362 Beyond Rasim and Sexism
how simple
to fall back
‘upon rehearsed racial memory.
1 work to remember
what I never deamed possible
what my consciousness could never
contrive,
Whoever 1 am
1 must believe
and will never be
the only
3
Androgyny As an Ideal for
Human Development
Ann Ferguson*
Androgyny: The Ideal Defined
‘The term “androgyny” has Greek roots: andros means man and gyné, woman. An
androgynous person would combi
ite toacknowlelge the help and encouragement ofthe socialist and feminist
the University of Massichusts in Amber, patculaly th help of Sam
rd Dennis Delap, who read and commented extensively on eater dra of thi
so provided feedback and comments. Many students
[election] were helfl and supportive. A fist version of thi
‘Androgyny As an Ideal for Human Development 363,
for there are negative and distorted personality characteris-
‘our minds with these ideas.' Further ly under-
Tson as one to whom these categor
neither masculine nor feminine, but humz
such a way as to be able to develop
realized in an alienated fashion inthe current stereotypes.
‘The ideal androgynous being, because of his or her combi
traits; skills, and interests, would have no internal blocks to attaining self-esteem,
He or she would have the desire and ability to do socially meaningful productive
activity (work), as well as the desire and abi
fworth, and group contribution
portantly on the way the society in which he/she lives is
a classist society characterized by commodity prod
outeast, or repress
the androgynous person has the
eve these goals if only the society is
organized appropriately.
An Ideal Love Relationship
One argument forthe development of androgynous personal
nnying destruction of the sexual division of labor in
that without such a radical chang:
ship betwee
only concept of love that is historically compa
f political and social eq)
ship requites the vulnerability of each partner to the
other. There is today, however, an unequal balance of power in male-female
relationships. Contrary to the claims of the Natural Complement theory, itis not364 Beyond Raciem and Seriom
possible for men and women to be equal while playing the complementary sex
and less free than the masculine role makes men. In fact,
understanding of this lack of equality in love relat
ly influences feminists to choose lesbian love relationships.
the vulnerabilities of women in a heterosexual love relationship
under the four classifications Juliet Mitchell gives i women’s roles" production,
reproduction, socialization of children,
1: Women's le in produeton. Inthe United Stat [as of he late 1970s), 42
percent of women work, and about 33 percent of married women work in the wage-
labor force. This is much higher than the 6 percent of women in the wage-labor
jobs, women, whether single or married, are at an economic disadvantage in com-
parison with men when it comes to supporting themselves. If they leave their
husbands or lovers, they drop to a lower economic class, and many have to go on
welfare. Second, women who have chi 1d who also work in the
force have two jobs, not one: the respon
and housework, as well as the outside jol
secking outside jobs, and makes them economically dependent on their husbands,
10 do work outside the home expend twice as much energy as the man and
sure. Many women who try to combine career and motherhood find that
ids of both undermine their egos because they don't feel that they can do
idequately.*
of fice contraceptives, adequate health care, and free legal abortions. A man can
enjoy sex without having to worry about the consequences the way a woman does if
‘a mistake occurs and she becomes pregnant, Women have some compensation in
the fact that in the United States today they are favored legally over the father in
their right to control of the children in case of separation or divorce. But
advantage (a victory won by women in the early 20th century in the ongoing power
) does not adequately compensate for the disadvantages to which motherhood
subjects one in this society
3. Women's role in socialization: as wife and
vers, wives, and mothers. Unlike men, who
is success in work, women are taught from
thus have more
The “old maid”
is rather envied.
the “ideal” sex o
or by younger me
‘A woman's role as mother places her in a more vulnerable position than the
man. Taking care of children and being attentive to their emotional needs is very
demanding work, Many times it involves conflicts between the woman's own needs
and children for her attention and emotional energy.
harmonize this conflict, which she often does at the expense of herself, sacrificing
her private time and interests in order to provide support for the projects of her
Musband and children.
No matter how devoted a parent a fathe
children as play time, not as wor
1 tends to see his time with the
ib interests and hobbies take prece-
is more independent than the
woman, who sees her job as making husband and children happy. Thisis the sor of
job that is never completed, for there are always more ways to make people happy.
Because a woman sees her job to be supporting her husband and mothering her
‘woman sees the family a h
wn success, and she lives
luc” is human beings, when the
age brings an end to
st has other problems, for she
has had to support
because she knows
‘competitive society. Women
Successful women, especi
put her interests last, to define herself in terms of husband and children, and
therefore to be more dependent on them than they are on her.
‘A woman is also vulnerable in her role as mother because there ate limited
alternatives if, for example, she wishes to break off her relationship with the father
of er children. As a mother, her social role in bringing up children is defined as
‘more important, more essential for the we
Therefore, she is expected to take the
children in a nuclear-family-oriented society is lonely and hi
either do two jobs without the companionship of another acl
a society where366 Beyond Racism and Sexism
the must survive on welfare or alimony with a
the altemative, is it any wonder
jing a relationship—even when it
jobs for women are inadequate,
reduced standard of living. Wh
mothers are more dependent on ma
satisfying—than the man is?
2 ome st ity. A woman's sexual roe is on
clevated by erotic romant
of male sexual passions
h other women. Because women play
n as equal agents ora equally produ
‘mystifying her, making her
al with her asa real individu
individual.
Androgyny as a Progressive Ideal
Itis the sexual division of labor in the home and at work that perpetuates comple-
‘mentary sex roles for men and women. In underdeveloped societies
‘material resources such an arrangement may indeed be t
allow for the mos efficent raising of children and production of goods. But this
no longer true for developed societies. In this age of advanced technology, men's
relative strength compared to women’s is no longer important, either
the production of goods. The gun and
and other advances in the technology of reproduction have
power of women and men to control their bodies and to
cloning would mean that men and
‘Androgyny As an Ideal for Human Development 367
ble
If possible, would
ther human pote
society have to be restructus
equal love elationships?
‘of equal love relationships?
yw to develop? And how would
ow for androgynous human beings and
are bisexual, and only e
‘male or female identity by imitating and identifying with adult me
dence comes from the discovery that all human beings posse
hormones (androgen and estrogen respectively), and also f
oped at length by Freud. Freud argued that heterosex
Until the third stage of the child’ sexual development. Sex ident
through the resolution of the Oedipus complex, in which the child has to give up a
primary’attachment to the mother and leam either to identify with, or love, the
father. But Shulamith Firestone suggests that this process is not an inevitable o
Rathe
ipulation of males. As a sexual identity, bisexuality
er than the exce
the primary mec!
than androgynous sex roles are maintained is through heterosex
through the soci of needs for love and sexi
love partner of the oppos
traits that one has repressed or not
were not socially accepted.
search for a
t to complement one in the
in-one’s own sex such traits
The Androgynous Model
| believe that only androgynous people can attain the full human potential possible
siven our present level of material and social resources (and this on]
3 potential
imals and develop through interaction and produc-
ionships a
c the human brain has two
functions: one associated with analytic, logical, sequenti368 Beyond Raciem and Sexism
men, who on the contrary excel in the analytic, logical thought characteristic of the
left side. The point is that men and women have the potential for using both these
funetions, and yet our socialization at present tends to cut off from one or the other
‘of these parts of ourselves.® 7
‘What would an androgynous personality be lke? My model forthe ideal an-