In the essay, “Feminist Politics Where We Stand,” Bell Hooks defines feminism as: “a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression.” I understand this definition to mean that feminism is a movement that quickly surpasses a gain such as equality to men, and does not end there. Feminism is a movement that seeks that restructure a nation composed of liberty, freedom and anti-sexism. Sexism can stem from individuals of all backgrounds, cultures, ages and biological sex. This means that the focus is on an issue that can arise within all kinds of people. All problems arise when the thought is sexist and that is why sexism must be demolished. The exploitation and oppression that comes along with it must also end if we truly seek to partake in the feminist movement. Prior to reading this essay, what I knew of feminism was entirely based on what was portrayed to me. This is because mass media handpicked what would be exposed and they chose to depict a movement that was reformist. I grew up being shown assertive women who were adamant to attain the kind of equality that would ensure equal pay rights. I was not entirely aware that feminism does not have to do with women being equal to men, not even when it comes to pay. This is due to the fact that there is a polar difference between reformist and revolutionary thinkers. The truth of the matter is, nothing will truly be solved if we continue to think that reformist thinking is behind the feminist movement. Feminists like Bell Hooks understand the root of the problem and the way for us to solve it is through the end of persecution, sexual manipulation and sexism.

            The reading Sex and Gender 101 thoroughly explained terms for me that I was unfamiliar with as well as clarified certain topics I was not entirely confident about. I was able to understand that although biological sex is how we are born, it is not necessarily our fate. This is due to medications that can alter hormonal chemistry, thus suppressing puberty from taking place. A fact that I was not aware of was that some intersex individuals may go their entire lifetime and not know of their chromosome variation, which I was surprised to learn. Prior to reading this article, I was not aware of how fluid a person’s sexual orientation can be. I am aware that there are various different sexual orientations, but I learned that as a person experiences life and grows, the kind of people they are attracted to may also change. As I was reading about the various types of sexual orientations, I came across Pansexual (pan), which means a person is attracted to the attributes of an individual, such as their personality. Being pansexual means that someone does not view sex or gender as determining factors in whether they are attracted to someone. I find that I identify as such, although I was not aware there was a term for it. I find that I have always been more drawn to how a person is, rather than anything else.