After watching the video and doing the readings I was able to get more knowledge on what the term privilege means. Privilege can be obtained through race, sexual orientation, class, ability, or other identity. All of us has experience privilege in some kind of way and disadvantage in other ways. Privilege is not something we earn or choose; it is a structure in our society prioritizes some groups over some. For example, men are more likely to get managerial positions in a company over women, that is unearned privilege. While I sit back and explain privilege, I realize that I too have numerous experiences were privilege clouded opportunities. For example, I grew up in Jamaica and moved to the United States to live permanently. It was more of a smoother transition that a normal Jamaican because I am a citizen of the U.S. Most natural borne Jamaicans would have to go through a difficult visa system in Jamaica were twenty percent of people are chosen to travel and if denied one would lose their money in the process.

I have faced oppression in many ways. I have experienced oppression based on my Gender being a woman especially being amongst men. I have also experience oppression which my race from my own race and I saw it in my eyes as oppression because it was done by a black man to satisfy whites. Oppression is one group of people being superior to the next group of people for example White supremacy. Currently the societal structure is oppressive to especially non gender conforming people because they go against traditional structure of there only being two genders women and men. To demolish oppression all people, need to recognize it and work on all levels so every individual can feel empowered and be there authentic selves.

Marilyn Frye uses words such as barrios, forces and limiting of options so people could get a simple idea of what oppression means. She also uses the analogy of a bird cage to showcase an idea that social structures are like the cage and once they get everyone to conform to a certain idea the bird cannot be freed. The “What is privilege” video allowed me to understand that privilege can come in the variety of ways whether you recognize it or not. It can be the communities we live in, the types of schools we attend or opportunities we get and then it can be even more critical like, our race, gender, and ability. The video allowed me to see that everyone experience privilege in some kind of way even if it seems simple to us.

Alok expresses that moving beyond gender binary means removing gendered boundaries that are societal traditions. Evolving beyond the two distinct genders forms, feminine and masculine that were prioritized and fixed in our social system or cultural beliefs. Alok believes that humans should be able to “play” with gender and to be creative and change as much as they want. Alok shares with us that gender norms tell us who to be rather than who we choose to be. Throughout this reading Alok stands firm on his belief that people should have a choice/right on who they want to be and because they are many that go against non-binary, gender non-conforming people and transgender it makes the world scarier for them. He also shared through the reading that gender norms have an impacted his physical and emotional safety tremendously as people sometime harass him. This has affected him previously were he had to make a choice between his safety or authenticity. Due to safety issue many genders non- conforming people must cover up who they are because of the back lash they can receive. One thing I appreciated that he said is that he does not want to get exist he needs to live and in doing so he needs to be authentic and live his truth. The society we live in today believes that one should be punished for non-conforming to get back in place with these policies. This short story speaks about injustice, pain, sacrifice, and back lash in the non- conforming society however, it also speaks about hope, resistance, authenticity, and transformation outside of gender binary. My gender identity fit into the binary norms. I identity as cis gender because my gender identity matches my biological sex that I was assigned at birth. However, I believe in being creative, transformative, and authentic and educating myself with non- conforming people. The world is slowly changing but once there is hope anything is possible.  

She describes Feminism as “A movement to end sexism, sexiest exploitation and oppression”.  Bell states that a lot of the ideas that surround feminism is that its anti-man and that most of these ideas are perpetrated by the mainstream media. Bell Hooks states that Feminist theory is for everyone. Bell Hooks states that Feminist theory is for everyone including people who are and aren’t women that includes people from all different races, classes, and people old or young. I always thought of feminism to be women who fights for equality to men in political, social and economic aspects in society. Feminism means everyone is treated equal, fair and with respect whether you’re a female or male (pro-equality). As a social worker I know that is it very important to treat everyone equal and with respect because I believe most people have experience oppression and understands the devastating impact it can have on a person or group. I also believe that being a feminist is being one’s most authentic self. My understanding of feminism was similar to that if Bell Hooks especially when she emphasized on putting feminism in a wider audience and making it more accessible. She also stated that placing feminism in the academic sphere will help to legitimize it. I believe so because I understand what a feminist is but that’s the most I could really say.

Sex is the physiological structures that makes us who we are like our chromosomes, the shapes of our body and internal parts of the body (hormones). The article defines Gender as the way we see ourselves or the way the world expects us to behave. It also speaks about sexual behaviors meaning whose body do you desire? And orientations which having to do more so with love, who do u see yourselves settling down with, build a home and family? The article sexuality and gender also speak about how society perceives gender as feminine and masculine. Closed minded people believe that people who we see as male will move throughout the world doing masculine ways and expect that they will be attracted to the opposite gender, female, vice versa.  I was not surprised or new to any of this information as I have studied sex and gender before. Once I heard about Gender and women’s study, I automatically assumed this would be a refresher course of Sexuality and Gender as its been a long time since I’ve learnt about this topic.

My name is Talisha. I am twenty-two years old. I am currently a Liberal Arts major. However, I am looking to pursue a degree in psychology and hopefully becoming a Forensic Psychologist one day. I am very passionate about help others and assisting them overcome their past trauma. I am a child welfare case worker, so I am already experiencing my passion in making peoples life easier and helping them reach their goals. I am also an independent makeup artist. I just recently decorated my shop, build a website and a social media. I am very hard working, optimistic and courageous. This year is a game changer for me because I am acting on my goals rather than speaking.

I am a Jamaican. I was raised in Jamaica for most of my life. I vacationed in New York every year of my life before coming to live at the age of 16 years old. All of my five siblings were born in New York City, and I was born in Jamaica where we were all grew up. My parents sent me here to get a better education and become a successful citizen. I was not sure what I wanted to be in the future. I have experienced so much in the different jobs I’ve worked in. From being a home health aide to a substitute teacher and now a child welfare case worker. I love to learn to do new things and I have acquired skills that will assist me in promoting myself in many areas of life.  My role model is my dad, he is an entrepreneur that owns Mutiple businesses, and I want to be like him some day. He taught me that in life you don’t have one option, you can choose as many as you want and that what really defines you. My mother is also a major part of who I am becoming. She plays a strong role in my life, reminding me to put God first in everything I do. She also motivates me to do my best in everything I do. She is my cheerleader and I love her so much for being my down to earth angel. Without her I am lost, and I ask God to continue to flourish my family and life with his finest blessings. So, am I only thinking about becoming a forensic psychology? No, I am thinking about learning as much skills as possible so I can become the best me. GWS was a required course however, I am very excited about learning new things and I can’t wait to see what it offers. I am also very excited to engage with my classmates and teacher.