A Semester With Anastasia

     In Patricia Hill Collins' article "It's All in the Family: Intersections of Gender, Race, and Nation", she introduces the idea of the traditional family ideal. For generations in America, the “perfect family” has often been depicted by a heterosexual married white couple. The “American Dream” has always portrayed this, along with two kids, and a white home with a picket fence. While people in these exact circumstances don’t necessarily live the “ideal” lives, this is what our society has formulated as the goal. This family is exposed to the highest levels of privilege society has to offer.        Before speaking about the many ways in which we can resist the traditional family, I would like to further address the intersectional inequalities which present themselves in numerous aspects of life. A couple of years ago I came across this video which perfectly explains privilege, class, and social inequalities. This video can be accessed at https:...

     In Chapter 12 of Shannon Dea’s “Beyond the Binary: Thinking about Sex and gender”, the other simply describes that a thing or idea is socially constructed if it is the product of human society rather than being naturally occurring. She then explains that the three social construction claims about any X include the following:  1. X need not have existed, or need not be at all as it is. X, or X as it is at present, is not determined by the nature of things; it is not inevitable.  2. X is quite bad as it is.  3. We would be much better off if X were done away with, or at least radically transformed.       I believe that gender is very much if not all gender constructed. The way we sexualize and assume the way of life for different sexes is deeply rooted in process of evolution. Men were sent out to hunt while women stayed home to take care of the children. While men provided, women stayed home. I believe I sway towards the third way of...

     Liberation is the act of setting someone free from oppression, imprisonment, or slavery. I believe that regarding sexual orientation as something that develops over time can even be liberating to oneself. Meanwhile, I do also how being born in a society that assumes gender and sexual orientation, being deemed a certain gender can also be liberating.       Often I hear stories of people “coming out of the closet”. This is the moment in which they decide to reveal either their gender identity or their sexual orientation. While most people may describe this process to be scary and stressful, they are ultimately relieved and feel “free” after the deed is complete. This is because while someone may have been pretending to be straight their entire lives to abide by social standards, they are finally liberated. This is because they can now live their truth and be exactly who they really are. I have seen friends struggle with their identities because they...

     In this first few chapters of Shannon Dea's book Beyond the Binary: Thinking about Sex and Gender , the author discusses varying ideas on both sex and gender through the ideas of many famous philosophers. The question I chose to discuss was the one which asked “Is it possible to meet or interact with someone without performing a gender attribution? Have you ever done so?” I chose this question because it really made me think about how we view gender in society.       I cannot speak for others, but whenever I meet someone I automatically assume their gender. As the reading states, we often take biological features into account when we classify people according to their sex. This includes “genetics, hormones, gonadal tissue, primary anatomical sex traits (like penises and vaginas), secondary anatomical sex traits (like square jaws and wide hips), reproductive functions, and more.” Even so, one important thing that was stated in the book is that for ...

Over the last decade, I have noticed an increase in the importance of communicating with each individual's gender pronouns. These pronouns can be expressed during the introductory lesson of classes or even written in a person’s Instagram bio. Either or, they are an important way of communicating, understanding, and respecting one another in present-day society. Sharing gender pronouns is a good way to make sure everyone feels comfortable and included in whichever environment they find themselves in. As a person with parents raised in Eastern Europe, I feel as though I am constantly learning and growing new things about modern society. While my parents grew up, they were only introduced to two genders. Reading different articles such as Robin Dembroff and Daniel Wodak's piece,  He/She/They/Ze , I feel lucky to become more understanding and educated about the things that I may not have been familiar with in the past as I did not experience them firsthand. This article is eye-open...