Sexism And Cissexism

by: IndependentNJ

Mon Jun 07, 2010 at 05:27:17 PM EDT

More after the jump.

...remove the gender-specific words "father" and "man" from the song's first verse: "My father sent me to old Rutgers, And resolv'd that I should be a man. . . "

Hat Tip: Asbury Park Press

Now, one could put woman or man, but there are a few pitfalls.

1. It would quite possibly disrupt the flow of the song. I never went to Rutgers, so if anyone that did could chime in on what the alma mater sounds like, I'd appreciate it (even better if you majored in music)

2. The lyrics would still be exclusive of the transgender community. I myself am a male-to-female transgender with slight genderqueerness, and many transgender people view themselves as neither male-nor-female, instead as a completely separate identity.

Given that the state has gender identity protection laws, I believe that Rutgers University needs to scrap its alma mater altogether.

Another example of cissexism; the county committee. On both parties, each voting district has one male and one female on the county committee. I can understand the need to gender balance the committee, however, this subscribes to the whole gender binary.

The state needs to not only address blatant discrimination by public and private entities, but needs to put in its best efforts to wipe out an otherwise sexist or cissexist culture.