For me the central argument while reading the prompted portion of Judith Butlers “Gender Trouble” as if sex is the physical orientation we are born (male, female, or intersex), and gender is the manner in which we interpret the combination of social and behaviors roles, how we find our individual gender identity. Butler argues that although sex and gender do have similar characteristics for some people, there is more to a single person’s identity than the sex they are born. For me, the gender and sex I identify as a cisgender heterosexual female, which is typically the box females get placed into. If you have been born with a physical vagina, you should not immediately be subjected to a life of being told you’re a female if you do not emotionally and mentally comply with that sex and gender. There should be an area in which you can express the gender in which you feel most comfortable with, whether that be: cisgender, transgender, gender fluid, queer, etc. When sexuality becomes something that is instinctual instead of forced, we were to see many different opinions of sexuality emerge within society, especially due to the mass amounts of social media presence, the media allows people to share their ideas and options on sexuality and relate to one another. How can we dress, treat, and educate young children in a way that they will understand that they have a choice in the different emotions they face regarding their sexuality and gender? Should we avoid dressing boys in blue and expecting them to be interested in cars and sports, and respect them having emotional outbursts regardless of what’s “masculine” and vice versa for young girls. Personally, the takeaway for me from this article is the complexity of the social construction of gender stereotypes, and how many factors there are to consider when thinking about the difference between sex and gender, especially in regards to feminism. Feminism must change with the times as more information is released regarding sexuality and gender, gender and sexuality are seen as a free-flowing fluid movement, similar to the feminist movement. I believe that as humans gain more knowledge and experience, the acceptance and understanding of gender and sex will become more universally known, bringing communities together that have previously been separated.

 

 

Fun little note: I saw a post on Facebook a few months that states the following, and I thought it was so fitting I had to share it with you!!!

Man: “Sex and Gender are the same thing!!”

Woman: “So you want to have Gender with me?”