Gender - xoJane

My Male Cat Has Totally Softened Me to the Idea of Having a Son Some Day

Alana M. — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:00:00 -0400

My family fantasy centered around me, a feminist dude partner, and two adopted daughters that I could call Mary and Margot after my favorite lady monarchs. Our home would ooze estrogen and empowered ladyhood.

Don't Gender Me, Bro: Writing Under a Gender-Neutral Byline

s.e. smith — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:00:00 -0400

Writing under my initials for a very long time has allowed me to observe the way people relate to a writer on the basis of perceived gender, because people seem to have an urgent, desperate need to slot each other into gender categories.

"Fake Geek Girls" Revisited: Dudes, Please Stop Trying To Compete With The Girl In The Comic Shop For Nerd Cred

Devon Sanders — Mon, 06 May 2013 18:00:00 -0400

If you want to see fire, get between one of my employees and their love, comics. If you prevent them from doing their job, you will lose every time you walk through the door.

Barbershop Dudes Won't Clip My Hair, Since Apparently You Need A Penis For That (And Other Beauty/Body Injustices)

Po Zimmerman — Mon, 06 May 2013 14:00:00 -0400

My hair is technically a men's haircut. At least, a haircut of men I see pass by me everyday: close clipped around the sides and back, with a burst of curls at the top.

OPEN THREAD: HommeMystere Makes Lady-Styled Bras And Panties For Dudes (Gay, Straight, Or Whatever!)

Lesley — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:30:00 -0400

I don't know about you guys, but for me this one is getting filed under "Why didn't I think of this first I COULD BE A MILLIONAIRE RIGHT NOW."

Is Wikipedia's "American Women Novelists" Category Horribly Sexist? Some People Seem To Think So

s.e. smith — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 15:00:00 -0400

My first reaction to this was “My stars! I am offended! I shall retweet this to remind myself to read it later and prepare to flame with righteous outrage!”

Sometimes, I Need To Pee In The Boy's Bathroom

Rachel Silberstein — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 12:00:00 -0500

As a solo parent to a son, the logistics of peeing in public restrooms presents an ongoing quandary.

The End Of Gender-Neutral Clothing Or I Think My Kid's Outgrowing Rainbows

Stephanie Kaloi — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 18:00:00 -0500

The other day I was leafing through the racks of a local Goodwill when I saw it: a bright pink sweater covered with multi-colored hearts. I swooned, smiled, and then stopped: Was this too girly?

HELP! My Stepsons’ Mom Tells Them “Girls Are Stupid”

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 16:00:00 -0500

Should I have said more? Less? Am I overthinking it? What do other parents think?

"IS THIS MR. SMITH?" Life With A Gender-Neutral Name

s.e. smith — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 16:30:00 -0500

Especially now, when ambiguously gendered names are actually extremely common and names that were historically masculine are commonly used by women and girls, names and salutations are even more of a minefield than they were before.

Boy Wears Pink Zebra Shoes; Internet Freaks Out

Somer Sherwood — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 14:30:00 -0500

Can’t we just let them be kids, without involving them in our adult handwringing over the implications of allowing them to do normal kid things?

Why Women's Magazines Need To Stop Using Me As The Voice Of All Men

Stuart Heritage — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 13:30:00 -0500

I write The Man Page. The page that tells women what men think.

My Sons' Easy-Bake Oven Shame

Joanna Schroeder of The Good Men Project — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 14:30:00 -0500

Why, as traditional gender roles are starting to fade, is the Easy-Bake Oven more girly than ever?

Sometimes Gender Dysphoria Means Trying to Cut Your Own Body Parts Off With Scissors

s.e. smith — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 15:00:00 -0400

All my female friends were so excited when their breasts started budding, comparing their tiny cleavage with each other and proudly sporting training bras. I wanted ace bandages or compression sports bras to make them as small as possible, to make them go away.

Accepting Your Daughter Means She Might Not be "Pretty," But She Will Be Beautiful

s.e. smith — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 09:00:00 -0400

There’s this kind of idealized dream of little girls, as sugar and spice and everything nice, which results in huge amounts of pressure to make them as femmey as possible at all times.

ME AGAINST THE MAKEUP: Adventures in Unisex Products

Tynan Sinks — Mon, 17 Sep 2012 16:00:00 -0400

I don’t have to explain that it’s because makeup is marketed to women, the connotations it might have about his sexuality, gender roles, etc. etc. All topics for another article, one that would probably bore me to death.

I'm That Kind Of Girl

Marianne — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 17:00:22 -0400

I wish I gave a shit about sports, the way Daisy does. But I don't. I care about My Little Pony and glitter instead.

A Crappy System: Why Separating Men’s And Women’s Bathrooms Is Illogical

Amy Tennery of The Jane Dough — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 13:30:26 -0400

Potty parity is a practical concern par excellence. It’s a final frontier, the porcelain ceiling, if you will.

Michelle Tea; "I Love Gender"

Michelle Tea — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 11:00:27 -0400

Folks in my world have separated sex from gender so wholly that there is no way to comfortably relax into the idea of a baby girl being like THIS, or a baby boy being like THAT.

On Sweden's New Gender-Neutral Pronoun

s.e. smith — Mon, 07 May 2012 12:00:27 -0400

This isn’t about saying that men and women don’t exist: it’s about saying that the world is a whole lot bigger than dudes and ladies.