Blog 1

1A. “Gender identity—the sense of self—is stronger than the body, and will find a way to manifest itself” () Walking along a sidewalk during rush hour one is likely to come across various individuals whom from mere appearance may appear “normal” or heterosexuals even though some probably have different sexual preferences that one will only become aware of by getting to know that person. For example, while in high school I befriended a guy who behaved like a heterosexual person. He was very masculine and dated girls. As I got to know him better and the years passed I noticed that he liked being around girls mostly and do their hair and make-up. While I didn’t think much about it at that time, many times I found myself wondering if he was gay or straight only to find out years later that he was gay. He hasn’t come out of the closet yet but on day he said to me while talking about his family knowledge of his sexual preference, “I think is quite obvious through my actions that I’m gay, but is they don’t ask I won’t tell them and if they ask I’ll be honest.” Clearly, my friend’s sense of self was stronger than his actions because even though he attempted to act like a straight man throughout his adolescence, his true self always exposed his true sexual orientation.
1B. “In western culture men predominate in positions of power and authority. And as mention on the book these is reinforce trough culture, media, and religions” (Lorber). A perfect example is man’s predominance in the work place. For instance, while working at a middle school I was partnered with a middle aged man to help troubled students stay in school and even thought I had very little experience compare to him filling out paperwork and carrying on meetings with the students, I was able to learn fast and perform equally if not better than my partner. Threaten by my achievements and the students liking for me, he became bossy and arrogant and credited the success of the program to himself even though this was far from being the case. I was practically at the school every day, did most of the paperwork, and worked with most of the students. Yet, my labor went unnoticed by him because of my age, gender, and ethnicity. I was the youngest Latina female in that school that was running a program practically on my own. This did not set well with my partner to the extent that he approached my supervisor with lies in an attempt to get me fired. Not someone to walk with “my tail under my feet” I defended myself from my partner’s accusations and resigned. I was a young woman fighting against two men, my partner and boss, so my chances of convincing the later of my innocence was slim due to my low placed in the latter of power and authority.
1B. “Gender is a system of symbols and meaning-and the rules, privileges, and punishments pertaining to their use-for power and sexuality,” (Wilchins).A good example of this is Mexican culture where men and women are treated differently. Women roles are to be home and take care of the family’s needs. The male is the provider of the home he only brings the money. And gay man don’t exist they are harassed and beaten by other males because they represent a threat to society. Mexican culture is highly influence by Catholic Religion there is no room for undefined gender. You are either a man or a women and that’s it. -Unfinished