Some people argue that the concept of gender is entirely expendable. I'm not sure of it, but I'm going to think about it out loud.
I think I understand where they're coming from. Until very recently, there was a great overlap between the concept of sex and the concept of gender in western society. Not only both concepts would overlap in daily conversations, but it was generally understood that a female (sex) is a woman (gender) and a male (sex) is a man (gender).
Nowadays, people are increasingly aware of the gender/sex distinction. But what is, in practice, the actual relevance of said distinction, nowadays? Should our sex restrict the way we present ourselves to society like it did in the past, when there was virtually no practical distinction between sex and gender? If we agree that the right to individual self-expression should be at the core of a modern liberal (in the broad sense, Americans) society, traditional gender roles should be just another valid choice, like any other. So, if that is the case, what value does gender add to the equation, and how many genders can there be, given that the concept is entirely detached from the empirical realm?
So, I was thinking, what is the root cause of the increasing phenomenon of gender fluidity? Isn't that a natural response when someone feels that gender is irrelevant, when a person feels that they don't fit any one category, fully? So, what is gender for, at least to the vast majority of people? What is the need to compartmentalize yourself when you can be yourself.
So, I'm back to square one: who does need gender nowadays? And I'm unsure. I guess those who suffer from gender dysphoria (if you don't like the term, feel free to replace it with whatever fits the idea). But this is not where we are now. There is conflict, and it stems from the basic fact of sex being empirically verifiable, as opposed to gender.
I think I understand where they're coming from. Until very recently, there was a great overlap between the concept of sex and the concept of gender in western society. Not only both concepts would overlap in daily conversations, but it was generally understood that a female (sex) is a woman (gender) and a male (sex) is a man (gender).
Nowadays, people are increasingly aware of the gender/sex distinction. But what is, in practice, the actual relevance of said distinction, nowadays? Should our sex restrict the way we present ourselves to society like it did in the past, when there was virtually no practical distinction between sex and gender? If we agree that the right to individual self-expression should be at the core of a modern liberal (in the broad sense, Americans) society, traditional gender roles should be just another valid choice, like any other. So, if that is the case, what value does gender add to the equation, and how many genders can there be, given that the concept is entirely detached from the empirical realm?
So, I was thinking, what is the root cause of the increasing phenomenon of gender fluidity? Isn't that a natural response when someone feels that gender is irrelevant, when a person feels that they don't fit any one category, fully? So, what is gender for, at least to the vast majority of people? What is the need to compartmentalize yourself when you can be yourself.
So, I'm back to square one: who does need gender nowadays? And I'm unsure. I guess those who suffer from gender dysphoria (if you don't like the term, feel free to replace it with whatever fits the idea). But this is not where we are now. There is conflict, and it stems from the basic fact of sex being empirically verifiable, as opposed to gender.
