At the beginning of this semester I was embarrassed and confused to be in a women’s studies course. I came in not truly knowing what the study of feminism was or any of its wide ranging implications. When asked by peers what class I was headed to or what class I was always working on papers for I would disguise my response by saying that it was for my english course. This white lie type of response was my effort to avoid the bombardment of questions that came my way when asked why I was in this type of course. In the beginning of the semester I did not entirely know why I was registered for this course besides the fact he Dr. Engel was going to “make me into a person who likes reading and writing”. I was not ready to defend my status as …show more content…
The area that I have found myself most interested in is definitely the problem of accommodating all, which includes transgendered people, in public restrooms. Entering a public restroom is one of the most public ways in which people establish their gender, which is why it is so important for transgendered people to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity. My passion for following this controversial topic that has gotten so much news attention has been noticed by my friends and family. This semester I have developed into being comfortable taking stances on issues within the field of women’s and gender studies that do not align with the majority. I now proudly tell people that the paper I have been working on is for my women’s studies course. I confidently tell them I am heading to my Writing Women course and am prepared to defend my position in the course as well as my role as a …show more content…
Upon arrival we walked by a conference room with a sign on the door that said Boston Renegades. As we walked toward the elevator to go to our room we saw in the doors of their conference room, and the team was assembled around a music player and lots of bottles of whisky. After going up to the room to drop off my belongings and change into more comfortable cloths I decided to go down to their team room and attempt to crash the party. I have never willingly associated myself with the football player type person, however these women were awesome. While I admit that I was not entirely sober when I arrived at their post game celebration, I had stepped way out of my comfort zone to go and talk to people who before my education in Writing Women I would have looked down upon and ostracized. These women absolutely appreciated the fact that I had joined their party and I came to learn more about what life was like as a female football player. I know that in my time after writing women I will continue to be an advocate for women and serve as an example to my friends and family that men can be
Matt Zalaznick’s article, “Creating Inclusive Climates”, offers suggestions for how schools can support transgender students and improve school climate by educating classmates and faculty about the needs and experiences of transgender children. The need for such education starts at the elementary school level with many students beginning to identify as being transgender as early as the age of the average kindergartener. Although the implications of Title IX protections state that schools must not discriminate against students on the basis of sex, many districts have strengthened the wording with amendments to include specific wording to include stronger protections for transgender students.
My sixteen week class in English 111. I was really nervous about this class. Because English has never been my strong point. This class has hard, but fun all at the same time. I learn a lot from this class. Meanwhile,the first day of class you handed a paper with a question on it. “The first thing I want to say to you who are students is that you must not think of being here to receive an education; instead, you will do much better to think of being here to claim one.” Even though putting my all in what I have learned, claiming my education with hard work because using the skills of the meal plan, as we write to different audiences and learning to be a Critically thinker as I start becoming a critically-Literate Citizenship.
Over the course of this paper, we will take a comprehensive look at information regarding the transgender community issue in reference to four key sociology concepts. First, we will review information highlighting how transgender people come to the forefront of the public eye as well as the bathroom uproar continuously sweeping the nation. Next, we will examine the facts showcasing how transgender people go against the social norm of associating gender with a person’s given birth sex. Thirdly, we will review information showcasing the cultural inconsistencies throughout the nation when it comes to the acceptance of transgender people. Fourthly, the material will showcase the actions transgender people must face in several states throughout
I chose the topic of transgenderism. Transgender is when an individual tries to switch genders. Transgender comes from the Latin words trans, meaning “across.” Transgender literally means “across gender.” Many trans-individuals decided later on in their lives that they want to switch genders, and other people argue that they were born the wrong gender. Trans-people experience many difficulties throughout their lives. Switching genders makes their lives more challenging, because of many reasons. Their lives are more challenging because of their religion, whether or not they are accepted. The military is very strict, and will not accept trans individuals whatsoever. Insurance companies sometimes will not accept them as well. Trans people are not always accepted by certain occupations. Growing up in schools, trans people are all treated differently regarding to which bathroom/locker room to use. There is a huge debate whether or not trans students are even allowed to participate on sports teams, and if they are, which team to be on. Other obstacles such as birth certificates, passports, and driver’s licenses are all major issues as well. Trans people have to decide if they are willing to come forward, and say ‘This is who I am.’ But before trans-people can come out to other, they must come out to
Tash. "Trans and Gender Non-conforming People, Bathrooms, and Attacks on Our Community." Basic Rights Oregon RSS. N.p., 28 Mar. 2013. Web. 21 May 2014.
Hypersensitive students cause professors to rewrite their syllabi to avoid teaching materials that might offend the students. In their article “The Coddling of the American Mind,” Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt write “Last December, Jeannie Suk wrote in an online article for The New Yorker about law students asking her fellow professors at Harvard not to teach rape law--or in one case, even use the word violate lest it cause students distress. In February, Laura Kipnis, a professor at Northwestern University, wrote an essay in The Chronicle of Higher Education describing a new campus politic of sexual paranoia--and was then subjected to a long investigation after students who were offended by the article and by a tweet she’d sent filed Title IX complaints against her. In June, a professor protecting himself with a pseudonym wrote an essay for Vox describing how gingerly he now has to teach. “I’m a Liberal Professor, and My Liberal Students Terrify Me,” the headline said” (87). The idea that an investigation into a professor is launched because students find her article offensive illustrates the fact that the hypersensitivity of students is infringing on the professor's right to free speech. The authors also believe that the hypersensitivity of students motivates professors to find a method that conceals their identities when they are writing an
The Interaction Order of Public Bathrooms, written by Spencer E. Cahill, is an article that does a fairly well job at analyzing interpersonal relationships and individual practices in restrooms. Cahill used ideologies of Emile Durkheim, Erving Goffman, Margaret Atwood, Horace Miner, and Lyn Lofland to help construct his perspective on the individual’s expectations of bathroom etiquette through our experiences with others and how we internalize these behaviors.
In the introduction of the essay, it talked of how I was not trying to pass and that I looked feminine; it referenced my recent public selfies of me wearing a pink flower crown and a sailor mini moon shirt. It was an unstoppable stream of gender policing and femmephobia that was directed at me! As I read on, I felt my body grow cold but, I kept reading his comments on my make-up, lack of muscles, and presentation.
After learning and reviewing the action continuum chart in this class it brought a specific quote to my mind, “if you’re not a part of the solution, you’re a part of the problem,” while I was aware of other forms of oppression, I only really involved myself with topics and intervention tactics that dealt with racism and sexism, as these were the two areas directly affecting me and my life. One of the topics in this course that stood out to me was the discussion on transgender oppression, before coming to college, information about the transgender community and even sectors of the LGBTQ community was somewhat taboo to me..
Many people are arguing over the transgender bathroom situation, even here in our very own school system, Grace Christian Academy. Some say one should use the restroom of his/her biological identity, while others say one should have the right to use the restroom they gender identify with. Now the issue is starting to arise in public and private school systems, since the law now states every school has to have at least one transgender bathroom available on school property. As a parent with a child in your school system, I would like to express my opinion on this matter with you. Even though this is a private Christian school, and I am a Christian myself, I do not see a problem with having a transgender bathroom on school property for multiple reasons. For example,
Bilodeau, B. (2003, October). Genderqueer: Understanding transgender student identities. Presented at the American Educational Research Association Research on Women in Education Annual Conference, Knoxville, TN.
The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) notes, “Discrimination against an individual because that person is transgender is discrimination because of sex in violation of Title VII. This is also known as gender identity discrimination” ("EEOC - Sex," n.d., para. 3). According to Canas and Sondak (2014), many states have adopted legislation that supports transgender people as a protected class. Colorado passed legislation extending protection to transgender people in 2008 (Brinker & Maza, 2014). However, one of the biggest controversies surrounding transgender individuals is which bathroom should they use? Zanin (2009) notes, “bathrooms remain one of the most acceptable gender-segregated spaces in cities which can present problems to those who do not conform to gender norms…” (para. 1). The question, then, is should transgender people use the bathroom that most closely mirrors their biological gender or the gender they identify with? While individual beliefs may vary greatly, legally, there is less of a gray area. This paper will address the recently decided Colorado case involving a transgender six year old child, Coy Mathis, and her fight to use the girls’ bathroom at school. In addition to this, legal issues and implications employers should be aware of will also be discussed.
This story caused a lot of controversy but got people thinking about the transgender community and the importance to
It was my first week of my freshman year in college. Normally, you want to survive the first week by going to school events and meeting new people. Being the first Saturday night of the school year my new friend and I decided to go to a party in another dorm on campus. Both of us didn’t know what to expect at a college party, so we dressed up and tried to look our best. As I put my black mascara on I knew that this would be a fun night. My friend Jessica knew one of the guys that would be at this gathering because he lived in the same town that she was from. Finally, we leave our dorms and head out to our first college party. We arrived at the party and started to play cards. As the night progressed, poker was getting a little boring and staying in that dorm room wasn’t too much fun either. Abruptly, one of the guys said we should go to a freshman dorm. Everyone grabbed their belongings and headed to central campus. As we walked to central campus many of the boys were whispering about how they were going to cause a ruckus. No one was a resident of this hall, so we had to ask someone who was outside to let us in.
Recently, there has been an uproar of debates on the topic of gender neutral bathrooms. Most of the debates have had to deal with the LGBTQ+ community trying to use the bathroom they identify with. However, these debates have mainly focused on transgenders, “transgender is a term used to describe people whose gender identity differs from the sex the doctor marked on their birth certificate” (GLADD). There has been several bills that “have been filed in three states to prevent transgender people from using bathrooms consistent with their gender identity” (Tannehill). Kentucky has tried to pass bills that target transgender students, but the bill in Texas and Florida would apply to everywhere (Tannehill). There are many different sides to this