I dream of a world unlike no other: a world in waters so warm.

This image was take from: www.thebody.com/content/art31153.html

    I was raised in a home that considered male dominancy from the perspective of the male. In other words, in a home of four women and two men , where

the women were slaves for men, because that was what women were born to do. But I say “NO” that is not what we were born to so, as  a matter of fact

that does not even define who we are just  because of our bodily functions. Peggy McIntosh talked about the breaking of the male dominated pyramid

that is the society in which we live, in her essay entitled “Interactive Phases of Curricular Revision”, and I think that is a must. One issue that however,

that we  must try and avoid, would be going down the same path  as previous activist and instead of  breaking the strings that hold the pyramid together

continue along the same structured society and simply add more bricks, thus making it harder for future generations to destroy it.  But what is it really

that we  want to destroy, and what is it that we want to create?

    I’ve never really studies anything whatsoever in gender and sexuality , but having been a part of this genderized/categorized world we live in. Not to

say that categories are bad in a sense, but they are in the manner in which they are constructed in today’s day and age and have been throughout

centuries.  I would not necessarily eliminate categories however, because they create places for people to communicate and connect. They are also

historical in the sense that they are a part of individual backgrounds. Nonetheless, like other things, categories already established, leave people out.

Thus, instead of keeping categories how they are, or completely destroying them , we should find a middle ground. We should create more categories to

accommodate a broader sense of today’s reality. I mean, when one stops to think about the categories that are held closely to the functionality of today’s

society, one can see that they are made up of ancient beliefs--man, woman, femininity, and masculinity, but what are these categories, who get to decide

what they are, and what if everyone does not fit them?  New revelation have occurred and continue to occur in where people are born who do not

necessarily fit into these societal definitive categories. This is not to say that we should feel pity for these people, but that we should open our minds to

other possibilities and become optimistic and curious about the human being. Because the fact of the matter is, that we are all put on earth and therefore

must have the ability to tolerate one another. In some way or another. It is inhumane to shun others from the world and make them feel as though they are

not at par the set standards of society, because after all, what use do such standards portray if we all agreed to nullify them.

    I was once shunned from the world for being a girl who wanted an education in the east coast. My family, especially my dad, thought it to be uncommon

for a young girl to want to go so far from home alone. My father who could not see my reasoning, only saw  the “fact” that I was a girl and that terrible

things could possibly happen  to me because of course, being a girl somehow indicated that I was too naïve and immature to understand the dangers  of

moving out on my own, and that I would not be able to physically defend myself. I took this as an offense, because I could not wrap my head around the

idea that being “feminine” meant I could not do “masculine” things. Why am I at a great risk? , I found myself asking, and why is it that  just because I’m 

this woman, as the world sees fit, I have to do as the world sees fit?

    I feel as though programs such as Interdisciplinary perspectives on  Gender and Sexuality try to answer these questions and find solutions to them,

but the problem is that they are just that :programs. They are not a part of academia as other courses are, such as those in the sciences , humanities, or

social sciences. What I think gets everyone, however, is the reason behind this. Why is it that Gender and sexuality courses cannot seem to make their

way to the ‘real’ world or academics. I think that the reason, lies within the criteria that a course must full fill in order to be accepted as an accredit

able  course in academia.

The following is a checklist for academia approval:
- male dominant perspectives on all readings, writings, and trains of thought!

In other words, male dominancy in the sense that there are only men and women in this world and those who do not mold like puzzles are not considered

and women are simply inferior without a doubt.  I think that those on the top, feel as though nothing is broken so why fix it. But they are wrong. Nothing

is perfect in the world nor will it ever be, but it is up to every generation to  bring  society up to date on  the new ideas of the world. I mean we did not

get this far, by sticking to the old fashioned technology, how is it that it still manages to control other aspects of society and life. Year by year we must

change things to make it work for that moment and place in time.

    In terms of McIntosh’s essay, she was searching for ways to bring feminism to another level and induct Women’s studies into the curriculum, as were

authors such as Sherry Ortner, but like many of my fellow classmate, I  think the fight for women’s studies has long been dealt with, now it is time to

move on to bigger things. However, I must say that feminist ideas are still useful today. Women’s studies was established to give acknowledgement to a

gender that was long kept down in the dirt and never allowed to reach the levels that  the male gender was allowed to reach. Today, in the context of

gender and sexuality, women are not the only ones who not considered, but rather they are the most, compared to those who are really pushed down and

kept  from succeeding  or living a happy life. Gay, lesbian, trans- sexual, trans- gender, bi-sexual, etc, are all a part of the world we live in today, and

now it is their turn to take a crack at the pyramid.

    I have to admit this is the first course I have ever taken that has intrigued me so much and  that has taken me far beyond my comfort zone and made

me want to keep it that way. But the biggest impact I had was from Joan Roughgarden’s  Evolution’s Rainbow. The idea of being biologically diverse

really changed my views on the female and male personas. The belief that bodily functions does not deem you demeanor opened my mind to a new

beginning. Trying to explain things through popular beliefs was becoming a bit impossible in my eyes. I got to a point where my instincts would contradict

one another. I always believed that the rule was male and female bodies, and the exceptions were those that did not fit either, but now I’ve reevaluated

this and found that there are no exceptions because the rule itself is flawed. I’ve come to the conclusion that we are both biologically and culturally

diverse.

    Another book that had a powerful impact on me was  Neil Gaiman’s graphic novel The Doll’s House. I had never once opened a comic much less a graphic

novel in my entire life, and I can say that certainty. I was never that interested in them; but I have to say, this was the most amazing think I  have ever

read. I think the reason why I loved it so much was it appealed to the emotional self. The part of you that is not fact or the part that doesn’t have some

kind of ending solution. Gaiman’s The Doll’s House, allowed me to see the self, in terms of gender and sexuality, in a whole new way- through dreams. What

we dream is personal , but in Gaiman’s novel, the vortex - a woman- was created to destroy those boundaries and so the dream keeper had to destroy her

before she could destroy the meaning of dreaming as we knew it. But what would be so wrong with that , the answer: nothing would ever be different. In

keeping dreams sacred you keep individuality in all aspects individual. If we all lived in a same dream world that kept its own boundaries we would never

be able to express out true selves, because as humans we are naturally afraid of what one might say.

 "Dreaming of Activism"
Its late at night
My mind and body wonder the streets
I crave something new
It’s too late
It’s yet another morning
She says “lets go out”
We are walking down the streets
We do our  ice cream routine.

    I feel as though discussing in a class room setting can only go so far. My dream for the remainder of the syllabus, would have to be more outside

activism. We talk about making a difference and about being that difference, but what are we doing to prove that . I would really like to see us go out

and practice our beliefs and get involved. Setting up conventions could be a good idea; instead of inviting speakers to our class room maybe we could

organize such close knit environments with people from the outside world that have no clue as to what gender and sexuality studies can offer. I also think

that it would be an excellent resource to study media.

    I recently acquired a taste for Korean dramas. I fell in love with the quirky romantic themes, but I found myself skipping around the parts that I felt

were just simply wrong. Because the Korean culture is very traditional, some of the spoken dialogue, did not seem to flow with my beliefs. In one episode,

being gay was literally treated as if it was some kind of medical condition. I truly think that in discussing the media we will get an even bigger sense of

what people deem normal and proper. Thus, we can start looking at  gender and sexuality and the boundaries that remain that keep us from fully

understanding it and work at through a wider perspective.

In addition to this, I also would like to take a critical look at the following texts:

The Virginity Club by Kate Brian

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

and Kate Bornstein's My Gender Workbook: How to Become a Real Man, a Real Woman, the Real You, or Something Else Entirely

This image was take from: katebornstein.typepad.com/kate_bornsteins_blo...