Gendered Selves, Gendered Subjects:

1. Gendered Selves, Gendered Subjects: Transgender Identities and the Divided Person Metaphor Ayden Parish University of California, Berkeley aydenparish@berkeley.edu

2. The Divided Person • Framework outlined in Lakoff (1996) and further described by Lakoff & Johnson (1999).

3. Some Trends • The Self is a container for the Subject– “one’s inner life” “the outside world” “Travelling abroad allowed him to step outside himself.” • The Subject possesses and controls the Self – “Control yourself!” “He lost himself in writing.” “What possessed her to do that?” • Split Selves – “My scientist side says…” “I’m in conflict with myself.” • True Self– “She quit her job in order to find herself.” “I want to get in touch with myself.”

4. Where is gender located? Self or Subject? How do constructions related to the Divided Person interact with complex negotiations of identity, as in transgender people?

5. Pronouns Lakoff’s (1996) Principles of Pronouns: “Principle 1: Subject and Self (the “aspects” of the person) take the same person marking as the entire person. Principle 2: A reflexive pronoun and its antecedent must designate the same person, or aspects of the same person.” (p. 122) • “I’m in conflict with myself/*me/*herself about this.” • “She quit her job in order to find herself/*himself.”

6. How does this interact with people whose aspects could conceivably have differently gendered pronouns? Pronouns change before/after transition • …the new surname derived from his middle name at birth -- Daniel. She will be writing a blog about Southern California sports. (Rainey, 2007, April 27) Pronouns remain the same before/after transition Daniels said she had felt since she was 4 or 5 years old that she was a girl. She liked dolls and wanted to wear dresses. (Rainey, 2007, April 27)

7. How does this interact with people whose aspects could conceivably have differently gendered pronouns? Pronouns change before/after transition – Gendered Self • …the new surname derived from his middle name at birth -- Daniel. She will be writing a blog about Southern California sports. (Rainey, 2007, April 27) Pronouns remain the same before/after transition – Gendered Subject Daniels said she had felt since she was 4 or 5 years old that she was a girl. She liked dolls and wanted to wear dresses. (Rainey, 2007, April 27)

8. Names • Names can serve as placeholders for the Self, specifically social aspects. • Julia vs. Professor Smith • Dana Kern, 44, an employee with J.P. Morgan who made her transition from David a year and a half ago... • (Jarvie, 2007, September 17) • Gone was quiet, circumspect Mike Penner, replaced by ebullient, outgoing – and instantly famous – Christine Daniels. • (Goffard, 2010, March 27) • That evening, however, the sportswriter wept about the prospect of having to become Mike again when she got home. • (Goffard, 2010, March 27)

9. Names to transition from David to Dana to transition from a man to a woman Could refer to social relationships Could also refer to changing physical configurations • Refers to the different social roles and relationships of David and Dana

10. True Selves • A common usage of the Divided Person metaphor. However, when transgender people are the topic, true self seems to always refer to gender identity. • The past couple of years were momentous for me—I was finally able to reveal my true self at work. • (Roche, 2011, March 6) • Beck's book is dedicated to those who identify as transgender but who might have difficulty revealing their true selves. • (Siezcowski, 2013, June 4)

11. Wrong Bodies “I’m basically a female trapped in a male’s body,” he said. (Mascia, 2011, January 5) Female Subject gender identity Male Self sex

12. Grief There’s something beyond just leaving one’s old self behind: “I feel like there’s a death of a child — my son.” • From “A Son Confronts Gender Identity and a Mother Grieves” (Mascia, 2011, January 5) . . . she had been rejected by TV shows after explaining that Billy no longer exists. (Berman, 2007, January 28) One might guess aSubjectis being left behind.

13. Divided Subject? • Are there changes that some people cannot conceptualize a single continuous Subject undergoing? • In some dramatic examples, transgender identity is “possession” by another individual: • An entity dubbed “Renée” was gradually conquering Dick and, in the late 60’s, he began taking female hormones. • (Blake, 2011, October 4)

14. Conclusions • The Divided Person constructions can be used to assign gender to either the Subjector the Self. • This seems to be unassociated with any particular opinions (positive or negative) about transgender people. e.g., the gendered Subject could influence people to mourn or grieve a “lost” Subject, but it is also seen in the popular “wrong body” narrative which many transgender people find empowering

15. Special thanks to my mentors, Eve Sweetser and Mel Y. Chen. • Thank you all for your time and interest.

16. References: Lakoff, G. (1996). Sorry I’m Not Myself Today: The Metaphor System for Conceptualizing the Self. In G. Fauconnier & E. E. Sweetser (Eds.) Spaces, Grammars, and Worlds (91-123). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (1999). The Self. In Philosophy in the Flesh: The Embodied Mind and its Challenge to Western Thought (267-289). New York: Basic Books. Data: Blake, M. (2011, October 4). Renée Richards’ life on and off the court. Los Angeles Times, D1. Berman, J. (2007, January 28). In the Right Place At the Right Time. New York Times. Goffard, C. (2012, March 27). Public triumph, private torment. Los Angeles Times, p. A1. Jarvie, J. (2007, September 17). Transitioning into new jobs, genders. Los Angeles Times, A18. Kelley, T. (2008, April 27). Through Sickness, Health, Sex Change… New York Times, p. ST1. Mascia, J. (2011, January 4). A Son Confronts Gender Identity and a Mother Grieves. New York Times, p. A16. Roche, B. L. (2011, March 6). The Transition to my Real Self. New York Times, BU11. Sieczkowski, C. (2013, June 4). Kristin Beck, Transgender Navy SEAL, Comes Out. Huffington Post.