#bornstein

All the text touch upon transgender, the way the word was first used, the ways it has changed it meaning and the topics which surround the word. Previously, the word “transgender”referred to male individuals who lives as women however they did not undergo any surgeries to their genitals. The topic of natural attitude is very important when speaking about transgender. Natural attitude is basically the idea that there are only two genders and they are male or female. In McKenna and Kessler’s text, they mention other aspects which the idea of natural attitude supports. The other beliefs were that “one gender is invariant”, genitals tell your gender, anything besides the two genders shouldn’t be taken seriously, there isn't a thing such as transferring from one gender to another, “everyone must be classified as a member of one gender or another”, this is natural, and being a member of a gender is natural. The history of society's opinion of transgender and its idea changed over time. In Feinberg’s reading, he explains how years back there would be royalty, in other words kings and queens, who would cross dress. However as more churches began to emerge, the idea became frowned upon and the idea of natural attitude became stronger. Many people still don’t believe that being transgender is ok and still follow the natural attitude however I believe that people should simply mind their own business and let others do what they want and feel they have to do with their bodies in order to satisfy themselves. 

While taking the test I scored an overall of Gender outlaw, I honestly was expecting something like this because I know that I am open minded to certain topics such as sexuality and gender. However, when taking this quiz some of my answers weren't similar the responses given. So I had to figure out what it closely similar to my response. It was fun to answer some of the question and some of them really got me thinking.

This book seemed very interesting and funny, although I only read the “My Gender Workbook how to become a real man, a real women, the real you, or something else entirely” section. It allows the reader to question his/her/their identity and why we should follow gender roles based on our birth sex. Such as being ‘manly’ if born with male genitalia, or being ‘feminine’ if born with female genitalia. This may come from how many agree on these roles and it ends up becoming “natural.” However, it shouldn’t be considered natural because of various people who express themselves in various ways, in shorter terms, their Identity. We have our identity based on the way we present ourselves to others, and sometimes, we present ourselves differently to each person we meet in order for us to be able to get comfortable with said person. Overall, as Bornstein states, the book is meant to be a mirror, to be able to reflect on who you are as a person. It’s okay to question yourself from time to time, as long as you’re comfortable with who you are as a person.

"I'm a reluctant activist. I prefer calling myself an artist in service if activism. My reluctance comes from the sad fact that even after the gay and mesbian revolution is over and won, there are going to be people dumping on me as a transsexual, or for being into S/M. I want to give power to a movement that will speak my name as well." - Kate Bornstein (Gender Outlaw: on Men, Women, And The Rest of Us)

View On WordPress

View On WordPress

View On WordPress