Forgive our tactless pun, but it’s time to think outside the box. Check one, male or female. While easy for some, it’s painful for others - when the choice between one extreme and the other doesn’t fit a person’s personal identity, or their body.
Some folks are born with the dilemma of indistinctness. Intersexuality is a medical reference applied to people who cannot be narrowly, biologically classified as male or female because they contain atypical combinations of physical features that relate to both male and female traits. Classifications of intersexuality include analysis of chromosomal differences, gonadal anomalities, genital ambiguity and more. These characteristics are congenital.
The most recent publicized case of defining an individual as more male or female when both traits are present is with the young South African championship runner, Caster Semenya. She may be a hermaphrodite, despite being raised as a woman and competing as a woman. Her case may cause the International Association of Athletics Federations to devise a definition of what determines male or female for the sake of classifying whether an athlete competes as male or female.
Classifications are no easy feat, within the United States, even our local and federal governments cannot agree. To date, there is no uniform, legal definition of what makes a person female or male, or more one than the other. It’s largely based on perception, and locally legislated definitions. This reality of local differences morphs the discussion from a working designation of ‘sex’ to a vague explanation of ‘gender.’
Related Links: More by Tryce and Lisa | More from “A more perfect union” | More politics
The World Health Organization classifies ‘sex’ as a reference to the biological and physiological characteristics that define male and female. Under their view, ‘gender,’ refers to the “socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities and attributes that a given society considers appropriate for men and women.”
With increased knowledge and sensitivity to our differences, we - as a global community - generally agree to use more inclusive terms. Even the gay community isn’t called gay anymore. The politically correct term is the lgbt or glbt community, which refers to the abbreviated conglomerate of lesbian, gay male, bisexual and transgendered people. This grouping in itself is a little odd, since many transgendered people do not define themselves by their sexual orientation or attractions, where as lesbian, gay or bi people most certainly base their identities on innate sexual attractions.
Transgendered people usually identify as having personalities that reflect a combination of male and female traits, or an extreme of one opposite of their born classification. Gender identity is a person’s “actual subjective sense of belonging to the female or male category or neither of the two.”
It is generally acceptable to refer to individuals in the process of transitioning from one gender to another as transgendered. Transitioning from one gender to the other usually involves full time living and dressing as the identity that’s self-prescribed, the use of pronouns that denote the self-identified gender, the use of hormones to increase physical traits of the gender being transitioned to, and sometimes surgeries that alter the body form, such as the removal of breasts for a female becoming male.
As part of the lgbt communities, Tryce and Lisa are familiar with the complicated plight of the ‘t’ within our mix. As noted, the ‘t’ in lgbt denotes our transgendered sisters and brothers. Although we founded 51%-A Woman’s Place Is In Politics for women of all persuasions, we are aware of our strong following among our most immediate lgbt communities. We work to strengthen these allegiances and foster new ones. We succeed in reflecting diversity and are impressed and appreciative of the male friends who support us.
Part of our work in building coalitions involves active participation in community organizing meetings. Most recently, we attended an educationally based, community mixer for the trans-community and allies at The LGBT Center. We learned how Equality California is inclusive of transgendered individuals in the organization’s pursuit of statewide legislation to protect the rights and needs of our lgbt citizens.
As a result of our building alliances, we were asked how 51% would react if male-to-female trans-women were to join our events. And, if biologically born women would be accepting. Truth be told, transgendered people are already involved in our organization. Many trans-people appear to be clearly one sex, and may not be easily discernable.
Regardless, 51% responded with an agreement to discuss this farther, and with the assurance that despite how any of our attendees may feel, we, as co-founders are incredibly supportive and inclusive of self-identified females in our united cause. The cause, of course, is in empowering women to have a greater understanding of politics and policy making in order to increase our success as full, equal citizens.
How could we ever leave anyone behind in our efforts? We believe that no matter how you feel about gender appropriate roles, it isn’t for us to decide what’s right for another. It’s for each individual to decide what is right for him or her and for us to stand up for the right to self identify. We profess that if you feel female, are female, or live as female, you certainly understand aspects of being female and are certain to add to our group strength. In this context, perception and experience count for everything.
Tryce Czyczynska & Lisa N. Sanders are the founders of 51%
Tags: Equality California, SDNN, World Health Organization
Comment by: Zanne Posted: October 14, 2009, 2:42 pm
Great article. I remember reading Anne Fausto-Sterling’s Sexing the Body, ten years ago or so, and being fascinated by a feminist- biologist’s take on gender.
Here’s a link to her.
http://bms.brown.edu/faculty/f/afs/afs.html
And I also remember the discussions at the Women’s Cultural Center in which I was involved, in Germany, around allowing transwomen to patronized the Center. In Germany then, public spaces such as this one, could be legally designated as women only spaces. The issue was of course that some women felt threatened by or uncomfortable with transwomen in their women’s space. I could empathize with their experiences and yet was adamant about creating a more inclusive Women’s Center. It’s a barbed discussion still I think. I haven’t found a resting place in it at all and I’m always looking for new insights. One I’ve heard goes like this. Health and social services for lesbians have always been poorly funded and what little is there is being directed towards transing people. I’ll leave it up to the reader to interpret that as s/he will.
Comment by: Zoe Brain Posted: October 15, 2009, 6:34 pm
Thank you. This means a lot.
I’m Intersexed, a woman born with a body that doesn’t conform to the usual standards. It’s not a great position to be in when you’re young, especially. That was a long time ago for me. Although I don’t have the same syndrome, I have some idea what Ms Semenya is going through now. She’s only a teenager, after all.
Having such acceptance means a great deal, not so much for an old chook like me, but for the younger girls. I’m sorry to say that we haven’t had a lot of that in the past, and although the situation is better now than it was, your humanity is still the exception rather than the rule. It is appreciated. Tears on the keyboard, actually. Maybe it means more to me than I realised. Thanks, anyway.
Comment by: Gwen Snyder Posted: October 17, 2009, 6:53 am
Great article! In terms that even the lowest common denominator type of brain should be able to wrap itself around. Clear. Simple yet eloquent. Easy to understand. Of course the religious right can’t allowthemselves to believe in such a condition because they do not have any of these individuals in their tribe. Anybody born into their number, with this set of circumstances either left the fold as early as possible, or committed suicide. This knowledge should be made made required reading in elementary school. This needs to be common knowledge. Thank you for reading it. With this in mind, Gay Marriage should be a no-brainer.