(no subject)

[sophiaserpentia]

An old essay of mine on the sacred-sexual aspects of transgenderism was re-published online in an_gadhar's journal, The Shadow Sacrament: a Journal of Sex and Spirituality. Not work-safe.

Comments

[queenofhalves]

oooooh!

[azaz-al.livejournal.com]

Hey, you're listed right under Raven - funny :)

[azaz-al.livejournal.com]

One thing I think I would add to the second part of your essay is the phenomenon of women who dressed as men may not necesarily have wanted, emotionally or sexually, to BE men, or felt they WERE men, but really wanted to do what they passed in order to do - be sailors, join the military, etc. That is something which blurs the line further - if you are born female bodied and really want to do something which only men in your society are allowed to do, so you figure out how to pass as a man in order to do that, is this part of the transgendered phenomenon or just an outgrowth of oppression?

[sophiaserpentia.livejournal.com]

I think it is a complex matter. There are cases of women who found ways to do traditionally male things without disguising themselves as men; and then there were people like Joan of Arc who appear to have been genuinely transgendered; i conclude so because he would not give up his presentation as a man even on pain of death.

Beyond that, it really begs the question of what gender means -- whether it is more important as a social reality or as a matter of individual identity. We would not today think of a woman who dressed as a man to do traditionally-male things, but who continued to think of herself as a woman "underneath it all," as transgendered. Transgenderism is defined as a matter of identity. But one could ask, in the bigger scheme is this a distinction without much difference? A large part of what gender means is primarily social presentation and performance. I don't know the answer to that.

[azaz-al.livejournal.com]

I never heard that about Joan of Arc - she always fascinated me because we shared the same birth name (Jeannette).

[sophiaserpentia.livejournal.com]

Hmm, the article on Wikipedia says Joan of Arc refused to give up male clothing during imprisonment to make it difficult for the jailors to rape her. So i guess it's an open question as to whether it was a matter of gender identity or not.

[azaz-al.livejournal.com]

I have heard that she was absolutely a lesbian, definitely not a lesbian, schizophrenic, and now this. She seems to have passed from history into legend, almost.

Re: the second part

[azaz-al.livejournal.com]

I think that ultimately comes down to the question, "Am I what I say I am or what society decides I am?"

Re: the second part

[sophiaserpentia.livejournal.com]

I wrestle with that question a lot. If it comes down to "what i say i am," then how important is outward projection? But if "what i say i am" is not allowed to influence my actions, then it has no substantive meaning.

[archanglrobriel.livejournal.com]

Wow. That was a great read. Thank you for writing it and for linking to it.