| Description |
Labels were created to create distinctions between words in order to classify and better understand our surrounding world. Gendered labels (i.e. man, woman, trans, queer, non-binary, etc.) serve the same purpose of classifying while also aiding the overall function of systematic privileges in our social structures. In other words, gender labels are a societal tool that have been constructed to provide a hierarchy of those who are privileged and those who are oppressed. Theorists, such as Adrienne Rich, Judith Butler, and J. Jack Halberstam, have written about the issue of gendered labels in genres that range from creative poetry to critical, social analysis. Their theories stem from the problems with gender and the gender binary--the idea that only two genders exist in our world; however, many scientists and theorists, including Butler, have argued that the binary does not exist at all; in fact, the binary is actually focused more closely on race and class and is reproduced through repetition, discipline, and the shaming of children. The English language, as of late, has been inadecquate in terms of incorporating and exploring the numerous genders in our world, whereas languages such as German and Sanskrit have always had three or more genders in their language. The English language, as well as 'norms' in the United States, need a radical change. This creative thesis explores the ideas of Rich, Butler, Halberstam, Kathryn Bond Stockton and more through theoretical and literary analysis as well as a creative piece, {INSERT TITLE HERE}: a dictionary written in prose and poetry focusing on the semiotics of labels given to, taught to, discovered by, and refused by a genderqueer child-- and the consequyences/freedoms/barriers of these labels throughout adulthood. |
