Lines of Inquiry

We currently have our tent pitched in several camps of inquiry:

First, since my views get me banned from forums, let's look at a peer-reviewed monograph written by an MD, Ph.D. in clinical psychology:

Blanchard’s Autogynephilia Theory: A Critique

CHARLES MOSER, PhD, MD

Department of Sexual Medicine, Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality,

San Francisco, California, USA

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00918369.2010.486241



Moving right along . . . We're looking these days at R.W. Connell and " Hegemonic Masculinity." Easiest way to explain it is to link to the Wiki entry:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hegemonic_masculinity

The end product of this inquiry being that sex role stereotypes are engendered by the dominant hegemony (Patriarchal), and where TERF and Jack (Fuck you, Jack.) get their panties in a bunch is the part where trans-women (M to F transsexual) are tarred with the brush of buying into sexist stereotypes.

Some do, particularly the "drag queen" who is invariably homosexual and sex orientation is all about being on the margins. Judith Butler provides an exegesis regarding "drag" -- fundamentally that it is a parody of patriarchal sex-role stereotypes.

"Intersectionality" is another line of inquiry -- This mostly derived from sociology and studies of the social situation of black women. Intersectionality suggests that black women's social issues intersect along lines impinging on race, gender, poverty, education, and more. At bottom asserting that social issues are multi-faceted and interconnected.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersectionality

Intersectionality (or intersectional theory) is the study of overlapping or intersecting social identities and related systems of oppression, domination or discrimination. The theory suggests that—and seeks to examine how—various biological, social and cultural categories such as gender, race, class, ability, sexual orientation, religion, caste, age and other axes of identity interact on multiple and often simultaneous levels.

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Excerpt from intro to "Night to his Day: The Social Construction of Gender" -- Judith Lorber 

http://faculty.ucc.edu/english-chewning/SocialConstructionOfGender.pdf 

Talking about gender for most people is the equivalent of fish talking about water. Gender is so much the routine ground of everyday activities that questioning its taken-for-granted assumptions and presuppositions is like wondering about whether the sun will come up. Gender is so pervasive that in our society we assume it is bred into our genes. Most people find it hard to believe that gender is constantly created and re-created out of human interaction, out of social life, and is the texture and order of that social life. Yet gender is like culture, is a human production that depends on everyone constantly “doing gender.”

West, Candace, and Don Zimmerman. 1987. "Doing Gender." Gender and Society 1, 125-51.

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Speaking of stereotypes -- I know more than a few lesbian women who wear black, ride Harley Davidson, and pack firearms, this author included. So much for the sexist stereotypes . . .

And then again, the "Lesbian Butch Biker" is very much a parody and most of us realize it.

Gender presentation is a great big, all encompassing semantic game. "Play Ball ! ! ! "