In reading “Sex & Gender 101”, I was taken back to last semester when I took Biology 108 & 109 as there was a chapter where we discussed the different sex chromosome variations that intersex persons can have. In that Biology course, I remember learning about the complex or undetermined intersex variation where a person can be born with just one sex chromosome (XO) or may have an extra (XXY,XYY,XXX). However, I admit I felt that so much information was missing to me after the biological explanations were given in that course that this article was able to provide in more depth along with other variations. I also appreciate learning to define gender as a cultural structure that shifts between societies and across time and that there are three categories involved which include gender assignment (assigned at birth based on a person’s biological sex), gender identity (how one thinks about themselves in regards to their gender), and gender expression (how on chooses to show their gender identity). Prior to reading this article, I believed gender was associated with ones assigned biological sex for the most part so this information provided an eye-opening addendum to my definition. Although I am a cisgendered heterosexual female, thinking about starting a family one day gives me the need to gain knowledge concerning sex and gender because I would like to understand how to approach children and motherhood someday through the many variations that exist. I know what it feels like to identify as cisgendered but I feel a responsibility to understand what it is like not to feel aligned with one’s assigned gender in hopes of being to guide the next generation with compassion and support.

“Feminist Politics: Where we stand” hit points in feminism that I needed to hear concerning my previous definition of the word which used to stress me out because I constantly thought about women who lost sight of how to create a movement because mainstream media just seems to portray these women as enraged and basically hating men 24/7. This idea of full-time anger caused me to shut down at the thought of feminism because who wants to live that kind of life? Not me. There is still alot for me to unpack from Bell Hooks’ definition of feminism as a movement created to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression but it definitely beats out my previous understanding of this movement.