Gender Identity: Intersex People and Their Place in Society

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Discussion
Conclusion
References

Introduction

The proposed readings are built around the theme of gender identity, considering it from different perspectives. The chosen quote is taken from Ainsworth’s (2015) article: “I think there’s much greater diversity within male or female, and there is certainly an area of overlap where some people can’t easily define themselves within the binary structure”. It is one of the most thought-provoking statements because it contains the key idea of gender studies about the inappropriateness of binary gender in specific cases. In modern media, there is a lot of support for intersex people and their place in American society. At the same time, many right-wing media deny such a dichotomy claiming that modern values are destructive to the US (Caddle, 2022; LBC, 2018). Thus, the reason for choosing this quote is that it generates heated debate and therefore deserves special attention.

Discussion

The article “Cooking with Muxes, Mexico’s third gender” describes the everyday life of people who were born biologically male and then dressed and behaved as female. From Muxes’ stories, what fascinates me the most is how a seemingly traditional culture accepts homosexual people in their community. What’s remarkable is that gender identity in the Juchitán district is pretty different compared to mainstream understanding (Cobelo, 2016). In this community, muxes are the third gender that is not identified within the categories “homosexual” and “transgender”. At the same time, in the Juchitán community, there are no biological women dressed as males, which also emphasizes the peculiar nature of this closed society (Cobelo, 2016). The speaker’s scale of acceptance evokes thoughts and desires to explore the differentiation of gender identities in some other closed cultures. In my perspective, such a discussion may bring gender studies discourse to a new level.

Another important idea was expressed by La Toya, a 32 years old mux from Juchitán. She said, “What is sure is that nobody can teach you to be gay. You can’t assimilate into something natural” (Cobelo, 2016, para 9). She expresses the widespread opinion of LGBT activists who claim that gender identity is acquired from birth. Indeed, it often happens when children from an early age feel anxious about their biological gender, trying to find relief in changing appearance (Greenfield, 2014). In practice, research on whether biological or social factors determine homosexuality is highly controversial. The discussion turns into complex conversations about the structure of the brain, the features of homosexual behavior in animals, the structure of the embryo, and the composition of genes. However, a sincere comment from a resident of a traditional society says a lot about the perception of this issue by ordinary people.

Conclusion

The texts are useful for constructing a worldview about the identity of LGBT people in my future life. When a heterosexual person learns some facts about the everyday life of the LGBT community, it becomes easier to accept and support LGBT people. Not in vain at present, festival cinema and literature constantly raise the topic of accepting homosexuality. I am sure this is the right move that will lead to greater social justice. Speaking of concepts, the notion of muxes from the Juchitán tradition has created a new perspective for looking at gender binary issues. Although this phenomenon is characteristic of a certain narrow culture, the representation of these people in the local society shows patterns that apply to modern society.