The Agenda
06
WHY DO WE NEED THE GENDER
BINARY?
Ben Bain
Surprise!
We dont. Its actually pretty harm-
ful to, well everyone.But what is this gen-
der binary pal, whatcha sellin here?
So glad you asked! The gender bi-
nary is the classification of [people] into two
strictly defined genders and their associated
gender roles. Ask yourself: What is a man?
What is a woman? If your answer has some-
thing to do with whats between someones
legs (or on their chest) along with specific
traits, or possible jobs that that kind of per-
son can do, or pretty much any general ste-
reotype of either gender, theres your reason
why the gender binary is harmful. Still dont
understand? Read onwards. deserved. Try imagining Batman in an ex-
First off, sex and gender are not the
same thing (an earth shattering concept, I
know). Sex deals with whats between ones
legs, what hormones can be found in abun-
dance in ones body, bone structure, etc. - bi-
ology. In that alone there is an entire spec-
trum, people have different shapes, hormone
balances, size, and some people have more
than just one reproductive organ system.
(these people are often referred to as Inter-
sex). Someone could have both male and
female sex organs or chromosomes, or have
male sex organs and be hormonally female.
In that sense alone, the gender/sex binary
quickly becomes inaccurate.
Then you have the issue of gender.
Modern Queer theory defines gender as
what one feels, and it is completely disas-
sociated from ones anatomy. Gender is the
roles and traits associated with a certain sex,
but they arent the same. Even in traditional
life (that is, not dealing with transgender
+ nonbinary folks) there are many people
who dont conform to these strict gender
roles. For instance, say someone shows all
the typical non-physical male traits, like
being masculine or invested in sports, but
has a vagina - are they a man or woman,
or neither? Often one would say that they
were a man, because saying that they were
a woman would mean the defy the majority
of societys definitions of and preconcieved
notions of women and what they represent.
But if the person in question did in fact say
they were a man, then people would expect
them to have a penis, or consider them too
effeminate in appearance to match up with
societal definitions of being a man. So there
you have it- one example of someone who
doesnt conform to the gender binary.
There are tons of people who are
transgender, transitioning, or, surprise sur-
prise, nonbinary; and at the most basic lev-
el, the gender binary hurts them. But it also
hurts everyone else. It encourages harmful
and degrading stereotypes for everyone.
Ever watch the Simpsons, Family Guy, or Ev-
erybody Loves Raymond? Men are painted
as massively disgusting buffoons who are
crude, useless, apathetic, and lack regard for
others feelings or opinions. This is how men
OPINION:
GENDER & SEXUALITY
are often portrayed in media, which further
encourages this behavior and perpetuates
harmful stereotypes and self-image for men
old and young. Women are often painted
as fragile and submissive sex objects. Look
at any female superhero costume, The typi-
cal costume emphasizes the breasts, its skin
tight, exposes flesh, etc. But if you strapped
the majority of those costumes on, and wore
them in battle youd be dead instantly. While
the men are also shown overly muscled,
theyre completely covered (in actual armor
nonetheles). Theyre shown as figures of
power, a power which, if they are anything
like Homer Simpson, is outrageously un-
tremely tight speedo and a stripper bod, not
only is it uncomfortable but also ineffective.
Another generalization made be-
tween an activity and gender is theatre. The-
atre is artsy, and art doesnt currently fall
under male categorization in the gender
binary, its stereotypically a female activity. At
Beaverton, the theatre department is about
2:3, male to female. In society the males in
drama are often expected to be gay, which
isnt bad but is just plain incorrect.
When we discuss sexuality, LG-
BTQ+ people are often seen as less in society
and experience discrimination and prejudice
on the daily. Like theatre, when we expect
all people who participate in an activity to
conform to certain expectations (like be LG-
BTQ+) and stereotypes which are regarded
as lesser, the assumption extends to the activ-
ity too. In some ways, dissent and noncon-
formity render a person lesser in societys
eyes, whether that dissent be in sexual-
ity, political views, gender, etc. And what is
sexuality anyway? Its who you are attracted
to in relation to what you identify as. Sexual
orientation is another aspect of the gen-
der binary which is limiting. Say you have
a crush on some cute girl. You find out the
she is transgender, and starts transitioning. If
your relationship wasnt based on looks alone
(and even if it was) and youre still attracted
to them, are you gay? Straight? Bi? Pan? See
what I mean? Gender, sexuality, and sex are
more complicated for many people than the
binary can describe.
learning about breaking the gen-
Imagine all animals could only be
classified as either a dog or cat, and then all
der binary provides necessary
the animals in one of those two categories
were expected to act like the animal they are
validation and comfort to those
classified as. Imagine having a pet whale and who dont recieve it often
expecting it to act like a cat, and being up-
set with it when it cant breathe. How stupid
would that be? Well thats what the gender
binary does to people. It holds people back
and forces people to either be inflexible or
be rejected. One out of every 10 transgen-
der students are kicked out of their homes,
why? Because they dont fit in societys rigid
binary.
The gender binary and everything
associated with it is a restrictive system con-
structed by a society which uses currently
irrlevant moral concepts, initially used to
maintain hierarchical power. In the past peo-
ple didnt have any concept of anything bet-
ter, anything more- your gender was defined
by what was between your legs and there was
no need for there to be any additional con-
tributing factors. People were divided into
small families, from a simple point-of-view,
the binary works, but its implications and
uses in modern society are harmfully hold-
ing us back. The gender binary, if you think
about it, is really no longer effective. It iso-
lates, marginalizes people, and restricts pos-
sibilities in nearly every way. You can make
a difference to counteract this by educating
yourself and others, trying to be more ac-
cepting and by expanding your boundaries.
It doesnt hurt you in any way to let others
feel and know that they are inherently loved
and accepted- and learning about breaking
the gender binary provides necessary valida-
tion and comfort to those who dont recieve
it often.
Photos by Shareef Achekzai