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Jessica recommends…
Interesting article about differences (or lack thereof) between the sexes.
Dayle recommends…
This is a great New York Times article about the way many Afghan girls and their mothers deal with social pressures. Women are pressured to have boys, not girls, and girls are treated poorly. To cope, some mothers choose to pass their little girl off as a little boy. Outside their home, these girls grow up as boys.
I found it fascinating and you should definitely take a look.
Jessica recommends…
It is an interesting brief history of gender neutral pronouns over the past couple of hundred years.
A reader recommends…
I just read this article and wanted to share it with you. It’s a very inspiring story, it warms the heart.
A reader recommends…
Liu Zhu is a contestant in China’s ‘Super Boy’ singing contest who caused some controversy by entering a male-only talent show while dressing as a woman. From interviews it seems that he is happy calling himself a boy and presenting as a beautiful woman, and while he’s been strongly criticized (and harshly questioned by a guest judge on the show) there are plenty of supportive voices out there too. Best of luck to him in the contest, I say!
A reader recommends…
“Australia may have made gender history this week, as the New South Wales government lays claim to being the first in the world to recognize an individual’s sex as officially ‘not specified.'”
Jack recommends…
The picture at the top could be seen as pretty othering, but otherwise this is a great story. It’s about Sam. At four years old Sam decides to wear a pink sundress to school. It’s a story all about how to support your child and how preparing them for the fact that they might be bullied for dressing outside of gender binaries is much better for the child than stopping them being who they are to try and protect them. This always cheers me up when I’m having a bad day.
.heather. recommends…
A new generation of Japanese men (and women) are breaking through gender constructs in a society where, until now, those roles have been strictly enforced.
“They simply enjoy what they like without prejudice. They are not limited by expectations.”
motozulli recommends…
The NYTimes did this article on “cross-dressing” in high schools, but you might also want to read a fashion scholar’s response to the article and the issue. All I have to say is “Bravo!” to those high schoolers!
Taylor & a Reader recommend…
I actually don’t think anyone will love this. Rather, like me, I think many people will be baffled, maybe angry or disappointed. I wish I didn’t have to put this in the “you will like” box, but I didn’t see another contact – sorry if I missed something. However, I think it’s really important to share this. The lengths the world is going to determine someone as a gender one way or another is now so serious that it’s ruining careers. It reminds me of Kate Lynn Blatt, who was told by her employer that she needed to produce a picture of her genitals and a letter from her doctor to prove she was a “woman” or she would lose her job. Since Genderfork has really helped me explore the construct of gender and sexuality, especially my own, I could think of no better place to share these recent gender-dichotomy issues.
-Taylor
I thought this was an interesting story of gender questioning/ambiguity in the world of sports, which unfortunately happens too often. This South African runner who lives as female and apparently has female physical parts is being scrutinized because she might be “male” on some biological level. Why does being really good at physical activity automatically make people question your femininity? And where do intersexed people fit in the world of sports? Are they automatically excluded?
The best part is this quote from the article:
“Even genetic testing cannot confirm male or female. In fact, it is so complex that to do proper gender testing, you have to take a multi-disciplinary approach, and make use of internal medicine specialists, gynecologists, psychologists, geneticists and endocrinologists. I am afraid that dropping your pants is not proof at all.”
Makes me wonder why we even bother if it’s that complicated!
-A Reader
XylophoneGender recommends…
Stanford’s Lera Boroditsky conducted a study on the effects of a language’s gendering of a noun on a person’s perception of that object. Also seen in Newsweek.
Julian recommends…
Not only is the subject of this essay older, but he has amazing flair and gender-bending powers.
News article
Talks about the tradition of feminine men in Senegal
I think you’ll like this because it deals with a biologically female 17-year old’s attempts to physically realize the gender he identifies himself as. It’s an interesting article because it concerns a minor, and validates a minor’s feelings about their gender.
Gabriel recommends…
This is an article on how homosexuality in women is on the rise, but it touches on androgyny and gender variance. I read it about halfway and it made me think of Genderforking in general.
