#gender variance

[moss-opossum]

I am really not a fan of "love is love" as a slogan for the queer community. It centers queerness as romantic/sexual interest in other people, and to me feels like it’s inherently ignoring or even excluding intersex people, gender variant people, aspec people, and people with intersecting queer identities. It sanitises queerness into a form that’s easily consumed by a perisexist/endosexist, allonornative, amatonormative, cisnormative culture, instead of critiquing the harm those structures cause.

“Love is love” takes the focus away from important pieces of queer history and culture, such as drag queens, butches, trans folk, and other gender variant or fluid identities. With a slogan like “love is love”, it becomes easier to imagine every queer person as looking straight or at the very most slightly camp, and just happening to be attracted to and wanting to marry someone of the same gender, with a little wiggle room for polyamorous people too.

I think it just becomes a form of respectability politics. Queerness ought to be about accepting and embracing other ways of Being, not making a little extra wedge of space for certain people in an oppressive framework that still demands gender conformity and adherence to certain relationship rules, and still pathologises intersex and aspec people. It ought to be about tearing down that framework so it’s safe for people to be however they want or need to be — regardless of whether or not that falls within what was acceptable in the original framework.

Queer culture and queer liberation are intersectional, they always have been, saying “love is love” just feels like whitewashing it away.

[justinhubbell]

Truth. Whole truth. Nothing but the truth. You don't have to listen to lies.

Also you can follow my work and pledge support here: www.patreon.com/jhubbell

[lgbtqiamuslimpedia]

Boyah

Boyah (plural: Boyat) was subcultural identity of AFAB non-binary,tomboy,demi girl & trans-masculine folks of Persian Gulf. Boyat are asigned female at birth,but express gender atypical behaviour. The origin of this queer subculture is unclear, some boyat claimed that it was started through online forums & groups. [citation needed]

Boyah subculture was more visible in Gulf states (including Kuwait,Oman,Saudi Arabia,UAE,Bahrain). Boyah identity may fall under the modern Transgender and Non-binary umbrella. However some people may considered them as people of forth gender.

Sexuality

Boyat folk's sexuality can be confusing in various cultural contexts. Most of the Boyat had intimate and romantic relationships with cis-girls in their past life, but they do not consider themselves as homosexual.

The term Boyah itself does not mean lesbian in arabic.In later life many Boyat had to pursue a heterosexual marriage & had children.Because marriage is a obligatory in local arabic customs.In addition to this, some boyah were androsexual & interested in boys only.

Culture & Lifestyle

Trans-masculine/tomboys/AFAB non-binary/AFAB genderpunk took the “Boyah�� cultural identity in their early adolescence. On the otherhand, some boyat took the male role to challenge societal gender norms and stereotypes in Arabic Gulf States.

In general, a boyah is characterized by no make-up, no feminine expressions, no feminine name,feminine pronouns.In boyah subculture, Boyat community may use a massive masculine watches.Boyat people worn loose-fitting male cloth with a touch of the military, vibrantly coloured dresses,shirts and boyah jeans(which are baggy with big prints all over them). Since the age of internet Arab's boyat community started informal groups,online forums.

Most of the boyat have to lead double lives because gulf states has strict cultural gender roles especially for womxn.Many of them are forced to get married.In general Boyah phenomena is considered a disgrace to an arab family's honour.Additionally atypical gender expression is seems to be indecent and deviant in GCC states.Many boyat face stigma for not adhering with rigid patriarchal gender roles.

After leaving home, many undergo a radical transformation,changing their clothes at school/college or a friend's house.While in transition ,they run no real risk of being caught because,while in public, Emirates women are required to wear the national dress - a long black over-garment called an abaya, which makes it easier to switch roles without drawing attention.

Media

In general, Gulf media portrays queerness in negetive ways. A Boyah named Abeer appeared on the Saudi TV Show “Ya Hala” where he/ze said that he/ze was attracted to women while still at school. He/Ze had a complete love relationship with a classmate for a long time. Another person named Hamood joined a show of Radio Sawa where he/ze explained ze was rebelling against social (gender) norms and his/zee family’s restrictions through this boyah phenomena.

On a national television of UAE, a boyah named Bandar openly spoke about his queer relationship with another girl and expressed the desire to marry her and have children with her through IVF. His statement on Abu Dhabi's national television shocked the whole nation.

Decline of Boyah Culture

In the Persian Gulf region, boyah identity became very controversial since 2007. In 2007, the Kuwaiti parliament amended Article 198 of the country’s penal code so that anyone “imitating the opposite sex in any way” could face up to a year in jail and/or a fine of 1,000 dinars ($3,500). A further problem was that the law made no attempt to define “imitating the opposite sex” So it was basically left to the discretion of the police. Within a couple of weeks at least 14 people had been arrested in Kuwait City & thrown into prison. Boyat made their debut as a public concern in 2008 when Dubai police denounced cross-dressing - its chief, Dahi Khalfan Tamim, called on the Ministry of Social Affairs to find out how widespread the practice is and what causes it.

In 2009, Dubai launched a public campaign under the slogan "Excuse Me, I am a Girl", which cautioned against “masculine” behaviour among AFAB queers & tomboys and aimed to steer them towards "femininity". The impetus for this was a moral panic which swept through several Gulf states at that time, regarding the Boyah phenomena. 2 months after announcing the campaign the police persecuted 40 people (for their gender atypical expression), imprisoned them for 3 years in jail.In addition, trans-masculine/trans males,trans women,gender-queers were also shamed & abused by the UAE's police team.

Public Attitudes

Many conservative patriarchal arab people see a greater danger in the Boyah subcultural practices; they fear it can become permanent and cause great distress for the women and their families.

Psychiatrist Yousef Abou Allaban says, "It can go extreme, where they change their sex and have an operation.'' Saudi journalist Yousef Al-Qafari said in an interview on Radio Sawa that family disintegration and lack of true love have led women to act like a man. Al-Qafari said education was the best way to tackle this phenomenon.He called on the Ministry of Education to take up this role.

Social worker Nadia Naseer said, “Families play an essential role in such cases. Families should monitor their female members, especially when they start acting like men by cutting their hair short, wearing men’s clothing, or refusing to wear women’s accessories”. She also said, when a girl or woman does this,she is looking for attention & sending a message that she is a boyah.

Saudi writer Randa Alsheikh, in one of her columns, said that she attended a social gathering where she saw a group of females who appeared almost completely like men.“I would not be exaggerating if I say I could not tell the difference between them and men,” she wrote.She said that they looked, talked and walked like men & “even worse” some appeared to be in their 40s. We need to quickly address this phenomenon to contain these girls so that they are able to build good families and a healthy society,”

[rrcraft-and-lore]

Gender Fluidity, non-heterosexual, and gender variance behavior in mythology.

For the purpose of this thread, and keeping it short cuz even though this is my off month to finally rest from burn out, I've got publishing obligations, signings, and stuff to do -- we're keeping-- this to South Asian mythology:

I've already done a thread about third sex/intersex and trans (Hijra) in South Asian culture and the portrayals in a pop culture IP recently - Monkey Man by Dev Patel --

This is a short primer really:

Harihara - the union representing totality/oneness of all existence is the being born of the union of Shiva and Vishnu (who at prior to this morphs into Mohini, the female celestial temptress who Shiva becomes besotted with and tries to get intimate with), Vishnu changes back amidst this and the two fuse into a being. The ability of celestial beings | gods | goddesses to morph, change shape and gender in Vedic to Hindu mythology is well-established/normal. But there are many legends about Mohini, including the birth of her (Vishnu, his female avatar form being Mohini) son, Shasta, with Shiva. Mohini is also known as a femme fatale archetype, seducer, temptress, as well as someone known for destroying/seducing demons to their doom.

One thing to remember is that the Vedic religion and its stories are old, older than our records because the stories, songs, poetry of it all existed before written records and were transmitted orally. There are also varied versions of the epics, such as Tamil recountings of Mahabharata for example, in where one such example exists.

Krishna also takes the form of Mohini to marry Aravan (in Tamil) Iravan otherwise to give Aravan the chance to experience love before his death. There is a festival celebrated to this in the month of Chitrai (April/May) at the Koothandavar Temple dedicated to Iravan during which, Hijras (the third sex, transgender, intersex, and or eunuchs as well) celebrate Krishna/Mohini marrying Aravan and then mourn Aravan/Iravan's death as he sacrificed himself.

It must be noted that there is artwork and mention throughout the wide spread of Vedic upwards stories (and how many interpretations, takes, and varies stories there are) of same sex and yonic/non-vaginal sex relationships, births, and more.

There's also inter-being...?

Erotica/romance authors help me out here? Inter...celestial sex?

Apsara, devas, asura, humans, demigods. Look, lots of sex of all kind happens, and it's normal.

There's also the story of Arjuna to consider: when he refuses the seductive advances of Urvashi, she curses him to be a Klba, or member of the third gender. Later when Arjuna adopts the name of Brihannala, the curse takes effect as Arjuna dresses in women's clothing, and because of this, Arjuna is able to gain entrance to the kingdom of Virata in the Padma Purana and teach the high arts of music, singing, and dance, to the king's daughter and princess. Later, he is turned into a woman when he wishes to take part in Krishna's mystical dance which only women may attend.

Then there is Ila, a character cursed by Shiva and Parvati to change genders each month.

NOTE: there are MANY versions of the story of Ila, but it is canonical they changed gender -- known as Sudyumna as a woman, and Ila as a man.

Ilā is considered the chief progenitor of the Lunar dynasty of Indian kings – also known as the Aillas.

Continuing. In one story, Ila marries Budha (not Buddha the former king and founder of Buddhism), but Budha that is the god Mercury -- Budha is aware of Ila's origins as a man and changing status, but only marries Ila in his feminine state, and honoring that part of them as his wife and only when Ila is in that state. He does not enlighten Ila to the changing effect as each gender is unaware of the other and those lives.

The tale of Ila's transformations is told in the Puranas as well as the Indian epic poems, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata.

This is just a little thread. Anyways, I'm off now to sign nearly 2000 pages (won't finish today) and have an achey hand while I do more research and trying to improve the prose style I want for book three of Tales of Tremaine.

❤️ thank you. Remember, be kind.

[mister-girrrl]

Cis people will be like: "You're not a real man! Real men don't wear heels, makeup, nail polish, skirts or dresses!"

But then turn around & tell trans women: "Just because you wear makeup, nail polish & dresses doesn't mean you're a woman!"

Like, which is it? Make up your mind!

[englishmagic]

Queer ways of viewing gender are just soooo much more liberating and FUN than going by stodgy old gender essentialism.

He’s a gay man who’s also a woman. Is she trans? Idk, that’s for her to decide!

This is a he/him lesbian who looks like a man and has a masculine name. But he’s a woman, don’t be mistaken. What’s in his pants? I don’t know, I don’t care, I’m not gonna fuck him!

Nobody knows their gender, they don’t even know their own gender, but it’s a universal truth that if you’re attracted to them, that’s gay. No matter what gender you happen to be.

This person’s pronouns are not what you’d expect based on presentation! Yes, it’s counterintuitive and you need to practice, but look at it this way: once you manage to divorce gendered language from what you perceive, that means you are a whole lot freer and can be more creative in general!

The world is full of such infinite variety; why would you ever want to nail down A to A and B to B???

Kick the things that give you dysphoria to the curb, embrace the things that make you euphoric, and don’t give a rat’s ass what other people think you should feel.

[transfemgabriellamontez]

Awww

Trans comics make me feel things

More transgender comic strips from Sudae Kids

The Sudae Kids are made by a couple living in Thailand:  Illustrator Pratchaya “Poysian” Mahapauraya and her boyfriend Kavit Thienvutichai.

See also: You are free to be who you want to be.

Sundae Kids on Instagram.

[sleepydogz]

"Somewhere between Masculine and Feminine" I bring a sort of what a man and woman are based on a social vibe that some people just don't get.

[mister-girrrl]

Recently my gender identity/experience has morphed from agender/non-binary to demiboy to pretty much just a gender non-conforming boy who uses she/her pronouns (along with they/them, though currently have a preference for "she").

Seeing this post feels reassuring 💖

There's always time to start something new.

New labels, habits, and ways to express yourself will remain within your regardless of age. All the years before will aid these first few steps.

It's alright to start over.

[lgbtqiamuslimpedia]

Yan Daudu

Yan Daudu (singular: Dan Daudu) is group of passive homosexuals, transgender, transvestite or drag queen, and third gendered individuals Fulani-Hausa mythology. Most Yan Daudu are born male, developed a feminine identity or present themselves as woman since very early age. Intersex individuals are known as “Matamaza” in Hausa.

They are often percieved as a male-bodied woman or third gender person in Fulani-Hausa cultures. They usually do cross-dressing and perform woman's role in their community. Yan daudu often refers to each other using feminine linguistic forms. Their most common professions are – small businesses, hair dresser, beautician, spiritual healer or shaman and prostitution.

Traditionally, Hausaland had great acceptance for queerness. Even after the arrival of Islam, Yan Daudu were integrated in Muslim-Hausa societies. They are primarily found in Northern Nigeria and Niger. They may exists in other parts of West Africa. But nowadays Yan Daudu's existence is very much demonized in the Muslim indigenous communities due to radicalization of Islam and colonialism.

Religion and Spirituality

Like many Africans, Yan Daudu follow folk Islam or syncretic Hausa practice that combines elements of Islam and traditional Bori beliefs. Some Yan Daudu may not follow Bori beliefs. Yan Daudu take the role spiritual leader and healer in their community or cult. They are believed to possess supernatural and spiritual powers, abled to communicate with djinns or spirits, worked as an intermediary between divine and world. Many yan daudu do Hajj (Islamic pilgrimage).

[serpentface]

@mouseymagus Yeah that’s semi accurate but not exact.

Most children will be taught riding, textile production, food preparation, agricultural labor practices, and other basic foundational skills regardless of assigned gender. Exceptions are more based in the status of their respective clans (ruling clans outsource their agricultural labor, so textile production takes preeminence there).

This cultural group can be broadly be stated as egalitarian in its conceptualization of gender, with men and women having roughly equal power in society but different expectations. The starkest division of gendered labor is that married women control the ‘domestic’ sphere and (mostly young) men participate in warrior culture, while societal roles for others are either more flexible or entirely context dependent.

Basically a mother is in charge of the land and household and directing the use of its resources, young men (16-40ish) are primarily tasked with defending it and gaining resources, while all others (children regardless of gender, unmarried women, and older men) play supportive roles wherever needed. These supportive roles may be more strictly defined by gender in some contexts than others, the Hill Tribes are not a monolithic cultural group, but the above statement is broadly applicable to all. 

Warrior culture in the contemporary revolves primarily around cattle raiding and combat sports, with other applications being context dependent (some groups practice raiding trade routes, some northern groups in particular are in a defensive position against imperial Wardi territorial aggression along the seaway, and there are many conflicts and rivalries among clans and tribes for territory and resources). 

Unmarried women ARE commonly involved in herding, and as such may be situationally involved in livestock raids (usually as defenders). There don't tend to be any general prescriptions Against women participating in this aspect of warrior culture, but it is simply Expected of young men as their societal role and correct performance of masculinity, whereas for an unmarried (or especially married) woman to take active part in livestock raids is a curiosity.

Men and women are both strongly expected to marry and produce heirs. Unmarried adult women often occupy a unique cultural space, as they can perform more flexible roles (are neither expected to engage in combat like young men or to control the domestic sphere like married women). Spinsters (there's probably a culturally specific word for it but I haven't come up with it yet) as such occupy a gendered space that is considered somewhat nonbinary, not a man but not fully considered a woman in role either. In some contexts this is mildly shameful and a failure to perform expected roles, in others it's a more neutral concept, or positively acknowledged as a unique role within society.

[mister-girrrl]

Definitely can relate, as an AMAB demiboy who doesn't quite mind passing as my agab, I still feel very dysphoric being called things like "man" or "sir", I'd much prefer to look more ambiguous while still leaning a bit towards boy, but I feel like that is almost impossible for me to achieve and that everyone will always associate different physical traits or non-physical traits with a certain gender, so I'm just like "Well I know who I am, that's all that matters." And when I have the energy to, anytime someone calls me ‘sir’ I respond with "While I appreciate the sentiment of respect, please do not call me sir." Which some people say comes across as bitchy but I'm just like "oh well".

Do other AFAB demigirls or AMAB demiboys feel like they’re not “queer enough” relating to their gender?

I’ve been kinda struggling w this. I KNOW I’m nonbinary, and I KNOW that I don’t have to prove my identity to anyone, but it feels like I’m not allowed to say that I’m not cis/nonbinary bc I still present feminine and don’t have to deal with nearly as many of the struggles GNC people (cis or not) or transmasc/transfem people do.

Funny since I do experience some dysphoria in things like being called a ‘woman’, but being called a girl colloquially or being referred to with she/her pronouns don’t bother me. I experience no chest dysphoria, but do feel some bottom dysphoria.

TLDR: nonbinary gender complicated

[varsex-pride]

How do you define sex identity? Is it a synonym for sex? If so, how would you define them in relation to varsexness?

So far I've came up with this, but I don't know if it is good or not:

Sex Identity: An identity formed based on one’s assigned sex/gender at birth, their current/desired/planned sex characteristics, their body, being gender-diverse/variant, a result of injury/illness, and/or aspects associated with varsexness.  

Just like gender modalities, gender identities/expressions, genders, and attraction-based identities (including m-spec and a-spec), sex identity and sex exists on a spectrum along a continuum. Meaning, someone can have one or more sex identities or lack one and it may be fluid or static for one or more reasons or no reason at all. 

Sex Identity (or sex) should NOT be conflated with gender modality, gender/sex sonance, sexual identity (or other attraction-based identities or the lack thereof), and gender identity/expression, although it can be interconnected and influence with one or more of them. 

I appreciate that you're trying to define it and want us to comment about it. I'm going to comment and try to define it by myself.

sex identity could be multiple things, just like the meanings you listed. however, since it's scope is so ample, when we use sex identity solely and the context talks about the body, it's often to show that the physical body exists regardless of the words we use to denominate or classify it. does that make sense?

sex identity is used less formally than gender identity, and it's more common to see the noun phrase "sexual orientation identity" than the univocal concept "sex identity", at least when used among mainstream activism. because in media and nowaday lectures aimed at people who don't understand much about the community, or from countries where the word gender is unusual, "sex identity" can appear as synonymous to "gender identity". tbh it's confusing to use this term deliberately, and I've seen people using the word "status" instead of identity. however, in the official languages of my country, "status" is more associated with the law, documental things, or computational stuff. that's why I don't use it a lot.

"intersex status", for once, is a term to refer to intersex as an identity, while "intersex variations" to refer to bodily traits (internal/external, and internal here means inside the physical body, and external refers to the apparent traits) or given condition or a set of conditions. status can be recognized by oneself and by others.

about your definition: sex identity in our blog is used totally separated from gender. you can gender your sex traits, and gendering one's sex can be a form of sex identity (eg. I possess a male nipple and a female nipple; I have male genitalia despite producing female gametes). when you gender your sex traits, it's about bodily autonomy and identity self-determination. it's an option to use specific language (eg. my nipples are differently sized; I have a cavernous large phallus despite being oogenic/macrogametic). it should be noted that when using specific language, not everyone will know what those words mean, typically usual to medical studies, and some of them are opt-in like referential language, because it's arbitrary or biased to talk about a indeterminate quantity in a given population. not everyone with a phallus will perceive it as penile or clitoral, or call their pectoral parts as chest or breast, for example.

is sex modality an identity? it can be a descriptor and an impermanent identity that one avoids using situationally, for example. but it definitely can be an identity, or just a relation between how one previously was and how one currently is, between the desired sex traits and current sex traits. it can be about sex sonance too, if one interprets it's tied to.

varsex is sex variance, meaning that it's a dispersion from the expected sex traits. in simple terms, in encompass intersex and altersex statuses. does this stand beyond status? certainly! a group of two people is sex-diverse, regardless of their sex identity. how does that make sense? because even twins are different, so is our genitalia, they all appear dissimilar. except when we talk about groups of people classified by identity or defined with more ample criterion or wider scope. for instance, these two individuals can both carry vulvar tissue. but that depends on how we interpret the word diversity. oh, and there are protsex/protosex people as well, they may or may not be varsex I guess.

sex identity is sex? it depends, it can represent sex. but they are different things. if sex is defined by gametes we produce, are sterile/infertile people exempt from it? it really varies of the context you're using the word sex.

spectrum may not be the best analogy. and: gender & sex can be the same thing for some people. for once, intersex is the gender of many people, and man is the sex of many people too. despite that, they can be distinguished and therefore different things. we can say they can be interconnected or influence each other, but the names/labels/terms are often used documentally and it's inescapable to use them interchangeably sometimes. it's understandable to use only one word for both things, especially when there's only one word in a given language for either sex or gender of theirs.

questions: is "result of injuries" applicable to endogenous traits (since you mentioned illnesses) or specifically about artificial/surgical intervention (therefore mutilation)? would physical changes apply? would it include willingly wanted/planned modifications?

[rouge-the-bat]

i never get people that always headcanon characters (or make ocs) as the same identities. like i can get having common ones you give characters, but if u just Actually make them all the same, how is that not... super boring ?? do you not find inherent interest and joy in the vast experiences of identity and how they can come through in different characters???

[istherewifiinhell]

tfwiki the MOST useful feature u could have for me at this point is to simply having a rating for comics/comics writers on the woman (and other marginalities, allegory or not) suckage rating. i dont wanna hear about it. i dont wanna hear about HOW LONG. weve been having cold take shit heads play in the space. just on a scale of arcee was made to appease the feminists to cv/es actual rep of diverse gender AND diverse gender pres. thats all