Binary gender roles

Let’s use a hilarious song from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend to discuss binary gender roles. It’s important. Trust me.

Trans people have become more visible in public debates recently; this raises some issues you might want to discuss with the young people in your life. More trans voices are talking openly about their own experiences, and this has triggered some people who are furious that trans people are starting to shake off the shame imposed on them by cishet society. One response to increased trans visibility has been a coalition of conservative Christians and radical feminists insisting that “there are only two sexes” and “it’s science!”. We suspect that these people have never lived in a male or (particularly) female body and thus experienced the sheer amount of hard work that can go into creating one of these “natural” binaried bodies.

Help a young person in your life think through this logical fallacy by watching this clip from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and then using the Study Guide to start a conversation about the constructed nature of “natural” binaries.

Trigger warning: this video includes waxing, exfoliating, bleaching, plucking, a spray of ass blood and a promise to “Whisper your dick hard”.

Study guide

1. How many of the procedures listed in this song have you tried?

2. Which is your favourite? Which is the worst?

3. Would the world be a better place if men put a bit more effort into their appearance? Or does that miss the whole point of the song?