Questions on Intersexuality:
1. The reading states, “It is estimated that between one and three of every 2,000 individuals are born with anatomies that do not conform to either a typical male or a typical female” (222). How is this language problematic? What is typical?
2. According to the reading, should sexual pleasure be taking into consideration in female assignment? What does this say about the status of women?
3. How does intersex treatment vary across cultures? Is there an underlying homophobia in the way our culture treats and “corrects” intersex individuals?
Questions on Transsexuals:
1. In Thailand, gender reconstruction surgery is relatively inexpensive. Why do you think these surgical procedures are more expensive in the United States
2. Transsexuals in Thailand, like the Ladyboys, undergo many surgical procedures to become a different gender. How does this perpetuate a two-sex system? If there was no gender, do you think transsexuals would feel the need to undergo gender reassignment surgery?
3. Should Bobby Montoya be able to be a Girl Scout? Should institutions like Girl Scouts support transgendered children? Why or why not?
4. How does our society represent transsexuals in the media?
Questions of Fausto-Sterling:
1. Is the five-sex system helpful? Why or why not? Should individuals have to identify what sex they are?
2. What are some ways we could create a more gender diverse world?
-----To answer one of my own questions, I do believe that the five-sex system is helpful. It offers individuals a way of identifying themselves as more than just a male or a female. However, I do think that there are still problems with the five-sex system. This system still places emphasis on the genitals, and implies that people should label their gender based on the type of genitals they have. Sarah brought up a good point today in class. For some people, sex is between their legs, and gender is in their head and these two don't always match up. The five-sex system, in my opinion, is stating that science is more important than how an individual feels "in their head". I also believe that it is just increasing our need to label everyone. Instead of a more vague term like transgendered, ferm and merm offer more detailed definitions of the genitalia that intersex individuals have, which many of them might not want to disclose to others. My argument is: why do we have to have any gender at all? Is it really important for us to know what type of genitalia an individual has instead of defining them as a human being?
Here are the two videos I didn't get to show in class:
Video on Bobby Montoya, trans boy who tried to join Girl Scouts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psI1_U7vsl0
Video on Ladyboys: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf-LJ_X4TZo&feature=relmfu
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