Sex/Gender Binary Analysis

The notion of a sex/gender binary has not been historically around for a relatively long time. In fact, the belief that only males and females should exist in society was not a relevant topic until the late eighteenth century. The Age of Enlightenment paved way for sex dichotomy and was succinctly explained by Harold Garfinkel’s Studies in Ethnomethodology written in 1967. In this seminal text, he creates a summary of the laws of gender that the sex/gender binary heavily relies upon. These laws are; “(1) There are two genders, and everyone is has one; (2) Gender is lifelong, invariant, and unchangeable; (3) Exceptions to genders are jokes or abnormalities; (4) Genitals (penis, vagina) are the essential sign of gender and (5) The categories are created by nature, and membership in a gender category is assigned by nature” (Prasad, 2005, 80). In summary, Garfinkel describes a society in which the existence of two sexes/genders are the norm and any transgression from such is unacceptable. …show more content…
One example presented in the readings is the prohibition of female athletes from professional competitions due to high androgen levels. In an article published by Advocate.com, the online counterpart for the American LGBT magazine, Duttee Chand, a rising sprinter from India, was not able to compete in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland for the same reason aforementioned after “failing” the “gender test.” The article reports that Chand was requested to take the dubious test only last minute. This prohibition had serious repercussions on the athlete’s career and was heavily criticized by intersex advocates, claiming that the test is founded upon ignorance and