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THE NEW LANGUAGE
OF GENDER
sparks & honey culture forecast
BINARY TO BLURRED
“People need to be willing to
let go of what they think they
know about what it means to
be a man and what it means
to be a woman.”
– LAVERNE COX
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
BINARY TO BLURRED
Gender used to be viewed through binary terms:
male and female, masculine and feminine. The
new language of gender breaks out of that binary
system in favor of blurred, fluid identities across
a gender spectrum. To be culturally literate
now demands knowing how to speak the new
language of gender and knowing the difference
between terms like sex, gender, gender identity,
and sexual orientation.
Transgender and genderqueer people have
shifted culture away from the idea of rigid binary
genders, and the implications are massive. Almost
everything is gendered somehow. How will the
worlds of law, politics, media, tech, marketing
and advertising, fashion, design, art, architecture,
music, beauty, healthcare, and sports change if the
categories of man and woman are deconstructed
or eliminated altogether?
This report is a guide through the new language
of gender, showing you how to demonstrate that
you’re an ally of these gender revolutionaries.
We pinpoint ways this cultural shift is already
impacting culture – through memes, viral videos,
trends, products, and cultural signals that indicate
that the gender revolution has arrived. And we’ll
show who’s doing it right – and who isn’t.
To be culturally
literate means
knowing how to
speak the new
language of gender
Language matters
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
iii
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
BINARY TO BLURRED
We’re living in an era obsessed with gender.
Conversation about transgender people and
topics like gender fluidity are part of the air
we breathe. Miley Cyrus declared herself
gender fluid in 2015. Jaden Smith presented
as genderqueer at Coachella wearing a dress
with flowers in his hair. Reality television series
I Am Jazz debuted on TLC, documenting the
ups and downs of 15-year-old transgender teen
Jazz Jennings, considered one of the youngest
LGBTQ spokespeople ever.
But what is gender?
Gender is the way we express that “boyness” or
“girlness” we’re assigned at birth, in ways that
either conform with gender norms (societal
expectations) – or in ways that subvert them.
What do we mean
by gender?
“Masculine and
feminine roles are
not biologically
fixed, but socially
constructed.”
-Judith Butler
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
iv
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
BINARY TO BLURRED
Gender is not the sex we’re assigned at birth, based
on things like genitals and XX or XY chromosomes.
Gender is also not sexual orientation, or who you
desire sexually. You could be a feminine straight
man or a hyper-masculine gay man, a masculine
straight woman or a high-femme lesbian who wears
makeup, high heels and perfume.
From the time we’re born, we’re bombarded with
cultural messages about how to look and behave
as girls or boys. These messages – from parents,
school teachers, media – tell us what it means to
be a boy or a girl. Boys don’t cry. Real men don’t
wear pink. Women shouldn’t swear. Real women
have curves.
And unless our gender identity or the way
we express it matches those gender norms
(how society narrowly defines masculinity
and femininity), we might feel insecure in our
masculinity or femininity. Gender, in other
words, is hard work.
“The real promise
of the transgender
movement is not
the freedom to
figure out ways
to become more
fully male or fully
female, but rather
freedom from
gender entirely.”
–Shannon Gilreath
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
v
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
LGBTQuestioning (and sometimes I)
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
vi
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
The “Q” in LGBTQI can stand for “queer”, an
umbrella term for some or all of the LGBTI
categories (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender,
or intersex). It can also stand for “questioning”,
meaning that a person is still undecided about
which category, or categories, they identify with.
The consciousness and dialogue about gender
identity has landed squarely in mainstream
pop culture as Laverne Cox, Caitlyn Jenner,
Lily Rose Depp, and Ruby Rose spark new
conversations in the media and at home.
The internet has exploded with discussions
about a dizzying and ever-expanding list of
gender identities beyond men and women,
including agender, bigender and gender fluid.
Teenagers on Tumblr are using terms formerly
heard only in academic settings – like gender
identity, cisgender, and gender norms.
Questioning gender
BINARY TO BLURRED
People have a choice in their gender identity.
The ability to decide which gender identity you
have, how you choose to express it, or whether
you want to even decide in the first place, is
unprecedented.
MAJOR AWARDS FOR MEDIA
FOCUSING ON TRANSGENDER
INDIVUDALS, 2014-15
17
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
vii
GENDER IN
POPULAR CULTURE
1952
Christine Jorgensen
becomes the first American
to transition via sex
reassignment surgery and
hormone treatments
1971 -72
New York Dolls and David
Bowie incorporate
gender-bending makeup and
clothes into their
performances
1975
Minneapolis becomes the first U.S. city to
pass a law prohibiting discrimination
against someone for being transgender
1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
1999 “Boys Don’t Cry”
based on true story of
Brandon Teena, murdered
in 1993 for being a
transgender man
1990
Documentary Paris Is Burning
introduces Harlem drag balls
to the world
1990
Judith Butler releases Gender
Trouble: Feminism and the
Subversion of Identity, arguing all
gender is socially constructed
2013
Orange is the New Black features
transgender storylines
2013
DSM 5 changes diagnosis of
Gender Identity Disorder to Gender
Dysphoria
2014
Trans activist Janet Mock publishes
Redefining Realness
2014
One Direction’s Harry Styles says that
being female is “not that important”when it
comes to what he looks for in a girlfriend
2014
Transparent features story of a
transwoman and her family coping
with her transition
1977
The New York Supreme
Court rules that trans
woman Renée Richards is
eligible to play in the
women’s draw at the U.S.
Open
1969
Police officers raid the
Stonewall Inn, a gay bar
in New York City, inciting
riots and launching the
LGBT rights movement
Early ‘90s
Kurt Cobain wears dresses
while performing
1992
The Crying Game reveals
transgender character
Late ’90s
Activists add a “T” to sexualy oriented
LGB acronym, turning it into LGBT
2004
First Trans March takes
place in San Francisco
1993
Minnesota becomes the first
state to legally specify trans
civil rights
1994
The Adventures of Priscilla,
Queen of the Desert stars drag
queens and a transgender
person, becomes huge hit
1994
MAC Cosmetics makes drag
superstar RuPaul spokesmodel
2005
California approves
Insurance Gender
Nondiscrimination Act
2005
The movie Transamerica
makes vaginoplasty a
household word
2009
South African runner
Caster Semenya subjected
to gender testing during the
World Championships, is
revealed as intersex
2015
Time Magazine puts Laverne Cox on
their cover
2015
New York City allows trans people
to change the gender on their birth
certificate
2015
Retailer, Selfridge’s creates Agender,
a gender-neutral fashion line
2015
The first trans fashion line created by
and for trans people released by
Gogo Graham
2015
Jaden Smith wears dresses and skirts
to Coachella and the prom
2015
Lily Rose Depp comes out as sexually fluid
2015
Miley Cyrus says she’s gender fluid
and sexually fluid
2015
Caitlyn Jenner Vanity Fair Cover
MUSIC MILESTONELAWS/POLITICS
CELEBRITIESBOOKSTV/MOVIES
RETAIL/ FASHION MEDIA
BUSINESS SPORTS
1966
Discrimination and abuse
toward transgender people
in San Francisco sparks the
Compton’s Cafeteria Riot
1986
Lou Sullivan founds female
to male advocacy and
support group FTM
International
2012
Miss Universe opens
competition to trans
contestants after uproar
2014
Martine Rothblatt becomes first
transgender CEO of a Fortune 500
company
2014
Openly transgender Raffi
Freedman-Gurspan appointed to
White House staff
2008
Chaz Bono begins transition to
his affirmed gender identity
2008
Hall-of-fame pro surfer Peter
Drouyn transitions to
Westerly Windina
In just a few decades, transgender and genderqueer
identities have moved from the margins to the center of
culture. And they're leading the way in how we'll all view
and remake gender for decades to come.
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
An ally is someone who supports people who
are transgender or gender nonconforming,
and whose efforts are intended to become a
model for the culture at large. Allies know
that language shapes the way we view gender,
so they’re careful to use someone’s preferred
gender pronouns and to avoid saying things
like “sex change” for “transition” or “born a
boy” for “assigned male at birth.”
An ally also knows not to police someone’s
gender. They’re not going to try to figure out
what gender someone is, judge them for how
they look, or keep them from the locker room
or bathroom of their choice. And a cisgender
ally (see p. 18) knows their privilege in this
world and understands that, unlike someone
who is transgender, they move through the
world with relative ease.
Jill Soloway, who wrote the award-winning
Amazon comedy-drama Transparent, is an ally.
The series is based on her parent Carrie, who told
her family she was transgender. When Soloway
won an Emmy for Outstanding Director For a
Comedy Series, she used her platform to advocate
on behalf of trans people and urged them to vote
for a trans equality bill. She was also careful about
using her parent’s post-transition name, and
shared with the audience her new way of calling
out Carrie: “Mapa”, a mashup of mama and papa.
Be an ally
BINARY TO BLURRED
An ally knows
not to police
someone’s gender
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
ix
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Piers Morgan, the English talk show host with
progressive leanings, although well-intentioned,
balked at having to learn the new language
of gender. Morgan invited trans activist Janet
Mock, author of Redefining Realness, to be a
guest on his show. He promoted the show with
sensationalized tweets that repeatedly described
Mock as “born a boy” and asked straight male
viewers how they’d feel if someone they dated
“was formerly a man”.
Mock was rightfully offended. But rather than
try to understand why the language he used
about her was as important as his intent to be
an ally, Morgan complained that she wasn’t
grateful for the spotlight and was trying to create
controversy.
“My Mapa could,
tomorrow, go and try
to find an apartment
and in 32 states, it
would be legal for
the landlord to look
her in the eye and
say ‘we don’t rent to
trans people.’”
-Jill Soloway
BINARY TO BLURRED
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
x
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
The binary is melting away
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
xi
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Like gender, the way we talk about it is evolving,
making it a challenge to have a conversation
without feeling like you’re saying the wrong thing.
People are struggling to get the language right,
to refer to a transgender person with their
preferred gender pronouns, or to not “dead
name” them (see p. 25). And even among
trans and genderqueer people, there is no
clear consensus about what the appropriate
terminology is or isn’t.
The new language of gender is a living
language, because the people it describes are
living it and defining it as they go. Learning
it may feel difficult and awkward at first, and
you’re bound to make mistakes. But to be
culturally literate and relevant now demands
speaking the new language of gender – even if
it’s with a distinct, cisgender accent.
The following terms will help you navigate The
New Language of Gender. They’re the most
current, charged, and tuned-in words that will
get you situated in the new landscape.
Talking about gender
BINARY TO BLURRED
These are the most
current, charged,
and tuned-in words
that will get you
situated in the new
landscape
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
xii
NOT STRAIGHT,
UNSPECIFIED
QUEER
GENETICS AND
BIOLOGICAL SPECTRUM
THE JOURNEY
TO GENDER
You’re assigned a sex
Embryo Stage
XXXY
BOY
ASSIGNED
AFFIRMED
GIRLIntersex
Anatomical sex involves both what’s visible
(outer genitals) and what’s only visible through
blood work (sex chromosomes), surgery or
MRIs (internal sex glands and organs). We still
associate biological sex with genitals,
although that’s only part of the story.
Each of us is assigned a sex at birth, and at
some point in our lives we decide that we’re
either comfortable or not comfortable in our
assigned gender. For cisgender people,
assigned sex and gender identity more or less
align, but for transgender and genderqueer
people, the road to affirming gender is trickier.
BINARY SEX
A doctor assigns us a sex when we are
born. Even the one in 1,000 intersex
children who are born are often assigned a
sex regardless of the signs their bodies
aren’t unambiguously male or female.
GENDER SPECTRUM
People no longer have to identify as men or
women if those categories don’t suit them.
Cisgender and transgender people tend to
have one gender identity, male or female,
while broader categories like genderqueer
or gender nonconforming fall somewhere
on a spectrum.
QUESTIONING
NOT SURE
Lesbian, High Femme
Low Femme, Soft Butch,
Butch, Boi
Gay, Masc, Fem
Who are you sexually attracted to?
STRAIGHT
BISEXUAL
BOTH SEXES
ASEXUAL
NO ONEAre you SAME SEX
MALEFEMALE
SEX CHROMOSOME
VARIATIONS
Monosomy: Turner syndrome (45,X)
Trisomy: Klinefelter syndrome (47,XXY) 48,XXYY
48,XXXY 49,XXXYY 49,XXXXY
Triple X syndrome (47,XXX) 48,XXXX 49,XXXXX
47,XYY 48,XYYY 49,XYYYY
Do you identify with your assigned gender?
TRANSGENDER GENDERQUEER CISGENDER
NO YESNOT EXACTLY
What gender do you identify with?
AGENDER GENDER
QUESTIONING
NO GENDER BOTH etcNOT SURE
GENDER
FLUID
BIGENDER
IT DEPENDS
OPPOSITE SEX
TWO DISTINCT
SEX CHROMOSOMES
SAME KIND OF
SEX CHROMOSOME
SEXUALITY SPECTRUM
Sexual orientation is often confused with
gender. Separate, though interrelated, sex
and gender are uniqely complex ways in
which we identify ourselves and our desires.
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
Binary
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Welcome to the world, we’ve assigned you a gender
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
3
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
A person is not born male or female, but
rather assigned male or female at birth, usually
by a doctor who looks at the child’s body for
a vagina or penis. So from the moment we’re
born, our bodies are interpreted and labeled
with a specific, culturally loaded meaning: boy
or girl.
If a baby’s genitalia are ambiguous, as they
are in the case of some intersex babies, the
doctor might assign a gender anyway and even
surgically eliminate the source of the confusion
(for example, testes in the case of a baby who
otherwise looks female). Sometimes, an intersex
baby can look male from outer genitalia, but
also have female internal reproductive organs,
like one ovary and a shortened uterus.
In 2013, Germany became one of the first
countries in the world to allow the parents of
intersex babies to register them with an “X”
rather than being forced to choose male or
female. Previously, German parents had a week
to decide if their babies were male or female
Assigned
BINARY
From the moment
we’re born,
our bodies are
interpreted and
assigned culturally
loaded labels
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
4
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
before registering them. Forced operations,
such as of ambiguous genitalia, were some of
the tragic outcomes of that pressure. Now,
German children who are intersex can decide
at a future time whether they feel that their
gender identity is male or female.
This mania for maintaining a gender binary
doesn’t exist in all cultures. In native Hawaiian
culture, for example, Māhū are people who
are born “in the middle” who express both
kāne (male) and wahine (female) spirits. Māhū
were once considered sacred healers, and those
now “in the middle” are working to reclaim its
honored place.
BINARY
1 IN 1,000 BIRTHS RECEIVE
SURGERY TO “NORMALIZE”
GENITAL APPEARANCE
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
5
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Gender isn’t genitals and neither is sex
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
6
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Nature is often used as a foundation against
sexual and gender diversity. Two sexes are
biologically programmed to be expressed in a
certain way, and anything deviating from that is
named an unnatural perversion.
These arguments were also used to deny women
rights until the “biology is not destiny” rallying
cry of the feminist movement questioned the
validity of dictating social norms based on a
person’s anatomy.
Before science had better tools to understand how
sexual difference is expressed in bodies, a person’s
sex was assigned solely based on the presence
of genitalia. But “sex”, or biological gender, can
be much more complex (as intersex people can
attest). It includes chromosomal, hormonal, and
anatomical differences that are internal and hence
invisible without blood work, surgery, or MRIs.
You can’t always just look at someone – even
naked – to determine their “true sex.” And,
although we know that gender isn’t genitals, sex
isn’t only genitals either.
Sex, in other words, is becoming a dubious
foundation on which to stake any claims, much
less ones that deny people the freedom to define
themselves.
Sex
BINARY
You can’t always
just look at
someone naked
to determine
their “true sex”
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
7
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Intersex: what was that about a binary?
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
8
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
The “I” for “intersex” is sometimes included
at the end of the LGBTQI acronym and
sometimes left out. Although intersex isn’t a
third gender or a sexual orientation, intersex
people challenge the binary of sex and gender.
An intersex person is born with sex
chromosomes, external genitalia, or internal
reproductive systems that aren’t considered
“standard” for male or female. Their sexual
anatomies lie on a spectrum, which, according
to the binary logic of gender, is seen as
anomalous rather than one of many ways a body
can be.
Some intersex girls might look conventionally
female and later identify as women, but have a
Y chromosome, no ovaries, or menstrual cycle.
Intersex boys might look conventionally male
but have internal testes that never descend and
XXY chromosomes; hormone therapy may be a
necessity later if they want to continue looking
like conventional men.
Until recently, doctors would assign intersex
people a gender when they were babies or
children and would even perform unnecessary
surgery to remove internal testes in intersex
girls or penises from the bodies of intersex boys
to make their bodies conform to a binary –
denying the person the right to choose later.
Intersex
BINARY
INTERSEX IS FUELING THE MOST
ONLINE CHATTER AROUND SEX
AND GENDER
67%
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
9
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
“Nature doesn’t decide where the category
of ‘male’ ends and the category of ‘intersex’
begins, or where the category of ‘intersex’
ends and the category of ‘female’ begins.
Humans decide.”
– INTERSEX SOCIETY OF NORTH AMERICA
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10
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Due to ignorance about intersex conditions,
people aren’t always treated with respect. South
African runner Caster Semenya was accused of
being a man while competing in the women’s
division of the 2009 World Championships
and forced to take a “gender test”, which
revealed that she was intersex. Although she’s
still running now in the women’s division, she
described the public scrutiny at the time as
intense and humiliating.
“Intersex people
don’t need to be
fixed. There’s
nothing wrong
with them.”
–The Interface Project
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
11
Gender Spectrum
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
Children develop
a sense of their
gender identity from
18 months to 3 years
Gender identity is a person’s experience of
themselves as one gender, a blend of genders,
or no gender. Experts say that children begin
to develop a sense of what gender is, and what
their gender is, starting at around 18 - 24
months. For people whose gender identities
don’t align with their assigned gender, they can
change the way they dress, what they’re called,
and even their preferred pronouns. They can
also transition not only in presentation, but also
through hormone replacement therapy and sex-
reassignment or gender reassignment surgery.
Gender identity is not the same as gender
or gender expression. For example, a gay,
feminine-presenting man may still have a solid
gender identity as male. A very masculine-
presenting lesbian may have a solid gender
identity as female.
Until the 1990s, gender identity was not a part
of the gay rights movement LBG acronym,
which included only sexuality-related terms:
lesbian, gay, and bisexual. During that time, a
“T” was added, expanding the movement to
include transgender identity.
Gender Identity
GENDER SPECTRUM
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13THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Who will you present as today?
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
14
Every day, people choose what kind of clothes
and shoes they wear, and what image they want
to project. It’s usually a gendered image, and
one that conforms to their gender identity.
More than likely, it conforms to gender norms.
The verb “to present” means how someone
chooses to express their gender identity
through clothes, hairstyles, or behavior. It’s
typically used by transgender and genderqueer
people to describe which gender they’re
expressing. Gender is a performance and a
presentation for everyone – cisgender and
transgender alike.
For Rae Tutera, blogger for The Handsome
Butch, presenting as a butch woman was
difficult without the right suit. But, like many
genderqueer people, Rae couldn’t find a suit
that fit. When she finally had one tailored
for her body, something clicked. Tutera was
finally able to present herself in the way she saw
herself: as a handsome butch woman.
Seeing a niche for other people like her,
she’s now the LBGTQ liaison for suitmaker
Bindle & Keep. The collaboration introduces
masculine-presenting women, gender queers,
Presents
GENDER SPECTRUM
Every day, people
choose what kind of
clothes and shoes
they wear, and
what image they
want to project
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
15THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
and transgender men to the joys of clothes that
help them present their gender.
But there are all sorts of ways to “present”
as a cisgender male, too. As jocks, preps,
hipsters, metrosexual, etc. When we see men
with their hair in “man buns” – so prevalent
that there’s an Instagram account called Man
Buns of Disneyland – or “man braids”, they’re
presenting as men who are comfortable with
slightly more feminine styling.
“Having something
custom made
reintroduced me to
my body. I think
people see me in a
way that aligns with
how I see myself.”
-Rae Tutera, The Handsome Butch
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
16THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Odds are, you’ll be hearing cisgender a lot more frequently
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
17
When a cisgender person hears the category
“cisgender,” they’re probably surprised to
be categorized in the first place. Before the
transgender tipping point brought transgender
and genderqueer terminology into the
mainstream, “cisgender” was generally used
only among those in the community or in
university women’s studies or gender studies
departments.
So what is it? Cisgender means that your
gender identity aligns with the gender you
were assigned at birth. Heterosexual is to
homosexual as cisgender is to transgender,
which means that as new as it might sound
to some ears, you’ll probably be hearing
“cisgender” a lot more often.
Like other categories – race, class, and sexuality
– to have a gender identity that is sanctioned
by the dominant culture has its privileges. But
just because you’re cisgender doesn’t mean
that you accept the gender norms that come
your way. Twitter hashtag #FragileMasculinity
mocks the kind of gendered marketing that
defines masculinity as phobic of anything
feminine; manchocolate and man-branded
throat lozenges being standouts.
Cisgender
GENDER SPECTRUM
STATES WHERE IT’S LEGAL
TO DENY SOMEONE HOUSING
BECAUSE THEY’RE TRANS
32/52
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18THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Affirming transgender
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
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19
A transgender or trans person is someone whose
gender identity does not conform with the
gender they were assigned at birth.
Some trans people who are transitioning refer to
themselves as “female to male” (FTM), “male to
female” (MTF), or even transsexual if they use
hormone therapy, gender-affirming surgery, or
sex-reassignment surgery.
“Transsexual” is an outdated term that places
too much emphasis on the medical part of
transitioning. Generally, the preferred term
is transgender. But it’s important to find out
what someone wants to be referred to before
making assumptions. Some people may
find this emphasis on a “before and after”
not representative of their experience. They
may have always felt like one gender, and
transitioning just helped affirm it.
Transgender
GENDER SPECTRUM
“Most harmful
is the myth that
trans women are
not ‘real’ women
or trans people
are inauthentic.”
-Janet Mock
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
20THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Although trans people have been more
visible and given more of a voice, they still
face discrimination. Only 10 states prohibit
exclusions for transgender health care. And
one in five transgender people has been
discriminated against while looking for a home.
Multiple “bathroom bills” have spring up
attempting to prohibit trans people from using
bathrooms that correspond to their affirmed
gender – and a Twitter campaign was started
with the hashtag #WeJustNeedToPee with the
image of transmen in women’s bathrooms and
transwomen in front of urinals.
OF TRANSGENDER PEOPLE SURVEYED
HAD ATTEMPTED SUICIDE
41%
OF THE GENERAL POPULATION
HAD ATTEMPTED SUICIDE
1.6%
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21THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
TRANSGENDER BY
THE NUMBERS
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
MORE LIKELY TO HAVE A HOUSEHOLD
INCOME OF LESS THAN $10,000
REPORTED LOSING A JOB BECAUSE THEY
DID NOT CONFORM TO GENDER NORMS
SAID THEY HAD BEEN HARASSED
IN A MEDICAL SETTING.
4X
25%
28%
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Transitioning is different for everyone
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
23
Not every transgender person’s transition,
or move from their assigned gender to their
affirmed gender, is the same.
They may start out by wearing clothes that align
with their affirmed gender, change their names
and their preferred gender pronouns, or begin
presenting as their affirmed gender.
Some trans people take hormones or have sex
reassignment surgery so that their bodies align
with their affirmed gender, but a trans person
can still be trans without them. For some trans
people, being able to live in their affirmed
gender identity and be recognized as that gender
is what is most important.
Trans people often face great difficulty having
their gender changed on legal documents like
driver’s licenses and birth certificates, and for
some, the transition isn’t complete until this
happens. Some states, like New York, only
require that a trans person bring in a certified
letter from a psychologist that indicates they are
transgender or have gender dysphoria. Other
states require proof of sex reassignment surgery.
Tennessee is the only state that doesn’t allow
trans people to change the gender designation
on birth certificates.
Transition
GENDER SPECTRUM
OF TRANS PEOPLE SAID THEY HAD TO
TEACH THEIR MEDICAL PROVIDERS
ABOUT TRANSGENDER CARE
50%
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
24THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
When Paige Abendroth was interviewed on
the popular podcast Invisibilia in 2013, she
identified as bigender, a controversial term
that means a person sometimes identifies
as female, sometimes as male. Today, she
identifies as transgender.
When the podcast aired again two years later,
Abendroth accused the host of dead-naming
her. Dead name is what some trans people
call the name they were assigned at birth
before they chose one that better reflects their
affirmed gender. The host apologized and
Paige’s dead name was later redacted.
Dead-naming happens so casually that many
people don’t even realize they’re doing it, but
it can cause significant distress. Facebook first
gave users more than 56 genders to choose
from before eventually providing an open field
Dead Name
GENDER SPECTRUM
Facebook’s “Real
Name” policy
would have forced
transgender users
who had not legally
changed their
names to use their
dead names
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
25THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
for that profile line, but it also started a “real
name” policy insisting that long-term users
either go by their real name as it is listed on
a credit card, driver’s license, or student ID
– or risk having their account deleted. For
Facebook users who were trans and had not
legally changed their names, this was a radical
form of erasure.
And when a Starbucks barista scrawled a
transgender customer’s dead name on an order
after copying the name from their credit card,
an online uproar ensued. Some people might
see this complaint as an extreme case, but it’s
shedding light on issues trans people face, and
big brands will feel the brunt.
Dead-naming
happens so casually
that many people
don’t even realize
they’re doing it
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
26THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Genderqueer: You do you
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
27
Genderqueer and gender nonconforming
are umbrella terms for gender identities that
aren’t strictly masculine and feminine. They
could be a blend or no gender at all.
Like genderqueer, queer is used for someone
who doesn’t identify exclusively (or at all) as
gay, straight, or bisexual. Often, it refers to
sexual orientation, but queer is sometimes
used interchangeably with genderqueer.
Because “queer” is a reappropriation of a slur,
not every LGBTQI person appreciates the term,
and some believe it should only be used to self-
identify or quote someone who self-identifies.
The categories genderqueer and gender
nonconforming open up so many gender
possibilities that some people are customizing
Genderqueer/ Gender
Nonconforming/ Queer
GENDER SPECTRUM
their own specific gender identities. And
while genderqueer people would seem to
be shunning labels, others are constructing
gender identities that are dizzyingly complex.
Not strictly
masculine
or feminine,
genderqueer can
be a blend, or no
gender at all
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
28THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
– KELLY/ALEX, 18
“Aporagender is a term recently coined
by me and means a gender separate
from male, female, and anything in
between while still having a very strong
and specific gendered feeling.”
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
29
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Not everyone wants to fill in the blanks
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
30
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Gender ebbs and flows to find its balance
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
31
A color spectrum has gradations of pink, green,
yellow, blue, purple and every subtle hue between.
Imagine that spectrum representing gender,
with woman as one primary color, and man as
another. And now you have to choose a primary
color to represent your gender identity. For some
cisgender people, being solidly red or blue, for
example, works out just fine.
But for a gender fluid person, who feels that their
gender identity varies over time or in certain
circumstances, a primary color doesn’t tell their
whole story. What if they feel pink on Tuesday,
and celadon green in March, or several iridescent
colors over the course of one day?
Gender fluid people may feel a mix of genders,
no particular gender, or other times, more of one
gender or another.
Gender Fluid
GENDER SPECTRUM
Gender fluid
people may feel
a mix of genders,
no particular
gender, or other
times, more of one
gender or another
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
32THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
“I have a lot of characteristics that would
normally be present in a guy and then less
that would be present in a woman. But then
sometimes I’ll put on a skirt – like today.”
– RUBY ROSE
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
33
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Yes, you’re being genderfucked with
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
34
When you see a bearded man wearing lipstick,
a dress, high heels, his low-cut dress displaying
a thickly haired chest, congratulations. You’re
being fucked with – genderfucked, if you will.
Genderfuck is a style, the act of mixing
masculine and feminine clothes, hairstyles, or
behavior to mashup the binary code of gender
and break the gender norms that say you should
look either feminine or masculine.
Unlike “passing” as the opposite gender,
genderfuck makes the gender mix deliberately
visible. Take Ladybeard – the stage name of an
Australian man who has taken genderfuck to
interesting places. Bearded and buff with his
hair in pigtails with bows, he dresses like a five-
year-old, and if asked will say he is a five-year-
old girl. He also happens to be a pro wrestler
and lead singer in a Japanese heavy metal
band called Ladybaby, where his death-metal
growl is juxtaposed with his little girl outfits.
A new iteration of genderfuck, but genderfuck
nonetheless.
Genderfuck
GENDER SPECTRUM
Genderfuck is a
style that mixes
and mashes visual
representations of
gender
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
35THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
“When I started with drag – and you
can still see pictures of me this way on
YouTube - I had smeared lipstick and
combat boots and torn wedding dresses,
like ‘Fuck you!’ That’s genderfuck.”
– RUPAUL
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
36
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Agender, full stop
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
37
When we’re born, the doctor assigns us a sex
(boy or girl), and gender norms tell us how
we should express femininity or masculinity.
Some people experience their assigned gender
comfortably (cisgender). Others identify with
the opposite gender to the one they were
assigned at birth (transgender). Some are a
mix of both (genderqueer). And some people
don’t feel as if they identify with any gender
at all. Those people are agender, which means
“without gender.”
Agender activist Tyler Ford was assigned female
at birth, transitioned to male with hormones,
but stopped taking testosterone when they
realized they didn’t identify with a gender. And
though it may sound incorrect to use “they”
for one person, Ford doesn’t want to use the
gendered pronouns “he, him, his” or “she, her,
hers”. Instead, they use plural, gender-neutral
pronouns. Ford now self-describes as “an out,
visible, non-binary, trans person.”
Agender
GENDER SPECTRUM
Some people
don’t feel as if
they identify with
any gender at all
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
38THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
“The pronouns I use are not ‘he’ or ‘she’
but ‘they,’ ‘them’ and ‘their.’
These feel as neutral as I do.”
– TYLER FORD, AGENDER ACTIVIST
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
39
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Drop a pin on neutral
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
40
Can the color pink be gender neutral? By now,
the notion that pink is for girls and blue is for
boys is something we should all be over, but
cultural conditioning and the fear of doing
gender “wrong” is powerful.
Take the launch of Apple’s Rose Gold iPhone
6. The color is so beautiful that it was selling
out, and it turns out that men were its primary
buyers. People started calling the color “Bro’s
gold”, either mocking men for buying the color
pink or mocking the gender norms that make
pink a gendered color in the first place. Perhaps
Apple deliberately avoided calling their iPhone
pink to make it gender neutral. If so, the ploy
worked.
British fashion retailer Selfridges debuted a
gender-neutral fashion line called the Agender
project, whose stated aim was to to explore
Gender Neutral
GENDER SPECTRUM
MAJOR RETAILERS TOOK DOWN THEIR
BOYS’ AND GIRLS’ SECTIONS IN FAVOR OF
MARKETING TOYS AS GENDER-NEUTRAL
14
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
41THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
the interplay between masculine and feminine
fashion. Target went gender-neutral, taking
down signs announcing sale items for boys
and girls, and eliminating the girls and boys
sections after customers complained about
gender stereotyping.
In Sweden, gender-neutral parenting is an
on-going experiment. Now, there are signs of
American culture catching on to this parenting
style. Paige Lucas-Stannard, author of the book
Gender-Neutral Parenting, honored her 6-year-
old daughter Aellyn’s request to shave her head
like her father did. And let’s not forget cool dad
Mikki Willis, who shared his delight over his
son’s joy at choosing a Little Mermaid doll.
GENDER SPECTRUM
“Girls can have
their hair any
way they want
[even shaved
bald like dad].”
-Aellyn Lucas-Stannard, 6
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
42THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Are you a he…a she…I’m so sorry, I don’t know what I’m saying
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
43
Referring to someone with the wrong gender
pronoun is going to happen, but at least you can
be aware of this potential problem.
Many genderqueer and trans people are
“misgendered” by others. For the trans person
who is trying to pass as their affirmed gender,
this can feel frustrating. If it’s done deliberately
by people who don’t respect their gender
identity, it can feel like an assault.
When Caitlyn Jenner gave an interview with
Diane Sawyer, Jenner told Sawyer she could still
be referred to as “Bruce” and “he.” Jenner gave
Sawyer permission. But after Jenner revealed her
new name as Caitlyn, many conservative news
programs continued to refer to Jenner as “he”
and Bruce.
Misgendering
GENDER SPECTRUM
Referring to
someone with the
wrong gender
pronoun is going
to happen – just
be aware it could
be a problem
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
44THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Only 77 mentions
in 6 months –Miley
said it, but zhe
hasn’t taken off in
social conversations
The creation of “Ms.” in the 1970s reflected
what was happening in the world: the emergence
of a new category of woman undefined by
marriage. “Ms.” socially sanctioned this category
and carved out a linguistic space for her,
recognizing her as a social subject.
So when the Oxford English Dictionary included
the word “Mx.” – pronounced “mix” – to
refer to transgender people and people who
don’t want to be identified by gender, it was
saying the same thing. By including “Mx.”, the
OED is declaring that there is a new, socially-
sanctioned way to be a person in the world:
undefined by gender. It replaces Ms., Mrs., and
Mr. for the genderqueer set.
Mx. has been in use for years in the U.K. by the
Royal Bank of Scotland, the Department for
Work and Pensions, the Royal Mail Group and
the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency.
So much of our language is gendered, including
pronouns. So for trans and genderqueer people
who don’t want gendered pronouns, plural
pronouns often take their place. We may reach
a place in language where we’ll feel comfortable
Mx. And “Ze, Zir, Zirs”
GENDER SPECTRUM
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
45THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
and natural referring to someone with the
gender-neutral pronoun “ze” instead of “he”
or “she,” but it’s more likely that we’ll settle on
“they, them, or their”.
Trans performer Justin Vivian Bond or Mx.
Justin V. Bond uses “v” as v’s preferred pronoun.
Sometimes, you just have to ask what a person’s
preferred gender pronouns are, or just listen to
how they refer to themselves.
The fact is, unlearning ways of speaking that feel
automatic are some of the most difficult parts of
learning the new language of gender. But doing
so can also mean remaking a new, more inclusive
world.
Unlearning ways
of speaking that
feel automatic are
some of the most
difficult parts of
learning the new
language of gender
GENDER SPECTRUM
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
46THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Not since the women’s rights movement in the
60s and 70s have we as a culture so collectively
questioned how gender defines the way we
view our ourselves and our relationships to one
another other.
Transgender and genderqueer voices have begun
to take control of their own narratives, telling
stories, describing injustices, and remaking
gender and the language of gender to reflect
them rather than the other way around.
The culture at large has been listening and has
become inspired. Cisgender people have also
been prompted to ask if the gender binary that
has dictated how they are supposed to behave
as men or women has not in fact been too
constricting for them as well.
As a result of this cultural shift around gender, we’re
seeing the rise of gender neutrality seeping into design,
language (pronouns and titles), products and retail
spaces, fashion, and even parenting. And for gender
hackers who still want to be playful with gender but
not be confined to it, there’s an opportunity to mashup
gender signals to suit their tastes.
CONCLUSION
The new normal
There’s no master
key to gender
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
47THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
Laws are changing that allow transgender people
to change their gender designation on official
ID’s, to use the bathrooms that correspond to
their affirmed gender, and if the zeitgeist is going
in the direction of all civil rights movements –
towards enacting laws that forbid discriminating
against people for their gender identity. This can
only be good for everyone, cis and trans alike.
The stubborn idea that there’s a normal way
to be gendered, and everything else is “other”
persists, of course, and won’t disappear
overnight. But we are increasingly inspired
by difference, rather than fighting it or
patronizingly accommodating it.
As we all move into the future we’ll continue to
question gender – and answer it – together.
The new normal,
is that there is no
“normal”
CONCLUSION
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
48THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
the new language of gender
sparks & honey culture forecast
reports.sparksandhoney.com
@sparksandhoney
research & cultural intelligence
Sarah Davanzo
Chief Cultural Strategy Officer
Larisa Kluchman
Director of Cultural Listening
Dan Gould
Senior Cultural Strategist
Marina Bartzokis
Junior Content Strategist
creative & editorial
Eric Kwan Tai Lau
Senior Art Director
Barbara Herman
Senior Writer
Anna Sofia Martin
Senior Writer
Ariela Anelli
Senior Art Director
Steve Woodzell
Illustrator
agency & consultancy
Paul Butler
Chief Operation Officer
Mike Lanzi
Chief Client Officer
Tim Ettus
Managing Director, West Coast
Sean Mahoney
Editorial Director
Camilo La Cruz
Head of Content
Terry Young
CEO & Founder
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
49
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
METHODOLOGY
For The New Language of Gender, sparks &
honey reveiwed important texts, films, and legal
milestones. Using new social listening tools,
we gauged energy and sentiment across media
channels around the language of gender. And
using our proprietary cultural intelligence system,
we identified the most current mainstream and
fringe signals to learn how the cultural shift
caused by gender will determine how we’ll be
communicating, living, and remaking gender now
and in the future.
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
50
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
SOURCES
sparks & honey
ABC News, ‘I Am Jazz’ Transgender Teen On Grappling With High School, Puberty (2015)
ABC News, Dad’s Amazing Reaction to Son Choosing a Doll for Birthday Gift (2015)
Autostraddle, Ten Things I Wish I’d Known When I Started My Transition (2013)
Baby Dust Diaries, I Shaved My Daughter’s Hair (2015)
BBC, Caster Semenya ‘What I dream of is to become an Olympic champion’ (2015)
Billboard, Miley Cyrus Says She’s Gender Fluid: ‘It Has Nothing To Do With Any Parts of Me’ (2015)
Blackless, Charuvastra, Derryck, Fausto-Sterling, Lauzanne, Lee. American Journal of Human Biology (2000)
Bond, Justin Vivian. Tango: My Childhood, Backward in High Heels (The Feminist Press at CUNY: 2011)
Bornstein, Kate. Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us (Vintage: 1995)
Butler, Judith, Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (Routledge Press, 1990)
Dazed Digital, Ladybaby are your new favorite J-pop metal band (2015)
Elle, (2015) OITNB’s Ruby Rose Schools Us On Gender Fluidity
Gay Star News, Trans Woman Pushes NPR to edit ‘Offensive’ Podcast About Her
The Guardian, Many trans people still are denied healthcare because of their identity (2015)
The Guardian, My Life Without Gender: ‘Strangers are desperate to know what genitalia I have’ (2015)
Facebook, Facebook Diversity (2015)
Feinberg, Leslie. Stone Butch Blues: A Novel (Alyson Books: 2004)
Huffington Post, Janet Mock, Transgender Writer and Piers Morgan Spar on Twitter After CNN Appearance (2014)
Human Rights Campaign, Maps of State Laws and Policies (2015)
Instagram, Man Buns of Disneyland (2015)
International Business Times, NYC Passes Bill To Allow Transgender People To Change Sex On Birth Certificate Without Surgery (2014)
International Business Times,Mr., Mrs. Or Mx.? Oxford English Dictionary Adopts Gender-Neutral Honorific (2015)
International Business Times, Why Facebook ‘Real Name’ Policy May Drive LGBT Users to Ello (2014)
Lamda Legal Changing Birth Certificate Sex Designations: State-By-State Guidelines
Lamda Legal, FAQ About Identity Documents (2015)
Let’s Queer Things Up, Starbucks, Please Don’t ‘Out’ Your Transgender Patrons (2015)
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
51
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
SOURCES
National Institutes of Health, Patterns of Gender Development (2013)
National Center for Trans Equality, Housing and Homelessness (2015)
Marie Claire UK, Bro’s Gold Anyone? Why the new iPhone is subverting all the stereotypes (2015)
The New Yorker, Either/Or (2009)
New York Times, A University Recognizes a Third Gender: Neutral (2015)
New York Times, Kimu Hina (2015)
Newsweek, Fox News Misgenders, Mocks Caitlyn Jenner (2015)
PBS, ‘The Right to Be Handsome’: As the conversation around gender evolves, so does the fashion (2015)
Pride Flags For Us, Present As Feminine and Act Pretty Feminine (2015)
Racked, Dudes love the rose gold iPhone so much they’re calling it ‘bro’s gold’ (2015)
Radiolab, Invisibilia (2015)
Twitter, #WeJustNeedToPee (2015)
Tumblr, Aporagender Is a Term Coined Recently By Me (2014)
Washington Post, Lexical Growing Pains, or hollow justifications for using a slur? From ‘queer’ to ‘tranny’ (2014)
Washington Times, Target Goes Gender Neutral in children’s toy labeling (2015)
Women’s Wear Daily, Selfridge’s To Launch Gender Neutral Retail Concept (2015)
Vice ID, RuPaul talks gender fuck and drag genre (2015)
Wired, This is Trump in a Man Bun. We wish it were real, 2015
IMAGES
Jodie Johnson, cover, shutterstock
AlexAnnaButs, shutterstock
Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
52
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
No parts of this publication may be reproduced, copied, distributed or
transmitted in any form without the permission of sparks & honey.
© 2015 sparks & honey, LLC. All rights reserved.

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The New Language of Gender

  • 1. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER sparks & honey culture forecast BINARY TO BLURRED
  • 2. “People need to be willing to let go of what they think they know about what it means to be a man and what it means to be a woman.” – LAVERNE COX THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
  • 3. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER BINARY TO BLURRED Gender used to be viewed through binary terms: male and female, masculine and feminine. The new language of gender breaks out of that binary system in favor of blurred, fluid identities across a gender spectrum. To be culturally literate now demands knowing how to speak the new language of gender and knowing the difference between terms like sex, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation. Transgender and genderqueer people have shifted culture away from the idea of rigid binary genders, and the implications are massive. Almost everything is gendered somehow. How will the worlds of law, politics, media, tech, marketing and advertising, fashion, design, art, architecture, music, beauty, healthcare, and sports change if the categories of man and woman are deconstructed or eliminated altogether? This report is a guide through the new language of gender, showing you how to demonstrate that you’re an ally of these gender revolutionaries. We pinpoint ways this cultural shift is already impacting culture – through memes, viral videos, trends, products, and cultural signals that indicate that the gender revolution has arrived. And we’ll show who’s doing it right – and who isn’t. To be culturally literate means knowing how to speak the new language of gender Language matters Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. iii
  • 4. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER BINARY TO BLURRED We’re living in an era obsessed with gender. Conversation about transgender people and topics like gender fluidity are part of the air we breathe. Miley Cyrus declared herself gender fluid in 2015. Jaden Smith presented as genderqueer at Coachella wearing a dress with flowers in his hair. Reality television series I Am Jazz debuted on TLC, documenting the ups and downs of 15-year-old transgender teen Jazz Jennings, considered one of the youngest LGBTQ spokespeople ever. But what is gender? Gender is the way we express that “boyness” or “girlness” we’re assigned at birth, in ways that either conform with gender norms (societal expectations) – or in ways that subvert them. What do we mean by gender? “Masculine and feminine roles are not biologically fixed, but socially constructed.” -Judith Butler Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. iv
  • 5. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER BINARY TO BLURRED Gender is not the sex we’re assigned at birth, based on things like genitals and XX or XY chromosomes. Gender is also not sexual orientation, or who you desire sexually. You could be a feminine straight man or a hyper-masculine gay man, a masculine straight woman or a high-femme lesbian who wears makeup, high heels and perfume. From the time we’re born, we’re bombarded with cultural messages about how to look and behave as girls or boys. These messages – from parents, school teachers, media – tell us what it means to be a boy or a girl. Boys don’t cry. Real men don’t wear pink. Women shouldn’t swear. Real women have curves. And unless our gender identity or the way we express it matches those gender norms (how society narrowly defines masculinity and femininity), we might feel insecure in our masculinity or femininity. Gender, in other words, is hard work. “The real promise of the transgender movement is not the freedom to figure out ways to become more fully male or fully female, but rather freedom from gender entirely.” –Shannon Gilreath Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. v
  • 6. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER LGBTQuestioning (and sometimes I) THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. vi
  • 7. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER The “Q” in LGBTQI can stand for “queer”, an umbrella term for some or all of the LGBTI categories (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex). It can also stand for “questioning”, meaning that a person is still undecided about which category, or categories, they identify with. The consciousness and dialogue about gender identity has landed squarely in mainstream pop culture as Laverne Cox, Caitlyn Jenner, Lily Rose Depp, and Ruby Rose spark new conversations in the media and at home. The internet has exploded with discussions about a dizzying and ever-expanding list of gender identities beyond men and women, including agender, bigender and gender fluid. Teenagers on Tumblr are using terms formerly heard only in academic settings – like gender identity, cisgender, and gender norms. Questioning gender BINARY TO BLURRED People have a choice in their gender identity. The ability to decide which gender identity you have, how you choose to express it, or whether you want to even decide in the first place, is unprecedented. MAJOR AWARDS FOR MEDIA FOCUSING ON TRANSGENDER INDIVUDALS, 2014-15 17 Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. vii
  • 8. GENDER IN POPULAR CULTURE 1952 Christine Jorgensen becomes the first American to transition via sex reassignment surgery and hormone treatments 1971 -72 New York Dolls and David Bowie incorporate gender-bending makeup and clothes into their performances 1975 Minneapolis becomes the first U.S. city to pass a law prohibiting discrimination against someone for being transgender 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 1999 “Boys Don’t Cry” based on true story of Brandon Teena, murdered in 1993 for being a transgender man 1990 Documentary Paris Is Burning introduces Harlem drag balls to the world 1990 Judith Butler releases Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, arguing all gender is socially constructed 2013 Orange is the New Black features transgender storylines 2013 DSM 5 changes diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder to Gender Dysphoria 2014 Trans activist Janet Mock publishes Redefining Realness 2014 One Direction’s Harry Styles says that being female is “not that important”when it comes to what he looks for in a girlfriend 2014 Transparent features story of a transwoman and her family coping with her transition 1977 The New York Supreme Court rules that trans woman Renée Richards is eligible to play in the women’s draw at the U.S. Open 1969 Police officers raid the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City, inciting riots and launching the LGBT rights movement Early ‘90s Kurt Cobain wears dresses while performing 1992 The Crying Game reveals transgender character Late ’90s Activists add a “T” to sexualy oriented LGB acronym, turning it into LGBT 2004 First Trans March takes place in San Francisco 1993 Minnesota becomes the first state to legally specify trans civil rights 1994 The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert stars drag queens and a transgender person, becomes huge hit 1994 MAC Cosmetics makes drag superstar RuPaul spokesmodel 2005 California approves Insurance Gender Nondiscrimination Act 2005 The movie Transamerica makes vaginoplasty a household word 2009 South African runner Caster Semenya subjected to gender testing during the World Championships, is revealed as intersex 2015 Time Magazine puts Laverne Cox on their cover 2015 New York City allows trans people to change the gender on their birth certificate 2015 Retailer, Selfridge’s creates Agender, a gender-neutral fashion line 2015 The first trans fashion line created by and for trans people released by Gogo Graham 2015 Jaden Smith wears dresses and skirts to Coachella and the prom 2015 Lily Rose Depp comes out as sexually fluid 2015 Miley Cyrus says she’s gender fluid and sexually fluid 2015 Caitlyn Jenner Vanity Fair Cover MUSIC MILESTONELAWS/POLITICS CELEBRITIESBOOKSTV/MOVIES RETAIL/ FASHION MEDIA BUSINESS SPORTS 1966 Discrimination and abuse toward transgender people in San Francisco sparks the Compton’s Cafeteria Riot 1986 Lou Sullivan founds female to male advocacy and support group FTM International 2012 Miss Universe opens competition to trans contestants after uproar 2014 Martine Rothblatt becomes first transgender CEO of a Fortune 500 company 2014 Openly transgender Raffi Freedman-Gurspan appointed to White House staff 2008 Chaz Bono begins transition to his affirmed gender identity 2008 Hall-of-fame pro surfer Peter Drouyn transitions to Westerly Windina In just a few decades, transgender and genderqueer identities have moved from the margins to the center of culture. And they're leading the way in how we'll all view and remake gender for decades to come. Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
  • 9. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER An ally is someone who supports people who are transgender or gender nonconforming, and whose efforts are intended to become a model for the culture at large. Allies know that language shapes the way we view gender, so they’re careful to use someone’s preferred gender pronouns and to avoid saying things like “sex change” for “transition” or “born a boy” for “assigned male at birth.” An ally also knows not to police someone’s gender. They’re not going to try to figure out what gender someone is, judge them for how they look, or keep them from the locker room or bathroom of their choice. And a cisgender ally (see p. 18) knows their privilege in this world and understands that, unlike someone who is transgender, they move through the world with relative ease. Jill Soloway, who wrote the award-winning Amazon comedy-drama Transparent, is an ally. The series is based on her parent Carrie, who told her family she was transgender. When Soloway won an Emmy for Outstanding Director For a Comedy Series, she used her platform to advocate on behalf of trans people and urged them to vote for a trans equality bill. She was also careful about using her parent’s post-transition name, and shared with the audience her new way of calling out Carrie: “Mapa”, a mashup of mama and papa. Be an ally BINARY TO BLURRED An ally knows not to police someone’s gender Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. ix
  • 10. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Piers Morgan, the English talk show host with progressive leanings, although well-intentioned, balked at having to learn the new language of gender. Morgan invited trans activist Janet Mock, author of Redefining Realness, to be a guest on his show. He promoted the show with sensationalized tweets that repeatedly described Mock as “born a boy” and asked straight male viewers how they’d feel if someone they dated “was formerly a man”. Mock was rightfully offended. But rather than try to understand why the language he used about her was as important as his intent to be an ally, Morgan complained that she wasn’t grateful for the spotlight and was trying to create controversy. “My Mapa could, tomorrow, go and try to find an apartment and in 32 states, it would be legal for the landlord to look her in the eye and say ‘we don’t rent to trans people.’” -Jill Soloway BINARY TO BLURRED Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. x
  • 11. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER The binary is melting away Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. xi
  • 12. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Like gender, the way we talk about it is evolving, making it a challenge to have a conversation without feeling like you’re saying the wrong thing. People are struggling to get the language right, to refer to a transgender person with their preferred gender pronouns, or to not “dead name” them (see p. 25). And even among trans and genderqueer people, there is no clear consensus about what the appropriate terminology is or isn’t. The new language of gender is a living language, because the people it describes are living it and defining it as they go. Learning it may feel difficult and awkward at first, and you’re bound to make mistakes. But to be culturally literate and relevant now demands speaking the new language of gender – even if it’s with a distinct, cisgender accent. The following terms will help you navigate The New Language of Gender. They’re the most current, charged, and tuned-in words that will get you situated in the new landscape. Talking about gender BINARY TO BLURRED These are the most current, charged, and tuned-in words that will get you situated in the new landscape Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. xii
  • 13. NOT STRAIGHT, UNSPECIFIED QUEER GENETICS AND BIOLOGICAL SPECTRUM THE JOURNEY TO GENDER You’re assigned a sex Embryo Stage XXXY BOY ASSIGNED AFFIRMED GIRLIntersex Anatomical sex involves both what’s visible (outer genitals) and what’s only visible through blood work (sex chromosomes), surgery or MRIs (internal sex glands and organs). We still associate biological sex with genitals, although that’s only part of the story. Each of us is assigned a sex at birth, and at some point in our lives we decide that we’re either comfortable or not comfortable in our assigned gender. For cisgender people, assigned sex and gender identity more or less align, but for transgender and genderqueer people, the road to affirming gender is trickier. BINARY SEX A doctor assigns us a sex when we are born. Even the one in 1,000 intersex children who are born are often assigned a sex regardless of the signs their bodies aren’t unambiguously male or female. GENDER SPECTRUM People no longer have to identify as men or women if those categories don’t suit them. Cisgender and transgender people tend to have one gender identity, male or female, while broader categories like genderqueer or gender nonconforming fall somewhere on a spectrum. QUESTIONING NOT SURE Lesbian, High Femme Low Femme, Soft Butch, Butch, Boi Gay, Masc, Fem Who are you sexually attracted to? STRAIGHT BISEXUAL BOTH SEXES ASEXUAL NO ONEAre you SAME SEX MALEFEMALE SEX CHROMOSOME VARIATIONS Monosomy: Turner syndrome (45,X) Trisomy: Klinefelter syndrome (47,XXY) 48,XXYY 48,XXXY 49,XXXYY 49,XXXXY Triple X syndrome (47,XXX) 48,XXXX 49,XXXXX 47,XYY 48,XYYY 49,XYYYY Do you identify with your assigned gender? TRANSGENDER GENDERQUEER CISGENDER NO YESNOT EXACTLY What gender do you identify with? AGENDER GENDER QUESTIONING NO GENDER BOTH etcNOT SURE GENDER FLUID BIGENDER IT DEPENDS OPPOSITE SEX TWO DISTINCT SEX CHROMOSOMES SAME KIND OF SEX CHROMOSOME SEXUALITY SPECTRUM Sexual orientation is often confused with gender. Separate, though interrelated, sex and gender are uniqely complex ways in which we identify ourselves and our desires. Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
  • 14. Binary THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
  • 15. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Welcome to the world, we’ve assigned you a gender THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 3
  • 16. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER A person is not born male or female, but rather assigned male or female at birth, usually by a doctor who looks at the child’s body for a vagina or penis. So from the moment we’re born, our bodies are interpreted and labeled with a specific, culturally loaded meaning: boy or girl. If a baby’s genitalia are ambiguous, as they are in the case of some intersex babies, the doctor might assign a gender anyway and even surgically eliminate the source of the confusion (for example, testes in the case of a baby who otherwise looks female). Sometimes, an intersex baby can look male from outer genitalia, but also have female internal reproductive organs, like one ovary and a shortened uterus. In 2013, Germany became one of the first countries in the world to allow the parents of intersex babies to register them with an “X” rather than being forced to choose male or female. Previously, German parents had a week to decide if their babies were male or female Assigned BINARY From the moment we’re born, our bodies are interpreted and assigned culturally loaded labels Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 4
  • 17. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER before registering them. Forced operations, such as of ambiguous genitalia, were some of the tragic outcomes of that pressure. Now, German children who are intersex can decide at a future time whether they feel that their gender identity is male or female. This mania for maintaining a gender binary doesn’t exist in all cultures. In native Hawaiian culture, for example, Māhū are people who are born “in the middle” who express both kāne (male) and wahine (female) spirits. Māhū were once considered sacred healers, and those now “in the middle” are working to reclaim its honored place. BINARY 1 IN 1,000 BIRTHS RECEIVE SURGERY TO “NORMALIZE” GENITAL APPEARANCE Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 5
  • 18. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Gender isn’t genitals and neither is sex THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 6
  • 19. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Nature is often used as a foundation against sexual and gender diversity. Two sexes are biologically programmed to be expressed in a certain way, and anything deviating from that is named an unnatural perversion. These arguments were also used to deny women rights until the “biology is not destiny” rallying cry of the feminist movement questioned the validity of dictating social norms based on a person’s anatomy. Before science had better tools to understand how sexual difference is expressed in bodies, a person’s sex was assigned solely based on the presence of genitalia. But “sex”, or biological gender, can be much more complex (as intersex people can attest). It includes chromosomal, hormonal, and anatomical differences that are internal and hence invisible without blood work, surgery, or MRIs. You can’t always just look at someone – even naked – to determine their “true sex.” And, although we know that gender isn’t genitals, sex isn’t only genitals either. Sex, in other words, is becoming a dubious foundation on which to stake any claims, much less ones that deny people the freedom to define themselves. Sex BINARY You can’t always just look at someone naked to determine their “true sex” Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 7
  • 20. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Intersex: what was that about a binary? THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 8
  • 21. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER The “I” for “intersex” is sometimes included at the end of the LGBTQI acronym and sometimes left out. Although intersex isn’t a third gender or a sexual orientation, intersex people challenge the binary of sex and gender. An intersex person is born with sex chromosomes, external genitalia, or internal reproductive systems that aren’t considered “standard” for male or female. Their sexual anatomies lie on a spectrum, which, according to the binary logic of gender, is seen as anomalous rather than one of many ways a body can be. Some intersex girls might look conventionally female and later identify as women, but have a Y chromosome, no ovaries, or menstrual cycle. Intersex boys might look conventionally male but have internal testes that never descend and XXY chromosomes; hormone therapy may be a necessity later if they want to continue looking like conventional men. Until recently, doctors would assign intersex people a gender when they were babies or children and would even perform unnecessary surgery to remove internal testes in intersex girls or penises from the bodies of intersex boys to make their bodies conform to a binary – denying the person the right to choose later. Intersex BINARY INTERSEX IS FUELING THE MOST ONLINE CHATTER AROUND SEX AND GENDER 67% Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 9
  • 22. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER “Nature doesn’t decide where the category of ‘male’ ends and the category of ‘intersex’ begins, or where the category of ‘intersex’ ends and the category of ‘female’ begins. Humans decide.” – INTERSEX SOCIETY OF NORTH AMERICA Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 10
  • 23. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Due to ignorance about intersex conditions, people aren’t always treated with respect. South African runner Caster Semenya was accused of being a man while competing in the women’s division of the 2009 World Championships and forced to take a “gender test”, which revealed that she was intersex. Although she’s still running now in the women’s division, she described the public scrutiny at the time as intense and humiliating. “Intersex people don’t need to be fixed. There’s nothing wrong with them.” –The Interface Project Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 11
  • 24. Gender Spectrum THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved.
  • 25. Children develop a sense of their gender identity from 18 months to 3 years Gender identity is a person’s experience of themselves as one gender, a blend of genders, or no gender. Experts say that children begin to develop a sense of what gender is, and what their gender is, starting at around 18 - 24 months. For people whose gender identities don’t align with their assigned gender, they can change the way they dress, what they’re called, and even their preferred pronouns. They can also transition not only in presentation, but also through hormone replacement therapy and sex- reassignment or gender reassignment surgery. Gender identity is not the same as gender or gender expression. For example, a gay, feminine-presenting man may still have a solid gender identity as male. A very masculine- presenting lesbian may have a solid gender identity as female. Until the 1990s, gender identity was not a part of the gay rights movement LBG acronym, which included only sexuality-related terms: lesbian, gay, and bisexual. During that time, a “T” was added, expanding the movement to include transgender identity. Gender Identity GENDER SPECTRUM Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 13THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
  • 26. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Who will you present as today? THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 14
  • 27. Every day, people choose what kind of clothes and shoes they wear, and what image they want to project. It’s usually a gendered image, and one that conforms to their gender identity. More than likely, it conforms to gender norms. The verb “to present” means how someone chooses to express their gender identity through clothes, hairstyles, or behavior. It’s typically used by transgender and genderqueer people to describe which gender they’re expressing. Gender is a performance and a presentation for everyone – cisgender and transgender alike. For Rae Tutera, blogger for The Handsome Butch, presenting as a butch woman was difficult without the right suit. But, like many genderqueer people, Rae couldn’t find a suit that fit. When she finally had one tailored for her body, something clicked. Tutera was finally able to present herself in the way she saw herself: as a handsome butch woman. Seeing a niche for other people like her, she’s now the LBGTQ liaison for suitmaker Bindle & Keep. The collaboration introduces masculine-presenting women, gender queers, Presents GENDER SPECTRUM Every day, people choose what kind of clothes and shoes they wear, and what image they want to project Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 15THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
  • 28. and transgender men to the joys of clothes that help them present their gender. But there are all sorts of ways to “present” as a cisgender male, too. As jocks, preps, hipsters, metrosexual, etc. When we see men with their hair in “man buns” – so prevalent that there’s an Instagram account called Man Buns of Disneyland – or “man braids”, they’re presenting as men who are comfortable with slightly more feminine styling. “Having something custom made reintroduced me to my body. I think people see me in a way that aligns with how I see myself.” -Rae Tutera, The Handsome Butch Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 16THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
  • 29. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Odds are, you’ll be hearing cisgender a lot more frequently THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 17
  • 30. When a cisgender person hears the category “cisgender,” they’re probably surprised to be categorized in the first place. Before the transgender tipping point brought transgender and genderqueer terminology into the mainstream, “cisgender” was generally used only among those in the community or in university women’s studies or gender studies departments. So what is it? Cisgender means that your gender identity aligns with the gender you were assigned at birth. Heterosexual is to homosexual as cisgender is to transgender, which means that as new as it might sound to some ears, you’ll probably be hearing “cisgender” a lot more often. Like other categories – race, class, and sexuality – to have a gender identity that is sanctioned by the dominant culture has its privileges. But just because you’re cisgender doesn’t mean that you accept the gender norms that come your way. Twitter hashtag #FragileMasculinity mocks the kind of gendered marketing that defines masculinity as phobic of anything feminine; manchocolate and man-branded throat lozenges being standouts. Cisgender GENDER SPECTRUM STATES WHERE IT’S LEGAL TO DENY SOMEONE HOUSING BECAUSE THEY’RE TRANS 32/52 Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 18THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
  • 31. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Affirming transgender THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 19
  • 32. A transgender or trans person is someone whose gender identity does not conform with the gender they were assigned at birth. Some trans people who are transitioning refer to themselves as “female to male” (FTM), “male to female” (MTF), or even transsexual if they use hormone therapy, gender-affirming surgery, or sex-reassignment surgery. “Transsexual” is an outdated term that places too much emphasis on the medical part of transitioning. Generally, the preferred term is transgender. But it’s important to find out what someone wants to be referred to before making assumptions. Some people may find this emphasis on a “before and after” not representative of their experience. They may have always felt like one gender, and transitioning just helped affirm it. Transgender GENDER SPECTRUM “Most harmful is the myth that trans women are not ‘real’ women or trans people are inauthentic.” -Janet Mock Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 20THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
  • 33. Although trans people have been more visible and given more of a voice, they still face discrimination. Only 10 states prohibit exclusions for transgender health care. And one in five transgender people has been discriminated against while looking for a home. Multiple “bathroom bills” have spring up attempting to prohibit trans people from using bathrooms that correspond to their affirmed gender – and a Twitter campaign was started with the hashtag #WeJustNeedToPee with the image of transmen in women’s bathrooms and transwomen in front of urinals. OF TRANSGENDER PEOPLE SURVEYED HAD ATTEMPTED SUICIDE 41% OF THE GENERAL POPULATION HAD ATTEMPTED SUICIDE 1.6% Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 21THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
  • 34. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER TRANSGENDER BY THE NUMBERS THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER MORE LIKELY TO HAVE A HOUSEHOLD INCOME OF LESS THAN $10,000 REPORTED LOSING A JOB BECAUSE THEY DID NOT CONFORM TO GENDER NORMS SAID THEY HAD BEEN HARASSED IN A MEDICAL SETTING. 4X 25% 28%
  • 35. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Transitioning is different for everyone THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 23
  • 36. Not every transgender person’s transition, or move from their assigned gender to their affirmed gender, is the same. They may start out by wearing clothes that align with their affirmed gender, change their names and their preferred gender pronouns, or begin presenting as their affirmed gender. Some trans people take hormones or have sex reassignment surgery so that their bodies align with their affirmed gender, but a trans person can still be trans without them. For some trans people, being able to live in their affirmed gender identity and be recognized as that gender is what is most important. Trans people often face great difficulty having their gender changed on legal documents like driver’s licenses and birth certificates, and for some, the transition isn’t complete until this happens. Some states, like New York, only require that a trans person bring in a certified letter from a psychologist that indicates they are transgender or have gender dysphoria. Other states require proof of sex reassignment surgery. Tennessee is the only state that doesn’t allow trans people to change the gender designation on birth certificates. Transition GENDER SPECTRUM OF TRANS PEOPLE SAID THEY HAD TO TEACH THEIR MEDICAL PROVIDERS ABOUT TRANSGENDER CARE 50% Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 24THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
  • 37. When Paige Abendroth was interviewed on the popular podcast Invisibilia in 2013, she identified as bigender, a controversial term that means a person sometimes identifies as female, sometimes as male. Today, she identifies as transgender. When the podcast aired again two years later, Abendroth accused the host of dead-naming her. Dead name is what some trans people call the name they were assigned at birth before they chose one that better reflects their affirmed gender. The host apologized and Paige’s dead name was later redacted. Dead-naming happens so casually that many people don’t even realize they’re doing it, but it can cause significant distress. Facebook first gave users more than 56 genders to choose from before eventually providing an open field Dead Name GENDER SPECTRUM Facebook’s “Real Name” policy would have forced transgender users who had not legally changed their names to use their dead names Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 25THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
  • 38. for that profile line, but it also started a “real name” policy insisting that long-term users either go by their real name as it is listed on a credit card, driver’s license, or student ID – or risk having their account deleted. For Facebook users who were trans and had not legally changed their names, this was a radical form of erasure. And when a Starbucks barista scrawled a transgender customer’s dead name on an order after copying the name from their credit card, an online uproar ensued. Some people might see this complaint as an extreme case, but it’s shedding light on issues trans people face, and big brands will feel the brunt. Dead-naming happens so casually that many people don’t even realize they’re doing it Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 26THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
  • 39. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Genderqueer: You do you THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 27
  • 40. Genderqueer and gender nonconforming are umbrella terms for gender identities that aren’t strictly masculine and feminine. They could be a blend or no gender at all. Like genderqueer, queer is used for someone who doesn’t identify exclusively (or at all) as gay, straight, or bisexual. Often, it refers to sexual orientation, but queer is sometimes used interchangeably with genderqueer. Because “queer” is a reappropriation of a slur, not every LGBTQI person appreciates the term, and some believe it should only be used to self- identify or quote someone who self-identifies. The categories genderqueer and gender nonconforming open up so many gender possibilities that some people are customizing Genderqueer/ Gender Nonconforming/ Queer GENDER SPECTRUM their own specific gender identities. And while genderqueer people would seem to be shunning labels, others are constructing gender identities that are dizzyingly complex. Not strictly masculine or feminine, genderqueer can be a blend, or no gender at all Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 28THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
  • 41. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER – KELLY/ALEX, 18 “Aporagender is a term recently coined by me and means a gender separate from male, female, and anything in between while still having a very strong and specific gendered feeling.” Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 29
  • 42. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Not everyone wants to fill in the blanks Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 30
  • 43. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Gender ebbs and flows to find its balance THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 31
  • 44. A color spectrum has gradations of pink, green, yellow, blue, purple and every subtle hue between. Imagine that spectrum representing gender, with woman as one primary color, and man as another. And now you have to choose a primary color to represent your gender identity. For some cisgender people, being solidly red or blue, for example, works out just fine. But for a gender fluid person, who feels that their gender identity varies over time or in certain circumstances, a primary color doesn’t tell their whole story. What if they feel pink on Tuesday, and celadon green in March, or several iridescent colors over the course of one day? Gender fluid people may feel a mix of genders, no particular gender, or other times, more of one gender or another. Gender Fluid GENDER SPECTRUM Gender fluid people may feel a mix of genders, no particular gender, or other times, more of one gender or another Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 32THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
  • 45. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER “I have a lot of characteristics that would normally be present in a guy and then less that would be present in a woman. But then sometimes I’ll put on a skirt – like today.” – RUBY ROSE Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 33
  • 46. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Yes, you’re being genderfucked with THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 34
  • 47. When you see a bearded man wearing lipstick, a dress, high heels, his low-cut dress displaying a thickly haired chest, congratulations. You’re being fucked with – genderfucked, if you will. Genderfuck is a style, the act of mixing masculine and feminine clothes, hairstyles, or behavior to mashup the binary code of gender and break the gender norms that say you should look either feminine or masculine. Unlike “passing” as the opposite gender, genderfuck makes the gender mix deliberately visible. Take Ladybeard – the stage name of an Australian man who has taken genderfuck to interesting places. Bearded and buff with his hair in pigtails with bows, he dresses like a five- year-old, and if asked will say he is a five-year- old girl. He also happens to be a pro wrestler and lead singer in a Japanese heavy metal band called Ladybaby, where his death-metal growl is juxtaposed with his little girl outfits. A new iteration of genderfuck, but genderfuck nonetheless. Genderfuck GENDER SPECTRUM Genderfuck is a style that mixes and mashes visual representations of gender Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 35THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
  • 48. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER “When I started with drag – and you can still see pictures of me this way on YouTube - I had smeared lipstick and combat boots and torn wedding dresses, like ‘Fuck you!’ That’s genderfuck.” – RUPAUL Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 36
  • 49. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Agender, full stop THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 37
  • 50. When we’re born, the doctor assigns us a sex (boy or girl), and gender norms tell us how we should express femininity or masculinity. Some people experience their assigned gender comfortably (cisgender). Others identify with the opposite gender to the one they were assigned at birth (transgender). Some are a mix of both (genderqueer). And some people don’t feel as if they identify with any gender at all. Those people are agender, which means “without gender.” Agender activist Tyler Ford was assigned female at birth, transitioned to male with hormones, but stopped taking testosterone when they realized they didn’t identify with a gender. And though it may sound incorrect to use “they” for one person, Ford doesn’t want to use the gendered pronouns “he, him, his” or “she, her, hers”. Instead, they use plural, gender-neutral pronouns. Ford now self-describes as “an out, visible, non-binary, trans person.” Agender GENDER SPECTRUM Some people don’t feel as if they identify with any gender at all Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 38THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
  • 51. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER “The pronouns I use are not ‘he’ or ‘she’ but ‘they,’ ‘them’ and ‘their.’ These feel as neutral as I do.” – TYLER FORD, AGENDER ACTIVIST Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 39
  • 52. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Drop a pin on neutral THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 40
  • 53. Can the color pink be gender neutral? By now, the notion that pink is for girls and blue is for boys is something we should all be over, but cultural conditioning and the fear of doing gender “wrong” is powerful. Take the launch of Apple’s Rose Gold iPhone 6. The color is so beautiful that it was selling out, and it turns out that men were its primary buyers. People started calling the color “Bro’s gold”, either mocking men for buying the color pink or mocking the gender norms that make pink a gendered color in the first place. Perhaps Apple deliberately avoided calling their iPhone pink to make it gender neutral. If so, the ploy worked. British fashion retailer Selfridges debuted a gender-neutral fashion line called the Agender project, whose stated aim was to to explore Gender Neutral GENDER SPECTRUM MAJOR RETAILERS TOOK DOWN THEIR BOYS’ AND GIRLS’ SECTIONS IN FAVOR OF MARKETING TOYS AS GENDER-NEUTRAL 14 Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 41THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
  • 54. the interplay between masculine and feminine fashion. Target went gender-neutral, taking down signs announcing sale items for boys and girls, and eliminating the girls and boys sections after customers complained about gender stereotyping. In Sweden, gender-neutral parenting is an on-going experiment. Now, there are signs of American culture catching on to this parenting style. Paige Lucas-Stannard, author of the book Gender-Neutral Parenting, honored her 6-year- old daughter Aellyn’s request to shave her head like her father did. And let’s not forget cool dad Mikki Willis, who shared his delight over his son’s joy at choosing a Little Mermaid doll. GENDER SPECTRUM “Girls can have their hair any way they want [even shaved bald like dad].” -Aellyn Lucas-Stannard, 6 Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 42THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
  • 55. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Are you a he…a she…I’m so sorry, I don’t know what I’m saying THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 43
  • 56. Referring to someone with the wrong gender pronoun is going to happen, but at least you can be aware of this potential problem. Many genderqueer and trans people are “misgendered” by others. For the trans person who is trying to pass as their affirmed gender, this can feel frustrating. If it’s done deliberately by people who don’t respect their gender identity, it can feel like an assault. When Caitlyn Jenner gave an interview with Diane Sawyer, Jenner told Sawyer she could still be referred to as “Bruce” and “he.” Jenner gave Sawyer permission. But after Jenner revealed her new name as Caitlyn, many conservative news programs continued to refer to Jenner as “he” and Bruce. Misgendering GENDER SPECTRUM Referring to someone with the wrong gender pronoun is going to happen – just be aware it could be a problem Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 44THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
  • 57. Only 77 mentions in 6 months –Miley said it, but zhe hasn’t taken off in social conversations The creation of “Ms.” in the 1970s reflected what was happening in the world: the emergence of a new category of woman undefined by marriage. “Ms.” socially sanctioned this category and carved out a linguistic space for her, recognizing her as a social subject. So when the Oxford English Dictionary included the word “Mx.” – pronounced “mix” – to refer to transgender people and people who don’t want to be identified by gender, it was saying the same thing. By including “Mx.”, the OED is declaring that there is a new, socially- sanctioned way to be a person in the world: undefined by gender. It replaces Ms., Mrs., and Mr. for the genderqueer set. Mx. has been in use for years in the U.K. by the Royal Bank of Scotland, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Royal Mail Group and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. So much of our language is gendered, including pronouns. So for trans and genderqueer people who don’t want gendered pronouns, plural pronouns often take their place. We may reach a place in language where we’ll feel comfortable Mx. And “Ze, Zir, Zirs” GENDER SPECTRUM Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 45THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
  • 58. and natural referring to someone with the gender-neutral pronoun “ze” instead of “he” or “she,” but it’s more likely that we’ll settle on “they, them, or their”. Trans performer Justin Vivian Bond or Mx. Justin V. Bond uses “v” as v’s preferred pronoun. Sometimes, you just have to ask what a person’s preferred gender pronouns are, or just listen to how they refer to themselves. The fact is, unlearning ways of speaking that feel automatic are some of the most difficult parts of learning the new language of gender. But doing so can also mean remaking a new, more inclusive world. Unlearning ways of speaking that feel automatic are some of the most difficult parts of learning the new language of gender GENDER SPECTRUM Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 46THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
  • 59. Not since the women’s rights movement in the 60s and 70s have we as a culture so collectively questioned how gender defines the way we view our ourselves and our relationships to one another other. Transgender and genderqueer voices have begun to take control of their own narratives, telling stories, describing injustices, and remaking gender and the language of gender to reflect them rather than the other way around. The culture at large has been listening and has become inspired. Cisgender people have also been prompted to ask if the gender binary that has dictated how they are supposed to behave as men or women has not in fact been too constricting for them as well. As a result of this cultural shift around gender, we’re seeing the rise of gender neutrality seeping into design, language (pronouns and titles), products and retail spaces, fashion, and even parenting. And for gender hackers who still want to be playful with gender but not be confined to it, there’s an opportunity to mashup gender signals to suit their tastes. CONCLUSION The new normal There’s no master key to gender Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 47THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
  • 60. Laws are changing that allow transgender people to change their gender designation on official ID’s, to use the bathrooms that correspond to their affirmed gender, and if the zeitgeist is going in the direction of all civil rights movements – towards enacting laws that forbid discriminating against people for their gender identity. This can only be good for everyone, cis and trans alike. The stubborn idea that there’s a normal way to be gendered, and everything else is “other” persists, of course, and won’t disappear overnight. But we are increasingly inspired by difference, rather than fighting it or patronizingly accommodating it. As we all move into the future we’ll continue to question gender – and answer it – together. The new normal, is that there is no “normal” CONCLUSION Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 48THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER
  • 61. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER the new language of gender sparks & honey culture forecast reports.sparksandhoney.com @sparksandhoney research & cultural intelligence Sarah Davanzo Chief Cultural Strategy Officer Larisa Kluchman Director of Cultural Listening Dan Gould Senior Cultural Strategist Marina Bartzokis Junior Content Strategist creative & editorial Eric Kwan Tai Lau Senior Art Director Barbara Herman Senior Writer Anna Sofia Martin Senior Writer Ariela Anelli Senior Art Director Steve Woodzell Illustrator agency & consultancy Paul Butler Chief Operation Officer Mike Lanzi Chief Client Officer Tim Ettus Managing Director, West Coast Sean Mahoney Editorial Director Camilo La Cruz Head of Content Terry Young CEO & Founder Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 49
  • 62. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER METHODOLOGY For The New Language of Gender, sparks & honey reveiwed important texts, films, and legal milestones. Using new social listening tools, we gauged energy and sentiment across media channels around the language of gender. And using our proprietary cultural intelligence system, we identified the most current mainstream and fringe signals to learn how the cultural shift caused by gender will determine how we’ll be communicating, living, and remaking gender now and in the future. Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 50
  • 63. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER SOURCES sparks & honey ABC News, ‘I Am Jazz’ Transgender Teen On Grappling With High School, Puberty (2015) ABC News, Dad’s Amazing Reaction to Son Choosing a Doll for Birthday Gift (2015) Autostraddle, Ten Things I Wish I’d Known When I Started My Transition (2013) Baby Dust Diaries, I Shaved My Daughter’s Hair (2015) BBC, Caster Semenya ‘What I dream of is to become an Olympic champion’ (2015) Billboard, Miley Cyrus Says She’s Gender Fluid: ‘It Has Nothing To Do With Any Parts of Me’ (2015) Blackless, Charuvastra, Derryck, Fausto-Sterling, Lauzanne, Lee. American Journal of Human Biology (2000) Bond, Justin Vivian. Tango: My Childhood, Backward in High Heels (The Feminist Press at CUNY: 2011) Bornstein, Kate. Gender Outlaw: On Men, Women and the Rest of Us (Vintage: 1995) Butler, Judith, Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (Routledge Press, 1990) Dazed Digital, Ladybaby are your new favorite J-pop metal band (2015) Elle, (2015) OITNB’s Ruby Rose Schools Us On Gender Fluidity Gay Star News, Trans Woman Pushes NPR to edit ‘Offensive’ Podcast About Her The Guardian, Many trans people still are denied healthcare because of their identity (2015) The Guardian, My Life Without Gender: ‘Strangers are desperate to know what genitalia I have’ (2015) Facebook, Facebook Diversity (2015) Feinberg, Leslie. Stone Butch Blues: A Novel (Alyson Books: 2004) Huffington Post, Janet Mock, Transgender Writer and Piers Morgan Spar on Twitter After CNN Appearance (2014) Human Rights Campaign, Maps of State Laws and Policies (2015) Instagram, Man Buns of Disneyland (2015) International Business Times, NYC Passes Bill To Allow Transgender People To Change Sex On Birth Certificate Without Surgery (2014) International Business Times,Mr., Mrs. Or Mx.? Oxford English Dictionary Adopts Gender-Neutral Honorific (2015) International Business Times, Why Facebook ‘Real Name’ Policy May Drive LGBT Users to Ello (2014) Lamda Legal Changing Birth Certificate Sex Designations: State-By-State Guidelines Lamda Legal, FAQ About Identity Documents (2015) Let’s Queer Things Up, Starbucks, Please Don’t ‘Out’ Your Transgender Patrons (2015) Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 51
  • 64. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER SOURCES National Institutes of Health, Patterns of Gender Development (2013) National Center for Trans Equality, Housing and Homelessness (2015) Marie Claire UK, Bro’s Gold Anyone? Why the new iPhone is subverting all the stereotypes (2015) The New Yorker, Either/Or (2009) New York Times, A University Recognizes a Third Gender: Neutral (2015) New York Times, Kimu Hina (2015) Newsweek, Fox News Misgenders, Mocks Caitlyn Jenner (2015) PBS, ‘The Right to Be Handsome’: As the conversation around gender evolves, so does the fashion (2015) Pride Flags For Us, Present As Feminine and Act Pretty Feminine (2015) Racked, Dudes love the rose gold iPhone so much they’re calling it ‘bro’s gold’ (2015) Radiolab, Invisibilia (2015) Twitter, #WeJustNeedToPee (2015) Tumblr, Aporagender Is a Term Coined Recently By Me (2014) Washington Post, Lexical Growing Pains, or hollow justifications for using a slur? From ‘queer’ to ‘tranny’ (2014) Washington Times, Target Goes Gender Neutral in children’s toy labeling (2015) Women’s Wear Daily, Selfridge’s To Launch Gender Neutral Retail Concept (2015) Vice ID, RuPaul talks gender fuck and drag genre (2015) Wired, This is Trump in a Man Bun. We wish it were real, 2015 IMAGES Jodie Johnson, cover, shutterstock AlexAnnaButs, shutterstock Copyright © 2015 sparks & honey. All rights reserved. 52
  • 65. THE NEW LANGUAGE OF GENDER No parts of this publication may be reproduced, copied, distributed or transmitted in any form without the permission of sparks & honey. © 2015 sparks & honey, LLC. All rights reserved.