Summary Of Julia Serano's Whipping Girl

The article starts off defining the term transgender, and different circumstances where others attempted to ‘normalize’ the homosexual and transgender movements. The article states that transgender people “are deeply troubled individuals who need professional help, not societal approval or affirmation.” (Traditional Values Coalition 1). The article continues, showing instances where the transgender movement won “major political victor[ies]” (Traditional Values Coalition 2), such as California Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act of 2000 which protected transgender children at public schools. The coalition states that the media is helping the transgender movement by portraying transgender people as “misunderstood and persecuted” (Traditional

The article I chose over a controversial gender issue was What Makes a Woman by Elinor Burkett. She speaks about the issues of transgendered people wanting to become and be called “women” when they don’t really know what makes a woman and what we, as women, have to deal with from the moment we’re born. She uses examples such as Caitlyn Jenner, abortion rights, and even colleges trying to make the transition to make it a more welcoming place but also being under scrutiny from the LGBT community. She makes the points that we are scrutinized daily for our actions and bodies and that the LGBT community appears to be using stereotypical gender related reasons to explain why they are going through their transitions to become women such as the desire

This class has brought a lot of change to my views on the seemingly everlasting prevalence of sexism in America. Before taking women and writing this semester I had not realized how the stereotypes surrounding masculine identity have taken hold of much of the Greek life on college campuses, male-dominated/labor intensive jobs, as well as influencing a significant portion of the mainstream advertising and media that my peers and I consume on a daily basis. The readings that accompanied the course were clear, informative, and provided me with more insight to the challenges and inequality that women have had to confront in the past and continue to face in the present. This class taught me many things about the current

I think this paper was arguing about the violence that is reinforced through Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) and its inability to look beyond gender identity as the sole contributor for violence afflicted on transgender individuals. This paper is also arguing beyond the issues of sexism, racism, and classism TDOR engages in total erasure of those who experienced violence by ignoring intersecting identities through memorialization. I have highlighted in yellow all of the sections/sentences that I though were particularly strong at setting a tone for the paper, as well as getting your point across clearly and powerfully. You do this on page 1 and 2 by discussing the unmarked barriers of systems of power and their effect on transgender people,

Julia Serano's book “Whipping Girl was able to approach the theme of identity by sharing her experiences of what she went through as a male, through her transition and as a woman. The entire book was like a Trans 101 book, Julia did so well in explaining her book about all the information that the reader needed to understand about trans people and she made it so personal by sharing stories of what she went through herself such as being misgendered (Serano, 164) and having to fight for her right to be a woman (Serano, 170). The theme of identity in “Whipping Girl” is that Julia provides experiences of what kind of crap that she went through and understanding her kind of pain. Donovan mentions the importance of personal narrative that it is an “invitation into the suffering body” (244) it means that it allows Julia to have her own voice to express her pain and allows the readers to understand her pain. For Julia, it means she has the power of her own narrative to tell us anything thing that she wants us to know and thus putting her own identity of what she tells her readers.

For Goodness Sex, by Al Vernacchio, is a welcome relief from the two previous books; Girls & Sex and Man Interrupted, as the focus is about sexuality as a whole; gender, sexual orientation, etc., rather than on the culture of females and males. The author employs his curriculum from his class, Sexuality and Society, throughout the book as a demonstration of how educators and parents can develop conversations with young people about sexuality. Vernacchio covers a myriad of topics such as “normalizing the sex talks, building healthy relationships, what’s the bottom line, body image, eliminating sexual orientation prejudice,” and more. He describes how in his classes, he guides young people through their own journey of discovering their morals, values, and sexuality. He poses such questions as found in his chapter titled, “Gender Myths, male and female, is that all there is” (p. 112) reminding us that the while the English language limits our ability to appreciate the complexity of gender as it allows for only three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter (Vernacchio, A. 2014). However, in terms of gender identity, it is our internal innate senses of our own gender providing for a huge range of ways people identify themselves (Vernacchio, A. 2014).

I found the most enlightening thing for me was learning about heteronormativity and the tight grip that it has on our perceptions. I’ve always understand that heteronormative ideals exist, but I was surprised to learn about how deeply rooted these ideals are in our culture. In many of our lectures and materials, we learned that these ideals shape and influence almost every aspect of our lives. Everything from romantic scripts, to television shows, to sex education curriculum; all of these areas subscribe to heteronormative ideals that only lead to long term, negative consequences.

Yet, the dangerous consequence of the ‘War on Women’ narrative is that is separates men and women, rather than uniting them, as first-wave feminism intended. From day one of their college experiences, women receive a gospel that men & society as a whole oppresses them. This ideology radically transforms the women in these programs and evidently changes their aspirations and their future. In 2010, the Journal of Psychology published a study where they asked 1200 female undergraduates, representing all social groups, economic statuses, and majors, about what they believed the future would hold for

This article really goes in depth with what Transgendered women really experience in the society till today. The feminist movement has evolved and trans women are

How would you like it if you were continuously told what to do ever since you were a little kid and you were bullied and made fun of because of something you like doing and are passionate about while growing up? It wouldn’t be pleasant, would it? Even getting older and becoming an adult and it’s still happening, it’s not nice, is it? How would you like it if you were earning 20% less than men for the exact same job? Good morning Ms Lewis and students, today I’ll be talking to you about how there are numerous causes for the countless components that are accountable for the upsurge of gender stereotyping in today’s society.

It was my honor to take ENGL 1102 with Dr. Allukian this semester. ENGL 1102, Feminism in the Age of Media, is a course focus on the theoretical world of feminism: feminism definitions and its presentations in real life. Through the reading of various feminist theories by famous pioneers such as bell hooks and Sandra Bartky, I gradually understand the concept of feminism. The further practices of integrating my learning with practices such as making videos and presenting Pechakucha allow me to deepen my understanding with these theories. Over the course of this semester, I understand that feminism has a boarder meaning than what I had thought before and that the benefits of feminism is unlimited, beginning to realize and form my own interpretation and understanding of feminism.

This course has opened my eyes to many new perspectives that I’ve never noticed before, especially perspectives from my own identities such as being Latina and being a woman. Three readings that resonate for me were Natalie Adams and Pamela Bettis’ “Commanding the Room in Shorts Skirts Cheering as the Embodiment of Ideal Girlhood”, Amott’s “The Growth of Wage Work” and Paulette Caldwell’s “A Hair Piece: Perspectives on the Intersection of Race and Gender”, each of which I can relate and identify with in multiple ways. These readings cover the expectations and limitations that women are supposed to follow due to social standards.

In my junior year of high school, I had read the book Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi, an Egyptian author. The book depicts an Egyptian woman who grew up in a poor home and experiences difficulties with a obtaining a higher education before she results to other methods to obtain power. Prior to reading this, I was largely ignorant of the lasting impacts of gender on education in foreign cultures. I had known the lessons of “the American Dream”, which states that everyone has equal opportunity for success. However, based on the novel, my global understanding had grown to realize that the circumstances are quite different around the world. The book had shown me the links between gender and education, and that the cultural treatment of women is sometimes brutal. In the United States, I had seen that men and women have equal opportunity for education, however the cultural context of Woman at Point Zero displays that traditional gender roles largely impact an individual’s education. The novel showed me that some cultures value men above women and, thus, their educations are prioritized. The protagonist of the novel is, consequently, left with a limited education as a result of her gender, while a predominantly male college is referenced in the novel. Overall, the novel contributed to my global understanding of the treatment of women, and showed

This class did not necessarily change my attitude towards feminism, rather it served as a reminder as to why I choose to be a feminist. I have always considered myself a feminist and I have worked to promote equal rights in my community. I was very excited to take this course because I knew that it would teach me about influential women in history and emphasize why women’s rights are so important. But, this class exceeded my expectations and taught me a lot more important information than I thought it would. Intro to Women’s Studies expanded my knowledge on women’s issues and made me confident in my decision to identify as a feminist.

1. Women-directed education provides society with a more intellectual understanding of their history, however, education cannot provide the necessary means in order to live life actively and allow women to become committed to themselves. In Adrienne Rich’s piece titled “Claiming an Education”, Rich delves into this concept of having women as subjects. She explains that although the presence of women’s studies reflects a bold perspective and exhibits a great way to gain a critical basis for their experiences, it is just as important as “taking responsibility towards your selves” (Rich, Shaw and Lee 29). Curriculum courses alone cannot allow women to go out and explore their options in the world in order to live a meaningful life. The transformation of knowledge took place when individuals challenged previously unquestioned knowledge, the result of which ultimately affected the marginalization of women and heightened consciousness.