ABSTRACT
The author's primary interest in carrying out this research is to shed light on both the normative and non-normative operation of gender in society. This chapter brings together what the author considers to be the most useful of these diverse sources, both in terms of articulating what we know about the operation of gender in society and in making decisions about how to conceptually frame the critical analysis of the data. It first examines sociological concepts used in framing both gendernormative coercion and gender conformity and diversity. The chapter concentrates on the subject in the social world in terms of both cultural reproduction and subject formation. It examines discourses on gender conformity as framed by differing complexes of power and also examines the health and well-being of transgender and gender-diverse individuals. Janice Raymond suggests transsexuality is an artefact of patriarchal coercion to perform gender dichotomously as determined by biological sex.
