Blog Against Sexism Day: We are damaged by dualism.

There are so many issues that could be discussed and need to be discussed pertaining to sexism but what really comes to mind for me right now is my own struggle to analyze and understand society's heteronormative, patriarchal indoctrination imposed on us humans to be one or other (eg. girl/boy, man/woman, homo/hetero, natural/unnatural, masculine/feminine, not white/white). This idea can easily be expanded into Donna Harraway's discussions on Dualism in the "Cyborg Manifesto" which also addresses other important dualisms like mind/body, reality/appearance, whole/part, truth/illusion. In fact, in the most succinct sentence in the entire work she easily reveals why dualisms are damaging and incomplete representations: "One is too few, but two are too many." ("To be One is to be autonomous, to be powerful, to be God; but to be One is to an illusion and so to be involved in a dialectic of apocalypse with the other. Yet to be other is to be multiple, without clear boundary, frayed, insubstantial.")

These divisions reveal spaces which cannot be filled and create desires which can never be experienced/fulfilled. Why would we choose to create a world/society in which it is nearly impossible to be whole?

I feel that this construction is the very root of sexism (and most if not all other social problems). Until we can find a way to stop alienating the parts of ourselves which do not fit within these enslaving dualisms we cannot expect us as individuals to stop fearing the other in whatever form it manifests itself.


I'll use myself as an example to represent just how damaging a dualistic socialization can be:

Within the last six months I realized that I am very afraid of my "masculinity" as a female (discovering this is helping me realize that I have been socialized to believe that intelligence is a male asset hence masculine).

I am very curious about how I internalized this because I grew up in a rather liberal (however, EXTREMELY emotionally abusive) household.

I never felt I had to mask my intelligence growing up but I am now coming to understand that subconsciously I was performing my femininity... and my displays of intelligence were just to appear safely smart, non-threatening to my other male and female colleagues. I was not self-aware. I lived fearing that I was not feminine enough, praising my feminine thoughts/acts and condemning my masculine ones. The more I came to self-awareness, I started to realize that I equate my independent thoughts as masculine because it is very difficult for me to comprehend a world where women are capable/allowed to think independently (especially if they choose not to constantly strive to attain this deranged beauty ideal which requires constant, neverending maintenance and self-scrutiny) .

I know this is Wrong. I am slowly (very slowly) changing my perceptions about how I am allowed to see myself as a "woman". Honestly, the more I see that word the more I want to kill it. I feel like I can never live up to it (and I shame myself because of my feelings of inadequacy) but WHY do I even want to? The 'female ideal' was created by a patriarchy which does not embrace me as a whole person. I am damaged by society's attempts to avoid being whole, by "Man's" fears and denial of their own femininity. The masculine/feminine dualism is so dangerous because it requires us to kill/repress/deny parts of ourselves, to think we are bad/wrong and to make us feel shamed and shame others.


All quotes are from Donna Harraway's "A Cyborg Manifesto", the text is available online for free. If you haven't read it, I cannot recommend it enough.