Sunday, November 6, 2011

Beyond the Gender Binary


While I was reading Angela Carter's The Passion of the New Eve, I kept feeling a sense that the author and/or narrator was having difficulty conceptualizing the idea that there are more than two genders (and sexes for that matter) and this struck me as odd considering the gender subversive nature of the novel. I understand that the main idea of the novel was to take this misogynist man (Evelyn) and "turn him into" a woman as, what I interpret, a healing process and to shed light on the gender conflicts of the time (c. 1977, feminist movement, yay!), but the author seems to flirt with this line of "am I going there or am I not" and I found it frustrating.

So to alleviate my discomfort with the author's lack of understanding or acceptance of transgender/transsexual and intersex people and issues I have provided a link Gender Binary Wikidot where you can find some information on gender and sexual fluidity.

Enjoy!

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