Yeadon-Lee, Tracey

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University of Huddersfield RepositoryYeadon­Lee, TraceyRemaking gender: non­binary gender identitiesOriginal CitationYeadon­Lee, Tracey (2017) Remaking gender: non­binary gender identities. In: British Sociological Association Annual Conference 2017, Tuesday 4 ­ Thursday 6 April, Manchester, UK. (Unpublished) This version is available at http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/31914/The University Repository is a digital collection of the research output of theUniversity, available on Open Access. Copyright and Moral Rights for the itemson this site are retained by the individual author and/or other copyright owners.Users may access full items free of charge; copies of full text items generallycan be reproduced, displayed or performed and given to third parties in anyformat or medium for personal research or study, educational or not­for­profitpurposes without prior permission or charge, provided:• The authors, title and full bibliographic details is credited in any copy;• A hyperlink and/or URL is included for the original metadata page; and• The content is not changed in any way.For more information, including our policy and submission procedure, pleasecontact the Repository Team at: E.mailbox@hud.ac.uk.http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/Remaking Gender: Non-binary gender identitiesDr Tracey Yeadon-LeeUniversity of HuddersfieldBackground	• Non-binary	gender	identities	(NB):	people	who	do	not	feel	male	or	female,	feel	a	mix	of	both,	or	feel	they	have	no	gender	at	all.	• Genderqueer,	gender	neutral,	gender	fluid,	neutrois,	non-gender,	agender,	bi-gender	and	more.• Visibility	e.g.		• Legal	recognition	of	NB	in	number	of	countries	(e.g:	Australia,	Germany,	India,		Bangladesh,	Pakistan,	Nepal,	New	Zealand	and	Thailand).	• UK	&	US		some	organisations	introduced	gender	neutral	titles	(e.g.	HSBC	Bank	- Mx,	M	and	Misc)• Facebook	– over	50	gender	options	for	profile	pages	Academic	research• Lack	of	social	research	of	NB	identities	in	current	climate	• NB	identities	–within	queer	and	transgender	studies	since	1990s.	Debates	explored	gender	diversity	in	trans	communities,	specifically:• how	NB	experience	may	challenge	existing	binaries	of	gender	and	sexuality	• NB	identities	largely	understood	as	impossible	to	live	out	in	everyday	life,	e.g. Davidman (2010)• Definition	of	NB	– sometimes	different	to	NB	currently	being	articulated.Present	Study:	How	are	NB	identities	being	lived	and	established	in	everyday	life?• Aim:	to	assess	previous	claims	of	impossibility	in	current	context	of	more	visible	NB	identities• Internet	Study: Personal	narratives	of	NB	people	found	on	Internet	blogs	and	forums	– meaning	of	NB	identity	and	everyday	experience	(10	blogs,	4	forums)	• Data	is	publicly	available	and	analysed	thematically	using	NvivoFramework/approach:	Doing	Gender• ‘Doing	Gender’	approach	– based	in	ethnomethodology	- originally	devised	by	West	and	Zimmerman	(1987)	and	continuing	to	be	developed	(Hollander,	2012;	Connell	2010)	• Recent	work	concerned	to	shed	light	on	how	gender	might	be	redone	or	undone	in	range	of	people’s	lives	(Walzer,	2008;	Hollander,	2012)• Doing	Gender	approach	taken	up	in	trans	studies	– but	focus	largely	concerned	with	ways	that	NB	and	trans	people	are	repatriated	into	the	gender	binary	by	those	around	them	(Schilt &	Connel,	2007;	Schilt	and	Westbrook	(2009);	Westbrook	and	Schilt,	2013)	• Focus	mainly	on	the	workplaceKey	Issues	in	taking	the	framework	forward• Queer	focus	- over	emphasis	of	agency	involved	in	trans	people’s	gender	constructions• Doing	gender focus	- under	emphasis	of	trans	agency– emphasis	placed	on	how	trans	people’s	gender	is	shaped/constructed	by	others• Conceptual	elements	– sex,	sex	category	and	gender – based	on	cis-gender	(non-trans)	assumption	of	alignment• Lack	of	consistency	in	meaning/application	of	‘doing’,	‘redoing’	and	‘undoing’	gender	conceptsIs	the	‘Doing	gender’	framework	useful?	Study	findings• Useful	as	it	provides	focus	on	everyday	processes	at	the	micro	level	• In	exploring	NB	experiences	the	analysis	is	sharpening	the	concepts	‘doing’,	‘undoing’	and	‘redoing	gender’	- a	fourth,	‘remaking	gender’	is	being	developed.	• NB	people	are	moving	in	and	out	of	doing,	redoing,	undoing	and	remaking	gender	across	a	variety	of	social	and	interpersonal	contexts	- varying	degrees	of	constraint	and	enablement	upon	their	agency• Significant	factors	so	far	identified	are:	• relationship	– friends,	partners,	families• life	stage,	norms	guiding	social	interaction,	social	etiquetteDoing	Gender	–assumption	NB	person	is	cisgender	and	where	this	is	not	challenged	by	the	NB	person• Doing	gender	involves	misgendering/	misrecognition	by	others	– as	they	are	often	unable	to	see	gender	beyond	the	binary.	• Being	seen	as	cisgender	is	sometimes	unchallenged	by	NB	people	:	• to	avoid	hate	crime	• to	protect	loved	ones	and	families	from	unwanted	attention/behaviour	from	others	(e.g.stigma by	association)• to	prevent	loss	of	relationships	with	others• Due	to	social	norms	of	interactionRedoing	Gender	–where	existing	cisgender	categories	are	expanded• Examples:	NB	people	seen	as	as	feminine	‘men’	or	masculine	‘women’,	as	people	are	unable	to	see	beyond	existing	gender	binary		• Sometimes	gender	non-conformity	seen	by	others	as	expressions	of	being	lesbian	or	gay• Redoing	gender	- safe	option	to	avoid	unwanted	attention• Way	of	reducing	gender	dysphoriaUndoing	gender	- ‘coming	out’	to	others	– or	seen	as	beyond	socially	accepted	boundaries	for	cisgender	categories• Favourable - NB	people	‘coming	out’	to	others,	responding	to	genuine	friendly	enquiries	and	educating	others	about	their	identities.	• Negative	– hate	crime,	e.g:	• being	bullied,	harassed		or	subject	to	violence• receiving	offensive	comments	and	remarks• Unwelcome	actions	and	behaviour can	also	include	being	positioned	by	others	as	an	object	of	curiosity	– e.g:	• being	stared	at and	being	asked	inappropriate	questions	about	body	partsRemaking	gender	- mixed	gendered/ungendered	selves	enacted/accepted• Tends	to	occur	in	context	of	intimate	relationships,	close	friendships	and	families		• Involves	- gaining	respect	for	identity	e.g.	being	called	name	of	choice,	referred	to	in	chosen	pronoun,	absence	of	pressure	to	conform	to	gender	binary	in	behaviour or	appearance• With	unknown	others:	use	of	gender	neutral	pronouns;	adoption	of	gender	neutral	title	– establishing	‘a	new	normal’• Wearing	a	NB	gender	badge	or	symbol	(which	attracts	people’s	attention	and	generates	curiosity)Conclusions• Doing	gender	framework	useful	in	guiding	focus	on	everyday	gendering/degenderingprocesses	at	the	micro	level• Study	is	engaged	in	revising	Doing	Gender	framework	for	use	in	researching	NB	peoples	lives	(and	to	contribute	towards	broader	discussions)• Findings	highlight	the	need	to	move	away	from	cisgender	assumptions	built	into	original	framework	- e.g.	alignment	of	sex,	sex	category	and	gender	as	this	restricts	analysis	• Need	for	analysis	to	be	sensitive	to	circumstances	of	both	agency	and	constraint	• Need	to	attend	to	significance	of	broader	interaction	rules,	norms	and	etiquette	in	shaping	possibilities	for	doing,	redoing,	undoing	and	remaking	genderReferences• Davidmann,	Sara (2010) Beyond	borders:	lived	experiences	of	atypically	gendered	transsexual	people. In:	Transgender	Identities:	Towards	a	Social	Analysis	of	Gender	Diversity.	Routledge	Research	in	Gender	and	Society	.	Routledge,	New	York,	London,	pp.	186-207.• West,	C.,	&	Zimmerman,	D.	H.	(1987).	Doing	gender. Gender	&	society, 1(2),	125-151.• Hollander,	J.	A.	(2013).	“I	demand	more	of	people”	Accountability,	interaction,	and	gender	change. Gender	&	Society, 27(1),	5-29.• Walzer,	S.	(2008).	Redoing	gender	through	divorce. Journal	of	Social	and	Personal	Relationships, 25(1),	5-21.• Connell,	C.	(2010).	Doing,	undoing,	or	redoing	gender?	Learning	from	the	workplace	experiences	of	transpeople. Gender	&	Society, 24(1),	31-55.• Schilt,	K.,	&	Westbrook,	L.	(2009).	Doing	Gender,	Doing	Heteronormativity:	“Gender	Normals,”	Transgender	People,	and	the	Social	Maintenance	of	Heterosexuality. Gender	&	Society, 23(4),	440-464.• Kristen	Schilt	and	Catherine	Connell		"Gender,	Work	and	Organization.	Vol.	14	No.	6	November	2007	Do	Workplace	Gender	Transitions	Make	Gender	Trouble?	• Westbrook,	L.,	&	Schilt,	K.	(2014).	Doing	gender,	determining	gender:	Transgender	people,	gender	panics,	and	the	maintenance	of	the	sex/gender/sexuality	system. Gender	&	Society, 28(1),	32-57.• Lorber,	J.	(2000).	Using	gender	to	undo	gender:	A	feminist	degendering movement. Feminist	theory, 1(1),	79-95.• Monro,	S	(2005)	Beyond	Male	and	Female:	Poststructuralism	and	the	Spectrum	of	Gender,	International	Journal	of	Transgenderism,	8:1,	3-22

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