4 ms·
not op, but i think that western gender roles are a scam. i'm not suggesting that there aren't differences between biological sexes, but gender != sex and the f
by davmar 6y ago
not op, but i think that western gender roles are a scam. i'm not suggesting that there aren't differences between biological sexes, but gender != sex and the false idea that there are only two ways to express your gender is quite limiting.
- clusterfish 6y agoAnd eastern gender roles aren't? Is there something I don't know?
- ikt 6y agowhat about northern and southern gender roles?
- Freak_NL 6y ago'Western' in this context presumably means the binary model of man/woman dominant in the West (e.g., Europe, North America) and gradually exported to be the default worldwide (via colonisation and later cultural exports). There have been, and are, exceptions to this model in what might broadly be called 'the East'. Think of the Hijra on the Indian subcontinent, or the Kathoey (Ladyboys) in Thailand.
- clusterfish 6y agoThanks. Still I think to call binary genders western is a bit revisionist at best. It has been the most dominant model worldwide for a really long time.
- notsureaboutpg 6y agoBeing from India, I'd like to point out that these groups of people you are talking about actually reinforce a gender binary rather than muddling it. Hijra are men who take on all the societal roles of women. They aren't "non-binary" or some "third" gender at all. They espouse and exude femininity, and in India there are two modes of being in society: feminine and masculine. Hijra do not add a third way of being that is separate from both masculinity and femininity. I'd also argue that their existence is not a proof that Indians have different ideas about gender than Westerners. They are a marginalized people because most of Indian society thinks it is odd / unfortunate / a disorder to be a man and yet want to be socially a woman. It isn't Western to have two gender roles in society. Men and women are different in lots of ways and it's valuable to society to reinforce differences between the two for the sake of procreation.
- tchaffee 6y agoMaking a claim about the culture one is familiar with does not exclude that the same might be true in other cultures.
- clusterfish 6y agoTry and say something unflattering about a culture you're familiar with "that also applies to other cultures", you'll be burned at the stake as racist / xenophobic / insensitive / etc. Except when that culture is "the west" aka white people, then that's ok I guess.
- tchaffee 6y agoThat's not true. As one example, I have many Chinese friends and they are never called any of those things when they point out something negative about their culture. If you are getting called a racist that often, the problem just might not be other people.