Gender Politics

Surya Monro

Description

Is it possible to move beyond the male-female gender binary system? What happens to gender theory when we consider sex and gender identities as more than just 'male' or 'female'? Crucially, what are the implications of gender and sexual fluidity and multiplicity for social policy, citizenship, new social movements and democracy?



Gender Politics challenges ideas that we are all either male or female, and gay or straight. It explores the experiences of people who transgress these categories, and the social exclusion that they face.



Surya Monro addresses topical debates concerning gender, and looks at different ways of theorising gender pluralism. She explains how gender and sexuality relate to other social characteristics such as 'race', class, and disability. As well as providing a way into some of the key academic discussions in the field of gender and sexuality, Gender Politics is also a tool for activists. Monro analyses the way in which mainstream citizenship, social policy, and democracy can - or cannot - be changed to reflect the needs of marginalised groups. She explores the social implications of equality for transgender, intersex, lesbian, gay and bisexual people, and assesses the conflicts within these communities.
Acknowledgements

List of figures

1. Introduction

2. Gender Theory

3. Gender, Sexuality and Social Exclusion

4. Social Policy Implications

5. Activism: Tensions and Alliances

6. Gender, Sexuality, and the New Social Movements

7. Citizenship

8. Gender and Democracy

Endnotes

Methodological note

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

Sujets

• Gender Studies
• Political Advocacy
• Political Process
• Social Science
• POLITICAL SCIENCE
• Sociologie, société et politique
• Activism

Informations

• Publié par: Pluto Press
• Date de parution: 20 février 2005
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783719044
• Langue: English

Extrait

Gender Politics
Gender Politics
Surya Monro
First published 2005 by Pluto Press
345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA
and 839 Greene Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48106
www.plutobooks.com
Copyright © Surya Monro 2005
The right of Surya Monro to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 0–7453–1969–6 hardback
ISBN 0–7453–1968–8 paperback
ISBN 9781783719044 ePub
ISBN 9781783719051 Kindle
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data applied for
10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1
Designed and produced for Pluto Press by
Chase Publishing Services, Fortescue, Sidmouth, EX10 9QG, England
Typeset from disk by Newgen Imaging Systems (P) Ltd, India
Printed and bound in the European Union by
Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham and Eastbourne, England
Contents
Acknowledgements
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations
1.  
Introduction
 
Key Themes
 
The Organisation of this Book
2.
Gender Theory
 
Trans and Gender/Sexual Orientation Complexity
 
Intersectionality
 
Overview of Existing Theories
 
Gender Pluralist Theory
 
Conclusion
3.
Gender, Sexuality and Social Exclusion
 
Social Exclusion
 
The Social Exclusion of Gender and Sexual Minorities
 
The Discursive Underpinnings of Trans Exclusion
 
Conclusion
4.
Social Policy Implications
 
Traditional Approaches to Social Policy
 
Post-structuralist Approaches to Social Policy
 
Equal Opportunities
 
Gender and Sexual Diversity: Some Policy Implications
 
Conclusion
5.
Activism: Tensions and Alliances
 
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Communities: The Tensions
 
Feminism: The Exclusion of Bisexuality and Trans
 
Case Study: LGB Work in Local Government
 
Towards Rainbow Alliances
 
Universalism and Diversity
 
Conclusion
6.
Gender, Sexuality and the New Social Movements
 
New Social Movements
 
Movements Associated with Gender and Sexuality
 
Conclusion
7.
Citizenship
 
Mainstream Models of Citizenship
 
Feminist Models of Citizenship
 
Sexual Citizenships
 
Citizenship and Gender Diversity
 
Conclusion
8.
Gender and Democracy
 
Democracy: An Overview
 
Gender and Sexual Diversity and Democracy
 
Feminism and Democracy
 
Conclusion
Glossary
Notes
Methodological Note
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgements
Although this book is written by myself, I can hardly claim sole ownership. Of course, I do not seek to lay the blame for its limitations at anyone else’s door; rather, I wish to thank and acknowledge the many people who have helped, influenced, stimulated and challenged me over the years. Those who have particularly supported this work (although they may not agree with all my arguments) include Stephen Whittle, Alice Purnell, Kate More, Roz Kaveney, Salmacis, Zoe Jane Playdon, Kate N’Ysabet, Christie Elan Cane and Simon Dessloch. The contributors to the project on Lesbian and Gay Equality in Local Government were too numerous to list by name. A number of members of the bisexual community have also supported my work or contributed significantly to the book, including Jennifer Moore, Grant Denkinson, and Kerry. Organisations that have been particularly helpful with the research include Press For Change, GENDYS, the Gender Trust, the Gender and Sexuality Alliance, the Beaumont Society, BiCon and Biphoria, Stonewall, and the LGB Consortium.
This book started life at the Department of Sociological Studies, Sheffield University, and I would particularly like to thank Diane Richardson, Lorna Warren, Nick Stevenson and Lena Dominelli for their support with the first research project. My time at the Law Department, Keele University, working with Davina Cooper and Jean Carabine (Open University) provoked an expansion in my understandings of gender and sexuality. The Gender, Sexuality and the Law network and colleagues such as Sally Sheldon and Ruth Fletcher provided a conducive environment for developing this work, and students on the Gender and Sexuality modules I taught also stimulated my thinking. More recent colleagues, including Philip Tovey at the University of Leeds and Brinda Bose at the Centre for Feminist Legal Research, Delhi University, have also supported my interest in gender diversity. Several people read and provided useful comments on the draft: Roz Kaveney, Tracey Lee, Lewis Turner, Sally Sheldon, Davina Cooper, Chris Creegan and Julian Cohen.
It is rather hard to do justice to the other friends – and family members – who have helped with this project. Afron Monro, Paul Wood, Christine Moon, Sunil Nandi, Gordon Maclellan, Jenny Daff, J.L. Dakin, Dominic Davies, Elizabeth and Ivor Perry, William Bloom, Toni, Lisa Halse, Sue Wardell and Bob White were particularly supportive.
I would also like to acknowledge colleagues at Pluto Press, who have been a pleasure to work with. And, lastly, the Economic and Social Research Council provided funding for most of the empirical research, and the Leverhulme Foundation funded the small project on sexual and gender diversity in India.
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations
FTM:
Female-to-Male transsexual
GRS:
Gender Reassignment Surgery
LGB:
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual
LGBT:
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender
LGT:
Lesbian, Gay, Transgender
MTF:
Male-to-Female Transsexual
MUD:
Moral Underclass Discourse
NSM:
New Social Movement
PPM:
Political Process Model
RED:
Redistributionist Discourse
SID:
Social Integrationist Discourse
SM:
Sadomasochism
1
Introduction
We inhabit a culture which seems to revolve around fixed categories, opposites, and which seems much less comfortable with ambiguity, change, blurs … on the issue of gender and sexual binaries, a great deal of cultural, political, and emotional effort and energy has been vested in constructing, reproducing, and sustaining certain opposing categories.
Dunphy 2000: 3
Is it possible to move beyond the male–female gender binary system? What happens to gender theory when we consider sex and gender identities as more than just ‘male’ or ‘female’? In what ways are the sexual orientation categories that we take for granted in the West – heterosexual, lesbian, and gay – destabilised by sexual and gender fluidity? And, crucially, what are the implications of gender and sexual fluidity and multiplicity for social policy, citizenship, new social movements, and democracy?
This book explores the territory that is opened up when gender, and sexual orientation, binaries are disrupted or displaced. The gender binary system is continually problematised, by women and men who transgress gender stereotypes, by sissy boys and tomboys, by butch dykes and camp men, and by many others. Sexual orientation binaries are destabilised when people move between or beyond gay and straight identities. Gender and sexual dimorphism are also continually reinscribed, and people who move beyond – or exist outside of – the binary system are systematically socially excluded via the operation of social institutions and discourses that privilege non-trans 1 and non-intersex 2 people, and heterosexuals, in a wide range of ways.
This book reads from the margins, taking the standpoints of gender and sexual minorities who are socially excluded 3 as its starting point. It reverses the privileging of non-trans men and women, foregrounding issues of relevance to transsexuals, intersex people, cross-dressers, androgynes and people with multiple gender identities, whilst recognising that their interests are shared by anyone who is concerned with creating a society that is more equal and tolerant of difference. It marginalises heterosexuals and addresses the interests of lesbians, gay men, and, in particular, bisexuals and other people with fluid or multiple sexualities. In doing this, it broadens understandings of gender and sexuality, provoking a more complex and finely grained way of looking at gender and sexual politics, and contributing to the cultural enrichment envisaged by authors such as Parekh (1994). The book paints a temporary picture of a complex, ongoing set of processes. My objective is to provide some tools for analysing this messiness. The book has a limited remit. Whilst emphasising the diversity of gender and sexual minority people’s experiences and views, I cannot hope to fully represent them/us in a text of this nature, or to provide any kind of ‘expert’ view. In addition, I have focussed on the Western, specifically UK, situation, whilst providing some acknowledgement of the situation in other parts of the world, and I have – as noted above – foregrounded trans people, whilst including sexual minorities (especially bisexuals), and, also, non-trans women, in some parts of the book.
I have drawn on empirical material whilst writing this book, enabling me to inform arguments and provide illustrative case studies. My data has been drawn from four main studies (see the methodological note for more details about these projects and the identities of the contributors). First, I draw on an in-depth exploration of trans politics, which I conducted during the 1990s, and which included transsexuals, intersex people, cross-dressers, drag kings and queens and others. Second, I have used material from a large study of lesbian and gay equalities work in local government (this included bisexuals and trans people to an extent) which took place in 2001–03. Third, I have included data from a small study of gender and sexual diversity in India, which I conducted in 2003. Lastly, I conducted interviews with a number of bisexual, lesbian and gay, and trans people during 2003, as a way of updating the earlier study on transgender, and gaining more material on bisexuality. In keeping with the usual norms (see Kirsch 2000), I shall identify myself