Breaking the gender dichotomy

On March 21, the IU community is hosting a talk titled “Breaking the Gender Dichotomy: Why Two are Definitely not Enough,” presented by Indiana State University professor Kand McQueen.

Currently, Western society holds that sex and gender exist as a strict dichotomy, consisting of the two categories of male and female.

Accompanying this dichotomous view are stringent socially constructed rules defining precisely what it means to be a man or woman.

Effeminate males as well as masculine females are shunned or ridiculed for failing to conform to our dichotomous expectations.

Gays, lesbians and bisexuals are rejected by many because they do not behave in a manner consistent with our binary view, in that men are “supposed” to be attracted to women and women are “supposed” to be attracted to men.

Kand argues this two-and-only-two sex/gender view is inadequate, evidenced in part by the existence of two groups who provide a challenge: the intersexed, who provide a physical challenge, and the transgendered, who provide a physical one.
 
Why do we care?  Because in constraining sex and gender to a strict dichotomy, a good number of people have been left out, and they pay a price.  Children who fail to adequately “perform” their gender are often forced into reparative therapies by well-meaning but confused parents.

Effeminate males and masculine women are often met with scorn, ridicule, violent confrontations or even rape. Children with anatomies that fail to provide easy classification of either boy or girl are subjected to invasive medical procedures that often leave them physically and emotionally scarred.

In addition, men are encouraged to disregard their natural feminine characteristics and women their masculine ones. This presentation will weave a delicate balance of the academic coupled with the personal that has proven to be moving and effective.
 
Prior attendees have responded, “You’ve changed the way I think.” To find out more about Kand, visit KandMcQueen.com and consider attending on Thursday night, 7:30 p.m., School of Public Health Auditorium (C100).

— Doug Bauder,
GLBT Student Support Services
Kathryn Brown,
Health & Wellness Education IU Health Center