Juco 1

Joshua Juco
Professor John Beadle
English 115
16 September 2015

Progression I
If gender were to be categorized, how would it be organized? Ask this to the general
public, for example, through a survey, and the majority of the responses would most likely end
up being answered as, male/masculinity and female/femininity. This is what our society has
trained us into thinking about gender a binary pairing. According to the articles of Aaron
Devor, Barbara Kantrowitz, and Pat Wingert, there are nations and cultures out there that have
accepted the fact that gender isnt restricted to two categories. Especially in western societies,
generations to come have received a fixated upbringing in regards to gender construction,
composition, and identification. Devor, Kantrowitz, and Wingert present the readers with these
articles in order to expose what already exists in our society but is unfortunately clouded by
popular and dominating mindsets. Growing up in the Philippines, brought up under heavy
Filipino pride, my culture has introduced me to the diversity of my people a nation that has one
of the highest acceptance rates of any and all genders. In reality, gender isnt locked into a binary
pairing. This shouldnt be news to anyone in this day in age.
Beginning with Aaron Devors article, Becoming Members of Society: The Social
Meanings of Gender, Devor describes how gender has different interpretations in certain
cultures, especially with cultures living outside of western society. Presented by the natives of
the Americas, gender isnt constricted to two categories as they have a legitimate social

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category for persons who wish to live according to the gender role of another sex (Devor 36).
This inclusive mindset for an acceptance of any and all genders is not only presented here in the
Americas but also strongly emphasized in international countries.
Shown in Barbara Kantrowitz and Pat Wingerts article, Are We Facing a Genderless
Future, these two authors shows how our society is beginning to enter the stage of accepting
any and all genders. Specifically found in India, there are people known as the hijra, a group of
biological males who dress as women but consider themselves to have neither gender
(Kantrowitz and Wingert 70). Nowadays, cultures like the hijra and other eunuch lifestyles are
becoming more welcomed into society, appreciating the growth in gender variance (Kantrowitz
and Wingert 70). Even though cultures as such are sprouting, its still an uphill climb to expose
this culture to the clouded societies that strongly abide by specific gender roles and restrictions.
Living in a world where childhood upbringings consist of fixations in gender
construction, exposure for these aboriginal cultures is what our society needed. Devor,
Kantrowitz, and Wingert wanted our society to realize that, when discovering that gender really
can be more than a popularized binary pairing, this shouldnt be news to anyone, especially in
todays times. From the North and South American natives to the hijra men of India, gender
categorization presents itself to be unrestrictive, inclusive, and accepting to all variations.
Even with Devor, Kantrowitz, and Wingert describing how these aboriginal cultures as
cultures that have been with us the whole time, its understandable that our society today is
completely unaware of their existence. Especially in western culture, the mindset of fixated
gender roles has been supported and followed since the beginning of time. Once these mindsets
stray away from the norm, society tends to shut down anything considering change. Devor
describes society to sometimes revere, sometimes ignore, and occasionally scorn those who

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choose to categorize themselves outside of genders popularized binary pairing (Devor 36). To
those who are aware of the existence of these aboriginal cultures, they are probably just too
afraid to step out of the norm and accept gender variance, fearing societys mass criticism and
pressure onto them. With gender always being relevant news-wise, with gender always stirring
up controversy, its understandable that some people choose to go with the flow of the general
public. Devor, Kantrowitz, and Wingert just chose to write and give exposure to other cultures
out there for anyone willing to accept gender variance just like these other aboriginal cultures
did.
Much like Devor, Kantrowitz, and Wingert, this isnt news to me at all. My native
country, the Philippines, is considered one of the most accepting countries, gender-wise, housing
some of the most gender variant people in the world. Prior to research on the LGBT rate in the
Philippines, I had a feeling my country was one of the most accepting of any and all genders.
With my parents keeping up with Filipino news and entertainment via television, I noticed how
diverse the Filipino nation is. Generally speaking, Filipinos are more openly expressive about
their true gender, not hiding at all, especially not from the cameras!
Here at home, I have an older cousin who categorizes as bakla, meaning gay in
Tagalog, our native language. Having lived here in the U.S. for nearly all my life, I showed my
cousin the ropes of western society, since he lived in the Philippines for most of his life.
Compared to the Philippines, the U.S. definitely has a stricter outlook on gender variance, since
the western society tends to follow fixated gender roles. Its no doubt that he receives flack for
being who he is. As a family member I love, I obviously support all of his decisions, so it does
hurt seeing him being put down for simply choosing a gender outside of male/female,
heterosexual/homosexual, or masculinity/femininity. With recent news, like the acceptance

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of gay marriage across the entire U.S. nation, things are looking brighter for the future of gender
variance. Going back to the examples about the North and South American native and the hijra
the articles talked about, its definitely a plus to see a better acceptance rate here in western
society, since all the prime examples are usually about smaller or international culture groups.
With a popularized binary pairing for gender male/masculinity and female/femininity
Aaron Devor, author of Becoming Members of Society: The Social Meanings of Gender,
Barbara Kantrowitz and Pat Wingert, authors of Are We Facing a Genderless Future, present
the audience with certain cultures who have already accepted the idea of a more broad spectrum
of gender categorization, all in order to provide exposure to an ideology that shouldnt be new to
our society, especially in this day in age. Looking into the future, alongside with the authors, our
society should be looking forward to a better future regarding gender, especially for those who
are still trying to find out their true gender identity. With my cousin falling under this category, I
pray for a mass acceptance of any and all genders worldwide.

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Works Cited
Devor, Holly. Gender Blending: Confronting the Limits of Duality. Bloomington: Indiana UP,
1989. Print.
Groner, Rachel, and John F. O'Hara. Composing Gender: A Bedford Spotlight Reader. Boston:
Bedford/St. Martin's, 2014. Print.
Kantrowitz, Barbara. "Life Without Gender?" Newsweek. Newsweek LLC, 6 Aug. 2010. Web.
16 Sept. 2015. <http://www.newsweek.com/life-without-gender-71847>.