gender bits

Some current thoughts on gender in society (and my place within those two spheres, spurred on by a reading of this article on postmodern identity and transformation).

"Binary" = consisting of two parts.
"Bit" = a unit of information equivalent to the result of a choice between two alternatives (as yes or no, on or off).

With all the modern marvels of science, technology and medicine, we still assign all the complexities of gender to the most basic forms of information possible, a 1 or a 0.

Here are a couple current mainstream gender-related definitions that I think reflect the inherent bias (even in the supposedly objective medical and psychological disciplines) against we that don't fit within the traditional binary gender roles (bold = my emphasis):

American Psychological Association Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms

• Gender Identity: Inner conviction that one is male or female or inner sense of being masculine or feminine
• Sex: Conceptually broad term referring to the structural, functional, or behavioral characteristics of males and females of a given species
• Transsexualism (used for: Transgendered): The urge to belong to the opposite sex that may include surgical procedures to modify the sex organs in order to appear as the opposite sex.

Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary (linked from the National Library of Medicine site):

• gen·der: the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex
• sex: either of the two major forms of individuals that occur in many species and that are distinguished respectively as male or female
• trans·sex·u·al: a person who psychologically identifies with the opposite sex and may seek to live as a member of this sex

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language:

• gen·der: The condition of being female or male; sex. b. Females or males considered as a group: expressions used by one gender.
• sex: 1a. The property or quality by which organisms are classified as female or male on the basis of their reproductive organs and functions. b. Either of the two divisions, designated female and male, of this classification. 2. Females or males considered as a group. 3. The condition or character of being female or male; the physiological, functional, and psychological differences that distinguish the female and the male.
• trans·gen·dered: Appearing as, wishing to be considered as, or having undergone surgery to become a member the opposite sex
• trans·sex·u·al: One who wishes to be considered by society as a member of the opposite sex

Notice a pattern? It seems that the binary model of gender is basically a given in today's society, despite the long-known presence of many individuals who don't fit that model.Trying to fit all us square pegs (and this includes many who rebel against dominant gender roles or expression but don't identify as trans in any way) into a round hole, eh society?! We square pegs are deemed mistakes or have some sort of error in our functionality (whether it be physical or mental) - can that be the only reason we don't fit neatly into one of the two genders?

Question: what is the advantage, if any, to having only one limited set of "correct" or "normal" genders (i.e., male and female) or gender expressions? Isn't it possible that the current binary model is simplistic and the result of a social construct that arose/evolved over time and was based on only a shallow survey of now outdated gender expression?

In reading a bit of Joan Roughgarden's excellent Evolution's Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People, she documents how gender (and sexual) variance/diversity exist in many, many different species in nature (if not all species).

Perhaps unlimited gender variance (or the idea of an endless spectrum or sphere of gender expression) is "normal" and the idea of just two genders (or even the idea that we can define what is "normal" for any physical or social function within the infinitely complex structures of life) is the "mistake?" Perhaps how society interacts with gender variant people is the problem, rather than how gender-variant people choose to express themselves...

Just some food for thought...