- Home
- Books I've Written
- Other Publications
- LGBT Interpersonal Violence Bibliography
- My Vita
- Articles on LGBT Interpersonal Violence
- Trainings I Offer
- Gender Work
Transgender Voices: Beyond Women and Men was published by University Press of New England (UPNE) in 2008. The continuums below come from that book.
New Sex, Gender, and Sexual Orientation Conceptualization
Traditional continuums describing sex or gender or sexual orientation operate in a binary. I do not see it that way. I offer this multiple continuum framework that allows for simultaneous parallel continuums. In this way, for example, one can be somewhere on a masculine continuum AND a feminine continuum at the same time, rather than the more masculine you are the less feminine you are.
Sex (Biological/Medical Assignment)
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Less male More male
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Less female More female
Gender Identity (Internal Sense)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Not-Man Man
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Not-Woman Woman
Gender Expression (Presentation)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Less masculine More masculine
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Less feminine More feminine
Sexual Orientation (Affection/Attraction)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Less toward males/men More toward males/men
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Less toward females/women More toward females/women
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Less toward trans More toward trans
Sexual Orientation (Behaviors) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Less with male/bodied More with male-bodied
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Less with female-bodied More with female-bodied
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Less with transsexual-bodied or intersex More with transsexual-bodied or intersex
Lori B. Girshick, 2006
Sex/Gender/Sexual Orientation Continuums explained:
The Sex Continuum: Traditionally, individuals are labeled male or female when looking at biological factors. These include external genitals, internal reproductive organs, secondary sex characteristics, hormones, and chromosomes. The general thinking is that someone is male or female, not both or neither. However, intersex individuals defy this thinking because they may have a mix of characteristics usually thought of as distinctly separate. Consequently, someone can appear on each of the two sex continuums in different places, not only on one of the ends. These continuums allow for the representation of intersex individuals without portraying them as exceptions or deviant.
The Gender Identity Continuum: Our internal sense of gender relates to our feelings of being a man or a woman. Traditionally it was believed that if you felt masculine you would not feel feminine, and vice versa. But some people feel differing degrees of masculinity and differing degrees of femininity. Some people do not feel particularly like a man or a woman, and some feel they are both. Having parallel continuums where degrees of man and of woman can coexist help us capture a broader range of gender identity experiences.
It is also important to note that someone could be a male on the sex continuum and a not-man and more a woman on the gender identity continuum. The view that all biological males are identifying as strongly masculine men is not always true. This example extends to other combinations of body with internal sense, which leads to gender expression.
The Gender Expression Continuum: The manner in which a person presents their sense of gender is their gender expression. This may or may not be consistent across time and place. Some people may be androgynous and not have a clear masculine or feminine expression; others may be clearly one or the other. Parallel continuums allow for all expressions to be acknowledged and validated.
Sexual Orientation Continuums: Sexual orientation has two components--who one is attracted to and what type of body one is sexual with. A person can be attracted to people who are more or less male/man, female/ woman, or transgender in their presentation. When behaving sexually, the body may be male, female, transsexual, or intersex. Thinking about sexual orientation this way is more inclusive of people with gender variant identities and gender variant bodies. For example, a person may be female appearing but have an intersex body; a person who is a cross-dresser may be male-bodied; a genderqueer individual may have a female body. There are many combinations of people--all normal, all deserving of acceptance and validation.
BOOK READINGS AND PRESENTATIONS
June 5, 2008: Bookman's, 1520 S. Riordan Ranch Rd, Flagstaff, AZ, 928-774-0005, 6:30pm
June 10, 2008: Auntie's, 402 W. Main Ave., Spokane, WA, 509-838-0206, 7:30pm
June 27, 2008: Changing Hands Bookstore, Tempe, AZ, 6428 S. McClintock Dr., Tempe, AZ, 480-730-4828, 7pm
July 7, 2008: Southern Arizona Gender Alliance (SAGA), Wingspan, 425 E 7th St., Tucson, AZ, 520-624-1779, 7pm
July 16 or 19, 2008: Prescott, AZ, details TBA, "Understanding Transgender: There's More to Gender than M or F"
Aug. 5, 2008: Modern Times Bookstore, 888 Valencia St., SF, CA, 415-282-9246, 7:30pm
New Sex, Gender, and Sexual Orientation Conceptualization
Traditional continuums describing sex or gender or sexual orientation operate in a binary. I do not see it that way. I offer this multiple continuum framework that allows for simultaneous parallel continuums. In this way, for example, one can be somewhere on a masculine continuum AND a feminine continuum at the same time, rather than the more masculine you are the less feminine you are.
Sex (Biological/Medical Assignment)
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Less male More male
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Less female More female
Gender Identity (Internal Sense)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Not-Man Man
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Not-Woman Woman
Gender Expression (Presentation)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Less masculine More masculine
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Less feminine More feminine
Sexual Orientation (Affection/Attraction)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Less toward males/men More toward males/men
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Less toward females/women More toward females/women
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Less toward trans More toward trans
Sexual Orientation (Behaviors) ____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Less with male/bodied More with male-bodied
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Less with female-bodied More with female-bodied
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Less with transsexual-bodied or intersex More with transsexual-bodied or intersex
Lori B. Girshick, 2006
Sex/Gender/Sexual Orientation Continuums explained:
The Sex Continuum: Traditionally, individuals are labeled male or female when looking at biological factors. These include external genitals, internal reproductive organs, secondary sex characteristics, hormones, and chromosomes. The general thinking is that someone is male or female, not both or neither. However, intersex individuals defy this thinking because they may have a mix of characteristics usually thought of as distinctly separate. Consequently, someone can appear on each of the two sex continuums in different places, not only on one of the ends. These continuums allow for the representation of intersex individuals without portraying them as exceptions or deviant.
The Gender Identity Continuum: Our internal sense of gender relates to our feelings of being a man or a woman. Traditionally it was believed that if you felt masculine you would not feel feminine, and vice versa. But some people feel differing degrees of masculinity and differing degrees of femininity. Some people do not feel particularly like a man or a woman, and some feel they are both. Having parallel continuums where degrees of man and of woman can coexist help us capture a broader range of gender identity experiences.
It is also important to note that someone could be a male on the sex continuum and a not-man and more a woman on the gender identity continuum. The view that all biological males are identifying as strongly masculine men is not always true. This example extends to other combinations of body with internal sense, which leads to gender expression.
The Gender Expression Continuum: The manner in which a person presents their sense of gender is their gender expression. This may or may not be consistent across time and place. Some people may be androgynous and not have a clear masculine or feminine expression; others may be clearly one or the other. Parallel continuums allow for all expressions to be acknowledged and validated.
Sexual Orientation Continuums: Sexual orientation has two components--who one is attracted to and what type of body one is sexual with. A person can be attracted to people who are more or less male/man, female/ woman, or transgender in their presentation. When behaving sexually, the body may be male, female, transsexual, or intersex. Thinking about sexual orientation this way is more inclusive of people with gender variant identities and gender variant bodies. For example, a person may be female appearing but have an intersex body; a person who is a cross-dresser may be male-bodied; a genderqueer individual may have a female body. There are many combinations of people--all normal, all deserving of acceptance and validation.
BOOK READINGS AND PRESENTATIONS
June 5, 2008: Bookman's, 1520 S. Riordan Ranch Rd, Flagstaff, AZ, 928-774-0005, 6:30pm
June 10, 2008: Auntie's, 402 W. Main Ave., Spokane, WA, 509-838-0206, 7:30pm
June 27, 2008: Changing Hands Bookstore, Tempe, AZ, 6428 S. McClintock Dr., Tempe, AZ, 480-730-4828, 7pm
July 7, 2008: Southern Arizona Gender Alliance (SAGA), Wingspan, 425 E 7th St., Tucson, AZ, 520-624-1779, 7pm
July 16 or 19, 2008: Prescott, AZ, details TBA, "Understanding Transgender: There's More to Gender than M or F"
Aug. 5, 2008: Modern Times Bookstore, 888 Valencia St., SF, CA, 415-282-9246, 7:30pm
