Thursday, February 4, 2016

Gender-fluid celebrities

            Today in class we talked about the topic of “gender-fluidity”. We defined it as being “in the middle of the continuum” of gender. I hadn’t really heard this term used very much. Of course, I had heard of boys dressing like girls and vice-versa, I had just never put a term with those characteristics. People just didn’t seem open to talking about this. I think the topic of “gender-fluidity” has gained some recognition as the LGBTQ activism pushes for more progressive ways to think about sexuality, gender identification, and gender expression.
After gay marriage became legalized, the LGBTQ community started pushing for a new movement, the movement of transgender rights. Although this movement has been around for a while, it really picked up momentum when more transgender individuals got into the limelight. Some of these individuals include, Laverne Cox, Chaz Bono, and of course, Caitlin Jenner. After these celebrities were advocates for the transgender rights movement, a couple more celebrities came out as “gender-fluid”. I read an article by Huffington Post that interviewed Ruby Rose from Orange is the New Black and Miley Cyrus about being “gender-fluid”. I think it’s so important for these celebrities to act as advocates for these movements and help redefine the way people think about gender.




1 comment:

  1. Gender-fluidity is a somewhat new concept to me as well. I had heard of transgender plenty, where someone is born one sex and feels as if they are the opposite gender. However, the idea that a person’s gender identity can change on a day-to-day basis is new to me, and it’s pretty cool.
    I thought it was interesting how, in the article, Ruby Rose said she doesn’t identify as any gender. However, in the article we read for class about gender-fluidity, the kid- Alex- did identify as a boy. I think this really shows that people can be anywhere on this spectrum. Alex and Ruby Rose are both in the middle of the continuum, but they are in different places in the middle.
    I think it’s great that celebrities are speaking out about things such as gender-fluidity. They have a lot of power and a loud voice. They can make it more accepted by making it more public.
    Caitlyn Jenner’s experience did a lot to help people accept transgender rights. However, a lot of people still think very poorly of Caitlyn and do not accept her decision. Celebrities do have a lot of power, but they are not enough.
    I think, since we didn’t know a lot about gender-fluidity, chances are many people also don’t. Hopefully, as it becomes a more public thing, people will begin to learn what it is.
    I, personally, believe that the key to a concept being accepted by the general public is making it normal to the general public.

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