The Problems of Gender Binary System and How to Resist it The concept of “constructed gender” is no longer a novel idea. More and more people begin to understand how society gradually shape individuals’ identities. However, even one can distinguish the difference between sex and gender, it is possible that he or she does not realize the fundamental assumptions of two and only two gender system constructed by the society. In the articles both Lorber and Lucal define the binary gender system and question the justification of it. While Lorber demonstrates that gender bending does not weaken gender binary system but rather reinforces it, Lucal, who is constantly misattributed as a man instead of woman, proposes that binary gender system could
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In “Night to His Day," Lorber describes how parents use gender markers such as earrings and flowered sneakers to make sure others view their child as a female (Lorber 13). The unconscious marking of one’s gender solidify the assumption that people need to be in one of the two gender categories and failure in doing so may cause problems. Moreover, the construction of gender and binary system is not only about gender markers. It is rather a process, stratification and structure, creating differences between females and males (Lorber 32). When individuals interact with each other, their behaviors are automatically shaped during the process. The stratification means that women and men are not only different. It emphasizes on the idea that, “Women are different from men,” not vice versa. The process, stratification, and structure which expresses the overall inferiority of women shows that binary system does not only lie in external appearance of women and men but also root in the society as a set of values, behavioral patterns, and power distributions. Lucal holds similar ideas as she is always attributed to either female or male by people she encounters: there is not other place. Although she is not showing gender markers, people always decide her gender for
In “Night to His Day," Lorber describes how parents use gender markers such as earrings and flowered sneakers to make sure others view their child as a female (Lorber 13). The unconscious marking of one’s gender solidify the assumption that people need to be in one of the two gender categories and failure in doing so may cause problems. Moreover, the construction of gender and binary system is not only about gender markers. It is rather a process, stratification and structure, creating differences between females and males (Lorber 32). When individuals interact with each other, their behaviors are automatically shaped during the process. The stratification means that women and men are not only different. It emphasizes on the idea that, “Women are different from men,” not vice versa. The process, stratification, and structure which expresses the overall inferiority of women shows that binary system does not only lie in external appearance of women and men but also root in the society as a set of values, behavioral patterns, and power distributions. Lucal holds similar ideas as she is always attributed to either female or male by people she encounters: there is not other place. Although she is not showing gender markers, people always decide her gender for