I'm gonna say something controversial but
If the gender binary is colonial how did other nations have them? And how did trans people exist for millennia if the binary is colonial???? I do not compute. I do not process. I do not understand
"If the gender binary is colonial how did other nations have them?"
Answered your own question. Nations have the gender binary, at least in the sense that western countries do, because of the nations that colonized them.
"And how did trans people exist for millennia if the binary is colonial????"
What does that mean? That trans people would only exist when the modern-day binary exists, so it has to have always existed? Furthermore, not all trans people are binary.
The binary doesn't always mean the belief that there are only 2 genders. Because "there are only 2 genders" could mean anything. What role do the 2 genders play within society? What is expected of them? How can they express themselves? How can they identify? How are the genders assigned?
The gender binary in the sense that people often say it isn't just saying that there aren't only 2 genders (although there aren't only 2 genders), it's also talking about the restrictions of binary. Rather than all aspects of gender being seen as a spectrum, they are often seen as binary - masculine and feminine, caretaker and provider, male and female, male genitalia and female genitalia, XX and XY, mother and father, husband and wife, etc. As a result, it is largely tied to heteronormativity and the patriarchy. Does this explain?
I have no idea what that says
Well, the gender binary as we know it is largely colonial, other countries may have had something related before it but the things we relate to the modern gender binary come largely from european culture and the waves of imperialism carried out by european countries. for example, Hinduism has embraced for a long time third gender concepts and there are around 11 genders in Hinduism in total, keeping in mind that Hinduism is the oldest organized religion and arose among the world's oldest civilization. while there has always been a distinction between the sexes and the roles associated with each, before colonialism and imperialism efforts grew, the strict enforcement of those roles was either simply nonexistent in some areas, or much more loosely interpreted. third gender concepts existed in cultures across the globe- including many of the indigenous peoples of Nigeria, more than 100 indigenous American tribes (before colonialization ever occurred), in the dar-al-Islam, etc. So it's not that the idea of sex and gender identity is colonial, but the strict gender binary is largely a result of colonialism. homophobia and transphobia existed before colonialism, but they are still largely western concepts. a large amount of islamic writings, specifically poetry, are believed to be focused on queer culture and people, and gender was seen as a mystical thing for many indigenous peoples. so long story short, expected gender roles aren't colonial, but the strict ideas of status and worth in relation to those roles was extremely intensified by colonialization, so much so that nowadays it's difficult to separate the two.
Gender binary means not only a binary view of gender identity, but of all aspects surrounding gender. It includes oppressive and non-oppressive gender roles, norms, and lots of the things that ostracize intersex people.
Our modern-day, western gender binary is largely colonial. Other cultures have had some aspects of our binary, but it has not been the same.
Aren't the third genders like... homophobic? I've read studies/articles [i can try and find some] about how the third genders were only for men who were same-sex attracted, and therefore seen as "women" and lesser than straight men, and how there was no female equivalent because they were seen as lesser humans regardless of the sexual attraction? And how they were forced to identify as them??????
No that wasn't always the case! A lot of third genders were actually seen as being MORE powerful than male and female! A lot of third genders were traditionally experienced by feminine gay men, but they were not exclusive to them and weren't usually supposed to be degrading, though that did happen. but homophobic or not, they were still very real gender identities that were not strictly binary
@Throwaway acc for questions This is not exactly true, and that statement showcases some ignorance in people's cultures.
There are so, so many different cultural understandings of gender, many of which have been erased by the gender binary or demonized in order to enforce the binary.
Many people historically have embraced their third genders.
Can I have the sauce? I'm trying to find mine rn but it's very hard to multitask dkjkbgkb
"Gender may be recognized and organized differently in different cultures. In some non-Western cultures, gender may not be seen as binary, or people may be seen as being able to cross freely between male and female, or to exist in a state that is in-between, or neither. In some cultures being third gender may be associated with the gift of being able to mediate between the world of the spirits and world of humans. For cultures with these spiritual beliefs, it is generally seen as a positive thing, though some third gender people have also been accused of witchcraft and persecuted. In most western cultures, people who do not conform to heteronormative ideals are often seen as sick, disordered, or insufficiently formed."
"The hijras of India are one of the most recognized groups of third gender people. Some western commentators (Hines and Sanger) have theorized that this could be a result of the Hindu belief in reincarnation, in which gender, sex, and even species can change from lifetime to lifetime, perhaps allowing for a more fluid interpretation. There are other cultures in which the third gender is seen as an intermediate state of being rather than as a movement from one conventional sex to the other."
Also, as for you citing the roots between homophobia and the third gender, that is a perfect example of the Western binary erasing and/or demonizing third gender identities.
"According to some scholars, the West is trying to reinterpret and redefine ancient third-gender identities to fit the Western concept of sexual orientation. In Redefining Fa'afafine: Western Discourses and the Construction of Transgenderism in Samoa, Johanna Schmidt argues that the Western attempts to reinterpret fa'afafine, the third gender in Samoan culture, make it have more to do with sexual orientation than gender. She also argues that this is actually changing the nature of fa'afafine itself, and making it more "homosexual".¨
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_gender
What do you think?