Author: Brianne Waychoff

Brianne Waychoff passed away in 2022. You can read more about her at the links below: https://www.gc.cuny.edu/news/tribute-brianne-waychoff https://www.gc.cuny.edu/news/tribute-brianne-waychoff

Discussion 6

  1. Watch the YouTube clip of an interview with CeCe McDonald and Jac Gares here.
  2. Next, watch one of the three films recommended here.
  3. In your post, tell us which film you watched and how/if it helped you understand the reading more clearly. What does this film teach you about privilege and the intersections of gender, race, and sexuality with media bias and the criminal justice system? In other words, how does the gender, race, and sexuality of a person affect how they are treated in the criminal justice system and presented in the media. Responses due Thursday, June 18 at 11:59 pm.

Intercultural Communication Needs Trans Studies – due June 18 by 11:59 pm

I assign this reading every semester. However, it takes on particular gravity right now given the global response and protests to the killing of black people by law enforcement. Particularly, in recent days, we have seen a 15,000 member protest in Brooklyn in support of black trans lives. And yesterday, the supreme court made a landmark ruling that will change the way LGBTQ+ people live and work. The highest court in the country ruled that the Civil Rights Law of 1965 protects LGBT workers.

This reading is different from the readings you have had up until this point as it is not from a textbook. This reading is written more like a scholarly article. It is your only reading for the next due date so please take your time with it and read it more than once if you need to. I usually spend time discussing it at length in class. So feel free to ask questions on the discussion forum.

This reading looks at the intersections of the criminal “justice” system with race, gender, sex, and sexuality. To help guide this reading, I will suggest some terms to note, questions to ask yourself, and a video and film recommendations.  First, these are the terms you should understand and be able to explain upon completing this reading:

trans*

morphology

cisprivilege

cissexism

transphobia

intersectionality

Here are some questions to ponder before, during, and after reading:

  • How does Johnson define “transgender” in this essay, and why does she argue that her definition is problematic? What term does Johnson ultimately settle on using for the purposes of this essay and why?
  • How does Johnson define “cissexual” and “cisgender” and why does she argue that those definitions are significant? How does CeCe McDonalds’s case connect to definitions of cisgender? Of Cissesexual?
  • According to Johnson, how does the intersection of race, gender, and sexuality impact McDonald’s life and, in particular, this case against her?
  • In this essay, Johnson argues that intercultural communication “is enhanced by attending to concepts such as cisgenderism, cisprivilege, and cissexism.” Although Johnson is speaking specifically to her own field, to what extent could her argument be applied to your own field of study? Consider the way in which gender and sexuality are perceived in your own discipline. For instance, would a trans*- individual be able to openly secure a job in your field? Why or why not?

MEDIA

I usually show the film, Free CeCe in class. It is a beautiful documentary about the case discussed in the reading. However, it is owned but the highly proprietary Amazon, so it wasn’t possible for me to find a free version for you. And I don’t want to require you to pay anything. Thus, I would like everyone to watch this youtube interview with CeCeMc Donald on YouTube. It is less than 40 minutes.

I would also like you to watch one additional full-length film chosen from those below. Please note that the content is about police violence. I have chosen films that do not show the actual videos, but there may be language and content that is not appropriate for all. Please be aware of this before watching. All of these films deal with media bias, the criminal justice system, and race, gender, and sexuality.

  • Free CeCe: If you have access to amazon prime, it is included with Prime Video. If you don’t have access to an Amazon Prime Video account, you can rent it on Amazon Prime for $1.99. You can also watch it on Vimeo, rentals are 4.99 for 24 hours or you can purchase for 6.99 to stream and download anytime. PLEASE DO NOT FEEL OBLIGATED TO PAY TO WATCH.
  • If you have access to Netflix, and alternative film to watch would be The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson. Marsha was a trans woman of color, one of two along with Sylvia Rivera credited with starting the riots at Stonewall in the West Village in 1969 that led to the Gay Liberation Movement. You can see that her treatment 50 years ago isn’t all that different from CeCe’s treatment.
  • Everyone should have access to Kanopy via the BMCC library. You can contact the library if you need help logging in. Out in the Night is described as follows “Under the neon lights in a gay-friendly neighborhood of New York City, four young African-American lesbians are violently and sexually threatened by a man on the street. They defend themselves against him and are charged and convicted in the courts and in the media as a ‘Gang of Killer Lesbians’.” One of the women in the film is a BMCC alum. You can also buy or rent it on YouTube.

You should also complete discussion 5 replies, write discussion 6 (a prompt will be posted shortly), and complete reading journal 5 reflecting.

Gender Identity Draft Feedback is Available

Gender Identity Draft Feedback has been posted as a private comment on your draft post. Please reach out if you have any questions and/or if you would like to set up a time to discuss your paper. You are also welcome to stop by my office hours on Tuesdays from 10-12 on zoom.  I am available at other times if you make an appointment.

About the feedback: I primarily gave you feedback on the content of your paper and the ideas you used. I did not copy-edit your papers. That is, I didn’t give you corrections for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and I didn’t restructure your sentences. I have found that leaving those marks on papers doesn’t actually help you learn how to fix the problems. I am happy to go through your draft with you, via zoom is best because I can share my screen. We can talk through line by line if you wish.

You can also make an appointment with the BMCC Writing Center to get one-on-one help with your revision. This is an amazing resource! If I had this available to me for my own writing I would take full advantage. To make the most of your appointment with the writing center have the assignment description, my feedback, and your draft with you. Instructions for making an appointment are available here.

A few general reminders for EVERYONE about this paper:

  • Your draft should include personal anecdotes. The more specific and detailed you can be in telling your stories, the more clearly the reader can see how the theories you are referencing apply.
  • REFERENCE THEORIES, also called concepts, from the course. To do this you MUST define the terms and reference the reading you got the information from class. You can do this by quoting from the texts or paraphrasing. If you need help understanding the difference, this handout and this page are helpful and the writing center can help you. You should use proper MLA citations. All of the readings and sources that have been assigned have MLA citations at the end of the course schedule.
  • NO OUTSIDE SOURCES. This paper is to gauge your understanding of what you are learning in the course. Some of you referenced an inspirational quote or two, and that is OK, but do not use outside sources to define and apply your terms.
  • Your paper should be 750-100 words. No more, no less.

Guidelines: Gender Identity Project

For this personal reflection essay you will apply course readings and discussions to identify and examine the social construction of your own unique gender identity. Remember, that there is not one gendered experience; rather gender is influenced by race, social class, and other identity categories. Include specific gender stories, observations, and concrete descriptions of your own experiences to demonstrate what you have learned regarding how gender is constructed, and how that construction influences your worldview and expectations.

In addition to including personal stories or anecdotes, you will theorize your experience by applying a minimum of 3 relevant concepts from the course.  Be sure to define your terms, rather than just name-drop.  Write a coherent personal reflection essay that features your voice, not just a list of concept applications.  Creativity is encouraged. No external references are required. 

You will be asked to share your essays with our learning community. If your essay includes sensitive material you do not wish to share first consider if it is necessary to include in your paper. If you decide it is, please make your post private. Private posts will not receive feedback from classmates because they will be hidden.

Use proper MLA formatting and edit your paper to be free of writing errors. It should be 750 – 1000 words and posted to OpenLab on time. To submit your Gender Identity Paper,  go to the plus sign at the top of the site > type a title* and type the body of your post > choose the category “Gender Identity Project Draft” on the right > publish.

*Please use the title format “[FirstName] [LastName] Gender Identity Project Draft” 

Check out some examples from previous semesters.

Announcement: Work due Monday 6/15 at 11:59 pm

As noted in my email to you all yesterday, feedback on your Gender Identity Drafts is taking longer than I anticipated given my unexpected assignment to the BMCC presidential search committee. I hope to get all of you thorough and useful feedback before our next work due date. Thank you for understanding.

With the next two readings, we move from looking at individual gender development to looking at institutional communication regarding gender. Of course, we have been looking at both the entire time, but now instead of talking mostly about our experiences, we are going to try to also think about those of others. And they are never completely separate because individuals make up institutions. We separate them to study them, but in reality, they affect one another.

For the next due date, these are the tasks to complete:

Guidelines: Discussion 5

Watch the two videos in the course schedule. I have also included them below.

In your discussion post, first, reflect on the privileges (as defined in the readings/video) you experience and how they impact your lived experience. Next, share an experience you have had with microaggressions. After you reflect on both the ways you have experience systemic privilege and microaggressions, reflect on what you can do differently to use your privilege in service of others, and reduce microaggressions.

For example, I experience white privilege. This gives me access to all sorts of things – more safety than people of color, access to loans and credit, the ability to walk through a store and not be followed. I have also experienced microaggressions because I am a woman – when I have been in leadership positions I have been called a “bitch” for enforcing guidelines that men have enforced before me and people just followed. One way I use my white privilege in service is of others is when I have been at Black Lives Matter protests and white people are asked to come to the front because our bodies are less likely to be brutalized by police. I put my body between those of my black comrades and the police to serve as a barrier or obstacle. This is just a brief example – you can expand in yours and give more details and multiple examples.

RESPONSE GUIDELINES: GENDER IDENTITY DRAFT

You will not respond to three as you normally would in a discussion. This is how we will respond.

  • If your first name begins with A through L, read and respond to ALL of the Gender Identity Drafts of those who have names that begin M through Z.
  • If your first name begins with M through Z, read and respond to ALL of the Gender Identity Drafts of those who have names that begin A through L.
  •  Do this by Thursday, 6/11 at 11:59 pm.

How do you find them? Use the “Learner Writing, Etc.” drop-down menu on the right-hand side to select their name. The Gender Identity Draft will most likely be at the top. If it isn’t, scroll through and you will find it.

Your responses should be about the paper and what they did well. Please also note an area that you would like to see them expand or make clearer.

Guidelines: Discussion 4

There are two parts to this discussion.

  1. Reflect on the “Identity Terms” reading. What terms do you use to describe yourself and why? They may or may not be included in the reading.
  2. Choose ONE of the theories in the “Feminist Philosophy of Language” reading in the “Critical work on language and philosophy of language” section. Find a CONCRETE example of the theory that is not provided in the reading. Share it with us and explain the theory and how it demonstrates it. Your example can be written. It can also be in the form of a meme or video. But you should write your analysis.

NOTE: This discussion asks you to respond to the readings. Usually, discussions provide other media to respond to. You should still do write your reading journal entry, and try to cover issues other than the two asked about here.

Announcement 6/9 – Responding to Gender Identity Drafts

Thank you for those of you who posted your Gender Identity Project. If you didn’t post yours, please do so ASAP. For this period, ending Thursday 6/11 at 11:59 pm, you should complete the following:

  1. Respond to Gender Identity Drafts following the criteria below
  2. Complete the two readings posted in the schedule. “Identity Terms is a PDF” and “Feminist Philosophy of Language” takes you to a website.
  3. Post your discussion 4 post (remember to future-date for 6/11 23:59)
  4. All of these are due at 11:59 pm on Thursday 6/11.

GENDER IDENTITY DRAFT RESPONSE GUIDELINES

You will not respond to three as you normally would in a discussion. This is how we will respond.

  • If your first name begins with A through L, read and respond to ALL of the Gender Identity Drafts of those who have names that begin M through Z.
  • If your first name begins with M through Z, read and respond to ALL of the Gender Identity Drafts of those who have names that begin A through L.
  •  Do this by Thursday, 6/11 at 11:59 pm.

How do you find them? Use the “Learner Writing, Etc.” drop-down menu on the right-hand side to select their name. The Gender Identity Draft will most likely be at the top. If it isn’t, scroll through and you will find it.

Your responses should be about the paper and what they did well. Please also note an area that you would like to see them expand or make clearer.

Gender Identity Drafts!

Thank you for your writing over the last week and a half. I will provide more comments over the weekend as I read further. I also will provide some further explanation of the readings. I want to shout out Stephany’s journal post. I think she did a good job of summarizing what I think is most important from the readings. That doesn’t mean the rest of you didn’t, but you might check out her post because it’s a good example.

For this coming Monday 6/8 by 11:59 pm, there is no reading and no journal or discussion post. Instead, you will share your Gender Identity draft and comment on at least THREE of the posts made by your peers in discussion 3. Please note: comments are required for discussions, but optional for journals.

There are details and samples for your Gender Identity Project on our site. Please review them carefully. Also, note that so long as your draft meets the length requirements and references three course concepts, you will receive full credit. I will give you feedback for you to revise that draft and include the revised paper in your final portfolio. To post your draft start it as you would any other post. Choose the category “Gender Identity Project” and use the title convention “FirstName LastName Gender Identity DRAFT”