Who put the "trans" in transgender?

This is the title of one of the articles I have to know for my upcoming Women's Studies test. Seeing as how the last time I tried to study for this course I ended up writing here for too long, I've decided that this weekend will involve some strange combinations of studying and seeing what other people think of that writing (because you're all judging me with every post). This could end up a disaster, like when people mix business and pleasure, like drinking while working, an action that could completely undermine the redemptive power of the pleasurable activity (in this case, rambling, or blogging).

Anyway, the article:

The author points out that the prefix "trans" has three distinct meanings: in the first sense, it implies change, as in a "transformation"; in the second sense, it implies moving across, as some transgendered people move from one gender to the other; finally, the third sense is one of going beyond gender entirely. As an aside, I have to mention the transgendered couple in my tutorial; these are people, very interesting and pleasant people, who defy our common gender attributions. I find myself stopping when speaking to either of them because I'm unsure of what pronoun to use. That naturally leads to the question of why gender needs to be "one or the other" at all, why our language was constructed as such. We find that gender permeates our thought in such a pervasive and subtle way that changing our perceptions can have consequences that are profoundly far-reaching: on our views of race, ethnic, and class relations, just to name the most prominent.

The article talks about how being transgendered is (in certain circles) becoming accepted, but the notion that gender--for the most part--is "either/or" is still largely unchallenged. I wonder if it can be challenged? There are some methods of socialization that cannot be consciously undone. For example, whenever I'm a coward I know consciously that I ought not to be, that I am harming myself, yet I am far from being able to overcome the brick wall that seems to spring up in certain situations. So it goes.

Then we move on into other articles that basically document how female inferiority has been "proven" scientifically over the past few centuries. As someone who places great stock in the scientific method, the egregious mistakes that were not apparent to these respectable scientists are appalling: ridiculous a priori assumptions, fudging of data, biased sampling, all culminating in this freakish self-fulfilling prophecy whereby the expectations of inferiority contributed to inferiority.

I'm slowly stepping off my soapbox and melting into the general bustle. You'll never find me.

Consider: "the phrase "do or do not; there is no try". Consider just what bullshit it is. It all goes back to definitions. It seems that none of us can agree on them. In some ways Yoda is correct, in other ways, I am correct. This is far too common an occurrence."

Soon, I shall take a walk.