Gender Identity

          Many people believe the terms “gender” and “sex” are identical, because in society we typically identify our gender with our sex. However, sex is a completely biological component of our bodies, our gender can be identified on a continuum of traits and behaviors that define us as very masculine, very feminine, or anywhere in between, but our gender identity doesn’t have to be directly related to our sex.

           If you were to take a look around you when you are surrounded by multitude of diverse people, you may be able to see how people fall on this gender identity continuum. Masculine people are described as having short hair, being tough, dressing in pants, and typically being athletically built. On the other hand, very feminine people are seen as wearing pink, dresses and makeup, having their hair done and always keeping themselves nicely groomed. These two descriptions are entirely different, but sometimes people can fall into somewhere in the middle. As for me, I definitely fall on the feminine side of the spectrum. I rarely go out into public without having makeup on or doing my hair, I love dressing up for special occasions, I have long hair, and I LOVE pink, monograms, and anything Lilly (yes, I’m basic, sorry about it). But on the other hand, I played sports all throughout high school, I love watching football, and you can usually catch me wearing tennis shoes and running shorts on campus.

            Before I could even walk, my parents dressed me up in dresses and cute bows and my bedroom was decked out in pink and flowers. But once I was old enough to pick out my own clothes and dress myself, I chose to wear t-shirts and boy shorts to elementary school almost every day; you could never catch me in a skirt or dress. It was never that I questioned being a girl, I just decided I was more comfortable wearing those clothes. The most important part was that my parents never stopped me from dressing like this and wanting to play sports with the boys in the neighborhood. Eventually, I grew out of this phase and now I embrace the idea and aspects of “femininity”.

            Even during this phase, none of my peers or classmates really picked on me for dressing like I did. However, I can only imagine the chaos that would occur if one of the boys in my classroom decided to come to school in girls clothes everyday. I think, as a sex, men definitely suffer the most for behaving like the opposite sex. Men are viewed as more powerful, dominant, and stronger than women in society, so when we see a man dressing or acting like a woman, it is almost as if he is degrading the characteristics he was given to be successful in life.

            No matter how we identify ourselves, we are usually quick to judge someone who is the same sex as us, but does not identify themselves as we do. The girls I am friends with here at UNG dress and act almost exactly like me, so when we see another girl who falls more on the masculine end of the spectrum, it is a little puzzling. For example, my new manager at work has a short boy cut, never wears make up, and is always wearing jeans and a men’s shirt. When I first met her, I was confused and avoided her because I wasn’t sure how to even talk to her; turns out, she’s one of the most sensitive and caring women I’ve ever met.

            Gender identity is an extremely important aspect of our lives and how we interact with one another, and it can be found throughout the world. According to Gender Spectrum Organization, “Gender variance is a normal part of human expression, documented across cultures and recorded history... Examples of individuals living comfortably outside of typical male/female identities are found in every region of the globe”. It is important to keep all of this in mind while teaching in the classroom, because we will encounter a variety of students who wish, and have the right, to identify themselves however they are comfortable.

https://www.genderspectrum.org/understanding-gender

Gender

As a whole, gender defines us as human beings. From the moment it is possible to know, before children are even born, people always seem to ask pregnant women the same question: “Is it a boy or a girl?” As if these two words define exactly who the baby will be in life, and quite frankly, it does. Girls wear pink dresses, play with Barbie dolls, have long hair, wear makeup, bare stronger emotions, while boys play outside in the dirt, work hard, keep their hair short, and are expected to be tough. In society, boys are girls are almost polar opposites because of these characteristics that we have defined based upon gender.

As many articles and news stories have proved, raising a child in a “genderless” environment is seen as absurd, unhealthy, and socially unjust. Which in some cases, I can see how it is. For example, one Canadian couple named their baby “Storm”, a gender neutral name, and is dressed in boys and girls clothing. However, they refuse to reveal the sex of the baby at all, which is extreme. Sex defines a human being biologically and physically, which pushes a different boundary of identifying yourself.

But overall, I believe raising a child as gender neutral gives the child more freedom to decide exactly who he/she wants to be. The only problem is, no matter how someone decides to raise their children as genderless or not, our world is already conformed to the differentialities and expectations of being defined as male or female. It’s something we cannot fight in this society.

However, simply giving a child the chance to decide who they want to be is the best thing you can give them. We should teach children that they do not have to be defined by society norms, and that they can be whoever they wish to be. Especially as educators we should support children’s decisions, whether the boys want to play with baby dolls or girls want to play basketball with the boys at recess. 

Privileges

The term “privilege” refers to a very broad topic that can be interpreted in many ways. To me, privilege is defined as an advantage or physical thing we receive, that we have not rightfully earned or asked for. Most of the time, we are unaware of the privileges we receive, however, others who may not receive them can see that we have an advantage over them. This is especially true in the topic of race, gender, orientation, and economic or class standing.

Almost everyday we experience privileges as we go about our daily routine, and we hardly ever realize it. For example, as a white American, I can turn on the TV and find characters that are of my race and are not stereotyped or misrepresented. Also, and most commonly, people do not make assumptions of my financial state, job performance, or actions in general based upon my race. I have been working in retail for almost two years now, and I can honestly say that I am guilty of automatically judging a customer based on their race, although I was never aware of it until we began discussing “white privilege” in this class. Most of the time, if a group of young African American women walk in our store, my managers and fellow associates know to look out for them as they shop. However, this does not apply when an average white family enters the store. And why is this? White privilege.

Every day, I, and most other white individuals, benefit from white privilege in some way. And in the classroom, it is especially important to avoid these types of biases when teaching a class that includes a diverse amount of students. It is our responsibility as educators to provide students with equal opportunities that otherwise, they may not receive outside of the classroom. Therefore, I must welcome each student with open arms, and despite their skin color, religion, economic background, or home life, offer them the resources they need to succeed and gain the highest level of education possible. 

Racism in the Classroom

Race is an international topic that affects every individual throughout the world. In today’s society, and through almost all of time, our race defines us as an individual. Whether we know a person or not, we typically judge their social, political, and economic standings based upon their race. And although many of us deny that we participate in forms of racism, we unfortunately do unconsciously. Racism is not simply defined by verbally or physically being mean to another race, it also includes the unconscious thoughts and actions we take when involved with someone of another race in everyday situations.

I believe that it is incredibly important to discuss issues that have racial dimensions, because if we do not, what difference will we make? In the United States, we have been discussing and battling the topic of racism since our founding fathers landed on the shores. And despite the advancements we have made since then involving racism, there are still many situations that involve racial dimensions. For example, the incidents revolving around the young black man who was shot by a white police officer in the streets of Ferguson, Missouri earlier this month have circulated completely around the idea that racism was involved. Whether the crime made against the young black man was legitimately a racist action, this event has caused an emotional uproar across the country. Therefore, it is important to discuss events like this in order to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Educators play a key role in fostering productive examination of these types of issues that are seen to be influence by race or ethnicity. At an early age, we must teach students about the events that are happening in our world, but also incorporate why they are wrong and what they can do to fix it. Many young students and children do not see race as we do as adults; they see someone as black or white or different from them, however, they do not see that individual as any different on the inside. Therefore, while teaching children at this young age, we must feed this thought process they have by encouraging them to examine racial incidents and decide how they can have an impact on society as they grow up.

Although it consumes our daily lives, race tends to be a hard issue to discuss, especially in the classroom. Teachers do not want to offend a student or say the wrong thing. However, using current events, like the Ferguson example, is an easy way to arouse a conversation regarding race. If students can physically see racism in action, it is easier for them to form their own opinion and discuss how it makes them feel. Encouraging students to discuss their own experiences with racism is also a good way to initiate a conversation.

Racism is a subject that will never just disappear. However, it is a very important subject that must be tackled within the classroom in order to teach students the true depths of racism, how it has changed over time, and how they can have an impact on it throughout their lives.