Through the work that I have put into the writing assignments in this class I have expanded what I have learned in this class greatly. In this class I have learned about topics that I really knew nothing about initially. For example the first topic we covered in this course was the difference between sex and gender, I was very ignorant to this subject before and only the only thing I knew about it was what I read about Caitlyn Jenner. The next thing we covered was gender roles in culture which was something that I thought I knew a lot about but the discussions we had about global gender roles opened my eyes to the bigger picture. Once I learned about this it made understanding the global gender gap much easy which I didn’t even knew existed before this class. I thought I knew a lot about these topics but through class discussions and reading I did on the topics I was able to expand my knowledge on these issues greatly.

In the first artifact I wrote about the difference between sex and gender in society. This was a subject that I knew was an emerging issue in the United States but what I didn’t know was that this was a worldwide topic of discussion and is very controversial. Traditionally people have believed that there are only two genders and the sex you are given at birth defines what you are, and I was one of those people. But after learning about third gender and about gender dysphoria I learned that there is a spectrum of genders and people can identify as more than just male or female and your biological sex at birth does not define you. I learned that “the psychological aspect of gender is how the person feels inside, when someone identifies as a gender different from their sex it is known as gender dysphoria.”(Artifact 1)  After learning about how this is approached in other countries like the Hijra in India and the Kathoeys of Thailand I learned that the people that have gender dysphoria are no different than regular people and worldwide societies need to be more welcoming to them because in many countries including the US they face serious discrimination.

The story of Robert Eads was a serious example of how transgender people in the US face discrimination. After watching the movie Southern Comfortwe see the life of a transgender man and how he “brought together young transgender men and women and treated them as his own children guiding them through life”(Artifact 7) Robert was a prime example of how transgender people in American society can be discriminated against, because he was dying of ovarian cancer but was refused treatment simply because he was a man. The doctors refused to treat him out of fear that they would lose other clients. I had never heard of such discrimination in modern society but this type of thing still happens today. This story really opened my eyes to how society needs to be more open minded to other people because these doctors let a man die just because he was different from them.

The story of Robert Eads shows a problem in the healthcare system but there is a problem in the health care system that not only affects transgender people but also women. In Artifact 4 I wrote about the serious problem in the US with women’s health care. I was completely unaware of the fact that women were not included in medical studies for new drugs until the 1990’s. This meant that women had no clue what impact or side effects a drug would have on them because it wasn’t tested on women. In a few cases untested drugs caused serious birth defects in children. This was all off the idea that women would have the same reaction to drugs as men but their bodies are completely different and there are precautions women need to consider when taking prescription or over the counter drugs. This is the first example of how women have been mistreated in the healthcare system. In modern times “when looking at cost of healthcare not including pregnancy and postpartum care women spend 24% more than men.” (Artifact 4) With a combination of factors between life choices and life expectancy women end up having to spend a lot more money on health care because women have a tendency to go to the doctor more often than men and live longer.

The gender gap is not only reflected in the healthcare system but also around the world. Women are not given the same opportunity and represented as men across the world. Prior to learning about this issue I was aware how women were treated in society in many middle east and African countries but what was surprising to me was how poorly the US ranked against all the other countries in the world for their gender gaps. In Artifact 4 I go on to explain why the US is 51^stin the world and why Iceland has been number 1 for the past 9 years. There are significant differences in women’s roles in society. In Iceland women have better representation in their government “because the number of women being elected to public office has steadily been increasing.” (Artifact 3) This simple fact gives women better living conditions in society because women are making policies for other women. When men are making policies for women they don’t always get it right because they don’t always see women’s point of view perfectly, especially when it comes to healthcare. I learned a lot throughout this course about gender and how gender affects roles in society.

I came into this class thinking that I had a good understanding of gender and social issues involving gender but I was completely wrong. I learned all about the social issues concerning transgenders, including their healthcare problems through the story of Robert Eads, the gender gap between men and women in society, and something that was most surprising to me was how different cultures approached these issues. Worldwide there are problems with human rights and they are very apparent when looking at these issues of transgender people and also the gender gap.

Artifact 1: Sex vs Gender in Society

Artifact 3: The Global Gender Gap

Artifact 4: The Gender Health Gap

Artifact 7: Robert Eads

Robert Eads was a southern gentleman who wasn’t always that way. Robert Eads was a transgender man living in the “heart of KKK country” as he put it. The conditions that he lived in were not ideal being that his community was not entirely welcoming to the idea of transgender people but he made it work by having his family around him. This family wasn’t a traditional family though, Robert had surrounded himself with people like him, other transgender people of all ages. Robert brought together young transgender men and women and treated them as his own children guiding them through life. Unfortunately this film takes place at the end of Robert’s life. Robert is dying of ovarian cancer, which he was denied treatment for because he was a man.

This film focuses on the social challenges that Robert and his family face. Living in the South as a transgender was not easy for them because society was not accepting of their kind and discriminated against them. But with the help of the Southern Comfort Convention for transgender people Robert and his family were able to find each other and find comfort in their own skins even when society wasn’t accepting of them. They all left lives behind to join Robert so that they could finally live freely, even Robert. Robert had a husband and a child that he left so that he could live the way he wanted. Robert defines family as the people who you keep around you and love you for who you are. They all also saw gender as an individual’s choice, sexual organs didn’t determine ones gender.

The transgender community faces many stereotypes which causes them to face discrimination and many will not be accepted into society. This often causes them to lose friends and even families. The most common problems that third gender individuals face is the assumptions people make about them. There are several ways that people identify as that you cannot tell just by looking at a person. For many third gender people this can be very offensive and can lead to very awkward social scenarios for them. Hilary Goldbammer, Sula Malina, and Alex Keurogblian reported that in the medical industry “Occasionally, patients will become angry or distressed if called the wrong pronoun, name, or gender.” (Goldbammer 561) For Robert Eads he was denied treatment because Gynecologists were afraid to be seen treating a man, because they thought it would scare some of the women away. Malin Lindroth reported that in a study done in Europe over 3,000 transgender people across 28 countries said that they had been discriminated against in the medical field. (Lindorth) This proves that this issue is not just a problem in the US but worldwide.

The discrimination against transgender people doesn’t just include in the medical field, there has been reported violence against transgender people across the nation. In 2018 alone the Human Rights Campaign reported at least 26 deaths as a result of violence towards transgender individuals, and in 2017 they reported 29. (HRC) Because transgender people don’t have the full support of their communities due to religious political or moral beliefs towards the transgender lifestyle there will still be violence towards them. Many people believe that transgender people are just mentally disturbed or are gay. (Kreitler) This misunderstanding of these people is the main cause of stereotypes or discrimination against them.

The number of transgender people is growing around the world and it isn’t a topic that many people understand or can sympathize with. These people are wildly misunderstood and sometimes seen as a sort of abomination which leads to violence and other discrimination. The story of Robert Eads is a great example and model for transgenders in society and how they can be discriminated against for really no good reason. At the end of the day they are just people trying to feel comfortable and fit into society.

Schaefer, Agnes Gereben, Radha Iyengar Plumb, Srikanth Kadiyala, Jennifer Kavanagh, Charles C. Engel, Kayla M. Williams, and Amii M. Kress, Assessing the Implications of Allowing Transgender Personnel to Serve Openly. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2016. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR1530.html. Also available in print form.

Lindroth, M. (2016)

“Competent persons who can treat you with competence, as simple as that” – An interview study with transgender people on their experiences of meeting health care professionals.

Journal of Clinical Nursing, 25(23-24): 3511-3521https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.13384

Human Rights Campaign. “Violence Against the Transgender Community in 2018.” Human Rights Campaign, www.hrc.org/resources/violence-against-the-transgender-community-in-2018.

Kreitler, Katy. “Top 10 Myths About Transgender People.” Everyday Feminism, 22 Jan. 2016, everydayfeminism.com/2012/08/myths-about-transgender-people/.

In Native American cultures their approach to menstruation was a lot different than the way people approach them in the rest of the US. When girls in the Mescalero Apache Native American tribe of New Mexico are old enough to begin menstruating and reach the ages of womanhood they go through a lengthy public ceremony in which they go through trials that represent many different aspects of a woman’s life. Many people come to support the girls in the ceremony as it only happens once a year and it is a very special tradition in the eyes of the Apache. The ceremony is 4 straight days of grueling tasks, each day represents one of the four stages of life, infant, child, adolescent, and woman. During the ceremony the girls must follow very strict rules, they are allowed very little rest and food while also maintaining a stoic attitude not showing any emotion. Once the girls have made it through the four days they are considered women in the eyes of the tribe. They are given a new name and all the people in the community come to congratulate and welcome her into womanhood. Joining the other women is a big deal because their community is so small and their traditions are fading the new generations are being trusted with carrying them on and continuing their culture.

For women in the rest of the US periods and menstruation are not a socially acceptable topic, for most people it’s a taboo subject and should be kept in private. Although the topic is becoming more acceptable its still not something people are generally comfortable talking about. Women feel ashamed of their periods because of the stigma around them and do their best to hide it from society. Ally Jarmanning of NPR wrote of a town in Massachusetts that is starting to put tampons and pads in all public restrooms in order to accommodate women’s needs better. Her report showed that is wasn’t men that had trouble understanding that women need this, it was the older women. The older women felt that this was unnecessary because “I dealt with it, why can’t everybody?” (Jarmanning) This attitude toward periods is completely unnecessary because people understand that all women go through this process and it isn’t something that should be ashamed of. But because girls are taught from an early age that it is something that should be kept secret they created this stigma around it and they are having a hard time breaking through this attitude.

These are two radical ends to the spectrum, in the Apache culture in New Mexico the community embraces the girls when they go through menarche. On the other hand women in the US not in Native communities face a great deal of social shame when dealing with menstruation.

Jarmanning, Ally. “Student Spurs Brookline, Mass., To Offer Free Tampons And Pads In Public Buildings.” NPR, NPR, 9 June 2019, www.npr.org/2019/06/09/730885382/student-spurs-brookline-mass-to-offer-free-tampons-and-pads-in-public-buildings.

The practice of circumcision has been around for thousands of years. In many cultures circumcision is a religious practice but others it is used as a sanitation. Although more common in men, female circumcision is still very prevalent in many countries around the world, and often times female circumcision can lead to serious complications if not taken care of. For men of Jewish and Islamic faith circumcision

There are four types of female circumcision clitoridectomy, excision, infibulation, and type 4. Clitoridectomy is the partial removal of the clitoris and the clitoral hood. Excision is the partial removal of the clitoris and the labia minora with or without the excision of the labia majora. Infibulation is the narrowing of the vaginal orifice with the creation of a covering seal by cutting and placing together the labia minora and/or the labia majora with or without the excision of the clitoris. And type 4 consists of all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for nonmedical purposes. The procedures are performed in cultures like those in Africa like Somalia, Egypt and Sudan for ritualistic purposes in the processes of becoming a woman. These procedures are not always safe, in many cases women suffer from infections and diseases when not done in a safe manner. Over the years as western doctors have been able to inform people of these cultures how dangerous female circumcision is. Even through hey are learning the risks of these practices many groups refuse to stop because of tradition.

Male circumcision is very common in the Christian, Islamic, and Jewish faiths and is performed all over the world for reasons other than religion as well. For the purpose of religious practice it was preached that God told Abraham to circumcise his household which is where the religious practice of circumcision stems from. It has been found that circumcision has medical benefits as well because it is much cleaner than the uncircumcised penis. For this reason the American Academy of Pediatrics is encouraging people to circumcise their sons. Around the world there are efforts to encourage circumcision like in Africa they have groups travel the continent preaching about the benefits of it, including bands that have written songs to convince men to get circumcised.

Around the world circumcision is a controversial topic. For women in third world countries the circumcision practices are not always clean and safe which can lead to many complications. While men on the other hand are being pushed toward circumcision because it is believed that there are medical benefits to it. Over the past decade female circumcision has gone down due to better education but it still affects women every day.

With the advancements of technology and the easy access to the internet, porn has become readily available 24/7 for everybody of all ages. Because of this boys reaching the ages of puberty are able to see everything the porn industry has to offer. For many boys this can have a seriously negative affect on their personal relationships. For many men it makes them not able to have an intimate relationship with the girls they would date. The easy access to porn doesn’t just affect men though, women see porn and it can cause them to feel insecure about their own appearances. The porn industry has evolved greatly from the playboy and penthouse magazines that were the original sources. Online pornography allows for users to view any sort of fantasy they can imagine which has caused for the negative effects on young peoples relationships.

The evolution of the porn industry has changed from simple pictures to extremely graphic content that show very obscure fantasies. These obscure fantasies give unexperienced young people the false idea of how intercourse should be. Because young people are so impressionable they believe that these fantasies are normal, which is not the case, these fantasies range from fetishes to BDSM to role playing. When these types of expectations are not met often times men are unable to perform or they are unsatisfied so they become disinterested in seeking out real relationships and just depend on porn. Another reason that porn can have this effect on people is because the actors and actresses

For Noah Church he was first exposed to porn when he was 9. His time with porn started early and with simple pictures of nude women, but once he hit his teenage years he was downloading videos and eventually streaming sources became accessible when he was 15. Once the streaming sources came around with all the obscure fetishes his interests became more perverted in order to satisfy himself. As he got older he became more and more interested in the most violent and intense videos. He tells the story of his first time he was able to have sex in real life he wasn’t able to because of the “disconnect between what I wanted in my mind and how my body reacted.” This wasn’t a onetime thing for him, it continued to happen for 6 years. He was diagnosed with porn-induced erectile dysfunction (PIED). This has affected many young men and causes serious problems in relationships.

The effects of porn do not only cause problems in men or only when trying to pursue real intimate relationships, the effects of porn affect people psychologically. Men and women both see the bodies or porn actors and actresses and become obsessed with trying to look like them. They see these people in porn and want to look just like them because they think that is what people expect them to look like. Girls especially see the bodies of porn stars and feel self-conscious that their bodies don’t look as good as what they see in porn. This leads to them wanting to have cosmetic surgeries to try and make themselves look more like porn stars. One surgery that is becoming more and more common in young girls is labiaplasty. This surgery allows for girls to alter their vaginas to look the way they want them to look. For men they do the same thing but instead try to enhance their genitalia to be bigger and more like what they see in porn. As Dr. Veronica Gomez-Lobo said, “The most important thing to understand is that there’s a huge variety in anatomy.” Young people need to realize this because so many are quick to judge themselves simply because they see something different and feel inadequate. That is what to porn industry has done to young people.

“Porn-Induced Erectile Dysfunction: Is It a Virility Threat?” Time, Time, time.com/4277510/porn-and-the-threat-to-virility/?iid=toc_033116.

Rabin, Roni Caryn. “More Teenage Girls Seeking Genital Cosmetic Surgery.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 25 Apr. 2016, well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/04/25/increase-in-teenage-genital-surgery-prompts-guidelines-for-doctors/.

Men and women have clear differences in their health factors and health needs. Before the 1990’s there was no real research on women’s health because it was just assumed that the female body worked the same as the male body. Another reason women were excluded from medical research was because it would make the studies too expensive and companies didn’t want to deal with the potential effects from women’s fluctuating hormone levels and pregnancy risks. There are several historical examples that have shown how wrong this was, one of the most infamous was the thalidomide incident. Thalidomide was a drug sold in the 1950’s and 1960’s that was used to treat a number of things, including morning sickness in pregnant women. Because of the improper research done there were children born all over the world with terrible birth defects.

This case helped bring up the question “does sex matter?” The simple answer is yes. Diseases and other common healthy defects show differently in men vs women. For example cardiovascular diseases presented themselves differently in women and cause women to have more strokes, and more consequences due to atrial fibrillation. This isn’t the only health difference between men and women, more women are affected by; iron deficiencies, kidney disease, autoimmune diseases, fibromyalgia, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer’s as well as several mental disorders.

Not only are there biological differences between men and women, there are also social and cultural aspects that go along with why there is a gender health gap. The health gap shows how women in society are not given equal care. When looking at cost of healthcare not including pregnancy and postpartum care women spend 24% more than men. Part of the problem is men don’t want to go to the doctor, many believe that because of their fragile masculinity men refuse to get help when needed. Pair this with poor life choices like binge drinking, drugs and smoking, which men are more likely to take part in than women, makes for a shorter life expectancy in men. The combination of women living longer and spending more on healthcare in general leads to an even larger gap between the treatment of men and women.

Around the world there is a significant difference in how men and women are treated in society. Women are often denied access to equal work, pay, education and health care opportunities. The world economic forum ranks every country based on economic participation, opportunity, education attainment, health and survival and political empowerment. In 2018 the three countries that had the smallest gender gaps were Iceland, Norway and Sweden. While the three countries that had the largest gender gaps were Iraq, Pakistan, and Yemen.

Iceland has ranked number 1 on this index for 9 years in a row. This is because the number of women being elected to public office has steadily been increasing. This means that men and women are having a more equal representation in policy making which has helped end any gender discrimination. In 2016, there was almost an equal number of men and women in the Icelandic parliament. Even with improving representation Iceland still reports that there is still discrimination within the labor force. Through federal policies Iceland is working towards getting rid of this discrimination.

Yemen on the other hand is at bottom of the rankings for their harsh treatment of women. Women in each of the bottom three countries are not allowed to pursue careers or jobs. They are expected to be child bearers and mothers, outside of the family they aren’t given much representation or respect. Girls are married off at a very young age to older men in order to have children as soon as they are able to. This leads to many young girls to fall victim to violence and rape. This oppression has given Yemen and the other countries at the bottom of this index their poor rankings.

The United States ranked 51^ston this index, and has been slowly moving down since 2016. Part of the reason the US ranks so poorly is because of the unequal representation of women in political office, which makes it hard for policies that would benefit women to pass. One factor that also has caused the US ranking to go down has been the increase in pregnancy related deaths in the US. This is an issue that should not be getting worse as our technology and knowledge improves but should be getting better. The US should pass policies that make it easier for pregnant women to get the care they need.

The global gender gap varies greatly from country to country but it is clearly an issue everywhere even in the top ranking countries. At the bottom of the index the countries treat women as second class citizens that basically have no rights in society and are endlessly abused. While at the top women are considered equal to men but aren’t always treated that way. Women in these countries are still constantly fighting for equal rights and representation.

Sex and Gender are very controversial topics in todays society. Sex is the biological assignment at birth either male or female. Gender on the other hand is how one wants to identify themselves in society. The spectrums of sex and gender are very different. At birth sex is determined by the reproductive organs, although in rare cases people have been known to be born with a combination of male and female reproductive organs. This is known as a hermaphrodite. While gender is how a person feels in society not based on their biological sex. One’s gender is determined by a combination of factors including psychological, social, and behavior. The psychological aspect of gender is how the person feels inside, when someone identifies as a gender different from their sex it is known as gender dysphoria. The social aspect to gender is how society assumes gender roles. And lastly the behavioral factor of gender is how a person behaves in through their appearance and actions.

Traditionally in the United States there were only two genders, male and female, and there were social expectations expected of them. Men were expected to be the main economic provider for the household, while women were supposed to stay home and take care of the domestic chores around the house and raise the children. Until World War II most women didn’t pursue careers or work outside of the house, but when there was a shortage of workers due to the draft of WWII women needed to take up jobs that were traditionally only for men. Ever since WWII women have been in the working force at an increasing rate but the old stereotypes of gender roles in society are still affecting the way men and women are treated in society. Many people still believe that women should give up pursuing higher education or careers in order to have families, but women don’t want to do that anymore. In todays society women are waiting longer to have families in order to have careers, and in many households the roles have switched completely and women have become the economic providers while men stay at home to raise the children and take care of domestic duties.

People that have gender dysphoria and don’t fall under the traditional beliefs of the two genders are not always accepted in modern societies. These people fall under this category are considered third gender. Third gender is just another way of saying that someone identifies as a gender that is different from male or female. In India for example men that become women are called Hijra. They must go through an illegal surgery to remove their male body parts and sacrifice them to the gods. Hijra are often kicked out of their households and not treated fairly in society, facing terrible discrimination. Julie McCarthy reported on a Hijra named Abhina Aher she had faced terrible discrimination and hasn’t spoken to her own mother in years. She is unlike most Hijra in that she works a full-time job working for the Indian HIV-AIDS Alliance expanding AIDS awareness. (McCarthy)

In Thailand the transgender community is widely accepted. The Kathoeys or ‘ladyboys’ are men that have become women. There are many different stages of ladyboys, some have had full reconstructive surgeries to become a woman while others haven’t had any work done at all. In society these people are not discriminated agains at all and are actually like tourist attractions. People travel from all over to see how impressive they are. Many ladyboys go on to marry men, and this is not viewed as wrong in their society. The culture in Thailand is very accepting and loving, and they don’t think differently of them at all.

Cultural and social norms of gender are different all around the world. Each country has a different set of beliefs  about how men and women should operate in society. In many middle east countries women are still forced to stay home and take care of the house and children, while more western countries with equal rights for men and women allow women to have careers in whatever field they chose. Another changing aspect of society is the number of third gender people in the world. In many countries they are not accepted and treated very poorly while other countries don’t see them as any different and are very welcoming in their society. The world as a whole has a long way to go until everyone is treated equally and fairly but every day we get closer and closer to that goal.

McCarthy, Julie. “A Journey Of Pain And Beauty: On Becoming Transgender In India.” NPR, NPR, 18 Apr. 2014, www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2014/04/18/304548675/a-journey-of-pain-and-beauty-on-becoming-transgender-in-india.