I hear this was printed in Unapologetic: The Journal of Irresponsible Gender (Chicago) in 1998, and Neofeminism asked to use it. But I haven't actually seen the article either place, so I have no exact citation.
In her speech at Michigan State University on March 3, 1997, Suzanne Pharr said we need to get rid of gender. What does that mean? How can we do that?
We can do that in pretty much the same way we can get rid of racism, ableism, and heterosexism, to name a few similar systems of oppression: by working for true equality that values, rather than hides, individual differences. But we have to look at truly dismantling these systems of control and oppression, not simply prettying them up and adding them to the power structure, as has been done in the past.
Getting rid of racism does not mean being 'color blind' and treating everyone as if they were white. Getting rid of ableism does not mean building ramps next to the stairs and allowing people to call at least one week in advance for accommodations. Getting rid of heterosexism does not mean implementing domestic partner benefits that mimic and enforce heterosexual marriage customs.
Getting rid of racism means we notice and value each person's ethnicity and culture; we value the different histories and experiences they bring to the task at hand; and we are willing to give up our power and our privilege to let other people do things their way. Getting rid of ableism means there are no stairs, all information is accessible in multiple forms, and each of us is willing to help each other because we value the act of cooperation. And getting rid of heterosexism means, like it or not, getting rid of gender.
Lesbians, bisexuals and gay people have already begun this task. Our society says that sexuality is a gender thing, you know, a boy/girl thing. We reject that, or at least say it's not so simple. That's the core of what it means to be LBG: we take sexuality out of the context of gender as defined by society.
Think about how much of the rest of common gender knowledge is also rejected by queer culture. How many queer folks actually believe that biological sex determines the way we talk, being able to parallel park, choosing a nice color scheme for the breakfast nook, being nurturing or being strong or all the rest of the Mars/Venus stuff that 'everyone' knows about males and females?
So give up gender the rest of the way! Act according to how you feel, rather than how your gender label says you should act. Expect nothing of someone else just because of the body parts they have this week.
Take the signs off the restroom doors. Take the M/F boxes off the official forms. Stop using the words 'man' and 'woman' and 'he' and 'she' and think of some other way to talk about people.
Dismantling gender is more difficult for those who stand to lose power and privilege in the process. But the same is true of dismantling racism and all the other isms of oppression. Liberty, justice, and equality are hard work.
Question every label. Look past every label to the person on whom the label is pinned. And always to thine own self be true!