Quote:
Originally Posted by Heart
I am very attached to my gender presentation and gender performance. Even as a child I played with gender, wandered around in it. I would hate to have gender removed from the energy exchange between people - because it's hot! Gender neutrality sounds chilling to me. I see no point in neutralizing gender because it's part of our humanity.
Gender stereotypes, on the other hand, are destrctive. So are racial stereotypes. But we aren't go to have "racially-neutral" classrooms. The point is not to neutralize gender, but to reinscribe the value assigned to gender differences and variety. In other words, gender equality, rather than gender neutraility would seem to be the key.
Heart
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I agree with what you are saying, for the most part. I feel I need to stand by my opinion that gender neutrality doesn't discourage gender exploration and, in fact, encourages it. I believe it allows an individual the freedom to examine all aspects of gender and make the personal decision about how they choose to present themselves. Re-examination of oneself over time may or may not lead to different presentations, all of which should be acceptable.
I think we are trying to say the same thing with different terms. personally, I don't support "equality" as, to me, that denotes preclassification in groups which are then judged to be equal to one another.