Author Archives: Jade Pimentel

Jade Pimentel Reading Reflection 2

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I found this reading very interesting because it teaches us about gender binary norms and non-conforming norms as a whole. As I wrote before, I don’t consider myself fully following gender norms because I just wear what I like and feel comfortable. I wear whatever I want, and only now am I learning how to be acceptable in my own body and wear things I’ve always wanted to wear before without feeling uncomfortable. I’ve seen a lot of people in my classes who consider themselves as they/them pronouns. To society, they seem to dress in a feminine or masculine fashion, when in reality they only wear what they want, yet what they identify as is something completely different, which is fine. I noted a lot of the quotes Alok would use, and in honesty, I was just as naive and ignorant back then. Not disrespectful; I just didn’t understand it. But now that I am taking this class and reading these articles, I learn a lot more, which is better. I think that one of the reasons gender became such a big topic is the way these norms were forced upon us. I don’t care about the way people want to represent themselves, as long as we’re all respectful to each other in the long run and are happy. I feel like that’s what I learned from Alok’s book, and it was very inspiring and understanding. It’s a simple concept, but people overcomplicate it. It takes time learn, but it’s worth understanding.

Jade Pimentel Discussion 3

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For Alok, moving beyond the gender binary means breaking away from stereotypes and being comfortable with who you are. Alok had written, “The gender binary is more concerned with gender norms than it is with us” (Alok 27). I see this quote because society is more focused on what stereotypes and norms we should be following, and the people claim it as having “self-respect” when in reality they are upset we aren’t doing as they ask us to. Alok wants us to notice and realize what we are and be comfortable in our skin while also respecting and understanding what gender norms and what gender is. It isn’t the same as someone’s biological sex, but it’s about the way you express yourself and how you feel most comfortable. Many people don’t dress a certain way because they are afraid of what others might say to them, but that’s the point of this book. It teaches you why you should move beyond those stereotypes and the stares of others. When it comes to my gender, I identify as a woman, but I do consider myself non-conforming to gender stereotypes. Sometimes I don’t dress the way a woman “should” dress because of how uncomfortable others make me feel. I also feel a lot more comfortable with those big, baggy clothes. I’ve recently been experimenting with my style and trying to be more comfortable in my own body and explore my taste more openly, without feeling uncomfortable in front of anyone else. In the way, it does fit into binary norms, as if I were to wear ‘girly’ colors and act more feminine. I’m still feminine and consider myself a woman, but the way I dress or express myself doesn’t matter because I know who I am, and I’m becoming happy/comfortable with who I am and want to be. Ultimately, gender fluidity all comes down to the way you want to express yourself and how you want others to see you. This also doesn’t give anyone an excuse to attack another because of their different perspectives; everyone should respect each other and be open to learning more about that person and how they view themselves/want to be viewed. With this, I will end with this quote, “… stars in a constellation that do not compete but amplify one another’s shine” (Alok 60). Thank you for listening to my TedTalk (it’s a joke lol).

Jade Pimentel Reflection 1

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Feminism has been a word used by plenty and has interpreted many different meanings over time. Same with gender, it’s changed over time, and so has the understanding people have of it, I included. By reading these, I have learned a lot of things I might’ve been ignorant of in the past. I never really understood the idea of gender because I thought it was only connected to the biological sex someone is assigned at birth. I learned a lot about Intersex people and some of the things they have to go through if they have some more complicated variants that could affect their health. It helps you learn that your sex chromosomes affect who you are when developing. I think that I’m still going to have a hard time wrapping my head around everything because I am slow. It will take some time for me to understand feminist politics, but I did have a lot of fun learning about sex and gender and how it works. In many Hispanic/Latinx households, most of the older generation doesn’t understand the idea of feminism and what it stands for. Many of them just think they are angry and hate men, which I used to think (not anymore, though, I was just confused). The same way with gender, many people don’t get it while many do. It takes time to learn how these all work and learn about your self-identity. I’ll be honest, I’ve had an identity crisis plenty of times, and I’ve cried because of the things I have to go through every time I go outside. It’s annoying and exhausting.

Jade Pimentel – Discussion 2

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Feminism, as I see it, is seen as an act to stop discrimination towards women or anyone under feminism. Before this reading, I was made to believe that feminism was an act of fighting for equality, or some made it seem like women were to be better than men. I never really liked the idea before because I didn’t understand it due to how others represented it. Now that I get it, I am considered to be a feminist because I have always been discriminated against for being a woman of color, and I’m not too fond of it. Feminism is a critical movement because we are fighting for a basic need for survival which we are not given. As a woman of color, I am discriminated against consistently, and even though we are fighting against it, it feels like it’s never-ending hate towards us.

We should have equity because it is just a basic necessity for humankind. “ For example, girls in many developing countries are not allowed to go to school, because some cultures only view boys’ education as valuable.” (Sex & Gender 101) These are basic things every human should know. We shouldn’t have to fight for it.

I did learn a lot when I was reading Sex and Gender 101. I didn’t know that there were variants of Intersex, and I had even looked it up online to see how it would affect a person’s everyday life. Gladly, it doesn’t affect them as severely or at all for most. I knew that when it came to biological sex, Intersex was definitely a thing, but I didn’t know anything in detail about it, only that a person can be born with two sexual organs. But reading and learning about the human body at birth and also how they grow was very interesting. When it comes to gender, I didn’t really understand it because I always assumed the terms girl/boy/man/woman came from their biological sex and what they are assigned at birth, not anything else. I did know about the cultural effects of gender, i.e., “girl” toys, “boy” colors, and the way we are categorized if we are either girl or boy. I wouldn’t say I like that colors are given gender because they are meant for everyone. The idea of chores, something essential as knowing how to clean or cook a meal, should be considered a woman’s duty because everyone needs to know that for basic survival.

Jade Pimentel Discussion Post 1

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Hi everyone! My name is Jade Pimentel, I use she/her pronouns, and I am a liberal arts major. I am hoping to, later on, get a degree in Zoology and become a zoologist. I like to draw, sing, watch shows/movies, and talk to my friends on the phone. I like taking up a lot of different hobbies. I don’t like when people are rude to me or when I order a package, and it never gets delivered!! (recently happened to me). I am from New York City, but my family is from the Dominican Republic. I value loyalty and truthfulness, I am a believer in God, and I hope to have a good home, marriage, and family in the future. I am interested in creating stories with my friends, and I play a lot on my Nintendo Switch, especially Animal Crossing. My friends and I make a lot of alternate universes while playing D&D, and we learn a lot of new things because most of these things require a lot of research! We spent a lot of time doing improv scenes, and we were all in the Drama Club in our high school.

I’ve started a new hobby, Doll Customization, and I’ve spent a lot of money buying materials. I’m glad I receive the support I need from my family and friends, even though they complain that I change hobbies a lot and never stick to one. I hope to stick to this one, though; I’m in too deep! I hope to make a doll series with these superheroes based on my friends and me and the rainbow spectrum.

I am taking this course because it is a requirement for my degree, but I hope I learn a lot in this class. I’m not sure of many topics to cover, but I hope we watch exciting movies that explain different aspects of this class. Currently, I’m obsessing over Disney’s Encanto. I’ll add a bit of Encanto and how it connects with our Hispanic/Latinx heritage. I think it’d be great to watch in class since it is a matriarchal family, and the women are in control in the town. The men take the last names, surrounded by the women in the family. It’s fascinating, and I hope we get to see it in class. In this movie, Disney explored different approaches in the Latinx/Hispanic community, especially when they learned that the women are in control and not the men.