Sex and Gender : My FAVORITE Topics

As much as I hate the word FLUID, it does capture the essence of the Queer Identity Spectrum quite well. Everything about living outside the heteronormative binary, every identity, is Fluid. Changing. Open. Perfect. I digress.

Unfortunately, a lot of people have a hard time with this. 

Some say "I don't get why you can't just be 'normal'" or "Just pick one gender or person to be attracted to," or "You're being greedy and self-centered," or any other variation of oppressive language that makes someone feel unsafe/unheard/unwanted/and just plain UNCOMFORTABLE. 

Most of the time, any identity on the Queer/LGBTQ+ Spectrum has str8 people feeling like this....

http://giphy.com/gifs/open-wkXZfVNISrJDi

~BUT FEAR NOT~

http://giphy.com/gifs/collection-culture-symbols-10YIJnEh5w72HC

OH COME ON. This is a Queer Justice Blog, it only seems fair that you read this definitions as if Ru Paul told you too.

I think it is important to set up some definitions for those of you who may not be totally sure how the Queer Spectrum works

Gender Identity: Gender Identity: One’s internal sense of being male, female, neither of these, both, or another gender(s). Everyone has a gender identity, including you. For transgender people, their sex assigned at birth and their own internal sense of gender identity are not the same. Female, woman, and girl and male, man, and boy are also NOT necessarily linked to each other but are just six common gender identities.

Gender Expression/Presentation: The physical manifestation of one’s gender identity through clothing, hairstyle, voice, body shape, etc. Most transgender people seek to make their gender expression (how they look) match their gender identity (who they are), rather than their sex assigned at birth.

Sex Assigned at Birth: The assignment and classification of people as male, female, intersex, or another sex based on a combination of anatomy, hormones, chromosomes. It is important we don’t simply use “sex” because of the vagueness of the definition of sex and its place in transphobia. Chromosomes are frequently used to determine sex from prenatal karyotyping (although not as often as genitalia). Chromosomes do not determine genitalia.

Sexually Attracted To: Sexual Orientation. It is important to note that sexual and romantic/emotional attraction can be from a variety of factors including but not limited to gender identity, gender expression/presentation, and sex assigned at birth.

Romantically/Emotionally Attracted To: Romantic/emotional orientation. It is important to note that sexual and romantic/emotional attraction can be from a variety of factors including but not limited to gender identity, gender expression/presentation, and sex assigned at birth.


Here's a great visual that may help make these identifiers more salient 

http://www.transstudent.org/gender

That was a VERY BRIEF introduction over an incredibly large community of people who just want to be who they are, present however they chose and love whomever they feel comfortable loving. If you want more information, check out some other LGBTQ+ friendly sites on the internet. I suggest Tumblr, because that's where I learned everything I know about being Queer when I was in High School - and trust me, it's got everything you'd ever need. Trust me. 

http://giphy.com/gifs/rad-triangle-someindiefolk-nhZ9yABUxTih2

        #TumblrSavesLives

Now that that is out of the way, let's see how the identifiers show up in mainstream media

Take for instance the popular show Empire. When the show went on a mid-season hiatus last fall, Jamal had just hooked up with his music idol, Skye, who is a cis- woman. Now normally. this wouldn't be a relationship that is super noteworthy (other than the fact that the two actors on the show are BEAUTIFUL and did I mention that Skye is played by Alicia Keys!?) but this was a big deal because the previous seasons of Empire have been building tension between Jamal and his father about his identity as a gay man. But Jamal is a man, who identifies as gay, who slept with a woman. HOW COULD THAT BE?! 

http://giphy.com/gifs/empire-jussie-smollett-jamal-lyon-dLr5G3x8nSCoo

http://giphy.com/gifs/empire-fox-empirefox-foxtv-xTka04AagwpPngfaJa

Now the series is back, and everyone is up in arms about the music prodigy’s sexual fluidity. On the show, protestors complain the middle Lyon is “flip-flopping” on his sexuality. In an iconic Queer scene on last week's episode "Death Will Have His Day," Jamal had some choice words for his mother Cookie, and audiences at home struggling to understand the fluidity of sexuality. 

You can watch the clip here.

And you can read the transcript of the scene right here:

Jamal: Jamieson found out about Skye, and he's pulling back his support.

Cookie: Yeah, see, that's another one I don't get, Jamal. You messing around with girls? Pick a damn team.

Jamal: I'm picking nothing. Do what I want to do, and ain't nobody's business who I get down with.

Cookie: So what does this mean, huh? You one of them wishy-washy, confused bisexuals now?

Jamal: (Laughs) Whatever. No. Sexuality is fluid.

Cookie: Shut up.

Jamal: Mom, it is, I'm sorry. It is. You know what I'm saying? You-you have straight and-and gay and bi and a lot a bit of everything. I don't know.

Cookie: Yeah, it sound like y'all just want to be freaky-deaky. A little freaky-deaky.

Jamal: (Laughs) You ain't never slept with no woman?

Cookie: Boy, nobody having that conversation with you.

Jamal: Oh, really? Look, all I'm saying is that sometimes things happen, you know? You feel a certain way and you... You act on it or you don't. Just because I have sex with, uh, two women in my entire life doesn't mean, you know, I'm straight or bi or anything. I'm still a gay brother looking for a man.

Cookie: (Laughs) Yeah, me, too. All night long.

Jamal:  Okay, all right, see, you got to take it too far. I'm out. I like...

Cookie: Shut up, boy. How you think your big-head ass got here?

Jamal: Immaculate conception.

Cookie: Look, Jamal, listen to me. You cannot piss people like Jamieson off if you want to win an Asa Award, okay? Awards are like politics, baby. Think of this like a campaign. You're running for office, all right? So I need you to get your head back in the game and get your gay back and get that Asa Award! You need to become legendary.

This was a very important scene for audiences around the world to see because it makes Queer identities much more accessible and normal to media consumers and takes away the "taboo" nature about talking about gender/sex/sexual orientation. Way to go, Empire! Can't wait to see who dies next what happens next! 

-K