emmanuel reynaud holy virility the social construction of masculinity

individual matter, in other words , providing each person takes
his or her allotted place . . . paving the way for a Brave New
World?
[Introduction / 5]
However, arguments based on biology could take us in a totally
different direction. The very specificity of the sexed mode of
reproduction is that it creates a new being. The matching of two
genetic programmes produces a new programme which is
unlike others, unique of its kind. Recent biochemical findings
even invalidate the concept of race or subspecies. The
differences, not only among humans, but also among animals,
would seem to be much greater than was hitherto supposed.
Francois Jacob, the biologist, [6] cites the example of a certain
species of snail found in North America, of which zoologists
recognised 68 sub-species ten years ago, whereas today there
are nearly 680 known subspecies. He adds, criticising the
concept of race and the classification of the species in subspecies,
'there could almost be a race for each individual'. If we
are going to be particular about differences, why stop at one
rather than another? Why not go all the way, and realise that
they are so numerous, that it is impossible to speak of
categories ― man or woman, black or white, short or tall― but
only of individuals so diverse that none can be classified.
What does it matter to me, finally, to know whether or not I
share a better perception of space with the other males of the
species: I know that mine has nothing in common with that of
theirs, as it has been shaped by my own experience, which I
share with nobody.
[6 /Introduction]
Whatever the biological differences between males and females
may be, they should not mask the fact that the division into men
and women is purely social. From the minute a child is born, it
is assigned to a sex category, according to its possessing a
penis or a vulva. A person's entire identity develops on the
basis of this sexual differentiation and through identification
within that category; to such an extent that what has been
imposed eventually seems natural. The category is so well
assimilated that to question it would be to run the risk of being
confronted with a vacuum ― 'If I am not a man, what am I; Who
am I?' And so when it is a question of 'male' and 'female' roles,
we are not dealing with a role played here and there in such and
such a situation, but with a real shell which the person has
completely adopted, and which has been gradually built up
during an existence governed by the differences between the
sexes.
This division of human beings into two groups depending on
their anatomy has been radically questioned by the feminist
movement. Following Simone de Beauvoir's 'One is not born,[7]
but rather becomes, a woman', the radical feminists have been
determined to destroy the notion of the sex difference and