Week 2 – Gender Classifications

In his article, “Classifications and its Structures”, C. M. Sperberg-McQueen gives readers an idea of the complex nature of classifications and the nearly infinite possibilities that we may encounter when trying to classify certain pieces of information. The section on “One-Dimensional Classifications” describes nominal classifications, which “consist simply of a set of categories: male and female; French, German, English, and other; noun, verb, article, adjective, adverb, etc.” (Sperberg-McQueen). This notion of a nominal classification of gender reminded me of the binary gender system I learned about when I took Gender Studies 10 last spring. Most of society assumes that there are only two finite choices in terms of gender, male or female; however, in actuality there are over 50 gender options. It has taken time and a lot of effort on the part of feminists and others who fight for gender equality, but Facebook now recognizes 51 different categories when asking users to identify their gender. I found an article entitled, “What Each of Facebook’s 51 New Gender Options Means” by Debby Herbenick PhD and Aleta Baldwin on thedailybeast.com (http://http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/02/15/the-complete-glossary-of-facebook-s-51-gender-options.html), relating to this foreign concept of many different gender identities.  Before I took Gender Studies 10, I had always identified myself as female and had never encountered any sort of problem when asked to pick between the common gender classifications. Since I did not have a problem with them, I naively disregarded the people who do not fit within the binary gender identities of male and female. Now, I see that the politically correct way for me to classify myself is “cis female” or “a female who identifies as a woman/ has feminine gender identity”. Even though the classification of gender is still nominal, as there is a discrete number of choices, it is much more complex than the majority of us realize. If you identify yourself as “gender nonconforming”, but must pick between the two categories of male or female when filling out paperwork at the DMV, you may face an internal conflict and feel marginalized. By recognizing a wider array of gender identities, Facebook is helping to eliminate the binary gender system and raise awareness about the complexity of gender classification. Sperbeg-McQueen recognizes that most classifications are even more complicated than “one-dimensional classifications” and fall under the category of “N-dimensional”. If something like gender, which seems so straightforward, is actually much more complex, I cannot even imagine the effort and time that goes into correctly classifying multivariable data sets.