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| Origin, Connotations and Characteristics of Contemporary Western Gender and Transgender Theory |
| Gao Fen, Wan Andi |
| School of International Studies, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China |
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Abstract Gender and Transgender Theory is influential in the contemporary Western critical theories. An integral examination of its origin, connotations and characteristics is helpful in disclosing the common features of the contemporary Western theories. The origin of theory can be traced back to the feminist exploration of female oppression root in the 1920s, the studies of sex/gender classification and sex/gender system in the 1960s and 1970s, and male/female binary opposition predicament in the 1980s. With gender and transgender as its core terms, and driven by the goal of breaking through binary opposition, it conducts an in-depth theoretical discussion and critical practice on gender theory and transgender theory. On the one hand, it examines sex/gender relations from multiple perspectives, and proposes the following theories: a theory of abandoning simplistic sex/gender distinctions to argue for gender as a complex discursive construction, a theory of gender as a useful category of historical analysis, a theory of identifying male/female sex differences, and a theory of gender determining sex; and all these theories are intended to eliminate sex/gender and male/female binary opposition and to disclose diversified connotations of gender. On the other hand, it describes and analyzes the connotations and essence of the sexual orientation of transgender groups based on the investigation of transgender situations in the society, which not only discloses the root cause of transgender suppression from multidisciplinary perspectives, but also clarify the reconstructive survival attitude, gender discourse and gender connotation, aiming at fighting for a fair and reasonable social status and political treatment for transgender groups, and a harmonious-coexistent social and political pattern among diverse sex orientations. In addition, it forms a theory-practice promoting relationship with lesbian criticism and queer criticism, showing interaction between literary criticism, cultural analysis and theoretical construction. Gender and Transgender Theory embodies three remarkable characteristics: firstly, it has a clear awareness of intervening and interfering in society and politics, which is geared to change the existing discrimination and oppression against women and transgender groups; secondly, it has a problem-oriented internal operating mechanism, in which the three core issues are the oppression of women, the binary opposition of sex/gender and the oppression of transgender groups; and finally, it has distinct interdisciplinary research characteristics. It starts from comprehensive and multidisciplinary perspectives of politics, sociology economics, psychology, culture studies, history, science and literature, and strives to solve practical problems of political equality, cultural construction and sexual orientation among different genders.
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Received: 05 January 2021
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2021, Vol. 51 
