Gender bender: what it is and how it transgresses gender roles

David Bowie, Lady Gaga, Prince... all of them are or were great professionals who are highly recognized worldwide for the quality of their songs. Likewise, they were also seen as eccentric due to their wardrobe or their search for an androgynous appearance. They have the characteristics of gender bender people, a concept that we are going to talk about throughout this article.

• Related article: "Gender dysphoria: being born in the wrong body"

Gender bender: what is it?

The term gender bender refers to a person who rebels against gender roles and stereotypes and the binary system they establish, being said break with them shown to the public in an active way.

The manifestation of said rebellion towards gender roles can be carried out in innumerable ways. One of the most common is to show roles and behaviors attributed by gender roles to the opposite sex. Another of them (and probably the most externally visible) is the use of a costume or appearance that is either associated with said other sex or uses elements of both

, achieving an androgynous look in the latter case. It is also common for both ways of expression to occur, just as drag queens or drag kings do.

The gender bender may be trying to generate social change with their behavior, through a movement or activism. However, it is important to bear in mind that gender bending does not have to be a radical activist position, and can be merely a form of self-expression or even exploration to forge one's own identity independent of the opinion of others the rest.

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Gender bending as a social movement

Although not on all occasions, gender bending can be understood (being the trend itself and the gender bender the person who practices it) as a form of movement and social activism.

In this sense, a protest would be taking place against gender roles, excessively restricted and tending to the exclusion of those who are not limited to them. You would be expressing a greater desire for freedom to be as you want to be, being able to be and express yourself freely without being fitted or constrained by patterns not chosen by oneself and without this causing discrimination or criticism social.

This activism usually acts in a demanding but peaceful way, sometimes acting through parody and theatrics to express the artificiality of the gender construct. As we have indicated, elements associated with the other genre are usually used, although it can be searched for also non-gender and androgeneity or the mixture of characteristics linked to each of the genders.

It must also be taken into account that this type of activism occurs in societies with a binary system and with roles of gender like ours, but not in other cultures that even recognize a third gender or gender identity traditional.

Differentiation from other concepts

Although gender bending is a type of reaction to gender stereotypes that is associated with the population of the LGTBI collectivedue, among other things, to the fact that this group has had to fight against discrimination and defends the right to sexual and identity freedom, in reality it encompasses and is addressed to the entire population.

In fact, this relationship often leads to gender bending being identified with other concepts. that although in some cases they may have a certain link, it would be incorrect to consider them as synonyms.

1. confusion with sexual orientation

First of all, it should be considered that gender bending is a reaction to gender stereotypes, this being independent of the sexual orientation of the person in question. And it is that sexual orientation marks the preference and sexual attraction towards people of a certain sex.

Thus, although it has been considered socially linked to homosexuality or bisexuality, the truth is that a gender bender can have any type of sexual orientation, being in fact many of them straight. And conversely, any person or dependent on her orientation can follow or fulfill gender roles.

2. transsexuality

Another aspect, which in fact is often often identified when selling bender, is transsexuality. But also in this case the identification between both concepts is not correct.

Transsexuality implies the presence of an identification with a sex that is not the one that is given to us by birth, without having to necessarily imply a rejection of gender roles (although the majority of transsexuals must face stigmas linked to these).

Likewise, gender bending does not have to imply feeling in the wrong body.

3. Cross-dressing: not always a means of expression for the gender bender

Finally, there is the concept of cross-dressing, perhaps the one most socially linked to the gender bender. And it is true that one of the ways to express rejection of gender roles and stereotypes is through the use of clothing, accessories and makeup linked to the opposite sex, or to mix outfits typically considered masculine and feminine.

However, not all people who cross-dress do so as a sign of social activism or to break stereotypes, in addition to the fact that the gender bender she can show her break with gender roles in ways other than her wardrobe (for example at the behavioral level).

Appearance in multiple contexts

We have started this would be talking about different singers who have marked and been relevant in the collective imagination and who on more than one occasion have used androgynous looks as a way of expression.

This is because the world of music in general generates easily recognizable figures and icons for all. But gender benders do not only exist in this area: actors and actresses, writers or playwrights have introduced or represented this dispute or break with gender stereotypes.

In any case, it should be noted that in part due to the poor social consideration that until a few years ago they had options different from those established by tradition, there are many people in this group who have not been able to freely express their A way of see themselves, as well as being often ignored, marginalized and even persecuted.

Of course, although gender bending as a movement did not begin until the sixties, this does not mean that the concept behind it is not something that has been talked about throughout the centuries.

And not only in reality, but also in multiple works of fiction, cases of gender bending can be seen. It is said that even Shakespeare introduced in many of his characters some kind of reference to stereotypes or gender roles or to the fact of acting in a way attributed to the opposite sex.

Bibliographic references:

• Butler, J. (1988). Performative Acts and Gender Construction: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory (PDF).
• Butler, J. (2006). Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. 1st Edition. Routledge Classics.
• Lonc, C. (1974). Genderfuck and Its Delights. Gay Sunshine, 21.