The Present State(s) and Future Direction(s) of Gender. Troubling the Binary Beyond Nature Versus Nurture

Abstract

The purpose of this conceptual essay is to offer perspective on the present state and future direction of gender and sexuality issues and scholarship in education. It is important to invoke the qualifcation of “perspective” to acknowledge the contested and complex nature of gender and sexuality as subjects of inquiry. Indeed, satisfactory defnitions remain elusive, or perhaps a more accurate assertion is that they are illusory. It has become cliché to note that gender is a fundamental organizing principle, and to expound on social constructivism. Tat said, it remains quite the case that gender and sexuality as concepts have profound material consequences in questions of identity and especially their lived experiences.