Sex And Gender

[poliphilo]

People get pulled up on the feminist site I frequent for using "sex" and "gender" interchangeably. The distinction is useful. If I've understood it right, "sex" is about physical characteristics and "gender" is about what goes on in your head.

Someone proposed that if you enjoy the cut and thrust of the work-place your gender is male and if you like staying home knitting bootees your gender is female.

I expect they got jumped on. But here's the problem. Sooner or later you stumble over the stereotypes. "Sex" is easily determined (in most cases) but "gender" is a social construct.

I'm confused. I've just written a book in which my tomboyish heroine keeps dodging in and out of drag. She is, of course, a version of myself.

I'm a man. And I'm heterosexual. But when I put myself in a book it's as a girl who goes running about with a sword in her fist having wild adventures.

I think there are probably quite a lot of us with this cast of mind- we are the male fans of Buffy and Xena and Uma Thurman's Bride- but I don't believe there's a word for us...

...Yet.

Comments

[besideserato.livejournal.com]

Darling, you did not overreact at all. I think you raised some interesting points. I am in accord with you, naturally, and I think, too that Ms. ide_cyan would do a great deal better getting her points across if she behaved with a little more decorum.

Though I disagree with it, her point was indeed an interesting one but her manner of expressing it was so violent that it is no wonder so few of us took the time to consider her thoughts. I, for one, was so livid with her lack of civility that I had to return to this post after I had gotten over myself.

She has to realize that there is a place, a time and a code of conduct for her politicking and theorizing. She is not going to "threaten the establishment" by screaming at the top of her lungs and vulgarizing the fine art of debate--all that does is alienate her audience.

Does that help a woman's struggle any more than commenting that you enjoy man-made literary and cinematographic creations? Ah, and we wonder why the feminist is so villanized in the media--mind you, the liberal media (yeah, it's bait, come and get it, I dare you).

My dear poliphilo, I hope you are not turned away from this wonderful medium by the abuse you have suffered here. You are not a misogynist, you are a charming and caring wonderful individual full of perfections and faults, the sum of which, Ailz will agree, is fabulous.