Not yet queer enough: Revising “gender” in development

Abstract

This chapter forms a body of gender knowledge through the study of the emergent identities in the Thailandas sex tourism industry which Thailand is becoming a well-known place for sex-change operations. The data was gathered from 65 transgender (male to female) sex workers who are working in Pattaya and Patpong, the famous sex spots of Thailand. The chapter shows that bodies are plural and very diverse. There are not just two kinds of bodies. There are multiple kinds of bodies, and lots of differences among them. As Connell (The men and boys, Policy Press, Cambridge, 2000, p 23) contends, athese categories have long fascinated sexologists; they do not correspond in any simple way to behavior or a sense of identity. Since medical technology allows humans to change their sexual anatomy, the link between gender and performativity (Butler, Gender trouble: feminism and the subversion of identity, Routledge, New York, 1990) must be relearned. The subjectivity/practice unity offers a new formulation for the study of agender diversificationa which everyone has rights to self-expressions as human beings. As Cornwall (IDS Bull, 38(2):2007, p 76) contents, if the agender agend is ultimately about redressing that which is unfair and unjust and challenging unequal privilege, then surely a focus on the changes that those who pursue it wish to see happen-greater fulfillment of human rights, equality, wellbeing and justice, it is time, then, to refocus the agender agenda more explicitly not only on womens right but also paying attention to agender diversification. The most important proposition of the study is to revise gender concept for a fuller understanding of agender in the world of technology. This clearly represents a challenge in current knowledge of agender and development.