It’s pretty confusing, even for those of us who consider ourselves to be othergendered! Me, I like “Queer”. I mean, I could break it down for ya, if you really need a label. Try this one on: I am a: Lesbian identified Stone-Femme Queer. Howz that?? My partner is a: Gay, Soft-Butch, Lesbian. She likes “Gay” while I prefer “Queer”. Still, for me Dyke, Gay, Lesbian, Lez, Lezzie, Homo, Rug Muncher; whatever… they all work. (I’m not so hot on “abomination”, though.)

Are these merely “gender identities” in a world where the cultural norms have previously been designated by a patriarchial political, religious understanding? Or is it possible that we’ve overlooked some folks in our understanding of gender as based on sexual organs?? Are there actually more than 2 genders?

As we expand the boundaries of our understanding of sexuality, desire, cultural taboos and freedom of self expression, we’re also expanding our understanding of gender. Well, maybe understanding is a bit strong. Traditional western religion would have us believe that gender is a purely dualistic/binary thing. Adam and Eve, procreation and all that. That anything outside of that is “wrong”. At worst an “abomination”, at best a mistake of nature.

At GenderdotOrgyou can find an excellent variety of gender related articles, statistical reports and more. Among the various tools there the (.pdf) Gender Variance Model and the (.pdf) Guide to Using the Gender Variance Model.

The model and guide above are teaching/lecture tools to be used to assist in gender education, so are pretty easily assimilated if one begins with an open mind and a bit of self awareness and life experience to go with it.

Readers might want to download at least the Model above, to help follow along. But the guide itself is a worthwhile read, and I’ll only be using snippets here. (It’s tiny. Only takes a couple of seconds even on dialup)

From the guide: Intro

Transgendered people are the most stigmatized and misunderstood of the larger sexual minorities (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender). Since gender follows physical sex for most people, transgenderism and even transsexualism are almost impossible to understand by those who are not transgendered themselves. While transgendered people are most familiar with gender variant expressions and cross-gender identities, there are many other forms of gender variance exhibited by all kinds of people – regardless of their social or gender identities. Revealing these other forms of gender variance shows how common it really is – and thus provides the all-important context for understanding transgendered people.

The basic concepts are as follows:

First, we must separate sex from gender:

Sex is the physical anatomy and biology that determines whether someone is male, female, or intersexed (formerly called hermaphroditic)

Gender is a psychosocial construct used to classify a person as male, female, both, or neither. Gender encompasses all of human behavior, including sexuality.

Those people who cannot or choose not to conform to societal gender norms associated with their physical sex are Gender Variant. It is very important to stress that many people choose to be gender variant in some form and do not consider themselves ‘born that way’.

Alot of folks would fall into non traditional gender variances without even realizing it. For instance the male nurse, the female construction worker, the long haired male, the agressive/outspoken female. These are all Gender Variances, albeit small ones. Today, most of us take these gender variences in stride. Not all that long ago women wearing pants would have fallen here. As the cultural norm changes, so does the level of gender variance.

Transgender is an umbrella term used to describe visibly Gender Variant people who have gender identities, gender expressions or gendered behaviors not traditionally associated with their birth sex.

Transgender is often mistakenly understood to mean Transsexual. Transsexual people, who have undergone or seek to undergo sex reassignment, comprise a minority within the transgender population. Most transgendered people do not wish to change their sexual anatomy.

Transgender can also mean anyone who transcends the conventional definitions of ‘man’ and ‘woman’, and who use a wide variety of terms to self-identify.
Transgendered people are usually categorized by their Gender Vector, which describes the direction of the gender change. The two gender vectors are Male-to-Female (MTF), or Female-to-Male (FTM).

It’s important to clarify two common misconceptions about transgenderism :
Transgender is not a sexual orientation. However, it is a sexual identity that has become politicized, and so it is now commonly added to the list of other sexual minorities, which are sexual orientations – as in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender.

It’s important to note that this is where alot of folks, even those within the LBGTQ community, become confused. Why does a MTF Transperson then live as a lesbian? Many people will assert that if a man believes he was born to a be a woman then s/he “should” be attracted to men. The movie NORMAL, starring Jessica Lang and Tom Wilkinson addresses alot of trans issues in a believable and touching examination of love. Why does the Butch lesbian find herself more often attracted to “straight” women who seem not to fall into the category of gender variant? Women who appear particularly feminine, as our culture perceives/defines it? Could these examples lead us to the reasoning that there is more to the question of gender than “identity”? Could there possibly be more than two genders based on biology/sex?

There’s alot more info in the guide that I’m not going to cover, and alot of resources on the Internet for anyone who cares to further explore their understanding of gender and gender identity, but this is it for today from your favorite (dare I hope?) Queer blogger.A good place to start is Gender Watch at ZNet.

I extend a challenge to you my most excellent friends and readers. Just as an excercize in self awareness. Make a list of ways that you might be gender variant. Don’t panic, my lovely straight friends, your gender variances don’t make you “other gendered”. Just a way to look into the subject based on current societal norms, and perhaps the insight will assist in your understanding of other people. Have fun and open your minds and hearts!!

Now, regular readers of Thorne’s World know, I offer you a treat. Your reward, if you’ve made it this far, (although I’m sure some of you horndogs skip to the bottom just for these links!!). Venusday erotica links. Since this is my first official post at SirensChronicles, I’ll include a little disclaimer:

the author is not responsible for the reader’s reactions to the materials in the following links. The content included may be offensive to some readers and is not intended for minors. If the reader finds her/himself getting flushed, having a rapid heartbeat or other symptoms of excitement, i
t is the reader’s responsibilty to discern whether the symptoms are indicative of the necessity of a 911 call, or of a good time.

How was that for a “little” disclaimer?!

Both of today’s selections come from textfiles.com. Your first enticing romp is a trans fantasy that would make even the straightest het’s libido rise!! (Remember folks, spaghetti is straight; until you heat it up!!)

Fantasy Cruise part 1
Fantasy Cruise part 2

Our second story is a doozie, entitled To Worship You
It’s a sexy psychological romp from the mind of a het Bottom (Switch) Playing at top in a BD/SM scenario. Juicy!!!

I’ll be back next week with more Venusday fun, so until next time, remember everybody:

I belong to a community (link in sidebar under “my places”), Butch-Femme, where the artist of this portrait, DaddyRhon, is a founder. I received an email yesterday alerting me to this:

clipped from www.daddyrhon.com

My portrait of a breast cancer survivor was banned and removed from the spring show at the artist collective where my wife and I rent a studio. I was told there was a vote amongst several artists and the painting was deemed “not family friendly”. Of the many other nudes in the show, only my work was censored.

As you can see, this is not erotica. This is a literal figure study of an older woman who has had a mastectomy. I was holding that woman’s hand the day she was told she had cancer.

Why was this piece considered morally offensive? Because the model is not traditionally beautiful? Because reality is too harsh? Or are there implied subtexts to this piece simply because I am an obvious dyke?

This is a travesty. The thought that other so-called “Artists” voted to censor this moving and honest portrait just breaks my heart. Please stop by at DaddyRhon’s and leave a comment. Show your support for DaddyRhon, if you find it in your heart to do so and if censorship of art pisses you off even half as much as it does me.

In late 2005 one of my pieces was also banned from a show here at our small Victor Valley Art Museum. I offered several pieces of mixed media sculpture, (one of which took 1st place in mixed media), but the most profound piece; the one I intended/created specifically to make a statement or at least pose a question in the viewer’s mind regarding gender, was categorically rejected.

In my case, it was kinda funny really. I have a history in this community. I attended Victor Valley Community College back in the ’80′s and studied Art under Gene Kleinsmith, instructor and Dept. Chair., who became my mentor. He was a big fish in a little pond, and had a reputation as a rebel (as an artist should)! I was President of the “Clay Club” for awhile, ASB Senator of Arts, and he and I became co-conspirators in defense of art, and against censorship of art and artists within the academic setting of our small desert college.

Occasionally back then, we bashed heads with the other art instructor, Molly Kohlschreiber, who was in some way that I can’t quite recall, affiliated with the Victor Valley Art Museum. Happy little ladies painting landscapes and the occasional “southwestern” or imitative Native American styled works. After I left VVC, Gene and I remained close friends and in the early 90′s I wasn’t surprised to receive clippings of Daily Press articles with photos of church protesters who objected to a display of some incredible hard edge nude studies that was being shown in the campus Performing Arts Center. They were phenomenal paintings, both strong and provocative but definitely not pornographic by any stretch of the intelligent imagination!! Big, 4′x6′ canvases of both men and women in all their natural, nude beauty. Anyway, this little trip down memory lane reminds me to write of this later… another story, it seems; my Gene.
So he was censored then, and in 2005 when I began these sculptural mixed media collages and began to ferment the concept for my “GirlyBoi”, as I named her I decided to see what the locals were up to now.

So I submitted my 3 pieces. We took them in on a day when there happened to be several members of the High Desert Artists’ Association puttering around the lobby. My GirlyBoi (as opposed to the “GirlyBoi) and I barged in (the pieces are heavy) seeking somewhere to hang them. As I filled out paperwork I was aware of shocked looks, shaken heads and whispered voices, which I chose to ignore. There was a lovely 30-something gal there who was simply delighted at the bruhaha, and we had a bit of a chat. We laughed quietly, but I knew the piece was doomed. One of the older women very politely suggested that my sculpture might not be appropriate for the family venue, and that she doubted that the Director (or whatever title by which the crusty musty in charge was known), surely would disallow the piece. I mentioned that as a juried show, the jurors should decide, not an administrator. I was polite and friendly, but I think they feared a fight on their hands.

The very next day I received a phonecall, asking when it would be a good time for me to come pick up the piece. I was told that one of the judges wished to speak with me personally about it. She was charming. She asked me about the piece, expressed her sincere enjoyment of it, wished she could offer me a more “appropriate” venue in which to display it, and sadly informed me that the jurors had decided, primarily at the behest of “Mr. Crusty Musty”, that since the local elementary schools, as well as a couple of church groups were scheduled to visit the show, they would have to reject it. She also told me she wished I’d join the Association, because they could use some “new blood” and told me that if somebody didn’t do something, the next “Mr. Crusty Musty” would be the same as the current one.

So, what the hell. I came home, posted the pictures of the piece under “Non- Tattoo Art” over at one of my gallery sites, Tattoo Artist’s dot Org, and captioned the piece, tongue in cheek, thusly:

This is an interactive, three dimentional mixed media piece entitled GirlyBoi. It is sculptural with collage, and incorporates sensory participation with sound and tactile adventures. My art makes a statement. Like me, hate me…that’s okay. Indifference is the true enemy of the Artist.

Poo-Too-Weet?? So it goes. When I was younger, healthier, and not busy taking care of my ol’ grammy lady, I prolly would have pitched a bitch and raised some awareness (hell); no matter how nice she was. I fumed a bit. And you can see from the pics I took before removing the sculpture that I wasn’t happy. And on the way home I thought about calling the Press…

But in the end, I just didn’t have it in me. It’s been 20 years since Gene and I fought the good fight. Now he’s dead, and I’m… tired?! I suppose. And busy… and… and… and.

And I still detest censorship in any form, and I especially resent censorship of art, but I can write and bitch and hand the battle on to those younger and more able than I. So, go get um!!!