Gender Fluid: The Evolution of Gender Roles - Essay Sample

Introduction

The human race has continuously experienced evolution, and when evolutionary leaps set in, people must take them. For instance, when the Industrial Revolution kicked in, humans acquired technological capacity that can even destroy the planet. In the same way, gender-bending is not a new concept where men and women have been gender fluid. A few decades ago, society was characterized by rebellion about limited definitions of masculinity and femininity, and through the years, sex roles have been defined (Goldberg 5). Consequently, this has come in as liberation in that it portrays people as they are and not how they are defined by societal norms and religious doctrines. As such, gender stereotypes have changed dramatically over the years, where sexual orientation diversity is part of the natural order. Gender Revolution, a film by Katie Couric, sheds light on the issue of gender diversity, acknowledging the existence of a wide range of gender identities. From the Gender Revolution, one can learn that the success of gender evolution has only been achieved recently, mainly because of changing beliefs and a generation gap leading to more acceptance of nature’s diversity in humankind.

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Gender Evolution Achieved Only Recently

It is only in the past few years that society has experienced an explosion of gender fluidity. This has led to people coming out as gender-neutral gender, transgender, transsexual, among others. In other cases, some people identify as a gender other than the one that was assigned during birth, and even some do not identify with any gender. Today, it is common to see someone coming out publicly to change their genders and denounce that gender they were given at birth. Katie Couric, in the film, admits that in her childhood, every person had to fit into the gender binary of being male or female (Couric).

In addition, as she explains, everything at the time was simple because it was a common norm for boys to wear blue and girls wear pink (Risman 72). Similarly, whereas boys would play with trucks, girls would do so using dolls. In this case, she admits that a few decades ago, it was assumed that society was formed by boys and girls, and in this case, they were expected to live different kinds of lives. For instance, in the example above, it was expected that if one were a man, then they would engage in masculine activities such as working as a mechanic. On the other hand, if one was a woman, their roles were limited to activities such as caring for children, and this is the reason they were expected to play with dolls during their childhood.

Things began to change later in Katie’s life as she was building a career as a successful journalist. As she explains, during this time, it was all about changing gender roles, and it is not until recently that the main concern is about gender itself (Risman 72). The documentary mostly involves interviews with individuals and their parents who do not fit into the mainframe of the gender binary, and these individuals desire to live according to their inner selves. However, it is not until recently that they have been given this opportunity. In one of the interviews, David Reimer is a twin who lost his penis accidentally during circumcision (Couric). The disheartening thing is that his new condition left his parents with no option than to raise him as a girl. He only returned to being a man in his teenage years after he was told the truth about what happened to him in his childhood.

How and why Gender Evolution Achieved Only Recently

One in every child born 1500 to 2000 is born intersex, and it is intriguing that more than almost 1.5 million people identify themselves as Trans. From 2011 to 2016, the number almost doubled, and this does not imply that the number of trans people grew by this rate over the five years, but it is a result of people feeling comfortable opening up about their gender identity (Smithstein). It might be the reason why in the documentary, the number of transgender people murdered in the United States was the highest ever recorded in the country.

Traditionally held norms and religious beliefs that human beings are either male or female are a factor to blame. In the past, it was hard for people to come up openly on a topic that was controversial and not accepted by many. It is for this reason why the trans population often experience discrimination because people are not accepting them. It is reflected in several societal aspects, most notably unemployment. It is explained that the rate of unemployment among the trans population is twice the national average. It is for this reason why individuals like Michaela Mendelsohn explains to Couric the need to get committed to helping the trans community in employment to turn the statistics around (Couric). It is not until recently that individuals have started to reject the traditional binary classification, and this is after people are increasingly coming out to clarify their identity. People have come out bravely to champion their right to be treated as they would like, and not others would like to treat them. Gavin Grimm is a brave student who comes out openly to demand his right. In the documentary, one hears that Grimm lectured the school board about his right to use boys’ washrooms (Goldberg 3). His case escalated to the level of being taken to the Supreme Court.

Apart from people exhibiting bravery, support from several stakeholders in recent times can be credited for supporting people and encouraging them to come out openly. It started with the legal aspect where, in 2014, three people had their gender classified as non-binary. In 2015, a California legislator introduced Senate Bill 179, intending to ensure that California would become the first state in the country to recognize non-binary as a legal gender (Smithstein). It is a revolutionary move that potentially triggered a great number of people to come forward with the acknowledgment that they even have support from the government. Other stakeholders, specifically the media, have also triggered the reaction. For instance, the Gender Revolution documentary raises trans and intersex visibility, thereby making people accept diversity. Consequently, this has been accompanied by motivating the trans community to come out openly about their identity.

Also, the existence of a generational gap has also contributed significantly to the success of the revolution. It is evident that unlike the earlier generations that viewed gender construct as a binary aspect, the current generation views the binary classification as a tool of oppression. Unlike the view that binary gender is a fundamental truth, it is now viewed as a perspective. It is a phenomenon that is depicted in the final interview scene between Renee Richards and Hari Nef, who are 82 and 24 years old, respectively (Couric). Richards endorses gender binary gender, saying that she was male and is now female. To her, boys should wear blue while girls wear pink. She argues that gender binary ought to exist because it is the reality of human life as it is defined by chromosomes. Nef does agree that people live in a binary world, but she sites that this is the source of the problem. In her opinion, gender roles are fluid (Couric). It shows how the generational gap has shaped people’s opinion with the recent generations agreeing that there is a need to include all gender identities to be as inclusive as possible.

Effect of Gender Revolution

The gender revolution impacts me in a way that makes me have more acceptance of nature’s diversity in humankind. All the intersex and transgender individuals that were interviewed in the documentary desired to live authentically according to their inner selves as opposed to their external body which people use to define them. As I have learned from the film, there are numerous gender identities, and some such as pangender, bigender, cisgender, among others, are new vocabularies to me, and this opens up my mind to appreciate and accept gender fluidity. In the future, I even expect more identities to emerge, and I will be ready to accept them and help the involved to live as they desire. An intriguing phenomenon from the gender revolution is that every family involved in the interviews is supportive of their intersex and transgender member. It makes one realize that in an environment where the majority of these people poor, unemployed, and targets of violence, support from their loved ones is critical.

Conclusion

The success of gender evolution has only been achieved recently largely because of changing beliefs and a generation gap leading to more acceptance of nature’s diversity in humankind. It is important for every societal member to help intersex and transgender individuals around them to live according to their inner selves as opposed to their external bodies. Nevertheless, although the gender revolution brings into the limelight the necessity for acceptance of nature’s diversity in humankind, it should spark new conversations. The new conversations should be centered on whether gender should remain a social structure that propels inequality and whether girls and boys should be socialized differently.

Work Cited

Couric, Katie, director. Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric (2017). American network National Geographic, 2017. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/tv/movies-and-specials/gender-revolution-a-journey-with-katie-couric

Goldberg, Susan. “We Are In The Midst Of A Gender Revolution”. Nationalgeographic.Com, 2018, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/pdf/gender-revolution-guide.pdf.

Risman, Barbara. “Raising The Visibility Of Gender-Nonconformists”. Contexts, vol 16, no. 2, 2017, pp. 72-74. SAGE Publications, doi:10.1177/1536504217714268.

Smithstein, Samantha. “The Gender Revolution Is Here”. Psychology Today, 2020, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-the-wild-things-are/201702/the-gender-revolution-is-here.