Peer responses:
You need to respond to at least 2 classmates’ posts.
Responses need to be substantive; responses under 2 sentences will not be considered substantive. Responses should be thorough, explanatory, offer some sort of new insight or reasoning, or offer critical or analytical thought and should be in full sentences.
Additional notes:
You can use pictures, graphs, pie charts, etc. in your answers, but not for your answers.
Always support your opinions with scholastic sources.
When you use outside material, please use in-text citations and give references at the end of your post in APA format. Otherwise, it is termed as Plagiarism.
Plagiarism is a critical offense according to Galen policies. Your answers should not be simple ‘copy and paste’ from an outside source. In such instances, even though you give references, they will not be considered your answers. The first time I spot plagiarism, you will be given a zero with a warning. The 2nd time will be a write-up. Please be careful about plagiarism.
1st peer:
Kerrie Miller
Chapter 12 Question 3: pick a celebrity who does not fit the strict binary system of begging a man or woman. Then, use concepts such as gender dysphoria, homophobia, and transphobia to discuss the struggles faced by the celebrity. How did researching the famous figure enhance your understanding of gender identities?
A celebrity that does not fit the strict binary system is Caitlyn Jenner. Born a male in 1949, then transitioning to a female in 2015. Caitlyn had six biological children conceived while he was still a male. He had three marriages, his most recent being Kris Jenner. Some believe that Caitlyn has gender dysphoria, a condition where an individual feels they were not born with the correct gender and think they should be the opposite gender. When Caitlyn came out in 2015, she was accepted or hated for her decision. Many supported her, and some openly hated her for being homosexual. Homophobia is an extreme hatred for homosexuals, often irrational or rooted in deep religious beliefs. Like homophobia, transphobia is a substantial prejudice against transgender people, again tied to personal beliefs. Caitlyn suffered a lot of backlashes since she lived a very public life on the Keeping Up the Kardiasns tv show. Since she was in the spotlight, her struggles were broadcasted to the whole world. She even had her show called I Am Cait, where she shared her transition from male to female. Also, many of her family members were interviewed about what it was like to have a parent transition from male to female. There seemed to be opposites between those who supported her and those who disagreed with her decision. With Caitlyn being in the spotlight during this critical time in her life, I understood her better with my research. I felt terrible for all the hatred and slander it brought her and her family. I think being in the spotlight most likely caused a lot of emotional damage to her. It’s essential to learn about and have empathy for those struggling with gender identity.
2nd peer:
Sarah Shugan
Pick a celebrity who does not fit the strict binary system of being a man or a woman. Then, use concepts such as gender dysphoria, homophobia, and transphobia to discuss the struggles faced by the celebrity. How did researching the famous figure enhance your own understanding of gender identities? (CSLO 5, USLO 6.5)
The celebrity I chose is Jonathan Van Ness, who is a hair stylist and best known as a television personality from the rebooted “Queer eye” show on Netflix. Van Ness self identifies as nonbinary and goes by he/him, she/her and they/them, depending on how he is feeling that day, according to him, and can be seen dressed in anything from pants and a hoodie to a gorgeous ball gown and platform heels, all while sporting his long mane of hair and thick mustache. This is a person who is authentically himself and does not fit into any strict binary system. In his book, “Love that story: Observations from a gorgeously queer life,” Van Ness talks about the struggles he faced as never feeling that he identified as fully male or female but not having the words or the space to understand what that meant., he describes the difficulty he faced among other gay men of being “too feminine” and having to “masculinize” to fit in and the homophobia and transphobia even within the LGBTQIA+ community. Van Ness stated that much of how he tries to use his celebrity status is through his podcast, “Getting curious with JVN,” to speak against racism, homophobia and transphobia that are facing our country and world today. One example of this is when he spoke out against the government’s reaction to monkeypox, stating that the reaction is a result of homophobia and transphobia as the illness affected gay men (Van Ness, 2022). Learning more about Van Ness helped me understand his personal struggle, even within his own community. I have already spent a lot of time learning about gender dysphoria and gender identities as my daughter has several friends who are non-binary or identify differently that what they were biologically represented as at birth and I want to make sure that they have a safe space when they
are here and part of that is to understand it better.
3rd peer:
Abigail Carrick
How is femininity explained in the text, and how is it different from the biological sex, “female.” Using specific examples, discuss why societies perpetrate issues such as sexism, double standards, and objectification of women. (CSL
Explained in the text feminiity has absolutely nothing to do with biological sex, and everything to do with things historically associated with “girls”. Toys, clothes, colors occupations all create this feminine idea. Growing up to be “feminine” in our circles was to be sweet, kind, and quiet, always dress appropriately and not too fashion forward. Most of the women grew up to be moms with no occupation outside of the home, they did the bulk of the childcare. Like the text says, these expectations are learned from out environment and watching adults at a young age, even as young as two or three. Society continues to “perpetrate issues” from its very core. Boys and turned lose to hang out with their friends and do things unattended earlier than are because “they can take care of themselves”, instead of treating girls how to handle situations on their own. Double standards I see often with childcare, a father misses a sporting event for his child and it is because he is providing for his family but if a mother does and sends the father in her place it is not perceived the same way. These double standards and sexism issue run deep into the fabrics of our culture and society. Are they better than they once were? Absolutely, but there is still room for improvement that will take time.
