Section 3 :: Deviant Bodies (Part I: Feb 7 & Feb 9)

Now we begin the part of the class I enjoy the most! For the rest of the semester we are going to take on a new topic every day or two. It is going to move FAST, and you are going to have to read/watch quite a bit, but it is worth every moment of your time. Be ready for interesting class discussions--bring your questions and your perspective, and be prepared to talk!

Here are some definitions from the WSU Gender Identity/Expression and Sexual Orientation Resource Center (GIESORC) to help you navigate the rest of the discussions on gender and sexuality. Be sure you know these terms!

For Section 3 of the course, we are going to spend 2.5 weeks talking about Deviant Bodies. As we will discuss this semester, some people are labeled "deviant" because of their actions, and some people are labeled because of their identities. In this section, we will be learning about and discussing people who have been labeled "deviant" because of something about their body or embodiment.

On February 7, we will begin this conversation by learning about how the concept of "sex," just like gender, is a social construction. We have been raised to believe that sex is simple--there are men and there are women, there is a penis or a vagina. As you will read, and we will watch and discuss, it is more complicated than that. If you take all of the components that scientists use to determine "sex" we find out that male and female are umbrella terms for all sorts of possibilities. As the image below suggests, instead of thinking of things like gender, sex and sexuality as binaries, it can be useful to see them each as a separate continuum. Be sure to read Biologist Anne Fausto-Sterling's short and fascinating article on sex and intersex conditions (you will notice she uses the terminology hermaphrodite--that is now outdated). Fausto-Sterling has written several interesting books on the topic, if you are interested, including the wonderful Sexing the body: gender politics and the construction of sexuality.

Image source: http://itspronouncedmetrosexual.com/2011/11/breaking-through-the-binary-gender-explained-using-continuums/

Required:

• Read The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female Are Not Enough by Anne Fausto-Sterling (available on Angel).
• Read Alice Dreger, Gender Bender by Danielle Magnuson on the Ms. Blog.
• Spend some time exploring the Intersex Roadshow blog to read the stories and words of some members of the Intersex community.
• Watch the 2:48 clip called Reteaching Gender and Sexuality, shown below. It was made by youth in the Seattle area, and they are asking us to rethink the way we categorize, label and (de)value gender and sexuality.
• In class, we will be watching the HBO documentary Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She. The film explores the limits of a male/female binary by discussing transgender children and adults, the intersex community, and members of third genders in various parts of the world.

NOTE: Remember you need to complete a film review after each film we watch in class. See you syllabus and the Film Review blog post for details!

On February 9 we will continue talking about the limits of the gender binary with our exploration of the transgender and gender non-conforming communities. We will first read an except from activist Leslie Feinberg's book Transgender Warriors to give you a little history on transgressing the gender binary. We will then read several articles with varying perspectives on aspects of the transgender community, and watch a clip on the history of "Gender Identity Disorder" as a mental illness. We will discuss more about the DSM and mental illness in Section 4 of the course.

Some concepts to think about when we discuss transgender issues, especially in how they are often framed as a mental health issue, are achieved and ascribed statuses. As we have discussed, we all have a host of statuses, including our master status. All of us have achieved statuses (social positions we have "earned" or for which we have been chosen, such as our education status or status as criminal), as well as ascribed statuses (the ones we are assigned at birth, or assumed involuntarily, such as age, race or class). How do we treat people differently, based on if we assume their "deviance" is an achieved or ascribed status? Think about this example: in U.S. surveys, when respondents are asked if they think being gay is a choice, or an inborn trait, those that think it is inborn are more likely to support gay rights. Are we more forgiving when we think someone "can't help" their deviant status (ascribed, instead of achieved)?

Also think about language. People who are marginalized or seen as deviant in the culture are often told they need to "get a sense of humor" when they do not like being the butt of a joke, or dehumanized. Think about terms like "fag", "you're so gay", "tranny" or "that's retarded." Are those just innocuous phrases, or do they reproduce deviant statuses?

Required:

• Read the article Transgender Warriors by Leslie Feinberg (available on Angel).
• Read the blog post Okay, I Give Up, You're Right... by Ashley Love on the blog Trans Forming Media.
• Read the blog post Why Does The Media Show Transgender Children More Sympathetically? by Emily Manuel on the blog Raising My Boychick
• Read the article I'm Retiring The Word 'Tranny...' Will You Join Me? by Kelly Osbourne. Yes, that Kelly Osbourne.
• Watch the following clip (about 11 minutes) that talks about Gender Identity Disorder and the Diagnostic Statistical Manual. As it is now, if you want to take hormones or have any surgeries to alter your assigned sex, you must be diagnosed with this disorder, and you are then officially considered mentally ill. Is this the best approach?