Analysis Assignment 1 :
Gender, Sex, and Sexuality

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:emma casillas

"Everyone 'does gender' without thinking about it" (Lorber, 1)
has been a phrase that has stuck with me since the moment I read it.
Gender is so innate while also being the most fabricated,
carelessly constructed concept known to man.

Am I a woman to you?
What if I wore pink?
Is that woman enough for you?

1

Gender is a division of the roles "male"
and "female" formed by societal norms.
Far more genders exist than these two
roles, and as time goes on they are finally
becoming more recognized.

A

Sex is determined at birth by ones
biology/chromosomes. Still, sex can
extend past the binary of "male" and
"female", such as intersex.

B

Gender identity is a more internal view
of one's own gender. Much like
sexuality, gender identity may require deep
introspection to uncover. Gender
identity does not have to align
with one's gender.Gender identity is also
separate from gender expression.

C

Sexuality is who someone is attracted to,
how they are attracted to someone,
when they are attracted to someone, or
more. Sexuality is completely fluid and
up to every person's own decision. What
widely used to be considered a battle between
identifying as gay or straight is now an
option between endless labels.

D

The gender binary is a term
that refers to the social construct
of two binary male and
female genders. This term opposes
the idea of a genderspectrum, which is
inclusive to all gender identities.

E

Oppression threads its way through every inch of women's lives.
One very prevalent issue is reproductive rights.
As bell hooks says ",the right of women to choose whether
or not to have an abortion is only one aspect of reproductive
freedom." There are hundreds of other reproductive rights women
need, from hysterectomies to birth control. For abortion to be
made illegal is one stepping stone in the larger pond of restricting
women from having rights to their own bodies at all.
This is also completely parallel to the constant "threat of violence...,
not just the rape or battering... but also that... one quite likely will
not be honored in court" (Pharr, 57). It is not just a constant
power over feminine bodies, but feminine minds and liberties.

2

As far back as humanity has proof of,
gender has been an ingrained subject.
From the typical cavemen "hunters v. gatherers"
to biblical "Adam and Eve", femininity has
been viewed as less capable. These gender constructs
are very rooted in whiteness, as in other cultures
and practices, the gender binary was not ingrained.
Even "the Iroquois model included considerably more
political and economic power for women than
any Europeans considered possible" (Evans, 35).
Still, founding fathers could not fathom how women
should be respected to any degree at all.

3

Feminism is the push for gender equality not only politically
and economically but socially. Feminism is a lifelong fight
for femininity to be respected in the same regard to masculinity.
"Feminist consciousness-raising for males is as essential to revolutionary
movement as female groups," (Hooks, 11). Proactive feminism is
a teaching taught from birth to ensure growth in the next generations.

4

The feminist movement has long been tainted with
racism and discrimination; middle or upper class white
women took the forefront of media appearances to
peddle their needs. There was a disregard
for the needs of BIPOC women and feminine individuals who
were fighting for far more than these white women could
imagine. The first wave was often centered on the
right to vote from white women. The second wave, however,
shifted to equality and a push to demolish discrimination.
Only in the third wave was there a shift towards addressing
the privilege in the whole movement coming from rich, white women.

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