gender story version 2.0h

not too long ago, i posted a story discussing gender issues relating to a male cross dresser, who had not had any gender reassignment surgery but still used the women's restroom.

today, on boing boing, i saw this
"The New York Times ran a story this week about New York City's plan to permit people to change the gender on their birth certificates even if they haven’t had sex reassignment surgery. The move comes after much advocacy by transgender groups who believe that gender has to do with much more than anatomy. For many transgendered people, in fact, anatomy is itself a mixed bag. This new move allows individuals to decide for themselves whether they are male or female."

here's the link to the story

i really find this to be quite interesting. it's not genetics, it's not science, it's not surgery that define gender.

from the article, "Transgender advocates consider the New York proposal an overdue bulwark against discrimination that recognizes an emerging shift away from viewing gender as simply the sum of one’s physical parts. But some psychiatrists and doctors are skeptical of the move, saying sexual self-definition should stop at rewriting medical history."

so, really what is gender then? it's not roles decided by society, it's not the sum of your physical parts, it's not your genetics. is gender solely defined by the individual now?

but, i do disagree with this statement, "Joann Prinzivalli, 52, a lawyer for the New York Transgender Rights Organization, a man who has lived as a woman since 2000, without surgery, said the changes amount to progress, a move away from American culture’s misguided fixation on genitals as the basis for one’s gender identity."

it's not just here. as evidenced by my previous post about italy, there's some doubt about what defines gender there as well. and, i'd venture that most of latin america, and africa might be even more "misguided".

Vladimir Luxuria vs. Elisabetta Gardini

i'm always intrigued by other countries governments. you know, you see footage on the news of some parliment in taiwan or somewhere, and the guys are literally duking it out. or other nations that elect former porn stars to high positions. these things always seem the bickering done in our houses of congress seem mild and tame.

here's the latest example:


i don't know when or if the u.s. will get to the point where we elect a trans-gendered person. i hope that if we do, we can figure out who gets to use what toilet.

here are some of the things i find amusing in the article:
first off, Ms. Vladimir Luxuria changed her name from Wladimiro Guadagno. usually, when you change your name, you change your first name. and maybe your last name too. but, why would you just change the spelling of your pretty manish first name? is vladimir more connotative of a woman than wladimiro? but, i've got to hand it to you, i dig luxuria as a last name.

second, a former "showgirl" is upset? i don't know about italy, but "showgirl" is a friendly euphemism for stripper here in the u.s. maybe the transgender person should be upset that she has to share a restroom with her. and, ms. gardini calls it "sexual violence?" uhhh, you might want to dial that claim back a little bit. maybe you might want to save that label for real sexual violence (rape, sexual assault, sexual harrassment, and so on).

finally, i feel it's pretty important that they point out that ms. luxuria has never had any sort of surgery. this isn't really funny. but, i think it opens a whole new can of worms to the issue. i mean, this is a guy in the women's restroom. what defines gender? generally, in society, it's the parts attached. if you have male parts, you use the male restroom. if you have women's parts, you use the women's. sure, i definately think that someone dressed in the opposite clothes would be a disturbance. but, if i didn't know, it wouldn't bother me at all. furthermore, if we were using a coed restroom it wouldn't be a problem at all. i thought europe was supposed to be more liberal. i thought they had all sorts of loose morals. yet, they're wierded out over a restroom? come on.