Entrenchment in a strict gender binary
The seminar happens tomorrow; its title is Transitional Experiences: Understanding Embodied Stigma, Stress and Trans Resilience in the U.S.
The seminar-haver is Zachary DuBois (University of Oregon) IAS Visiting Fellow.
Although trans, gender diverse and gender non-binary people are increasingly visible in popular culture in the U.S., political backlash and entrenchment in a strict gender binary continue to contribute to enacted stigma and violence. This talk examines trans experience through a biocultural anthropological lens focusing on how stress and stigma become embodied and explores ways to understand trans lives, transitional experiences and “biologies of resilience.”
Entrenchment in a strict gender binary is it. Hm. Is that like entrenchment in a strict species binary? The one that says you either are human or you are not? The one that says you either are a woolly mammoth or you are not?
“Strict” is a useful nudge-word for this kind of thing. Oh dear, we don’t want to be strict, do we. That would be horrid – it summons up images of green Margaret Hamilton shaking her broom. Away with your uptight bourgeois strictness! Let a thousand flowers bloom! Torture anyone who doesn’t let a thousand flowers bloom!
Reality is strict though. It just is. It’s strict about flying – we can’t do it. Our bodies don’t have any of the right equipment – no hollow bones, no wings, no large flexible skin membrane between the fingers. It’s strict about drowning – if we stay under water for a long time we drown. It’s strict about heights – if we jump off them we smash. There’s a whole big set of rules like that which are sadly strict. We are “entrenched” in them because we have no choice in the matter. Sex is just one of those.
You’d think an anthropologist would know that…
Good grief, I detest academia-speak. “Enacted stigma and violence”. “Biocultural anthropological lens”. Just speak and write clearly, ffs. This guy is clearly one of those puffy academics who thinks that dense writing equates to deep insights.
Isn’t “biocultural” how beer, wine, yogurt, kimchee, etc. are made?
Thing is, “political backlash and entrenchment in a strict gender binary continue to contribute to enacted stigma and violence” could be the complaints of the gender critical just as much. “Trans women are women full stop” is literally “entrenchment in a strict gender binary” and as for “political backlash” and “enacted stigma and violence”, Ophelia highlights examples of these every single day.
Bruce, yes they are. Also thrush, jock itch, putrescence and decay would be examples. Just like their writing, not everything biocultural is good.
I’m interested to know whether there will be gender critical thugs in black disrupting the meeting, drowning out the speaker, threatening the attendees, and trying to prevent the meeting from taking place. Has the venue host been warned about the consequences of offering a platform for the meeting?
James – I think what he also wants the pointlessly fake-technical language to do is convince people that trans-ism is a technical subject and that he has the requisite technical knowledge to tell us what’s what. Smoke and mirrors.
@6: Yes, definitely!
Ophelia: just gave to say this is one of your best, most cutting eviscerations of nonsense. Kudos!
Given that Anthropology is one-off the fuzzier, more politicized “sciences”, though…maybe he doesn’t know this. What is this “know” anyway? Isn’t knowledge just a western imperialist imposition on the beautiful diversity of realities, including those experienced by 250 pound bearded, furry chested, deep voiced WOMEN?