Article: Men are the weakest sex

Mon Dec 8 09:29:24 UTC 2008

Dear Bryan,

I completely agree with what you wrote. The subject impresses me
particularly as I am doing my PhD course in Italy about the well-known
homosexual Oscar Wilde, and I don't believe in gendered distinctions as a
way to judge homosexuals.

I would like to have a piece of information from you, if possible. Not so
many time ago I had access to your University Library e-resources for my
researches, using the user id "gildina" and a password I created. Now I do
not have access any more, and I have asked to the help desk, and to the
Library as well, but they only told me to phone somewhere else, as they were
not able to give me details about the access to the Library. They do not
answer to my mails, and to phone from Italy to Arizona is not so cheap!Can
you tell if there is a way for me to have access to that very useful
instrument for my researches on Wilde, the Library of University of
Arizona?Can you give me a valid user id and a password?I know it is not a
simple thing to answer to, but I am desperate as my University does not
provide e-resources and I do not know how to get to precious material as
thesis, dissertations, articles.. 

Thank you very, very much

Giulia Gozzelino

PhD programme in English Studies, University of Turin, Italy.

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Da: "List for the International Gender and Language Association"
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To: "GALA-L at LISTSERV.LINGUISTLIST.ORG"
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Oggetto: Re: [GALA-L] Article: Men are the weakest sex
Data: 07/12/08 21:17

Well, this is simply appalling.

* Use of the word "gender" to refer to both gendered behaviours such as
playing with dolls and tea sets, and the biological "gender" of various
animals at risk from chemicals.

* Use of the word "gender-bender" furthers indexical links of perversity and
corruption with respect to transpeople, drag queens, genderqueers, and even
ordinary tomboys and "sensitive men".

* Complaint of reduction of gene pool furthers indexical links of
reproductive irresponsibility with respect to homosexuality.

* Considering the extant studies linking "gender-deviant" behaviour such as
boys playing with tea sets to adult homosexuality and transgenderism, the
Rotterdam study is an instrument the writer is using to deliberately link
chemical-medical deviance to these phenomena. Apparently, it's not our fault
we're queer, and we should just be tolerated while the researchers figure
out a chemical way to ensure proper gendering of future generations.

* Repeated mention of penis size confirms that penis size is oh-so
important.

* In conjunction with the gendered revulsion associated with small penisses
in our culture is the fear tactic of repeated mention of "feminised
genitalia", without ever defining what exactly that means.

* Continual mention of statistics of "male" deformities among various
species without any mention of the extent to which these statistics deviate
from the pre-exposure norm.

* Serious information structure buried in passage about polar bears:
"hermaphrodite polar bears – with penises and vaginas – have
been discovered and gender-benders have been found to reduce sperm counts
and penis lengths in those that remained male". The word "remained"
indicates a presupposition that the presence of a penis and a vagina
characterises a non-male. Therefore, the writer assumes that these
hermaphrodites are in fact not male. This means that the writer has no
interest in chromosomal sex as a purportedly Natural or Real thing
underlying variation, and instead is drawing the line at the question, "Does
the body have a penis or a vagina?" Since the OR is exclusive, the answer
"both" is not valid, and the body cannot be classified.

Of course nobody's going to argue that endocrine disrupters are a good
thing. They are, in fact, baaaaad! But the overt decision to replace the
term with "gender-benders" indicates some serious screwed-uppedness. 

An interesting side point we may want to look at is the style of the
article. Myself, I haven't read much of the right-wing press since about
2000 or so, but from what I recall, even the worst of the American
right-wingers tend to try for a semblance of considered, rational
objectivity that has never been popular in the UK. The UK has a very
different press tradition, and although I know very little about it, this
article seems to me to have various threads of alarmism and tabloid-like
schadenfreude, even overtly placed nods towards these styles, that less
often make it into "scientific" reporting on this side of the pond. Not to
say that American objectivist BS is a good thing; it is not! But this may
partially explain this piece.

-- 
***********************************************************
Bryan James Gordon, MA
Joint PhD Program in Linguistics and Anthropology
University of Arizona
***********************************************************

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