The Colonial Roots of our Gender System
The Fourth of July has long been celebrated as the birth of America, the land of the free where ‘all men are created equal.’ Typically a day filled with fireworks, grill out extravaganzas and copious amounts of beer, it’s easy to ignore the giant elephant in the room (and we’re not just talking about a certain Republican in office). This year, the elephant has made itself loud and clear to the point we can no longer look the other way. America is not equal. The Founding Fathers’ legendary words fall on deaf ears as we face our current realities. Instead, we’re listening to the disempowered, and no amount of fanfare on the Fourth can drown them out.
The Declaration of Independence did not grant freedom to ‘all men’ as we want to interpret it: as all people. Instead, it was written exclusively for ‘all wealthy white cis men.’ The system has prioritized those who satisfy this label. Those of us who do not fall into this narrow category have been denied equal opportunity and recognition. This is the legacy of colonialism. America may have escaped British colonial rule, but has held tightly onto colonialist thought. This has been made clearer than ever in the past several weeks.
The Fourth of July celebrates the birth of American Independence; that is, white independence. Frederick Douglas, a former enslaved person and later abolitionist, captures this sentiment in his speech "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?":
Our gender system is a product of this colonial legacy. Most famously penned by Rudyard Kipling as the ‘White Man’s Burden,’ European colonists sought to ‘civilize the world’ out of moral obligation. This involved destroying gender-diverse and non-conforming cultures that did not align with their beliefs. The sexual and gender variance of Indigenous people was considered backward and barbaric. In particular, Native American culture recognized a person’s ‘spirit’ or character rather than their physical body. They understood sex, gender and sexuality as unbounded and honoured ‘two-spirit’ people. As a result, Native American society was largely egalitarian, with little emphasis on sex or gender to determine hierarchy. In contrast, European society was organized on the fundamental belief that men were inherently superior to women. This system of patriarchy was regarded as a civilizational achievement of the western world. Indigenous cultures, such as the Native Americans, completely undermined this ideal, and posed a threat to western civilization. Native Americans were therefore considered racially and culturally inferior. Western ideology, such as the binary classifications of sex and gender, was thus violently imposed onto Indigenous people as part of the ‘civilizing mission.’ Maria Lugones labels this as the ‘coloniality of gender,’ a tactic of white supremacy that has been exported across the globe.
White male supremacy has been upheld and strengthened by the implementation of the gender binary. It was legitimized by conflating sex and gender, creating a hierarchy between ‘male’ and ‘female.’ This system has been ingrained into the fabric of our society; we’ve come to accept our prescribed gender roles as ‘natural’ and inherent to our sex. Conversely, anyone who does not conform to this fixed understanding is denied their humanity in the same way Indigenous cultures were considered ‘barbaric’. Our perception of gender is entwined with racial hierarchy. Today, intersex, non-binary and trans people of colour continue to face the most violent hostility simply for existing.
By adhering to the rules of the binary, society entrenches gender roles. This is especially damaging when we examine the family unit. Traditionally, a father is considered as the breadwinner and a mother the homemaker. This rigid structure is widely accepted as the most ‘stable’ and therefore, desirable model; 25% of high school seniors still think that the woman should stay home to take care of children, and the man should work. While we see the rise in modern family arrangements and more mothers in the workforce, the responsibility of domestic work continues to fall on women. As a result, women are held back from pursuing higher wages and career advancement. This all adds up to the gender wage gap. The colonial ideals of gender endures today: modern families are at a disadvantage; women are disempowered; and we continue to uphold the white patriarchy. At Mirza, we are fiercely passionate in the fight for true equality for everyone. From the language we use to confronting the gender wage gap, we are committed to the fight against structural inequality. In line with this, we refuse to uphold the colonial relic that is our gender system, especially when it denies equality to 'all men.’
