Grasping A Concept

            This week in class, we reviewed and reflected on, specifically, three articles in regards to transgender. One article, “Transgender History” by Susan Stryker, posed as an introduction to transgender, creating an atmosphere of understanding and need for rights. In all honesty, I have never read, been exposed to, or discussed transgender prior to attending college. I was raised in society’s deception of a traditional family; meaning I have a mother, a father, and an older brother, with my father being the primary provider. I grew up in a prominently Caucasian, suburban community. My high school lacked a variety of electives, extending as far as broadcasting; however, not critical media studies. At times, it felt like I lived in a bubble, barely scratching the surface. Everyone was properly positioned, perfectly fitting in the sex/gender binary. An individual’s sex usually matched his or her gender. Anyone who deviated from his or her position was viewed differently.

With that said, college was highly different from what I was accustomed to. There is no filter here. Students are freely able to express themselves and learn as much as possible. As much as I love being exposed to new concepts it is sometimes difficult to fully grasp them. I struggle because I want to completely understand. I believe that it is important to understand. In a way, this blog entry is my way of working through confusion and taking a step closer to understanding.  

Stryker has made me realize that transgender extends further than just moving “away from an initially assigned gender position” (Stryker 19). It digs deeper through the gender binaries, subtly redefining an individual’s identity.

In the section, Transgender Issues in the Spotlight, of Stryker’s article, “Transgender History,” she gravitates towards the influence of media. This section, specifically between pages twenty-four and twenty-eight, is intended for the technological generation, such as myself, who are constantly surrounded by social networks, digitally altered advertisements and search engines such as Google. She offers historical and developmental examples to relate how there is a “window” for the integration of transgender issues in this type of society (Stryker 28).

Internet has provided a “steady increase in transgender visibility,” receiving “roughly 7.3 million hits” on Google (Stryker 25). This increase of curiosity and popularity is a reason why adults, young adult, teenagers, and/or preteens, should grasp a better understanding on transgender. Society is in the middle of a transition, drifting away from a traditional structure; one that does not just involve a male, who identifies as a man and is heterosexual or a female, who identifies as a woman and is heterosexual. The transition calls attention to “how our foundational assumptions about what the world is like are just that—assumptions, not always true for other people” (Stryker 26).

Gender moves deeper than the binary of male and female. Stryker uses examples of past and present “ideas about how representation works” to explain the “transgender gender representation” (Stryker 26).  In the past, images were not altered, straightforward, and completely pure or real. Today, that is obviously not true due to Photoshop. A digital image or sound may “be a complete fabrication built up pixel by pixel or bit by bit—but a fabrication that nevertheless exists as an image or a sound as real as any other” (Stryker 26). In regards to this metaphor, I translated it to mean that transgender is not narrow. It is a wide spectrum based upon multiple variables. It is not subjected to the strict conformity of the gender binary and rejects the idea that gender has to fit perfectly into that binary.

I found an article from Fox News that addresses the new law in California, which allows “transgender students to choose which restroom and locker room they use” (Associated Press 2013). A Republican state lawmaker, Tom Donnelly, decided to pull his children out of their local public school because of the newly instated law. He stated “his 13- and 16 year old sons were “horrified” to learn they might have to share a restroom with female students” (Donnelly qtd in Associated Press 2013). This is their first mistake; they connected sex and gender. Even though the student has female genitalia, does not mean the student identifies as a girl/woman. His second mistake refers to his belief that the law “will encourage inappropriate behavior among hormone-driven teenagers” (Associated Press 2013). This insinuates the student’s sexuality, either homosexual/heterosexual or other sexual tendencies. This anecdote relates to Stryker’s concept that transgender is not formatted to the gender binary. Transgender is a spectrum that does not have or follow a clear-cut path and accepts that not every individual is the same. This provides evidence that gender is deeply rooted and much more complicated than most people ever thought.

            I enjoyed Stryker’s examples because it was easily understood and I could make connections to other readings. The importance of understanding is acceptance. According to the Fox News article, supporters believed the law was meant to “reduce bullying and discrimination against transgender students” (Associated Press 2013). Knowledge can lead to understanding and acceptance. “It’s not as big a deal as it used to be” and our culture must continue with this statement (Stryker 28).

Bibliography

Stryker, Susan. Transgender History. Berkeley: Seal Press, 2008. Print.

Associated Press. “California Lawmaker Pulls Son From Class Over Transgender Law.”

Fox News. Web. 17 August 2013. <http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/08/17/california-lawmaker-pulls-son-from-class-over-transgender-law/>