Blend in stand out don’t care
(This article has been lost online due to the merger of the Southern Star and Sydney Star Observer websites. Below is the original unedited article. Our apologies for any inconvenience).
Blend in, stand out…or don’t care?
Often our community seems to end up in a fatal four-way with G, L, B and T in their respective corners. But are labels really the issue or is something deeper going on?
I had a huge light-bulb moment after reading a great trilogy on www.bilerico.com by Gillian T Weiss last December. Dr Weiss talks about how many of our divisions started at least 60 years ago and are more about assimilation versus standing out. I decided to present a paper based on the trilogy at Health in Difference 7. Here’s an extract…
“The sex/gender dichotomy was deepened when, in the mid-twentieth century, homosexuality was separated into distinct male and female forms, each of which had different stylised behavioural styles, and distinguished from cross-dressing and effeminacy. This formed a gender divide, and corresponding tensions with bi-gender intermingling and gender ambiguity.”
“This fuelled the tensions between accomodationist tendencies in the gay/lesbian community and gender ambiguity. It was perceived that gender ambiguity (echoing the Greek disdain for passivity) that channelled the stigma of illegitimacy. It was not surprising, therefore, that some homosexuals sought to lessen the stigma of homosexuality by rejecting the stigma of “inappropriate” gendered behaviour.
“These historical circumstances led to four areas of tension: monosexism versus bisexism, gender accommodationism versus gender ambiguity, open homosexual identity versus passing as heterosexual, and a gender divide versus bigender intermingling.” (Is there a 5th area of tension; monogamy versus polyamory?)
And this was my light bulb moment. So many of our tensions may not be what they appear to be. Are they about assimilationist versus those who are more visible – including many who are more visible through no fault of their own e.g. a 187 cm trans woman with broad shoulders?
Does this connect to any internalised phobias that we have swallowed from external sources?
Surely it is less emotive and less threatening to talk about assimilationist and visible, and to think across labels than saying using part of a person’s identity as part of the division.
Sally Goldner is VGLRL Treasurer & TransGender Victoria spokesperson. Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for a copy of the full page
