ourwhippinggirl-blog

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Response to cheyennes video

I really liked the video because it kind of summarizes what we learned from the book and it also shows that other transsexuals, not only Julia Serano view this topic in that way and that many trans women and men face the same problems. I believe that it in general it is good that cisexuals got the chance to ask some questions anonymously to understand transsexuals and what they are going through better, because it if better to be interested and ask questions than just assume something about someone you do not know and start to discriminate them. However, some of these question were really offensive, like asking what their “real” name is. By asking that question they basically ruin the whole idea of transsexuality, because trans women and men transition in order to be their true or “real” self, so just like their gender identity the name they gave themselves is “real” too. Overall, a lot of the questions asked in the video relate somehow to one of the topics in the book, Julia Serano often talked about the issue of people thinking they are gay when they are attracted to transsexuals, of transexuals not accepted as their true self in public enviornment, like the military or as discussed in the book public bathrooms. They people in the video tried to joke about the questions, which I find really brave, but I think that inside they were really offended by some of these questions because they were personal and might took them back to some bad times, times they do not want to think about again 

-Lilja

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Response to cheyenne week 5, post 1

I completely agree with cheyenne that it is awful that people joke about transsexuals, especially in the media, because they already face enough problems without having someone laughing about them. Being trans in our society is probably one of the hardest things that could happen to you and if you decide to transition, despite of what everyone says and even if you already know that it is not going to be easy, than you are one of the bravest people out there. Maybe that is why people fall in love with transsexuals, ever thought of that? Maybe because they are brave people that also stay true to themselves and do not hide from anyone. Cheyenne is also right by saying that sexual affection is not the only things that makes someone attractive, personality and character is way more important for most people. There might be some people that have some weird fetish, where they are attracted to transsexuals, but there is a fetish for everything, so just because there is one person that has a fetish and likes transsexuals only because of that, but most people that are attracted to transsexuals are attracted to them because of their qualities. 

-Lilja

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Response to cheyenne week 5, post 2

I really liked the idea that Cheyenne expressed in this post because if you think about it that is what happens in society most of the times. At the first look it seems like women have more freedom because they can dress and act in a masculine manner without being judged, but when you take a closer look you realize, like cheyenne said, this is only because men are seen as the “better” sex and so people can understand why women would want to be like them. On the other side, if men act in a feminine manner, they fall out of the ordinary because people can not wrap their heads around the idea that someone would like to be feminine by choice, since women are seen as the inferior sex. 

-Lilja

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Response To Lijia (week 4, review2)

It’s just selfish for men to think that trans women transition just for the attention of men. This is because women are often sexualize for the pleasure of men. Women are seen as sexual objects while men are then dominate ones and women are expected to be submissive. Women do not dress the way they do for men. Then again I can only speak for myself. I personally hate attention from men yet it is inevitable and I can’t avoid being cat called or stared at even when I’m fully covered and it makes me feel like I’m some kind of animal. Women should be able to wear what ever they want without people assuming they are looking for the attention of men .I also hate it men people say women shouldn’t be surprised that they were sexually assaulted because they were wearing revealing clothing. Wearing revealing clothes does not and should not give men free range to have their way with anyone. -Cheyenne

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Response To Lijia (week 4, review 1)

I was also surprised like Lijia to find out that Lesbians who I would assume support trans women because they are also minority's and have experienced discrimination. However I was wrong since some Lesbians exclude trans women from events because they have "male energy" which by the way is that even a thing? And just because they may have male genitals it doesn't mean that they are going to sexually abuse anyone. This is unfair especially since trans men are able to attend when they identify as men and trans women are not even though they identify as women. -Cheyenne

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Response To Lijia (The reason behind transitioning)

Many sexologist look at transsexuals as having a problem that needs to be fixed in order for them to fit in as Lijia has mentioned. However I believe sexologist and doctors should focus more on trans people's mental well being and helping them to be comfortable with who they are. Rather than making them feel alienated and different. As well as Lijia said they are just minimizing the struggles that transsexuals have. - Cheyenne

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Response To Lijia( The big "why")

Many cissexuals like myself have never experienced their subconscious and physical sexes not being allied therefore this is why we wonder why people would want to transition. We have not ever had to think about our subconscious sex and many cissexuals are not even aware that they one. This argument can actually be used against feminist events who choose to exclude trans women from events arguing that they should not be included because that have experienced male privilege, however cissexual women have the privilege of having their subconscious and physical sex allied. -Cheyenne

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Response to Lijia (Week 1,post2)

Lijia brings up a valid point that is also discussed in the book. She brings up how transsexuals are viewed in the media. And it is true that the media only depicts transgenders especially MTF as men wearing dress rather than just being women. The media is creating a false picture of what being transgender is and it makes them appear as characters more than actual people. This depiction of transsexuals is seen as more dramatic and interesting which is why we only see transgenders who have made a big transformation or in return try too hard to be the other gender because it is entertaining and what people want to see. As oppose to how trans people actually are. -Cheyenne

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Boys don’t wear dresses

Week 5

post 2

From a very young age boys are swayed away from wearing dress and the color pink should not even be in reach of a boy. However it is more exceptable for girls to wear pants, boy shoes or clothing. Parents praise their daughters for exhibiting traditionally masculine traits like playing sports or wanting to be strong because they are breaking stereotypical barriers for a girl. On the other hand  while boys are praised for being empathetic and domestic to a certain extent which are typical female traits this is where it ends. Parents start to get alarmed when their son star to show interest in playing with dolls and wearing girly clothing. The reason why it is more expectable for women to wear male clothing or exhibit more male characteristics is because people are confused as to why anyone would want to be or show female characteristics since we are the marginalized of the two genders. Serano states “Wanting to be like men is consistent with the idea that maleness is more valued than femaleness.” (chapter 17, page 286). On the other hand it is seen as crazy for a man to cross dress and “give up there privilege” by being seen as a women. However I believe that stepping out of your own shoes and empathizing with other groups of people  especially marginalized groups of people will help to understand their issues and help to minimize sexism. 

-Cheyenne

[ourwhippinggirl-blog]

I posted a different video since the other one was too long. Just post your reactions or any questions you may have -Cheyenne

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Love Rant

Week 5

post 1

 No one ever thinks about the transgender who is being humiliated in a movie where a man discovers that a women is trans. However people do laugh and identify with the man. It is seen as a joke for people to be attracted to transgenders because that is all that is depicted in the media. Transgenders are seen as jokes rather than people who should be taken seriously. If someone is attracted to a transgender it is often seen as a fetish Seran spaks about being asked if she herself would be in a relationship with a transgender and when  she said she would her strait male friend stated “ Oh I had no idea that you had a ‘tranny fetish’”.(chapter 16).Why must she have a fetish in order to be attractive to a trans women? As ignorant as this may sound, this is what may people think. They can not fathom the thought of someone being attracted to transgender unless it is to fulfill a sexual fantasy. However being attracted to someone is more than just sexual,it also has to do with your emotional connection with someone and who they are as a person. It should not be a surprise or major shocker when someone is attracted to a transgender because they are people as well and just because their genitals may not a line with they current gender it does not mean they deserve to be loved any less.

-Cheyenne

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Response To Lijias’s  Video

This was a very insightful video and made me see that trans people are like every one else. They like and dislike things that everyone else those and they also have their own issue that they face each day. This video showed me who these people are as humans without being defined as just trans. Its important to see people as people and not their genders or sexuality.

-Cheyenne

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Aren’t we all different?

For my last review I want to focus on the last sentence of the book “Whipping girl” that perfectly summarizes the topic of femininity and transsexuality and argues how our society should improve itself. Julia Serano suggests that we should “take the next step toward a world where all people can choose their genders and sexualities at will, rather than feeling coerced by other”, something that I myself tried to accomplish in my own, previous reviews. Everyone is different, has different looks, different ideas, different qualities. Why can’t we except that, move past our differences, and instead find our similarities? Because there is one thing that we all share, that everyone has in common, we want to be happy, feel welcome in our own world and live a life that is memorable and full of excitement. I might sound a little cheesy, but I am just trying to make a point here. I personally feel like the restriction that keeps us from fighting together and that makes people exclude or discriminate certain individuals that have genders or sexualities outside the social norms, is because they simply do not understand how these individuals feel inside. But maybe the way to find equality and acceptance in our society is by stop trying to understand everyone, because that is practically not possible. No person in this world will ever understand every individual in our society, because we all have our own head, or own believes, our own norms. We should accept that people are different, and that is okay, because we can all learn from each other, with each other, to evolve and become the best version of ourselves. It is okay to be transsexual, it is okay to be cissexual. It is okay to be a homosexual, it is okay to be heterosexual. It is okay to be whatever each one of us wants to be, as long as it does not harm anyone around us. If everyone is different, because there is no second version of anyone, than there is no “normal” and no “unnormal”, no “right” or “wrong”. Or are you saying that there is another version of you, that you are not different from anyone else? Why are you trying to make everyone the same, would that not be a boring world, if everyone loves the same, feels the same, acts the same? I am happy that we are different and we should embrace these differences instead of trying to fix them

-Lilja

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Response to edward's article

The article Edward picked out clearly relates to the topic well and addresses the issue discussed in “Whipping girl”, that trans women are often left out in public “women only spaces”, like the “michigan’s womym’s music festival or similar places like that. Although I completely agree that trans women should not be left out in important events that fight for femininity, as discussed in the article, I do not agree entirely with the arguments made by the author. Generally, categorizing trans women as “men” because they used to be biologically male and excluding them from “women only spaces” because of the idea that they still have “male energy” is wrong and discriminating and something everyone has the right to be upset about. However, in this perticular example I am not sure that it really was the intention to exclude trans women for a couple of reasons. Firstly, 3 trans women did perform on stage and held speeches for every women to hear and even though that is a fairly small number compared to the 60 performers in total, but this clearly shows that trans women were allowed to attend the show. Secondly, I am not sure that this is the reason why only 3 trans women attended but my theory is that maybe it is just simply because ,from the whole female population only a tiny amount consists of transsexuals and that is why there might not be as many trans women to perform than women whos biological and identified sex aligned. I am not trying to minimize the problem, I just believe that this might not be the best example to show inequality in society for transsexuals. -Lilja

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The color pink, a “feminine” color?

The book “Whipping girl” not only discusses the topic transsexuality but also feminity and feminism, which is a topic that I can more personally relate too. Along with arguing how women and men are different in nature and what general assumptions about these two genders are actually accurate, Julia Serano also talks about how many actions and behaviors are sole associated with females and “make” a man “feminine” when he does carry out any of these behaviors. Examples of these feminine behaviors are wearing pink for example or showing emotions. Especially the color “pink” has a strong connotation with women and girls in our society, even though it is just a color it was made into something “feminine”. Some could argue that this idea is stuck in everyone’s head because of the idea that girls get everything in pink, boys everything in blue in there really early ages and this idea emerged a long time ago in society and just stuck. In general this separation of colors, blue for boys and pink for girls, does not have to be a bad thing, it is just a way of separating the two genders when children are young and you can not see based on their physical appearance rather they are biologically male or female. But the question is then, why does pink is such a feminine color, but blue is not a masculine color? I honestly do not know the answer and it might not be an important question, but it is just something to think about. Back to the topic though, what I wanted to show with this example is that males see “female behaviors”, such as wearing pink, as a “threat” to their masculinity, whenever they consciously or subconsciously take on these behaviors. What i mean by that is, for example, if a woman demands for the man to hold her pink purse for a second, the man automatically feels uncomfortable, holds the bag as far away from  himself as possible and hopes no one else associates him with this purse. Of course, this is far not like that for every man, but it does happen a lot in society. I am not trying to say that men are the ones to blame for this, every single one of us has these generalizations in our heads and we are all to blame for this. Julia Serano does make a good point though, by saying that “as long as most men remain deathly afraid of [taking on feminine behaviors] ,they’ll continue to take it out on the rest of us”, so as I mentioned before in my previous reviews, it is important for our whole society to forget about generalization, because it is crazy how a simple color can have such an huge impact on a huge amount of individuals.

-Lilja

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Response To Article

This article reminds me of something I have read in the book. Serano discusses how trans women are excluded from certain feminist events. Transwomen although they are now females are not considered “women enough” to attend events like the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival because they were born men and “have experienced male privilege”, and therefore trans men are allowed to attend. This is unfair I would think women who know what it feels like to be oppressed and excluded trans women to attend feminist events.

-Cheyenne

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The sexualization of Transwomen

Week 4

post 2

It's actually quite shocking how Cissexuals seem to be disturbed by transsexuals most specifically their bodies however when it comes to sexualizing women is a whole different story. Like cissexual women transwomen are also sexualized in the media through movies and pornogrophy. Transwomen are seen as just sex objects before they are seen as actual people in some cases. Serano describes a situation in which she was told that a man was “Turned on by girls like her”(chapter 14, page 257) she was seen as a sexual object before an actual person and this is how trans women are sexualized. Trans women are also sexualized in the media often being portrayed as sex workers. While most transwomen are trans workers it is for a reason, trans women are often not hired or experience work discrimination because they are trans which gives them no option but to work as a sex worker. While women are sexualized trans women are sexualized and exploited as well however this is usually overlooked or not seen as wrong.

-cheyenne