Genderqueer
 Meaning - Lavendel: mix van roze (vrouwelijk) en blauw (mannelijk) - Wit: gender-neutraal of agender - Donkergroen: tegenovergestelde van lavendel, betekende het derde gender | |
| Related identities | nonbinary, transgender |
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Genderqueer, ook wel GenderQueer of gender queer genoemd, is een paraplu term dat verwijst naar beide non-normatieve genderidentiteit en genderexpressie. De label kan ook gebruikt worden door individuen die zich willen identificeren als queer of non-normatief gender zonder meer specifiek te zijn over de aard van hun gender.
Als een paraplu term heeft genderqueer een vergelijkbare reikwijdte als non-binair, veel non-binair-identificerende individuen beschouwen henzelf ook genderqueer. Alhoewel, de termen hebben verschillende historische reikwijdtes en bijbetekenissen. Het woord genderqueer werd tenminste tien jaar voor non-binair gebruikt.
Geschiedenis
De term genderqueer was als eerst genoemd in de jaren '90 als 'Gender Queer', en was voor een tijdje geschreven als 'GenderQueer' voordat het een enkel woord werd. De originele betekenis was letterlijk queer gender, iedereen die voelde dat de manier waarop zij gender ervaarden of uitten queer was. De term draagt de non-normatieve en anti-assimilationistische connotaties van de Queer Movement en past deze toe tot gender, in plaats van seksualiteit.
Het eerst bekende gebruik of de term is door Riki anne Wilchins in de Spring 1995 nieuwsbrief van Transexual Menace.
Riki Wilchins' essay van de 2002 bloemlezing GenderQueer omschrijft hoe de originele 'Gender Queers' de label hadden aangenomen omdat de bedoeld-om-zo-inclusief-te-zijn paraplu term transgender had begonnen het sterkst geassocieerd te zijn met transseksueel, binair gender identificerende mensen en een medische transitie, waardoor diegenen die niet in deze dominante transgender narrative passen, naar buiten worden geschoven.
Tegen 1999/2000 gebruikten online gemeenschappen zoals de Sphere mailing list de term genderqueer als een paraplu om een aantal non-binaire genderidentiteiten en identificaties die nu onder de non-binaire paraplu gedacht worden, onder één te brengen. Tijdens het volgende decennium werd genderqueer als een standalone identiteit ontwikkelt met bijzondere (sub)culturele verwachtingen en connotaties, terwijl de neiging om bepaalde ervaringen onder zijn paraplu te identificeren leek af te nemen. Beide toepassingen zijn echter nog steeds zichtbaar in verschillende online en persoonlijke gemeenschappen.
Verschil tussen Genderqueer en Non-binair
Genderqueer betekent een non-normatief of 'queer' gender terwijl non-binair 'gender dat buiten het binair gender model valt' betekent. Beide termen zijn extreem vergelijkbaar in reikwijdte, maar in de praktijk zijn hun bijbetekenissen aanzienlijk verschillend.
Genderqueer comes with the anti-assimilationist political connotations of queer, which is a reclaimed slur word with strong associations with a countercultural sexuality movement that sets itself apart from the mainstream LGBT community. (Note that the word "queer" is still actively used as a pejorative and hate speech in many regions.) As such genderqueer implies a similar counterculture, setting itself apart from mainstream transgender discourse. Most genderqueer people also consider themselves to be queer and there is a strong trend of rejecting the gender binary and normative gender roles with in the Queer Movement as a whole.
By contrast, nonbinary is more politically neutral in its connotations. Nonbinary was coined as a descriptive term, originally simply 'nonbinary gender', used to describe the range of experiences that fall outside of the binary gender model. There is no countercultural anti-transgender discourse connotation, nor is there a connotation of association with the wider Queer Movement. Nonbinary is intended to simply cover the widest range of identities and experiences without intending to describe their political or cultural philosophies and affiliations.
Observed differences between people who hold each identity
While genderqueer and nonbinary are theoretically extremely similar in their scope as umbrella terms, in practice genderqueer slants more towards those who identify as queering gender while nonbinary tends to attract those who hold specific trans* or transgender identities that fall outside of the gender binary.
Genderqueer-identified people seem to be more likely to hold binary gender identities (eg, 'Genderqueer Woman') while considering their gender expression or gender performance to be queer or non-normative, while nonbinary-identified people are more likely to consider their gender identity (or lack of gender identity) to fall outside of the binary. Genderqueer-identified people seem to be more likely to consider themselves to be queer or a member of the queer community.
Nonbinary-identified people generally seem more comfortable with considering themselves transgender and more likely to use the language of gender dysphoria. The adoption of the term 'nonbinary' by parts of the genderqueer community may reflect a trend of adopting the language of the transgender rights movement in order to make use of and expand on the legal protections now afforded to transgender people in some localities. Nonbinary-identified people may be more likely to be seeking access to transgender medical care or legal recognition (aka transition).
Some nonbinary people reject the term genderqueer as an umbrella term because they are offended to be associated with queer sexuality, or still see queer as an offensive slur word.
Despite these trends and connotations, both terms are used by some members of each group and so may be considered as wide inclusive umbrella terms. Some genderqueer-identified people have sought 'transition', some nonbinary-identified people hold binary gender identities and consider themselves to be nonbinary by gender expression, and it is currently common for nonbinary-identified individuals to also identify as genderqueer (especially as this term predates nonbinary by at least a decade).
Is Genderqueer Transgender?
There is controversy within the genderqueer community over whether genderqueer people fall under the transgender umbrella. Despite the work of Leslie Feinberg in the 1990s to coin transgender as a wide and inclusive umbrella term covering all forms of transgressive gender, the term genderqueer developed out of a frustration with the association between transgender and transsexualism, gender dysphoria and the dominant transgender narrative.
It is common for genderqueer-identified people to consider trans and transgender to be synonymous with transition and so to claim genderqueer as a non-transgender identity. This is especially true with people who are genderqueer by gender expression only, but also applies to some genderqueer people who are comfortable with their body and see transgender as synonymous with bodily gender dysphoria. As such, it is important when talking about genderqueer and nonbinary people to recognise that not all people who hold these identities consider themselves to fall under the transgender umbrella.
Notable people
Notable people who specifically describe themselves with the label "genderqueer" include:
- musician JD Samson
- porn actor Jiz Lee
- model Rain Dove
- singer, songwriter and actor Kieran Strange
See also
External links
- Wikipedia's Genderqueer article
- Genderqueer Identities
- Genderqueer Identities: The Non-binary vs Genderqueer Quandary
- Riki Wilchin's essay on the origins of Genderqueer from the 2002 anthology GenderQueer
Further reading
- Nestle, Joan, Clare Howell, and Riki A. Wilchins. GenderQueer: Voices from Beyond the Sexual Binary. Los Angeles: Alyson Books, 2002. Print.
- Sycamore, Mattilda B. Nobody Passes: Rejecting the Rules of Gender and Conformity. Emeryville, CA: Seal Press, 2006. Print.
- ↑ This quote is a snippet from an answer to the survey conducted in the year 2018. Note for editors: the text of the quote, as well as the name, age and gender identity of its author shouldn't be changed.
