Welcome to Gender Analysis

Posted on April 9, 2017 by Zinnia Jones

Gender Analysis is a web series launched in 2014 exploring transgender science and life experiences in depth, and revealing the many insights to be found at their intersection. We take a closer look at fields such as sociology, public health, psychiatry, cognitive science, and more, weaving these diverse perspectives into a deeper understanding of gender-related phenomena. Gender Analysis goes beyond the 101s to educate both trans and cis viewers on some of the most fascinating dimensions of our lives – and the pressing issues we face in society.

Support Gender Analysis on Patreon

New episodes of Gender Analysis are published several times a month and are backed by our generous supporters on Patreon. Want to learn more? Check out our instant index for a quick introduction to the wide range of topics we cover:

Curious about…?

Gender dysphoria Self-discovery
How hormones work Bathroom bills
Finding a doctor Treatments for trans youth
Passing Sexuality
Transness and autism Paul McHugh
Regret and detransition Sex chromosomes
Posted in Gender Analysis | Leave a comment

Bigot bus on tour: When “biological reality” is neither real nor biological

Posted on April 1, 2017 by Zinnia Jones

Zinnia JonesOn March 1, a bus in Madrid bearing an anti-transgender message from a conservative Catholic group was impounded:

The slogan on the bus read: “Boys have penises, girls have vulvas. Do not be fooled.”

A Catholic group, Hazte Oir, had planned to take it on a nationwide tour of Spanish cities.

The group said the ban was illegal and that it planned to acquire a new bus.

One message on the side of the banned bus states: “If you are born a man, you are a man. If you are a woman, you will continue to be one.”

It is believed to be a response to posters put up in northern Spain by a transgender rights group, which read: “There are girls with penises and boys with vulvas. It’s as simple as that.”

Continue reading →

Posted in Bathrooms and public accommodations, Biology of transition, Philosophy and language, Transphobia and prejudice | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Gender Analysis videos blocked in YouTube’s restricted mode

Posted on March 30, 2017 by Zinnia Jones

Zinnia JonesIn 2010, YouTube introduced the “restricted mode” feature, an option that users can enable to “help screen out potentially mature content that you may prefer not to see or don’t want others in your family to see”. At the time this feature was rolled out, the New York Times made note of certain shortcomings of the filter, which failed to block a wide variety of graphically violent and sexually explicit content. Nevertheless, numerous websites provide instructions for system administrators to force this restricted mode in environments such as schools.

Recently, increasing attention has been given to another failing of YouTube’s restricted mode: The setting incorrectly blocks many videos containing gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender-related content – even videos which have no explicit or remotely inappropriate material. The restricted mode has erroneously excluded coming-out stories, biographies of LGBT individuals, and information about transitioning.

Continue reading →

Posted in Gender Analysis, Hoaxes, Media, Trans youth, Transphobia and prejudice | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

No More Rachel Dolezals

Posted on March 28, 2017 by Zinnia Jones

“If someone can identify as another gender, why can’t someone identify as another race?”

I want to make something clear from the outset: Engaging with this crafty bit of rhetoric at all is completely beneath me, and it’s beneath you too. This argument doesn’t deserve the time of day, let alone the detailed attention of a protracted dissection. But this is weaponized rhetoric, designed to be wielded deliberately against the lives of trans people. So I don’t really have a choice about engaging with it, do I? I resent that immensely.

This is undeniably a bad-faith argument. To any person who actually knows trans people, it’s obvious that this is absurd and hostile, even if they may not be certain of how exactly to explain that. Yet many people who don’t know a trans person at all have nevertheless felt that they are invited to partake in this argument, particularly following the emergence of Rachel Dolezal, a white woman who has made an entire life out of openly pretending to be black. Continue reading →

Posted in History, Media, Philosophy and language, Transphobia and prejudice | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Mistaken identity: How a cis queer identity obscured my trans womanhood

Posted on March 1, 2017 by Zinnia Jones

Across the web, various trans-hostile blogs and other outlets have claimed that there is a “reparative therapy” aspect to transness, contending that gender-nonconforming cisgender gays and lesbians are being encouraged to become gender-conforming straight trans men and women. From the outset, this is wholly unsupported by the demographic evidence – a majority or near-majority of trans people identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, or otherwise queer, and typically, only a minority identify as heterosexual. As a form of “reparative therapy”, this would be one of the least effective methods of producing a heterosexual outcome. Continue reading →

Posted in Gender dysphoria, Personal, Sexuality | Tagged , | 4 Comments