bound to the gender binary (editorial)

I feel like I don’t really explain anything very well in this essay, so please let me know anywhere I can clarify or elaborate.

This was inspired by a quote I heard recently --

“The world I’m fighting for is a world where we allow people to self-narrate their bodies.”

There’s no reason to put people into boxes. Genders are not defined by whether or not you wear glitter and play with barbies or wear cargo shorts and play with action figures. Feminine/masculine looks, affinities, and materialistic items are norms that vary by culture. Gender is much more complex and harder to define than just two words, but as we grow up we are groomed to fit more into our certain box. Having boy/girl sections in stores just further enforces these categories everyone is put into that are really just social constructs. Certainly male and female is a real thing, but masculinity and femininity are made up ideas that we are all confined to. A lot of people can fit in a box, but no one completely fits every criteria. It’s impossible since the definitions of what is masculine and what is feminine vary depending on when, where, and who you are.

By creating rules that genders have to follow, we are destroying originality. Some people say that there isn’t originality left in this world, but that’s because we oppress the originality to society deems unacceptable. Whether you like it or not, clothing is an outward display of yourself to those who see you, and therefore a form of self expression. It’s harder to find yourself when you’re dressed like everyone else, or play with the same toys as everyone else because you are told to. Clothing always has the opportunity to act as individualism on display, and by saying that only some clothing is appropriate for people to wear, we are restricting this beauty vehemently.

You don’t really know who you are yet as a child, but you are already placed into a box.  Why should you have to wear “girl clothes” or “boy clothes” if you don’t feel like a girl or a boy? Individuals are not meant to be put in boxes. You feel better in so many ways when you are more yourself. People feel empowered when they are allowed to be what they want to be, and they should be allowed to be so. When people are happy they make other people happy. When you’re allowed to be yourself and when people acknowledge that you are yourself it validates you. You are your strengths and your weaknesses and you need both.

Even the artificial blue and pink backgrounds behind the displays of toy and clothing are problematic. This is extremely evident of how deeply rooted and defined these categories are. Colors do not have gender. Colors are reflection of light and don’t fundamentally have anything to do with gender, but our culture has taught us that half of the population shouldn’t wear pink.

Sweden recently got rid of boy/girl divisions in many stores, and even came out with ads of kids playing with toys that don’t fit their gender norms. They also now have a gender neutral pronoun. I’ve never been to Sweden, but I think we could take some lessons in America. We need to back down a little with the labels. We are raised in a world where different is wrong. And although we are just fighting for what we think is right, we are oppressing so many people. If as a society we adopt a more open view of the world we live in, everyone can be nicer to everyone.