Rising above gender norms

2/2/2020

Who or what has influenced your views on gender over the years? Describe the influences and/or influencers.

My dance teacher, who will remain anonymous, was a big influence on my views on gender. He was my dance teacher for six years and was very open about his sexuality. Growing up I thought that there were only two types of genders and that you didn’t have a choice because it came down to science. Now that I am older I know that isn’t true and my dance teacher actually helped me understand that. In the six years of knowing him I have met two of his partners. One of his partners was a male and the other was born a male but identified as a women and was in the process of transitioning. At that time in my life I had little to no knowledge on transgender and didn’t quite understand it. When he would bring his partner to our dance classes I was very curious and confused but was shy to ask questions. One day my dance teacher decided to bring her in again and actually talk about it because he felt that we had a lot of questions, almost as if there was an elephant in the room. Him explaining this to a bunch of 13 year olds was of course a little difficult but it turns out that I wasn’t the only one in my class who had questions or needed some clarification on this topic of gender. After this talk with him, his partner, and my entire dance class, we all had a better understanding on what transgender was and it was really eye opening for me to hear her story. This experienced allowed me to view gender differently

Write about a story from the Girl Rising film that was memorable to you. What are 2-3 things you learned from the girls story? What are 2-3 social ecological factors that shaped the life trajectory of one of the girls in the story.

The story I felt was the most memorable to me from the film Girl Rising is Suma’s story. This young girl is from Nepal who was sent to work by her parents instead of going to school, this is called Kamlari. Kamlari is another word for child slavery. Suma was forced to work under harsh conditions and eat scraps from the families’ plates just to get by. She didn’t have any independence and she wasn’t being educated. She was a child herself forced to cook, clean, and ever care for other kids herself. She was stuck in a situation where she felt trapped and her songs were the only thing that got her through the day. From this film and Suma’s story we can see that health, economic, and education are all social ecological factors that come into play and have shaped these events that happened in these girls life. In Suma’s story she didn’t have the opportunity to education because of her parents giving her up to work for these families, because of the environment she lived in and having no income or stability she was forced and stuck in this situation until she got help. Many factors come into play weather it’s from human trafficking, slavery, or lack of education and we have to consider all the factors because our surroundings, upbringings, and status contribute to that. Stories like these and raising awareness and educating the public is what’s going to break this cycle.

References:
Girl Rising. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://washington.kanopy.com/video/girl-rising
By: Stephanie Cruz

9 Comments

TJ Kapil

2/2/2020 03:55:47 pm

Hi, Thanks for sharing. I am very glad that your were able to have a discussion about gender at a young age. I think it's very important that people have a talk on this topic so that we can learn to respect everyone no matter how they are different from us. I also thought the story of Suma was tragic due to everything she had to go through at such a young age only because she was a girl. It hurts me to know that despite being poor, at least her brothers were able to get an education, but not her.

Nhi My Ly

2/2/2020 04:29:58 pm

Hi Stephanie, growing up I also only thought there existed two genders. As I got older, I learned about various terms such as transgender, cisgender, non-binary, etc. My family played a large role in keeping me "sheltered" from the real world and only through extra curricular clubs was I able to learn more about gender, race, and social justice issues. That sounds very cool that your dance teacher was able to address his sexuality to adolescents and got respect in return.

Marisol Bejarano

2/2/2020 06:02:12 pm

Hi Stephanie,

Growing up I also wasn't really aware of how complex genders can be, all I had ever known was that there were boys and girls and that was it, boy was I wrong. I think that knowing other individuals who present different genders can help understand the way they feel on a different level because they offer an insight to the situation that many others cannot.

Hannah Berg

2/2/2020 08:52:50 pm

Hi Stephanie,
Thank you for sharing a personal experience that shaped your view of gender. With strict gender norms and ideals shoved on us at such early ages, without actually building experiences and hearing from additional viewpoints many may go through life unaware of the multitude of valid identities. This is why it is so important to listen as it is a lifelong process, we are constantly learning and evolving. After watching Girl Rising, Suma's story stuck with me as well. It is so important to put things into context and with Suma there are so many different socio-ecological barriers in place that keep her from reaching her full potential.

Danielle Lee

2/2/2020 10:09:32 pm

Hi Stephanie!
Thanks for sharing your experience and story with us. I too thought gender was male and female, until i got older and learned about transgenders, queer, etc. I think you're lucky to have been educated by someone who was going through the experience and stage of life first hand. I think it's important that we, as human beings keep educating ourselves on topics outside of the "norm".

Kathy Luangrath

2/2/2020 11:04:03 pm

Hi Stephanie, thank you so much for sharing your own personal story with us! I also relate to you in some ways. Growing up, I had no knowledge of the diverse genders due to my patriarchal/traditional culture. My own personal experience allowed me to see gender differently while also contributing to helping me understand that gender does not just consist of female and male.

I also like how you mentioned that health, economical, economical conditions are factors that shape the events each girl within the film goes through. I feel that it emphasizes the need for awareness and education to help prevent the divide so that girls can live with their heart's content. Whether that be to learn or play.

Claire Budge

2/7/2020 12:14:20 pm

Hey Stephanie, thank you for sharing your experience! I think it's really great that your dance teacher and his partner chose to talk to you about themselves. I often see parents saying things about how children shouldn't be exposed to LGBTQ+ people as if it's something inappropriate rather than something normal. In my experience though, the younger people are when they learn about different genders and sexualities, the more accepting they are of them. I think it's admirable that your teacher was willing to answer your questions and educate you all on the topic.

Muhhamed Muhhamed

2/8/2020 09:44:31 am

Hello Stephanie
Thank you for sharing your experience, I agree that being able to talk about your sexuality is important and I commend your dance teacher for that. Most people are afraid of being labeled so they aren't comfortable. I think being able to teach your kids to be mindful to those of different sexuality is a major key.

Mariam Elias

3/11/2020 01:43:53 am

I also didn't know what transgender means until one of my older friends sent me a video explaining what it means and how it is done. It answered a lot of questions I had in mind. I am glad you know the difference and I love the fact you accepted your dance teacher the way he is at a very young age. It is really good to not judge people or hate on them since it is their life and they can do whatever they want as long as they don't hurt other people.

Rising above gender norms

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