I don't buy evolutionary arguments for a phenomenon that is so culturally mediated. The relevant thing isn't whether there's a division of labor, but what the penalties are for transgressing gender norms. Gender policing is more severe in modern, Western cultures than in non-Western cultures and earlier in history, as far as I can tell.
Since there are no other animals than humans (that we know of) that commit violence against individuals of their species who either engage in same-sex behavior or who transgress sex roles, yet there are hundreds of species in which biologists have observed same-sex sexual behavior or so-called "transgender" behavior (an animal behaving in a manner more typical for an individual in that species of a different sex), it seems pretty safe to conclude that transphobia and homophobia are uniquely human, and thus socially constructed.
The division of labor continues because social structures of domination are self-reproducing, and it's in the interest of people who do the kind of labor that's valued to continue having a division of labor. That, to me, is the simplest explanations. As far as transphobia goes, hatred of femininity runs pretty deep, and plays into hatred and fear of both trans women (why would anyone want to be feminine?) and trans men (if people can really exist who can "give up" femininity, why doesn't everyone do it, since being feminine is so bad?) _Whipping Girl_ by Julia Serano talks about this. Given how much cis boys and men are socialized to hate femininity, I think that's a pretty reasonable explanation -- just like why some people are passionately against abortion even though no one is making them have one. (Not because they actually think killing a fetus is murder, that is, but because the existence of legalized abortion threatens their deeply held notions about the role of women.)
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Date: 2011-05-11 05:03 pm (UTC)Since there are no other animals than humans (that we know of) that commit violence against individuals of their species who either engage in same-sex behavior or who transgress sex roles, yet there are hundreds of species in which biologists have observed same-sex sexual behavior or so-called "transgender" behavior (an animal behaving in a manner more typical for an individual in that species of a different sex), it seems pretty safe to conclude that transphobia and homophobia are uniquely human, and thus socially constructed.
The division of labor continues because social structures of domination are self-reproducing, and it's in the interest of people who do the kind of labor that's valued to continue having a division of labor. That, to me, is the simplest explanations. As far as transphobia goes, hatred of femininity runs pretty deep, and plays into hatred and fear of both trans women (why would anyone want to be feminine?) and trans men (if people can really exist who can "give up" femininity, why doesn't everyone do it, since being feminine is so bad?) _Whipping Girl_ by Julia Serano talks about this. Given how much cis boys and men are socialized to hate femininity, I think that's a pretty reasonable explanation -- just like why some people are passionately against abortion even though no one is making them have one. (Not because they actually think killing a fetus is murder, that is, but because the existence of legalized abortion threatens their deeply held notions about the role of women.)