Moving Beyond the Binary: Exploring the Dimensions of Gender Presentation and Orientation *

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to provide a forum or discussion of the problematic nature of gendered language as it is currently employed by social scientists in particular, and the larger culture in general. Drawing from my previous research – a 2008 study in which a large-scale qualitative survey that included 249 individuals who identified as transgender, and 55 individuals who were in committed relationships with transgender people – we are able to see that the issue of language, it’s construction, and it’s use in informal conversation and especially scientific discourse is a topic in need of further exploration and theorizing. Informed by the participants in my study, I question the utility of the current language to describe not only the transgender experience, but the experiences of those who embrace traditional gender roles as well.

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