Terminology in Freedman, Fausto-Sterling, and Rosser

Anne Fausto-Sterling and Estelle Freedman mention the intricacies of terminology surrounding gender and sexuality, and how new terminology has been developed, or altered, to accept shifting identities. Gender and sex, two terms which seem indistinguishable to the untrained eye, are defined in Sexing the Body, and presented with their historical context. The concept of bisexuality, something that many people acknowledge today, seemed to be unfathomable to people in the past (Fausto-Sterling cites women who would discover they were lesbians despite being happily married, simply for being attracted to a woman in addition to their husband). Alfred Kinsey’s studies put a scientific spin on sexuality, with his 0 to 6 scale, and he created terms to refer to sexual relationships and the act of sex itself (such as “orgasm”). Each different definition of sexuality (from the restrictive religiousness of Europe in the Middle Ages to today’s post-Kinsey world) seemed to slowly displace the previous definition (at least, within the scholarly world).

Even Sexing the Body, published in 2000, seems a little outdated in its use of terminology – not merely with regards to sexuality and gender (particularly its mentions to the trans* community), but also technologically. A listserve, for example, while still an extant concept, has been displaced by social media for the most part. Still, the concept of Fausto-Sterling’s “Loveweb” listserve seems to tie into Sue V. Rosser’s description of cyberfeminism in her essay. Fausto-Sterling is using the communication avenues available through the Internet to communicate with like-minded individuals. Rosser’s conception of technology extends to various subgroups of feminism. However, Rosser repeatedly emphasizes that technology is (for the most part) created by men (not literally, however – women are likely to work in electronics assembly), and therefore excludes women by design because they do not consider female users. Feminist movements are now rising to acknowledge and combat this, serving as yet another part of the shifting movements within feminism, even causing the creation of even more, new terms (like cyberfeminism).

As long as human culture changes, the terms used within studies of gender and sexuality will change. Freedman’s book, which views feminism through a historical lens, notes some of the evolving terminology of feminism. In its introduction, it mentions the divergent concept of womanism, the term developed by Alice Walker to define a black feminist or a feminist of color. The development of this term makes sense alongside the civil rights movement. Events like the civil rights movement alter the course of feminism, creating a critical need for an alteration in language. Fausto-Sterling alludes to the dualism of what is real and what is constructed – how people can accept something to be a definitive truth, but then either societal perceptions or some new, revolutionary scientific research will change these previously accepted truths.