Comments on: Thoughts on Gender Outlaw by Kate Bornstein http://disruptedspace.wordpress.com/2009/07/06/thoughts-on-gender-outlaw-by-kate-bornstein/ queerz cum glitter! Sun, 21 Nov 2010 00:43:34 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Tutsy http://disruptedspace.wordpress.com/2009/07/06/thoughts-on-gender-outlaw-by-kate-bornstein/#comment-27 Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:51:38 +0000 http://disruptedspace.wordpress.com/?p=21#comment-27 Saw your blog bookmarked on Delicious. I love your site and marketing strategy.

]]> By: gingerqueer http://disruptedspace.wordpress.com/2009/07/06/thoughts-on-gender-outlaw-by-kate-bornstein/#comment-4 Wed, 08 Jul 2009 04:43:00 +0000 http://disruptedspace.wordpress.com/?p=21#comment-4 I know we hashed this out a good bit over coffee today, but there are indeed a few points missing from the dialog of the Bornstein issue. Most importantly being the “intended audience” of this book. It seems to me that she has directed most of what she has written towards a completely “unenlightened” audience. After scanning through some more if her work that I have read or been asked to read, I’ve come to re-realize that this book is just another photocopy of the same “Trans 101″ workshops that get passed off as “progressive” when viewed in the “LGBT” sector.
When searching for the idea of Male Privilege out of Male Behavior, everything becomes real sticky for me. It’s obvious that she has absorbed some White Male Privilege in her life. Though internally and culturally she may have struggled when lacking cissexual privilege, she has been fortunate enough to gain the privileges reserved for biological men, at some point in her life. Her ability to “pass” and live as “hyper-feminine” woman, seem to be such structured goals. I know that for some people, maybe even many people, choosing to align yourself with only one gender and/or sex is the ideal situation, and that is certainly acceptable. But why does the presence of “masculine” traits become a sign of weakness? Why is the need to pass the strongest goal? How many women in our lives exhibit what are seen as masculine traits, but hold on tightly to their “feminine” forms?

Furthermore, how we do we structure conversations like this without implying that the opposite of female is male, and vice versa? How do we talk about the social construct of gender without applying all its rules to our vocabulary?

Mandee

]]>