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Dr. Virginia Goldner, Founding Editor of the journal Studies in Gender and Sexuality, argued that the concept of gender is not constant, fixed, or static but one that is fluid, variable, and in a “permanent state of flux.” Goldner used the outlying case of transgender individuals to question and challenge gender normativity making the point that the general population can benefit from the opening up of the concept of gender. She noted that mental health professionals consider transgender individuals as the “other” in order to maintain the gender binary categories of male and female because otherwise gender is in a “free fall.”
Goldner proposed that the mental health profession plays a large part in continuing to pathologize gender atypical behaviors. She used the DSM diagnosis of gender identity disorder (GID) in childhood to demonstrate how boys are held to a different standard than girls, easily pathologizing experimentation with other gender-stereotyped behaviors. The DSM cannot cope with gender fluidity, resulting in transgender people having to create an identity that accommodates the available GID diagnosis in order to receive insurance reimbursement to access the technologies to adapt their bodies to fit their trans identity.
Trans, according to Goldner, “serves as a symbol of hybridity and multiplicity” that allows gender to be constituted as a “matrix or mosaic, terms that do not require two poles.” As opposed to seeing gender as a dichotomous construct, many transgender individuals view their gender as flexible and do not need a label to indicate what gender they are. This perspective does not consider trans to be an “additional gender position,” but a “novel gender stance.” This understanding requires a reconceptualization of what gender is and allows for the open-ended variance of gender identities. In fact, no classification system would adequately capture the diversity that exists. Goldner argues that it is not necessary to constantly update the glossary