14 upvotes, 6 direct replies (showing 6)
View submission: Do non-binary identities reenforce gender stereotypes?
I’m a cishet women. I like wearing dresses, I wear pants, I’ve done ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ hairstyles. I like to bake and sew, I love cars, fishing and I’m learning how to hunt. It doesn’t matter what interests I have and what I wear I know deep within myself that I am a woman. If I got breast cancer and had to get a double mastectomy I would still be a women. It is something I know innately within myself. Just as a transgender person knows innately within themselves that they are not the gender assigned at birth. Now if myself and a trans person can know deep what gender they are, why is it hard to conceive that a non binary person innately knows that they are not either gender? Arguing that they are just falling for gender stereotypes is really saying that we know better than they do where they align on the gender spectrum. And really it is only enforcing the same rigid conceptions of that there is only male and female. Even from a biological standpoint we know that is incorrect.
Comment by imperfect9119 at 13/01/2025 at 12:53 UTC*
5 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Read some articles: many women have questioned their woman hood after having a masectomy, after having a hysterectomy, after finding out they are infertile.
Being human is about perspective created by experiences over the lifetime, people KNOWING things innately cannot be trusted. Perspectives change over time, or people are capable of being brainwashed to new perspectives.
The argument that gender is a social construct therefore you not wanting to align with any stereotypes and perform gender is OKAY however this idea that there is an INNATE sense of lacking gender, it sounds stupid to a lot of people. I researched non binary and a lot of the underlying reasoning just sounds lalala. Not the same for trans or asexuality.
the funniest part is every non binary person I know performs gender all the time, they dress androgynously, they paint their nails, they mix and match traditionally feminine and masculine clothing. they are still playing the game.
Comment by SydowJones at 12/01/2025 at 18:11 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
I love this down to earth comment.
Comment by BlueberryEmbers at 13/01/2025 at 07:30 UTC
2 upvotes, 0 direct replies
thank you. I know these types of questions can be asked from a genuine place but it can feel very upsetting to be so deeply misunderstood.
Comment by Mu5hroomHead at 13/01/2025 at 23:31 UTC
2 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I understand transgenderism, but not non-binary. Transgendered individuals (I feel like transsexual is more accurate, unfortunately has become a derogatory word) have body dysmorphia based on their physical sexual characteristics. And getting gender-affirming surgery (ie. sex-affirming surgery) to achieve the body they were meant to be in cures the dysphoria.
Feeling non-binary has to rely on gender stereotypes, and gender roles in order to make sense. This perpetuates these stereotypes, not get rid of them. As another cis woman, I don’t have an innate sense of what gender I am. I do have a sense of what society expects of me, but this is a social construct, not biological. I identify as me. I behave based on my personality. I don’t consider my sex when making choices in my life, other than those imposed on me by society.
Comment by flimflam_machine at 14/01/2025 at 13:56 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
This provides no explanation of what you mean by "gender", assuming that you mean something distinct from "sex".
Comment by Important_Spread1492 at 14/01/2025 at 17:40 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Well if you are a cis woman, then a mastectomy would not make you any less female. You'd still have female chromosomes and a female reproductive system etc. You'd be no less a woman in the same way women who are naturally flat chested are still women. How do you know your feeling of being a woman is not related to being physically female (including hormonal influences) and having been treated a certain way for being physically female?