Femininity, Aboriginal Status And Gender Binary

Within the class WGSY1Y, there is much talk about femininity, aboriginal status and the sex/gender binary. In writing this assignment; I hope to explain, in depth, what the binary is as a whole, as well as touch upon the more complicated aspects of gender.

The sex/gender binary is essentially meant to explain our boundaries. We, as humans, have created two categories that we are socialized into at birth. In order to understand the true meaning of the sex/gender binary we must look at it as three distinct parts. Sex is the biological aspect of our bodies. It is the make up of hormones, genitalia, and internal compositions that set us into categories, and separate one child from another at birth. Gender is our socialized identity that reinforces

In fact, the sex/gender binary did not always exist, but was constructed by settlers forcing their own views onto the native peoples already formulated perspectives. In the early aboriginal traditions, gender was seen as something to explore. Many native tribes had a wide range of gender classifications, and variations that held different levels of power. An atypical category did not exist. Gender “was not primarily defined by physiology, but rather through the types of work done and other social activities, and there was not always a direct link between ‘biological’ sex, gender, and sexual activity.” (Sexual Colonization of the Indigenous Peoples, Gary Kinsman, 1996). Cross-dressers, same-sex and same-gender activity was not seen as a form of deviant behavior, but rather was apart of a third, or even fourth category of gender. However, this way of life was altered by the colonization of various European groups, who came onto native territory, named it their own, and started what they liked to call the ‘European Conversion Mission’ (Katz- apart of sexual colonization, include reference**). “White men in the employ of the church and state systemically forced their own ‘civilization’ upon the original inhabitants in America, exterminating them in the name of Christian morality and rights of Empire.” (Sexual Colonization of the Indigenous Peoples, Gary Kinsman, 1996). Which according to Gary Kinsman, was the birth of the