Transparent Community

clothedinsky:

robot-heart-politics:

…anyone who argues that gender is “natural,” when we live in a society that from the moment of birth, the phrase “It’s a boy!” or “It’s a girl!” predetermines the colors the child will be sent home, the kinds of clothes he or she will wear the rest of his or her life, the color of his or her nursery, the toys he or she is given, the activities he or she is encouraged to participate in, the other children he or she is supposed to play with, the length of his or her hair, whether or not he or she is supposed to be active or docile, what kind of books and movies he or she is supposed to like…seriously, the kid doesn’t even make it home from the hospital before many of those decisions have already been made for him or her. And we think gender is natural? We think this is something kids choose for themselves?

We’ll just forget for a minute that 150 years ago, little boys were put in pink and little girls were put in blue, or that 99% of the things we view as “natural” are actually constructs that have most definitely changed over time… Where does a child ever get to choose any of these things for him or herself? You bring the kid home in a pink or blue outfit, put them in a pink or blue crib, and hand them a stuffed toy that’s either a powdery pink bear or a big scary lion, and you think you haven’t already started pushing your child into a direction that they may or may not want to go? That they may never get to realize they want to go in a different direction at all, because they never realized it was something they had a choice about?  Because really, they don’t? Because revolting against whatever gender role they were relegated to at birth (and often even before that) means a lifetime of being picked on, bullied, harassed, teased, criticized and even ostracized from certain segments of society?

Have you honestly never asked yourself these questions?

Over the weekend I learnt that in traditional Northwest Coast society 8 different genders were recognized. It’s sometimes hard to draw a line between what is a natural and unnatural practice amoungst humans, however, I believe we’ve so much to learn from the societies who have kept closer to the ways of life that arose in harmony with their environment in small, close-knit communities.