9781422283752

WHAT I S GENDER? 13

Midway through the last century, things began to change. More and more women chose traditionally “masculine” careers as doctors or police officers, while men—in fewer numbers, but still significantly—put on lipstick and eyeliner to sing in rock-and-roll bands, or found happiness as stay-at-home dads. There was, as might be expected, some strong criti- cism of this new trend of women who behaved like men and men who feminized themselves; however, by the beginning of the 21st century, the formerly rigid gender roles people had been forced to live by had become much more elastic. Although it’s true that many boys and girls still fall into those original gender roles naturally, it no longer surprises us when they don’t. We see pint-sized boy princesses at our doors on Halloween and women vying for active combat positions in the military. We are starting to understand that gender is a more complex matter than just what “plumbing” we are born with. For a long time, we used the terms sex and gender interchangeably, as if they meant the same thing. Clearly, they don’t. In fact, there is no biological basis for the way we are accustomed to view- ing gender roles. There’s nothing about an individual’s sex that drives his or her behavior. Women aren’t required to love flowers and lace simply because they’re biologically female, and men aren’t compelled to enjoy sports and cars. The term gender nonconforming refers to breaking away from traditional gender roles—in other words, declining to fulfill the roles traditionally associated with the gender you were assigned at birth. Sex ≠ Gender