Reflective Essay

Posted on June 18, 2019 by lindseyle21

In the process of researching and writing the seven artifacts over this semester I have learned many things related to gender, biological processes, and different ways of life. Considering that I am somewhat close-minded, researching and writing these artifacts have influenced my ways of thinking by exposing me to cultures and religions that I normally wouldn’t give any attention to. I have been enlightened about issues occurring in other countries and cultures that I would have had no idea about before taking this course. Almost everything that was taught in this course I had little to no knowledge of or about.

I plan on working in the medical field, so learning the difference between sex and gender was very beneficial. “Sex refers to biological characteristics….gender is the role and social identification of a person” (Artifact 1, 2019). I want to be an Orthopedic Surgeon, so if I ever obtain a transgender or third gender patient I can have a better understanding on how to treat them psychologically and physically. Considering that these people already suffer from anxiety due to gender dysphoria, I will keep this in mind by trying to prevent squandering them with unnecessary stress- like finding another surgeon or anestethiologist (Artifact 1, 2019). These people are either shoved away or accepted and treated incorrectly. For example transgender patients have a higher risk of suffocating under anesthesia, but most surgeons and anestethiologist are ignorant to this statistic so the patient could suffocate during surgery!

Even if I do make it through medical school I probably won’t be paid as much as my male counterparts! I had always known that men were paid more than women, but I didn’t realize that this problem was caused by so many factors such as pregnancy, segregation, and domestic responsibilities (Artifact 3, 2019). Women also tend to be healthier than men because of having reasons to take frequent visits to the doctors; this can also be due to the fact that men have more dangerous jobs (Artifact 4, 2019). All of this seems to be like common sense, but it never even came across my mind! If I wouldn’t have taken this course, I would have been ignorantly enjoying my $300K/year versus a male Ortho’s salary $400K/year. Ignorance is not bliss in this case!

I always knew that Africa had many different cultures and religions, but I did not realize how different these cultures were from one another! For example, Sierra Leone still practices female circumcision for initiation purposes, but female circumcision is illegal in Egypt (Artifact 6, 2019). Without the research of how medically qualified agencies view female circumcision, I would of thought that this practice to be harmless to a woman’s health! (very ignorant of me!) After researching the WHO and CDC’s views on this practice I came to the conclusion that “the only benefits to female circumcision is cultural or religious acceptance” (Artifact 6, 2019). With the knowledge of circumcision being a part of the initiation of most African culture I would have never of guessed that even Africa made it illegal, its just a matter of breaking the rules or not.

I assumed that these cultures knew that it was harmful for the women and chose to do it anyways, but these people aren’t being educated of the harmful effects of this practice. So it’s not that they are intentionally torturing women, they just simply don’t know that female circumcision is harmful. Preceding this information I just assumed that these evil actions towards women were intentional because of all of the evil spirits that reside in many African cultures.

The artifact that surprised me the most was the last one- Artifact 7. I always knew that some transgender people got gender-affirming surgeries, but I stereotyped them to be pleasant and reliable like Caitlyn Jenner’s. I honestly had no idea that these people were denied health care because of their decision to be transgender! It is common sense now, but I also didn’t even think that the surgeons are only changing the external genitalia and not the internal organs! I had no idea that this struggle even existed! I know now that transgender people were and still are being discriminated against, especially in more conservative states -like in the South! “Transgender people have absolutely HORRIBLE health care and are subjected to horrible violence” (Artifact 7, 2019). There have even been instances where transgender prisoners have been denied their medication (Artifact 7, 2019).

Learning about the menstruation cycle and the different types of hormones that our bodies produce helped me understand how someone can be medically born with extreme hormonal imbalances. Learning about the male’s internal and external organs will help me when I am performing surgery on male patients. Learning about female internal and external organs will help me when I get injured again, or when I have female patients! This information has the ability to influence my future decisions. For example hip pain a tricky thing to treat because many hip conditions have similar symptoms. It will be my job to decide if the pain is originating from the internal(hip joint), external (ligaments, tendons, muscles), or the internal organs. Groin pain could be a torn labrum, torn iliopsoas tendon, ovarian cyst, pelvic inflammatory disease, or even different types of cancer.

My knowledge of these internal conditions can save a patient from being misdiagnosed repeatedly. This knowledge can also prevent the patient from getting unnecessary surgeries like hip replacements, spinal fusions, and painful biopsies. This course has broadened my horizons and has given me many tools that I can use in the future! The knowledge of diverse cultures, biological conditions, and mental health can help shape my future work and can affect my future patient’s lives.

Artifact 6- It’s Just Blood, Suck It Up!

Posted on June 12, 2019 by lindseyle21

Menstruation is viewed differently in different cultures and societies. Menarche, the first occurrence of menstruation, is celebrated by some cultures and shamed by others. The Swiss Army, keen on menstruation or not, have found tactful uses for tampons. Tampons can be used for bandages, water filters, fire tinder’s, survival straws, cordage, and survival fishing bobbers (Manly Skills 2017). Menstruation and its tools are very important for some soldiers survival when deployed. It is a requirement for every female to have at least two tampons in the lower left pocket at all times! You never know when a tampon could save your life!

Menarche and menstruation can also be accustomed to certain cultural rituals in some regions of Africa. The Malawi’s culture views menarche as a chance to cleanse and purify the women. After a woman’s first period she has three days to have sex to “purify” or “cleanse” herself. Some families even hire “hyena’s”, which are men that are hired to have sex with these newly menstruating females. One man was taken to jail because he had sex with over 100 women and was HIV positive! Using a condom is prohibited during this “ritual”, so he had the potential to spread this disease to all of the women that he had sex with (Jacewicz 2016).

The Jewish Orthodox religion views menstruation as “dirty” and “unholy”. Women are supposed to refrain from touching and sleeping with their husbands for two weeks after their menstruation cycle has started. On the last day of menstruation, women are supposed to get “purified” by taking a bath that goes up to their jaws. After this purification process is complete they can go back to their husbands and do as they please! If a woman breaks the rules of this practice, then it is considered to be sinning against God. If she sins against God, then she and her household will face God’s judgement against them! This practice seems to be strictly enforced throughout Jewish communities.

In Nepal menstruation is viewed with a negative connotation. During menstruation, women are banished from their villages and households and are forced to live in a hut for the week! This practice originated from Hindu mythology that if a woman did not obey this practice then the gods would punish her and her family! Villagers believe that women are “unclean” and can transmit many diseases while they are menstruating. This practice was abolished by India’s Supreme Court in 2005, but some regions still practice this. Making women live in a hut is not safe at all; in fact many women have died in these huts. They either die from carbon monoxide poisoning from the fires lit to keep them warm and cook food, or they get killed by predators (Preiss 2016).

For the most part the United States has a repressive attitude towards menstruation. Alisha Coleman , an employee of the Bobby Dodd Institute in Fort Benning, got fired for “leaking menstrual blood at work” (Chandler 2017). She filed a lawsuit for discrimination; the district court dismissed her case. The judge pointed out that if a man soiled himself due to incontinence problems then he would be treated more fairly because he was a male. Menstruation is a topic that no one wants to talk about publicly because social stigma’s tell us not to! I grew up in a household that taught me to keep these things to myself, like many others in my town. Personally, I don’t find it embarrassing to talk about but I was taught that it was “unlady-like” to talk about those things, especially in public! Honestly, it is a fact of life and it should be talked about. There is little to no awareness of discrimination and abuse towards women. People need to know these things! I had no idea that in other cultures and religions that women were so harshly discriminated against! It is very sad, and I believe that things should change!

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/08/17/490121285/a-swimmers-period-comment-breaks-taboos-in-sports-and-in-china

Arifact 5-

Posted on June 9, 2019 by lindseyle21

Female circumcision is any cutting, removal, or alteration of female genitalia. There are four different types of female circumcision, and most cases fall within the first three. Type I, otherwise known as “sunna circumcision”, is the partial or complete removal of the clitoral hood. Type II is the removal of the clitoral hood, and partial or all removal of the labia minora. Type III, otherwise known as infibulation, is the removal of the clitoral hood and sewing the labia minora and labia majora across the vaginal opening leaving a hole for menstruation and keeping the urethra uncovered. Type IV are any other nonmedical harmful procedures to the female genitalia like piercing, cauterization, and scraping. These different procedures are performed at clinics in north Africa, India, and some places in the United States secretly preform circumcision.

There are many origins of this practice; some religions believe that circumcising females keeps them “pure” for the men. In Sierra Leone, little girls are required to get their clitoris’ removed. It would be culturally unacceptable if any girl refuses to get this procedure done! After the circumcision the female patient or “victim” is considered to be a real woman (Turay- YouTube). This procedure is considered an initiation in their culture, so if you are not initiated then you are rejected and considered promiscuous. Even though female circumcision is accepted in many African cultures, most of the world believes that it is inhumane and has no medical benefit towards the individuals. For example, female circumcision was banned in Egypt but midwifes still secretly perform this procedure. People will do anything for money if they need it.

The only benefits to female circumcision is cultural or religious acceptance to that individual’s society. These procedures “limits a [woman’s] sexuality and is physically and emotionally harmful” (National Geographic). According to the World Health Organization, female circumcision has no health benefits and only provokes harm to women around the world (World Health Organization). Circumcision has many negative effects on women’s health including postpartum hemorrhage, obstructed labor, and dysmenorrhea (Alexandria Journal of Medicine 2016). Women and young girls also have a high chance of infection due to lack of medical expertise that are performing these procedures. According to the United Nations Population Fund, around 200 million girls and women “have been subjected” to female circumcision (UNPFA 2018). UNPFA have attempted to accelerate and enhance the complete elimination of female circumcision across the globe.

Since 1996 some countries in Africa have banned circumcision due to UNPFA’s efforts to educate the entire continent. These countries include Nigeria, Egypt, Chad, Ethiopia, and Uganda. Factors that prevent complete elimination of these practices include cultural rituals, traditions, lack of knowledge, and refusal to change their cultural traditions. These practices persist because circumcision is a big part of some cultures, especially in Africa. Circumcision can even provide economic benefits to that individual. If a female is not circumcised then they are shunned from their society and lose all of their trading and “citizen” rights (NCBI 2016). Organizations have traveled to these countries to try and educate the midwives that are performing these procedures, along with education the rest of the population.

Guyland Essay

Posted on June 1, 2019 by lindseyle21

Many men and women feel imprisoned due to traditional stereotypes that have been poisoning people’s minds for centuries. These stereotypes affect how young men and women view themselves by setting a “standard” and if an individual does not meet that standard then they are judged for it. Pornography can be considered one of those “standards” within sexual relationships between individuals. Some people treat porn like it is sexual education and use it as the “textbook” to what is and what is not great sex. Porn affects how both men and women view themselves during sex. According to the New York Times, more women are seeking genital cosmetic surgery due to their self conscious thoughts of not looking like the women in the porn videos (Rabin 2016). The most common surgery being the Labiaplasty, which reshapes the external fatty tissue (vulva) by surgically cutting and reshaping.

Porn can have a negative effect on sexual relations within relationships. According to Noah Church, watching porn for long periods of time caused him to have a decreased sex drive when it came to actually having sexual relations with a woman himself. Its almost as if the porn he was watching was putting his mind into a false reality. Men who are addicted to porn admit to depersonalizing themselves while they are having sex because it is the only way that they can “get off”. Porn addiction has ruined relationships and sexual performance for avid viewers. This porn addiction can be considered as Guyland. If there is a Guyland then there is a Girlland. Women face more prejudice in today’s society. It is socially acceptable for men to “hook-up” with as many partners as they please, but women are named as sluts when try and follow these footsteps.

This prejudice has affected self-confidence and self- identity in many women today. Miley Cyrus admits to being subjected to these judgments. She described wearing a modest dress on stage and one of her fans yelled out that she was boring. She also described another show when she was wearing nothing but a bra and tight shorts, and one of her fans named her a “slut”. Miley is torn between two extremes and can’t figure out how to please her fans. This social judgement of what women should and shouldn’t wear has obviously impacted Miley Cyrus’ performance and mental health. Thankfully she found a mate that likes her for her, so now she has little regards as to what people think of her. Pornography has set a standard of either acceptance or rejection, depending on the individuals religious beliefs. Most Christians would cringe at the sight of naked men and women videoing themselves engaging in sadistic acts just to please the porn addicts.

Nonbinary and transgender individuals are also affected by the porn industry. Sam Escobar, a transgender individual, admitted to never being attracted to men and would even watch porn from a males perspective (Cox 2016). Depending on which sex you find attractive, porn affects a huge chunk of the American population today. Porn has been shown to be worse for a person’s brain than heroin ( NCBI Love 2015).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HweGILHWTZ4

Artifact 2

Posted on May 28, 2019 by lindseyle21

The economy , social organizations, and political organizations have had different effects on gender relationships in different cultures. Matrilineal cultures are affected by economics and politics in different ways compared to patrilineal cultures. I will be comparing the Masuo of China to the United States in the mid-twentieth century. The Masuo are an ethnic group residing near Lugu Lake in China. They celebrate a matrilineal culture and participate in “walking marriages”. These type of marriages happen often, and seem to attract a plethora of tourists. Women can have an unlimited amount of marriages, but people in this group always reside in the house of their mother. So there are no aunts and uncles, husbands go back to their mothers home after spending time with their wives. There can be up to three generations of the family residing in one house at the same time (Kuhn 2016). This type of set up has reduced the possessiveness and jealousy in male-female relationships.

The Masuo’s economy is based off of tourism, but this abrades social structure and motivates families to become smaller so that they income increases. Since tourism has become lucrative among the Masuo, many women have left their mother’s homes due to the insufferable pressure that the outside world was bringing to their society. Globalization and tourism has also changed the Masuo’s politics; political leaders used to be women, but since the surrounding states are politically dominated by men they have decided to appoint men for political roles. Social organizations with the Masuo and neighboring communities are rare due to the prejudice put upon the Masuo for their unique relationship practices (Kuhn 2016). Social organization within the Masuo is characterized by gender. Men are in charge of funerals and slaughtering animals, while the women are in charge of giving birth and maintaining life within their society. The women manage the farms, livestock, foraging, and preparation of meals and are highly independent from sterotypical gender stigmas. Patrilineal cultures survive and presume different social roles than matrilineal cultures.

The United States celebrates a patrilineal culture and is known for presuming gender roles while using prejudice as their weapon. Men did not believe that women were their equal, so they judged any woman who refused to submit to them. During the Industrial Revolution, some women defied their social roles and worked in factories despite their husbands and daddy’s approvals. This actually helped improve the United States’ economy status, but started to hinder women’s domestic lives due to lack of childcare. Since women were seen as secondary to men, this was a huge step towards their rights to participate in society through politics and social organizations. Due to the establishment of textile industries, women were allotted to be mill operators, which were crucial to the factories production and success rates. Women received much lower work wages than men did and could only work in the light industries like soap factories. Some women stepped out in prestige and became nurses, teachers, and secretaries- subsequent to the invention of the typewriter (The Industrial Economy, Chapter 6). Politics, social status, and the economy were dominated by men. Women were taught to bow down to their husbands and were expected to complete the domestic needs of the family- such as cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the kids. Men did all the “dirty work” and were in charge in providing the income for their families.

In the Unites States, the stereotypical roles of men and women have dramatically changed over the last century. Although women are still underpaid, they have rights to own property and reside within whichever occupation they choose. Women are allowed to vote and are free to identify what they want in life and obtain it. The playing field has become more equal between genders. Globalization and development has shaped gender roles in the United States by learning from different cultures that women are just as equal as men. Religion may also have a part in how women’s rights were established in the United States.

Image result for how have roles of men and women changed in US

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjW34bPuL7iAhXrhOAKHfaDCOwQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.deseretnews.com%2Farticle%2F865652449%2FQA-Marriage-expert-says-home-roles-for-men-and-women-have-changed-over-time.html&psig=AOvVaw1_BCLS5GneTBTAXqZEG2xJ&ust=1559140360446094