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There has been a lot of discussion going around about the gender binary and whether or not it exist. I think binaries are extremely useful, it keeps things down to simplistic choices. Coke/Pepsi, Vanilla/Chocolate, Starwars/startrek.
But there have been a lot of people calling for the end of the gender binary. They say that life is more than male/female. I understand what they are saying, but binaries always make exceptions. That said, I find myself thinking about binaries because I have that kind of time and I think I've come up with something useful.
Instead of thinking about the binary as male/female. I rather think of it as male/not-male. It is incredibly useful, especially if you want to be part of one group or another. I actually took it from the Bible. Take when Jesus fed the 5000. The verse says Jesus fed 5000 men, not including women or children. So boys weren't counted among the men.
Now, all you have to do is define what it means to be male. Most people don't define gender by genitals. It's always Men are tough, strong, handy, rugged etc. As long as I'm not one of those, I'm not a man. If I'm not a man, I guess I'll have to be something other than male and I guess that would be female.
Just thinking out loud.
Comments
Analogue Gender
Scientifically speaking, there are males, females and thousands of combinations in between. Some of us are genetically both, and some neither. In Genesis 5:2, it says that God created us male and female, but that was before the so called "fall". In a sense, the human genome began to degrade and continues to do so today.
I am XXY non-kleinfelter, but did not discover that until I was 65. The knowledge has done nothing but give me that "so that's what it was" moment.
On another front, from the time I discovered Matt 5:27-30, I wondered how to be more pleasing to God. In 2005, having been disowned by my family, I put the admonishment of that passage and into action and got castrated, there by becoming no gender or a eunuch. So, culturally, I live as a female quite comfortably, but medically I am no gender and quite satisfied with that since I no longer have that distraction of sexual desire to waste my time. Loneliness is my only burden. For a long time it seemed as if I had single handedly destroyed any credibility I might have in life among those I sought to be with.
Then recently, I discovered Matt 19:12 and Isaiah 56:4-5. For those of faith, this is absolute proof that we are pleasing to God if we observe the sabbath and the covenants. This statement will have no value at all to those who are offended by theological expression.
I too mean to change the conversation about gender, the GBLTI, and other issues. While I bear them no malice at all transgender and intersex folk have relatively little in common with GBL folk, though in recent times, many GBL folk have reached out to be helpful and compassionate.
The altered conversation is still emerging, though it is doubtful that I will see its final fruition.
The Addition of a Letter
Always dangerous wading into topics like this, but I want to sidestep the binary question, and zero in on the Biblical reference, Matt. 14:21 specifically. Quick preface: The Bible has been translated and retranslated and mistranslated so many times, but I want to mention a linguistic--not theological--oddity.
Your statement says, "...5000 men, not including women or children." The word "besides" is most common used in translations from the NIV to the NASB and other variations, e.g., "...five thousand men, besides women and children",as meaning "in addition to". What is interesting is that the King James Version--the one that seems the baseline for all future translations and "updates"--uses the word "beside". As in "standing or sitting next to". No "S".
First Century reality: Most but not all males were married, so there might be single males in the multitude, but the majority were married. The male as head of household may have lived with several women--his wife, her sister, her mother, his brother's widow, etc. And it's likely that the children were too numerous (and difficult to keep still long enough!) for the disciples to count. So when it's stated (in any translation) that 5000 men were fed--and an unspecified number of women and children--it could likely mean nearly 5000 families, meaning the actual number of people fed could have been more than twice the 5000.
Why was that extra, exclusionary "S" added? It implies that only the males were fed, while the women and children went hungry, which is not consistent with Jesus's ministry. That extra "S" is a small but telling addition that changes the interpretation of the passage and reduces the importance of "those that were not men".
Karin
I like
RC, Strawberry, and Babylon 5.
Binary is good for computers, and bad for people.
as a self-respecting computer geek
I believe in binaries being a capital crime so execute all binaries!
of course
not until they've been linked to their crimes, compiled thereof and then let those executions begin!
I'm happy with binaries
like believer or non believer, not so happy with biblical references to non religious subjects. Blessed are the cheesemakers!
Angharad
Especially in Cheddar Gorge
They are paid good money for going into caves we have to pay money to visit
:-)
There are different types of strengths.
There is inner strength and outer strength. Outer strength is when someone has the advantage, they press that advantage.
Inner strength comes when a person does not have the advantage and they still stand their ground, instead of running.
Being a badass requires having inner strength.
Genetic Degradation?
I don't know about that. Perhaps humans are evolving into a more diverse form, or something to help it get out of the bottleneck situation it ended up in. The genome got stuck in a bottleneck situation due to some calamity that wiped out more variance in the human genome; leaving us, the descendants of those survivors.
Also, with Star Trek, binary is so overrated. The Andorians, a Federation founding member and notable for their blue skin and antennae, are a FOUR-sex species. Which did prove problematic for reproduction and their species until Dr. Julian Bashir solved their problems in the novel continuity. However, there are also 3 and 5 sex species out there as well in the Star Trek universe.
So, in the immortal words of a certain Vulcan: Infinite diversity in infinite combinations.
Drakira
Funny thing is...
Somwhere I seen an article that there are fewer genetical differences between innuit and thoroughbred white European than between dog cubs in the same litter...
"not a man"
"Not a man", that is kind of how I have identified for a long time, yet I do not feel that I am actually a female either. I have only recently decided that that is an OK place to be. Does that make any sense?
>i< ..:::
Sounds right.
You are you. And that is what matters.