Have We Entered the Era of Gender Fluidity? Quite Possibly . . . .

I have written quite a bit on this blog about the idea of gender fluidity (see here, here, here, and here, as a start), but I did not believe there would be any cultural apparent move in that direction for quite a while. I was - I am very pleased to say - incredibly wrong.

That is what I learned in this short clip from NPR's All Things Considered.

A growing number of young people are standing in solidarity with their transgender and genderqueer peers. They do so in a number of ways, one of which is to answer (when asked about themselves) with their name, their age (or year in school), and their preferred gender pronouns (he/his/him or she/hers/her). To do so is to acknowledge that cisgender (see this page for an explanation of gender terminology) is only one of many possible gender identities, to stand against the traditional notions of a gender binary. Better still, some young people are rejecting gender labels of any kind.

The nature of gender fluidity transcends and includes gender normative structures - all forms of gender expression become available to each person, either one at a time or simultaneously. In this model, the need for labels on gender expression ceases to be relevant.

Young People Push Back Against Gender Categories

by MARGOT ADLER
July 16, 2013 4:53 PM



All Things Considered
7 min 50 sec | Download

As society has become more accepting of gays, lesbians and even transgender people, a new generation of young people is challenging those categories in favor of a more fluid understanding of gender. They refuse to be limited by notions like male and female.