In this week’s two readings, I found them to be extremely interesting and it really broadened my views on sexual assignment, gender, sexism, and feminism. In the first article, “Sex and Gender 101” by author Kyl Myers, it breaks down biological sex and social and cultural imposed gender norms to its bare bone basics so it is easy for readers to understand terms that are sometimes more complicated and/or sensitive. In the second piece, “Feminism is for Everybody” by Bell Hooks, it dives deep into the definition of sexism and feminism and many misunderstandings and prejudices created by society and cultures. 

In the first article, “Sex and Gender 101” by Kyl Myers, I was exposed to a lot of new knowledge and terminologies. The article went into deep explanation about terms such as gender identity, gender expression, gender assignment and how they differentiate from sexual assignment. While reading the article, Kyl Myers made sure to emphasize each of the different categories and how they are unique from one another. For example, Kyl Myers says sexual assignment and gender are different as sexual assignment is what an individual’s sexuality is scientifically at birth. This is solely based on the sexual organ of the child. Gender, on the other hand, is something that is given to individuals by society and culture. Gender is meant to be fluid and is a human man construct. I also learned that gender, throughout history, has changed countless times therefore it is flexible and not set in stone. After reading “Sex and Gender 101,” I was extremely overwhelmed. I was happy that I was learning a lot of new terms and it was great exposure to a topic that I wasn’t familiar with, however, it was really quite a handful and I had to go through the reading multiple times. Nevertheless, I gained a lot of new knowledge and ultimately I was glad I was learning. Society assigns us a gender and it is okay for us to break through ‘the norm.’ We should all express ourselves in whichever way we feel is right as there is no right or wrong when it comes to gender. Society has a lot of answers, but it doesn’t hold all the answers. Sometimes, we have to make our own truths. 

In our second article, “Feminism is for Everybody” by Bell Hooks, Bell Hooks dives deep into the meaning of feminism and sexism. As many people, me included, seemed to always get the definition of feminism and sexism intertwined and mixed up. In the article, Bell Hooks said “Most men find it difficult to be patriarchs…But they fear letting go of the benefits.” I, personally, don’t see myself in that light, however, I am sure there are many others that fit into that model. Because of this mentality, women have been passively marginalized and end up not getting what they deserve. My main takeaway from this article is when Bell Hooks writes “We can share the simple yet powerful message that feminism is a movement to end sex- ist oppression.” This line was a very powerful line for me as it basically summed up the whole article for me. We can change this current situation if we all can start out with a common and simple starting point. We can work together and solve the issues of feminism and sexism.