Which would be the harm that comes from rhetoric like “Mostly I just skip [the question of gender] altogether and consider it irrelevant,” as Kaigou said (and with apologies to her, since I’m somewhat taking that out of context for the sake of making an example); it’s easy, in trying to loosen the hold of gender (roles, norms, preconceptions) on people who don’t want them, to make illegitimate their importance to people who have to care, because their bodies don’t express their sex, and if they don’t conform to the gender which correlates to their real sex, others won’t respond to them correctly.
So even if a person doesn’t give two hoots about how others perceive their sex, I think it’s important they remember, in the midst of theorizing, that it’s a life-changing matter and – even when negative, if not especially when negative – something that deserves to be treated with respect. (Like big predators, sort of. Big socially constructed predators that will eat you.)
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Date: 6 Mar 2010 05:05 am (UTC)So even if a person doesn’t give two hoots about how others perceive their sex, I think it’s important they remember, in the midst of theorizing, that it’s a life-changing matter and – even when negative, if not especially when negative – something that deserves to be treated with respect. (Like big predators, sort of. Big socially constructed predators that will eat you.)
Which is to say, I see where you're coming from.