Opinion: Let’s Talk About Gender
A few weeks ago, the Żigużajg interactive performance ‘Gender Boss’ made headlines following a statement made by Julie Zahra, which brought up certain parents’ concerns with the content of the play and the ‘ideology’ it may expose their children to.
This ‘concern’ was directed at the title and description of the performance rather than the actual content, which involved the story of two folk characters –– the tooth fairy and the bogeyman –– realising that the roles set out for them aren’t what they truly desire for their lives.
During all of this, I was writing my master’s dissertation which dealt with ideas embedded in gender theory.
This caused me to reflect on the lack of definition we give to the ideas of sex assigned at birth and the gender identity we relate to or decide to adopt.
Traditionally, our culture has associated ‘biological sex’ with a specific set of binary gender roles that an individual is meant to unquestionably adopt for the rest of their life. We see these norms and roles in action when we hear that girls are emotional, caring, and submissive, and boys are physically strong, unemotional, and dominant.
The message this sends to children and adults alike is that if they do not conform to our expectations, they will be – and historically have been – marginalised by our community.
Part of the design set for Gender Boss
On the other hand, new theories such as Judith Butler’s theory of ‘gender performativity’ reveals how the extensive repetition of gendered acts, gestures, and ideas result in the establishment of accepted gender norms within a culture.
Taking this socially constructed perspective of gender, one begins to realise how children in our society are surrounded by gendered indoctrination from the moment they are born, with gendered clothing styles, ‘boy toys’ vs ‘girl toys’, and narratives such as ‘girls are more caring’ and ‘boys are less emotional’.
Children internalise these ideas and narratives, causing them to feel guilt and shame if their reality and feelings do not align with social expectations, going on to direct these self-destructive feelings towards themselves.
The traditional conception of gender is usually attributed to ‘natural law’ or maybe religious prescriptions, however as recent studies have shown, in reality, we are taught these gender roles – they are not innate.
The description of ‘Gender Boss’ references the socially constructed theory of gender, taking an educational perspective to show that it’s okay to explore different modes of gender expression at any age, and that gender is not as binary as the way society paints it to be: “gender is playful, malleable, fluid, not chosen for you but by you.”
Children are creative and expressive beings; they are curious individuals constantly exploring whilst also looking to adults for guidance. If adults are ready to impose gender roles (girl or boy) from the moment we assign a sex (male, female, or intersex) to a child, we should also be ready to expect children and adults alike to question these roles and not simply conform to strict regulatory norms.
Therefore, it is clear that we need better and more nuanced discussions on gender and sex in our society or else we are failing both ourselves now and the generations to come.
In Malta, activist groups such as MGRM and Moviment Graffitti, alongside others, tirelessly work on pushing forward the normalisation of gender discussion alongside advocating for the political demands of the queer community.
Queerness existed, exists, and will continue to exist. Difference should not automatically strike fear within us – this is a learned behaviour. Change is uncomfortable for anyone, but this discomfort doesn’t excuse choosing intolerance or hatred as a response.
It would do us well to learn from children and embrace radical curiosity; to practice understanding and acceptance.
Amy Marie Abela is a postgraduate student at the University of Malta undertaking research in Modern Arabic Literature from a feminist perspective. She is also an active member of Moviment Graffitti.
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