"A society which successfully neutralised the concept of gender could not possible have produced the comedies of Shakespeare, or the gender-bending performances of Madonna and David Bowie"

HeForeverBleeds · 2018-07-19T13:32:38+00:00

Few would argue, for instance, that the dressing of boys in blue and girls in pink is anything other than convention, but this does not mean that such practices are inherently harmful

Not inherently. Though it can become harmful when it turns into "guys who don't dress / act according to arbitrary social conventions aren't real men"

Gender is neither oppressive nor inherently destructive. There is little to be gained from pretending that gender is solely a matter of cultural imposition. We need to recognise that the impulse to neutralise distinctions between males and females is ideologically motivated, and will only result in limiting one of the more fascinating and vibrant aspects of what it means to be human.

This author's argument seems to be that traditional gender roles are inherent and entirely biological, and that the traditional distinctions between males and females should be emphasized. However, the evidence he uses seems to contradict this

A society which successfully neutralised the concept of gender could not possibly have produced the comedies of Shakespeare, or the gender-bending performances of Madonna and David Bowie.

How is he coming to this conclusion? In a society where traditional distinctions between males and females are exaggerated even more than they already are, then there would be even fewer things like this. You would almost never see men or women step outside of what is expected of them--unless they actually do consider themselves transgender--because they moment they do, they'll no longer be perceived as proper men / women

These kind of performances are in spite of a society with restrictive gender roles, not because of it. Or is the author arguing that what makes these performances "special" is because they're against the norm?

a father discusses his experience of raising a transgender child. 'I saw her run off to camp after she transitioned', he says. 'And ah! That's just like a girl running, instead of looking at my son who runs like a girl.' He finishes the anecdote by rolling his eyes theatrically, as though the very prospect of a boy running in a feminine manner represents the height of embarrassment for any self-respecting father.

This kind of silliness is part of the issue with exaggerating gender roles. A boy who runs a certain way isn't actually a girl in a boy's body, nor a "girly boy" who his father should feel ashamed of. He's simply a boy who happens to run that way

If people recognized that gender stereotypes are just that, and that not every male or female is going to behave the way social convention dictates they should, people wouldn't be so quick to label any boy who steps in the smallest amount outside of his expected behavior as either 'actually a girl' or as something shameful and embarrassing

thrway_1000 · 2018-07-19T15:15:39+00:00

The "social sciences" are producing so much BS and calling it real. It's been corrupted by intersectionalism.

Archive -- https://archive.is/3SIzH

Razorbladekandyfan · 2018-07-19T18:55:10+00:00

If feminism pushed this notion, why is MGM not being banned. This narrative is wrong. Feminism is also gender essentialist.

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