Suchergebnisse

Article 8 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights is devoted for the protection and respect of family and private life. Talking about family life, it is important to say that the definition of it have evolved for years creating more and more legal issues. The Court has considered the family to include husband and wife and children who are dependent on them, including illegitimate and adopted children. It seems that de facto family ties can arise where parties are living together outside marriage and children born out of such relationships form part of the family unit from the moment of birth and by the very fact of it. The family ties exist even where the parents are not living together at the time of the child's birth. In some circumstances, relations with grandparents may be protected under Article 8. More remote relationships are generally not close enough to consti¬tute family relationships protected by Article 8. There is, however, some slender evidence to suggest that a broader view is being taken of what constitutes the family. Engagement does not in itself constitute family life, but the relationship between a prisoner and his fiancee falls within private life. The same is true of transsexuals couples. Implementing one of those rights, arise a violation of other rights, embodied in the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights. The conflict usually is between articles 8 and 10. The freedom of expression is called as the essential foundations of democratic society. The media has a "public watch dog" function, as it mentioned in the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. Media has a task to import not only information which is favourably received or regarded as inoffensive, but also offend, chocked or disturbed information. Society has a right to obtain information about political matters or about matters of public interest. This freedom includes two components: freedom to receive information and freedom to impart them. These rights must be used in a such way that they do not constitute the violation of private life. Under the Convention, right to respect family or private life embodied in the article 8 and freedom of expression embodied in the Article 10 are not absolute. They state some restrictions and limitations. The interference is legitimate when it is necessary in a democratic society, interest of national security, prevention or disorder of crime and other. This is so called negative obligations. The problems of the protection of human rights can arise when the state fails to take such the obligations, for instance to enact some particular law – so called positive obligations. Thus it could the violation not only when the state fails to take positive obligations, but also when such the law trespasses the limit of the proportionality taking negative obligations. The problems about private life are coming out of its changing concept in XXI century. New technologies have vested the society with new instruments and made individuals' lives more convenient. Evolution of technologies and social life enhanced individuals to access to information and knowledge; thus it inevitably may lead to a situation when members of society recognize the right to know, right to communicate, right to express views and contribute to the society as a more vital and valuable than traditional and straightforward "right to be left alone". Legally speaking, of all the European human rights in the international catalogue, privacy is perhaps the most difficult to define and circumscribe. Nowadays, a person has less control on his personal information, because private life and privacy has become less important as to receive information and freedom to impart it. What's why Europe and all the world confronts with big problems of violation of human rights in context of the protection of personal data The solution of these problems could be self regulation and legislation of various legal acts.

Biographical note: Josch Hoenes (Dr. phil.) ist wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter am Helene-Lange-Kolleg »Queer Studies und Intermedialität« der Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg. Er lehrt und forscht im Bereich von trans*/queer studies sowie der Kultur- und Medienwissenschaften.

RESUMOA escola é um espaço dinâmico recheado de práticas plurais que ocorrem nos cotidianos escolares e que muitas vezes passam despercebidas do olhar de gestores e professores. Esse projeto de pesquisa e de ações surge justamente a partir de uma prática de preconceito ocorrida dentro da escola e denunciada por um estudante. A partir da denúncia desses preconceitos, despertei o olhar para as diferentes práticas que ocorrem dentro da escola e constituí a presente pesquisa que buscou perceber os preconceitos vividos principalmente por estudantes LGBTs (Lésbicas, gays, bissexuais, travestis e transexuais), no espaço escolar e, concomitantemente a essas pesquisas, realizei em parceria com professores da escola trabalhos buscando debater e conscientizar sobre outros diferentes preconceitos/discriminações ali presentes. A partir disso, foi possível problematizar práticas de preconceito arraigadas e presentes na escola, almejando proporcionar um ambiente de respeito às diversidades. Esses debates, posteriormente, assumiram lugar nas aulas dos professores, ao trabalharem de alguma maneira essas temáticas em suas disciplinas.Escola. Preconceitos. LGBTs. Rethinking school routines: possibilities and practices for prejudices deconstruction ABSTRACTThe school is a dynamic space full of plural practices that occur in school daily life and that often go unnoticed by managers and teachers. This research and action project arises precisely from a practice of prejudice that occurred within the school and reported by a student. From the denunciation of these prejudices, we awakened our gaze to the different practices that occur within the school and constituted the present research that sought to understand the prejudices experienced mainly by LGBT students (Lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transvestites and transsexuals), in the school and , concomitantly with these surveys, there were works seeking to debate and raise awareness about other different prejudices / discrimination present there. From this, it was possible to problematize ingrained prejudice practices present in the school, aiming to provide an environment of respect for diversity. These debates, later, took place in the teachers' classes, when working in some way these themes in their subjects.School. Prejudices. LGBTs. Repensando los cotidianos escolares: posibilidades y prácticas para deconstruir prejuiciosRESUMENLa escuela es un espacio dinámico lleno de prácticas plurales que ocurren en la vida diaria de la escuela y que a menudo pasan desapercibidas para los gerentes y maestros. Este proyecto de investigación y acción surge precisamente de una práctica de prejuicios que ocurrieron dentro de la escuela y reportados por un estudiante. A partir de la denuncia de estos prejuicios, me desperté para observar las diferentes prácticas que ocurren dentro de la escuela y constituí la presente investigación que buscó comprender los prejuicios experimentados principalmente por estudiantes LGBT (lesbianas, gays, bisexuales, travestis y transexuales), en el espacio escolar y, simultáneamente a esta investigación, llevé a cabo, en colaboración con los maestros de escuela, acciones para debatir y crear conciencia sobre otros prejuicios/discriminaciones diferentes presentes allí. A partir de esto, fue posible problematizar las prácticas de prejuicios arraigadas y presentes en la escuela, con el objetivo de proporcionar un ambiente de respeto por la diversidad. Estos debates, más tarde, tuvieron lugar en las clases de maestros, cuando se trabajaban de alguna manera estos temas en sus asignaturas.Escuela. Prejuicios. LGBT. Ripensare la scuola ogni giorno: possibilità e pratiche per decostruire i pregiudiziSINTESELa scuola è uno spazio dinamico pieno di pratiche plurali che si verificano nella vita quotidiana della scuola e spesso passano inosservate da manager e insegnanti. Questo progetto di ricerca e azione nasce proprio da una pratica di pregiudizi verificatisi all'interno della scuola e segnalati da uno studente. Dalla denuncia di questi pregiudizi, mi sono svegliato per osservare le diverse pratiche che si verificano all'interno della scuola e hanno costituito la presente indagine che ha cercato di comprendere i pregiudizi vissuti principalmente dagli studenti LGBT (lesbiche, gay, bisessuali, travestiti e transessuali), in lo spazio scolastico e, contemporaneamente a questa ricerca, ho svolto, in collaborazione con gli insegnanti della scuola, azioni di dibattito e sensibilizzazione su altri pregiudizi / discriminazioni diverse lì. Da ciò è stato possibile problematizzare le pratiche di pregiudizio radicate e presenti nella scuola, con l'obiettivo di fornire un ambiente di rispetto per la diversità. Questi dibattiti, in seguito, si sono svolti durante le lezioni degli insegnanti, quando queste materie erano in qualche modo trattate sulle loro materie. Scuola. Pregiudizio. LGBT.

RESUMO As inquietações aqui apresentadas foram suscitadas a partir de duas pesquisas em contextos e temporalidades distintas e que atravessam a trajetória dos autores no Mato Grosso do Sul. A primeira deu-se em decorrência dos diálogos travados por um dos autores com jovens efeminadas (gays, travestis, transexuais) na cidade de Corumbá-MS, na fronteira com a Bolívia. A segunda, foi resultado do diálogo de dois dos autores com jovens indígenas Kaiowá da Terra Indígena (TI) de Panambizinho, localizada a aproximadamente 20km de Dourados-MS, no distrito de Panambi. Por meio de uma perspectiva interdisciplinar, sustentada numa análise qualitativa, intenta-se refletir sobre os dilemas e possibilidades que cercam a relação entre minorias e a escola na contemporaneidade a partir de um ponto de vista interseccional. Como resultado, a compreensão de que se a escola continua em vários momentos a se produzir como um espaço de docilização de corpos e subjetividades, de outro, a constante capacidade de negociação e agenciamento dos sujeitos que a enredam.Escola. Marcadores sociais. Minorias. Agenciamentos. Agency and intersectionality in court: concerns about schools and differences in Mato Grosso do SulABSTRACT The concerns presented here were raised from two researches in different contexts and temporalities that cross the trajectory of the authors in Mato Grosso do Sul. The first occurred as a result of the dialogues carried out by one of the authors with effeminate young people (gays, transvestites), transsexuals) in the city of Corumbá-MS, on the border with Bolivia. The second was the result of the dialogue between two of the authors with young Kaiowá indigenous people from the Indigenous Land (TI) of Panambizinho, located approximately 20km from Dourados-MS, in the Panambi district. Through an interdisciplinary, sustained perspective in a qualitative analysis, we intend to reflect on the dilemmas and possibilities that surround the relationship between minorities and the school in contemporary times from an intersectional point of view. As a result, the understanding that if the school continues at various times to produce itself as a space for the docilization of bodies and subjectivities, on the other, the constant capacity for negotiation and agency of the subjects who enmesh it.School. Social markers. Minorities. Agency. Agencia e interseccionalidad en la corte: preocupaciones por las escuelas y diferencias en Mato Grosso do SulRESUMENLas inquietudes presentadas aquí han sido planteadas por dos investigaciones en diferentes contextos y temporalidades que cruzan la trayectoria de los autores en Mato Grosso do Sul, travestis, transexuales) en la ciudad de Corumbá-MS, en la frontera con Bolivia. El segundo fue el resultado del diálogo entre dos autores con el joven indígena Kaiowá de la Tierra Indígena (TI) de Panambizinho, ubicado a unos 20 km de Dourados-MS, en el distrito de Panambi. Mediante una perspectiva interdisciplinaria, respaldada por un análisis cualitativo, pretendemos reflexionar sobre los dilemas y las posibilidades que rodean la relación entre las minorías y la escuela en los tiempos contemporáneos desde un punto de vista interseccional. En consecuencia, el entendimiento de que si la escuela continúa produciéndose en varias ocasiones como un espacio para la docilización de cuerpos y subjetividades, por otro lado, la constante capacidad de negociación y agencia de los sujetos que la involucran.Escuela. Indicadores sociales. Minorías. Agencia. Agenzia e intersezionalità in tribunale: preoccupazioni per le scuole e differenze nel Mato Grosso do Sul SINTESE Le preoccupazioni qui presentate sono state sollevate da due ricerche in contesti e temporalità diversi che attraversano la traiettoria degli autori nel Mato Grosso do Sul. , travestiti, transessuali) nella città di Corumbá-MS, al confine con la Bolivia. Il secondo è stato il risultato del dialogo tra due autori con i giovani indigeni Kaiowá della Terra indigena (TI) di Panambizinho, situato a circa 20 km da Dourados-MS, nel distretto di Panambi. Attraverso una prospettiva interdisciplinare, supportata da un'analisi qualitativa, intendiamo riflettere sui dilemmi e sulle possibilità che circondano la relazione tra le minoranze e la scuola nei tempi contemporanei da un punto di vista intersezionale. Di conseguenza, la comprensione che se la scuola continua in varie occasioni a prodursi come spazio per la docilizzazione di corpi e soggettività, dall'altra la costante capacità di negoziazione e di agenzia delle materie che la coinvolgono.Cuola. Indicatori sociali. Minoranze. Agenzia.

"In Transgender in Imperial China, Matthew Sommer offers a close reading of a series of remarkable, well-documented court cases from the 18th and 19th century Qing dynasty legal archives that deal with sex and gender difference. The book explores practices in their specific historical context and avoids imposing trans-historical identities on people in the past, understanding, in the vein of Susan Stryker's work, that "transgender people" are those who "move away from" the gender assigned at birth and "cross over" the gender boundaries imposed by their society, without assuming any specific motivation or destination for that movement. Sommer details the experience of individuals assigned male at birth who were living as women (and were punished very harshly for the crime of "masquerading in women's attire"), but also includes under the sign "transgender" a range of personae not usually considered in this context, such as cross-dressing "boy actresses" of the opera and those who "left the family" by becoming Buddhist or Daoist clergy or eunuchs in imperial service and renouncing normative gender roles based on marriage and procreation. These cases explore a range of themes in Chinese law, society, and culture, and illuminate how many forms of gender transgression were sanctioned by law in Qing society. In considering all of these scenarios together, Sommer's book unpacks the full story of how sex and gender were understood in the Qing era"--

This unique resource offers an in-depth, comprehensive look at different types of mental health needs of transgender and gender diverse youth, how these intersect with gender identity, gender expression, and sexual orientation, and provides practical information on how to ethically, responsibly, and sensitively care for these patients. Affirmative Mental Health Care for Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth: A Clinical Guide begins with three introductory chapters which contain practical information regarding assessment, psychological interventions, and the potential medical and surgical interventions that are indicated for youth with gender identity concerns. The remaining chapters are illustrated by multiple cases build around overarching chapter themes. Each case chapter opens with broad questions applicable to clinical practices, while the cases themselves focus on a particular co-occuring mental health condition. The case chapters are structured with intersectionality in mind, including elements of ethnic, racial, and cultural diversity, and the patients range over the full developmental spectrum, from pre-pubertal children to older adolescents. Chapter cases range in complexity as well, to provide readers with the tools they need to evaluate patients, and to assist in the decision of which presenting factors to prioritize in treatment at which time. Ending each chapter are clinical take-home messages, closing with additional practical knowledge that can be applied to other cases providers may see in their own practices. Written by expert clinicians in the field, Affirmative Mental Health Care for Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth: A Clinical Guide is an ideal resource not only for child and adolescent psychiatrists, but for clinicians across all mental health disciplines working with gender non-conforming youth, and who are interested in providing informed, affirmative, and intersectional care.

SUMMARY The objective of this Master's Thesis is to analyze and compare Lithuania, Norway, Netherlands and The Great Britain Constitutional human rights and legal provisions wich ensure the rights and freedoms of sexual minorities. With regard to the comparative analysis of the present findings, disclosed the sexual minority rights in Lithuania. The Thesis consists of an introduction followed by two chapters and conclusions. The first chapter deals with the conceptions of sexual minorities and homosexual orientation. Also analyzed the Lithuanian Constitutional human rights and legal provisions wich provide the right to protection, equality, freedom of expression and privacy of sexual minorities. The second section consist legal acts analysis wich regulate sexual minorities rights in Norway, Netherlands and Great Britain. Specifying Constitutional rights and statutory provisions which are providing legal rights to protection, equality, freedom of expression and privacy of sexual minorities. Analyze and compare Lithuania, Norway, Netherlands and Great Britain Constitutional human rights and legal provisions wich ensure the rights and freedoms of sexual minorities. Sexual minorities are groups of people whose sexual orientation, gender identity or sexual characteristics are different from the presumed majority of the population, which are male or female heterosexuals. The term referred primarily to lesbians and gays, bisexuals and transgender people. These four categories are often grouped together and called as LGBT persons. Regarding of society formed stereotypes, these individuals are often faced with the legal and social exclusion. Opposition receives both authorization and prohibition to marry, adopt or publicly promote their way of life. Therefore, sexual minority rights and freedoms is one of the most debated topics in Lithuania and in the world. Article 21 of Lithuania Constitution provides that, the human person is inviolable. Human dignity shall be protected by law. It shall be prohibited to torture, injure, degrade, or maltreat, and to impose such penalties. Article 169 of the Criminal Code prohibit direct discrimination on grounds of sex, sexual orientation, race, nationality, beliefs or other attitudes. Prohibition of sale, produce, acquire to send, carry, keep the things that incite or promote hatred violence and discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, and other cases are provided in the Criminal Code article 170. Article 29 of Lithuania Constitution lay down non-discrimination principle of all persons, other existing legislations guarantees equal rights to all people regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race or ethnic origin, disability, age, religion or belief. Article 2 paragraph 4 of Labour Code provides equality of employment law subjects, regardless of gender, sexual orientation and other circumstances. Article 2 of this act requires the employer to implement equal opportunities at work and in public service. Labour Safety and Health Act guarantees employed safe and healthy working conditions, regardless of the employee's sexual orientation. This act prohibit direct or indirect discrimination on grounds of age, sexual orientation, disability, race or ethnic origin, religion or belief. Article 25 of Lithuania Constitution provides that everyone has the right to hold opinions and to express them freely. Article 36 of Constitution lay, that unarmed citizens have the right in peaceful assembly. These two Constitutional provisions guaranties human right to expression. Country's Criminal Code, the Labour Code, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Equal Opportunity Act establishes the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, but comparing to the rest of the world Lithuania valid legal regulation does not ensure sexual minority rights and freedoms. In Norway, the Netherlands and Great Britain gender identity is stored value of the law and same-sex marriage are legal by the law. These countries have established legal regulation laying down the conditions and gender reassignment procedures. In Netherlands and Great Britain the same sex can form a partnership. There is no statutory regulations, which set the conditions for gender reassignment procedures in Lithuania. Article 2.27 of Lithuanian Civil Code provides that \"an unmarried adult has the right to medically change their sex, if it is medically possible. Sex changing conditions laid down by law". To implement these provisions was prepared draft law regulating the treatment of transsexualism, but due to conflicting public assessment, this law has not been adopted. For this reason in country does not exist discriminatory crimes of sexual identity basis. The country does not allow same-sex marriage or partnership formation. Article 38 of Lithuania Constitution establishes that "marriage are formed in agreement between a man and a woman ''. According to this provision, the same-sex marriage are not available in the Country. Lithuania legal acts unlike in Norway, Netherlands and Great Britain does not include gender identity concept. In Lithuania transsexual person (a person who has a gender identity confusion) rights and freedoms are not guaranteed, because none of the above provisions of the law does not include gender identity grounds. For this reason, information about hate crimes, sexual identity simply does not exist.

[spa] El objetivo principal de esta tesis viene definido por la necesidad objetiva de consolidar la memoria histórica sobre los abusos cometidos contra gais, lesbianas, transexuales y bisexuales en la dictadura franquista, extensiva a los primeros años de la llamada Transición, período convulso en el que se pacta una estrategia de olvido y perdón inadmisible décadas después, por tanto legítimamente susceptible de revisión. A estos efectos resulta pertinente la investigación y la presentación de las pruebas que demuestran el control, la represión y el encarcelamiento de numerosos miembros de este colectivo. La reeducación queda en un reproche moral y un etiquetaje, puesto que ese afán reeducativo carece de soporte material y presupuestario. Las metodologías que sirven a los fines de este trabajo son las cualitativas, reconociendo el vínculo entre el investigador y la materia de estudio, que implica la concurrencia en este trabajo de valores y de subjetivismo. Concretamente nos hemos servido de estas herramientas metodológicas: la metodología gay; la sociología jurídica, especialmente la referida al sexo y género; la genealogía de Foucault; la biopolítica.; el análisis del discurso; la desmitificación y la desjuridización, ambas propuestas críticas de la nueva defensa social; el conocimiento popular; las teorías del conflicto social; la sexualidad como dispositivo cultural. Se han usado dos técnicas de recogida de información: la entrevista; la técnica documental y textual. Abordamos el lenguaje en su amplio campo de connotaciones, considerando sus valores simbólico y polisémico. La fuente documental más valiosa la constituye la colección de treinta y seis expedientes de peligrosidad social a los que se ha tenido acceso. Esta investigación demuestra la falta de cualquier garantía jurídica en la tramitación de dichos expedientes, como el derecho de asistencia letrada al expedientado, a quien se juzga en función de unos valores morales ultraconservadores, aportando como pruebas irrefutables de su desviación informes forenses y policiales. La ideología penal reaccionaria garantiza el mantenimiento del statu quo franquista. El expedientado es condenado simplemente por su sexualidad, tratado como un preso común, sin ningún beneficio penitenciario, finalmente estigmatizado. Su pertenencia a la clase humilde se constata en los expedientes sin género de duda, sin que los miembros de clase acomodada vean su buen nombre en entredicho, sea por una mayor facilidad para actuar con discreción, sea por el recurso al soborno. La homofobia explica el considerable retraso del estudio de la materia abordada en este trabajo respecto a otras cuestiones de memoria histórica relativas a la Guerra Civil, la dictadura de Franco y la Transición, por lo que se recomienda su impulso, además de la mejora de la conservación y la custodia de los documentos que obran en poder de los distintos archivos. ; [eng] The main objective of this thesis is defined by the objective need to strengthen a historical memory about abuses against gays, lesbians, transsexuals and bisexuals in the Franco dictatorship, extended to the early years of the so-called Transition, turbulent period in which enters into a strategy of forgetfulness and forgiveness inadmissible decades later, thus legitimately subject to review. For this purpose it is pertinent a research and a presentation of evidence demonstrating control, repression and imprisonment of many members of this group. Re-education is a moral reproach and labeling, since this reeducation's effort lacks both material and financial support. The methodologies that serve the purposes of this paper are qualitative, recognizing the link between the researcher and the subject matter, which involves the audience in this paper stock and subjectivism. Specifically, we have used these methodological tools: the gay methodology; legal sociology, especially related to sex and gender; Foucault's genealogy; biopolitics; discourse analysis; demystification and out-of-jurisdiction, both criticism proposals of the new social defense; popular knowledge; theories of social conflict; sexuality as a cultural device. Two techniques were used to collect information: interviews; documentary and textual techniques. We boarded the language in the broad field of connotations, considering its symbolic and polysemic values. The most remarkable source constitutes the collection of thirty-six cases of social dangerousness to which we got an access. This research demonstrates the lack of any legal guarantee in the processing of such records, as the right to legal assistance of the person subject to an investigation file, who is judged on the basis of some ultraconservative moral values, providing forensic and police reports as undisputed evidences of diversion. The criminal reactionary ideology ensures the maintenance of status quo during Franco's ruling. The alleged social dangerousness suspect is simply condemned for his sexuality, treated like a common criminal, without any penitentiary benefit, finally stigmatized. Belonging to the lower class is a personal fact found in the files without any doubt, meanwhile the members of high class do not see their good name in question, either by a greater ability to act with discretion, or by resorting to bribery. Homophobia explains the considerable delay in the study of the matter addressed in this work compared with other issues of historical memory regarding the Civil War, the Franco dictatorship and the Transition. Consequently, we do recommend the promotion of new essays and improved conservation and custody of the documents held by the different archives.

This paper analyzes the gender relations and practices of the students of the Universidad del Valle from a constructivist perspective. It reveals the links and intersections that define them, captures the interactions between cis, men and women, homosexuals, transsexuals, individuals of fluid gender, youngsters and adults, white mestizos, Afro-Colombians and indigenous people, and people from Cali, Valle del Cauca and other municipalities in Colombia; almost all them being of low and middle income. The paper also looks at the acts and behaviors related to the students' social position and the appropriation forms of the university campus, identifying spaces of representation and representations of space, the perceived separation among genders, ethnic groups, consumption forms or belonging to a discipline. The research route favors the ethnographic gaze and intentional observation, using informal conversations, focus groups, workshops and social cartography as the main tools. The information obtained reveals that on the Meléndez campus interact different sexualities and desire orientations, as well as gender identities and expressions, coexisting in an environment of demands and challenges to the privileges of hegemonic masculinity. These tensions occur in a field of deliberation and dispute, that reveals opposition to the binary sexual system, by individuals and some agents linked to groups and political organizations, but also the defense of the gender order by others. The text is divided into three sections: first, it shows how the students appropriate the space and enter into a dispute to subvert or maintain the gender order. Second, it describes the way in which their sociability occurs at the University and highlights nuances in the spatial practices they live. Third, it analyzes how and by whom some hetero-patriarchal practices face or maintain them in order to preserve gender order. ; Este artículo analiza las relaciones y prácticas de género de los estudiantes de la Universidad del Valle, desde una perspectiva constructivista, que devela los vínculos y entrecruzamientos que las definen, capta las interacciones entre hombres y mujeres, homosexuales, transexuales e individuos de género fluido, jóvenes y adultos, blancos mestizos, afrocolombianos e indígenas, caleños, vallecaucanos y de otros municipios de Colombia; casi todos de ingresos bajos y medios. También se fija en los actos y comportamientos relacionados con las posiciones sociales de los estudiantes y en los modos de apropiación del campus, identificando espacios de representación y representaciones del espacio, la separación que se percibe entre los géneros, las etnias, los consumos o la pertenencia a una disciplina. La ruta de investigación privilegia la mirada etnográfica y la observación intencional, utiliza como principales herramientas las conversaciones informales, los grupos focales, los talleres y la cartografía social. La información obtenida permite evidenciar que en el campus de Meléndez interactúan diversas sexualidades y orientaciones del deseo, identidades y expresiones de género, que conviven en un ambiente de reivindicaciones y de retos a los privilegios de la masculinidad hegemónica. Esas tensiones se producen en un campo de deliberación y disputa, que revela la oposición al sistema sexual binario, por parte individuos y de algunos agentes vinculados a colectivos y organizaciones políticas, pero también la defensa del orden de género por parte de otros. El texto se divide en tres apartados: en primer lugar, muestra cómo los estudiantes se apropian del espacio y entran en disputa por subvertir o mantener el orden de género. En segundo lugar, el artículo describe el modo en que se produce su sociabilidad en la universidad y destaca matices en las prácticas espaciales que se viven en el campus. En tercer lugar, analiza cómo y quiénes enfrentan algunas prácticas heteropatriarcales o las mantienen para preservar el orden de género. ; Este artigo analisa as relações e práticas de gênero dos estudantes da Universidad del Valle, a partir de uma perspectiva construtivista, a qual revela os vínculos e cruzamentos que as definem. Assim, capta as interações entre homens e mulheres cis, homossexuais, transexuais e indivíduos de gênero fluido, jovens e adultos, branco-mestiços, afro-colombianos e indígenas, caleños, vallecaucanos e de outros municípios da Colômbia, quase todos de renda baixa e média. Também analisa atos e comportamentos relacionados às posições sociais dos estudantes e modos de apropriação do campus universitário, identificando espaços de representação e representações do espaço, a percepção da separação entre gêneros, etnias, consumo ou pertença a uma disciplina. O percurso da pesquisa privilegia o olhar etnográfico e a observação intencional, utilizando conversas informais, grupos de discussão, seminários e mapeamento social como principais ferramentas. As informações obtidas mostram que diversas sexualidades e orientações de desejo, identidades e expressões de gênero interagem no campus Meléndez, coexistindo em um ambiente de exigências e desafios aos privilégios da masculinidade hegemônica. Estas tensões são produzidas num campo de deliberação e disputa, revelando tanto a oposição ao sistema sexual binário, por parte de indivíduos e alguns agentes ligados a coletivos e organizações políticas, como a defesa da ordem de gênero por outros. O artigo está dividido em três seções: em primeiro lugar, mostra como os estudantes se apropriam do espaço e entram em disputa para subverter ou manter a ordem de gênero; em segundo lugar, descreve a forma como sua sociabilidade é produzida na universidade e destaca nuances nas práticas espaciais vividas no campus; em terceiro lugar, analisa como são confrontadas ou mantidas por parte dos estudantes, algumas práticas hetero-patriarcais associadas à ordem de gênero.

En Colombia, el feminicidio es un tipo penal cerrado, en cuya estructura de delito autónomo, el legislador determinó, según el artículo 2° de la Ley Rosa Elvira Cely LREC, que el sujeto pasivo es la mujer cis, considerada así desde lo biológico, en razón de su sexo de nacimiento. En la jurisprudencia colombiana, cometer feminicidio es causar la muerte a una mujer, necesariamente motivada "por su condición de ser mujer o por motivos de su identidad de género, móvil que hace parte del tipo dolo calificado" (Sentencia C-297 de 2016). Según Ramos de Mello (2015), en el feminicidio "el Estado es incapaz de garantizar la vida de las mujeres, de respetar sus derechos humanos, de actuar con legalidad y de hacerse respetar, de buscar y administrar la justicia, de prevenir y erradicar la violencia que ocasiona"; mientras que, las teorías sociológicas consideran al feminicidio como un crimen de Estado (Legarde, 2008) o como violencia sexual sistemática, propia de las relaciones de poder: social, cultural (machismo, patriarcado), política y económica, dominantes (Monárrez, 2009). En la LREC, el legislador no definió con precisión que el sujeto pasivo en el delito de feminicidio allí consagrado, podría extenderse a personas transgénero, concepto general que para la CIDH de la OEA constituye una denominación básica para designar a "aquellas personas cuya identidad de género u orientación sexual es diferente de las expectativas basadas en características físicas sexuales o en el sexo que les fue asignado al momento del nacimiento" (CIDH-OEA, 2015); los modelos o estereotipos sociales establecen disimilitudes en la sociedad, aunque la perspectiva antropológica del rol de mujer trans (travesti, transexual y transgénero), no necesariamente está vinculada a procedimientos médico-quirúrgicos para la reasignación de sexo, sino a la construcción de la identidad de género (Cano-Caballero, 2010). En la sociedad contemporánea, existen grupos de personas LGBTI, considerados vulnerables por su diversidad sexual, quienes no tienen regulados sus derechos de identidad jurídica en la legislación nacional, a pesar que la comunidad jurídica internacional se los haya reconocido en razón o por su condición de género (CIDH, 2015); situación que los expone al prejuicio que a su vez los hace objeto de violencia y estigmatización (Ramos-Salcedo & González-Mauricio, 2015). De otra arista, el orden social en los Estados no está organizado estructuralmente para dar prioridad y adaptar procesos pertinentes con identidad de género o sexual, por lo cual deberían ser considerados como "construcción del cuerpo social como eje de transversalidad para la culturización y la difusión de información, para que la sociedad contemporánea, respete y asimile un proceso más inclusivo, que genere mayor atención hacia el cuerpo distinto, presente en la persona" (Cedeño & Cedeño, 2018). En Colombia, los derechos de las personas LGBTI no solo son irrespetados, sino que además no le son garantizados a plenitud, dado que, las autoridades de tipo judicial y administrativa, "anteponen el estereotipo o prejuicio al momento de aplicar la legislación o por una actitud omisiva desconocen las precarias e infravaloradas condiciones y estigmatización social" (Colombia Diversa, 2020); debido quizá a que el sistema está cimentado sobre la base del binarismo de género, invisibilizando a las mujeres trans y desconociendo la realidad de personas con género no binario. Aunque la Corte Constitucional colombiana ha sentado jurisprudencia a través de múltiples sentencias en materia de derechos de parejas del mismo sexo, en el país persiste la discriminación homofóbica por razones de orientación sexual e identidad de género, registrándose en forma continua, la vulneración a los derechos humanos y fundamentales como la integridad personal, la libertad, la intimidad, la libertad de expresión, a pesar de las normas y las Organizaciones No Gubernamentales que trabajan por su garantía. Transcurridos dos decenios del siglo XXI, estos derechos de las personas transgénero siguen siendo ignorados y como personas humanas, "marginados y discriminados por una sociedad que le niega la existencia de una identidad de género propia de las personas trans, el derecho de igualdad sin distinción de sexo o género, sin exclusión" (Cardona-Cuervo, 2016; Godoy, 2019). El no reconocer de forma incluyente a la persona trans, mediante política pública o legislación más precisa, desatiende la valoración social, la identidad de género no normativa y la identidad jurídica, siendo un condicionamiento que conlleva a la incorrecta imputación como homicidio agravado, al tipo penal de feminicidio cuyo sujeto pasivo es la mujer-adolescente trans. En esta tesis se desarrolla una investigación sociojurídica tipo analítica y comparada, dado su método de análisis interseccional de contenido, basado en fuentes de doctrina, jurisprudencia y política criminal, así como del derecho comparado con países de Latinoamérica en cuya legislación se incluya el tipo penal de feminicidio delimitando su unidad de análisis a adolescente transgénero y el sintagma gnoseológico se desarrolla mediante tratamiento multidimensional e interdisciplinar, con tres categorías analíticas abordadas desde la antropología social, psicología, derecho y ciencia forense; para determinar la construcción social e identidad jurídica como mujer-adolescente transgénero, necesaria para proponer su inclusión taxativa como sujeto pasivo en la LREC. Desde lo procesal-penal, se propone el protocolo de actuación médico forense y se incorporan los elementos socio-jurídicos incidentes que, como mecanismo judicial se requieren direccionar para una efectiva imputación en el proceso de investigación criminal del feminicidio transgénero. Desde lo académico, el problema jurídico y su solución, se abordan desde el conocimiento interdisciplinario y transdisciplinario en las áreas de Antropología, Derechos Humanos, Ciencia Forense, Derecho Procesal-Penal y Criminología; con lo cual se logra un aporte transversal, contemporáneo y de impacto sociojurídico, que genera una prospectiva como nueva línea de investigación y futuras investigaciones de alto impacto a nivel teórico e institucional en la USTA. ; In Colombia, Femicide is a closed criminal type, in whose structure of autonomous crime, the legislator determined, according to article 2 of the Rosa Elvira Cely LREC Law, that the taxable person is the woman considered thus from the biological point of view, in reason for your birth sex In Colombian jurisprudence, committing Femicide is causing the death of a woman, necessarily motivated "by her condition of being a woman or by reasons of her gender identity, motive that is part of the type of qualified fraud" (Sentence C-297 of 2016). According to Ramos de Mello (2015), in Femicide "the State is incapable of guaranteeing the lives of women, of respecting their human rights, of acting legally and enforcing respect, of seeking and administering justice, of preventing and eradicating the violence it causes "; While, sociological theories consider Femicide as a crime of the State (Legarde, 2008) or as systematic sexual violence, typical of power relations: social, cultural (machismo, patriarchy), political and economic, dominant (Monárrez, 2009 ). In the Rosa Elvira Cely Law, the legislator did not precisely define that the taxpayer in the crime of Femicide enshrined therein, could be extended to transgender people, a general concept that for the IACHR of the OAS constitutes a basic denomination to designate "those persons whose identity of gender or sexual orientation is different from the expectations based on sexual physical characteristics or on the sex assigned to them at the time of birth "(IACHR-OEA, 2015); social models or stereotypes establish dissimilarities in society, although the anthropological perspective of the role of trans women (transvestites, transsexuals and transgender), is not necessarily linked to medical-surgical procedures for the reassignment of sex, but to the construction of identity gender (Cano-Caballero, 2010). In contemporary society, there are groups of LGBTI people, considered vulnerable due to their sexual diversity, who do not have their legal identity rights regulated in national legislation, despite the fact that the international legal community has recognized them by reason or by their status as gender (IACHR, 2015); a situation that exposes them to prejudice that in turn makes them the object of violence and stigmatization (Ramos-Salcedo & González-Mauricio, 2015). On the other hand, the social order in the States is not structurally organized to prioritize and adapt pertinent processes with gender or sexual identity, for which they should be considered as "construction of the social body as an axis of transversally for culturalization and dissemination of information, so that contemporary society respects and assimilates a more inclusive process that generates greater attention to the different body present in the person" (Cedeño & Cedeño, 2018). In Colombia, the rights of LGBTI people are not only disrespected, but they are also not fully guaranteed, given that judicial and administrative authorities "put the stereotype or prejudice before applying the legislation or by a omisive attitude ignore the precarious and undervalued conditions and social stigmatization "(Colombia Diversa, 2020); perhaps due to the fact that the system is founded on the basis of gender binaries, making trans women invisible and ignoring the reality of people with non-binary gender. Although the Colombian Constitutional Court has established jurisprudence through multiple judgments on the rights of same-sex couples, homophobic discrimination persists in the country for reasons of sexual orientation and gender identity, with the violation of rights being continuously recorded. human and fundamental such as personal integrity, freedom, privacy, freedom of expression, despite the rules and Non-Governmental Organizations that work for their guarantee. After two decades of the 21st century, these rights of transgender people continue to be ignored and as human persons, "marginalized and discriminated against by a society that denies the existence of a gender identity typical of trans people, the right to equality without distinction. of sex or gender, without exclusion" (Cardona-Cuervo, 2016; Godoy, 2019). Not recognizing the trans person in an inclusive way, through public policy or more precise legislation, neglects social valuation, non-normative gender identity and legal identity, being a condition that leads to the incorrect imputation as aggravated homicide, to a criminal type of Femicide whose taxpayer is the transgender woman-adolescent. In this thesis, an analytical and comparative socio-legal research is developed, given its method of intersectional content analysis, based on sources of doctrine, jurisprudence and criminal policy, as well as comparative law with Latin American countries in whose legislation the criminal type is included from feminicide, delimiting its unit of analysis to a transgender adolescent and the epistemological phrase is developed through multidimensional and interdisciplinary treatment, with three analytical categories approached from social anthropology, psychology, law and forensic science; to determine the social construction and legal identity as a transgender woman-adolescent, necessary to propose her exhaustive inclusion as a taxpayer in the LREC. From the procedural-criminal point of view, the forensic medical action protocol is proposed and the incident socio-legal elements are incorporated that, as a judicial mechanism, are required to address for an effective imputation in the criminal investigation process of transgender Femicide. From the academic point of view, the legal problem and its solution are approached from interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary knowledge in the areas of Anthropology, Human Rights, Forensic Science, Procedural-Criminal Law and Criminology; with which a transversal, contemporary contribution with a socio-legal impact is achieved, which generates a prospective as a new line of research and future research of high impact at the theoretical and institutional level in the USTA. ; Magister en Derecho Penal y Procesal Penal

Author's introductionThis article examines the process of social differentiation in the context of sex, gender and sexuality, providing insight into the ways in which all three rely on mutually exclusive and dichotomous categories. Intersexuality, transgender and bisexuality are all exceptions to these boxes and the boundaries around them that can call our categorizations and the decisions we make based upon them into question. Given that social inequality and stratification rely on our ability to make clear distinctions between categories (or boxes, as conceptualized here), the existence of individuals, experiences and identities that cross these boundaries problematizes the persistence of inequality.Author recommendsHere I focus on monographs and edited volumes rather than articles. Many of the chapters in these books began life as journal articles. When examining issues related to intersexuality, transgender and bisexuality, it is important to give voice to individual experiences rather than relying solely on 'expert' accounts by outsiders. These recommendations reflect a mix of scholarly approaches (empirical and theoretical) and narratives.Baumgardner, Jennifer. 2007. Look Both Ways: Bisexual Politics. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.Known for her third‐wave feminist work with co‐author Amy Richards, Baumgardner writes here about her experiences as a bisexual woman. She does a fine job of situating her experiences in a broader social and cultural context, offering a nice mix of the personal and the political. This book is an excellent example of the potential of theoretically informed memoir.Fausto‐Sterling, Anne. 2000. Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality. New York: Basic Books.As a pioneer among biologists questioning the dichotomy between male and female, Fausto‐Sterling challenges us to question our most basic assumptions about sex, gender and sexuality. In this book, she provides both an historical and a biological/medical perspective on the key issues. Her book is an excellent resource for social scientists who may feel ill‐prepared to answer their students' questions about natural‐science perspectives.Hutchins, Loraine and Lani Kaahumanu, eds. 1991. Bi Any Other Name: Bisexual People Speak Out. Los Angeles, CA: Alyson Books.This book of narratives was one of the first to give voice to the diverse experiences of bisexual people. Students reading this book will hear the stories of bisexual women and men, people of different races and religions, making sense of their experiences living outside the conventional boxes of sexuality.Kessler, Suzanne J. 1998. Lessons from the Intersexed. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.Kessler was doing research (talking to physicians, parents of intersexed children and intersexed adults) on these issues before they even appeared on most people's radar. This book examines key questions related to intersexuality, including the 'medical management' that has become so controversial. Kessler includes a glossary of terms that many readers will find useful.Meyerowitz, Joanne. 2002. How Sex Changed: A History of Transsexuality in the United States. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Historian Meyerowitz provides a detailed overview of the social and cultural development of transsexuality in the United States during the twentieth century. She includes the perspectives of transgendered individuals themselves, as well as the wide‐ranging views of others involved in the debate, from doctors, journalists and lawyers to feminists and gay‐rights advocates.Nestle, Joan, Clare Howell and Ricki Wilchins, eds. 2002. GenderQueer: Voices from Beyond the Sexual Binary. Los Angeles, CA: Alyson Books.This volume of narratives written by people who identify as somehow differently gendered offers students windows into the day‐to‐day lives of people living outside the boxes and on the boundaries. Paired with academic accounts that offer theoretical and conceptual information, this book will show students what it means to live beyond conventional categories – both the pain and the joys of such existences are on display here.Preves, Sharon E. 2003. Intersex and Identity: The Contested Self. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.As one of the first studies to provide first‐person accounts of the experiences of intersexed people, Preves's book offers incredible insights into the consequences of how our society has reacted to intersexuality. Intersex and Identity is also a fine piece of sociology, integrating medical sociology, sociology of gender and the social psychology of Erving Goffman into a compelling theoretical perspective.Rust, Paula C. Rodriguez, ed. 2000. Bisexuality in the United States: A Social Science Reader. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.Rust brings together 30 articles that provide a variety of perspectives on bisexuality, many of them her original contributions to this literature. Anthologies like this one provide an important service, offering overviews of a variety of topics and gathering diverse perspectives in one volume.Serrano, Julia. 2007. Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity. Emeryville, CA: Seal Press.Transwoman Serrano provides a compelling account that links our culture's responses to transgender individuals (especially transwomen) to its negative valuation of femininity. Some of what she argues is sure to be controversial; but she examines issues like 'cissexual privilege' (i.e. privileges afforded to those people who do 'normal' genders) as no one else has.Stryker, Susan and Stephen Whittle, eds. 2006. The Transgender Studies Reader. New York, NY: Routledge.While a bit heavy on humanities perspectives, this volume provides an invaluable resource on transgender issues. It gathers important historical documents as well as contemporary perspectives by and about transgender people. Everything from Janice Raymond's infamous diatribe against transwomen to Gayle Rubin's call for feminists to accept and celebrate gender diversity is included here.Online materialsBisexual Resources Center http://www.biresource.org/ This website provides links to 'all things bisexual.' From resources to information about events and conferences to links to bi and bi‐inclusive groups around the world, it can all be found here. Through virtual storefronts, one can purchase books, art and the newest edition of the Bi Resource Guide. Links to 'sibling sites' provide users with access to even more information.Intersex Society of North America website http://www.isna.org/ Intersex Society of North America (ISNA) was one of the first organizations to bring intersexed people together and work to protect their rights. Their site includes a list of frequently asked questions; a section on intersexuality and the law; a library of bibliographies, books and videos; and a section on intersex in the news that also documents mass media portrayals of intersexuality. Note that, in an attempt to get people to rethink the concept of intersexuality, ISNA has started to use the term 'disorders of sexual development.'Trans‐Academics.org website http://www.trans‐academics.org/ This website is a project of the Association for Gender Research, Education, Academia & Action (AGREAA). It provides a reference library, educational materials (including documents on terminology and syllabi), a document for those considering doing research with transgender subjects, links to academic transgender studies programs, and a list of community announcements. Approximately twenty syllabi are posted here.TransBiblio: A Bibliography of Print, AV and Online Resources Pertaining to Transgendered Persons and Transgender Issues http://www.library.uiuc.edu/wst/Transgender%20Bibliography/transbiblio.htm One of the first links on this page is to a list of transgender definitions. Many versions of such a list exist on the Web. Such lists are an important resource for students: most transgender terms are new to them and it helps to have a list to keep referring back to; definitions also provide a good starting point for discussion of relevant issues (e.g., names, pronouns and language). This website indexes: films, autobiography/biography/interviews, cultural and historical studies, other directories and bibliographies, fiction/poetry/drama, literary and cinematic studies, periodicals and journals, photographic and pictorial works, and other websites and online resources. It includes articles on cross‐dressing, gender identity and expression, intersexuality, legal and employment issues, medical and health issues, psychology and counselling, public policy, religion/ethics/spirituality, theory and politics, and transsexualism (general, female‐to‐male and male‐to‐female).FilmsThere are a number of feature films about transgender and bisexual topics, some better than others. Boys Don't Cry (Kimberly Peirce, 1999) and Transamerica (Duncan Tucker, 2005) provide much material for discussion. Note that Boys Don't Cry is very violent at the end (it depicts the rape and murder of Brandon Teena and is based on a true story). Chasing Amy is one of the few feature films that provides a complex portrait of bisexuality. Here are a few documentaries to consider. Hermaphrodites Speak (Cheryl Chase, 1997, 30 minutes)The camera work leaves something to be desired and the voices are sometimes difficult to hear – but this is a film that should not be missed. A small group of intersexed people gathered at the first Intersex Society of North America conference to talk about their experiences. They sit together outside on a blanket, talking matter of factly and compellingly about their lives. (Available for purchase at ISNA website.) No Dumb Questions (Melissa Regan, 2001, 24 minutes)This short film documents the experiences of a family (mother, father and three daughters, ages 6, 9 and 11) who has learned that Uncle Bill is becoming Aunt Barbara. The focus is on the reactions of the various family members; Barbara appears only briefly (but significantly, as this is the first time the family has seen her as a woman) in the film. The different reactions of the daughters provide much material for class discussion. (Available for purchase from various outlets, including nodumbquestions.com.) Southern Comfort (Kate Davis, 2001, 90 minutes)Transman Robert Eads is dying from ovarian cancer. This film documents his life and family, providing a compelling portrait of the failure of the medical profession to provide care to transgender individuals and of the creation of support networks by trans people. Of all the films I have ever shown in a class, none has outraged my students more than this one. It does an excellent job of showing the daily lives of transgender folks and documenting their loves and struggles. (Available for purchase from various outlets.)Sample syllabus Topics for lecture and discussion Week I: Making Sense of Sex, Gender and Sexuality Reading:Connell, Robert William. 2002. 'Difference and Bodies.' Pp. 28–52 in Gender. Malden, MA: Polity Press.Jackson, Stevi. 2005. 'Sexuality, Heterosexuality and Gender Hierarchy: Getting Our Priorities Straight.' Pp. 15–37 in Thinking Straight: The Power, the Promise and the Paradox of Heterosexuality. New York, NY: Routledge.Johnson, Allan. 2005. 'Ideology, Myth, and Magic: Femininity, Masculinity and "Gender Roles".' Pp. 78–98 in The Gender Knot: Unraveling our Patriarchal Legacy (revised and updated edition). Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.Lorber, Judith. 1994. '"Night to His Day": The Social Construction of Gender' and 'Believing Is Seeing: Biology as Ideology.' Pp. 13–54 in Paradoxes of Gender. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Weeks II–III: Beyond Dichotomies The Social Construction of Sex Reading:Fausto‐Sterling, Anne. 2000. 'The Five Sexes, Revisited.'The Sciences 40: pp. 18–23.Preves, Sharon E. 2003. 'Beyond Pink and Blue.' Pp. 1–22 in Intersex and Identity: The Contested Self. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. The Social Construction of Gender Reading:Dozier, Raine. 2005. 'Beards, Breasts and Bodies: Doing Sex in a Gendered World.'Gender & Society 19: 297–316.Lucal, Betsy. 1999. 'What It Means to Be Gendered Me: Life on the Boundaries of a Dichotomous Gender System.'Gender & Society 13: 781–797. The Social Construction of Sexualities Reading:Ault, Amber. 1999. 'Ambiguous Identity in an Unambiguous Sex/Gender System: The Case of Bisexual Women.' Pp. 167–185 in Bisexuality: A Critical Reader. New York, NY: Routledge.Clausen, Jan. 1999. 'Introduction.' Pp. xv–xxix in Apples and Oranges: My Journey through Sexual Identity. Boston. MA: Houghton Mifflin.Putting It All Together ...Reading:Lucal, Betsy. 2008. 'Building Boxes and Policing Boundaries: (De)Constructing Intersexuality, Transgender and Bisexuality.'Sociology Compass 2: 519–536, DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-9020.2008.00099.x.Etc ...Focus questions

What are some ways in which our society supports the idea that sex, gender and sexuality each comprise two mutually exclusive categories? In other words, how do we contribute to building the boxes that Lucal discusses?
Think of an experience from your own life that was a result of people (perhaps yourself) policing the boundaries of the sex, gender or sexuality categories. Describe this experience (its context, your reaction, etc.). How did it feel to be policed in this way? How does 'policing' relate to the concept of norms?
Imagine that you are the parent of an infant born with an intersexed condition. What would you do? What are the pros and cons of medical and surgical intervention? How do these considerations relate to the concept of boxes and boundaries?
Consider a day in the life of a transgendered person, from waking up in the morning to going to bed at night. List all the times throughout the day when this person will be expected to place themselves in one of the gender boxes. Reflect on your list: What would a day in this life be like?
Make a list of stereotypes of and slang terms for bisexuals, gays and lesbians (together and separately) and heterosexuals. How are these lists similar and different? How do these lists relate to the idea of boxes and boundaries?

Seminar/project idea Individual project: considering the wider social context Choose a social institution (e.g. family, education, mass media, religion, health and medicine) related to sex, gender and sexuality. Within that social institution, choose a narrower topic (e.g. access to health care, having and raising children, sitcom images). Do some research on how this specific topic relates to the lives of intersexed, transgender and bisexual individuals. Prepare an oral presentation for your class in which you compare and contrast the issues facing these three groups in the context of this topic. (Keep in mind, of course, that individuals might be members of more than one of these groups.) How are the issues facing each group in this context similar? How are they different?

In the spring of 1997, Shaun had just broken up with a boyfriend, and his roommate had moved out. Living alone for the first time and relieved of the fear that someone might walk in the door, he was finally able to indulge his fantasy. The young man sat on his couch and started blowing up balloons. Shaun had loved playing with balloons since he was a child. When he hit puberty, he felt his first orgasm rubbing against a balloon. It was then that his relationship with the object took on a new meaning. "I had spent my entire life trying to hide it from one person or another, be it parents, lovers, roommates or friends," Shaun says. But now he found himself in the privacy and intimacy of his small, two-bedroom San Jose apartment. "So here I was, like a diabetic kid given free license to ransack the candy store. I emerged myself fully." The living room and spare room became stuffed wall-to-wall, floor to ceiling, except for a path to the TV. The balloons were mostly 12 to 16 inches in diameter, plus a few three times that size. Shaun, who stands 6-foot-2, filled his bedroom to the top of his chest. He fell asleep buried in multi-colored inflatables. "The feeling was just an irrational sense of happiness." Shaun is one of at least several thousand looners, as they're called. Although the exact number of balloon fetishists – or any fetishist – is debated and impossible to know, Shaun is unquestionably not alone. Websites and YouTube videos portray the subculture of people who share Shaun's interest. Women – some naked, some fully dressed – masturbate with balloons on porn sites. They ride them, suck them, have sex with them, blow them up and pop them. And sometimes groups of scantily clad women just play with balloons, sexy-pillow-fight style. Troubled actress Lindsay Lohan declined an offer of $50,000 in September to pop a few balloons – fully clothed – for a fetish website, according to celebrity news site TMZ. Despite the x-rated results revealed by a Google search, the balloon fetish community extends beyond porn. Looners share stories and ask questions about their fetish on Facebook, Twitter and other Internet sites. About 1,200 people are regular members of Balloon Buddies, a popular listserv in the looner community where otherwise uncomfortable and often ashamed balloon people gather and discuss their preoccupation. Balloon Buddies was started as a pen pal group in the 1970s by a man from Maine nicknamed Buster Bill. Several thousand people have circulated through over the years, according to Shaun, who now co-owns the site and is planning the group's 35th anniversary party. Members share which colors, sizes and brands of balloons turn them on. They discuss when and why their fetish began. And there is often a friendly debate between poppers and non-poppers, as the community is divided between those who dislike and are sometimes terrified of a balloon bursting and those who are turned on and sometimes orgasm from it. Shaun says poppers are generally more dominant and non-poppers more submissive. But Paul Abramson, a licensed sex therapist who teaches sex classes at UCLA, thinks the distinction is trivial, "like trying to distinguish Miller from Bud drinkers." Mike, a non-popper from Philadelphia, shares ownership of Balloon Buddies with Shaun. He has made balloon fetishism a source of income as well as a pastime, selling products like porn videos to looners in every continent except Antarctica. He began hiring the women seen fondling balloons on his sites, mellyloon.com and looneynudes.com, to monetize his hobby and pay his student loans. Now, the money he makes from the sites support him and his wife. She photographs and films the models but is not a looner. Mike has met looners of all varieties through his business as well as at balloon community get-togethers. He says balloon people are everywhere, and aside from being predominantly male, they can be anyone. They're gay, straight and transsexual. They're liberal, conservative, racist and hippy. They are doctors, lawyers, physicists, policemen, garbage men, firemen, jailbirds, politicians and actors. Mike's interactions with balloon fetishists have left him with one conclusion: "Balloon people are closer than you think." The many types of people who are into balloons parallel the many types of balloons. Nothing shows this better than Shaun's small home office in a San Francisco Bay Area suburb. Plastic storage drawers cover two of his office walls, each one filled with deflated balloons Shaun sells in his spare time on his website grandballoons.com. "You know what they say; do what you love." He's inflated more balloons than the average person, but still he gets lightheaded as he blows up a standard 16-inch balloon and lets it drift around the room. Even his cat rubs against it. Shaun used to make nearly $2,000 a week selling balloons, but blames the general downtown in the economy for a decrease in sales, which has left him earning anywhere between $80 and $500 a week. Shoppers visit Shaun's site to buy hard-to-find balloons from around the world. More than half of his domestic buyers live on the East Coast, although there are many in California. And more than half of his sales are international, with a spike in Germany. Shaun estimates about 85 percent of his customers are looners. They buy 72-inch balloons big enough to climb inside of, 10-to-15-foot hotdog-shaped Airships, figurines like little ducks that are hard to blow up, and anatomically correct rear ends called Derrie-Airs. "You name it," Shaun says, "there's an interest for it." Although he admits that at $7.99 a pop, the blow-up buns have proved to be a bad investment. The stimulation balloons provide also varies widely, as latex can appeal to all senses. The scent can be especially important to looners. According to Shaun, "The smell of a room that has a lot of balloons, especially after they have oxidized over a period of a couple days, is nearly indescribable." Each brand possesses a smell as distinct to looners as perfume. The odor is subtly sweet with a hint of rubber. One sniff, and Shaun can identify a Rifco brand product because its latex smells slightly of chocolate chip cookies. He says the aroma adds to the experience, as does the feel and sound of balloons. "The sensation of swimming through hundreds of balloons in my bedroom was overwhelming and amazing." Shaun likes to hug and squeeze balloons, hearing their snaps and squeaks. "I love feeling the strain of them, watching them warp from the pressure and seeing how much it takes to pop them." Some enthusiasts care more about a balloon's size, color and brand. Twenty-seven-year-old Chris Burney from Rutland, Vermont, says he dislikes solid colored balloons and prefers Crystaltone and transparent balloons – the see-through ones. He also doesn't like themed balloons, like those designed for holidays. Burney's favorite brands are Tuf-Tex and Qualatex. Another thing: "Size is important to me. The bigger the better." Burney can orgasm by blowing up a balloon until it pops – a "b2p" in looner terms. Associating balloons with orgasm doesn't surprise Paul Abramson, the UCLA professor. "Orgasm is an extraordinarily powerful reinforcer," he says. "If you routinely pair it with something, that 'something' will have stimulus power; the proverbial Pavlovian bell," he says, referring to the bell that stimulated dogs to salivate in a classic experiment. For other looners, balloons provide stress relief more often than sexual climax. Lynda, a 55-year-old teacher who lives outside Los Angeles, says balloons are more sensual than sexual for her. She prefers agate balloons, the swirly multi-colored ones that look like oil on water. "I'm a very vivid person. I like the screaming hot pink and lime green." She keeps balloons tied to her desk like some women keep flowers. "I find them nurturing. I find them reassuring." Sometimes Lynda will slip behind her desk and inhale the balloons, leaving her with a smile and what she calls a "latex-induced coma." At home, Lynda and her longtime boyfriend own three helium tanks. They sometimes fill the bedroom, living room or shower with balloons. Lynda built her own cage out of PVC pipe and soft netting. She traps herself in the cage with balloons, turns on a large fan, and allows the balls of latex to whip around her, stimulating her senses to invigorating heights. She equates the feeling to a junkie's high, "so intense, so wild and awesome" that she collapses in ecstasy afterward like one does after incredible sex. Lynda also will sometimes use balloon play to help herself fall asleep, like a baby with a pacifier. Pacifiers were made of latex when Lynda was a child. She remembers rubbing her pacifier on her nose, and she credits this toddler experience with her olfactory infatuation with balloons in adulthood. Lynda knows a handful of looners with the same pacifier association, and nearly all balloon fetishists draw some childhood connection. Experts agree that anyone can develop a fetish, whether it's for clothing, body parts or balloons. But understanding how it happens and to what kind of people is "as complicated and fraught of a question as, 'Why do some people become gay?'" according to author and New York University lecturer Katharine Gates, a self-described kink expert who developed a map linking popular fetishes and other offbeat interests that was reprinted in a college psychology textbook and also wrote about balloon fetishists in her book, Deviant Desires: Incredibly Strange Sex. Although the development of a fetish is not completely understood, experts know they are far more common among men than women. According to Human Sexuality and Its Problems by John Bancroft, psychiatry professor at Indiana University School of Medicine and former director of the Kinsey Institute, men are much more likely to develop fetishes because of a critical period during sexual growth when a young man makes a connection between a specific stimuli and a sexual response. A prepubescent boy may get an erection the same time he platonically admires his teacher's shiny high heels. Because a woman's symptoms of sexual arousal are not as obvious as a man's, the boy is more likely to realize his feeling of desire and eventually associate it with his interest in the shoes. Over time, a fetish is born. Still, why does this connection between an object and an erotic response become permanent in some people but not others? No one knows for sure. Some people may be born with or develop a predisposition toward fetishism, according to kink expert Gates. Take the female looner Lynda, for example; perhaps the olfactory and pleasure centers of her brain are slightly more connected than those in an average brain, wiring her to be highly affected by the smell of balloons. No evidence suggests genetics cause people to develop fetishes, however, according to San Francisco psychotherapist and sex therapist William Henkin. The reasons people obtain fetishes are social, not biological, and they often have to do with a person's interactions with parents or other caregivers. Henkin, who has worked with people with alternate sex and gender concerns for more than two decades (although not with any looners), says fetishes tend to develop in people who felt traumatized as young children and may feel some extra need to be in control. Gates agrees people may be socially primed for a fetish in childhood and puberty. Things happen in people's lives and they notice a particular stimulus works for them – e.g. Shaun's childhood fascination with balloons. They start to hone in on this stimulus during early masturbation, just as Shaun experienced his first orgasms with a balloon, which is common among looners. A child's sexual focus may narrow if he or she experiences some type of social isolation or failure: being ostracized, lacking sexual information or sexual play, suffering from an illness or living in a hyper-religious setting. Family situations like these can induce anxiety, isolation and sexual shame. A boy could unknowingly program himself to be turned on by a specific stimulus just because it's comforting in a stressful situation, Gates says. Experts agree fetishes almost always originate in childhood, but they disagree on the exact age. Henkin thinks they arise before 5, and probably before 3. Vancouver sexologist and clinical counselor Pega Ren thinks boys tend to develop fetishes between 2 and 10, with 5 to 8 being most common. "We're prime, we're ripe, we're ready at that age," says Ren, who coaches people about their sexuality on her website smartsextalk.com. "We do not become aware of erotic attraction until puberty, but we are aware of sexual curiosity about the same time we learn to read. We're curious about all sorts of things at that age. It's when we play doctor. It's when, 'you show me yours, I'll show you mine'." Shaun says he had typical childlike interests and favorite toys that were popular with many kids. He carried around a Snoopy doll and later a Scooter character from the Muppets. But somewhere between 4 and 6, he became fascinated by balloons. Shaun remembers blowing them up and, when it was too hard for him, letting his older brother do it. They threw balloons in the family fireplace, watching flames whip them around until the latex burst. Balloons were one of Shaun's few toys because they were cheap – he grew up in a family poor enough that he didn't take meals for granted. Shaun remembers innocently playing with balloons; he would sit on them, bat them around and see how big they could get. But unlike most kids, Shaun never lost his interest in balloons. After he experienced that first orgasm masturbating with a balloon as a teenager, "There was a part of me that thought there was something very seriously wrong with me," he says. For nearly a decade afterward, Shaun refused to touch the objects of his atypical affection. But he sometimes still craved them. Quitting balloons was like quitting smoking, he says. Accepting his homosexuality was much easier than admitting he had a balloon fetish. "I knew there were a lot of gay people out there," he says. "With balloons, who had ever heard of that?" Chris Burney, the looner from Vermont, and Mike, the balloon businessman in Philly, have fetishes rooted in childhood fears of loud noises. Loud and unexpected balloon bursts frightened Burney as a kid, but somewhere between 8 and 12, he started feeling empowered by seeing how big he could blow one up without popping it. By the time he hit 15, the desire turned sexual. "I know it's hard for people to understand why, but I get an erection from it. I don't really understand why, but I do." At 19, he learned about the balloon fetish on an HBO documentary. "I couldn't believe it. I was like, oh my god." Mike's childhood fear of loud noises never subsided despite his interest in balloons turning into a fetish. The noise doesn't bother him if it's on screen: he enjoys watching videos like the ones he produces of sexy women playing with balloons. But if a balloon pops in front of Mike, the fun stops. "I don't freak out, crawl up in a ball and shake," he says. "I get startled." While for many looners the fetish is seemingly harmless, for others it can be disturbing, even damaging. Mike has witnessed a fanatical non-popper fall into a fetal position and quiver when a balloon suddenly deflated in his presence. The most extreme looners say they have ruined relationships (sneaking to hotel rooms to keep their secret from their spouses), gone into debt buying balloons and lost their sense of reality from their out-of-control preoccupation. Abramson, the UCLA professor, testifies as an expert witness in civil cases in which sex is an issue, and he says extreme fetishes can be unsafe. "I see the worst and most dangerous fetishes in my work as an expert witness; someone has died, been badly harmed." Abramson says the dependence on the fetish is the determining factor. "The more dependent and distressful, the worse it is." In determining whether a looner suffers from a psychological disorder, therapists will likely fit the person into one of four levels of fetishism outlined by Paul Gebhard, a well-known sexologist with a Ph.D. from Harvard and former director of the Institute for Sex Research. The most innocent enthusiasts, which Gebhard argues shouldn't be called fetishists, slightly prefer specific stimuli, like balloons. Level two fetishists prefer an object like a balloon but don't require one. Level three people would be those who need a balloon to perform sexually. And those who replace a sex partner with a balloon would be classified at the highest level – and at the greatest risk psychologically. The most fanatic non-poppers may be level four fetishists because they treat balloons as if they were human, so much so that they equate a busted balloon with murder. Mike is well connected in the looner community, and he says people who treat balloons as human partners are the exceptions. For Mike, balloons are like pizza – satisfying in moderation. "It's like, 'Ah, it's Saturday night,'" he says. "I could go for some pizza." Shaun and his husband play with balloons in bed, but a balloon is not necessary for a satisfactory sexual experience. Burney won't date women who ban balloons in the bedroom, but he also doesn't need a balloon to get off. "A female is definitely going to turn me on. If a balloon is put into play, it's a million times better." Lynda has applied a simple rule to her relationships: If a man tells her, "I ain't doing that," she says, "I ain't doing you." Like several looners, Lynda became comfortable with her fixation came after she realized she wasn't alone. And the Internet is to thank for that. Most looners grew up ashamed, thinking no one else in the world had a balloon fetish. Then they found people online who share their interest – people who had spouses, children, jobs; perfectly successful, normal people. "This is the moment when they realize, 'I'm not alone,'" Gates says. The Internet has likely reduced the number of hardcore, level four fetishists, Gates says, by lessening the pressure and eliminating feelings of isolation – one of the worst burdens of fetishism. It then becomes easier to tell a partner about a fetish and helps people to keep their obsession under control. Some looners also throw in-person balloon parties. Shaun has hosted a few relatively tame gatherings that have included Balloon Buddy trivia contests, balloon inflation races and a roundtable discussion in which looners talk about their fetish. But the largest in-person balloon gathering Mike has heard of included about 40 guests. "I think a lot of people are still embarrassed about this," he says. Mike is well-known in the heterosexual looner community and Shaun is known among gay looners, yet neither man will allow his last name to be published. Shaun explains: "I'm not ready to walk down the street with a thousand balloons and say, 'hey, look at me,' but I'm not ashamed of it either." Chris Burney, by contrast, is open enough about his fetish that he agreed to be featured on an episode of the TLC television series Strange Sex. Since the show aired in August, Burney has been criticized by what he calls the "vanilla world" – people who don't have a fetish or are ignorant about them. But Burney says speaking out about balloon fetishism was the smartest thing he's ever done. "Finally being able to come out and be myself and finally being able to walk down the street with a smile on my face, it was well worth it." He traveled a long road of secret shame to get to this point. "I remember the day that I literally got turned on by watching someone blow up a balloon. I said to myself that I would never tell anyone in my life. It was a secret. And I kept the secret for 10 years." But what once embarrassed Burney has become a source of pride. On his twenty-seventh birthday this past February, he maneuvered his 6-foot-7, nearly 400-pound body inside a 72-inch-wide transparent balloon and posted the video for his fans on YouTube – his fiftieth balloon fetish video on the site. Burney says the greater fetish community acts as a support system and reminds him that he's not alone. Since coming out, he has been inspired to help people understand that it's all right to be themselves. Burney says it also has helped him cope with difficult times. In the last few years, Burney's father died, he has been unemployed, split up with his fiancé, suffered a mild heart attack and was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. Coming out as a looner is what he credits for changing his outlook on life and helping him cope. "If it wasn't for the fetish community, I wouldn't be where I'm at today." As important as the fetish community is to Burney, and contrary to what non-fetishists may think, he insists that balloon eroticism isn't necessary for him to be happy. But it certainly helps. "Having a balloon fetish is not a big deal, it really isn't. It's awesome." Lynda says her boyfriend accepts her fetish because it's not immoral, not fattening, it's relatively cheap and brings a smile to her face. Shaun confesses to a scar on his inner thigh from a balloon pop gone wrong. Still, balloons are on the mild end of the fetish spectrum compared to masochism, sadism or an obsession with sharp objects. And playing dirty with balloons is healthier than more conventional addictions, like those involving alcohol, drugs or cigarettes. "There's nothing wrong with having a balloon fetish," Shaun says. "As long as you let it enhance your life, not control your life." After balloons have been floating around the house for a while, Shaun says he'll store them away for weeks at a time just to make sure he doesn't get carried away. Following his first balloon binge 14 years ago, Shaun knew he had to keep his infatuation under control. He remembers rummaging through his apartment to save a few special balloons, which he deflated, put in a sock and threw in the dryer so the warped rubber would contract and the balloons could be re-used – his non-wastefulness a lingering effect of his poor upbringing. But for the rest, he began "a massive assault of balloon popping." Sitting, stomping and bouncing on them started to feel like a chore, so Shaun retrieved a sword from his collection and dashed through his home jousting bursts of color until the floor was sprinkled with ripped bits of rubber. "To me, a fetish can be healthy," Shaun says. "To a point." Gates, the kink expert, agrees. Everyone has their own prurient interests. "If all you're interested in is what body parts do, I think that's rare. "We're primates. We don't just have sex for procreation." People have sex to bond and relieve tension among other things. "There are many reasons sex shouldn't be limited to what two sets of genitals do," Gates says. "We're all kinky, and I'm glad we are."