Gender bender or gender transgressors

He gender bender is that person who practices gender bending which is the tendency to act against gender roles traditionally determined by a society. This person rebels against the binary gender system and against “what should be”, activities and behaviors that are expected of a person in accordance with the gender stipulated based on their sex.

This disruption in the status quo, which a gender bender or gender transgressor rejects gender functions, it is not due to reasons related to sexuality. Is about a reaction of nonconformity due to how society imposes a way of expressing themselves on people according to a specific gender (male or female) and by the exclusion of those who do not identify with one of these.

Characteristics of a gender bender

Some gender transgressors identify with the sex assigned at birth, but defy particular social norms, expectations, or behaviors that are considered appropriate for a specific gender.

According to Devor (1989), these transgressors “indisputably belong to one sex and identify themselves as belonging to the corresponding gender while exhibiting a complex mixture of characteristics from each of the two standard gender roles.”

To be gender bender You do not need a specific gender identity or sexual orientation. Anyone, regardless of identity, can practice gender bending. Some defining or demonstrative characteristics, based on Prosser (2016), would be the following:

They seek to demonstrate a break with gender expectations and the idea that gender is fixed.They defend that gender is constructed in itself or arises in particular waysrejecting the notion of a fixed gender identity. They adopt a resistant or protesting lifestyle against dominant femininities and masculinities.They attempt to impact, disrupt and disrupt gender expectations through the use of techniques such as costume, hairstyle, pose, gesture and acting.

How do gender transgressors express themselves?

A gender bender can use different ways to protest and express their nonconformity against gender roles and the essentialism and immutability that have been attributed to them. As forms of expression we can find the following:

Behave in accordance with the gender role of the opposite sex. Walk, gesture, speak or express yourself as a person of the opposite sex is expected to do. This way of presenting oneself to others breaks culturally and socially configured gender functions.Wear clothing traditionally representative of the opposite sex or gender. Sometimes they can mix clothes that were designed for both genders.He drag It can also be used as another form of expression of the gender bender. The way of dressing and makeup drag they draw the appearance of a person of the sex or gender opposite to the one they have or act in a parodic and critical way against gender roles. Another alternative to the previous ones – which imply a marked position in one or another form of expression according to the gender or opposite sex- is search for a non-gender. It is a way in which we try, as far as possible, not to express one gender or another. Not expressing is also a way of protesting.

Gender bender and other concepts

Although gender transgression may be associated with people from the LGTBI community, it is a practice that can be related to everyone.

Anyone can be gender bender, since it is not a tendency specific to a group or collective. Let us remember that this practice goes against the status quo of the gender role; In this sense, any person who does not agree with these regulations can be a gender bender.

Although it is recognized that it is a form of expression or protest that anyone can practice, it continues to be associated with concepts related to sexuality or understood as synonyms for them.

sexual orientation

He gender bender is a reaction to gender stereotypes and not a sexual orientation as would be, for example, homosexuality or bisexuality. It is totally independent of any sexual preference or attraction.

However, the fact that a person with a certain gender identity or sexual orientation acts in opposition to the expected gender role does not make them gender bender.

Let’s look at an example: Juan identifies with the gender roles typified for women and behaves in harmony with them. Does Juan’s way of acting make him a gender bender? Not necessarily. For it to be so, Juan must have the intention to protest or rebel against the prevailing normativity of gender roles and demonstrate its inadequacy.

Transsexuality

Transsexuality is characterized, mainly, by a gender identification that does not coincide with the sex one had at birth. However, this does not necessarily have to imply a rejection of gender roles as it does in the gender bending.

Conversely, Being a gender transgressor does not mean feeling that the sex you have is not in accordance with your gender identity. that is possessed.

Transvestism

One of the concepts that has been most associated with gender bender It is transvestism. Although many use clothing as a means of expression, this does not necessarily make them transvestites..

Furthermore, the person who cross-dresses does not necessarily do so as a demonstration against gender stereotypes, they can also do so as a form of satisfaction by portraying the opposite sex.

A bet on change

A gender bender is defined by the intention to rebel against what is socially established around gender roles.. It is born from the attitude of subverting normality and the “ought to be” that has been imposed on people based on sex.

It is a fight, it is a peaceful rebellion for change, betting on accepting other versions of the genre that are not reduced to the two classic options.

You might be interested…