Deconstructing the Gender Binary — Implications from Taoist & Buddhist Philosophy
In recent years, social dialogue has centered around deconstructing the traditional western gender binary. Growing awareness of the inner experiences of transgender and genderfluid individuals has led to greater empathy from the cisgender majority as progressive western culture attempts to make space for the full spectrum of gender identity that appears in the human species.
According to social psychologist Justin Lehmiller in his book The Psychology of Human Sexuality, “gender identity refers to an individual’s own psychological perception of being male, female, neither, both, or something in between” (Lehmiller, 2017, p. 118). Addressing the gamut of gender identity, Lehmiller states that “androgynous persons possess both masculine and feminine psychological characteristics simultaneously…bigender, trigender, and pangender persons possess two or more gender identities and may change their gender role behavior depending upon the context. Agender and nongender individuals think of themselves as being genderless (Lehmiller, 2017, p. 137).
The Origins of Gender Binarism in the West
The above quotes provide straightforward definitions for psychological concepts that may be unfamiliar — or perhaps even uncomfortable — for some who do not have regular contact with transgender or non-binary individuals. The very idea of questioning or deconstructing gender identity is something that they may have never considered. This is, no doubt, particularly the case for Americans raised in fundamentalist religious communities based on the Abrahamic faiths (Islam, Christianity, Judaism).
I was brought up as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. As such, I was exposed from a young age to group discussion based on articles such as the one that appeared in a 1997 issue of The Watchtower titled “Male and Female He Created Them” (Watch Tower, 1997). The article was based on a passage from the Bible book of Genesis stating, when referring to the origin of the human species, that “God proceeded to create the man in his image, in God’s image he created him; male and female [emphasis added] he created them” (Genesis 1:27, Watch Tower). The article went so far as to assert that “the god of this world is Satan, and his influence can be seen in the confusion over the sexes” (Watch Tower, 1997).
Ancient Philosophical Roots of Gender Fluidity
Conversely, ancient eastern religious philosophy addresses the potential for gender ambiguity in human cognition. For example, in an article from 2018 published in the periodical Positive Health called “A Strong Sexual Being”, Vicki McKenna points out that “Daoists have long had the understanding that each of us is a mix of male and female. Yin (female energy) and Yang (male energy) are not two separate fixed entities but are fluid — the one flows into the other as a continuous cycle of energies” (McKenna, 2018). The well-known Daoist symbol of the yin yang well depicts the fluidity of gender with a wave of white (male energy) punctuated by a small black dot (feminine energy), indicating that even when in an intensely masculine psychological state, one can maintain balance by yielding room for feminine psychology. The inverse occurs on the other pole of the diagram. This psychological androgyny is said to provide a person with balance and strength.
Buddhist philosophy, specifically its trademark “no-self” concept suggesting that there is no self or essence underlying human consciousness, also has implications for the psychology of gender identity. In Buddhist mindfulness practice, meditators relegate consciousness to its constituent parts (sensation, affect, and cognition) and attempt to deconstruct the illusion of the self in consciousness. In such a profoundly altered psychological state, not only does the egoic self dissolve, but along with it the various elements of an individual’s self-concept such as their sexual and gender identity. In the absence of rigidly self-prescribed gender identity, one could find themselves in a psychological state that falls within what Lehmiller calls agender; individuals who “think of themselves as genderless” (Lehmiller, 2018). As with the Daoist perspective, an agender individual is free to transcend societal expectations of gender normative cognition and behavior.
What Does it Mean to Be Masculine or Feminine?
Despite dialogue challenging the gender binary in recent years, many people still use the terms masculine and feminine to describe psychological profiles that are based, not on the evidence of neuroscience and endocrinology but historic societal mores. Exactly what, if any, are the differences in behavioral profiles of biological males and females? While we wait for emerging research to provide satisfying answers, deconstructing gender identity as part of the illusory self may bring some relief to those who experience incongruence between their inner experience, biological sex, and the gender expectations of their social environment.
(The above is a repost from wallisbooks.com. To read more, visit Geoffrey Wallis’ blog at wallisbooks.com/blog.)
References:
Lehmiller, Justin J.. The Psychology of Human Sexuality, John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/umuc/detail.action?docID=5106984.
McKenna, V. (2018). A Strong and Sexual Being. Positive Health, 250, 3.
Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of Pennsylvania (1997). “Male and Female He Created Them”. The Watchtower, June 15, page 19. Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York, Inc. Brooklyn, New York. Retrieved from: https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1997443?q=masculinity&p=par#h=24
Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society of Pennsylvania (2013) New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of New York, Inc. Brooklyn, New York. Retrieved from: https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2014682#h=1:0-26:914
