Identification Unnecessary?

I actually heard about this article from people on my floor, who posted it on the Facebook page for our floor. The girl who posted it said she "found it pretty freaking ridiculous. am i the only one?" and the comments from others on our floor referred to her "ridiculous views," "close-mindedness," and "nerve." I agree with them in the opinion that the way she phrased some things was highly unfair, inconsiderate, and even outright backwards, and that the way she went about addressing the issue of gender identity was offensive when she could have used it in a much more sophisticated, educated manner. For example, her overall message seemed to undermine the gravity of the issue of gendered discrimination. By saying "there are worse forms of injustice than discrimination against whom people choose to be," she completely devalues the fact that huge numbers of people are harassed, attacked, and even killed on the basis of gender identity. She thus also deems one group's needs over another without any real evidence for her argument, while also deciding that people who "choose" to declare themselves as transgender should be prepared for the consequences.

However, despite these glaring transgressions, I do not think she was completely wrong in some parts of her argument. If she had chosen to, she could have written a much more educated, fair article by focusing on the issue of gender identity within the LGBTQ community rather than diminishing the issue of gender discrimination by using gender identity as an excuse. Just as we have constantly been learning in class and discussion, gender is an entirely fluid construct, and the labels we use as forms of identity can actually constrain us by automatically excluding a host of other identities. So, perhaps identification really is unnecessary in the political and private realm, but not for the reasons Salama gives. Rather, identification may be unnecessary because of the gender binary that it perpetuates and the boundaries it creates.