Assignment Task:
After looking at all the notes and videos in the learning module on "Gender Identity" - type a reflection on it. Consider these questions as you write. What information was new to you? How might being familiar with this information affect your experiences or perspectives moving forward? - With family or friends? In your career? How might learning about different gender systems historically and across different cultures influence some of the politics around gender identity happening today in this culture?
What is at stake when people operate out of ignorance and stereotypes? Do you have any lingering questions? Make this personal and use first person words and use the resources below for examples I work in medical field i am a physical therapist assistant and my background culture is Middle East Iraq use based on my information and ask any interesting questions
TedTalks Video: The gender-fluid history of the Philippines
Below is more information to use from The results of your "Gender and Fame" survey were interesting. Many of you identified important reasons for why the results came out like they did. Since the assignment was to interview only one person, some of you chalked it up to the psychology or life experience of the individual you interviewed. A lot of you wondered if it was the age, gender, upbringing, or lifestyle of the person you interviewed. I'm sure this played a part, but if you go back and read all of the responses from your classmates, it's impossible to explain the consistent patterns with only individual-level explanations. Also, in a face-to-face class, I just ask the members of the class to brainstorm and they STILL have the same patterns, regardless of being mostly young people of diverse genders and backgrounds and they STILL have a hard time making a gender-balanced list even though they know it's a class about gender.
I asham to ser that lot oF you were abs pendanty. "in order." That means that most of the modeling (teaching by example) and sanctions (rewards and punishments) that we receive are connected to maintaining gender expectations that reinforce inequality. Many of you rightly pointed out that modeling often happens through representation. Who do we hear about and how often do we hear about them? What are we shown as noteworthy over and over and over again? Kim TallBear (indigenous Canadian professor and scholar) said that "Our desires are constituted by what we think is possible." So if 90% of the scientists I learned about in school were men, the subconscious message is that science isn't a place that's very friendly or accessible to women and that I should probably pay more attention to other things that are more "realistic" for my gender. And the only category where women were consistently represented were supermodels and actors- which speaks to the way that patriarchy values women for how they look - so they can be noteworthy if they can show off their bodies. The power that comes with beauty is often hollow and fleeting (because older women can no longer meet those beauty standards). In terms of sanctions, we have to consider what is rewarded and what is punished. Do girls get as much praise from their teachers, peers, and family members as boys do for certain activities? (Example: I remember having pep rallies for football games all the time, but there were never pep rallies for the girls' sports in my school). And women who bravely pursue "activities for men" are often scrutinized, criticized, and punished for it. For example, politicians who are women often get targeted with comments about what they are wearing or if they are sexy or too fat or other types of comments about their appearance, where politicians who are men usually get the basic respect of having their ideas and values discussed rather than how they look. Other important ideas your classmates mentioned: Women also weren't allowed to practice many of these skills for years on end and that has impacted how many women have had the chance to participate and learn. Another person mentioned that women didn't have rights for a long time and that history could influence the results. Or pointing out that a lot of women have historically been told their role is taking care of the house and children and were excluded from developing skills or expertise in other fame-worthy arenas.
Another person pointed out that positions associated with strength, intelligence, and power are usually coded masculine/manly positions. A lot of you mentioned social media, the news, and movies. You also talked about how history books teach us that men built society and women played a secondary role and that historically a lot of men took credit for women's work. Gender Identity... This is a person's internal sense of self. Who am I and how do I understand my existence given all of the categories of gender? Our culture typically raises us to believe this is binary (2 options) - boy/man or girl/woman and that this identity "should" stem from our sex assigned at birth.
However, many people have helped us to nuance this and show that it's much more complex than an oversimplified binary and that our identity doesn't always align with what is culturally expected. See the terms list in the learning module for more information. Gender Expression... This is a person's performance of gender based on culturally defined definitions of how to dress, act, talk, walk, sit, etc. In our culture we usually talk about this in terms of "masculinity" and "femininity" and "androgyny." This is really the ONLY thing we know about a person unless they reveal other details. Meaning that someone may express their gender as "feminine" and our culture tells us to assume a bunch of other things about that person (sex assigned at birth, gender identity, sexual orientation, etc), but we may be wrong about all of it, because people can perform any gender they want to perform. Gender expression is a social construction, so these categories and expectations of how to "act" can vary according to culture and time in history. Sex Assigned at Birth... Typically declared by a doctor based on the appearance of external genitalia (which is far more diverse than we are led to believe in our culture). When people talk about biological sex, they are talking about the socially constructed categories of "male" and "female" and "intersex" as they have assigned certain body characteristics to these categories. Realistically, it's much more complicated than external genitalia... we could also consider sex chromosomes (XX, XY, XXX, XXY, XYY, X), internal organs (testes and ovaries), hormonal composition, and brain chemistry. And people's bodies develop in complex ways (despite our culture's insistence that our bodies always "align" with female or male). There are likely a lot of people with intersex characteristics that simply don't know it (l've never had my chromosomes or my hormones tested for example and I doubt many of you have either). The word "assigned" in "Sex assigned at birth" is very important...because it indicates that we aren't simply "born" a sex... it's that someone declared it for us based on limited information. Physically Attracted to... What people often refer to as sexual orientation. Emotionally Attracted to... What people often refer to as romantic orientation. Terms often correlate with sexual orientation but the root word changes to "romantic" instead of "sexual." Ex: Asexual or Aromantic How to be an Ally ALWAYS use the pronouns and name a person wants you to use. Even when they are not around. If you don't know someone's pronouns you could 1) use their name instead of pronouns, 2) use gender neutral pronouns (they, them, theirs), 3) listen to others around them that seem to know them well and see what they use, 4) politely ask without drawing undue attention (but ONLY in a safe environment). For example, "I'm Michelle and I use she, her, hers pronouns. Which pronouns do you use?" If you make a mistake, quickly correct yourself and continue the conversation. Don't interrupt the conversation by making a big apology or excuses... this brings unwanted attention. Politely and subtly correct others if they use the wrong pronouns. If someone corrects you, say, "thank you" not "sorry" (b/c it prompts a "that's ok" response) Never put the names or pronouns in quotation marks - this conveys the sense that it is illegitimate.
Never ask about a person's body or medical care, their old name, why or how they know they are trans or nonbinary, their sexual orientation or practices, their families reaction to their gender identity, or any other questions that are irrelevant to your relationship with them...unless they invite you to do so or voluntarily share that information. Don't ever out a transgender or nonbinary person. This is dangerous to their safety and can invalidate their identity. Don't assume people want hormones and/or surgery, or to medically transition at all. Don't presume people want to fit into the gender binary. Don't view individuals as spokespeople who will educate you. own homework and research. Don't say "a transgender" or "transgenders" when referring to people. Transgender is an adjective, not a noun. Avoid backhanded compliments. For example, do not say: "I would never have known...you look so pretty." "You look just like a "real" woman." "He's hot, I'd date him even though he's transgender." "You'd pass better if.." Do not conflate Drag with being transgender or nonbinary. For many, drag is a performance and it is not connected to their gender identity. Work to include "gender identity/expression" in school, company, city, state, and federal nondiscrimination policies.