Lowest Common Denominator
Posted: February 22, 2011 Filed under: Community | Tags: discourse, privilege, stereotypes Comments Off on Lowest Common DenominatorI’m not sure I can think of anything more frustrating to a member of any particular group of people than having that group portrayed, discussed, and (as is often the case) dismissed or condemned in the context of its lowest common denominators. When I say “lowest common denominators,” I’m referring to the members of a given group that portray the stereotypes that others exploit to discredit them; the members that are on the extreme end of the bell curve for any particular aspect.
Does Being Trans Promote a Gender Binary?
Posted: February 1, 2011 Filed under: Gender | Tags: feminism, genderqueer, stereotypes, transgender Comments Off on Does Being Trans Promote a Gender Binary?Read through the vast amount of discussion on both transgender and feminism-devoted websites and eventually, you’re bound to run into the accusation that “transgender individuals promote a binary view of gender.” Oftentimes the story goes that because transgender individuals feel they are the “other” gender, that must require the assumption that there are only two clearly defined genders. In other cases, transgender individuals are portrayed as single-mindedly seeking stereotypical “manly” or “womanly” attributes and thus promoting such stereotypes.
Both of these arguments are problematic. Let’s begin with the former, which is predicated on some faulty assumptions.
I'm a Real Person Too 