Yesterday was my first day back on
campus after spring break. I was sort of disoriented for the first couple of
hours being back in classes, but then I started noticing things. I noticed that
no one was bundled up in their winter clothes anymore (which was very nice
might I add) but rather showing off their new spring collection for everyone on
campus to see. After I got over the shock of the warm weather, it came to my
attention the types of clothing people were wearing... girls in short shorts
and tank tops or short sun dresses while boys wore bright colored polos tucked
into their khaki belted shorts. Girls wore flowery sandals and boys wore
plain tan flip flops. One might not think that this was something worth my
observation, but since that is exactly the kind of phenomenon I am looking for
in everyday life, these clothing choices stood out like a sore thumb. These
clothing choices made it simple for one to immediately identify an individual
as a boy or a girl. Think about that.... you are able to identify a person's
sex (not gender) solely based on their clothing choices. What if you
looked and saw a girl (based on their clothing choice) had more masculine
features. Would you be confused? I believe that the gender norms our society
has created about clothing choices confirm the idea of a gender binary. This
norm makes it very difficult for people to see and understand people in the
trans community for who they feel they identify with. It confuses many to see a
person who is biologically male wearing what are considered to be
"female" clothes. Gender norms such as the clothing norm force people
to be narrow minded in their knowledge of what gender is. Gender is not
biological sex, it is psychological sex.
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