like when clean-shaven faces became "manly" in response to WW1 soldiers having to shave so that their gas masks could maintain a good seal.
I think it's fine that everyone gets to say what their gender is, as long as the archetypal roles stay the same - man or female.
Gender can be a word for how people define themselves, as long as we instead use "archetypal roles" to define what our physical body looks like.
I think what is frustrating is when people start to say that we shouldn't include our physical body type at all in discussions. That's taking it too far in my opinion. Going to the doctor and not telling what body type you are makes diagnosis impossible in same cases. And for what reason? That part doesn't make any sense to me. Race, body type, and other things are important to know in many cases.
But otherwise, sure, people can define their gender how they like.
I'm noticing a contradiction here.
And for those of us who don't fit those archetypes?
Generally, it is considered impolite to talk to strangers about one's genitals.
The medical setting is one of the few contexts where talking about one's anatomy isn't considered a faux pas.
Do you want the historical explanation of how puritainism affected our culture?
They're relevant a lot less often than you'd think.