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This week’s Weekly discussion thread will be focused on Gender. Here is the definition we will be using so everyone can use the same terminology.
Here are some questions that should help kickstart things:
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Why do you feel it started entering public consciousness in regards to humans about 15 years ago?
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Was it needed?
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Did it do what it was intended to do?
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Are things better or worse now in that specific area?
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Is there anything you do not understand or would like to discuss about the idea of gender?
I’m going to make a longer comment with some of my more personal thoughts later but the one part that caught my attention initially was the ~15 years part.
Now I’m not going to be a stickler about precise time ranges but certainly in the 90s there were significant discussions about male/female gender roles.
While discussions about trans/gender identity topics only really picked up steam in I would say the last ~7 years these sorts of things were pretty common discussions in feminist academic circles for quite some time even before that, so it’s likely that the discussion would have happened sooner or later, even if in a different way than it did.
Last comment about timing - I suspect politics had something to do with it. More cynical analysis might say it’s been used as a wedge between the American right and left (as passion for fighting over, say, gay marriage has lessened) and there’s a cynical argument to be made that both parties actually want it to be a contentious issue because it helps then to differentiate and appeal to their base in different ways.
Some equally cynical analysis from the left specifically associates the rise of gender as a topic (and several other social issues) as a way to distract the new left from economic issues (ex: occupy Wall Street, Bernie Sanders-esque stuff). While I don’t think most on the left would claim the aforementioned social issues are unimportant they would claim that they’re of secondary importance when a great number of people are struggling just to get by with the situation only slowly getting worse.
I’ll make a separate post later on my personal feelings more on-topic.
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One thing I would note is that it wasn’t all that uncommon for the women to handle the finances in my family, and it’s a thing I’ve heard is frequently the case. You also get a lot of situations where “officially” the man of the house is “in charge” but everyone knows who is really running the show. I think there was probably a lot more subtlety/nuance/individual variety than we give credit for. Then again my ancestors are largely celtic and if you know anything about celtic women…
Why do you feel it started entering public consciousness in regards to humans about 15 years ago?
Because politicians who feed off of hating minorities needed someone new to pick on now that basically everyone is fine with gay people.
Was it needed?
It was needed for them to get votes, since that’s how they function; Weaponizing hating the other in order to gain support.
Did it do what it was intended to do?
Sadly, yes. Look at the polls.
Are things better or worse now in that specific area?
It depends on the social circle. Trans issues have now become mainstream in the LGBTQ communities, where even 10 years ago, you would hear gay men making trans jokes.
But also, other people are very boldly, and loudly spewing hatred.
Is there anything you do not understand or would like to discuss about the idea of gender?
Nope. It’s not hard. End of the day, let people be who they want to, and call them by the name they would like to be called.
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