Is it possible to meet or interact with someone without performing a gender attribution?
In response to the question “Is it possible to meet or interact with someone without performing a gender attribution,” I would answer yes. As Kessler and McKenna note, gender attribution is an active opinion we form based on our senses. While the logical response given the social constructs we have grown up in is to assign a gender role (typically bi-gender), I believe if we exert a little care into finding the person and not the role it’s possible to avoid gender attribution. The key to doing so is losing the notion of different treatment based on social norms. I would argue this is easily accomplished when we form relationships beyond strangers.
Our behavior is largely based on judgement. Whether we seek approval or not, judgement from others and social norms guide our decisions. When we appear in public, some choose to abide by certain codes to be recognizable as a member of a certain gender/sex. When we are around family and friends, or those who have a more developed understanding of who we are, it’s more likely we don’t confine ourselves to gender norms or view others within an attribution. The resurgence of this happens when social expectations of marriage revisit our minds and we assess the personality, nature, and accomplishments of someone in (‘traditional’) marriage.
With that said, I would argue that it is possible for individuals to meet one another without enforcing bi-gender norms or social systems. For example, when meeting someone, you can introduce yourself with “Hi! I’m X.” Usually, the other person would respond with a greeting and their own name. However, I am not sure about the use of the pronoun “you” in relation to gender attribution as the conversation continues.
In my own experience, I have met and interacted with people without performing gender attribution. I found it takes embracing a person as a human and not defining them as a (fe)male/member of the LGBTQ+ community. In learning to adopt new outlooks, I believe the foremost reaction has to be desire and care. If we don’t care about changing our desire is no more than a pleasant thought of understanding or appreciation.
Hello Marcel!
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that social norms guide our decisions and how we chose to display ourselves in public. It is definitely easier to show who we truly are towards those who deeply understand us, such as family and friends. When I meet and interact with people, I usually do so without performing gender attribution. The only time I recognize that I use gender attribution is when I am walking and notice something about someone else that I am not meeting or interacting with. However, I do agree that it is possible to meet one another without enforcing bi-gender norms. Usually, I just see people use names or "you" during a conversation, but I am also unsure about the use of "you" in relation to gender attribution.
- Audrey Dubauskas
Hi Marcel,
ReplyDeleteJudgement was a major theme in my paper as well when talking about gender attributions. I too believe that the judgement of others guides our decisions and it is becoming more prevalent with the growth of social media. You also make a very strong argument on how we can get away from gender attributions as a society by saying we need to really embrace every person as a human. Because after all, that's what we really are. Good thoughts!
Hi Marcel,
ReplyDeleteI wanted to ask you about a sentence in your post that I didn't quite understand. You wrote: "The resurgence of this happens when social expectations of marriage revisit our minds and we assess the personality, nature, and accomplishments of someone in (‘traditional’) marriage." Can you unpack that for me? I'm not confident I'm following your point here.