Social Isolation: The Institutional Perpetuation of the Cis-Normative Sex and Gender Binary

Arthur G. Ward 

Anthropology 137P: The Anthropology of Deviance and Abnormality

Dr. Derrek Milne

Department of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles

July, 2023

40-minute read

Social Isolation: The Institutional Perpetuation of the Cis-Normative Sex and Gender Binary

          Categories of deviance related to sex and gender are constructed by society and are influenced by cultural, historical, and ideological factors. These categories often reflect social norms, values, and expectations surrounding sex and gender roles. Creating these categories involves social institutions, media, religious beliefs, and government policies, among other pancultural measures. In constructing these categories of deviance, a society can establish and reinforce societal norms and regulate behavior deviating from these set expectations. By defining what is considered “normal” or “acceptable” regarding sex and gender, these categories can perpetuate power dynamics, marginalize certain groups, and maintain traditional gender expectations.

Media

          The media’s influence on society’s perceptions of sex and gender is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon that warrants careful analysis. As a dominant force in modern societies, media is pivotal in constructing and reinforcing cultural values and expectations surrounding sex and gender. Through representation, objectification, and the perpetuation of gender norms, the media shapes how individuals understand and interpret concepts of femininity, masculinity, and non-binary identities.

         Throughout history, the representation of transgender individuals in media has often perpetuated and reinforced the sex and gender binary. Early portrayals were rooted in sensationalism and misunderstanding, framing trans individuals as objects of ridicule or pathology. From film to print media, these depictions focused on reinforcing social expectations surrounding sex and gender, working to marginalize members of the transgender community as deviant or abnormal. These harmful representations contribute to rigid gender constructions, establishing the binary framework that continues to influence modern society’s understanding of masculinity and femininity. While progress has been made in recent years to challenge these stereotypes, historical media representations have left a lasting impact on cultural perceptions, highlighting the importance of ongoing efforts to promote authentic and inclusive portrayals of transgender experiences.

Disclosure

          The media’s significant impact on the trans experience is perhaps best discussed in Sam Feder’s 2020 Netflix documentary, Disclosure, a film that explores the representation of transgender individuals throughout the history of film and television. The documentary delves into how media has historically constructed categories of deviance through sex and gender and how these representations have influenced the social perception of the transgender community. From early 20th-century silent pictures extending well into today, the media’s portrayals have also significantly impacted how transgender people see and understand themselves, an idea thoroughly discussed throughout the documentary.

Media’s Lasting Memory

         Actor and producer Rain Valdez expresses how the historical treatment of trans characters on screen and television has directly impacted her experience as a trans person. Recalling a memory from her childhood, Valdez says:   

My family and I would always watch movies together. We were watching Soapdish [(Hoffman 1991)], but before we got to the end [when a prominent character is cruelly outed as transgender], my family got really quiet because it gave them confirmation that if I chose a certain life, I would be the bad guy, or I would not be loved. I was 7 or 8 at the time […] I remember the next morning, my mother would try to get me to wear more masculine clothes. (Valdez in Feder 2020)

This poignant memory from Valdez’s childhood highlights how media sustains change within the lives of transgender individuals, leading to lasting consequences and influencing how she and her family came to understand what the eventual manifestation of the trans experience would be. The highly problematic depiction of trans individuals within Soapdish forever impacted Valdez’s life, causing her family to pull away from any sense of acceptance in fear of damning their child to a life of scorn and ridicule, leading to the implementation of an attitude of dishonor against her feminine presentation in hopes of actively promoting change in her life’s trajectory.   

          How the media influences both the trans- and cisgender community’s perceptions of transsexuality is vital to developing a society’s cultural and social attitudes towards trans rights, and it is within this environment that the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) works. GLAAD is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization whose mission is to protest the media’s defamatory LGBTQ+ coverage and tackle the challenging social issues to provoke and shape the social narrative to lead to cultural change (GLAAD 2023). Nick Adams, the organization’s director of transmedia and representation, references the lack of interpersonal connections between the trans- and cisgender communities and the impact this lack of exposure can have. Adams says:

Trans people have also been taught how to think about themselves [by the media]. We are not raised, usually, in a family where other trans people are around us. So, when trying to figure out who we are, we look to the media to figure it out because, just like the 80% of Americans who say they do not know a trans person, this is often true of trans people as well. We do not know a trans person when figuring out who we are. So, we are looking to the media to figure out, ‘Who is like us?’ (Adams in Feder 2020)

The lacking positivity in the media’s portrayal of trans people produces a significant impact on how those processing their trans identity come to see and understand themselves and their place within the larger society. Feder’s Disclosure highlights how the media has often portrayed transgender individuals in stereotypical and harmful ways, perpetuating negative and stigmatizing images. It examines how these portrayals have contributed to the construction of categories of deviance, marginalizing transgender people and reinforcing societal norms and expectations surrounding the sex and gender binary.

         In discussing the conceptual point of departure in Disclosure, actor and activist Laverne Cox highlights how the historically lacking positive representation in media influences an individual’s journey in quantifying their self-worth and identity; Cox comments, “I think for a very long time the ways in which trans people have been represented on screen have suggested that we are not real, have suggested that we are mentally ill, that we do not exist” (Cox in Feder 2020). For over a century, film and television have worked to negatively depict trans individuals as jokes, monsters, mentally ill, unstable, and, at times, inhuman in attempts to defend sex and gender’s status quo.

A Florida Enchantment

         A further betrayal of gender-nonconforming individuals was Hollywood’s comfort in blending negative stereotypes to underscore the deviant nature of trans individuals increasingly. Highlighting one of the first efforts to intermingle gendered and racist stereotypes into a single trope, Actor Brian Michael Smith discusses the problematic nature of director Sidney Drew’s 1914 film A Florida Enchantment, which included white actors in blackface and is today considered one of the earliest onscreen representations of homosexuality and gendered cross-dressing. Highlighting the problematic nature of blending multiple stereotypes, Smith mentions:

In [A] Florida Enchantment, she eats the seed, and voila, she wakes up [and] she is a man. And not only are we looking at gender expression but then also racist expectations. So, the white [character] becomes this high society dandy, like the ideal of what a man should be. But then her handmaid is forced to take the seed; she becomes this aggressive valet who is violent [and appears in blackface]. And so, even in this gender-transgressive fantasy, you have these white characters in blackface playing these horribly fantastical versions of Black people. (Smith in Feder 2020)

Smith highlights that a critical mechanism in A Florida Enchantment is its parallel to how the media influences society’s perceptions of sex and gender through representation. By portraying specific gender roles and stereotypes in film, television shows, and advertisements, the media reinforces the societal norms and expectations surrounding gender-based identities. As referenced in A Florida Enchantment, women are often depicted as passive and nurturing caregivers, while men are portrayed as assertive and dominant figures. These representations, highly exacerbated when crossed with the dynamics of race and ethnicity, especially during the early twentieth century, not only perpetuate traditional gender roles but also contribute to the marginalization and invisibility of non-binary and transgender individuals, further reinforcing the binary view of sex and gender.

Representation in Media

         The impact of the media’s specific representation of the trans community is referenced in Sarah J. Jackson, Moya Bailey, and Brooke Foucault Welles’s 2018 article “#GirlsLikeUs: Trans advocacy and community building online,” published in New Media and Society, who write:

[…] the representation of trans women as disruptive—even dangerous—to civil society is evident in how trans women are portrayed on the US big and small screens. Representation of trans women, and trans women of color, in particular, in news and popular culture has long been one of stereotyped hypersexual tricksters whose victimization at the hands of cisgender men is framed as a natural or deserved consequence of their disruptive identities. (2018)

Jackson, Bailey, and Welles continue to reference trans objectification during the 1990s, writing, “[…] trans women became regular objects of fascination on daytime talk shows. The Jerry Springer Show, for example, was frequent fodder for scholars interested in trans representation—representation that tied trans identity to fear, deception, and freakishness” (2018). The article supports the narrative that the media’s representation worked to play a significant role in the negative stereotyping of the community. Further exploring the significant impact of the media’s continued negative depiction of the trans community throughout its centuries-long hold over societal perceptions, Jackson, Bailey, and Welles comment on how these very perceptions spill outside of the cultural domain and into the legal, writing:

In US courts, trans women have been deemed deviant and held responsible for the violence and discrimination they face. In the late 1990s, for example, the “gay and trans panic” defense became popular among some attorneys seeking to justify their clients’ violent crimes against members of the queer and trans community. (2018)

This courtroom tactic represents how the media’s portrayal of trans issues both influenced and was influenced by more extensive cultural and political narratives about trans identity.

The Silence of the Lambs

         Feder’s Disclosure provides another example of how media’s representation manipulated the cisgender perception of the trans experience. American writer, actor, producer, and activist Jen Richards comments on this respect within the documentary, saying:

I was about to go through transition, and I worked up the courage to tell one of my colleagues. And she is a very, very smart woman, very, very talented musician, very well-educated, very worldly, and she looked at me and goes, ‘You mean like Buffalo Bill?’ Her only point of reference was this disgusting, psychotic serial killer who hunts women [to] kill them and skin them, [to] wear their bodies — to literally appropriate the female form, which is exactly the feminist argument against the existence of trans women. (Richards in Feder 2020)  

The Silence of the Lambs, both the novel by Thomas Harris (1988) and the Academy Award-winning movie adaptation (1991), has faced criticism for its problematic representation of transgender individuals. One of the most prominent examples is the character Buffalo Bill (played by Ted Levine in the movie), the serial killer who skins his victims to create a “woman suit.” The possibility of Buffalo Bill’s transgender status is somewhat unclear in both the film and novel adaptations, leaving the importance of the matter somewhat muffled. The following interaction between the psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter and FBI Agent Clarice Starling underscores the uncertainty plaguing Buffalo Bill’s understanding and expression of his gender identity:

CLARICE: Quid pro quo, Doctor.

DR. LECTER: Tell me, Miss West Virginia – was she a large girl?

CLARICE: Yes.

DR. LECTER: Big through the hips. Roomy.

CLARICE: They all were.

DR. LECTER: What else?

CLARICE: She had an insect deliberately inserted in her throat. Now, that hasn’t been made public yet. We do not know what it means.

DR. LECTER: Was it a butterfly?

CLARICE: Yes, a moth. Just like the one we found in Benjamin Raspail’s head an hour ago. Why does he place them there, Doctor?

DR. LECTER: The significance of the moth is change. Caterpillar into chrysalis or pupa, and from thence into beauty. Our Billy wants to change, too.

CLARICE: There is no correlation in the literature between transsexualism and violence. Transexuals are very passive.

DR. LECTER: Clever girl. You’re so close to the way you’re going to catch him – do you realize that?

[…]

DR. LECTER: Billy is not a real transexual, but he thinks he is; he tries to be; he’s tried to be a lot of things, I expect.

CLARICE: You said – I was very close to the way we’d catch him.

DR. LECTER: There are three major centers for transexual surgery: John Hopkins, the University of Minnesota, and Columbus Medical Center. I would not be surprised if Billy has applied for sex reassignment at one or all of them and been rejected.

CLARICE: On what basis would they reject him?

DR. LECTER: Look for severe childhood disturbances associated with violence. Our Billy wasn’t born a criminal, Clarice. He was made one through years of systematic abuse. Billy hates his own identity, you see, and he thinks that makes him a transexual. But his pathology is a thousand times more savage and more terrifying. (Damme 1991, 00:54:01-00:57:50)

Harris and Demme’s combined depiction of Buffalo Bill has been widely criticized as perpetuating harmful stereotypes against the trans community; however, the dialog between Dr. Lecter and Agent Starling also uncovers the manipulatory effect implemented by Hollywood in its continued effort to maintain the sex and gender binary through its domination of the cis-normative transgender perspective.

          The character of Buffalo Bill reinforces the “transgender predator” trope, which falsely associates transgender individuals with violence and deviant behavior. By presenting the antagonist as a deranged and violent individual seeking to change his gender through gruesome means, the narrative creates a sensationalized and stigmatizing image of transgender people. Furthermore, the use of Buffalo Bill’s gender identity as a plot device reinforces the idea that being transgender is inherently linked to criminality or mental illness. This portrayal not only misrepresents transgender individuals but also contributes to a climate of misunderstanding and fear, potentially leading to discrimination and violence against the transgender community. Additionally, the character’s chosen name, Buffalo Bill, and the way he refers to gender identity in the third person neutral form, “it,” further dehumanizes transgender people, perpetuating a harmful narrative that denies their humanity and identities.

          While The Silence of the Lambs was praised for its compelling storytelling and performances, it is essential to critically examine its representation of transgender individuals and recognize the harm caused by such depictions. Both the novel and movie work in tandem to undermine trans representation by promoting a sensationalized and deviant depiction of transgender people, in turn perpetuating harmful stereotypes that contribute to the marginalization and discrimination of the entire community.

Representational Sex Work

         Another important consideration regarding the media’s portrayal of transgender individuals is its frequent correlation between trans people and sex work. American Actor and producer Trace Lysette discusses the issue of constantly depicting trans individuals as sex workers within the documentary, saying:

Not that there is anything wrong with doing sex work for a living, but it is just not all that we are. And as a former sex worker, I feel I can speak to that. And if you are only seeing us as one thing, without any life outside of that, people are never going to get to see us as a whole person. (Lysette in Feder 2020)

Lysette highlights the problematic nature of solely depicting transgender individuals as sex workers within media representations. This presentation of the transgender community underscores several severe social ramifications in addition to perpetuating harmful stereotypes and contributing to the marginalization and discrimination of the community. Some of the consequences of depicting trans individuals solely within the lens of sex work include: 

1. Stigmatization and Discrimination: Portraying transgender individuals predominantly as sex workers reinforces the stereotype that being transgender is synonymous with engaging in sex work. This stigmatization can lead to discrimination in various aspects of life, including employment, housing, and access to healthcare, as society may unfairly associate transgender individuals with illegal or immoral activities.

2. Dehumanization and Objectification: Reducing transgender individuals to one-dimensional sex worker portrayals dehumanizes them and objectifies their identities. This devaluation of their experiences can lead to a lack of empathy and understanding, further marginalizing the transgender community.

3. Negative Impact on Mental Health: Constantly being depicted in a hostile and limited manner can have detrimental effects on the mental health and well-being of transgender individuals. It reinforces feelings of alienation, shame, and self-doubt, contributing to higher rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide within the community.

4. Limited Representation: When media perpetuates the stereotype of transgender individuals solely as sex workers, it limits their representation and prevents diverse portrayals of their experiences and identities. This lack of representation further erases the complexity and diversity within the transgender community.

5. Inequality and Invisibility: The continuous portrayal of transgender individuals as sex workers reinforces their marginalization and perpetuates an unequal power dynamic, where their stories are often overshadowed and misrepresented. This depiction further reinforces the invisibility of transgender individuals, leading to their voices being unheard and their issues being disregarded.

6. Impact on Public Perception: Media plays a significant role in shaping public perception and attitudes. Solely depicting transgender individuals as sex workers can lead to misconceptions and biases about the entire community, contributing to negative stereotypes and prejudice.

Objectification

         Additionally, media objectification, wherein individuals are reduced to their physical appearance or sexual attributes, significantly shapes societal attitudes toward sex and gender. The objectification of women, in particular, is pervasive across various media forms, leading to the normalization of harmful and reductive stereotypes. This objectification can seriously affect how women are perceived and treated, perpetuating a culture of sexism and gender-based discrimination. Similarly, the objectification of transgender individuals in media contributes to their marginalization and dehumanization, hindering efforts to achieve equal rights and acceptance.

Bathroom Battlegrounds

         In Kristen Schilt and Laurel Westbrook’s 2015 article, “Bathroom battlegrounds and penis panics,” the nearly hysterical conservative rejection of laws prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity and gender expression, especially concerning inclusive bathroom access, is considered, highlighting it as a form of nearly obsessive objectification against trans women. Schilt and Westbrook highlight an example of a unified conservative effort to overturn a gender-neutralizing law: in January 2008, the city commission of Gainesville, Florida, passed a regulation prohibiting discrimination based on “gender identity and gender expression” in employment and public accommodations (which include public restrooms and locker rooms). The ordinance change was forwarded by the city’s Equal Opportunity Committee, which submitted its formal recommendation in August 2017, stating:

The Equal Opportunity Committee recommends […] an ordinance adding gender identity to the list of protected classes against whom discrimination in employment, public accommodations, housing practices, and credit opportunities is prohibited […]. Gender identity would be defined as “An inner sense of being a specific gender, or the expression of a gender identity by verbal statement, appearance, or mannerisms, or other gender-related characteristics of an individual with or without regard to the individual’s designated sex at birth.” (Equal Opportunity Committee of the City of Gainesville, Florida 2007)

Within their article, Schilt and Westbrook concentrate on the public debate surrounding the ordinance’s passage as a concerted effort was launched to overturn the City Commission’s decision. The conservative argument against the city’s newly enacted law reflected the common debate that the legal ramifications of these protections have “unanticipated, dangerous consequences for women and children” (Schilt and Westbrook 2015, 27).

         The conservative right-wing arguments against laws prohibiting gender-based discrimination in public restrooms frequently center on concerns about privacy, safety, and preserving traditional gender norms. Some of these arguments include: 

1.  Privacy and Safety Concerns: Conservatives argue that allowing individuals of different genders to use the same restroom may compromise the privacy and safety of cisgender individuals, particularly women, and children. They claim that removing gender-based segregation in restrooms could lead to instances of harassment or assault.

2. Preservation of Traditional Gender Norms: Some conservatives believe that allowing gender-nonconforming individuals to use restrooms that align with their gender identity challenges traditional gender norms and family values. They argue that it disrupts societal order and religious beliefs about gender roles and could harm children’s development by confusing their understanding of gender.

3. Potential for Abuse: Critics express concern that gender-inclusive restroom policies might be exploited by individuals pretending to be transgender to gain access to restrooms for malicious purposes.

In response to the Gainesville ordinance, Schilt and Westbrook write that opponents to any transgender-supportive measure often address “the specter of sexual predators in sex-segregated spaces” (2015, 27), using those arguments as a potential roadblock to the passage of any such transgender rights legislation. However, these arguments typically only address one specific aspect of gender-based measures—overwhelmingly concentrating on women’s spaces, particularly restrooms. Schilt and Westbrook present two fascinating questions regarding this concentration of conservative efforts, asking: (1) “What do sexual predators have to do with transgender rights?” and (2) “Why is the concern only about women’s spaces?” (2015, 27).

“Gender-panic” of the Penis?

         The argument made by Schilt and Westbrook is that conservatives are attacking any person perceived as male to fight against their legal right to enter “woman-only” spaces. The premise of this contention is that conservatives believe all males have the potential to present as a physical threat against women and children. Schilt and Westbrook write, “Under this logic, they often conflate ‘sexual predators’ (imagined to be deviant men) and transgender women (imagined to be always male)” (2015, 27). In refuting the conservative ideology, Schilt and Westbrook find the underlying issue not to be the male identity but the physical presence of a penis within women-only spaces.

          The term “gender-panic” is introduced concerning the anti-gender-inclusivity movement, defined as “moments where people react to a challenge to the gender binary by frantically asserting [the binary’s] naturalness” (Schilt and Westbrook 2015, 27). With the argument against the presence of a penis within women-only spaces, conservatives attempt to define a sexuality-free zone; moreover, their focus on restrooms centers on the fear of introducing a sexual element into such zones, where sexual impropriety could be presented if policies and laws allow “wrong-bodies”—or as Schilt and Westbrook argue, penises—to permeate these perceived protected spaces.

          These challenges to laws prohibiting the discrimination of trans individuals and against those non-conforming to the sex and gender binary within the public sphere present two primary considerations: first, the conservative argument is rooted in the idea that women are weak and in need of protection, a conception that Laurel Westbrook (one of the article’s authors) refers to as “creating a vulnerable subjecthood” – that is, men, all men, are inherently rapists (Schilt and Westbrook 2015, 27). Second, the general fear and misunderstanding of trans people by conservatives present an argument that anyone non-conforming of the sex and gender binary is inherently less deserving of legal protections – the same protections unquestioningly granted to cisgender women and children (27).

Conservatives and Anti-Trans Rights

          The conservative arguments against trans rights are perhaps best outlined by Schilt and Westbrook, writing, “The battle over transgender people’s access to sex-segregated spaces is both about transgender rights and about either reproducing or challenging damaging beliefs about what it is to be a man and what it is to be a woman” (2015, 27-28). The reality and primary issue with these arguments is that they overlook the real-life experiences and needs of gender-nonconforming individuals, leading to further harm and marginalization. These arguments can significantly and negatively impact those within the trans and gender-nonconforming communities in various ways, including:

1. Stigmatization and Discrimination: Conservative arguments may perpetuate stigmatization and discrimination against gender-nonconforming individuals by portraying them as potential threats or deviants. These actions create a hostile environment, increasing discrimination, harassment, and violence against gender-nonconforming individuals.

2. Exclusion and Invisibility: By advocating for gender-segregated restrooms, conservative arguments can exclude gender-nonconforming individuals and deny them their right to access public spaces comfortably and safely. This denial erases their identities and further perpetuates their marginalization and invisibility.

3. Barriers to Participation and Inclusion: Laws reinforcing gender-based discrimination in restrooms can create barriers for gender-nonconforming individuals to participate fully in public life. These barriers hinder their ability to work, attend school, or engage in social activities without facing discomfort and discrimination.

4. Impact on Mental Health: The ongoing debate surrounding restroom access can negatively impact gender-nonconforming individuals’ mental health and well-being. Feeling unwelcome or unsafe in public spaces can lead to anxiety, depression, and a sense of isolation.

5. Legal Vulnerability: Without legal protections against gender-based discrimination in restrooms, gender-nonconforming individuals are vulnerable to discrimination and may face challenges seeking recourse or justice.

Schilt and Westbrook highlight the importance of the argument against gender inclusivity within the broader social and political environment, stating, “[…] the question at the heart of the ballot initiative—the place of transgender people in society—has never been a more visible issue than it is today” (2015, 27). It is without question that transgender and gender variant people face large-scale discrimination, especially in areas concerning employment, housing, and education. However, it remains the case that even with the ever-expanding efforts of city and state lawmakers with the passage of measures to address some of these growing inequalities, the introduction of each new trans-supportive law results in a widespread outbreak of protests, furthering the stigma against trans and gender non-conforming individuals (Schilt and Westbrook 2017, 27).

          It is to be said, however, that sexual assault is a serious and troubling issue that needs social and political pressure to mitigate; however, such assaults rarely happen within public restrooms, and in cities where transgender-supportive laws have passed, no increase in sexual assaults in public restrooms have been recorded. As Schilt and Westbrook write, “Raising the specter of the sexual predator in debates around transgender rights should be unmasked for the multiple ways it can perpetuate gender inequality” (2015, 31). It is essential to critically examine these arguments and prioritize the well-being and rights of gender non-conforming individuals. Advocating for inclusive restroom policies and robust anti-discrimination laws is crucial to fostering a more equitable and accepting society where everyone’s rights and dignity are respected.

Social Media

          While unprecedented amounts of evidence are available for the defense of media’s strategically negative influence on society’s perceptions regarding many categories of sex and gender, each working hard to defend the status quo, modern technologies also present opportunities for reclaiming the power of media, transforming these platforms into stages of rejection of the perpetuated gender binary. Moreover, the strategic use of media platforms, such as social media and streaming services, enables deviant subgroups, including the transgender community, to leverage the power of technology for their personal, cultural, and political goals. Therefore, understanding the intricate relationship between media and perceptions of sex and gender is crucial for advancing gender equality and fostering inclusive and informed societies.

          The unprecedented opportunities provided by access to social media platforms allow communities traditionally labeled as deviant to protest the existing status quo and harness the power of media persuasion for their benefit. Through the strategic use of hashtags and online platforms, deviant communities can raise awareness, build support, and advocate for their rights and respectful representation. By sharing personal experiences and cultural expressions, these communities can challenge harmful stereotypes and misconceptions, fostering a sense of unity and mobilizing a global audience. However, social media also poses challenges, such as online harassment and the spread of misinformation, which requires careful consideration and proactive measures to ensure that marginalized voices can continue to harness the transformative potential of media for their personal, cultural, and political goals.

Publics and Counterpublics

         Jackson, Bailey, and Welles highlight many of these methodologies in their article through the integrated research and examination of the advocacy and community building of transgender women on Twitter through network and discourse analysis methods. Jackson, Bailey, and Welles argue:

[…] trans women on Twitter, led by Janet Mock and Laverne Cox, and in response to histories of misrepresentation and ongoing marginalization and violence, deliberately curate an intersectional networked counterpublic that works to legitimize and support trans identities and advocacy for trans autonomy in larger publics and counterpublics. (2018, 1868)

Publics

         However, it is essential to understand the conceptualized “public” and its place in the larger social world before accessing Jackson, Bailey, and Welles’s debate. According to American literary critic and Professor of English Literature and American Studies at Yale University Michael Warner’s 2002 article “Publics and Counterpublics,” the public can be defined as a type of social totality. Warner writes:

It might be the people organized as the nation, the commonwealth, the city, the state, or some other community. It might be very general, as in Christendom or humanity. But in each case, the public, as a people, is thought to include everyone within the field in question. (Warner 2002, 49)

In addition to the idea of social totality, Warner describes two additional references of what forms the public within the minds of an audience. First, Warner describes a public as a concrete audience, a “crowd witnessing itself in visible space, as with a theatrical public” (50). Warner defines this interpretation of social totality by bounding a public to the event or through shared physical space. Furthermore, Warner writes about the public that “come into being only in relation to texts and their circulations” (50)—for example, the public of this essay.

          In considering Warner’s alliteration of the public ideology, it seems frank to describe “a public” as different spheres or spaces where communication, discourse, and debate occur. The public then refers to the dominant, mainstream, and widely recognized sphere where communication and discussion occur and includes institutions, platforms, and spaces where information is shared, and opinions are expressed. A broad and diverse audience typically characterizes the public sphere, which plays a crucial role in shaping public opinion and influencing societal norms. From this understanding, the public can encompass media outlets, government institutions, official events, and widely accessible online platforms (i.e., social media). However, it can also be biased and excluded, where particular perspectives, experiences, or marginalized voices may be underrepresented or silenced.

          Warner also references a series of characteristics specific to every public: (1) the public is self-organized; (2) the public is a relation among strangers; (3) the address of public speech is both personal and impersonal; (4) the public is constituted through mere attention; (5) the public is the social space created by the reflexive circulation of discourse; (6) the public act historically according to the temporality of their circulation; (7) the public is poetic world-building. (2002, 50-82). Within these last two characteristics, we conclude the essential role of the public within the greater social discourse. Warner highlights the fundamental ideology in defense of the public philosophy, writing that the public “[…] depends on institutionalized forms of power to realize the agency attributed to the public; and it depends on a hierarchy of faculties that allows some activities to count as public or general, while others are thought to be merely personal, private, or particular” (2002, 84). It is through this understanding that clarity forms an inverse argument.

Counterpublics

         Warner asks, “But what of the publics that make no attempt to present themselves this way” (2002, 84)? Members of these publics form themselves purposefully apart from the general or dominant organization, establishing themselves into groups understood not to be merely a subset of the more extensive populous, but constituted through a direct conflict with the dominant public. This conflicted subgroup emerged through the Theory of Counterpublics, first introduced by Nancy Fraser, a prominent feminist and political theorist. It is a concept that describes the formation of alternative public spheres or spaces created by marginalized or oppressed groups to voice their concerns, share experiences, and engage in political discourse. These counterpublics emerge in response to the exclusion or limited representation of specific perspectives in the dominant public sphere.

          In the mainstream or dominant public sphere, certain voices and experiences are privileged, while others, especially those belonging to marginalized or stigmatized groups, may be silenced, ignored, or misrepresented. Counterpublics, on the other hand, offer a space for these marginalized groups to communicate and engage, free from the constraints and biases of the dominant public sphere. In counterpublics, individuals can collectively express their identities, experiences, and demands, thereby challenging existing power structures and advocating for social change. These alternative public spheres often play a crucial role in social movements, enabling activists to organize, mobilize support, and raise awareness about issues often overlooked or marginalized in the mainstream public sphere.

          Counterpublics can exist in various forms, such as social media networks, community-based organizations, grassroots movements, or publications catering to specific communities. Individuals can build solidarity through these spaces, resist dominant narratives, and work towards broader social and political transformation. Overall, the Theory of Counterpublics emphasizes the importance of recognizing and valuing alternative public spheres as vital components of a diverse and inclusive democratic society. It highlights the need to listen to and engage with marginalized voices and experiences to create a more equitable and just public discourse.

The #GirlsLikeUs Counterpublic

          Jackson, Bailey, and Welles present their argument through the lens of counterpublics, writing, “We apply the concept of network counterpublics […and] extend the concepts of the networked public sphere and counterpublics to the cultural work and interventions of historically marginalized citizens on Twitter” (2018, 1869). Featuring prominently within Jackson, Bailey, and Welles’s position is the emergence of the hashtag (#), and, specifically, the use of #GirlsLikeUs in the development of the anti-trans Twitter counterpublic, which actively works to promote a more diverse view of sex and gender in the modern Twitter-verse. Referencing the emergence of #GirlsLikeUs, the article states:

Others indeed quickly embraced the hashtag, using it to discuss everything from the desire to transition to the violence of being outed without consent to professional goals. In the creation and evolution of #GirlsLikeUs, we see what Michael Warner (2002) has called the “world-making” power of publics, that is, the discursive self-organization of a public among strangers that reflexively speaks to the historical and contemporary contexts of its makers and observers. Through the discursive contributions of a self-organized community of trans women, the hashtag became a space for counterpublic engagement; together, users created a network in which conversations that nurture in-group political and cultural projects can and do reach beyond it. (Jackson, Bailey, and Welles, 2018, 1869)

We see within this discourse that the strategic use of hashtags on social media is a tactic that allows deviant communities to harness the power of social media for social and political purposes.

Why Hashtags?

         Within the poignant use of the #GirlsLikeUs model lies the use of hashtags to develop a broader political agenda. As Jackson, Bailey, and Welles write, the use of counterpublics by “members of society attempting to create sweeping political change can successfully levy the technological affordances of Twitter to challenge dominant discourses of power and draw attention to issues and incidences that affect oppressed communities” (2018, 1869-1870). It is through the use of hashtags that this challenge is partially achieved. This counternarrative to the dominant public ideology is implemented in specific ways with the tactical use of hashtags, each designed to manipulate and harness the potential of social media for the benefit of the counterpublic on hand; these include: 

1. Visibility and Trending: By using relevant and impactful hashtags, deviant communities can increase the visibility of their messages and content. When a hashtag gains traction and becomes a trend, it attracts attention from a broader audience, including individuals, media outlets, and policymakers.

2. Community Building: Hashtags enable the formation of virtual communities around shared interests and identities. Deviant communities can use specific hashtags to connect with like-minded individuals, fostering a sense of belonging and solidarity.

3. Amplifying Voices: Hashtags act as a powerful amplification tool, allowing members of deviant communities to share their experiences, stories, and perspectives with a global audience. This amplification can lead to greater awareness and understanding of their issues.

4. Advocacy and Awareness: Deviant communities can use hashtags to promote social and political causes, raising awareness about relevant issues and demanding action. Hashtag campaigns can serve as a call to action, encouraging others to join the cause.

5. Mobilizing Support: Strategic use of hashtags can mobilize support for specific campaigns or events. It allows members of deviant communities to rally others around their causes, attracting allies and supporters.

6. Monitoring and Research: Hashtags can be a valuable tool for researchers and activists to monitor public sentiment and track conversations around specific topics. This data can inform advocacy efforts and provide insights into public opinion.

7. Engaging with Public Discourse: By participating in trending hashtag discussions, deviant communities can insert their voices into broader public discourse. This connection can challenge stereotypes, combat misinformation, and shape public perceptions.

8. Influencing Policy: Hashtags can be employed to advocate for policy changes and influence decision-makers. When a hashtag gains significant attention, policymakers may take notice and respond to the concerns raised by deviant communities.

9. Overcoming Censorship: In some cases, hashtags can be used creatively to bypass censorship and reach audiences in regions where specific topics are restricted or taboo.

The importance of these representations of the hashtag and its implementation in various political discourses highlight its strategic use in supporting the work of deviant groups in subverting the contemporary understanding of sex and gender. However, it is essential to note that while hashtags offer numerous opportunities for deviant communities to advance their social and political goals, there are challenges too. Opposing groups can co-opt hashtags, and social media platforms may also have policies limiting certain content’s visibility. Additionally, online harassment and hate speech can negatively impact these communities. Therefore, the responsible and thoughtful use of hashtags is essential to ensure positive outcomes.

Twitter

         Supporting the connection between the positive construction of counterpublics and the targeted use of hashtags, Jackson, Bailey, and Welles outline the vital role Twitter plays in the development of an organized social voice against transphobia, sexism, gender discrimination, negative media representation, and the supremacy of the oppressive dominant discourse (the dominant public); they write:

In social media, […] trans women can communicate about and construct their identities and experiences without the fraught, incomplete, and transphobic mediation of mainstream narratives; […] we suggest that the digital discourse of #GirlsLikeUs extends the characteristics of trans activist literature, […] as various members of the […] network share their stories, offer each other support, and advocate for trans histories, worlds, and rights. […] Through an examination of the #GirlsLikeUs network and related hashtags, we illustrate how, for trans women, Twitter is an important site of counterculture practice, intervention, and representation. (2018, 1872)

Twitter has played a significant role in promoting trans community building, trans advocacy, and pushing back against the cultural sex and gender status quo. The platform’s unique features have empowered the trans community to connect, share experiences, and advocate for their rights in various essential ways:

1. Community Building: Twitter allows trans individuals to find and form virtual communities based on shared experiences and identities. Hashtags like #TransTwitter and #GirlsLikeUs facilitate the formation of supportive networks, providing a sense of belonging and solidarity for trans individuals worldwide.

2. Visibility and Representation: Twitter offers trans individuals a space to represent themselves authentically and share their stories. Using hashtags and posting content related to their experiences can increase visibility and challenge stereotypes, ultimately fostering greater understanding and acceptance.

3. Advocacy and Awareness: Trans activists and advocates use Twitter to raise awareness about trans rights and issues. They utilize hashtags and threads to highlight discrimination, demand equality, and mobilize support for important causes, leading to greater visibility for trans advocacy efforts.

4. Challenging Stereotypes: By leveraging Twitter as a platform for activism and expression, the trans community can challenge prevailing stereotypes about gender identities. Through their tweets and engagement with public discourse, they can educate the public and promote a more nuanced understanding of sex and gender diversity.

5. Promoting Social Movements: Twitter has facilitated the creation and spread of social movements that advocate for trans rights and gender equality. Hashtag campaigns like #TransRightsAreHumanRights and #WontBeErased have amplified messages, drawn attention to pressing issues, garnered widespread support, and driven social change.

6. Connecting with Allies and Influencers: Twitter enables trans advocates to connect with allies, celebrities, influencers, and policymakers. By engaging with these individuals and promoting their messages, the trans community can amplify their voices and reach audiences that might not otherwise be exposed to Trans issues.

7. Support and Resources: Twitter is a platform for sharing resources, support services, and educational content related to trans experiences and rights. This dissemination of information contributes to greater awareness and empowers individuals to seek help and resources when needed.

It is essential to acknowledge that while Twitter has facilitated positive change for the trans community, it also comes with challenges, including online harassment and hate speech. However, by leveraging Twitter’s strengths, the trans community has successfully harnessed social media’s power for community building, advocacy, and challenging societal norms, contributing to a more inclusive and accepting cultural status quo regarding sex and gender.

         Through their analysis of the #GirlsLikeUs Twitter hashtag, Jackson, Bailey, and Welles uncovered the critical role the network plays in the overall trans discourse in this purpose-built counterpublic and how, fundamentally, the presented ideology works to push back against the contemporary sex and gender oppression coming from mainstream sources. Jackson, Bailey, and Welles write:

Through our discourse analysis of the most popular tweets and accounts in the network, we discovered that trans women use #GirlsLikeUs in three primary ways: (1) to connect with one another on every day, often mundane, experiences, (2) to advocate for trans issues and rights (particularly through critiques of mainstream representations of trans people and anti-trans violence), and (3) to celebrate the accomplishments of trans women. (2018, 1876)

It is through the work of Janet Mock and Laverne Cox that the #GirlsLikeUs network has evolved into the counterpublic powerhouse it has become; however, “although their tweets were disproportionately influential, higher profile users make up only a small fraction of the total population […]” (Jackson, Bailey, and Welles, 2018, 1874). Through this revelation, the significance of the impact of the network is fully revealed. Through the work and association of everyday people, the social and political force of the trans-Twitter counterpublic is developed and maintained.

Self-Identification Within the Neoliberal Ideology

         In addition to the media’s influence on the historical categorization and perception of sex and gender and the reconceptualization made possible by social media, other forces unite to complicate societal understanding further. In Lal Zimman’s 2019 article, “Trans Self-identification and the Language of Neoliberal Selfhood: Agency, Power, and the Limits of Monologic Discourse,” the intersection of linguistic and political ideologies are examined in search for conceptualizing contemporary perceptions of sex and gender through the lens of transgender experiences. Zimman works to connect the concept of gender self-determination, which he describes as a “key principle of [trans] activism” (2019, 147), to notions of agency and self-identification. Through a sociocultural analysis of transgender linguistic practices, specifically among the manifestation of gendered identity labels, third-person pronouns, and body part terminology, Zimman works to frame trans self-identification as “an enactment of neoliberal personhood, in which individuals are framed as the driver of their destiny” (2019, 147).

          Zimman argues that a fundamental understanding of the authority behind the performativity of self-determination is essential to understand the potential of linguistic principles to influence social practices. Consider a core linguistic ideology – descriptivism – defined as the “nonjudgmental approach to language that focuses on how it is actually spoken and written” (Nordquist 2019). Zimman further shifts this understanding of descriptivism by arguing that the essential factor in describing language is “the question of whose usage will be considered determinative” (2019, 148). The change of emphasis from how language is spoken to whose language will be determinative is at the core of Zimman’s argument, which states that the definitional authority of gender self-determination is bestowed by trans people to trans people, in what he describes as “[…] a form of resistance to normative structures of genital-based gender assignment. As a radical alternative to those normative systems, gender self-determination is realized first and foremost through the linguistic practice of self-identification” (2019, 148). That is, the trans community’s rejection of cis-normative gender assignment practices is a powerful statement of self-identification, further supported by subsequent proclamations of gender self-determinism made across the trans community. The power to determine one’s sex is granted and sustained by the trans community’s participation in gender self-determination, a practice Zimman argues is rooted in the neoliberal ideology of agency. Zimman explores the way self-determinism is assessed among linguistic practices within the trans community, specifically working toward an understanding of the gaps present within the contemporary theories of sex and gender, as understood through the trans experience and compared to those imposed by powerful institutions.

Neoliberalism and Agency

         Fundamental to Zimman’s argument is an understanding of Neoliberalism as a political, social, and individual practice. Neoliberalism is an economic and political ideology that emerged in the late 20th century, emphasizing free-market capitalism, minimal government intervention, and individual self-interest as the primary drivers of social and economic progress. It advocates for deregulation, privatization, and globalization, promoting the belief that market forces are the most efficient mechanisms for allocating resources and achieving societal well-being. Neoliberal policies prioritize entrepreneurship, competition, and the pursuit of profit, viewing individuals as self-reliant actors responsible for their success and well-being.

         The idea of self and agency become of vital importance to the neoliberal ideology, thus becoming the platform upon which Zimman defines his argument, writing:

The highly individualistic view of the self that is packaged into neoliberal cultural formations constructs each person as a solitary actor, driven by pursuits like self-knowledge and self-improvement, which have become moral imperatives in a world where one’s most valuable community is the self. (2019, 149)

In this fashion, the self-interested actions of gender self-determination become a symbol of rejection of the traditional sex and gender binary, as authority to decide one’s gender is granted by their simple participation within the trans culture. Incorporating the gender self-determination ideology strictly enforces the standard that only individuals can know and thus decide their identity. That their right to this individual determinism far outweighs the institutional judgments upon one’s legal or medical status, pushing aside any political, cultural, or social proclamations in favor of self-substantiation. Zimman comments on crossing trans self-determinism with cis-normative practices, writing, “Trans people’s understandings of gender and sex thus represent a push-back against powerful discourses around genital- or genetics-based essentialism” (2019, 154).

          Zimman describes the neoliberal understanding of the individual – of the self – as “[…] as generic, without identity or circumstance, and in that sense necessarily takes on all the social characteristics of a ‘generic person’ – one unmarked by gender, race, class, or sexuality” (2019, 165). The argument is that within this expressionless self-existence environment, gender self-identification assumes an emergent political characteristic that positions the trans identity upon the broader historical arc toward greater self-determinism. Zimman identifies this idealized self-identification form as a “radical resistance to cissexism. It is a path that strikes a blow against hegemonic gender assignments in which a person has no input into how their lives will indelibly – even violently – be shaped to fit norms for their assigned sex” (2019, 166).

          In his article, Zimman outlines the importance of an individual’s right to self-determinism as a product of neoliberal ideology. His discourse reflects another example of how culture categorizes sex and gender to underscore the resistance to such models. Zimman furthers his argument by detailing how self-identification and self-determinism address specific markers of cis-normative categorization, including such factors as pronoun usage, embodiment, and privilege.

Conclusion

         In conclusion, the media’s historical and systemic role in upholding the cis-normative status quo of sex and gender has perpetuated harmful stereotypes and marginalized gender non-conforming ideologies. By reinforcing binary gender norms and stigmatizing non-conforming identities, the media has contributed to the exclusion and erasure of diverse gender experiences.

         However, the rise of social media has provided a powerful tool for subverting cis-normative practices and challenging dominant narratives. Through the formation of counterpublics, marginalized communities have reclaimed agency, using hashtags and online platforms to amplify their voices, share experiences, and advocate for societal change. Social media has emerged as a platform for solidarity, resistance, and mobilization, offering an alternative to the traditional media’s limited representation.

         Furthermore, the targeted view of self-agency within the neoliberal ideology is being harnessed as a tool to rebel against cis-normative ideals of sex and gender identity. The emphasis on individual empowerment has facilitated the growth of inclusive practices that challenge binary gender norms and prioritize diversity and inclusivity.

         However, despite these positive developments, there are challenges to consider. The dominant media’s historical impact is deeply ingrained, and its effects on shaping societal perceptions of sex and gender persist. Additionally, the neoliberal emphasis on individualism can sometimes overlook collective struggles and perpetuate inequalities.

         A comprehensive approach is needed to continue challenging cis-normative sex and gender practices effectively. These methods include ongoing advocacy for inclusive media representation, critical engagement with social media platforms to resist harmful narratives and a nuanced understanding of self-agency that recognizes the importance of collective action and solidarity. Only through collective efforts and a commitment to centering diverse voices can we achieve a more equitable and inclusive society that celebrates and affirms all gender identities and expressions.

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