Britney Griner

In Thursdays class we discussed the incident with the female world championship sprinter and the legality of her disqualification. At the same time we discussed how the best female athletes are sometimes considered male like because of their talents. I brought up Brittney Griner a female basketball player for the University of Baylor, who is one of few female players who can dunk the basketball. She led her team to a 40-0 Championship season winning MVP. Because of her build, deep voice, and athletic ability some think she is a male. Even the coach of the opposing National championship game team Notre Dame said "she plays like a man" after there 20 point defeat to he last week. In the end no matter how good a female is that doesn't mean calling he a man is right, even as a joke. Keeping with basketball Dwayne Wade one of the best basketball players in the game is friend with Lisa Leslie a WNBA player and has said he has played her a few times and that she has beat him. It isn't always a correct association of athletic with man, and it should be changed when it does. Just because women always shop doesn't mean that any men who shop should be called women. Here are some links to articled written about Britney Griner and discriminatory remarks made in her direction.

John Plevel

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-400_162-57409191/irish-coach-brittney-griner-plays-like-a-guy/
http://fitandfeminist.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/the-misgendering-of-brittney-griner/

Susan Stryker

After reading the Susan Stryker article, i was very overwhelmed. I did not realize that there were so many terms used within the area of transgender and transsexuals. I often use the terms interchangeably and do not think anything of it. It could be offensive to someone if you mix them up. I also had more respect for the reading when we found out in class that she herself is trans. Did she write the article so that people can keep the terms straight and stop using them wrong?

Response to Shawna

I find the question about Thailand and the issue of finances interesting. I think that in America the acceptance of gender reassignment surgery is much lower because we feel the need to put people in categories and if they fall somewhere in between the well structured categories, they are considered deviant. Doctors do not want to be associated with making people different from the norm when the goal is to usually bring people back into the norm. I think that is the problem with financing. No doctor in America can make it affordable so that an individual could even think to afford the surgery. In Thailand it could be more acceptable to express the desire to be a transgender. Doctors could be more used to performing the surgery so that it is less expensive.

Social Media Ignorance

Myself like I am sure many other in our class as well as today's society had a very different view of the trans-gender society before this discussion and moreover this class. I had images given by ignorant movies that painted awful and unthoughtful pictures of a society that like many others is often confused and misunderstood. Primarily in the past this was done because of ignorant people who lacked the necessary information. Nowadays this ignorance isn't really found in the people as much but spread because of today's social media. Because it is more appealing and and entertaining to use these groups as disgusting or evil then it is to actually explain the problems and create intelligent views on the subject. In the end we used to lack the power of communication, that was why we couldnt understand what we didn't know; thus creating ignorance. However now that we do have the power to spread ideas we use it for negativity most times due to humor and appeal. When will we take the next step?

John Plevel

Lady Boy Thailand Beauty Pageant.......

After watching the video about the Lady Body Thailand Beauty Pageant that Shawna posted, I found it interesting but kinda of scary as well. First, I just want to say that the transgenders in this pageant were beautiful. I made a comment to one of my male friends on Friday after reviewing some pictures from this semester drag show I stated, "Its' amazing how some of these men dress in drag look way better than a lot of females on this campus and in general." He replied, "Yeah, that's because females are slacking it takes time to look like that..to look your best." After the conversion was over, I begin to think about the effects that society has on male and female gender roles. I agree that we as individuals should be able to live life freely, even if it means that one will want to change their gender. I can not pretend that I could understand why anyone will want to change their gender, but than again maybe its not meant for me to understand. I find the things that science can do to the human body amazing and scary at the same time. Scary...because I often wonder the consequences that science may have on society when it comes to rearranging and changing the human body. After all, good intentions can only go so far due to the fact that we as human beings are easily capable of manipulation, selfishness, corruption.....but most importantly we are weak in many ways.......In conclusion, I think we as human beings should be allow to live our lives the way we want. But I often wonder to what extend do we say enough is enough? Is there even an 'extend' to look for?...Also, I do not know what is more scary the advancement in science or the effects that society has on us all.

Transgenders: Medicalized Freaks?

I thought that the question Jeff asked in class on whether all the media attention given to Christine Jorgensen was a good thing or was is making her a "medicalized freak" was an interesting question to think about. I do agree with what others said in class that the media attention was good in some aspects. Such as making society aware of transgender people and letting others who want to change genders see someone who as already gone through it as a sort of inspiration for them. On the other hand I do see how the media attention towards Jorgensen could be seen as making her a "medicalized freak".


Earlier in the semester we talked a lot about "freaks". People payed to go see these people who were labeled as such for their own entertainment or to assure themselves that they were normal. In sensationalizing Christine Jorgenson, the media was in a sense giving society a form of entertainment. Here is a woman who used to be a man! Look how beautiful she is, you would never know that she had once been a man! Look at how amazing medical technology is today! It just reminds me of the one "freak" in the movie we watched (Freaks) that was half man and half woman. I feel like if Christine Jorgensen had been in an earlier time period she would have been a prime candidate for the circus freak shows (theoretically if the medical technology was available then). I am not saying that I think that she is a freak, I just mean that if you look at the medias attention on her you can relate it to the media attention on the circus freaks.

Response to one of the questions that Shawna proposed in a previous blog..

In Thailand, gender reconstruction surgery is relatively inexpensive. Why do you think these surgical procedures are more expensive in the United States?


I believe it is because most Americans do not see gender reassignment necessary. So if the surgery is overprice here in America, not so many procedures will be done in the U.S., so we as a country will not have to think or deal with the topic of transgenders any time soon. Also, because trangenders and gender reassignment surgery is not socially accepted in the U.S. in many ways, individuals probably do not undergo this type of procedure often, so to make a good profit it will almost be necessary to overprice this procedure. Finally, the U.S. is more advance in medicine and science even though certain countries have been performing gender reassignment surgeries longer.

Society vs uncertainty

The transgender community is extremely foreign to me and I have had very little legitimate knowledge of those who are transgender.  I found the article “An Introduction to Transgender terms and concepts” to be very useful when trying to begin to understand the transgender community.  I definitely have a more organized understanding of the generalities of transgenders but I know it is so much deeper than that.  I cannot begin to understand how hard it must be to feel trapped in the wrong body.  It is great that modern medicine has the ability to change sexes, no matter what the intentions were by doctors to be able to do this I think it is very beneficial. 

We saw the video in class featuring Christine Jorgensen and her much publicized change.  I think this was beneficial because it made people see more into the transgender community.  I don’t think those who are transgender should be put on spectacle.  However, I think if there were more who shared their stories in a public way that it would make the transgender community seem less “different”.  It sucks though that we live in a society that has a very difficult time with uncertainty.  You would think a country like the US would have low uncertainty avoidance, but it is very high when it comes to gender and sexuality.  Society does not like what it cannot understand.  This is society’s issue with transgender I think, society doesn’t like what it can’t label.  The US has very strict gender roles compared to other countries.

SVU

This is the episode of Law and Order: SVU that I was I was talking about in class. I misunderstood the plot of the episode when I addressed it to the class. This is a short synopsis about the episode, entitled: Identity.

Complications ensue in the investigation of a Stone Cold Assassins gangbanger who fell off a building after the victim that he tried to rape bit him in self-defense, causing him to fall. The victim's twin sister admits to the crime, and says she was the one on the roof and was beaten, which is seemingly impossible due to the evidence until the secrets regarding the sister's true genetic identity are revealed. They find that she was born a boy, and after a botched circumcision was raised female. Investigation reveals more regarding the doctor's ulterior motive to prove that nurture supersedes nature.

I highly recommend watching this episode! It really was very intense and makes you really think. These topics and stories are so brand new and should be taken more seriously.

~Kyle

Twins

After class on Tuesday I looked up stories about Identical Twins and one them becoming a transexual. I found a lot of stories, different articles and readings about topic and its such an interesting read. Here is a great article: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Health/story?id=174855&page=1. This process and transition seems to be a very difficult one and can cause some hard emotional damage. I wonder how it felt for the other twin to see this struggle. The article said that this type of situation was very preplexing because Jaun was an identical twin. I loved hearing about the situations that ended on an extremely happy notes.

~Kyle

Response to Pay-to-be-gay

I think the fact that an actor who is straight but plays a gay role receives more pay than a gay actor who plays a straight character obviously unfair.  There is always the exception the gray area with many discussions we have in class, this is no exception.  I think in general it can be seen as almost beneficial to the understanding of being gay to have straight actors play gay roles.  Yes they have no real experience to draw from usually, but that doesn’t mean an actor will not do their research.  This can create a waterfall effect of understanding.  The actor reaches out to someone in that community or some other outlet in order to develop an understanding of the role; they tell their friends about their experience, and so on and so forth.  But of course there is the question if they do the character justice?  Some might be offended if the character is portrayed in a very stereotypical gay type.  I think personally I do not have a problem with gay actors playing straight roles and vice versa.  The pay is obviously unfair and not right and I would be interested to see the research behind that.  Also I think it should just depend on the ability of the actor, just because an actor is gay, doesn’t mean someone can portray a gay character better than them even if they are straight.  Now I know that sounds kind of crazy but if you think about it, it makes sense.  I mean for example, Neil Patrick Harris is an out gay man but he plays most of the time the most believable straight, womanizer character in most of his roles.  I remember not believing he was gay years ago because he played his characters so well. 

The problem with medicalizing GID.

Gender Identity Disorder.   I remember some classmates bringing up the fact that no one chooses to have certain urges or want a sex change.  And quickly another classmate responded that no one chooses to have any illness.  So what is it that set GID apart from other "disorders".

It is the fact that the term disorder implies not only that something may be "unnatural" or malfunctioning, but also that is should be treated if not cured.   Whether or not GID could be treated/cured is besides the point.  These "patients" need to be acknowledged as human beings with the right to happiness, and a sex change does not endanger the lives of other, that is unless they try performing a castration by themselves.
~ John Benware

Reply on Jill's articles

 After reading some of the articles Jill provided, I found it interesting to read the one about twins because I am a fraternal twin. I know the examples they are identical but it made me wonder why this was the case. From what I read there seems to be both a physical and mental reasons that a person feels a want to be the opposite sex.

-   "I have always known I was a girl,'' Nicole told the Boston Globe. "I think what I'm aiming for is to undergo surgery to get a physical female body that matches up to my image of myself.''

From what Nicole says above, she made that decision based how she viewed herself in society. Is she conforming to what society classifies as a girl? Or is this due to something genetic and what gives you your gender identity through childhood development?

I honestly think it could be from a combination of both. With certain social norms and stereotypes I feel like an individual that feels more comfortable with the opposite sex's norms, they would feel pressured into conforming to them.


Brian G

Accepting Multiple

We rely heavily on vision and need to classify people into strict categories and boxes (i.e. female/male). When we are confronted with ambiguity, our schemas are challenged and we may experience discomfort, anxiety, even anger at our inability to place someone into a category. Our society only allows for there to be two acceptable sexes and genders, all else is marked as “deviant.” Consider even the structure of our society, such as our separate male and female bathrooms and dressing rooms. Where's a unisex bathroom? Even when a “co-ed” bathroom was featured on the television show “Ally McBeal,” people were uncomfortable by the idea. Intersex individuals, as well as other individuals, may be faced with difficulties navigating society which only accommodates two sexes and genders. If we were to accept multiple sexes and genders, as Fausto-Sterling suggests, our society would be less gender restrictive and would allow for many individuals to express gender and sex in the way they feel fit.

Angela B.

"Becoming Me"

A documentary “Becoming Me,” covers eight families with two groups of children: transgender individuals and children who don’t adhere to strict gender norms such as “only girls like pink.” The ages of the individuals featured in the film range from 5 to 25 years old. The film documents the experiences of the families and children and their tribulations and achievements while attempting to navigate in a society in which a strict gender binary exists. I believe this documentary could be beneficial for parents, transgender youth and allies. Furthermore, a documentary which features actual families-- ones who are normal and healthy--may help reduce stigma surrounding families and individuals who are confronting and challenging gender binaries. Also, following the premier of this documentary, an hour-long discussion was held where a wide range of individuals spoke such as psychologists, authors, families, children, and National Transgender Network Coordinator. I think the decision to hold a discussion helps demonstrate that the purpose of the film was to help provide support and education for people in search of answers.

Angela B.

Reaction to transgender presentation

The presentations given on the transgender community as well as feminine cutting were very interesting because it is something I did not know a lot about.  I did not know about all of the different terms used to describe the LGBTQ community.  This is a very sensitive subject to the people in this community and others need to be aware of these because if you address someone by the wrong sexuality, they could take it very offensively. 

I also did not know a lot about the feminine mutilation issue as well. To me, I do not think that the human rights activists need to get involved in this tradition because it is a legacy in certain tribes in Africa.  In the United States, that's where the issue get a little grey.  In the United States, we have a Declaration and Constitution giving us our rights.  In Africa, it is expected that those girls will have that surgery to be accepted into the community.  I think that this issue needs to be looked at more closely and the girls need to be given some kind of notice about what is going on.  Yes, the parents know what is going on but they have to explain to their children what is happening to them.  They have to explain the social and cultural norms behind this process. 

Leslie Walter

That Major Decision...

When there were questions brought up on the issue of the medicalization, such as the surgeries for intersex or even the transgendered, one must look at the various aspects of the medical in separate categories of the anatomical to the psychological. What I learned in Joy Bilharz's Sex and Gender class was that those two need to be examined separately. We've already mentioned the work of John Money and the terrible effects it had on the Raimer family. As I have mentioned, I am a firm believer in therapy sessions with the child and the family so that all are comfortable, understand and can support each other. 


As we have talked a bit about the effects that the parent's decision can have on their child, whether intersex or transgender, I wanted to share this video with you. This 20/20 segment is called "My Secret Self" that was a spread aired in 2007 by Barbara Walters. This video takes a glimpse into children who, at a young age, have told their parents that they wanted to be the opposite sex or that they were the wrong sex. You should watch all of the videos; it is somewhere from 3-5 parts. One of the girls, Jazz, has been recognized from her segment having been featured on the OWN channel this past fall with Chaz Bono. In the show, it talks about how she lives her life, the issues, and concerns for the future her and her family are expecting. 


Callie 

Presentation Questions and Videos. My Response

I had several questions in my presentation that I didn't get to address today. I thought I could post some of them, and people could use their answers as a blog post:

Questions on Intersexuality:

1. The reading states, “It is estimated that between one and three of every 2,000 individuals are born with anatomies that do not conform to either a typical male or a typical female” (222). How is this language problematic? What is typical?

2. According to the reading, should sexual pleasure be taking into consideration in female assignment? What does this say about the status of women?

3. How does intersex treatment vary across cultures? Is there an underlying homophobia in the way our culture treats and “corrects” intersex individuals?

Questions on Transsexuals:

1. In Thailand, gender reconstruction surgery is relatively inexpensive. Why do you think these surgical procedures are more expensive in the United States

2. Transsexuals in Thailand, like the Ladyboys, undergo many surgical procedures to become a different gender. How does this perpetuate a two-sex system? If there was no gender, do you think transsexuals would feel the need to undergo gender reassignment surgery?

3. Should Bobby Montoya be able to be a Girl Scout? Should institutions like Girl Scouts support transgendered children? Why or why not?

4. How does our society represent transsexuals in the media?

Questions of Fausto-Sterling:

1. Is the five-sex system helpful? Why or why not? Should individuals have to identify what sex they are?

2. What are some ways we could create a more gender diverse world?

-----To answer one of my own questions, I do believe that the five-sex system is helpful. It offers individuals a way of identifying themselves as more than just a male or a female. However, I do think that there are still problems with the five-sex system. This system still places emphasis on the genitals, and implies that people should label their gender based on the type of genitals they have. Sarah brought up a good point today in class. For some people, sex is between their legs, and gender is in their head and these two don't always match up. The five-sex system, in my opinion, is stating that science is more important than how an individual feels "in their head". I also believe that it is just increasing our need to label everyone. Instead of a more vague term like transgendered, ferm and merm offer more detailed definitions of the genitalia that intersex individuals have, which many of them might not want to disclose to others. My argument is: why do we have to have any gender at all? Is it really important for us to know what type of genitalia an individual has instead of defining them as a human being?

Here are the two videos I didn't get to show in class:

Video on Bobby Montoya, trans boy who tried to join Girl Scouts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psI1_U7vsl0

Video on Ladyboys: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf-LJ_X4TZo&feature=relmfu

Confusion in class

 In class today 4/5/12 I heard some confusion.  If the woman in the video was using the correct terminology when she said she castrated herself then what she did was to remove her testicles, this is what is meant by the term castration. The standard method of performing this surgery is to open the scrotal sack and sever the spermatic cord and remove the testes. Unfortunately there appeared to be persons in the class that thought that the operation she performed was a penile amputation.  Again I am assuming that the woman in the video had the correct terminology for her operation

Probably not all that important but maybe it is.

Joyce Abbott

Transgender: "Medicine Power" and Distinctness

Our discussions on transgender have been really interesting and thought provoking, I had never thought about these issues very much until we started talking about them. I thought the point Angela made about the power of medicine when it comes to changing genders was right on - throughout this course we have seen how much influence it's had and how it has shaped history.

I was also thinking about another point made today, that some people feel transgender should be separate from the LGB community - I can see why this might be. For example, there are Deaf people that say Deafness is not a communication disorder, although it has been labeled that way. They are actually not comfortable being surrounded by blind people, people who are in wheelchairs, people with cerebral palsy and people that have other issues, and it’s not because they have disabilities, but because they cannot connect with them. I imagine that this is how transgender people feel when they are considered part of the LGB community, yet feel they are distinct from it.

- Josh Steffen

The Five Sexes, Revisted

        For today's class we were to read an article called The Five Seves, Revisted. This article to me by far has been one of the most interesting articles that i have read in class so far. I learned so many different things that i didnt know before reading this. for example before i read this article i didnt know that someone could be born with more then one sex i thought that you were born with one sex and later on in life is when you realize if thats the right sex for you or not. i also didnt realize that there was more then two sexes because thats not something that they teach you in school you only learn about the male and female and how they work and how they are suppose to act in society.
         To asnwer Shanas's first question about this article i felt lke the five sez system was helpful because if i didnt read about it then i would be unaware that there was more then just two sexes out there. When it comes to whether or not i feel someone should have ti identify what sex they are i feel like they shouldnt have to unless it comes down to being in a serious relationship then i feel like the other person has a right to know and decide whether or not they want to stick around. But when it comes to society and letting other people know who are not people who are close to you i feel like that is a choice that the individual should have if they want to tell people are not and if they dont want to then they shouldnt have to.
          For the second question on this issue that Shawna asks i feel like just by educating people more it would make society a more gender diverse world. i feel like if we started educating the younger people first because they are the next generation then eventually this type of diversity would no longer be a huge problem in our world. One way we can educate the younger people is by teaching them in school that there is more then the two genders so that they are aware of this so that later on when they got into the real world they wouldnt be so discriminatory. I also feel like we need to reexamine out medical soceity so that they arenot talking these parents into making a choice right away unless it is a huge risk issue for the child. The reason i feel doctors do this is because our society is so gender based that we need to know the sex of someone so they feel they need to pick the gender for someone if they are not the "norm.
             In my opinion i could careless what gender you are or if you were born one gender and later wanted to be the opposite gender. i feel like people should be able to be whoever they want to and that society should just learn to accept people for who they are instead of being ignorant about these types of things. i also feel like this is somehting that should be put intot the news more often so that people can become aware and educate themselves that there are these types of other genders out there.

Stryker

In the article by Susan Stryker, I was very interested in the terms she went over.  I had no idea that there were this many terms associated with the term transgender.  The terms that I think are up for discussion the most are morphology and gender identity disorder. I do not like the term morphology because they are acting like it is a science that can be studied.  If someone decided to change their gender it is their decision and they do not have to share that with anyone.  They are technically going through puberty all over again.  We are transforming, not morphing.  When I think of morphing, I think of the Power Rangers and how they completely changed into a different animal.  People who are transgender are changing sex, not to a different animal.  Also, the term gender identity disorder bothered me because it is not a disorder, it is a stray from the norm again, by a person's choice.  It is not medically embedded in the brain to change and be different.  It is a choice.  This is a very touchy subject with many people and not a lot of people are willing to discuss this topic. 

Leslie Walter

She's Madonna

“She’s Madonna” by Robbie Williams is a song about how no man could say no to Madonna. He got the idea from one of Guy Ritchie’s experiences. Famous movie director Guy Ritchie—Snatch, Rock n Rolla, and Lock Stock and two Smoking Barrels—apparently left a former girlfriend for Madonna and told his girlfriend, “I love you baby but face it she’s Madonna.” Madonna and Guy Ritchie divorced in 2008. Regardless, after knowing a little history about the song, the video is what interests me. Robbie Williams is dressed as a drag-queen in the beginning, changes out of his “outfit”, and then performs the song in front of an audience of drag-queens. According to Susan Stryker, a drag queen is a male cross dresser (17-18). I looked online for the purpose of the video and how it relates to the song, but had no luck. The lyrics suggest that not only a male gendered individual understands that Madonna is divine, but a female must understand that as well. The video seems to illustrate that nobody could resist Madonna, even someone that is outside of the normal male and female gender boundary. Thus, in a sense, the video is conveying a larger message, that regardless of what gender someone is or chooses to adopt and the way they orient their sexuality, they could not resist the goddess-like Madonna.  This is my interpretation, and if anyone else actually takes the time to watch this video, I am very interested in your interpretation.

Domalski

Response to "The R Word and Culture"

Words are only abstractions.  More important are the feelings behind them.   Retard is no worse than idiot because no words are "bad" to begin with.  It's silly to think of words as Thou-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.   How do we determine the speaker's intent?  Context and expression.

Becoming Chaz: Female to Male Transition

A couple months ago, I watched Chaz Bono's documentary on his transition from female to male (he was born Chastity Bono, daughter of the late Sonny Bono and his mother is Cher). What I liked about this is the fact that the cameras didn't avoid the difficult surgeries and recovery process Chaz had, or the stress that this change placed on him and his girlfriend (she said that overall he is the same person, but she noticed Chaz was more short-tempered than he was prior to the operation).

Something else that caught my attention was Chaz’s advocacy for young children who feel trapped in the wrong bodies. There is a part of the documentary where he visits a young girl who felt she was a boy, was heartbreaking and hopeful at the same time. Adolescence will probably be tough for this child, but it’s great that she has someone like Chaz as a support system. Chaz said that he has hated his body since puberty, so I found it both interesting and moving to watch him finally become comfortable in his own skin, even though he knew there would be talk in the media and people who would not understand why he wanted to go through with this.

- Josh Steffen

Transgender

For today's class we read an article about transgender people. Inside the article it gave different definitions to different words. i thought this was a very interesting article and subject because yes before this class i have heard of a transgender and i knew what it meant but i didnt know that all the terms that were mentioned within the artcile meant different things. this is very relevant to today's world because there are transgenders in our soceity and not alot of people know about that kind of sex. i really liked looking at the pictures of the girl who turned herself into a guy because he looked so much like a guy and didnt really resemble a girl at all and its kind of amazing that we have this kind of technology available to people.

Transgenders in Recent News

I know we haven't really talked all that much about the transgender topic yet but I have recently read articles on transgender individuals in the news that I think our class would like to know about. 


The first article I read relates to the question brought up in class today on transgender twins. They are identical twin girls from China who are in the process of gender reassignment surgery to become men.  They will be the first transgender twins in China when they have the surgery. I think that their case is interesting because both twins are changing gender. The article also mentions other twins where one of them changes genders. 


The second article is about a Jenna Talackova, a transgender woman, who was kicked out of the Miss Universe pageant. The rational behind that decision was that the pageant rules state that contestants must be naturally born females. Apparently there were suspicions that she wasn't a born female and someone asked her about it, she admitted freely that she had been born a male. Obviously when she was kicked out there was a pretty big uproar from the LGBT community as well as others. She has since been let back into the pageant but she hasn't said if she will compete now.  When I read the articles about this issue I was pretty mad that they had disqualified her. I can't help thinking that it might have been one of the other contestants who originally brought up the idea that she wasn't a born female. This might be unfair of me to say of them, but if you look at the pictures of her you would never guess and watch the video at the end of the article at the time she is on, even her voice wouldn't give her away. Donald Trump, the owner of the pageant hasn't specifically addressed the issue of whether the rules will be changed to allow transgender women to compete. 


What are everyone's thoughts on these articles?


Article on the Chinese Twins click here


Article/Pictures on Jenna Talackova click here


Article 2 on Jenna Talackova click here

Article 3 on Jenna Talackova click here

Response to Sarah's "Pay to be Gay" Post

I think you brought up a really interesting question. I think that if a straight actor can accurately and justly portray a gay person, then I see nothing wrong with having them in that role. This made me think of how Cher successfully portrayed a lesbian character in the 1983 movie Silkwood. Even though she is straight, her performance was believable to me. The director insisted she wear no makeup, so she was more understated than she usually is. With that said, I think a straight person can portray someone who is gay if they can do it well.

- Josh Steffen

Touching Upon the Intersex

Today we briefly touched upon the issues regarding intersex children. Sarah raised the question of whether or not the medical world should be sensitive to the issues and movement that the intersex community is involved in.     I watched a documentary today in another class regarding intersex babies and whether or not surgery should be performed on them. The film featured a surgeon who performs sex reassignment surgeries on intersex infants. He took the position of the surgery being required for infants with ambiguous genitals before the age of 15 months. He reasoned that parents of intersex children without the "corrective" surgery have trouble bonding and caring for their baby when the genitalia are ambiguous. He said that it was for the sake of the comfort of the parents more or less. I know that I am not a parent, but I would not be so uncomfortable with my intersex baby that I would rush into life altering surgeries. More research has to be done (I am NOT blaming parents for this phenomenon) and doctors need to be less hasty about doing such operations. I also watched a documentary about a woman with CAH who never had the clitoris reducting surgery and was very happy with it, she never once has regretted it. She is a healthy, well rounded woman and very comfortable with her sexuality. This is almost never the case of infants who have had the surgery. Most grow up not comfortable in their own skin, especially their genitalia. The results vary, but almost all the intersex who had surgery grow up having very negative thoughts and what happened to them and their bodies. I think for this reason, if nothing else, these surgeries should be delayed until that intersex individual can make that decision for themselves.

Erin Pattridge

All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players- Shakespeare

All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players- Shakespeare

           After reading the Stryker essay today and some of the blog posts it really accord to me how much people are just merely acting a certain type of gender. What defines a women/man? I believe is a purely social status. We have conformed to what our society see us as. I had the opportunity to go to the Vagina Monologs this semester. It is so clear how much they relate to the topic of what constitutes a women or a man. Also I am an education major and I am proud to say that what defines a man and a woman are changing. Let me tell you of an example: Every classroom (early childhood) has a dramatic play area. In my classroom for one of my field experience the dramatic play is dress-up. In my classroom the dramatic play dress-up is not just reserved for girls. Some of the clothing for the children to pick fire fighters, construction workers, fish (and other animals), dresses and other assortment of clothing. The teachers in that school are teaching the children that it is OK for a boy to be more feminine and to wear a dress and it is OK for a girl to be masculine and where a fireman’s uniform. And it is perfectly OK to be a fish wearing a dress with a construction hat. It is ok to be whom or whatever you feel you need to be, because in the end we are all just faking it till we make it!

 -Sarah Fiorella