Philosophy_of_Gender

  What does Serano mean by "subconscious sex" and especially "experiential gender" (see pages 215-227)?  In the book Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity by Julia Serano, several important questions are raised. One definition Serano provides is subconscious sex, or the self-conscious understanding of the sex one feels they should be or belongs to. What is meant by this definition is the duality of both the 'genderized' sex and the other “best” gender that fits within the one individual. Its applications are used to describe the reality that genderqueer and LGBTQ+ individuals experience. Serano goes on to explain that a lot of definitions to explain the biases against transsexuals are a result of gender constructions. While this isn’t a real surprise to anyone, gender constructions bar individuals from freely expressing the gender they feel is most appropriate for them. Moreover, as Serano notes, gender is speculat...

     In chapter 2 of Asta’s book “ Categories We Live By : The Construction of Sex, Gender, Race, and Other Social Categories,” Asta connects the social significance of social construction(s). An interesting question to answer from the points provided in the chapter is what, if any, social construction makes an individual socially meaningful?       Asta talks about the different types of social occurrences (e.g. wheelchairs and their access) and how each can go from a cause of social phenomena to an effect. I believe that social phenomena is an effect in most cases. For example, the cause of physical inhibition is typically caused as a result of social effects (eg poor drinking water in a certain district/area, increased violence and lack of jobs, etc). An individual gains social meaning based on their perceived abilities and geographic location. Although some legal measures are evaluating based on merit, in some cases employability is still rooted in ...