Judith Butlers Really Made Me

I have chosen to reflect on being a white woman, a member of the LDS church here in Utah but also in Denmark, and now a spouse of a cancer patient. Some groups you are born into, some you choose, and yet others you wouldn’t choose, but are none the less a member of, or become a member of. It has been interesting to reflect on these different groups and how they have influenced my life.

Judith Butler’s Beside Oneself: On the Limits of Sexual Autonomy and Jomny Sun’s everyone’s a aliebn when ur a aliebn too illuminate similar ideas by using vastly different styles. Butler chooses to display her work in a very detailed, thorough way. Meanwhile, Sun manages to teach the same lesson, using a much simpler method of writing. Even though both of these texts share common themes, they have varying effects on the reader. After reading Butler’s essay, I felt I was being attacked, as if I was being challenged to help change social norms. With Sun, I finished the book feeling soothed and satisfied with the end result. A particular idea brought up in both texts is the idea of categories and their negative effects. The idea of categories of Butler is shown in Sun by the many characters; I believe that the use of categories overwhelmingly carries more negative effects.

Through out her book she continues to raise questions to make you think such as: “What does it mean to be a man?” and “What does it mean to be a woman?” In her circumstance she is a male to female transsexual who is also a lesbian, whose girlfriend actually ended up transitioning from female to male. And she raises the question, “What does all of this mean?” she also talks about those who define themselves as neither gender (Bornstein). Through her book she strives to make readers think about their life and the people around them. The overall questions she asks are: “What is Identity?” and “What is your identity?” She uses personal experience, stories, theories, political activist, television shows, and humor to back up her theories and arguments while continually raising questions about gender, orientation, desire, and why we as a society are so attached to a dualistic gender system. She does a great job of achieving her goal in teaching readers about the basics of the topic while making readers think.

Being a woman was always the largest piece of my identity. I focused my attention the oppression that comes with identifying as a woman. I resisted against the ideals of patriarchy and spent time in college starting a club that promoted and supported women in business fields. However, I never stopped to think about the intersection of my identities and how my other identities

The reading in this assignment made me understand and appreciate the lives of others. Transgender are just like you and me. They have the same goals and inspirations. However, their hardships are more drastic then normal. I got the chance to be educated on trans 101 with this assignment. I have taken so much away from these readings. It has helped me be more understand of what transgender go through. Having the opportunity to have the two articles side by side to make my notes and analyzing. Finding the connections between the two and disconnect from society to transgender communities.

The reading made me think of how homesick I feel, and not having my mom in the same place as me. It makes me think of the times my mother would come into my room in the mornings to get me up for school, because of how important it is to her and my father that I get an education and make something of myself. Everyone has hopes and dreams, but not many get to follow through with them, because sometimes life just gets in the way. I feel this is why our parents or elders do what they can to help us be better people for ourselves and others, while striving to accomplish our dreams.

I’ve never taken into consideration how all of my experiences growing up has really formed the person that I am today. I’ve never really taken the time to think about my story of intersectionality until I took this class. I never realized how my inner, outer, experiential, relational, and developing identities have really constructed the person that I have become today. Many of my identities have influenced and changed my life especially my identities in social class, race and ethnicity, religion, citizenship and immigration status, first language I learned, my gender, and my gender expressions.

Cathy’s Gender during this time was more of a struggle in her becoming a successful ager since in the time of her childhood and young adulthood the roles in which people saw woman in were changing rapidly. This made it harder for Cathy to detriment for herself the way she saw herself as a person.

Judith Butler and Kwame Appiah inspect the main cause as to how although we claim to possess autonomy, we’re merely given choices as to what is socially acceptable, which leads to an unbroken cycle of false identifications. Appiah demonstrates how our personalities are largely affected by nurture rather than nature and how each and every person are given a title and expected to live up to those standards. Butler’s claim exemplifies how our bodies are under the influence of others and although we may believe we are different and under a certain category, we are really not entirely different from everyone else. One of our life goals is to be unique, unlike any other and on some socioeconomic level we will allow our choices to be made for us.

In order for students to be best prepared for "Editing Gender," they will want to complete key parts of the English 4 Unit 1. In Unit 1, students engage the essential question: What is at stake when we conceptualize gender as either fixed or fluid? By the time students begin the Cornerstone, they will have read and discussed the poem "The Harlem Dancer" by Claude McKay in a seminar discussion, will have read and written in response to an excerpt of the memoir "No Name Woman" by Maxine Hong Kingston, and will have completed a novel study of Jeffrey Eugenides' Middlesex. Throughout these readings, students engage with images, texts, and videos that facilitate discussion around the portrayal of gender. In the Cornerstone, students will have an opportunity to practice their ability to synthesize and form a stance on gender portrayal. Students will hone presentation and public speaking skills, as well as gain experience synthesizing multiple texts and text forms into a

My Biological sex is female, my gender identity is female, but is my gender expression what I am starting to question. It was after I read Janet Mock’s book and I listened to an interview with Joy Ladin that I became aware of the similarities transgender women undertake in their process to come out, and my own process of redefining the expression of the woman that I am. I feel that the coming out of transgender people is encouraging us, especially women, to deeply question our woman expression. Trans-women like Joy Ladin and Janet Mock are raising a new conversation about gender identity and gender expression…..

Strength does not lie in numbers, but rather in accumulated experiences. Some people choose to live in such a way that every fathomable opportunity is seized, while others bow down to grief and avoid the gift of pleasure out of pure fear. In Sara Teasdale’s poem “Lessons”, she lyrically explores the idea that individuals have a great bounty of life experiences to enjoy. Life is too short and this earth is too plentiful to not take advantage of every unusual and thrilling opportunity, including understanding and facing our rawest emotions. Through diction and personification, Teasdale iterates that opposed to shrinking away from moments in time that may make us uncomfortable, individuals should embrace what they feel and what beauty this earth

In 1-3 sentences, in your opinion, what was the single most important point of this week's readings, and why do you feel that was the most important point?

Tonight I attended the “Human Library” in the Mulva Library. There were a lot of topics I was able to choose from; the two I chose were Trans* of Color, Genderqueer as well as Being Gay in Titletown. Those specific topics stuck out to me the most because I’ve always wanted to have a better understanding about the gay and trans community and I was hoping the human books would help me. I was not really sure what to expect when I arrived at Mulva and what it was actually going to be about but it was definitely eye opening and I really got to see from a different person’s perspective.

Throughout our lives, we experience situations that can undoubtedly challenge our lives. These experiences can have outcomes that are not in our favor, but teach us crucial lessons. In my case, almost a year ago I lost someone who unquestionably had a vast impact on my life. My uncle Sal was taken from me unexpectedly. That day took a major toll on myself and my entire family. However, such an event served as the gate for me to see they type of person I am.