If we want to change patriarchycompletely, we should let people know the difference, so that people know what blocking us is a system, not any individual identity. But only summary it as the system’s fault is not a solution, we need to know what the system is and how can we change it. If people can understand the system leads to some problems, then people’s questions and action would focus on the system instead of blaming certain individual identity. If people focus on how the system produces these problems, so that there will be movements and change to the system.

There are four levels of oppression: personal, interpersonal, institutional and cultural/structural.

From personal level:

• Misogyny is common and even women would have misogyny. Some women would stand with their husbands or boyfriends first than stand with other women. They would consider other women as enemies that would be able to steal their partners.
• Women can’t be trusted; men are the ones can protect others and the ones that are able to protect others because they are stronger.

From interpersonal level:

• Some words were originally described women in a good way but under pa…. Culture, their meanings had been changed and become insulting words.

From institutional level:

• Women are not allowed to have their own credit cards or inherit poverty from their biological parents/family.
• In China, the law of marriage is more beneficial to husbands than wives. Also in China, if a wife went to police station to file her husband uses violence to her, generally the policemen would not take it seriously and would concern it as regular family argument first, they would persuade the wife to go back home with her husband and live life as normal.
• While a woman and a man telling a same opinion, the woman party is easier to receive more doubt compared to the man party. A man’s word seems more convince.

From cultural/structural:

• Women menstruate is always being considered as bad, gross, and many women even feel shamed about it, and they don’t want to talk about it in public even it is normal and natural. Advertisement about tampons and pads always using blue liquid instead of red liquid to represent the blood.
• When I was a kid, I remembered some family members especially the male family members would talk to my family that don’t need to pay so much attention and money for my education because I am a girl. In their opinions, girls would marry someone one day and become other people’s family members.

Oppression is an unfair result leaded by a system that is not stand on your side, a network and system are banning you and set limitations for you from being a person with regular civil rights. As Marilyn Frye wrote in her book Oppression, Oppression is everywhere, it is not just one element. It is like a cage, and if you look closer to the cage, you wouldn’t notice the wires everywhere, but sometimes you have to take a step back, so that you can see the whole picture and then you can find where are the wires. It is same as oppression because oppression is everywhere and in our daily life.

According to Alok’s book, binary norm means boys behave like boys, and girls behave like girls. Or let’s make it more clear, boys behave what society thinks boys would behave-“We teach that boys are strong and girls are weak, that boys are aggressive and girls are nice, that boys are rational and girls are emotional.”

Alok’s way to move beyond the gender binary is disclosure different binary norms, opinions about genders and non-binary people, he is brave to stand out also wrote down his statements about it to encourage people like him also let people don’t understand him to acknowledge themselves.

When I was 7, I liked blue. In the third grade, I remembered I fell in love about fashion especially Tom Ford’s new collections for Gucci at that time. It probably would be another stereotype for fashion industry, but my favorite color turned into black because of my love for fashion. Since so many fashion designers’ favorite color is black too. When I think about it today it sounds fun for a 10 years old girl love to wear black clothes all the time. It is different from the states, but my family wasn’t sexism about color. I raised up by my grandma and in her generation (she was born in 1930) there is no such a thing like pink for girls and blue for boys, for her she just wanted her grandchildren to wear dark color since kids are always messy so that it is easier for her. Thanks to grandma so that I didn’t grow up with acknowledging color in a sexism way.

I also loved fighting-I guess it was because that one of my uncle told me that remember to protect yourself in kindergarten if other kids hurt you then you should defend yourself. Hmmmm, thanks to my uncle? Well still thanks to my uncle because of that I haven’t been bullied in campus in my whole life and he let me sense that girls can be strong too. I stopped fighting with other kids after sixth grade but I fall in love to Thai boxing after I grew up.

Things that would fit in the binary norms for me would be I am a nice person generally, and I start to like pink after I am getting older. I love shopping and I love dressing well, I am emotional sometimes especially if I didn’t sleep well.

But after so many years, I realize that I can accept all of them-I can accept my masculine side and my feminine side, also I can be both.

I believe that everyone must has these two sides in their bodies and it is normal. Nobody should be shame if they found themselves have another sides that don’t fit in the binary norms. The most important is, know who you are well and then accept the real you. 

This definition means feminism is not just about female, it is not about men were the enemy. It points out of what is the priority problem and issue about sexism and the chain influences brought by it. The unfair power relationship between genders, and other unfair rewards in other topics as equal pay issue which are all related to systemic institutionalized sexism.

This definition is hitting the point very well and can let people understand what is about feminism quickly, it is a movement to end unfair results caused by sexism. Unlike other wrong bias about feminism, “Their misunderstanding of feminism politics reflects the reality that most folks learn about feminism from patriarchal mass media. The feminism they hear about the most is portrayed by women who are primarily committed to gender equality—equal pay for equal work and sometimes women and men sharing household chores and parenting. “As Bell mentioned, people who gain information about feminism from patriarchal mass media would misunderstand about feminism. My personal understanding about feminism literally would be feminism is something about female and only about female, not related to other genders, according to how the word is so that I understand it in a literal way. This definition can send out the messages about sexism very quick also deliver the demand of feminists. Feminists don’t have to be female biologically, as long as the person agrees to end sexism, you are one of the feminists too.

Before I read Sex and Gender 101, I always think gender is fluid. Which means genders are not stable for me, they would be fluid, and everyone has female and male characteristics. After I read Sex and Gender 101, I think the essay matched with my point.

Dear Professor. Waychoff and fellow classmates,

My name is Yin Lin, and I am studying computer science at BMCC. I use they/them/theirs and she/her/hers as my pronouns.

As a girl grew up in a traditional town in China, I witnessed a lot of unfair experience happened to girls and women around me. I am lucky to have a family that respect me and encourage me to chase my dream. But seeing what happened to other girls and women in the world especially reading news report things like that, which always make me want to learn more and can support and help other girls in the world. I am happy to see more and more people today start waking up and focus topics like women’s right more. This is one of the reasons that make me choose this course so that I can learn more about myself and others.

I love reading, listening to music and watching movies at the movie theaters. That’s the reason I moved to New York City. Unfortunately, the pandemic hits the world strongly especially places with high population density as New York City. Many restaurants and small local businesses had to close since they can’t afford the rent. Music venues also struggle a lot since many people avoid gathering events after the pandemic. Luckily, New Yorkers are always very tough as the city so after 2 years most business recovering very quick. Life seems back to normal, and I start to go out to explore restaurants, art exhibitions and movies. But we know, there is something different and we have to get use to the new normal.

I register most of my courses to in person campus this semester and I wish this course could be one of them—people can exchange their own experiences which are very valuable especially while they are being heard. But I believe thoughts and ideas would not be limited by their forms. As long as we are willing to share, the opinions would be heard and seen.

I hope this course can include modern economics since finance and resource impact a lot for women’s rights and power. And according to my experience, many women take care of most housework and childcare, which are difficult to measure the value and time of it especially sometimes people simpler it as “love”, but it occupies most of the time and energy of personal time and life. During this amount of time, a person can use it to study or build their own career.

For book suggestions I would recommend My Brilliant Friend written by Elena Ferrante. HBO also adapted it to a show series. It describes two girls grew up in an Italian town, also how different life paths and choices impact their grownup life.