Questions about “The Five Sexes”
1) In “The Five Sexes,” Anne
Fausto-Sterling writes that doctors surgically altered the genitals of children
who were born with visible intersex characteristics so that they looked like
“typical female” or “typical male” genitals because they believed these
surgeries would enable the children to “slip quietly into society as ‘normal’
heterosexual males and females” (1993, p.22).
a) What specific assumption did these doctors make about the
connection between sex (meaning the category one is assigned to based on anatomical
and physiological characteristics) and sexuality? Explain the assumption in
your own words. (1 mark)
b) Review the definition of “heterosexism” from the Positive
Definitions exercise we did in week 1. Then explain in your own words how
heterosexist assumptions influenced these doctors’ belief that children with
intersex characteristics should undergo “normalizing” genital surgeries. (2 marks)
Question about
“Hermaphrodites with Attitude”
2) In the first paragraph of the section titled “My Career
as a Hermaphrodite: Renegotiating Cultural Meanings” (on p.193), Chase explains
how two different teams of doctors examined Chase’s genitals and came to two
different conclusions about Chase’s “sex.” Carefully read Chase’s explanation
of what each team of doctors observed and how each team interpreted what they
saw. What do these processes of sex assignment reveal/emphasize about
a) the process of assigning sex to children born with
intersex characteristics, and
b) the relationship (similarity/difference) between “male”
and “female” genital anatomy. (3 marks)
Questions about “My
Life Without Gender”
4 a) Tyler Ford (2015) writes that
some people “don’t know what to make of me when they see me.” What common
assumption(s) about sex and gender does Ford’s gender expression
challenge? Please be specific. (1 mark)
b) Why do some people want to know
what Ford’s genitals look like? In other words, what assumption do those
people make about the relationship between genitals and gender identity? (1 mark)
c) How does Ford describe the
relationship between their body and their gender? Please explain Ford’s point
using your own words. (1
mark)
5) Ford (2015) also comments, “My
existence causes people to question everything they have been taught about
gender, which in turn inspires them to question what they know about
themselves, and that scares them.”
What specific questions might Ford’s existence as an
agender person inspire people to ask about their own gender identities and/or
understandings of gender?
Identify one specific question and briefly
explain why asking that question might be scary for people who have not
consciously explored their own gender. (2 marks)
Questions about “The Education of Little Cis”
6a) What is cisgender privilege?
Explain in your own words and give a specific example of how cisgender
privilege works in everyday life. (2 marks)
b) According to Enke, how is identifying and
understanding cisgender privilege different from asserting cisgender identity?
Please explain and be specific. (3 marks)
Questions about the unit on Two-Spirit Peoples
7) Sexually and gender diverse
Indigenous peoples (including the youth Marie Laing interviewed for her
research project on Two Spirit identity) emphasize that there is not – and
should not be – a single “correct” definition of “Two Spirit.” Why is it so
important to Indigenous peoples that this term is open to a range of different
interpretations? Please explain your response
and be specific. (2 marks)
8) In “Twin-Spirited Woman,” Saylesh
Wesley argues that as part of the process of reconciliation with Indigenous
peoples “against whom it practiced genocide,” there is a need to for Canada to
“atone for its gendercide” (2014, p. 339). What does Wesley mean when she
argues that the Canadian government practiced “gendercide” against Indigenous
peoples? What role did the residential school system play in this process? (3 marks)
Question about
“Scientific Racism and the Emergence of the Homosexual Body”
6) Somerville explains that scientists known as
anthropometrists once believed that they could find physical evidence of
homosexuality by measuring body parts. What problem did these
anthopometrists encounter when they tried to prove their theory? Why is this
finding significant? Please explain in your own words and be specific. (3 marks)
7) Somerville outlines the ways that assumptions about “difference”
have shaped scientific approaches to both race and sexuality. What does
Somerville’s essay teach us about why should be cautious about scientific
research that aims to discover the “cause” of homosexuality? Explain in your own
words, and please be specific. (2 marks)
Questions about “All
Power to All People?”
8a) Syrus Marcus Ware identifies and discusses several
problems with mainstream LGBTQ/queer and trans archives in Canada. One problem Ware points out is that mainstream queer
and trans archives “create and inscribe a narrative of struggle that always
begins with whiteness” (2017, p.171). How does the centering of the experiences
and actions of white LGBTQ+ people in the archives affect LGBTQ+ people who are
Black, Indigenous or people of colour? Please explain in your own words and be
specific. (2 marks).
b) Ware also notes that “[m]ainstream LGBTQ records and
municipal archives have omitted” initiatives like Desh Pardesh, Mayworks
Festival of the Arts, and the Counting Past Two Festival (2017, p.174). Why is
it important to record and celebrate these events? How does acknowledging
events such as these ones change the story that the mainstream queer and trans
archives construct about Black LGBTQ+
people and people of colour? Please explain in your own words and be specific.
(2marks)
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