Potential Positives of Gender Fluidity

Post Reply New Topic

The men’s issues thread got me thinking. Since a lot of the gendered expectations for men and women are so unhealthy, is the advent of gender fluidity a positive step towards getting rid of more of these expectations?

Perhaps young people will have an easier time breaking some of the cultural barriers that impede some people’s progress.

I’m interested in this topic because I grew up in a culture that had very rigid roles as far as men and women were concerned (yuck!). The notion of gender fluidity made them very uncomfortable.

Unisex clothing would make it easier for short guys and tall girls to find age appropriate clothing.

Some people are so gender sensitive that they won't wear clothes if the buttons are on the wrong side!
Not an issue for me, I can button by shirt no matter what side the buttons are located. I can do it one handed just by switching hands.

Last edited by BTDT on 09 Aug 2018, 10:16 am, edited 1 time in total.

No, because the concept of "Gender Fluidity" is already being used to convince men and boys that their personal behavior and interests are somehow 'wrong'.

For example, a boy enjoys baking and is not interested in Little League. His father uses the concept of "Gender Fluidity" to insult and intimidate the boy into giving up baking and trying out for Little League...

"What's the matter with you?! Are you some kind of girly f****t?! Should I get you a dress to go along with that apron? Want some makeup to make you look pretty? I thought your mother gave birth to a man, not a sissy-boy!"

I don't believe in really "rigid" gender roles. I believe a woman can still be feminine while being strong. I believe a man can still be masculine even when he expresses vulnerability.

I don't believe a man expressing vulnerability is "gender-fluid." I just believe he is a man who expresses vulnerability.

I don't feel that having feminine "characteristics" makes me less masculine. I have some "feminine" interests. It doesn't make me "feminine."

If I, say, like to play hop scotch, it doesn't make me "gender-fluid." Though hop scotch is a primarily female activity.

I recall a scene in a department store where a man was trying to convince his son that "Barbie" wasn't an appropriate toy for his son!

But isn’t the concept of gender fluidity starting to be more accepted?

When I was growing up, little boys weren’t allowed to cry when they fell and got hurt because then they were being “a girl.”

As gender fluid people become more accepted, won’t that have a positive impact on gender expectations as a whole?

Most of the time, even if the boy plays with Barbie, his masculinity will come to the fore eventually.

I've never had the desire to play with Barbie---nor with G.I. Joe, actually.

Maybe I would have liked playing with dolls if I were left alone. So I can play roles with the dolls.

Last edited by kraftiekortie on 09 Aug 2018, 10:23 am, edited 1 time in total.

I suppose I tend to think of gender as a spectrum.

I believe it's a spectrum, yes.

No. Getting more publicity is not the same as gaining acceptance.It still happens.As diversity in general became more accepted, that led to our current administration rejecting all forms of racism and sexism, now didn't it?

I’m thinking (and hoping) that the current administration is just a brief ebb in progress. Progress doesn’t march forward in a perfect straight line.

Genderfluidity (and homosexuality) is much more accepted, in general, in today's society than it was even in the 1980s.

There is a well-known strong relationship between homosexuality and genderfluidity. Not to say, obviously, that all genderfluid people are homosexual.

In the 1980s, there was no such thing as "gay marriage." The concept was only spoken of in "radical" gay circles. It was something I was not able to even conceive of at that time, even though I was friends with gay people, and really had nothing against gay people. I just couldn't conceive of two same-sexed people being "married."

Nowadays, gay marriage, in many locales, is taken for granted. Gay couples have the same rights in many places as heterosexual couples. It is incredible that so much progress has been made in this area.

Last edited by kraftiekortie on 09 Aug 2018, 10:48 am, edited 1 time in total.

The current administration is a result of the times we live in -- it is not an isolated anomaly, it is a part of who we are as a nation. Too much liberalization too soon led us to the point of Neanderthal-Conservative backlash that gave us the current administration. Had the progress been more subtle and more slow, we might have gotten a more tolerant and progressive person in the White House, or maybe just a more reasonable set of candidates to choose from than the ones we were given.

ANYWAY, the concept of "Gender Fluidity" MAY be one of many concepts that drive our culture toward a more inclusive society -- it is not THE be-all and do-all of a progressive social system -- but too much/too soon may actually drive us further backward.

I wasn’t really suggesting that it’s the be-all and do-all. It’s just something I’ve been thinking about. Gender issues interest me.

Rigid gender roles are extremely important in religious groups and central to their values. As society gets more secular and educated, things might continue to improve in this regard.

Alas, we have to stem the tide which is pointing towards more religion, and less emphasis on education.

Yes, there is a very strong current towards the above.....

And this is flooding our shores.....

Last edited by kraftiekortie on 09 Aug 2018, 10:57 am, edited 1 time in total.

Rigid gender roles are also important to some people who are NOT religious at all! Also, some very religious people definitely do embrace the concept of gender-fluidity, as proven by the increasing numbers of LGBTQ people becoming leaders of religious institutions. You can't truthfully say "Rigid gender roles are extremely important in ALL religious groups and are central to their values"; but you can truthfully say, "Rigid gender roles are extremely important TO SOME PEOPLE in religious groups and are central to their values". (Not that you said either of these things.)