[MUSIC] Gender is a complex facet of who we are, shaped both by our internal sense of ourselves as a man or a woman, a mix of the two, or neither. It is shaped as well by society's expectations, norms, and the degree to which we conform to them or resist them. There are masculine people who identify as women, feminine people who identify as men, people who identify as neither, and they express their gender in both masculine and feminine ways. And people who are born assigned one gender who come to understand themselves and identify with a different one in childhood or adulthood. Gender looks very different for each of us, and gender norms vary across cultures. In Western cultures like the United States, gender norms tend to be fairly fixed and rigid. The ways that individuals are expected to express their gender based on their biological sex as male or female, correspond to the norms expressed in the man box and the lady box. And these norms define whether and how much we receive approval and recognition in society. If you recall, sexism, the preferencing of male or masculine over female, feminine sexes and sex roles in society, limits what both women and men are expected to do and how they are expected to behave. Similarly, heterosexism prioritizes being heterosexual in this society, and expressing one's sexual and romantic interests for the so-called opposite sex. Sexism and heterosexism, often combine to ensure that straight men are dominant in this culture. And cisgender women, trans people, and people of non-majority sexual orientation such as gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, and other variations, are valued less and given less respect in this culture. This system operates overtly in some ways, subtly in others. But it is always there in the background dictating our social relationships, as well as who is accorded power and visibility and who is not. This system of power-over operates in the field of gender as well. Cultural norms dictate that everyone has one of two genders, man or woman, male or female. The society and its institutions are set up to accommodate this and to reinforce this idea that everyone sits at one of these two subject positions. This unquestioning over-reliance on the binary is known as genderism. And it operates to systematically marginalize all those who fall outside of the binary, namely trans and genderqueer people. Because trans and genderqueer people do not conform to a gender which corresponds to their biological sex, and because they thus live outside of the binary system, the operation of genderism in society ensures that they will experience constant awareness of their difference from these norms. Genderism is a term coined by Riki Wilchins in the late 1990s to describe the ways that transgender people must constantly navigate a world that is hostile to their existence. Many everyday transactions, such as filling out forms, finding a public restroom, using a locker room at a gym, signing up for various kinds of services or programs require individuals to claim an identity of male or female, which is assumed to cohere with their biological sex. Sometimes transgender and genderqueer individuals can pass, meaning they appear to be cisgender, either male or female, due to the ways they dress and in other ways express their gender. When passing is possible, it is often safer for transgender people, since bringing attention to their transness may put them at risk for social judgment, rejection, and even violence. Many transgender people cannot pass. And in fact, do not wish to pass. Since passing means they are not truly being who they are, but instead conforming to a societal expectation that is mostly designed for the comfort of others. But this means that in all of the situations just described, and in many others, trans people must decide if they can safely come out as transgender. Even if they do, because of genderism they may not be able to access services, facilities, or forms that correspond to their identities. This is the problem with genderist norms in society. They create situations where not everyone can be included, where people are by definition left out of participation in important social institutions, and thus, deprived of important social benefits. So many things in everyday life are dictated by our genders. It is, for example, very difficult to find restrooms that do not have a gender designation in most public places. That means that a person who is transgender and identifies as neither a man or a woman must make a choice, usually based on what will be safest and how others will likely read their gender. A person assigned a male sex at birth but who is actually female, and who expresses her gender as female, must make a choice. Does she use the bathroom that corresponds to her gender or to her biological sex, which may be two different things. These examples show the complexity of the choices made each day by people who do not conform to the gender binary. They must constantly navigate this system and make daily decisions about safety and privacy that cisgender people never have to make. The consequences of genderism in society can be significant. Delaying using the restroom can cause mental and emotional stress, as well as kidney stones and other adverse health effects. Avoiding gymnasiums because of lack of access to inclusive changing facilities means compromising opportunities for health and well being. Avoiding experiences where you are asked to claim a binary gender or sex on a form may mean not getting a driver's license, limiting one's economic opportunities. These examples show that the ways that we use the binary genders to sort people are often unwittingly exclusionary and have negative effects on trans people's lives. So while using binary gender designations may seem like the quote, unquote normal or usual way of doing things, it creates a system of inclusion and exclusion that creates division in societies and lowers opportunities for those who do not conform. In the next section, we'lll explore further how genderism creates negative experiences in the workplace for transgender and genderqueer people, as well as what can be done to change it. [MUSIC]
