The Importance of Pronoun Respect: How Pronoun Usage Affects Teens and Young Adults An Annotated Bibliography Binkley, Collin. "He? She? Ze? Colleges Add Gender-Free Pronouns, Alter Policy." Cape Cod Times 18 Sept. 2015: N.p. Web. 17 Oct. 2016. In his article, Binkley notes changes in colleges in recent years. He states that many colleges and universities, such as Harvard, Cornell, and MIT, adapted, or are in the process of adapting, their admissions and housing policies to accommodate trans and genderqueer students. He notes that colleges recognize that it is unfair to out or otherwise invalidate students they admit. He laments that not all are ahead of the curve, citing institutions like The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, which chose …show more content…
He feels that the focus on “sex, sexuality, and identity is “terribly damaging” to society. He also adds that colleges are making the wrong choice by allowing students to choose non-binary pronouns. He believes that institutions like The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, which Binkley and Leff believe are falling below standards other colleges are starting to set, are actually making the right choice by choosing to keep their policies the same as they have been rather than changing because recent events. He contends that, like a trend, the need to acknowledge pronouns will …show more content…
He uses this fictional character to illustrate how students who do not identify within the gender binary still do not have adequate recognition. He notes that most of the terms that these students use stem from scholarly beliefs that gender falls on a spectrum, and that refusing to accommodate these students’ silences and oppresses their “deeply and strongly” felt feeling of not fitting the binary. He compares denying non-binary students rights and services to denying “redheads or people who live in Wyoming” rights, and he cites other countries such as Sweden and Nepal who have already changed policies to accommodate these students. He argues that we need at least five genders recognized, although with the present situation, it might be best to work for
The definition of gender has become way more revolutionary and expressive compared to the twentieth century. Gender used to be similar to sex where someone would be identified as a male or female based on their biological genitals however, this day in age it is way more complex. Someone can be born a male but mentally they feel like a male. In “Sisterhood is complicated” Ruth Padawer explains the journey of different transgender males and the obstacles they face while attending Wellesley college. Wellesley is a women’s college that has been around for a very long time and is in the process of the battling the conflict of whether they should admit transgender students. Ariel Levy author of “Female Chauvinist Pigs” tackles the stereotypes and
Being Trans gender is when a person’s self identity does not conform with their conventional sex. Talking about people identifying as a transgender individual is a difficult and very controversial topic to discuss. One author, Ruth Padawer has brought the topic to light, presenting us with examples from one of the most prestigious women’s colleges in the United States. In her piece, “Sisterhood is Complicated” from 2014, she ponders on the idea of if people who identify as transgender should be allowed in an all women’s college. In her piece, she states that “Some two dozen other matriculating students at Wellesley don’t identify as women. Of those, a half dozen or so were trans men, people born female who identified as men, some of whom had begun taking testosterone to change their bodies.” All of which made the switch to be transgender after being accepted into the school. So, in a college of all women, some are switching genders and it challenges the idea of an all women’s college. The piece continues to go through and tell us the story of three trans men and their experience at Wellesley college.
She confirms that the college she works at is affected by gender discrimination with the data stating, “more than 55 percent of our applicants are female” (Britz). The facts in the article that tell the most about the college gender gap are, “ two-thirds of colleges and universities report that they get more female than male applicants” and “ more than 56 percent of undergraduates nationwide are women” (Britz). This evidence reinforces the claim the author makes earlier in the article, that the overflow of women in colleges makes it harder for them to get accepted. The statistics in this article provide logical proof to appeal to the
For this first journal entry, I have chosen to address Judith Lorber’s paper “Night to His Day.” A number of points made throughout the entire article paralleled ideas and concepts I was familiar with due to previously taking a Psychology of Women course at WSU. A few of these points included: West and Zimmerman’s notion of “doing gender,” the idea that men who enter traditionally female-dominated fields lose prestige, the case of David Reimer (Lorber refers to him as “the accidental transsexual”), and the fact that women still do the majority of child-rearing—even if she works full-time. In addition to previous course connections, the part of the paper which recounts how “gender blending” women have been expelled from women’s bathrooms struck a chord with me. I recently donated to a campaign calling for funds to build a gender-neutral bathroom at a school with a high enrollment of trans students. It saddens me when a human being is subjected to judgment or harassment, especially when it comes to something as basic as using the restroom. Finally, I found the idea that a woman could b...
In his article, Thompson exposes Koppel’s evidence that women use more personal pronouns when writing than men. A group of Koppel’s computer scientists analyzed the writings of men and women by comparing them with their invented algorithm. The team found that women tend to utilize a greater number of personal pronouns than men. Often times men write about objects rather than people while women enjoy writing about people and expressing their emotions. (365). Personal pronouns such as “he”, “she”, “you”, and “they” produce personal and emotional meanings, and because women express their emotions more frequently than men, women gravitate toward the use of personal pronouns in their writing. By adding factual evidence into the article, the author places the focus of his writing on the usage of personal pronouns in women’s writing. Similar to Thompson, McWroter’s explains how the usage of pronouns should completely be gender neutral in literature (373-379). The entire article concentrates on the personal pronouns “they” and “he/she”. At first, McWhroter discusses the use of “they” as a singular pronoun although grammar experts consider it to be a plural pronoun. According to McWhroter, “they” creates a more gender neutral style in writing than “he/she”
...younger children. My aspirations are to be an elementary or middle school special education teacher and then a school psychologist, so I know how important it is for me to not compromise who I am or what I do to fit with the male gaze, so that I can set an example for the students I work with. Additionally, as a school psychologist, it seems likely that I will be counseling students who are struggling for an identity, or perhaps those who realize they don’t fit the body that they were born in, or even those who discover that they don’t identify with either of the binary genders. These students will need to understand that they exist for reasons far beyond reassuring the identity of someone else. This is a problem that needs to be addressed, and as teachers, we can do so by teaching our students to be comfortable with who they are, no matter who they choose to be.
Lukianoff, G. Foundation For Individual Rights in Education, (2007). Hampton university denies recognition to gay and lesbian student group without explanation. Retrieved from website: http://www.thefire.org/hampton-university-denies-recognition-to-gay-and-lesbian-student-group-without-explanation/
Meine said in an interview that, “...there are transgender students at this school. If he’s successful in his attempt, that actually creates a hostile environment for them...I’ve met staff and faculty who are transgender, so that would also affect
The reason for the article is to motivate the reader to take care of what is going on at Smith College, an all-young lady school in Massachusetts. For a transgender to try and be considered at Smith, the “applicant has to have all female gender markers on four materials: The Common Application, their high school transcript, their midyear academic report, and three letters of recommendation” (Fraas 683).
Gender Outlaws (Smith, 2010) breaks the laws of gender by defying gender normative rules that exclude trans, queer and other non-conforming gender expressions often oppressed by “gender-norming rules,” rules, “expected to observe” or be subject to ridicule and often times labeled as freak by those who consider themselves as normal (p. 28). A gender outlaw seeks to, redefine the notion of gender and are carving out spaces of their own” (p. 30).
...& Hart, M. (2013). Considering class: College access and diversity. Harvard Law & Policy Review, 7(2), 367–403.
The eye opening article utilized for this analysis is titled, “Trans Women at Smith: The Complexities of Checking ‘Female’” ,written by contributing writer, Sarah Fraas on August 24, 2014 (pg 683-685). Fraas starts off by introducing the audience with a school that accepts trans women, Mills College, and talks about how glorious this decision is. The author then begins to talk about other schools not as accepting as Mills, especially Smiths College. She spews many facts and analysis on the issues trans women face today throughout the article including how transgender women are not gaining enough support to succeed, most transgendered women are neglected in school, and the fact that many have been accused of being a woman for the “wrong” reason. She also mindfully includes the image of a woman of color holding up a sign saying, “Support your sisters, not just your CIS-ters!”. The author utilizes this image to show people that we are all one whether we
Intersectionality is an analytical tool that can assist policy makers in creating programs and policies to help combat inequities on campus. Intersectionality explores new research and policy approaches to understand the connections between structures that shape diverse populations (Hankivsky, 2014). The acronym LGBT gives evidence that people who identity cannot be placed in a single category. Not only do they suffer injustices because of their sexual orientation, but also for their race, gender, ability, disability, and age. No written policy in higher education is without use of intersectionality framework. It is a necessity because of the diverse student body attending institutions of higher education. Intersectionality requires focus on points of intersection, complexity, dynamic processes, and the structures that define our access to rights and opportunities, rather than on defined categories or isolated issue areas (Symington,
Recently, in a poorly written article for The Federalist, Mrs. Nicole Russell let her feelings about allowing transgender people in the bathroom that best matches their gender identities known. In her uneducated opinion expressed in “The Sexes: Don’t Put My Five-Year-Old Girl In A Bathroom With A Transgender Boy” Mrs. Russell claims that transgender people should stick to the gender, and by default, the bathroom that was assigned to them at birth.
Some schools, such as Harvard University and Washington University in St. Louis, provide gender-neutral housing under special conditions such as location and a student’s class year (Koma, 2014). This decision isolates LGBTQ students from the rest of their peers based on gender identity. Furthermore, several colleges are beginning to discuss about gender-neutral housing because people who favor the idea stressed that it was not about allowing couples to room with each other (Koma, 2014). As a result of these problems, most schools refrain from providing gender-neutral housing mainly because of religious and other public affiliations. Therefore, students and faculty members should promote gender-neutral housing in a positive sense through committees and active discussions about the topic of gender