Sterling presents an interesting predicament in the first chapter of her novel. In the grand scheme of things, are sex and gender intertwined? I most definitely think so. But I also agree that sex is based mostly on societal norms that we are exposed to in our developmental years. However, Sterling seems to think that this is simply too complicated of a matter. She says, "what bodily signals and functions we define as male or female come already entangled in our ideas about gender." (4) But are we asexual? Does every species of mammal not have a male and female? Theres a reason why men have a different chromosome. Our bodies our different. It's a scientific fact. This is not to say that women should be treated as inferior. However, in a competitive setting, there are some lines that may be difficult to view in either black or white.
So, is it fair that Patino was not allowed to compete? I would say absolutely. Not to say that it is something the IOC should be proud of. Obviously we can say a guy acts like a girl, or a girl is acting like a guy, and there is no way to do that without admitting that the sense of what constitutes 'acting' like a guy or a girl is solely based on social constructs, and what we are taught to think. But men have testes and women have ovaries and a uterus. Those who have both unfortunately are often not allowed to make the decision as it is made for them at a young age. This is not to say that a woman who was born with testes at some point, should be penalized in a future competition because of this. But on such an important stage as the Olympics, it is important to make sure that nobody has what might be any sort of advantage or disadvantage. Unfortunately, because the bodies of men and women are so different, this takes the form of a rigid set of guidelines which may one day be modified. Just recently a South African female runner was found to have no uterus or ovaries, and large amounts of testosterone produced in her body. It is almost too evident that her success is linked to the fact that she was different from the other women. So would it be fair if she is allowed to continue competition?
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It is in now way the athletes fault for having extra parts, how was Patino supposed to know that she had a Y chromosome or extra testosterone? She had been living her entire life as if she was a woman, she had a relationship with a man and believed that she was very feminine. Is Patino supposed to be alienated for some natural occurrence, i don't believe that she should be. Yes, it can be seen as an advantage for her but it is not as if she had been intentionally taking performance enhancing substances. I don't want to say that she is a freak but this is a freak case where an individual is naturally born with an, dare i say, adaptation that allows her to compete at the highest level. If you ask me, she is a woman.
ReplyDeleteAs for the woman in Listen Up, the one that sports the all natural body hair and crew cut, I believe that she is simply begging to be stared at, she is making an example of herself. It is definitely not wrong what she is doing because she can do whatever she wants but I don't want to hear her complain when people make comments about her appearance. If she is screaming for attention, she is going to get it, and in her case it will most likely be negative.
Finally for this "boi" phenomenon that is occurring in California and I believe spreading to New York, no matter if you are biologically a man or woman these characters are somewhat ridiculous. But then again, who am I to say how people should live their life but I can express my opinion. Hey, if you are a man and want to dress like a woman or vice versa, than it is none of my concern, do what makes you happy because after all this is AMERICA.
First, I agree with Andrew that it is not Patino's fault. How can it be? As far as I'm concerned she identifies as a woman and I support her. However, I would not call it a "freak" case because this further progresses the oppression and stigma attached to intersex individuals. They are humans just like you and me and deserve to be respected accordingly.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I do not agree that the women in LU is begging for attention. How is she screaming for attention by simply being herself. Yes, she may be noticeably different, but that by no means makes it right for people to disrespect that difference. Instead of blaming her for the negative attention we get why don't we ask ourselves why we look at her negatively.
Gender is not man and woman as we define it. Believe it or not, there are in betweens. And just because we live in America doesn't mean we are free and happy. This, in my opinion, only applies to the white heterosexual middle class male. If you're not that then its tough.