#pd392

[drcknowledgeandpower]

Gender Identity

Recently in class, we spoke about what it means to identify with a specific gender identity. I’ll be honest: before this class, I had heard the terms but I had no idea what they meant. Cisgender, Transgender, Gender Queer. These were all lost on me until a couple weeks ago. However, Knowledge and Power has really opened my eyes to what gender really is and what it isn’t.

The most key thing that I learned was that gender is a social construct. We are not born with a gender–we are born with a biological sex and our gender is then shaped to fit that sex. If you were born a female, you will be showered with pink bows and dress. If you were born a male, then you will get legos and action figures.

One of the most striking questions Dean Reynold asked our class was, “Do you think we are all more gender fluid than we think we are?” I think the answer is yes. If gender is really something that we are taught from a young age, then there definitely is some room for fluidity. Just like anything that is taught, such as religion or political views, there is a chance that people will outgrow what they are taught or will question it to a certain degree. If gender was not fluid, then there would be no room to question it because it would be a concrete fact.

I just thought this was an interesting notion and I would love to hear what other people have to say about it.

[drcknowledgeandpower]

Plenary 2: Wendy Cai Lee

Again, as late as can possibly be.

The second plenary was definitely something that I could relate to. A woman, coming froma tradtional family from another country, trying to make a career for herself in a man’s world. I identified with that struggle and I found myself hanging on every word that she spoke, as if she was imparting some ancient wisdom on how to be successful. In a way, she was doing that through Chinese proverbs that her father passed on to her. However, I feel like towards the end of the plenary, she touched on something very important to a lot of women: how to balance your personal life and your career. As women, we are usually taught that we will eventually have to pick one. We can’t have it all, they tell us. But Wendy served as an important reminder that it is entirely possible to have the job you want along with the family you want as well.

[drcknowledgeandpower]

Plenary 1: Lauren Rankin

I’m posting this super late because procrastination is a terrible thing. As we all remember (or at least hope we do), Lauren Rankin came to our first plenary in Voorhees Chapel and spoke very passionately about abortion. In an ideal world, we would all agree with everything she said; maybe we would all come together as an unstoppable female tidal wave fighting for the reproductive rights of women everywhere. However, that is not how this opinionated world works. 

As a supporter of reproductive rights, her talk only came naturally to me. I thought her logic was sound and the numbers made sense. However, it soon became apparent that I was suffering from the False-consensus effect, which is the tendency to believe that the majority of people agree with your opinions or belief, because there was someone seated behind me who was repeatedly making very nasty remarks about the speaker and abortion in general. As aggravating as this was, it really made me think about the emotional side of abortion.

No woman who has made a conscious choice about her body should ever be demonized for doing so. I do not think, in my 23 years of being alive, that I have ever met a woman who was happy that she got an abortion. Many cried for days after the procedure because the guilt was crushing. They ask themselves hurtful questions, such as:

“What would my baby have looked like?”

“Would they have my eyes or my sense of humor?”

“Boy or girl?”

These are all very difficult questions to ask yourself after such a consequential decision but it’s something that most women wonder to themselves during the healing process. Yes, healing process. That’s really what it is and what it should be referred to. Majority, not ALL, but majority of women do not go running to the bar or a frat party after an abortion. They do not think of all the fun they can have now that motherhood is not an obligation. Most women mourn and are very hard on themselves for making a very literal life and death decision. 

So really, as to not go on a rant, maybe we should not worry so much about the decision a woman makes with her own body. Maybe we should really ask ourselves how we can help anyone who has had to make this life-changing decision. Can we be there for them? Can we understand their pain? Is it really so easy to just “get an abortion”? The answers should be yes, I can try and no, in that order.