On discussing this with a feminist friend of mine, I had it pointed out to me that a large part of this may stem from the fact that I'm a heterosexual white male, in a heteronormative white patriarchy (if use of "patriarchy" will be permitted). And this reminded me of something from psychological anthropology - that identity is often more like grammar than some sort of object. When grammar is used correctly, we do not notice; it is when its rules are violated that our attention is drawn to it. I do not understand identity, but I think that much of its existence is the result of some sort of rupture - or a gap between what is normal in society and what is unusual. A "normal" person is not reminded of their weirdness, while a transgender person is, just like a black person might be in a white-dominated society, or an Irishman in Beijing. Overly simplistic perhaps, but I think this has something to do with it. Identity interests me because it baffles me.
What I am trying to understand about the trans* identities is the idea that sex and gender are embodied by cultural norms and physical status symbols. If we strip away cultural context, do we still have men and women? The article admits that gender roles vary amongst societies. So it would seem to me that if a man feels uncomfortable in his society's male gender roles, then it is the society which much change, not the individual. I say this with fear of sounding presumptuous, but speaking honestly I think that the trans* community would do better to encourage more open-minded views on gender roles than to facilitate gender-affirmation procedures. That seems to be the root of the issue.
Take the gender binary, for example; many say that they exist outside it or in between it - this repeats the notion that the gender binary exists in the first place. *As a caveat, when I say this I mean that some parts of said community sometimes express these things - as is the case with any group/discourse, we can never truly say "these people do/say/are".
- Take the gender binary, for example; many say that they exist outside it or in between it - this repeats the notion that the gender binary exists in the first place.
I actually don't see the contradiction there. I don't think the trans* community rejects the existence, or at least perceived existence, of the gender binary. It just does not accept it as it is generally posited to exist -- and nor do I. It is simply the acknowledgment that the issue is not black and white, so in that sense the gender binary is subverted.