The current orthodox interpretation of gender as it appears in modern society is a type of manufactured consent. Manufactured consent, an idea suggested by linguist Noam Chomsky is the process that large institutions use to produce “common sense” by ways in which the people following the dogmatism generally have no idea where the common idea has arisen from and therefore, never question it. Arguably, the rigidity of Gender and Gender Identity and its supposed binary nature can likely be traced to Orthodoxic religious norms that used gender to enforce the types of social control that were critical for the time(for the ruling class). This has historical roots where gender has been either consciously used to perpetuated specific archetypical models of society or implicitly where it has taken advantage of the two-gender model to increase efficiency of societies that lacked the social mechanisms to work otherwise. These two facts are important in understanding societies current heel digging when it comes to expanding our understanding of gender. For one, years of manufactured consent have caused the average binary conforming person to see the shifts in gender interpretation as “silly” or “unnecessary”. This can be seen in the language people use when attempting to interpret gender mechanics, language that can range from relatively benign such as; “does it matter”, “it’s gone too far” to language that is not only asinine, but actively harmful to the movement such as terms; “the alphabet people” and “attention seeking”. Most of these are products of manipulations of the powers that be. Largely these power oppose the structural reform inherent in binary gender critique as it is a para-critical analysis of the very structures that sustain them(authoritarianism, anti – labour politics, anti – collectivism). Most opaque is opposition to gender critique based on supposed structural forms of science. These take the form of opposition to postmodern and anti – structuralist ideologies, “science/biology” and pragmatic dismissal. Think terms like “biology says there are two genders” or “this is how it’s always been”. These forms of opposition are much more difficult to debunk than personal opposition that has arisen through manufactured consent. For one, there’s no way to disprove many of the claims without progressing time to show that the claims they make are counter- factual and don’t result in the type of societal degeneration that conservatives claim they do. Additionally, a great many of them employ a form of post enlightened “objectivism”. Appeals to biological truths hide the more explicit truth that mostly, the proponents of these “objective” claims aren’t making a good faith interpretation. For example, the issue of gender isn’t a biological one, very few in the left have claimed it is, its sociological, societal, and philosophical. It’s important when discussing these issues to understand that these are complex social issues that many of us have spent a great deal of time coming to terms with and learning about. Many of us come from positions of greater empathy which may allow us to overcome the initial hurdle of scepticism. Many more may us be non-gender conforming. The point is that most of the people who CAN be swayed, and CAN learn are just hearing about this and so, ignoring those that will never be swayed, it is important to approach these issues from a position of patience and empathy, people need to walk before they run.

There a non for profit organisation across the wolrd that provide a safe space, empowering and facilitating social inclusion, for members of the LGBTQIA+ community. The Gender Center is an organisation “committed to developing and providing services and activities, which enhance the ability of transgender, gender diverse and gender exploring to make informed choices”. In New South Wales the center offers a wide range of services to the community, their partners, family members and friends. They are commited to “educating the public and service providers about the needs of gender diverse people children and families. They specifically aim to provide a high quality service, which acknowledges human rights and ensures respect and confidentiality”. If you are able to make a contribution, click here to donate.

REFERENCES

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SOCIAL CAUSE

Podcasts

Sex and Psychology Podcast – Episode 57: The Science of Sexual Fluidity and Gender Fluidity

Sex With Dr. Jess – Finding Pleasure in Liberation: Gender, Body Image & Communication