Defining Gender

Views on Gender: WATCH
Theybies: WATCH
Laverne Cox: WATCH

White ‘Transracial’ Man: WATCH
Fallon Fox: WATCH
Selina Soule: WATCH

1 Why was it so hard for these students to answer basic questions on identity?

Many point to the difference between sex and gender and accept the idea that because they are different, we should accept that people may express their gender differently from their biological sex. Many also have problems defining these terms because they don’t want to offend those that are transgender.

Explain to the students that much of this language comes from an understanding of gender as a social construct. Help the students
explore the definition of “social construct.” There are corresponding
images on your slides that illustrate each of these points. 

2 What is a social construct?

Explain to the students that Webster’s dictionary defines the term as: “an idea that has been created and accepted by the people in a society.”

For many, gender is a social construct created by society. They argue that many people don’t fit the categories of “masculine” and “feminine” we talked about in our last session. For example, they would say some boys like pink and some girls like blue. They also say many men do traditionally feminine work, like being a hairstylist. Many women also do things that traditionally men do, such as physical labour and sports like boxing.

Explain to the students that this idea that there are only two
genders is being challenged in our society. Many argue that because gender is just a social construct, and some cultures already recognize a third sex, then this must be a normal part of human existence. In fact, to illustrate the idea of gender fluidity, they created the “Gender Unicorn.” 

Get the students to explore the argument that gender is just
created. Explain the following image of the “Gender Unicorn” from this site (www.transstudent.org/gender). It uses the Gender Unicorn to explain the following:

Definitions:

• Gender Identity: One’s internal sense of being male, female, neither of these, both, or another gender(s). Everyone has a gender identity, including you. For transgender people their birth sex and their own internal sense of gender identity are not the same. Female, woman, and girl and male, man, and boy are also NOT necessarily linked to each other but are just six common gender identities.

• Gender Expression/Presentation: The physical manifestation of one’s gender identity through clothing, hairstyle, voice, body shape, etc. Most transgender people seek to make their gender expression (how they look) match their gender identity (who they are), rather than the sex assigned at birth.

• Sex Assigned at Birth: The assignment and classification of people as male, female, intersex, or another sex based on a combination of anatomy, hormones, chromosomes. It is important we don’t simply use “sex” because of the vagueness of the definition of sex and its place in transphobia. Chromosomes are frequently used to determine sex from prenatal karyotyping (although not as often as genitalia). Chromosomes do not determine genitalia.

• Sexually Attracted To: Sexual Orientation. It is important to note that sexual and romantic/emotional attraction can be from a variety of factors including but not limited to gender identity, gender expression/presentation, and sex assigned at birth.

The gender unicorn is based on three ideas:

A) Gender is created by culture.

For example, in our culture women wear dresses but in Myanmar, men also wear dresses. If something is created by society, they argue, it does not have to be followed by other societies or even by people in that society. If gender is created, then it is something you choose. It can be accepted or rejected.

B) Gender is different than biological sex.

There are extremely rare cases where people are born intersex, or what used to be called hermaphrodites. These individuals are born with ambiguous genitalia or have DNA that does not match their bodies. For example, Dutch Olympian, Foejke Dilemma (see image on the slide) had XY chromosomes as well as XX chromosomes but her body developed as female. She suffered a rare syndrome where, likely when she was a fetus, the testicles never descended and that made her body develop female. The argument from the gender unicorn is that because of people like Dilemma, we cannot say that biology determines gender.

C) Gender can be expressed whatever way you want.

This is why some argue that “gender is a spectrum.” Another way of saying this is that gender is fluid. The argument goes that people from different time periods and societies express their gender differently and so we shouldn’t tell people how to behave as male or female. They can choose the gender that best suits their needs. They would add that some cultures even claim to have a “third gender” that is part of this “spectrum.”
SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_gender

Explain to the students the following examples of cultures that they claim have third genders. Use the slides provided as illustrations:

• The Albanian sworn virgins (Albanian: burrnesha) are Albanian women who take a vow of chastity and wear male clothing in order to live as men in the patriarchal northern Albanian society. National Geographic's Taboo estimated that there are fewer than 102 sworn virgins in the world. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albanian_sworn_virgins

• Fa'afafine are people who identify themselves as having a third-gender or non-binary role in Samoa, American Samoa and the Samoan diaspora. A recognized gender identity/gender role in traditional Samoan society, and an integral part of Samoan culture, fa'afafine are assigned male at birth, and explicitly embody both masculine and feminine gender traits in a way unique to Polynesia. Their behavior typically ranges from extravagantly feminine to conventionally masculine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fa%27afafine

• Hijra is a term given to eunuchs, intersex people, and transgender people in South Asia. Also known as Aravani, Aruvani, Jagappa, or Chhakka the transgender community in India prefer to call themselves Kinnar or Kinner, referring to the mythological beings that excel at song and dance. It is reminiscent of Gandhi trying to uplift the status of untouchables in India by calling them harijans or 'God's people'. Hijras are officially recognized as third gender in South Asian countries, being considered neither completely male nor female. Hijras have a recorded history in the Indian subcontinent from antiquity onwards as suggested by the Kama Sutra period. Many hijras live in well-defined and organized all-hijra communities, led by a guru.These communities have consisted over generations of those who are in abject poverty, rejected by, or fleeing their family of origin Many work as sex workers for survival. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hijra_(South_Asia)

Simone de Beauvoir, a famous feminist said, “one is not born a woman, but becomes one.” Being female is no longer about your biology but about your personal preference.

VIDEO: Since gender is a social construct we can choose our gender. This is why some identify as transgender, like actor, Laverne Cox. As a group, watch Laverne’s video and discuss how this person justifies being able to identify as a female. Warning, this video bleeps out a cuss word but it does discuss adult sexual situations. This video is optional. However, it is helpful because it will help your students understand that the rationale for many people who choose to be transgender is simply how they feel. You can also discuss the ways Laverne thinks about identity, as talked about in Session 2. Help them see that Laverne never embraces his biology and suffers from a lot of self-doubt. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-ylx6vhiZc

Explore the various reasons why people want to identify as transgender. Most of the reasons have to do with how people feel about themselves and how they don’t feel connected with the “sex assigned to them at birth.” Get them to wrestle with the question:

3 What is wrong with expressing your gender identity however way you want?

Since we can express our gender whatever way we want, some say we should even let babies decide their gender identity. Show the students a video of people raising their children as “theybies”.

VIDEO: In this NBC News Clip, a reporter interviews parents who raise their child without identifying the child’s gender so the child can choose what gender they want to become. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfzL8BrNSLQ&t=17s

Get the students to discuss the motivations of the parents in the clip. Acknowledge that these are loving parents who want to do good for their children. Secondly, discuss what benefits the kids have from being raised this way. Advantages can include being able to play with whatever toy they want or do activities that are traditionally assigned to the opposite sex. Lastly, discuss what these kids miss when they are raised as theybies. Point out that raising kids this way deprives them of important relationships such as having same-sex friends to play with or being able to look up to mom and dad to understand what it means to live as masculine or feminine. More importantly, raising kids this way does not change biological differences.

4 What do you think of raising a child without a gender identity? What are the problems? Difficulties?

Many argue that gender is just a social construct, but you can point out to the students that this does not change our biology. Regardless of how you raise them, boys will still need to know how to use a urinal and girls need to learn about feminine hygiene products. These biological functions are not something we can choose but are part of our design.

Get your students to brainstorm what will happen when these kids go to school without understanding gender. Help them see that the kids won’t have a group of peers to be part of and another group to be different from. The idea that we get our identity both from our own gender and from the other gender is lost. Explore ways these kids could feel left out or unattached without a gender identity.

This National Geographic advertises that for this young transgender child, he feels that, “The best thing about being a girl is that now I don’t have to pretend to be a boy.” Ask your students, what do you think this child means? Doesn’t it sound like he never felt connected to his own body. Wouldn’t it be best to help him accept his body instead of trying to change it?

5 Are there limits to how you can identify?

Especially if your students see no problem with a child transitioning, get them to wrestle with this question. Help them see that feelings are overriding biological facts, as we talked about in Session 2. Show them the results of what happens when we ignore biology.

Use this image on the slide to begin a discussion about these limits. The image shows a variety of gender identities you can now choose. In fact, you can tell the students that at one time Facebook had over 70 gender identities (now it just lets you choose whatever you want). Explain to them that all of these genders are chosen based simply on how we feel. Get them to brainstorm what we would have to do if there are truly 70 or more gender identities. For example, does each gender need a bathroom, or their own sports teams, or their own bedrooms. Help them see the problem of accepting that feelings determine gender identity.

VIDEO: White ‘transracial’ man believes he’s Filipino

As we talked about in Session 2, many are using the same arguments about gender fluidity for other identities. Consider, Ja Du who is trans-Filipino. He argues that he is female in the same way as he argues that he is Filipino even through he is white. He embraces the female Filipino identity because he claims to enjoy the culture and the food. He even drives a tuk tuk, which he says is a Filipino vehicle. Unfortunately, tuk tuks are a vehicle from Thailand, not the Philippines. Explain to the students how basic facts like this cannot be ignored when we declare our identity. If it matters what kind of car is actually being driven in the Philippines, wouldn’t it also matter what kind of DNA you have before you declare your race or gender? www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkYM2AtOaXk

In fact, the gender unicorn’s three points should be tested in light of facts.

A) Is gender created by culture?

Yes, sometimes, like we talked about last week, colours we like, who cooks the food at home, etc., are different for different cultures. But it’s NOT fair to say that just because cultures express male and female differently, that there are no male and female genders. For example, it’s true women wear dresses in Canada and both men and women wear dresses in Myanmar. But notice, the dresses Myanmar men wear are different from the dresses Myanmar women wear. They may be dresses, but get your students to realize that there are men’s dresses and women’s dresses and they are different.

In fact, in every culture, even those with the “third sex,” they still recognize the male and female identities.  Use the slides from before that supposedly shows a “third gender.” For example, the cultures that supposedly recognize a third gender only do so by first recognizing that they are a combination of male and female. They do not create an independent identity. Rather, “third” identities are created by combining the traits of male and female. Many of these cultures even reject the term “transgender” because it does not accommodate their situation. Traditionally, the Albanian Sworn Virgins only decide to live as men if their families have no male heirs. Living as a man allows these women to carry on the family name and maintain their homes after a ceremony where they take on the role of a man.This has nothing to do with how the woman feels inside. In the same way in Samoa, boys are raised as Fa’afafine in order to do female labour if there are not enough women in the family. Men would leave on a hunt and some of the boys would stay to help the few females in their family. Many of these men still marry women when they grow older.  In both cases, choosing to live as a man or woman does not originate from how one feels but out of a desperate need within the family. [Note in modern Samoa, Fa’afafine have now embraced the transgender worldview and act as if they are a third gender. However, this is still seen as a Western understanding of gender identity, not that of the Samoans].

The hijra are recognized as either male eunuchs, men who cannot reproduce or men who dress like women. The hijra are a special class in East Asia who are often vilified or looked down on. They also do special rituals at events such as weddings. Recently the Indian Supreme Court recognized them as a “third gender,” in order to help protect them from abuse or harm. But this means the culture itself is hostile to the idea that a third gender exists. 

Have the students understand that even if gender is a social construct, the gender binary is not. Each culture and society tries to explain the gender differences because they exist in every culture. 

B) What role should biology play in determining gender?

This is the most important question you can ask about transgenderism. It will help clarify for students that, yes, some gender differences are cultural but there are some that exist because of our biology. Help them understand that our biological sex must be an integral part of our gender identity because gender is always shaped by our biological sex.

VIDEO: Fallon Fox, a transgender mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter seriously injured Tamikka Brent in a fight [Warning: video has strong language] www.youtube.com/ watch?v=8dGHFOJBl6k

6 Do you think this is fair to girls?

VIDEO: Watch this video of Selina Soule, an American track and field athlete. Ask your students, What do you think of Selina’s concerns? Is she transphobic? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypwJXNCE4_Y&feature=share

In your discussion, point out that it is unfair to give those who have developed as men a chance to compete against women because men are biologically bigger and have more muscle than women. In other words,

C) Can we express gender separately from our biology?

What colour boys or girls like does not change our brains or our bodies. Gender may be expressed differently in each culture, but the gender binary, the fact of two genders, is universally recognized. A man claiming to be a woman cannot add female parts to his body, for example. Help your students understand that cultural differences in how men and women express their gender does not change any of the biological differences. A man claiming to be female does not have female parts. He can have male body parts removed but that does not make his body, female.

Biology must play a role in determining our gender because gender exists as a result of our biology, not just how we feel about it. In other words, God made male and female to differ, and that’s okay.

7 What about those who are intersex?

Remind students of Dutch Olympian, Foejke Dilemma (see image on the slide), who had XY chromosomes as well as XX chromosomes, but her body developed as female. She suffered a rare syndrome where, likely when she was a fetus, the testicles never descended and that made her body develop female. Not only are such cases extremely rare, from a Christian perspective they show how much God’s design has been affected by the Fall. This does not mean Foejke’s defects were because she sinned. She should be treated just like anyone born with physical abnormalities or disabilities. And from a Christian perspective, her body is female. Because these are physical abnormalities, this means each case has to be treated differently and people like Foejke should be shown grace as they wrestle with what to do with their biological differences. However, you also need to point out that just because a rare number of people face this kind of situation, those without intersex issues are not justified in embracing a transgender identity.

In fact, you can point out that even though the Olympics allows for trangender athletes to compete, they still inadvertently recognize the differences between male and female. Female athletes who identify as male, can compete with men anytime they want to. Male athletes have to wait at least one year living as a woman with some sort of hormone treatment before they can compete with females. In other words, even as they embrace transgenderism, Olympic rules recognize that men and women are still biologically different and have different physical capacities.

8 What is God’s design for gender?

Lastly, we need to remember that God’s design for gender was always as a way to illustrate how much we need each other. The Bible never defines male and female separately but always defines them in relationship with each other. 

God wants us to value our complementary relationship so much that He made laws that are specific for each gender. For example. In Deuteronomy, God gives His people a law that says that men and women are not to dress like the other gender. This does not mean women can’t wear pants but the principle is that we are to celebrate the gender differences and not ignore them.

Please be aware that some of your students may struggle with not feeling adequate in their masculine or feminine bodies. In their minds their understanding of “masculine” doesn’t include them, even if they are a boy or their understanding of “feminine” doesn’t include them even if they are a girl. Assure them that God has given them these identities because they are made in His image.

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As Christians we believe that God designed us, which means He has a right to determine our identity. Sometimes feelings can be intense and we long to feel like we belong to a group. Transgenderism can be so powerful because it is often based on strong feelings. But remember what we talked about last week. Men’s bodies as a group will always have traits that are, on average, different than female bodies. Yes, some men are going to be stronger than others and some women are going to be more flexible than others. But our masculinity and femininity are defined both by what we are and what we’re not. A boy is masculine in relation to a girl who is feminine. Nothing you feel will ever change that.

VIDEO: Walt Heyer shares his testimony of living as a transgender for nine years. In this video, he’ll explain how he found his identity in Christ. He reminds us that loving people who are transgender, doesn’t mean we have to agree with them. Rather, it means we help them understand God’s good plan. www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bZ65EWXpMY

One last exercise can help your students before you dismiss them. Have them brainstorm good things about being a member of their gender. Have the boys brainstorm ways that it is good to be a boy. Have the girls do the same thing about why it is good to be a girl. Then get them to say a few good things about the other gender. Help affirm that they can celebrate God’s design for their gender.