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Masculine/Feminine
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In this book author and transsexual Claudine Griggs examines the universal quest to understand ...... More...
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Paper Abstract:
In this book, author and transsexual Claudine Griggs examines the universal quest to understand what it means to be a woman or a man, a quest that has broader implications for human beings everywhere.
Paper Introduction:
This paper is a discussion and analysis of S he Changing Sex andChanging Clothes by Claudine Griggs The book is an examination oftranssexuals and through them of the whole concept of what gender means The author is herself transgendered and can relate the personal experienceof what it means to be unable to fit neatly into one of the two expectedcategories that make up a two-gender society While much of the book isconcerned with the physical and legal processes involved in reassigninggender it
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She concludes her study with words that go far beyond the limitedrealm of transsexuality: Differences between men and women are all around us. As Griggs recounts, "Byrearranging likeness, one rearranges audience response, and a radicallymodified body transforms life experience. Yet in some ways, this is auniversal contemplation, one that every human being engages in. I found it better to be scornedas an effeminate man or masculine woman than to be sexually indecipherable"(3). Work CitedGriggs, Claudine. S/he: Changing Sex and Changing Clothes. The reflection is anaccessory of self" (4). The conflict then becomes between societal demandson the individual to check the "right" box and the individual imperative tounderstand what "right" means. In these cases, she hypothesizes that their relatively largerbodies made them physically intimidating enough to stave off those whomight treat them as "merely" women. New York: Berg Publishers, 1998. Society and self interact withimage" (5). Gender identity is not theonly source of such disconnect, but it can define strongly the ways inwhich individuals are "expected" to fit in. It is real. Griggs notes that parentalinfluence is important in reinforcing the expectations produced by theimage in the mirror. This suggests thatfeminist theory might find useful an examination of the correlation, ifany, between body size, body type (i.e., does a more masculine presenceresult in less sexist responses from others?), and feminine power. She argues throughout thatidentification is required in order to participate in society; she notes,"As years pass and culturally defined roles are embraced, individuals notonly expect clear gender signals, they insist upon them" (3). Some are represented by variant role expectations, but the difference is inside us. This interaction occurs for all human beings; most find at least somedisconnect between the image in the mirror, the physical presentation towhich society reacts, and the interior self. She writes, "When parents try to enforce gender intheir children, the emphasis seems to be on 'dress' for femininity and'behavior' for masculinity" (57). Postmodern gender theorists can neither create nor undo this reality (14 ). She writes, "Subtly, and in distinct situations, a driver'slicense may be a secondary sex characteristic and an element of attributedgender" (41), and she is not trying to be facetious. She also reports that altering gender to bring it more in line withinner perceptions brought some unexpected consequences for manytranssexuals. It wails in three dimensions and in electrochemical substance. She observes that expectations andinfluences changed depending on how she was perceived by those around her;"as an attributed man, I was frequently pushed into role conformity; as awoman, I was ignored into it" (62). Through the book, Griggs cites examples, especially from her ownexperience, in which the struggle to identify gender resulted in conflict,confusion, discomfort, and even violence. Transsexuals of necessity spend much of their lives contemplating theessential differences between the masculine and the feminine, trying tofind their own place in that structure. A good deal of gender identification is made through visual cues.Griggs devotes much of her book to the ways that transsexuals work to bringthe outer image in line with the inner reality, through hormone replacementtherapy, dress, exfoliation, altered mannerisms, and even sex-changesurgery. She observes, "Life is difficult when onedoes not have an easily identifiable sex. It has a pulse. She writes, "I now wonder whetherphysical stature is a significant contributing factor to the discriminationthat many women encounter in day-to-day existence -- perhaps evencontributing more than attributed gender itself" (111). The book is filledwith anecdotal evidence of the ways that an individual's perceived exteriorhas an impact on his or her treatment by others. She argue, "Because gender is essentially invisible except asrepresented through the body, and because gender role is anticipated on thebasis of attribution, it is effectively impossible to relate to a femininegender that is wrapped by a male physiology, or vice versa" (8 ). However, she later recounts someexamples of individuals who did not experience this same kind oftransition. This paper is a discussion and analysis of S/he: Changing Sex andChanging Clothes by Claudine Griggs. While much of the book isconcerned with the physical and legal processes involved in reassigninggender, it also examines psychological issues in some depth and discusseshow the struggle that an individual born to one biological assignment butdrawn to the other has powerful ramifications for understanding genderissues in general. Gender identity is a primary sex characteristic. As Griggs states it, "For the observer, the image of genderdefines gender; that's the story of the mirror. Not only must such identification be established, but the differentgenders then communicate different messages and expectations for theindividual. She reports, "Most male-to-female transsexuals do notappreciate moving into a world of 'second-class citizenship' or beingvictims of sex discrimination" (5 ). When shewas seen as a man, she could not receive the same responses that she hadreceived in the same setting but perceived as a woman. When an individual looks in a mirror, the reflected image helps toanswer the universal question, "Who am I?" Yet a transsexual sees the bodyinto which he or she has been born and is unable to reconcile it with theinner image. The book is an examination oftranssexuals and, through them, of the whole concept of what gender means.The author is herself transgendered and can relate the personal experienceof what it means to be unable to fit neatly into one of the two expectedcategories that make up a two-gender society.
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