Category: Reading Journal

Given racism, bigotry, and hate towards transgender people in contemporary society, it is crucial to acquire an in-depth understanding of how race, gender, and sexuality are interconnected within the context of criminal justice and media. In this way, Johnson uses the word “transgender” as an umbrella term for people who do not align their identity with the in-born sex. Her writing serves as a credible source of information on the functioning of white cisgender privilege.

This definition is problematic due to the inconsistency of opinions and viewpoints in the academic community. Johnson uses a concept of trans* as an indicator of gender nonconformity. The understanding of how people define cissexual and cisgender greatly contributes to the knowledge of how privilege operates (Johnson 97). Cissexual and cisgender are the adjectives that describe people who do not resist their socially-sanctioned categories of sexuality and gender. The case of Cece has demonstrated that when a person does not fit in deeply embedded boundaries of social functioning, it can lead to the violation of fundamental human rights and social injustice.

CeCe was convicted of a crime deeply rooted in bigotry, hate, and homophobia that provoked the dispute. Cissexism served as a foundation for the conflict that resulted in the incarceration of CeCe, trauma, and decreased quality of life. Her belonging to the minority group was the defining factor in the interpersonal aggression on the street. Trans* individuals still encounter discrimination and prejudices that endanger their lives and lead to hatred and social inequality.

Julia R Johnson pushed for the importance and the need of transgender studies within the intercultural communication and how one’s identity is constructed and influenced by the surrounding environment and the influence of certain social groups, and how each one of us can help disturb the power inequality in the society.
According to Johnson ”transgender is persons who challenge gender normative which includes persons who identify as trans-feminine, transmasculine, transsexual, two Spirit, cross-dressers, Chanticleer, same-gender-loving, in the life, female to male, male to female, inter-sex and more”. Julia’s Johnson’s description of a transgender person whose gender identity is not aligned with the gender assigned at birth. Most transgender doesn’t feel that they belong to their body and feel a disconnection to this body physically and emotionally.
Adding this feeling of not belonging and looking for the inner you to the society judgemental opinions and values will eventually create a disturbing atmosphere full of miscommunication, hate, and anger between the transgender and their community.
Julia R. Johnson argues that her definition is problematic because in ”some context some people of color transgender signals witnesses and the corresponding Western conceptions of gender binary transgender is considered an inaccurate deception of the gender identity”.
Johnson has decided to use trans with us asterisk and hyphen to signal gender non-conformity of all kinds.
The prefix Cis in Cissexual ad Cisgender means the same side as. Therefore a cisgender person is someone who’s morphology is aligns with her or his identity. And a cissexual person is someone whose sex identity matches her or his morphology. These definitions are significant because Cisgender and Cissexual people have unearned privileges that represent who they are as a government issue license, they never have to suffer from being a transgender and fighting for their rights like CeCe McDonald or Marsha ( event if CeCe is a transgender she was incarcerated in all men jail). they have no fear of being rejected from the community, their own families, and losing their job, and or health care.
The intersection of race, gender, and sexuality impacted McDonald ‘s case heavily for a lot of reasons:
a-The assumption is that African Americans who come from a poor community with low income are all violent and want to create a disturbance.
b-Being transgender and disturbing the norm of the society that only approves of Cisgender and cissexual people and support them will definitely create more fire and impact her case negatively.
Working in retail and cosmetics, in particular, opened my eyes and my personality to meet and adapt with a lot of personalities and also with transgender, guy, and cisgender people. I believe that this field will always welcome anyone regardless of sexual orientation and gender as long as one is good and professional,s/he will always be welcomed.

In the context, Johnson clearly explains how the concepts cisprivilege, cisgenderism, and cissexism. In modern society, these are concepts that I interact with daily with may people proving to have a minimal understanding of the concepts. Just as Johnson explains, cisgender people experience many privileges in my society.  These privileges include the fact that cisgender people can freely conduct their daily activities without experiencing any form of bias from the community. Transgender people commonly have to deal with constant abuses from people in society because of their sexuality. Many people in society are ignorant of such matters; hence they do not understand that transgender people should be treated equally and relatively in society. In may are of study, these studies affect how my fellow students understand issues faced by transgender people. In the example given by Johnson about Cece MC Donald, it is clear that society was biased towards people since the woman should have received justice from the court system, but she received a jail sentence.

In my discipline, my people defined gender as to how they physically perceive people, but this notion has changed as people study the course. Due to advanced learning, people in my field of study view gender past the concept of a person being male or female. This has helped in the easy inclusion of transgender and transsexual people in our field. Cisgender and cissexual students can freely interact with any party being biased to the other. In my area of study, it is not difficult for a transgender person to get a job. This is because almost everybody understands the various dynamics of gender, and a person can be seen past his or her sexuality. However, many people in society are not familiar with transgender people and tend to show aggressive behavior against them. Learning and understanding gender studies help people understand the various dynamics in the community and that all people should be treated equally in society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In reading “Identity terms” I truly appreciate the listing and definition of these Identity terms. I found that many times people and myself Included would use one term for the meaning of another. An example of this would be the “people of color/African American/Black. Although they oftentimes fall into the minority category, understanding the definition of each term determines the context in which each term is used. Another example of this are the terms transexual and transgendered. Whenever I use to hear these terms I use to think they were being used interchangeably. Identity terms allow us to be considerate, aware, and less ignorant of other people.

In the reading “Feminist Philosophy of language”, the theory that stood out for me besides “Male as norm” is “Maleness of language”. I found it very interesting when the text stated that English is considered to be in favor of men. I never realized it in the was I’ve noticed it in other cultural languages, however, I’ve always thought of English to the language of control, patriarch, and colonialism. English commands you to speak it not matter your background, in a similar way men have protruded and taken up in spaces that have made women/POC oppressed and uncomfortable. This reading reminded me of the literary work, “Reason, Gender and Moral Theory” by Virginia Held where the professor of philosophy addresses and examines the concept of the male philosophic perspective. One example from this text is when she states, ” The history of philosophy, including the history of ethics, has been constructed from male points of view, and been built on assumptions and concepts that are by no means gender-neutral.” In other words, women were not considered and most often excluded from the development of literature and social advancement and English is just one example of this.

Microaggressions are verbal or nonverbal insults that happen every day in the world. Whether it is consciously or unconsciously, these insult messages come off as hostile and derogatory towards a person based on their belonging to a group. For instance, race, racial Microaggression is the feeling of insult colored people face by the white people, in their daily life, this can also be verbal, nonverbal, intentional or unintentional. I am a young black woman who has experienced times and surprisingly this experience I had was not from a white person. I would be told all my years growing up that I ‘talked white’ and would say that I’m black why do I speak that way. I was offended and till this day the same things are said to me. Racial microaggression also goes hand in hand with cultural racism. Cultural racism discriminates towards a group of people apart of a certain group that includes their culture and background. The example used in the text about people of religion being restricted to practice their beliefs. I have experienced this. As I worked in a group project the members were discussing spirituality and their belief, once I shared mine, they tried to shut me down. Its unfortunate that this happens in the world but when are aware of these things we can learn how to communicate and handle it soon.

Gender in a social institution is when society shapes and controls the behavior and sets expectations of us individuals. Just like social construction this time gender is involved. How we act based on our sex is not just by biological facts it is by the influence of society’s institutions. In the reading a sociologist Patricia Fancy Martin introduced the 12 patterns of social institution gender falls under all these patterns. One of the many introductions to these institutions are micro politics. Micro politics are negotiations over power in our everyday encounters with each other. For example when it comes to power men vs women , men always seems to have the upper hand due to social institutions expectations based on our sex . Job positions and recognition are focused on what gender you are. Not only is there institutionalized discrimination in societies but also prejudices.The difference between the two is that being prejudice is having negative false thoughts and perceptions of a person, these feelings does not cause inequality. But institutionalized discrimination does affect equality which leads to systemic inequalities. This is a cycle that has been repetitive for years and hopefully this cycle will come to an end and become a positive turn.

 

According to the reading Chapter 6 on An Introduction to Gender in Social Institutions, it focuses on gender in our social institutions. Gender is immersed so thoroughly in our institutions, our actions, our beliefs and our desires which appears to us to be completely natural. In Addition, the ideas about gender are so ordinary that we take for granted. For example, gender is not something we are born with, and not something we have, but something we do. Gender builds on biological sex, but it exaggerates biological difference, and it carries biological difference into domains in which it is completely irrelevant. There is no biological reason, for example, why women should mince, and men should swagger, or why women should have red toenails and men should not. Lastly, schools, religion and economy around the world plays a bigger role in social institutions.

In the second article Microaggressions in Everyday Life,is often described as a commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignity, whether unintentional or unintentional, that communicates a hostile, derogatory, negative, or racial slight towards someone. These microaggressions happen daily and can even go unnoticed sometimes. For example, in the present day, women make a quarter less than every man. Women face inequality with men and pay grade almost in every race. In addition, women are constantly trying to catch up or mimic the professional white man to get equal pay. From the feminine pant suit to low haircuts, women can’t seem to level on the barometer of excellence. Another example, In the sports world, more male athletes are booked for endorsements than the darker female. Serena Williams has been surpassing her white counterparts but still being paid less.

To conclude, we as a human were not born to be racist nor sexist, however there’s different elements and institutions. For example, gender plays a strong role in our society and hurts women across the world. Too often it is assumed that this gap is not evidence of discrimination but is instead a statistical artifact of failing to adjust for factors that could drive earnings differences between men and women. However, these factors are particularly occupational differences between women and men which lead themselves to be affected by gender bias.

In “The Manifestation of Racial, Gender and Sexual-Orientation Microaggressions”, we learn what microaggressions are and how this affects marginalized communities. A microaggression is an unintentional/intentional, verbal, behavioral, and environmental indignation remark on a marginalized community. These microaggressions as this chapter explains can be gender or racial based. An important aspect to note is the unintentional microaggressions. Unintentional microaggressions address the need to educate and express minority identities to people in power. Highlighting a women’s gender in a situation or environment where it is not needed might insinuate your thoughts of differentiation between men and women. In a place where racism has been institutionalized, many might not even be conscious that they are experiencing these microaggressions. The only other evident awareness from the person receiving these insults is what they feel in response. Sadly, in a place where minorities have so much at stake there is a reluctance to speak up. The risk with this is the retaliation of doing so. When is it okay to speak up? What are the repercussions of speaking up? Are my feelings validated by some scholarly research? All of these are possible questions many may ask themselves when they encounter an uncomfortable situation. There are many types of microaggression, and they can negatively highlight your identity, in turn having devastating effects. These devastating effects produce systemic harm. For example feeling uncomfortable about the deliverance of content in a classroom might put you at disadvantage of learning. Something that reinforces these microaggressions can be social institutions. Institutions are socially and corporately constructed environments in which people in power have the ability to largely control your life. An example of this can be as simple as deciding if they give you a job or not. Institutionalized discrimination is powerful because it has been designed to put certain people at disadvantage. Breaking this is not as easy as changing someone’s mind of an inappropriate perception they had. Prejudice is on an interpersonal level rather than a system. Knowing this can help you navigate and negotiate your identities. We know that social institutions are maintained by dominant groups therefore there needs to be a point where we stop learning to cope and assimilate these environments but rather integrate ourselves to create changes. 

I see privileges as a sort of guarantee for something. And some people have more privileges than others beginning with the color of their skin. It is a sad shame that someone’s skin color can be determining factor in how they are treated, in whether or not they get a job/promotion. But it has and still does exist. And unfortunately until everyone agrees that it racism is a problem, the problem will continue to exist.

The articles also made me rethink the “people are people” line because although it is true, we are all people, lumping everyone into one exclusive category erases what makes up each person, their plight, and therefore makes the statement untrue and unfair to everyone as well all have our each unique story.

 

Having privileges is having the advantage of many things, in a way having more exits and options than many people around you. having privileges can come at least as your skin color even for a last name. having privileges is having the advantage of many things, in a way having more exits and options than many people around you. having privileges can come at least as your skin color even for a last name. The fact of being Latin or African American in the US leads us to suffer from many things, including having privileges. As minorities, we lack certain privileges that are very important like when we talk about health care, or just going to any school and not worry about any type of discrimination just by being different. On the other hand, if we compare the few things we have as privilege with what white people has then we have nothing, they do not have to worry about things like not have a good insurance and healthcare wherever they go, or lack of education because they can freely go anywhere and not having to worry about discrimination, they do not have to work as hard as we do to get what they want.

Macroaggression is commonly defined as typical daily behavior, in spite of the fact that verbal communication seems to be inoffensive, macroaggressions are known as ways of everyday discrimination or covert racism. An example is how a person tries to “flirt” by saying things offensively because of the way it sounds to a woman passing by. While reading An introduction to gender in Social Institutions when it says “Even when it comes to gender/sex identity, to assume you act completely independent of external influence is to ignore the larger elephant in the room.” This explains that being a man, in this case gives you the benefit of expressing yourself freely and not worry about how things might sound and affect the other.

 

• The social institutions have taught gender socialization in way more ways than anyone around. The family teaches women to be calm, soft, and gentle and men to be manly, masculine, and also always wanted to boss around. There are many cultures that have underrepresented women in all aspects of life no matter how far we go. The politics and laws are also made such that the manner in which women are presented is weak in comparison to men. But things have changed with time. Due to more technical and educational advancements, women seem to have come to the level of men and taken a high stand in all walks of life no matter how things shape to be. We have to break the traditional norms and rituals to establish ourselves as strong and independent women of power and might.Mass media has completely distorted the image of modern women. They have failed to portray women in an empowered role. They continue to reproduce discriminatory stereotypes about women and portray them in sexist ways. As a rule, women are portrayed in a narrow range of characters in mass media. Women are often associated with the household or sex-objects. In advertising and magazines, women are usually portrayed as young, slim, and with a beauty that meets the accepted standards. This has become a social problem for women as they have to fight with the image that the media had created for them. Plus size women and not so fit women’s have to face criticism in the outer world, all thanks to the advertising industry.

• Microaggressions are the everyday verbal or nonverbal insults, intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership. This may appear to be very normal but actually can carry more drastic effect which when perceived by the target group leads to interpersonal conflict impeding the relationship development. Racial Microaggression is the feeling of insult colored people has to face by the white people, in their daily life, it can be verbal, nonverbal, intentional or unintentional, but it sends the hidden message of insult, derogatory feelings, and discrimination. The microaggression can be in the form of microinsult, microassault, or microinvalidation, the communication may be covert and disguised, it will be said innocently as if it is being done with good intention but often they are done with the hidden feelings of hatred and discrimination because the person is judged by his appearance. In an overt type of microaggression, the communication is often open and consciously displays the hatred.

 

• Prejudices are pre-conceived notions that are negative in nature towards members of other groups. They are formed on the basis of irrational and baseless information which influences a person’s behaviors towards others. Prejudices sometimes lead to discrimination as well. Discrimination is the behavior or actions, usually negative, towards an individual or group of people, belonging to a certain race, class, religion, gender, etc.