Category: Reading Journal

Usually transgender refers to a person whose gender identity is not aligned with their assigned birth sex and seek surgical producer. In this reading, Jonson considers transgender as an umbrella term for a person who challenges long-run gender constructs. The umbrella can be defined as a power for people who identify themself as transexual, cross-dresser, same-gender-loving, intersex, and more, so she comes in an agreement that she will use trans* to represent all the people who do not fall under the gender normality. Transgender is mostly viewed as different from the binary gender. So to disrupt the normality of gender, male and female, the concept of cisgender, and cissexual are sketched. Cisgender is when a person’s assigned sex at birth corresponds with their gender identity(when the sex morphology aligns with their gender identity) and cissexual is when a person’s gender identity matches their morphology.

We can also talk about the privilege of having the same gender identity as the one assigned by birth relating it with the incident with CeCe Mcdonald. The whole incident started with the privileged group of people representing themself as normal and calling CeCe and her friends for being different from them. The phrase “chicks with dicks”, or even “‘dressed as a women’ to rape” links with the normal definition of the construct. It shows how McDonald is kept in between what she was assigned by birth and what she wants which goes against the definition of cisgender. The whole fact that McDonald was a victim was never seen as a big deal, refusing to give medical treatment, her serving in men’s prison shows the ignorance and suffering of trans*(people of color). And on the other hand excluding  Schmitz’s history of violence clearly shows cisprivilege. 

We can never deny the fact most people are usually at a disadvantage due to their race, class, gender identity. People are looked down upon not being “normal”. 

 

“Cisgender Privilege, Intersectionality, and the Criminalization of CeCe McDonald: Why Intercultural Communication Needs Transgender Studies” by Julia R. Johnson gives us a better understanding of the complexity of gender, sexuality, and intersectionality. McDonald is a black transgender woman who was assaulted by a straight homophobic white male. After the attack McDonald was unjustly accused of second-degree murder because her self-defense resulted in the man’s death. This atrocious event not only shows us how this system is built on prejudice and discrimination, but that heterosexual people encounter a privilege that is invisible to the eye of many. Cisgender privilege is the privilege of people whose morphology (sex) aligns with gender. Many heterosexual people cannot see this privilege because it is not being called attention to. For example, if I am Mexican living in Mexico my ethnicity is not highlighted because everyone around me is also Mexican, on the other hand, a Mexican in New York City is well aware of this identity, especially in this discriminating political climate. What I am trying to say is that if you are part of the dominant group, you have little to no challenges of that identity, this can lead you to be unaware of the power you possess. Being unaware of your power can lead to cissexism (in the case of being cisgender), which is the belief that identifies others who are not cisgender as less authentic. The constant assumptions in McDonald’s case reaffirm the lack of education many face. Being transgender limits you today, and McDonald’s case comes to show that not only being transgender led her to have unfair treatment, but the fact that she is black became an additional challenge. We cannot study intercultural communications without taking intersectionality into account, assuming everyone is cisgender or heterosexual reinforces the idea that the LGBTQ+ community is not authentic. This is very eye opening because as a straight cisgender female, I do not encounter insecurity challenges of my gender or sex.

Reading the article “Cisgender Privilege…” made me understand my “privilege” in the fact that I don’t have to worry about going outside and being attacked for liking someone of the opposite gender. I can walk freely down the streets holding my partners hand without fear of any repercussions yet there are people out there who because they love differently, or live differently or express themselves differently who are attacked for doing exactly that. It is actually pretty disgusting that this world is full of people who feel superior to others because they are different. Reading the NYT article “Civil Rights Law Protects Gay and Transgender Workers, Supreme Court Rules” restored my faith (a little) and demonstrated that we have the ability to be human and civil to one another and that we recognize that the way things are is wrong. How a person dresses, identifies, loves, etc. has nothing to do with their work ethic, productivity, etc. and again cisgender people don’t face these hurdles so why should anyone of the LGBTQ community face them?

In this perusing, we find out about the speculations of sexual orientation and sex. Typically a transgender person is a person born of a specific sex and grows older to discover that they feel like the opposite sex. When this happens, the person chooses to operate and physically become how they feel inside. it is okay to identify as man or a woman, depending on how you see yourself as. Self-identity is very important, rather than how society perceives you. Also, in the reading we see an interesting view on transgender  and how it is view as an umbrella term for an individual who difficulties building their gender identity. The umbrella can be characterized as a force for individuals who recognize themself as transexual, cross-dresser, same-gender orientation loving, intersex, and then some, so she arrives in an understanding that she will utilize trans to speak to all the individuals who don’t fall under the sex ordinariness. Transgender is for the most part seen as not quite the same as binary gender because is not only man or female. So to disturb the ordinariness of sex, male and female, the idea of cisgender, and cissexual are outlined. Cisgender is the point at which an individual’s relegated sex during childbirth compares with their sex identity(when the sex morphology lines up with their sex personality) and cissexual is the point at which an individual’s sexual orientation character coordinates their morphology.

If you think about it, no matter who you are or where you come from, we all have privileges even within our own culture. Privileges is a specific right, advantage, or immunity given or available only to a particular person or group. For example, I could be considered privilege if I, as a Dominican man, attend a Dominican restaurant, and the service I get is better than a white male that attend. That’s not always the case, but it can happen. I personally had experience that situation where I was treated better than other. That is something I can consider as my privilege.

“Transgender” is an umbrella term that describes people whose gender identity or expression does not match the sex they were assigned at birth. In the reading, Jonson explains that Transgender is considered an inaccurate presentation of their gender identity.  Some people have faced discrimination before due to their nationality, their backgrounds root, and in this case gender, even though none of the things said above are reasons for a person to look at you or treat you differently from them. Its been decades, since transgenders have managed themselves in society, and society still does not get used to treating them equally. On the other hand, if we speak about privilege, I think it’s very obvious. Cisgender is important when it comes to forms of privilege, for example having a government-issued identification representing your identity or not been questioned about your breasts being fake or just not have to think about gender presentation. What CeCe went through, being the victim was never seen as something that mattered to them, refusing to give medical treatment, her serving her time in men’s prison let us know how big the ignorance and suffering of trans* and person of color at the same time while Schmitz’s had a background of physical assault and others, McDonald was more judged by being a person of color and her capacity. If it were not because of privilege, today her story would have been different. It is impossible to hide how having privileges can denigrate the value of another person. Our skin color, sexual orientation, social class can inhibit us from so many important things but also from things as simple as even the way they look at you and consider you different as if you did not have the same value as a person.

Usually transgender refers to a person whose gender identity is not aligned with their assigned birth sex and seek surgical producer. In this reading, Jonson considers transgender as an umbrella term for a person who challenges long-run gender constructs. The umbrella can be defined as a power for people who identify themself as transexual, cross-dresser, same-gender-loving, intersex, and more, so she comes in an agreement that she will use trans* to represent all the people who do not fall under the gender normality. Transgender is mostly viewed as different from the binary gender. So to disrupt the normality of gender, male and female, the concept of cisgender, and cissexual are sketched. Cisgender is when a person’s assigned sex at birth corresponds with their gender identity(when the sex morphology aligns with their gender identity) and cissexual is when a person’s gender identity matches their morphology.

We can also talk about the privilege of having the same gender identity as the one assigned by birth relating it with the incident with CeCe Mcdonald. The whole incident started with the privileged group of people representing themself as normal and calling CeCe and her friends for being different from them. The phrase “chicks with dicks”, or even “‘dressed as a women’ to rape” links with the normal definition of the construct. It shows how McDonald is kept in between what she was assigned by birth and what she wants which goes against the definition of cisgender. The whole fact that McDonald was a victim was never seen as a big deal, refusing to give medical treatment, her serving in men’s prison shows the ignorance and suffering of trans*(people of color). And on the other hand excluding  Schmitz’s history of violence clearly shows cisprivilege. 

We can never deny the fact most people are usually at a disadvantage due to their race, class, gender identity. People are looked down upon not being “normal”.

 

Firstly, segregation within society has always been there. There have been people who have faced discrimination because of their ethnic backgrounds, stratum, gender, nationality, etc. Considering that these differences a fairly obvious in an individual, it is not a matter of learning to ignore it but rather to not let it be a reason to treat someone with prejudice. Transgendered and androgynous individuals have existed for a while now, yet society is still only taking the first steps towards learning to treat them equally.

Secondly, one might only assume that it feels like any other prejudice to be a transgender. It is the society that assumes that transgender individuals do not fit in a male or female category. However, for a trans, they clearly want to be put in the category of the gender that they have chosen to emulate. Society would need to see these individuals for who they want to be and treat them accordingly. This is the respect that any individual who faces prejudice might want to receive.

Thirdly, in the case of transgenders or any individual who isn’t easily accepted is the problem of knowledge. It is the lack of knowledge about a race that leads to people being unfamiliar with them. This is when people might tend to repel the unfamiliar. In such cases, it is essential to educate the new generations about how people of different are equally entitled to respect and fair treatment. In doing so, we might acclimatize the new generation to trans people, and this might enable them to see them as no different than any other person.

The introduction of this reading really caught my attention. Many people have been bullied and harassed because of their sexuality. McDonalds case is one of the Many cases that have been brought to light. Not only was this a hate crime towards McDonalds sexuality. but also to her race. McDonalds retaliated out of and her actions, unintentionally, killing Schmitz. The whole case and trial proceedings was unfair. Information about Schmitz was being withheld from the court in order to discredit McDonalds. “While there are any number of legal justifications for including or excluding information from court proceedings, it is meaningful that McDonald was subjected to strategies commonly used to discredit people of color, women, and/or people who are poor…”