Gender Fluidity: From Euphemism to Pride

Abstract

The project for this special volume emanated from the accelerated frequency of the expression “ gender fl uidity ” in the current vernacular and research theories. The general excitement over this new concept prompted reactions from some of our scholars of the early - modern, because we argue it is certainly not new ( even if the expression per se is ) . It has always been pervasive in literature and in fairy - tale/folklore studies – cross - dressing episodes in particular. The various studies that we o ff er in this volume are meant to show how this concept has been represented over time – from the early - modern to the post - modern periods – in fairy tales and children ’ s literature following a continuum from the implicit to the more explicit. As an expression, “ gender fl uidity ” has been only recently coined, therefore, it is essential to fi rst de fi ne it as it is currently understood in order to be able to re fl ect back on those texts representing gender - bending phenomena and theorize about them using today ’ s tools and new understandings about sexuality. A gender fl uid person will change either identity ( identifying themselves as male or female ) or expression ( expressing their gender to the rest of society, i.e., dressing as male or female ) , or both, from the gender they have been assigned at birth, throughout the course of their life. It is understood that gender usually develops from early childhood to adolescence, and most people identify with a gender in their early adulthood. However, gender - fl uid persons can experience more than one gender change during their life, while transgender persons will identify and express themselves with a gender di ff erent than the one assigned at birth for the rest of their life, whether they go through gender reassignment ( surgical and/or hormonal ) or not. This often results for gender - fl uid individuals in complex psychological hardship caused by the “ othering ” both from the transgender community, for whom they are not “ trans ” enough, or most con temporary societies, for which they are outside of the normative behavior set by the binary system of genders lands ( Wonderland, Looking - Glass land, Neverland ) as distorting, satirizing mirror images of an oppressive “ grown - up ” society. Alice is represented as an ever transforming and self - aware visitor of a fantastic realm, while Peter ’ s very existence is otherworldly, oblivious, constant, and cyclical. We are invited to read those texts using the pretext of a - historicity in fantastic children ’ s and fairy - tale stories, and applying Ricoeur ’ s postmodern theory of the linear quest of the hero and the circularity of the journey itself, so as to pay attention to the act of storytelling ( as ) and the authors in their role as narrators who indirectly perform a gendered, maternal act. explicitly illustrates the pro - gender fl uidity agenda than the other shows but does that symbo lically and perhaps just as e ffi ciently via the representation of the Spirit World where the heroine travels and encounters queer spirits and animals who guide her and tame her fears. Korra ’ s fi nale symbolically implied a same - sex romance between Korra and Asami Sato, which Bryan Konietzo ( one of the series ’ creators ) later explicitly con fi rmed in both his blog post and the series ’ graphic novel sequels. Social discourses helped queer representation in the rebooted She - Ra escape the LGBTQ + subversion and erasure depicted in The Legend of Korra and the original Sailor Moon ; they indicate that audience involvement plays a pivotal role in the continuing evolution of queer representation in children ’ s popular media.