Gender and Politics/Society

When I was growing up, gender meant something very different than what it does today.  Today it means sexual orientation, a person’s attraction to others and how that all manifests.  But what I learned back in school is that it was a description of people’s masculine and feminine roles in society.  That these roles were defined by society itself from generation to generation.  However the term is often used in place of describing a person’s physical sex as well as orientation.  Is this a good development?  What impact does it have?  Here is my opinion.

Between people of various genders and orientations wanting to be treated equal, to write the wrongs of the past and people lacking knowledge of people with other sexual orientations due to their suppression by religious and other majority communities we have created the modern version for the definition of gender.  It now is all encompassing for all people of all forms of sexual attraction with the word sex, simply meaning sex as opposed to defining if a part of a species is male or female.  To me this has resulted in a political class of individuals who have been repressed in the past that have joined together to make a society where it is acceptable to be a particular gender without the dirty or confused looks.  Basically, they reclassify gender to its current definition so that they could have a say in politics and use our politicians want for power and need to use victims against them (good show LGBT community, put the screws to them).  At the same time, references to gender that segment society are slowly being eliminated.  For instance, the "Founding Fathers" are now in text books called the "Founders" or Founders of America, eliminating the term Father and its traditional gender role.  The result of this is a society that does not see gender at all, and potentially will go the ways of the Ancient Greeks and Romans with respect to having sexual relations (basically have fun with whoever you like).  

Is this a bad thing?  Not really.  For one we eliminate a form of prejudice and stigmas that have been in place for thousands of years that have led to the persecution of individuals.  Also, eliminating some (perhaps not all) gender identity references can lead to a society where jobs, family roles, and more are not defined by societal standards, and instead fit the family unit no matter what form it may take (the Supreme Court Ruling on Gay marriage helped this along).  I think terms that define what people prefer will develop further as scientists, and the communities that embrace their gender identities seek to define who they are in the same way people try to classify their ideologies.  But are they going to fast?  I think so.  The issue over public bathrooms, showers and changing rooms is a big example and has caused a great deal of trouble.  Not because men, women and others get changed or release themselves in the same location, but because there are people who will abuse this.  People like Voyeurs, Rapists, or idiot collage kids have used this to attack people at worst or to take advantage of the situation at best.  Sure desensitizing people to other people’s bodies in the same way that violent video games desensitize youth to violence can be a benefit, but when people abuse the privilege of a public setting, then steps must be taken. 

As such where can we take safer steps to make a change that all of society will be ready to take? So maybe elementary to middle school bathrooms, and sports teams should be the first on the list for bathroom/changing room changes and even desegregating sports teams based on girls and boys teams to make them all-inclusive and ensure that children of all sexual orientations get to play (and I mean all people who want to play, not just the team’s top players).  Children should be focused on first because they learn their behavior from adults and Middle Schools/middle grades are when sexual differences begin to be noticed more.  Stores can help by eliminating male and female sections/marketing and re-branding items based on simply style or want (kind of like what Target Stores did).  Desensitizing students by having a sex education course talk about everything, and I mean everything, that has to do with people of various genders having sex, paying for sex and of course reproduction and safe practices to prevent diseases/pregnancy may become a must if this continues (some European countries start their children in these courses in fourth grade).  Other areas of gender elimination or redefinition may continue to occur as well (but I think that steps should be taken in this so as not to mistakenly alter history as has been accidentally done in the past when revisions to terminology have been made in history books as this can cause problems in the future).

Final Thought:  Basically I am OK with the way society is heading with respect to gender despite my personally being religious and my being a straight male.  I do believe we may be going too fast with respect to bathrooms, public showers and changing rooms, but typically liberals want to rush things along while conservative minded people like myself favor slow progress where people accept things over time.  I personally think the sex education courses should do the aforementioned but also include health and wellness type classes so that all aspects of the body are learned including how exercise, food, drugs and diseases affect the body and how to basically protect, diagnose and cure yourself.  But hell, that is just me. Also, what is done is done.  The bathroom changes cannot be taken back and society will adjust with time to the point where we may have public baths like old school Japan (yea, the hot springs and such were mixed bathing).  So at this point it is a waiting game to see what is in store for us and our society.