Workshop Wednesday: The Gender Binary
This visual teaching tool is based on the knowledge I received from the work of multiple writers and groups, such as b. binaohan, bell hooks, Janet Mock, Jennifer Coates, Julia Serano, Michael Warner, the Asexual Visibility and Education Network (AVEN), and the Positive Space Initiative (PSI) of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants (OCASI).
The Gender Binary tool works best with the Oppression Triangle tool, as well as Dis/Ableism 101 and the Pillars of White Supremacy. The purpose of this poster/handout is to introduce the forms of oppression that the Western Gender Binary perpetuates, how they’re made up of social norms/standards, and the terms that go along with or disrupt the system. It may be a little advanced for folks who are just starting to understand that there are more than just two genders/sexes, but it attempts to sketch a basic outline for those who want to learn how patriarchy, cisgenderism, heterosexism, and transmisogyny are inter-related. This is also a work-in-progress that continues to evolve as our understanding of the Gender Binary and how to dismantle the violence it perpetuates continues to evolve.
Note: Transmisogyny refers to a specific oppression that affects folks who were assigned male at birth but identify and/or express themselves as female and/or feminine. This is different than folks who are trans, female assigned at birth, and experience misogyny and transphobia.
Activity Ideas
- Draw and write out a large version of the first three columns of the handout, and in chalk, pencil, or eraseable marker, work with the participants on what kind of line would be drawn through these columns based on the terms shown on the rest of the tool. For example, “heterosexual male” would look like a straight line starting from “Male” to “Man married to 1 woman with kids”. Discuss how the Gender Binary creates the threat of violence every time the line deviates from being straight.
- Divide the participants into 3-4 groups, and have each group focus on one of the following: patriarchy/sexism, transmisogyny, cisgenderism and/or heterosexism. Have them present to each other what they understand these forms of oppression are based on their section of the handout, and how the 5 social norms influences these oppressions.
- Divide the participants as described above, but instead of just presenting the concepts, have them choose a level of oppression (e.g. individual, cultural, or institutional) to give an example, and a liberation strategy (such as accomplices/allies, direct action, policy, programming, etc) to provide a possible way to respond to the oppressive example.
- Draw and write out a large version of the poster, but leave most of it blank, except for the forms of oppression, the first column that has all the social norms/standards, and the headers in the first row. Everything else should be on small strips of paper or cards with tape on them that the participants must figure out together where they go on the chart.
Poster Description
The background is pale blue, and the title in a black box bordered by blue and pink reads “The Western Gender Binary” with online addresses underneath in purple to “lukayo.com” and “patreon.com/lukayo“. The first column of the chart in black font has seven sections: “forms of oppression”, “social norm / standard”, “Sex/Gender Assignment/Designation”, “Gender Identity”, “Gender Expression”, “Sexual/Romantic Orientation”, and “Relationship Structure/Family”. There are five other columns after this one.
The first row for “Forms of Oppression” has the word “transmisogyny” in orange on an orange line that encompasses the five other columns, as well as the terms “patriarchy / sexism” and “cisgenderism / transphobia / heterosexism / homophobia”. The words “patriarchy / sexism” in yellow on a yellow line encompasses the first two columns only. The words “cisgenderism / transphobia / heterosexism / homophobia” in red on a red line encompasses the last three columns only.
The second row that has “social norm / standard” in the first column also has the headers for the other columns. The second column is “the superior gender that holds power” in blue. The third column is “the inferior gender, property of superior” in pink. The fourth column is “terms about people that are allowed to exist” in green. The fifth column and sixth column have the same header with a slight difference. The fifth column is “terms describing people that must be destroyed because they’re outside the gender binary (western)” in purple. The sixth column is “terms describing people that must be destroyed because they’re outside the gender binary (non-western)” in purple. The sixth column does not have rows 2-7, because these terms are outside of the social norms and standards that are described in the first column.
Under the second column called the “superior gender that holds power” in blue, the five ways it manifests with the five social norms and standards in the first column are as follows: “Sex/Gender Assignment/Designation” : “Male”, “Gender Identity” : “Man/Male”, “Gender Expression” : “Masculine”, “Sexual/Romantic Orientation” : “Male attraction only to females”, and “Relationship Structure/Family” : “Man married to 1 woman with kids”.
Under the third column called the “inferior gender, property of superior” in pink, the five ways it manifests with the five social norms and standards in the first column are as follows: “Sex/Gender Assignment/Designation” : “Female”, “Gender Identity” : “Woman/Female”, “Gender Expression” : “Feminine”, “Sexual/Romantic Orientation” : “Female attraction only to males”, and “Relationship Structure/Family” : “Woman married to 1 man with kids”.
Under the fourth column called the “terms about people that are allowed to exist” in green, the five ways it manifests with the five social norms and standards in the first column are as follows: “Sex/Gender Assignment/Designation” : “Non-Intersex” and “Cisgender, “Gender Identity” : “Cisgender”, “Gender Expression” : “Heteronormative, Gender-conforming”, “Sexual/Romantic Orientation” : “Heterosexual, Heteronormative”, and “Relationship Structure/Family” : “Heteronormative monogamous marriage”.
Under the fifth column called the “terms describing people that must be destroyed because they’re outside the gender binary (western)” in purple, the five ways it manifests with the five social norms and standards in the first column are as follows: “Sex/Gender Assignment/Designation” : “intersex” and “transgender”, “Gender Identity” : “agender, bigender, genderqueer, multigender, transgender, etc”, “Gender Expression” : “crossdresser, butch, femme, androgynous, etc”, “Sexual/Romantic Orientation” : “asexual/romantic, bisexual/romantic, gay/homoromantic, lesbian/homoromantic, pansexual/romantic, etc”, and “Relationship Structure/Family” : “anogamy, polyamory, polygamy, etc”.
Under the sixth column called “terms describing people that must be destroyed because they’re outside the gender binary (non-western)” in purple, the text reads “These terms are based also or solely on ethnicity and/or spiritual role and/or cultural position, such as two-spirit, hijra, fa’afafine, mino, asog, etc.”
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