Gender binary: Difference between revisions
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Throughout world history, most cultures have used a model of gender roles that include female and male, with similar definitions to those familiar to Westerners, and many cultures recognize(d) additional genders. However, the gender binary, with its strict limitation to only two genders, is not a constant throughout all cultures in history. It is a relatively new concept that had its basis in the European Christian Church. Earlier Abrahamic religions and European cultures recognized additional genders and [[sex|sexes]]. Western colonialism put pressure on cultures around the world to be like Western culture. One part of this was that Western colonialism made other cultures take up its model of the gender binary. Colonialists often had deadly penalties for people who didn't conform to it. This became a standard part of colonialist societies. This systematic form of oppression is called [[binarism]]. | Throughout world history, most cultures have used a model of gender roles that include female and male, with similar definitions to those familiar to Westerners, and many cultures recognize(d) additional genders. However, the gender binary, with its strict limitation to only two genders, is not a constant throughout all cultures in history. It is a relatively new concept that had its basis in the European Christian Church. Earlier Abrahamic religions and European cultures recognized additional genders and [[sex|sexes]]. Western colonialism put pressure on cultures around the world to be like Western culture. One part of this was that Western colonialism made other cultures take up its model of the gender binary. Colonialists often had deadly penalties for people who didn't conform to it. This became a standard part of colonialist societies. This systematic form of oppression is called [[binarism]]. | ||
==Supporting Arguments and their Counter-Arguments== | |||
One of the main arguments for the gender binary is the fact that someone who fits inside the binary system can have a gender expression or personality which differs from the Western<ref>European and North American</ref> binary system.<ref>A somewhat misinformed argument arguing this: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/sep/16/drop-gender-stereotypes-we-are-all-non-binary</ref> This argument is misinformed, since it is based on the single-cultural assumption that gender identity is the same thing as personality. For example, if two people identifying with the same [[binary gender]] who both lived in cultures with gender stereotypes completely alien from each other met, they would both still want to be known as their real [[Gender identity|gender identities]], not something culturally assumed from behaviour and expression. | |||