The guy in the red BMW honking because the car in front does not take off fast enough (testosterone?); the woman who jumps at her husband or employee because of some innocent remark (that time of month?); the transman who can’t wait to be able to throw his weight around; the transwoman who can’t wait to burst into tears without any apparent justification; obsessing on new found “manliness”, feigning hysteria on seeing heels “to die for” - are these not just gender stereotypes that we should be trying to avoid?
At times it seems as if some unworthy gender linked behaviours are elevated to the status of virtues: proofs that we are becoming more like “real” men or “real” women.
While there will always be men and women who excuse bad behaviour on the basis of their chemistry, should we not aspire to remaining in control of our emotions while at the same time exercising our own autonomy? (And by “bad behaviour” in this context I do not mean wearing a dress or binding your breasts – but behaving in ways that take some of the joy out of the lives of people who respect our personhood as much as we respect theirs).
For those of us who regard ourselves as transgendered, is there not an even more pressing case for taking on board the better qualities commonly associated with male and female and doing our best to avoid the stuff that we are better off doing without?