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Teaching Anthropology: SACC Notes.Vol 5, No 2, Fall-Winter, 1998

versity in the form of transsexualism was specifically excluded as a disability, along with criminalized behaviors like kleptomania. In light of attitudes such as these, part of our job as both anthropologists and instructors is to bring ethnographic light to bear on the apparent plasticity of sex, gender and sexuality among Homo Sapiens. As individuals, we also bring our own personal agendas to the lectem, whether we are gay or straight, male or female, masculine or feminine or somewhere in between. The majority of my students bring to class a belief system about sex, gender and sexuality which incorporates the assumption that these are dependent variables, ordained by biology and bereft of cultural input. \ , Much as an earlier generation of anthropologists used their research and their privileged position as academics to counter racism and racial stereotyping, contemporary anthropologists have the task of using their research and positions to address inequalities based on sex, gender and sexuality. Recently, the American Anthropological Association has formally recognized a new interest section, SOLGA, the Society of Lesbian and Gay Anthropologists, an "identity politics" descendant of ARGOH, the Anthropological Research Group on Homosexuality. During the last two decades, four-year institutions have seen increased class offerings in the anthropology of sex and gender. Co-ordination committees, seeking a smooth transition for potential students between taxpayer-supported, two-year and four-year institutions, have encouraged community colleges to offer these classes as transferable credits to the state colleges and universities. The comparable class at my institution is entitled "Sex/Gender in Culture," short for "Sex and Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective." I have been teaching this class for the last three years, and my remarks in this paper derive from that experience and the ways in which it differs from experiences in a similar class at a four-year institution. I will also review my approach to sex, gender and sexuality, which is largely informed by my continuing research interest in the emerging phenomenon of "transgender," that is resistance to the medicalized model of gender transformation. I should mention that I am the only non-female instructor to teach this course at my institution. I've been told that some students have nicknamed me "The Gender Guy." This is an interesting reflection of the situation at many institutions in which gender studies seem to be a sinecure of women's studies programs. My approach, and I think the obvious anthropological one, is that all human beings find their lives shaped by rules and expectations regarding gender, and that only anthropology, with its cross-cultural perspective, allows us to examine concepts of sex, gender and sexuality outside the cultural constraints of our natal societies. As is commonly known, community college classes attract a wider range of students, both in ability, age and experience, than do four-year institutions. Night classes in particular tend to be dominated by working adults, and even day classes will see a proportion of returning students. These older students tend to have more experience with alternate views of sex, gender and sexuality than do younger students. This class also attracts students who may be interested in exploring aspects of their own sex and gender orientation, and this is where our role as instructor and counselor may indeed converge. I find that at some point in the semester, one or two students will "come out of the closet" as gay/lesbian/bi/

Sex and Gender Diversity in the Community College Classroom: Lessons from Anthropology 202
Lynn Maners
Pima Community College (AZ)

Woody Allen once said, "sex is the most fun you can have without laughing." This tells us something about Woody Allen, but also tells us that teaching anthropology must be better than sex since we get to laugh during our lectures. In this article, I will address "the diversity that, until recently, dareth not speak its name," that is diversity in sex, gender and sexuality from the perspectives of both what we bring to the students as instructors and what our students can bring to us. That some aspects of this diversity may still be controversial is seen, not just in our students' lives, but in recent publications as well. Alan Wolfe's recent book One Nation, After All (1998), in which he examines the results of attitudinal surveys performed in the suburbs of America, demonstrates this lingering prejudice. He finds that contemporary Americans are a remarkably tolerant people except in the area of homosexuality. Many Americans, who would be loath to admit to discriminating on the basis of race, creed or color, find it acceptable to be intolerant of sexual and gender diversity. For many Americans, it seems, non-heterosexuality and nonconformance to gender stereotyped behaviors are seen as morally repugnant choices or lifestyles. Indeed, in debate leading up to the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, gender di-

Teaching Antfaropology: SACCNote$,Vol5,No2, Fall-Winter, 1998

transgendered. When encouraged to participate in discussion of the materials presented in class, these students are a valuableresource,both to the instructor and their fellow students. This interaction is largely a product of what the students and the instructor bring to the class. For a number of students, "Sex and Gender" is simply a requirement they must perforce pass. Some male students believe this will be a course in radical feminist rhetoric, antiandrism and simplistic male bashing. This a view is supported by the tables of contents of the popular readers in this area, such as thefirstand second editions of "Gender in Cross-Cultural Perspective, edited by Brettel and Sergeant and the new "Gender and Sexuality Reader" edited by Lancaster and di Leonardo. Indeed, the latter reader quotes favorably in its introduction a radical feminist aphorism: "Pornography is the Theory: Rape is the Practice." If this is the case, what might the authors make of the extremely explicit female produced and consumed male homoerotic pornography known as K/S (derived from Kirk/Spock, ala Star Trek) described in recent works by Constance Penley of UCSB and Henry Jenkins of MIT? If pornography leads ineluctably to praxis, just whom would the predominantly straight female audience for this form of pornography consider raping? I have found it useful to contextualize these general readers within the intellectual currents of post-modern American academia before moving on to actual assignments. In a few cases, ideological radicals have found their way into my class only to be confronted with the fact that, as an anthropology class, we take a holistic and humanistic view of gender, not an ideological or hegemonistic one. The majority of my students bring to class a belief system about sex, gender and sexuality which incorporates the assumption that these are dependent variables, ordained by biology and bereft of cultural input. In the balance of this paper, I will explore each of these topics separately. in which genotypic sex determines phenotypic sex and is further conflated with social gender. Their presumption is that sexual orientation is biologically towards the opposite phenotype and that alternate sexualities are by definition deviant. However, phenotypic sex may not in fact reflect genotypic sex. Phenotypic sex is the product of an interaction between genotype and environment. Although most humans beings who are homozygous at the 23rd chromosome pair (i.e. XX) develop phenotypically as females and those who are heterozygous at the same chromosome pair develop phenotypically as males, significant exceptions occur, sometimes due to faulty meiosis or in-utero development.

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ported to occur in a small percentage of all live births. Until fairly recently, standard clinical practice was for the obstetrician to view the infant's genitalia and make a decision as to whether the child was more appropriate as male or female. In a number of cases, this involved immediate surgery to reduce what was perceived as an overlarge clitoris. I mention to the students that very recently an intersexedrightsmovement has developed. The goal of this group is to have the decision as to genital surgery put off until the persons can decide for themselves their own appropriate gender role. I refer the students to this organization's Web page for further information. Gender is the second aspect of my tripartite approach. Except for some Native Americans, many students bring with them to class an adamantine belief in the naturalness of the prevalent Western dual gender paradigm. This paradigm asserts that there are two and only two genders and only limited transgressions of the boundaries between genders are allowed (joking, Halloween, etc.). Most introductory textbooks in anthropology use a chapter on gender to focus on gender inequality, especially the perceived subordination of women, rather than on gender as a cultural construction affecting the lives of both phenotypic females and males. When this other perspective on gender is mentioned, it will often be in an aside. (An example is found in Kottak's popular introductory textbook, which includes a boxed article discussion of Brazilian transsexual Roberta Close.) We social scientists have been strongly influenced by an anti-reductionist cultural paradigm, i.e. that gender is purely a cultural creation. Compelling recent evidence now presents a more nuanced view. The case of John/ Joan is instructive. During the 1970s, the idea that gender was entirely social achieved near hegemonic status and the case of John/ Joan was considered to be definitive proof. John/Joan was one of a pair of identical male twins. During minor genital surgery, John's penis was burned to a crisp by the slip of a cautery needle. Since John was so young and the in-

Anthropologists have explored bisexuality in its various forms far less than its prevalence would dictate.

Some students will already be aware, from reports in the popular press, that the actress Jamie Lee Curtis is genotypically male. This does not mean, as students seem to automatically assume, that she is a hermaphrodite or a transsexual. Rather, she is an example of Androgen Immune Syndrome (AIS) in which the developing XY fetus rejects its own masculinizing hormones inutero. Such individuals appear phenotypically female, but are infertile. Older students are often intrigued by the speculation that Wallis Simpson, the Duchess of Windsor, exhibited a number of AIS phenotype traits. Some XY fetuses are found with an extra Y chromosome, thus XYY. These are known as supermales. These individuals are found in higher proportions in prison populations, but the vast majority of super males are not in jail. Here, I point out to the students an important lesson in all of the sciences; namely that correlation does not equal Typically, students believe that sex is causation. Phenotypic hermaphrodism, or purely biological and that there are only intersexism, is rare but has been retwo sexes. Theirs is a dual gender model

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jury was so complete, the family was advised to raise John as a girl, as Joan. Reports in the literature, notably by Dr. John Money, showed a remarkably happy adjustment to Joan's reassigned gender. Only recently has it become known that Joan was entirely unhappy as a girl. She always had a sense of herself as a boy, and glowing reports on her adjustment were ascribed both to her parents' desire to please Dr. Money, and Dr. Money's need to continue supporting the hypothesis which had brought him fame and fortune. Only recently have Joan's parents decided to tell her the truth. She has now been reassigned as John, is married to a woman and has (adopted) children. Following discussions of gender shifting in a dual gender system, I then lecture on third and fourth genders, using examples from Native North America, notably the Navajo nadlt, the Polynesian mahu, the Omanixanith and the hijras of India. At this point, I like to point out that transsexuals in the Western sense are following a medicalized model of gender reassignment and not joining a third gender. The third factor that comes into play is sexuality. Students come to class with the idea that sexuality is biological and immutable. However, ethnography clearly demonstrates that this is not the case. The most classic example othis is the Sambia. As described by Gil Herdt in Guardians of the Flutes and other writings, the Sambia (a pseudonym for one of the many ethnic groups found in the Highlands of New Guinea) practice a male initiation rite of ritualized homosexuality, contextualized within a universe rigidly divided by gender. It is believed that boys and girls are born with organs of generation within their bodies. However, a critical difference is that girls' organs are already filled, since they got them from the mother's womb blood. Boys, on the other hand, have empty organs and are also contaminated by their mother's womb blood. A girl achieves social maturity through menarche. The only way in which a boy can achieve physical and social maturity is by bleeding out womb blood and filling his empty organ with semen from

Teaching Anthropology: SACCNotes,Vol5.No2. Fall-Winter. 1998

older males. This is accomplished through an age-graded rite of passage in which initiates fellate bachelors who are ahead of them in the system. As young bachelors approach marriageable age and grade, they enter a period of bisexuality. It is only upon their wives' menarche that they are expected to be exclusively heterosexual and eventually become elders. As an exercise, I ask my students to imagine what the Sambia might consider deviant sexual behavior for males. (An older man fellating a young initiate. Homosexual acts between adult males are considered simply to be silly or childish) sample kinship chart is handy in illustrating this. Students should emerge from lecture with a balanced view of the biological and cultural components of sexuality. Transgenderism and transsexualism are the most problematic, as they seem to be even more transgressive of cultural models than is non-heterosexuality, at least in the West. Every culture for which we have adequate data seems to indicate that the notion of changing social gender may be a cultural universal. In non-Western society and in the West until about 1950, the only model for gender change was a social one, such as a Plains Indian boy deciding to be a berdache or two-spirit. This social Some surgeons have even model has only been superseded in the [required] male [transexual] last forty years by a medicalized model, patients to divorce their wives where one surgically changes apparent before surgery, claiming "Idont phenotypic sex. make lesbians!" The modern transgender movement is, in effect, a reversion to the previous social model of gender change. It is a Students perceive this as a wildly ex- form of resistance to medicalization, otic practice until they learn that it is in while still conforming to the dual genfact a form of serial bisexuality, a not der model. In some states of the US it unknown practice within our society. In is now even possible to have the sex on fact, one of our local congressmen in one's driver's license changed without Tucson was "outed" as gay last year, undergoing surgery. The caveat is that when in fact he is clearly serially bi- one must have been on hormones long sexual. After years of a heterosexual enough to be rendered impotent/sterile/ marriage and raising children to adult- infertile/amenorrheac. Transgenderhood, he divorced and now lives with a ism/Transsexualism should not be mismale companion in a committed homo- taken for transvestism, a harmless, sexual relationship. I should point out though still heavily stigmatized behavthat anthropologists have explored bi- ior, especially among males. I often show a video "All Dressed Up sexuality in its various forms far less and Nowhere to Go" featuring male hetthan its prevalence would dictate. Students are interested not only in the erosexual cross-dressers attending a cultural construction of various sexu- convention and discussing their lives. al ities, but also in the biology of homo- Most students assume that all males sexuality. It is our responsibility to keep who cross dress are gay. They are ofup with the research in this area, which ten surprised to find out that, according at present seems to indicate that non- to research, the vast majority of male ritualized, male homosexuality has a cross-dressers are heterosexual. Drag genetic component, while female ho- queens, representing an art form of male mosexuality seems to have a develop- homosexual play with the qualities of mental component in-utero. During feminine gender, are a very small and discussions of this topic I have found it specialized subset of all male crossuseful to lecture on kinship altruism, dressers. pointing out that even those who are Unfortunately, many students' attiexclusively non-heterosexual may in- tudes are influenced by television prodeed see some of their genes passed on grams like "Cops," which seem to reguthrough the offspring of siblings. A larly focus on the arrest of cross-dressing male homosexual prostitutes. While

Teaching Anthropology: SACC Notes, Vol 5, No 2, Fall-Winter, 1998

male cross-dressing is so heavily stigmatized, female cross-dressing is not. Simply glancing around our classrooms, female cross-dressing is so common as to be totally unremarkable, though butch drags and drag kings (the complement of drag queensa drag king called Elvis Herselvis tours nationally) are still noticeable in that their presentation is meant to signal their sexuality. The above observations lead into a useful discussion, which is reflected in the literature, of the fragility of the masculine gender. David Gilmore's work, for example, points out that while femininity is seen as natural and unassailable, masculinity must be earned and is in perpetual danger of being compromised. My discussions of transsexualism identify the ways in which gender transformation has traditionally conformed to the prevailing sex/gender paradigm, in some cases, despite the wishes of the people most directly involved. It is no secret within the transsexual community that many male-to-female transsexuals retain their sexual orientation towards women post-surgically. Thus, without changing their personal orientation, they move from heterosexual male to homosexual female at a stroke. Some surgeons have even fought this tendency by requiring male TS patients to divorce their wives before surgery, claiming "I don't make lesbians!" I show my classes a number of excellent videos on sexuality and gender transgression in conjunction with specific lectures. Included among these is "You Don't Know Dick," which features six female to male transsexuals describing their appreciation of sex and gender roles. Another is the Academy Award nominated documentary film "Paris Is Burning," which features gay male cross-dressing. Especially interesting in this video is an emphasis on not just cross gender dressing but upon cross class dressing, something rarely mentioned in the literature. Interestingly, this film is actually linked to an individual career in cross gender performance. We see a character from "The Queen," a documentary of a drag contest in 1967, reappearing in "Paris is Burning" some 20 years later. Useful videos related to discussions of sexuality are Herdt's "Guardians of the Flutes," "Framing Lesbian Fashion" and "Split: Portrait of a Drag Queen" (Split also appears in 1967's "The Queen" as a 15 year old runaway). Both "Framing" and "Split" confound students' expectations of the sex, gender, sexuality continuum in their own culture and make for lively discussion. Following are some practical suggestions I would offer for those of us teaching the anthropology of sex, gender and sexuality at community colleges. Due largely to the transitory nature of their student populations, community colleges offer few services directly to sex and gender diverse students.

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range of human sexuality. These students should be reminded about enculturation and its effects. When beginning discussions of this topic and others which some religious communities may see as provocative, I always preface my lecture with remarks about anthropology as a social science, and I avoid slang terms of a sexual nature. Some ethnographic films may contain scenes of nudity that some students may find offensive. Again, I contexualize those scenes in the film with remarks about social science and the documentary nature of the film in question. 6) G/l/b/t students should be encouraged to contribute to classroom discussion and participation.

Resources

Support organizations 1) The goal of our classes should be to Due largely to the transitory nature (2 demonstrate to students that sex, gen- years and out) of their student populader and sexuality appear to be strongly tions, community colleges offer few influenced by cultural practices. Stu- services directly to sex and gender didents should see that sex, gender and verse students. In cities large enough sexuality may be placed on a continuum to have a four-year institution, commuwhose variables are primarily culturally nity college students may be able to affiliate with these organizations. Larger mediated. 2) Because of the lack of resources for communities may also have a Gay and g/l/b/t students at most community col- Lesbian services center. The following are some videos I have leges, we should be aware of commufound useful in my class: nity-based resources and be able to direct our students to them. Some com- The Queen (documentary of a drag conmunity-based organizations may have test in 1967) speakers available. I regularly have a Paris is Burning (documentary of a drag contest in 1987how things have guest speaker on lesbian sexuality. 3) We should encourage our campus li- changed, class) braries to order related anthropological Split, Portrait of a Drag Queen (Split, texts, such as Herdt's Guardians of the however, is actually a she male, she has retained and uses her male genitalia Flutes, Roscoe's The Zuni Man-Woman, Nanda's The Hijras of India and during sexual intercourse, as a "top") Framing Lesbian Fashion (explores Newton's Mother Camp. 4) Point out that for g/l/b/t students, butch and fern identities, tops and botthere is now a professional section of toms) the AAA for Gay and Lesbian anthro- All Dressed Up and No Place to Go pologists. This new organization is ori- (heterosexual cross-dressers) ented towards the sexual identity of its Ladyboys (Thai male transvestite potential showgirls) members. 5) Students from backgrounds which You Don't Know Dick (female to male strongly condemn homosexuality may transsexuals) experience some cognitive dissonance Sunflowers (syncretism of cross-dresswhen told in church, for example, that ing and Catholicism in the Philippines) homosexuality is a sin, and the next day Guardians of the Flutes (Sambia ritutold in class that it is part of the normal alized homosexuality). TA