Author: Megan M. Ramdin

• I’ve always adapted to a mentality that “everyone has a different perspective and judgment on certain issues”, the information I retained from this class was very informational and plan to use it in my critical thinking process when evaluating controversial discussion throughout my life. My perspective changed immensely from the first discussion to the very last. The readings provided throughout the course were intense. When the class first began, I never thought that I would be able to grasp the information I was reading. But with the feedback of others helped, sharing their personal insight on the forum from a completely different perspective.
• This Gender Women Studies class has not only been overwhelming but informational. I definitely accomplished a lot throughout my 2 years at BMCC, but this class has definitely left an impact on me. Not only by time management but through the topics that were assigned. I’ve definitely known we can pursue anything you want, once you motivate yourself. Also, society will judge you as much as you want but you need to be true to yourself and stand out no matter what.
• The format of this class was definitely challenging but it was definitely motivating. The time frames within assignments were acceptable. Personally, I like to get my work done before it’s actually due. The assignments due dates were back to back so I didn’t procrastinate, I got right to business once I finished. Thank you professor for this wonderful experience.

• Artifact for analysis is the 2017 Netflix Original show “13 Reasons Why”.
• My main focus will be on all 4 seasons on how the bullying/harassment throughout the season has improved throughout the seasons.
• Three concepts I learned throughout the semester to apply to my project will be:

1. Gender expression
2. Gender Stereotypes / Masculinity
3. Socialization

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSOZxHcCXTE 

(I provided a video for better visualization. )

• Gender expression is how an individual shows their identity whether its clothing, hairstyle, makeup, etc. In season 2, episode 3 “The Drunk Slut”, demonstrates how Hannah Baker was going through an emotional response due to a tragedy and she didn’t want her hair to no longer solely to represent her image. Hannah’s haircut was impacting because it was a new year, she wanted a fresh start with herself.
• Gender stereotypes are beliefs about how males and females differ in personality traits, interests, and behaviors. Throughout the seasons, the boy’s baseball team are the jocks of the school. Unlike traditional gender stereotypes whereby boys are expected to be tough and masculine, we get to see a new side into the lives of teenagers through Clay. He is not the kind of person who impresses girls with fistfights or showing off. He stands up for what is right due to his sensitivity and compassion, facets that are never encouraged in boys in a society where gender is strictly treated as a binary. We need to stop placing boys into a box that keeps them “tough, insensitive, and violent” to prove their manhood. We also need to keep girls out of the box that reduces their bodies into objects.
• Socialization is the process of learning to behave in a way that is acceptable in society. In the show, socialization plays a big role. The group of friends always has each other backs but sometimes out casters influence their behavior based on gossip.
• These concepts show a correlation to the show “13 Reason Why” because it illustrates the life of a teenage student. Being a teenager can be the toughest stage of life in knowing who you are or want to become. Hannah Baker was a new student at Liberty High school, she was hoping to start a new life and make new friends. She was a beautiful young girl who was traumatized from an experience and these concepts will help me portray in my project.

• The film that I watched was “The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson” by David France. Marsha Johnson was an African American transgender activist who played an important aspect in the gay rights movement. While watching the documentary her body was found in the Hudson River and the police conveyed her death as a “suicide”, but many suspected she was murdered. A woman names Victoria Cruz who works with the Anti-Violence project who starts to investigate Marsha’s death through many resources to actually find out what happened to Ms. Johnson. Gender, race, and sexuality of a person can be a threat to others. They can’t accept you for who you are because their mentality is portrayed to only one understanding.  As we can see, attacking transgender women has been going on for years, from 1992 Marsha Johnson’s death to 2016 CeCe McDonald. CeCe McDonald was a black transgender woman who was attacked by Schmitz. In the process of trying to defend herself, Schmitz died and CeCe was incarcerated into a men’s prison in Minnesota. It states “In spite of the fact that McDonald survived a vicious attack, she was the only one arrested” (Johnson, 97). Although she did nothing but provide self-defense for herself, she faced many injustices because she was a black trans woman. Schmitz’s ex-girlfriend was white and was included in the brawl but had to face no charges. The judicial system is clearly biased towards transgender individuals and especially with color compared to a Caucasian person.
• She is not only a survivor but a brave leader to inspire other individuals to fight for what they believe in and tell their story. Transgender is an umbrella term for persons whose gender identity, gender expression, or behavior does not conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they were assigned at birth. We all are brought up by our parents, as either a male or a female and when we grow up and begin the search for our identities we do find some things which were kind of ignored by our parents since even they considered it to be not normal and that is why as young adults it becomes difficult to embrace one’s identity with which one truly recognizes with. Sometimes, a person’s gender identity doesn’t fit neatly into two choices. People who see themselves as being both male and female, neither male nor female nor as falling completely outside these categories may identify as genderqueer. How a person communicates their gender identity, through dress, behavior, voice, or body characteristics is their gender expression. A person’s gender expression may or may not line up with society’s expectations of masculinity or femininity, which we are all brought upon with. The public’s understanding of gender identity and expression is evolving as more transgender people share their stories. And, even I consider them as a normal person and not categorizing them into any box and putting a definition to their identities and choices. Each one of us is different from each other, our preferences and choices are different, and we should all learn to embrace that and let people live the way they want so that one feels ashamed of who they are as a person. When describing transgender people newspaper magazines and other media tend to use gender inappropriate names or pronouns as well as other languages that trans persons find insensitive or offensive this is quite an example of a microaggression.

• I believe many have one race that has more privilege than others. White privilege goes beyond everyday injustices, as well, and discusses more systemic issues such as long-term accumulation of wealth, education, and power. For example, a white child born into a wealthy family is likely to be sent to good schools, tutored either by knowledgeable parents or expensive tutors, have an expensive private college at least partially paid for, and then be introduced to a social network of powerful people. An African-American child born in a lower-income area will be sent to failing schools, have parents who do not have the time and/or the resources to help them with their work, and then they will have to find a way to put themselves through school, which at best means community college or city schools, and then graduate into no network. As of today, we are still fighting racism. Some individuals feel like this world shouldn’t be diverse and only contain people they are comfortable with, but sadly it doesn’t work that way. After watching the video, you can clearly see that the people of color have fewer advantages than people who are portrayed as “white”. I believe people of color or colored people will never experience “white privilege”, that is something you are born with but not given too. But it doesn’t always with have a race, but sometimes we have objects that some people don’t. For example, some of us have the opportunity to go to school for free and in other countries, children can’t even receive an education. I would say that’s an extremely gifted privilege to myself.

• The term “microaggression” is defined as a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group such as a racial or ethnic minority. For example, Asian Americans being complimented for speaking good English since they are perceived as aliens in their own country who might not know English. when an African American passes by a woman, the woman automatically clutches her purse more tightly, indicating that they are more prone towards committing crimes, etc. All these prejudices, discriminations, and everyday microaggressions, has led to strong stereotypes and negativity in our society of treating everyone unequally. Such negative attitudes have increased racial violence even on social media, wherein people are spreading hate messages about each other creating communal differences, brainwashing, and harming people.