Transgender men and women Although the presence of heteronormativity is especially strong within the context of heterosexual men and women, there are still some components of heteronormativity that are very much evident in the responses given concerning transgender men and women, regardless of the fact that one of the components—gender reflecting biological sex—is challenged through the very existence of transgender people. When asked about his thoughts on transgender people, David automatically felt the need to divide the term “transgender people” into transgender men and transgender women and then went on to describe each group’s characteristics, which proved to be highly gendered. When describing transgender men, David stated that they
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According to David, the “masculine” gay man still has universal feminine traits, such as being neat, clean, and polite, but usually engages in manhood acts that prove he’s still a masculine man, such as working out, being built, and being “less emotional than a woman.” However, when compared to the “feminine” gay man, we can begin to see the masculine/feminine dichotomy take place. According to David, a feminine gay man can be best described as having hyper feminine characteristics and traits, such as being highly sassy and emotional but still quite submissive. Although these two observations alone are very interesting, what I found most interesting was the fact that David labeled the masculine gay man as the “man in the relationship” and the feminine gay man as the “woman in the relationship.” The need to categorize gay men in terms of masculinity and femininity speaks greatly to how influential heteronormative ideals can be, regardless of the fact that gay men only promote one gender. While heteronormativity promotes two genders and two genders only (Schilt, Westbrook 2009)—men and women—the fact that gay men are divided into masculine and feminine categories suggest that they are …show more content…
Unless it’s proven or stated otherwise, the majority of Americans will automatically assume that everyone is heterosexual, and depending on the where you fall in the gender binary, will assume that you abide by the traditional gender roles expected of you gender. As was evidenced through his responses for the questions asked, my interviewee, David, very much agrees with the dominant heteronormative mentality. Although David claims to be supportive of all sexual orientations, he, too, is very much influenced by heteronormative ideals, as can be seen through his automatic need to find the “man” and “woman” within same-sex couples as well as the need to apply traditional masculine/feminine characteristics to the “appropriate” gender. Moreover, the fact that David assumed transgender people will identify as heterosexual due to the heteronormative mentality is quite damaging and misleading since the majority of transgender people identify as being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer-identified, as can be noted in the National Transgender Discrimination Survey (2011, p. 28). Keeping heteronormativity in mind, the fact that David, a supporter of the LGBT community, still has a heteronormative mentality speaks greatly to the status quo in terms of gender and sexuality inequalities. Heteronormativity promotes a gender binary system
According to David, the “masculine” gay man still has universal feminine traits, such as being neat, clean, and polite, but usually engages in manhood acts that prove he’s still a masculine man, such as working out, being built, and being “less emotional than a woman.” However, when compared to the “feminine” gay man, we can begin to see the masculine/feminine dichotomy take place. According to David, a feminine gay man can be best described as having hyper feminine characteristics and traits, such as being highly sassy and emotional but still quite submissive. Although these two observations alone are very interesting, what I found most interesting was the fact that David labeled the masculine gay man as the “man in the relationship” and the feminine gay man as the “woman in the relationship.” The need to categorize gay men in terms of masculinity and femininity speaks greatly to how influential heteronormative ideals can be, regardless of the fact that gay men only promote one gender. While heteronormativity promotes two genders and two genders only (Schilt, Westbrook 2009)—men and women—the fact that gay men are divided into masculine and feminine categories suggest that they are …show more content…
Unless it’s proven or stated otherwise, the majority of Americans will automatically assume that everyone is heterosexual, and depending on the where you fall in the gender binary, will assume that you abide by the traditional gender roles expected of you gender. As was evidenced through his responses for the questions asked, my interviewee, David, very much agrees with the dominant heteronormative mentality. Although David claims to be supportive of all sexual orientations, he, too, is very much influenced by heteronormative ideals, as can be seen through his automatic need to find the “man” and “woman” within same-sex couples as well as the need to apply traditional masculine/feminine characteristics to the “appropriate” gender. Moreover, the fact that David assumed transgender people will identify as heterosexual due to the heteronormative mentality is quite damaging and misleading since the majority of transgender people identify as being lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer-identified, as can be noted in the National Transgender Discrimination Survey (2011, p. 28). Keeping heteronormativity in mind, the fact that David, a supporter of the LGBT community, still has a heteronormative mentality speaks greatly to the status quo in terms of gender and sexuality inequalities. Heteronormativity promotes a gender binary system