Bi-Gendered Doppelganger

My absolute favorite Disney film of all time is Mulan; best final ever.  Every time I have watched Mulan since becoming more aware of things that most children are ignorant of, a new discrepancy is discovered. The first was the use of the word “concubine” when Mulan and the accompanying trio in women’s attire were described as “ugly concubines”. The reaction was really, can’t believe they said that? Disney told children that in reality emperor’s cheat on their wife with concubines and that it was okay? Also the fact that the fruit that the men had were to create fake breast was something new I realized watching this time around. With the conclusion of this class looking at gender roles in the film was the target analysis. So let’s discuss gender image.

Mulan is described as “too skinny”, although she is about the exact same size as other widely accepted female protagonist in Disney films. The only way for her to bring honor to her family is to marry a good suitor. She must be “calm, obedient, and work fast pace…speak unless spoken to…” and that “she is a woman, she can never amount to anything.” They speak of her as a curse of the Fa family due to being a girl and being a tomboy at that. Notably the majority of female characters in the film have soft round faces while the faces of the men are sharp and angulated representing the soft, delicateness of women and the strength of men. Before going off to the match maker she proceeds in taking care of the chores, which is normal for any gender, and then ensures that her father drinks his tea, taking care of him as women are often portrayed in the nursing role.

Shan Yu is, according to the video, the stereotypical dominant male figure. In fact, after the avalanche killing his army, five out of seven of the survivors, Shan Yu included were very buff, large muscles and huge because of it. Suggesting that besides for plot purposes they issue the image of strength and that is the only way to survive.

Shang and his father are of strong build. Shang has angulated facial features, very large biceps, large chest, a six-pack and the whole nine-yards of male fantasy hotness. Hence it is quite obvious that he would become Mulan’s love interest due to these features indicating to young boys that in order to be attractive one must look like a body builder.

What of the men that do not have these features? Well look at the trio of Yao, Ling and Chien Po they are secondary characters. They are never considered as potential love interest. Mulan’s father Fa Zhou is of relatively athletic build however he is an older man so when drafted into the army as the sole male of the Fa family he displays strength and valor as he walks with a limp as erectly as possible without his cane in front of army officials.  Although he puts up a front Fa Zhou is still unable to fight hence the plot of the film. If Fa Zhou had a son this would have been a completely different movie. If there was only Ping and never a Mulan it is suspected that the war would have been lost and the Mongolians would have taken over China. Why?

Due to how men and women are portrayed and raised. Based on the aforementioned men are raise to be strong and brave and therefore exhibit these traits in any circumstances. Women are to be soft and delicate and subservient. Therefore Ping would have relied solely on his strength to retrieve the arrow which may or may not have worked. When it came to firing the rocket at Shan Yu, Ping would have done as is instructed following orders and allow Yao to shoot the rocket or maybe physically take him on in which he could have killed him, however he would still have the rest of the army to deal with.

When trying to enter the palace it was shown that brute force would not work and that the alternative for strength that Mulan discovered is what enabled them to rescue the emperor and kill Shan Yu.  Even further supporting evidence that Ping would not have been as good as Mulan is that the General and the all male army exhibiting pure strength, were defeated by the Huns.  Overall it was not the fact that Mulan was a woman that made her succeed it was that she had to find an alternative to compensate for the actions usually done by men. By doing this Mulan illustrated that she is equal to the common stereotype of male superiority in that women may not be as physically strong as men however they can successfully complete the same task.

 Let it not be left out: music. There are about four songs sung throughout the film itself. A fifth appears at the end of the film. These songs are in film order: “Honor to Us All”, “Reflection”, “I’ll Make A Man Out of You”, “A Girl Worth Fighting For”, and “True to You Heart.”  They each show the dominant stages of Mulan’s life and how she is treated and feels. She goes from being equaled to an object that is used for the benefit of her family and associates but not for herself. Then she sings of having to wearing a mask much like the makeup they place on her due to not wanting break family’s heart in dishonoring them by truly being herself. Then Mulan is placed into another role that she must fulfill in which being a girl is not enough, she must be made into a man in order to win. Eventually Mulan in one way or another succeeds at ‘becoming a man’ or maybe not because she sung “A girl whose got a brain, who always speaks her mind…” which all of the ‘real’ men were in opposition to. Finally after saving China then is she accepted for who she is and it is because she refused to follow conventional rules that she was true her heart.

"The buck bounds here and there / Whilst the doe has narrow eyes / But when the two rabbits run side by side / How can you tell the female from the male?" Men and women maybe built, think, act, and many other traits in different ways however that does not mean that they are not nearly the same, particularly when they get the same desired result.

Arrivederci

I am sorry to say that I must tell you all good bye, or hopefully only some. This has been a great semester and through blogging I feel that we have academically grown on each other. But who really wants to write five hundred words every week. At the beginning of the semester I would have said not me however now I say five hundred is easier than writing fifty words. Coincidentally I stopped without a single thought at word fifty so maybe I am not at all a pro at this or a reliable narrator like Jane Eyre at the moment. Or it could be tiredness and fatigue from finals and choosing to blog in the middle of the night. Who really knows? But the point being is that I truly enjoyed this experience. I loved some of the novels that were presented to me. After hearing so much about The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo now that I have an idea of what is actually apart of the content of the novel I feel obligated to read it. It beckons me to its yellow, red and green cover and says, "You know you'll love me, buy me Ashaki, buy meeeeeeeee!!!!!" Okay so I am really tired but anyways. Then there is Kate Chopin's "The Awakening". Kate is a radical in her own right and I just love radicals they are so interesting and fun. Kate wrote a novel and I had no idea. Unfortunately I arrived late to class that morning however from the segments of the presentation that I did see sounds like Kate did not disappoint. The character is a woman of today stuck in the rules of over one hundred years ago. Yet she seemed to not want to fit into the behaviorism of the past but do her own thing. She put her foot down and says, "Honey, take me as I am or leave me be." is the feeling I got from the character via the presentation. So let me attempt to conclude my incoherent banter. Blogging is a great exercise for writers, its is great for creativity. Blogging is allows one to unwind, reform and put the stresses of the day down in the world wide web for everyone to see. Okay so I’m getting really tired and out of it now. Sorry but please stay with me although you might be too busy laugh cause I would be laughing right now. The point with this blogging banter is that I would continue to blog long past this class. In all truth it will most likely not be as often as everyday a week. I the feedback will not be as often because as all of us will most likely be busy with our lives but I will continue blogging. I have enjoyed reading everyone’s blogs, your thoughts, ideas, insights, interpretations and all. Now as we go out into the world we are more aware of things of gender, images and rhetoric. They view of women over the centuries, the view of gender, orientation and the view of men in society. I have to tell you all good night or day but be safe, happy and merry and GOD Bless. Oh and please don’t blog when you’re tired like I’m doing and the funny thing is that I know better right I’m telling you not to do it but here I am anyways. Yep so it’s a case of do as I say and not as I do. Goodnight everybody!

Unisex Restrooms

She has developed breasts and a vagina. He has a chest and a penis. Allegedly they think the same and are equal for all intensive purposes, hence the fight for gender equality and the feminist movement and the works. Although men and women are essentially equal on all accounts physically they are different. Men are usually taller, have more muscle mass, therefore stronger and other physical traits opposite women. Women are smaller, more agile, menstruate, give birth and are weaker than men among other physical traits. Yet for all intensive purposes they are equal.

          As equal as men and women are, yet still we have gender segregated sports; “The Women’s World Cup versus The World Cup, Men 100meter versus Women, etc.” All of this is understandable to a society that strives for equality in regards to gender among other things. However in regards to academia, men and women are categorized into one unit. The Spelling Bee is not ‘Boys’ or ‘Girls’ but unisex. When it comes to scholarships based solely on academia in which ever specified field the division between men and women will be minimal.

 According to the article by Restak this unisex grouping of boys and girls in means of academia is unfair to both genders. According to the very same physical components that separate men and women in physical activities, by these basis boys and girls should be separate intellectually.

It is not the case of boys being smarting than girls or vise versa but a case of learning differently. So would the resolution for this plight be to cause segregation of boys and girls for the sake of academia?

The answer to that is metaphorically a double edged sword. If placing boys and girls in separate schools in order to accommodate their collective learning will increase the number of person we have graduating high school, then this segregation may be just. Unfortunately this may not be enough because although collectively boys are learning style A and girls style B on an individual level there will always be in existence variants from the dominant group. In addition to that learning style factor this will create the issue of further gender inequality by separating boys and girls even further due to lack of continual social interaction.

For eight hours a day, five days a week boys and girls are forced to interact with each other in a unisex academic environment. As with any relationship more the more one is with another person the more understanding prosper from the relationship.

In Germany at approximately twelve years of age students undergo an assessment test that indicates the educational path that a student must go for the next six years and as such which school would be best suited to their intellectual style. This test decides whether the student has the brains for linguists and arts or science, whether or not they should enter into a technical school which would enable them to learn a trade by the time they graduate high school such as carpentry or any other, and then there is the option of an ordinary high school.  

If the current academic regulation is failing our student here then maybe we should adapt something akin to that in Germany. It is understood that children may not know what their career path will be at twelve or even at eighteen however an assessment to indicates which learning style is best suited for the child would be in the overall best interest for everyone. This would not separate children based on gender and what is common for the overall classification but would enable boys and girls with the same educational stimuli to be adequately facilitated, while simultaneously learning how to relate to another gender socially.  

Thin People Have Sex and Fat People Feel Terrible

To the people of Zanthrex 3, what are you really advertising? From the narrative you claim to advertise a weight loss supplement. From your models you stand to support that claim. Or maybe that’s what you should have said during your fifteen second commercial. It might have made you appear more sincere in your plight of selling a weight loss drug. However you job is not to be nice but to sell a product and make money.  So instead of the above statement, you stated, “Rapid weight loss, incredible energy. It’s great to be thin.” What is a better product than sex under the guise of dietary supplements for consumers? However should it come at the cost of insulting consumers while objectifying other persons, the models included?

In fifteen seconds your audience views a series of still shots that illustrates models attempting to eat each other alive in lustful infatuation.  Each is fully clothed in white against a white background. As a marketing strategy the use of white was good in that white is viewed by Western audiences as good and positive on the subconscious making it easier to accept the folly of your advertisement. Although technically fully clothed the woman wears low cut shorts and a top with a neckline plunging near to her navel. By the end of the advertisement the photographed pair is half naked in what is meant to be an intimate embrace.  

The statements that the dietary supplement would result in rapid weight loss, that the consumer would have appealing results, a brand new body or anything of that nature is what one expects from a dietary marketer. Instead you insult your audience.  With your models you tell the nation to look at them, they are so thin that their guaranteed to be able to have sex with anyone, specifically as thin as them. They are guaranteed happiness in that state. With the statement “It’s Great to be thin!”, you suggest to the majority of your audience that their lives are miserable and lonely because they are fat, overweight, obese or not as thin as your models.

Have you forgotten that the majority of this nation averages at an estimated minimum of thirty to forty pounds overweight? As recent studies have shown there is an increase of live births for the past five years which goes on to declare that those that do not look like your models are having sex. If sex makes you happy then there are alot of happy overweight people in the country.  To answer your question of, “This must have been written by a fat chick or dude.”, rest assured that your hopes are wrong because this is written by someone more on the “lower” side of the spectrum, to be more specific on the healthy yet non model waif thin side of the spectrum. What the average weight of a real person is, dissimilar to either of your models and your misrepresentation of feeling great.   

This is not to suggest that being overweight is healthy or everyone should be fat and happy like Santa Claus and the yo-yo dieting Mrs. Claus. It is suggested that your marketing, advertising and promotions department work on alternate commercial content, in other words stop being lazy with the sex sells theory and make a commercial for the people, also known as, your consumers.  That’s kindergarten tactics; the boy insults the girl he likes so she would like him back. Yes, America needs to lose weight when it interferes with their healthy but thin does not equal health if it does not consist of diet and exercise. That is simply making someone addicted to a drug that without, they will return to the sad, sexless life you have suggested in your advertisement. Then we have another epidemic involving anorexia, bulimia, addiction to laxatives, dietary supplements and related disorders.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRXHE7t0h08

Stereotypes Plus the Real World

To say that we have changed is not necessarily the accurate term in regards to gender roles and their portrayal in the media. This is due to the fact that many films include the male hero and the one-dimensional female damsel in distress. This is noted prominently in action films such as the Mission Impossible series, and the James Bond series. Yes, in these films female characters have some form of say; they can aide in fighting the bad guys, shoot guns, drive fast cars, etc, but it is never as good as the male protagonist. Throughout the film, even if it is in the last scene before the credits role by there is some moment in which the Hero has sex with his rescued damsel. The damsel is always someone hot, and sexy barely wearing anything.

Likewise this can be given to the recent James Bond stepping out of the lovely blue Bahamian waters in his tight trunks; skin obviously wet and muscles well ripped we could say that he was equally objectified as his Bond Girls. The question I would pose to Mr. Bond is if anyone really remembers that? That was an old Bond movie, and the latest one has already been out for two years and that moment has basically been forgotten.  In 1962 Ursula Andress was the Bond Girl in a Bond movie of whose name many have since forgotten. What the world remembers her for was not for her talented acting, her political activism which resulted in her being expelled from her own native country of Switzerland, or anything really from the last ten years. What we remember is the fact that she stepped out of the Caribbean Sea onto the Jamaican beach in a white bikini. Therefore her name has been carried on through film history for being a sexual object.

But that was almost fifty years ago, do we really expect to see the same thing in cinema. Yes, plus more. We expect women to be hot, and beautiful, sexually objectified and at times dependent upon their male counterparts. However, we also expect women to be all of this and still be able to kick ass in an action film, such Mila Jovovich in the Resident Evil series, and Kate Beckinsale in the Underworld series. Both have proved that they have physical strength equal to and superior to that of their on screen male counter parts, have a sense of certainty and independence, are allowed as much emotional moments as men are allowed to portray as being capable of, in other words completely equally to men on screen. Except, they have to still be a sexually seductive being in some manner or else the film won’t sell and neither will their career.

Men are told to be Top Dog, act macho and show no fear in the face of evil just as James Bond had done throughout the years. Just as the many characters portrayed by Tom Cruise have done throughout his film history, as well as Jason Bourne, willing to run into explosions and jump off skyscrapers, kill anyone that gets in their way without a blink, without becoming emotional and with minimal remorse to simply indicate to the audience that they’re macho men but they’re not evil. What if they cried about who they killed that was just at the wrong place at the wrong time or showed fear in having to jump off a skyscraper and run into a ball of flames. Would they be girly-men or would they be real men? If women were not sexually objectified and men allowed showing emotions would that be the media’s acceptance of real people? Yes, and so the media has already started apologizing in recent cinema by allowing men to be emotional and women to wear more clothes, but it is not enough because when asked for examples of these films the answer is difficult to find.

Lost in Gender Translation

In a world in which Gender is pre-dominantly binary it is difficult for society to accept the possibility of a third gender: the intersexual individual. Gender is used as one of the key features of an individual to assume a definition of the behavior codes, ethics, psychological traits and any other personality attributes that one individual may possess. It is a nature of habit in the most innocent of behaviorisms to attempt to categorize an intersexual individual into male or female. So when presented with the narrator of Written on the Body, the reader automatically searches to identify all associated features of the narrator, therefore gender identification is usually placed near the top of that list. For several reasons, we as readers will, when reading a novel, or as spectators watching a film, attempt to identify with a character, specifically the main character in an effort to obtain a better understanding of the material in front us.

 It is not uncommon for women to identify with other female characters due to the society we live in. Certain prejudices and gender role conformism presented to one woman maybe the experience of another. An example of this is being the less dominant partner in a relationship, or the one that stays home with the kids, or the one that works while solely simultaneously maintaining the home in a wifely manner. Likewise it is not uncommon for men to identify with a male character for several shared seemingly gender oriented behavior.  How well an individual fits to the stereotypical determines societal appreciation levels of a person they don’t even no. A man can either follow the gender code and be a Manly Man or actively disregard it and be called a Girly Man. Women can do either of the same and be labeled Womanly or Tomboyish.

Based on the behaviorism of the text, the Genderless narrator would more likely be male than female based on societal standards for acceptable male behavior against acceptable female behavior.

In his or her relationship with Louise, as many have pointed out, he or she is the dominant partner. Louise is a static character without much say in her own life throughout the novel. She is usually under some form of manipulation by either the Genderless narrator or by Elgin. This is not to say that Louise herself did not have any say when it came to what partner she wanted or how her sex life was to be regard both persons, however everything regarding Louise is placed in the realm of physicality. Historically women were treated as objects, their body not in their possession, although being able to have feelings and infatuations the liberties taken with her body were not usually of her choice but that of some male figure.  Likewise descriptions of Louise usually pertain to her physical form, the red of her hair and the burning scar under lip, the paleness of her skin. Even the issue of her health was an issue trying to be controlled by both Elgin and the Genderless narrator, illustrating dominant roles in a relationship usually that of a man.

Promiscuity and a high sex drive can stereotypically be associated with men. When a man has a high sexual appetite and sleeps with a large amount of girls he is thought of as a ‘Player’ or ‘the Man’ or some positive term. A woman in that role is called a slut or a whore and viewed in negative light. The narrator’s sexuality hasn’t really been marred extensively in the novel by other characters on the grounds of being slutty or whoring.

The fight between Elgin and the Genderless narrator can also be regarded as sexist in the sense of Elgin being so brutal in fighting a man or a woman. Most viewer would find the fight appalling on the grounds of a man beating up a woman as Elgin did to the narrator, however if it were two men fighting the scene is less appalling. In most situations men are less inclined to even enter a fight with women let alone be so brutal unless they are an abuser, something that has not been explored in Elgin’s character. Conclusively if a gender were to be found in the novel based on the previous information the narrator would most like be male, however all of these gender traits maybe applied to either sex hence the ability to write about a Genderless narrator.  

Scar Tissue and Body Images

The imperfections deemed in contrast to societies perception of a perfectly formed human along with the physical scars of the past tells the story of an individual based on outward assumptions and inward reactions. A scar tells of an incident of trauma; this trauma can occur in youth when as children we play indelicately without worry over potential bodily harm and the long term affects of outward appearances. As teenagers these scars can tell the story of young adolescent misbehavior for example, the time when a teen snuck out of the house with the assumed stealth of a ninja jumping out the window and over the fence only to realize they couldn’t climb to save his or her life and were as graceful a bird covered in tar.  Incidents that face persons of every age including an accident such as a car crash, leaves a scar that can tell a story of a drunk driver and an innocent bystander or a family with children driving home after what will become the last time they spend a joyous day at an amusement park or any other event with their family.  A scar on the wrist can tell of the time you tried to end it all at the lowest of your mental state, puncture marks can tell of a previous battle with addiction, as recent as the freshest scar. A scar to the face, or leg, or butt or anywhere else for that matter, can tell of the neighbor’s pitbull that got out and you happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. To the dog you were an intruder or just too juicy to resist a nibble. These scars, if not publicly located, are features that we usually keep to ourselves but what about the so-called physical imperfects that we are born with.

My nose is too big, too small, I wish I had narrow/wider hips, bigger/smaller butt, broader/slimmer chest, bigger/smaller boobs, I wish I were taller/shorter, fairer/darker skinned, straighter/curlier hair, I wish I were skinny/ I wish I could gain even little bit more weight, and we all hear or say the rest. The psychological illustrations of your self perception can vary depending on the comparison of one body to the invisible cardboard cutout of the perfect man or woman.  When someone more closely resembles the cutout are they interpreted to by more confident than others, less often to be single, a good or conceited person?  What if they are against the cutout, even a startling contrast to it, are they not still beautiful? Do they feel beautiful on the inside and radiate with confidence? Or, do they shun themselves from extroverted behavior, assumed to have less dates than the average person or not deserving enough to have a piece of the cardboard cutout? Our body is a never ending feature length film, the never ending story of the biography of our existence, the music of our heart and the painting of our truth.  That is why we are not usually intimate with everyone, in every sense of the word intimate, especially of physical intimacy, we are revealing our true self to someone else by an exploration of our body.

It Depends on the one Day

As Pirate’s of the Caribbean character William Turner/The Flying Dutchman after being sentenced to ten years at sea and only one day allotted on land placed it, when asked about the one day, “It depends on the one day.” In that situation the sense was that if you were allowed one day on land after spending ten years at sea would you be able to satisfy any thirst you may feel while at sea and therefore the total significance of that day in someone’s life.

As an observer that will play absolutely zero intrusion on the life of any single person, if we as observers watched this individual would we by the end of the day be capable of telling generally anything about the person? Well first of all we would only be able to make a tale based solely on outward appearances and actions which may be fine for at least half the extrovert population, but what about everyone else? Beauty is only skin deep supposedly so we have to entire the mind of the individual during this observation to truly see their whims and woes, delights and dreams.  Just in the same manner as how Michael Cunningham framed the Hours he gave readers all access into the mind of almost every character that showed significance in understanding the mentality of our three main characters.

On a normal day, not giving birth, close-ones do not die, basically a day that would be somewhat mundane and forgettable because it happens so very often that at times the smaller things of the day are forgettable and overlooked, if we observed a person on that day, with full access to their mind we may be able to know the person completely by the end of the day.  Literature and film gives us these opportunities to explore a character’s very essence.

For some of us while we go about our everyday duties we are predominantly in our heads constantly thinking. We think of our future; dream of whom we wish to become, to be with, how and when we will impact and make our mark in the world before we make our grand departure.  We think about the past; in constant reflection of our memory viewed on silver screens of the mind, nightmares that we wish to forget, moments that want to never forget that last a life time instead of reality’s mere moments.  Our forever thought of what did I do wrong, what was right, did I make the right decisions, maybe if I did this I would have made out better in life, I should have spoken to this person, if I knew then what I know now would it be better? All of the past events that have created to people we see today.

We are marked with invisible scars of the good and bad of the past. So we push forward, we interact with the present, how we behave gives the observer an impression of our history. We see a familiar face and react negatively, as an observer we know you’ve had a rough history with this person. You see someone else with infatuation we understand there’s a level of romance or admiration between the parties. Therefore in response to the question of whether or not a person’s identity can be revealed over the course of a day, I still would say it depends on the day. Pending your not in an uncustomary mood you can observer the entity of one’s life in a single, mostly average day.   

Old School Christian

Now homosexuality is not a new phenomenon that has suddenly bloomed with the turn of the century relatively in similar timing with women’s gender role expansion.  No, indeed homosexuality was prevalent for many centuries, dating back to the ancient Japanese Samurai s of the past. In these relationships the master would have sexual relations with his male student as a form of intimacy, bonding, closeness and overall trust between master and student. Whether or not there was consent by both parties it is not fully known, however this practice was widely accepted by the Samurai culture.

As we go back even further and stop to take a look at the societies of the ancient Greeks and the ancient Romans we observe the presence of homosexuality and even the somewhat taboo nature of transsexual persons are explored. Now these homosexual acts may be of persons that are homosexual in heart and feeling acting out love upon one another or these may be a symbol of male dominance by sodomizing other persons, particularly during war. As we all know, this blogger was not in the past to witness these acts in person to decipher the true nature of them. Let me also add this disclaimer and state the obvious that all of the above is my interpretation of text and images that have been seen and read over time, the accuracy of these documents are pending upon the creator of those documents in regards to historical accuracy.

What I believe to be true and in fact is the word of the bible. Now I also understand that, yes some books were taken out of the bible. Yes, possibly the bible has been used to manipulate people by religious figures in the past, maybe even the writers themselves while claiming to be in the spirit of GOD in which HE is the true author, may have even tampered with it. Then there’s the case of even if nothing has been tampered with, everything remained true as GOD assigned it to be, there is still the potential error of the wrong words being used in some places simply because of hundreds of years of translating the Bible from it’s original language to the many languages we have today.

 But, in spirit and in truth I believe the literal context of the Bible as what GOD made it out to be for Christians and everyone. Call me whatever, ignorant, foolish, anything, but old school Christian as I am I take the Bible literally and will still stick to its word.  Now, probably in hate mail mode and ready bite my head off let me illustrate my perspective. No, I’m not trying to call anyone ignorant or berate anyone as a fellow classmate has previously interpreted, I am simply making myself completely understood because there have been several occasions in which someone did not understand exactly what I was trying to say, so please take no offense.

The bible has taught me that homosexuality is wrong, eating pork, shrimp and other unclean things are incorrect, a woman must cover her head as she kneels down to pray, no premarital sex in relation to the marriage context of the past and present, that is basically no sleeping around if you don’t like ‘no-premarital sex’, and all of the other behavioral rules dictated to us. This does not mean that I hate homosexuals or condemn them, that would be the same rubbish of me saying I hate you because your not Christian, which I don’t.

I don’t think anyone will follow the bible rule for rule subconsciously; some of us eat pork, and or shrimp or other unclean things. Because my head is uncovered 75% of the time I pray doesn’t mean I’m a bad Christian, I’m personally just too lazy most of the time. Just because someone is gay doesn’t make them a bad person, in my eyes. Just because you claim to be Christian and have premarital sex doesn’t mean that your at a loss with your spirituality.

It is wrong is trying to condemn someone that doesn’t match up to the idealistic Christian because as far as I know there is not a perfect Christian. What is wrong as well is trying to alter the context of a religion to suit your opposing life style. Because I eat shrimp and crabs doesn’t mean that I must take it upon myself to alter the bible’s teaching in a way to show that eating unclean things is okay according to the gospel. Likewise the homosexual community should not try to manipulate the biblical doctrine and alter it to suit their homosexual lifestyle and basically take that rule out. Homosexuals and heterosexuals are equally wrong when they attempt manipulate the words of the Bible to suit their purposes or say that we cannot take the literal documentation because that was for a historical culture and thereby alter proper biblical teaching.

 I am an old school Christian, young as I am, and I try to seek the peace before adding to the conflict. I really don’t know if someone punched me in my right jaw if I would give them the left one over punching them back and more like the bible says, however I have no intention of manipulating the bible to suit me.  Some things are not for us to decide because according to my belief we will be judged by GOD individually when the time comes. Until then both parties should keep the peace without condemnation, altering and manipulating the word of GOD for whatever reason.

The Frames of Imagery

                   In order to live in a specific society freely, you must follow the laws of that society. Some laws remain unwritten and forever changing along with the social progressions of that society. For gender oriented behavior, there has always been a societal stigma for stepping against those unwritten laws. For a woman to behave more macho and masculine she may be called a lesbian, for a man to behave more feminine and dainty he is deemed gay. This may or may not be true, but these are based on social stigmas and stereotypes.  A lesbian may or may not act more masculine or feminine simply because of her sexual orientation. A gay man may or may not behave more feminine or masculine just because of his sexual orientation.  Now these issues of gender behavior are not only pertinent to sexuality but to our everyday lives from the beginning of time.

Every era has its gender roles and boundaries, however as anyone will know some rules have changed over time. Imagine going to a museum that contains only paintings regarding the history of gender. As we walk frame by frame, century by century will see different roles carried out by men and women, with different attire. Ignoring wealth or other economical statures what is common among men and women of this time. In the time of Jane Eyre, the few men that were deemed important enough to have portraits made of them shared the similar face of strength, and dignified, appearing as a master of whatever their trade. It was rare that women without nobility or of society were seen portraits. Of the few women, they were displayed fawning over men to find a wealthy suitor. Otherwise they were working as governesses, tavern maids, always in servitude to someone.

Let’s travel now to the series of portraits during World War II, of both army personnel and civilians. During this time soldiers were mostly men while nurses almost all women. If coloured photos from that time existed or were even prevalent you would notice that in civilian attire, there was a specific colour coding. Boys were not seen wearing pink or any other feminine appearing colour and wardrobe. Why, is that? In the novel A Separate Peace by John Knowles, the setting was between the summer of 1942 and the summer of 1943 at an American high school. Of the two main characters, Gene and Phineas, Phineas was the most likeable. The most free spirited, athletic and overall best person you wanted to hang around. In the novel Phineas was without wrong.

One day Phineas decides that he would wear a pink shirt. In the modern world that is nothing for a man to wear a pink shirt. Unfortunately back then when he wore the pink shirt he received many stares from the people that adored him. They even called him a ‘fairy’ which was a slang time of being gay, which was a stigma back then. Now it’s 2010 and wearing men wearing pink is not a problem.

Now our gender orientation has changed as we move to the picture frames of today.  Women are now equal to men in laws, rights, mentality and in the workforce. In fact several recent studies have shown that more women are employed than men. More women are graduating from universities, particularly with PhD degrees than men. Although there are more women in the workforce than ever before what are they’re career options?

 Just as in the past there are more female nurses than female doctors. There are more male doctors than male nurses. When driving past a construction zone the other day, there was a sign that read “Caution Men Working”, suggesting that only men were on their construction team. There are more male firefighters than female, more male truck drivers than female. Similarly there are more female, dental assistants, phlebotomist, OBGYN’s, teacher’s but not lecturers, areas that do not require as much physical strength than others and areas that compass of second best like scenarios like the nurse vs doctor situation.

But these are only a few portraits in a museum of our gender history and are not even the two sides of a coin but a part of the six sides of a die. Women have become the breadwinners in some families while men stay at home and raise the children. There are female electricians and male CNA’s. Therefore overtime our portraits will show a significant change, from one decade to another, but in the case of gender oriented roles and stigmas, they will always exist because it’s not like we’re all unisex anyways, are we?  

Time Travel Janet

Once upon a time there was a fictional girl named Jane. To many others she would have been deemed inhumane, because she was not really insane but rather the appearance of a societal stain. You see she was severely outspoken and a woman of her heart, a trait that her society would call a mistake.  She had will power and would act upon her will.

So with that brief identification let me ask you this question, if you could travel back in time, when would you go back to? I have to say that if a woman named Jane Eyre, living our modern world, was given that question and said that she would go to the Victorian Era, and we were somehow able to document her in that time period our results would indeed be Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre.

Now I understand that some of you may be lost or puzzled at this point with my first paragraph so please allow me to ever so clearly explain.  I believe that Bronte’s ambition in writing Jane Eyre was to convey that women of that time period had a voice, that they were not only made to posses talents such as singing, painting and the ability to play music. They did not only posses the ability to be a great arm candy of wealthy suitors or breeders to carry on the family lineage in servitude to their husbands. And they most certainly were not be stereotyped, characterized and placed into the box of social position because of the family they were born into or the wealth they achieved in life. No, she tried to illustrate in Jane Eyre that women can be the equals of men.

She attempted to convey that women had a mind that was both sensible and fully capable of anything that a man may be asked to undertake.  In a time that a Queen was the ruler of England and not a man, a Queen that went on to explore new worlds and enlarge the British Empire instead of acting as a consort to her husband and her country. In England progressive modernization, I would say that Bronte portrayed Jane as the modern women; a woman that fulfilled her role as a governess in its simplest form but also went above and beyond, a woman that explored her thoughts and feelings and exerted them in the correct context.

Jane Eyre is the modern woman; not only for the mid 1800’s but also for 2010. If we were to teleport a random woman off the streets into Jane time ( let’s assume that this woman happens to be familiar with all the customs and roles of Jane’s time), how do you think she would behave? I believe that she would be just as Jane was, of passion and spirit and vigor, not complacent to only live without full expression. To have a voice and say that I am a person too! I have feelings and emotions! I have intelligence and sensibility! I am not cattle! I am not a play thing that you can order as you please, decide to rape me with no qualms and treat me inferiorly simply because I was born with less wealth than others! I am a woman and I am your equal! Bronte attempted to convey all of this without having to uses some of the words I used.

One of the largest examples is with Jane’s relationship to Mr. Rochester and St. John. In both relationships she was dependant on these men for her lively hood until the later part of her relationship with each when she inherited her fortune.  The strong rift lays with her gender role being enforced by St. John, even when she was no longer dependant of him, however in order to please St. John she had to be compliant to him, she had to immediately drop German and learn Hindustani with him. She could not have much leisure over her mind and freewill with him. With Mr. Rochester, she was a governess in his house, however within employee lines to an extent she was free, happy and completely herself. Not held back because she had a uterus and he did not. In the end Jane chose Mr. Rochester and as far as we know lived contented for at least ten years.

This is not an in-depth view of this semi-triangular relationship however does begin to paint of picture of Bronte’s anti-gender control outlook.  

Gendered Anomaly

Unfortunately on the terms of intersexual gender I cannot reclose my answer to just one respective question. Instead I must give a response that has an answer that covers all three questions. In my personal stand point, a naturally born intersexual individual is born in a station that is figuratively analogous to a gender anomaly, my reason for this is at the end of my blog. In some cases, such with Dr. Georgina, it is felt that some intersexual persons are born into a body that is not representative of their gender identification. That is that they do not feel as though they belong to both sexes but of a singular gender that may not be represented by their body’s natural physical features. In cases like these as Dr. Georgina stated that it can be surgically corrected to a physical form that is identifiable by the person. This task of genderization for lack of a better term should not be carried out by parents. If required a law should be placed that prohibits parents from having their child undergo any operation until the child has reached puberty and a dominate gender is seen. Even then, surgery must be with held until the child is at an age in teenage adolescence that they have identified with the gender of their choice whether male or female. It must also be taken under consideration the possibility of the child not wanting any surgical change or a move to go to male or female. What if that person chooses to remain in their natural state as a transsexual being? That must be allowed as well. This however creates another series of inquires.


What of the people that remain in a naturally transsexual state? What of transsexual persons whose parents decided not to gender orientate their child until puberty when a dominate gender was indentified? Or when the individual themselves agree on a singular gender at what age that may be; what is the grammatically correct term to represent these persons? In all instances of a naturally transgendered person the wrong label may be placed. They may be called a girl, she, female and feminine, whilst feeling masculine oriented. Just as likely they may be called a boy, he, male and masculine whilst feeling feminine oriented. And for societal standards, these labels must be given because a person does not normally enter the world without gender. We simply do not say to a parent “You have a beautiful transsexual!” We say you have a beautiful girl or handsome son.

What of persons that decide to remain in their natural state of intersex? What is the grammatically correct term given to these persons? We cannot call these persons ‘it’ as so many misunderstanding societal person may say. The term ‘it’ sounds and feels degrading, insulting and a terrible way to identify a person. To give them the wrong gender is terrible as well as I stated previously. So how do we as a society help naturally intersexual gendered person gain their gender identity?

There must be understanding, and some compromises. To say that five genders are needed; ferms, merms, male, female, and herm, is somewhat it irrational. If a person is intersexual, they are simply intersexual whether a herm, merm, or ferm, because in all three of these cases it is a hermaphroditic blending of the genders that make the person intersexual to begin with. Not how much male physiology or anatomy they have while being a woman, or how much female physiology or anatomy they have while being a man. To say there is a need for three gender categories instead of two is somewhat more understandable; a category of male, female and intersexual. This third category is not foreseeable in the next ten years argumentatively for the simple notion that the transsexual population is not even a quarter of the Earth’s population and may only be recognized as gender anomaly that is usually correct by natural transsexual persons. If the transsexual population were to increase greatly where one in four person are transsexual, we would not see the anomaly, but the third sex simply because it is then normal.

A Woman's Gender

Pertaining to Devor’s text, of the five sexes I am and forever will be a woman. Pertaining to classification in modern society of what a woman is, I fit all qualifications. I was born with all of the anatomical, physiological and hormonal features and functions that would pertain to all women. I am one hundred percent straight and have complete sexual admiration for men in the common sense that individuals have for each other in a respectable manner. Although almost all straight women share similar if not the same views, sexual biological stand point and can be categorized from the above as all woman. Unfortunately in our society there is and may be forever the need to prove that we are real women.


By the term real woman, it is not only meant that your body looks and functions as a typical woman’s body would, but that you also act as a woman. Otherwise, you will be deemed to masculine, un-lady like or tomboyish. But what really and truly defines what a person can and cannot do because it is against their sex? As a woman I am allowed to wear dresses and skirts, to cry and feel emotional and express my many emotions. Strange emotions are almost always given away to the term premenstrual syndrome, therefore suggesting only women are emotional or hormonal. But is it okay if a man decides to give way to his feelings and cry while watching a sad movie or become emotional when he is sad? What about tears of joy when a male is happy at the birth of a puppy? To many including myself those actions are indeed un-manly.

He must toughen up and to suck up his tears is always what little boys hear when they fall off the swings or their pet suddenly dies. Why are we conditioned in this manner? It is gender roles set by our society. In our society for centuries man have played the role of the breadwinner, the provider, the protector, all roles that must be fulfilled by someone that has some form of strength to them. What of women, our role in the past hundred years and beyond was to be the homemaker, raise the kids, and be delicate as a flower and sweet as honey.

With all of these boundaries placed between men and women the only choice there is, is to conform. As a woman I find strength in being capable of doing anything a man can do, I can drive just as good, even better than males of my level of driving experience. I have more knowledge of cars and other things that would be deemed only for boys. I love science and math which for many was that as an area only fond of by boys. I also would one day enjoy being able to drive large trucks of any sort. When saying this to a guy that I was once interested in he says “I don’t think its right for women to drive trucks. I think its un-lady like. I want a wife that I can come home to after work and cook my dinner.” In similar words he also stated that he wanted his wife to work, particularly a high paying job, preferably in medicine, and clean the house and fulfill other womanly roles. Quite obviously the friendship never progressed into anything romantic after that conversation however I always wondered, why must I be forbidden to do things because my private parts are different. In the western world I can say the same thing about a man wearing a skirt or a dress. It is obscene and unheard of in America. However were to visit Scotland, would we not see men openly wearing kilts, with pride and enjoyment.

For my part all I can truly do is be myself whether it fits into the male category or the female category. I believe that goes for all men, women, and naturally born transsexual. The only thing that can possibly done in goodness to be true to yourself.

A Question of Gender

Quite frankly what is gender but a name given to the natural biological structures and processes of the body. Gender as described as male or female has always and forever been the description given to us from birth. With the ever expanding possibilities and features of technology we can no longer be what we were to be but what we want to physically look like akin to our emotions and what makes us feel the way we do. What makes us feel like a man or woman is known as our gender identity. For a long time I believed that we are only male or female. This is how we were born and this is house we shall die. This is how GOD created us and this is how HE wanted us to live whether or not our minds were at war with our outside appearance. With the technology of the future in our possession today we can now and make our minds cohesive to our bodies. Hence the appearance of transgendered people. Thus group also became the apart of the new LGBT group represent a set of people outside our norm. For these people I believe, they are agree that by becoming a transgendered individual they now become the new sex of their choice. As for me, my believe is that once born a man, you are a man. Once born a woman, you are a woman. Although this is my believe and I hold on to it everyday surgery and hormone treatment change gender in such a way that we no longer can tell at times what the original gender was completely obscured of their secret unless it is spoken. And the case of the greatest anomaly of all; transsexual also know as hermaphrodite. This has caused me to rethink my original judgments. Quite frankly once again this goes against the criteria of my original thoughts. An individual of both sexes, without the choice of converting to another because they are already of both sexes, both male and female at birth. What do I say or do? I can only sympathize with these people and look at them from a different light. There is no choice of going from sex A to sex B but only having the choice of being identified as A or B when unknown to most of the world they are the rarely heard of sex C. In this cause I give pardon beyond all others and state that whatever the wishes are of the transsexual group I am compliant to they’re choice of gender identification.


With this I do believe that although higher unlikely there is a possibility to a change of view on the issue of gender. This is solely because gender may no longer be looked at in the sense of a man and a woman but a new addition to the group that must be looked at and understood. With this I say that gender in a case of modern society may never appear the same with gender roles change to fit the new demands or society. Then gender identification with more and more people feeling out of place of their given gender status, whether because of being born as sex male or female or completely a different phenomenon transsexual.