This final reflective essay discusses what allowed me to get the most out of this course, how I used what I learned in lecture to formulate my own opinions, and why I think this was so beneficial to my learning experience. 

I’ve said it in other reflective essays before during my time taking this course, but the most important and influential thing I’ve learned while studying both gender in my own culture and in that of other cultures is my own personal awareness to the culture of biology. You can read the numbers in the statistics and read a thousand articles, but this does you no good unless you challenge yourself on the things you are reading and internalizing it to the fullest degree. A major part of my learning process is to first digest the information and ensure I understand what I just read and then, secondly, to test and question it, ask why and how, and to consider what I learned from all angles to get the most from and most substantial impact from it. This process has been accelerated by the writing of my thoughts in the Artifacts. By using the Artifacts as a way to put my thoughts and words into writing and to actual see what I was thinking I often found myself picking apart my own thoughts and moved to asking others around me on their thoughts just to make my opinions fuller and more well-rounded.
One example in particular was during my writing of Artifact 7: Her Thoughts and My Thoughts which I used to “discuss and put into words both my girlfriend and my thoughts regarding female menstruation.” During lecture we discussed how different the culture surrounding menstruation was in different part of the world from the Jewish community regarding it as almost a sort of “holy time” where the female can’t even touch another male and must be cleansed upon completion to Africa where it is regarding as dirty and females can’t even live in the same house during their cycle. I used class time to develop my worldwide impressions on the various levels of acceptance and then challenged this with my own personal assessment of the culture within the United States. Furthermore, I built upon this even more by asking my girlfriend to share with me her thoughts and experiences so that now I not only had what I learned in class and my own thoughts, but her firsthand accounts of the things she had seen and been through as a result of the culture surrounding it. This was the Artifact that I felt I had learned the most because I had multiple sources of knowledge to pull from to formulate my own thoughts on the subject.
It, however, was the first Artifact, Artifact 1: Sex, Gender, and Me, that really got me thinking and opened my eyes to so many different concepts that I hadn’t previously considered. My intent was to express “my hopes for our culture as a whole and my opinion on how misinformation or at the very least not being informed at all is what creates the most problems when it comes to gender roles and respect.” This again inspired very in depth conversation with my girlfriend on fundamental concepts like the definition of sex and gender as well as less clear cut discussion on why these topics hadn’t ever come up before and how this creates such a prominent problem of being uninformed. During the writing of that particular Artifact, I came to the realization that understanding sex and gender could have rippling affects throughout many different sex and gender based issues. If everyone was able to become informed I believe it would shatter the notion that anyone is less capable then someone else simply because of their biological make up and certainly because of how they identify. In the Artifact I mentioned that I came to realize just how restrictive the incorrect use of these terms could be and with the help of the handouts given in class have made great improvements in correctly classifying gender related issues. This, again, plays into the idea of being more aware of both my knowledge level and where I want to be which has factored so heavily into my experiences with this course.

The third Artifact that I think had the most effect on me was Artifact 3 -Mind the Gap. I used this Artifact to really ask a lot of questions as to why there was such a difference between males and females when it came to a variety of situations from the wage gap to gender inequality and even offered a few possible solutions that I thought may help. With research I did on the side I was able to come to my own conclusion that may be the wage gap was narrowing. This inspired more thought and allowed me to make new connections as I considered the possibility of the first ever female president and how this might cause things to change even more rapidly. I used this artifact to ask some of the bigger questions that I really had never considered before like how I defined gender gap, asks what issues I can see our nation facing today, and asks how we can solve these issues (Artifact 3).

Throughout the course my main goal that dictated how much I would really get from the course itself was to just be able to ask myself questions. I wanted nothing more than to be presented with an issue, learn about other cultures and how it is handled all throughout the world and then prepare and present my take on the subject. The Artifacts allowed me to not only discuss the information that was presented to me in detail, but also allowed me to flip the issues and present them in my own way. They helped to generate conversations between myself and my girlfriend in an environment where I was more comfortable with talking ideas out and allowed me to make my way the entire way around an issue before coming to any real conclusions. I can definitely say that without having to write these artifacts I would have come out of this class with a much less rounded concept of the biology of gender and the culture that completely encompasses it. I also would have been a lot less aware of where I stood in the middle of it all and would likely just have been simply persuaded by the things I read and saw rather than the beliefs I have formulated myself.

Cadet Jonathan Verhoff

VMI Class of 2017

BI218X

HR: None

Artifact 7 seeks to discuss and put into words both my girlfriend and my thoughts regarding female menstruation. It will elaborate on both today’s culture regarding menstruation and the issues that come up during menstruation.

I think that even here in America, female menstruation is viewed as being dirty and gross and so women choose to hide it in the presence of males. To me, it has always just been something that happens and something that indicates that you are healthy and definitely not something that should be shamed or hidden away necessarily. Honestly, I think it should be held in high regard, or at least higher than we do here in America. It’s an incredible thing that the body can do this and does this hundreds of times throughout a lifetime and yet we think it gross and foul because it’s bloody and smells poor at times. Just from what I’ve experienced with my girlfriend the past year I can definitely sympathize with the hassle it can be and the limitations it might put on you during a cycle. That all being said I still think it to be an incredible process and something that more people should be exposed to so that they can understand what is really going on and dispel this myth that it is gross and should be hidden.

My girlfriend has many of the same thoughts regarding this as I do, but this past week I skyped her and asked her to just talk to me about how she felt about menstruation, her experiences with it and her thoughts on the culture of it here in America. The first big thing she mentioned was the price of tampons and the luxury taxes that females experience, but males do not. To her it seemed absurd that tampons and the like are not deemed necessarily when all she’s ever heard all her life was that you must remain clean during your cycle and must do all you can do to hide it so that things go normally as they would, but that to get the things that would allow this she would have to pay significantly. She also voiced how uncomfortable getting her period had been throughout her life and again, to ease the discomfort, she would have to pay for birth control while men never seemed to really think about how much extra this could all be. Talking to her about this really opened my eyes to other aspects of the menstruation cycle that are not discussed as nearly as much as we both believe they should be.

We both agreed that the culture surrounding menstruation is the real problem here. We think young girls are scared to deal with their cycles because of the way we handle it. To change this it will definitely take a lot of work, but to start everyone needs to be informed and shown how important of a biological process it is and how with proper care and cleanliness it really could be a non-event, but instead we make it up to be this much bigger deal than it is and refuse to talk about it.

Cadet Jonathan Verhoff

VMI Class of 2017

BI218X

HR: Asked girlfriend for her thoughts on the menstruation process and culture surrounding it

Artifact 6 seeks to describe both male and female circumcision as well as to provide some background information involving both events and give historical context to their origins. It also will compare the two, but will also show the significant difference in how they are viewed on a world wide level.

Male circumcision is most prevalent in the United States and the Middle East due to religious teachings. It holds actual medical purpose as a circumcised penis has less of a chance of contracting HIV. There are at least three different methods to preforming circumcision and take please at a variety of different times of the child’s life from birth to teenager to even older. It is surprising that the practice is not more common as the only difference is in the lowering of the risk of HIV, but this could be due to others not having access to proper medical facilites to ensure a healthy surgery. There are tribes all throughout Africa, but one in particular performs circumcisions on males as they come of age in the field and then force the males to survive for a period of time in the field while they heal. There it has taken on cultural significance as being the final test to become a man. Female circumcision is quite different on the other hand.

Female circumcision or as it is sometimes called, female genital mutilation, involves the process of cutting off and ultimately removing parts of the female external anatomy. It is cross-cultural and cross-religious having no particular ties to any one group. Unlike in males which one has one type but multiple methods, FGC (female genitalia cutting) has 4 different ways to be classified which depends on how much genitalia is removed. While male circumcision has a medical purpose, FGC does not, but rather is practiced to help promote ideas such as: maintaining cleanliness, faithfulness to husband, control of promiscuity, and to ultimately enhance male sexual pleasure. Cases of FGC are most prominent throughout Africa and without proper medical equipment the procedure can be quite dangerous and many of the “surgeons” have no formal training.

It can be said that although very much so different, both male and female circumcision have purpose, but it clear to see that one is not so decent and just. Both practices are used as a means of coming of age in certain cultures while at other times, in other places they are practiced just as part of the cultural norms. Regardless of the reason for doing it I believe we should be doing it right and safely and with the proper equipment to ensure things go as smoothly as possible. It is interesting to see such a significant health gap that I had never even given a second thought to before.

Cadet Jonathan Verhoff

VMI Class of 2017

BI218X

HR: NONE

This short reflective essay seeks to form connections between the two films watched in class, Guyland and Pornland.

Having seen these two films back to back it was clear to see how they both complimented one another. Guyland discuss what it is like to be a boy growing up today and makes special note of the concept of “adultolecence” which is this prolong period in between adolescence and adulthood. Kimmel comments on there being 5 major events that define entrance into adulthood and how today’s statistics suggest that it is taking both males and females much longer to hit each of these major events. He claims this could be do to a variety of different issues from economy to just not leaving the nest. Pornland, however, looked at how the porn industry has changed our sexuality.

      Pornland comments on how far porn has come in recent times and how it has reaffirmed certain stereotypes, but has more importantly promoted ideas of dominance, violence, and ownership. It changed the natural sexuality of the human body and has given it this very raw and intense edge. Dines speaks on how the porn industry itself and the ease of access and age at which we do has put into kids minds how “a real man should act” long before the kids can even learn what is actually true. This redefines how men approach relationships and women in general if they have no other experience.

     These ideas, I think, are very closely related. We aren’t getting married and moving on with our lives because our ideas of sexuality have been so skewed by the porn industry. We are chasing something that doesn’t actually exist.

Cadet Jonathan Verhoff

VMI Class of 2017

BI218X

HR: NONE

Artifact 5 discuss health risks and stereotypes for both males and females and how the gender health gap has not necessarily gotten better, but has changed in the last 50 years. 

While personal gender identification is a common issue that many deal with it is not something we all necessary must face. The idea of gender stereotypes and the profound affect they can have on overall health. Especially true in the 50 and 60’s, how a man and women were supposed to behave, they way the y look, and the jobs they held were set with little options for anything else. Today things are different. We are certainly more progressive, but it’s still evident that these stereotypes still hold even today.

There are certain stereotypes that apply particularly to men. Masculinity and the need to have big broad shoulder, muscles, and to be distant when it comes to emotions are just a few. It can often be difficult for smaller men to go to the gym and work out because of the pressure of seeing other stronger men and feeling weaker just by seeing them. There is also a great desire for testosterone because the idea that testosterone is what makes a man a man is forced onto us all throughout our lives. We typically ignore health issues ad prefer to think that we are just being weak and that by ignoring it we are strong. This an lead to even greater health issues as nothing is checked up on and we ignore rather than treat. The “manly lifestyle” as i’ll call it leads itself to greater inherent health risks combined with the desire of avoiding rather than addressing presents unique health issues to that of many women.

Women have had to deal with a vast assortment of very different issues from the women’s rights movement to contraceptives to inequities in research on women’s health and illness. It really wasn’t until the rights movement was well underway that we payed any real attention to women’s health.  Contraceptives were originally available only to married women only in 1960 and wasn’t available to all women until 1972 despite the benefits being on the pill can have besides just birth control. Ine the 60-70’s “pain during sex or lack of interest in sex was seen as psychological (being frigid”. Both men and women alike have always and likely will always been subjected to gender stereotypes which demand conformity for fear of being different.

Men have historically chosen ignorance over recognition of health issues and women have had to deal with the lack of research pretty much up until recently. Sex can definitely matter when it comes to being healthy as there are certain health issues that only affect males or only affect females. There are also some diseases like heart disease that affects the two differently and even at different stages in life. In order to close this health gap between males and females as well as different races there needs to be more research.

Cadet Jonathan Verhoff

VMI Class of 2017

BI-218X

HR: NONE

Artifact 4 discusses third gender, the concept of two spirit in some Native American cultures and how these concepts help reinforce the definitions of sex and gender.

          Third gender describes either one’s self or societies identification as being neither male or female, but rather intersexed. The biggest struggle I have come across while learning about third gender and transgendered individuals is recognizing that it is not them wanting to be male or female, but rather that it is what they are in their own head. Just as I am a male in my head they are what they are despite their anatomical sex. Being intersexed allows individuals to belong to their own identification rather than being forced into something they are not.

          The idea of “two spirit” in Native American culture is interesting. It agian describes ones gender rather than sexual orientation. There were many important Native individuals who regarded themselves as being two spirit and were highly respected in Native American culture. It is also fascinating to see that according to “Two Spirit: The Story of a Movement Unfold” that there were various native cultures that allowed same sex marriage even before it was legal in the state. The Native American LGBTQ movement is founded in the fact that their “history is just as much wrapped up in the story of Indian Country as is each other.” This makes sense as there are many Native American cultures which rely heavily on having both masculine and feminine attributes to make the whole person.

          Doing all of this research and seeing how different cultures, even my own, deal with and identify this concept of third gender just helps to reaffirm my learned definitions of sex and gender. Sex deals with your anatomical identification while gender refers to your personal identification which may be different then the expected normal. Third gender pertains to this middle ground stance where neither male nor female fits and allows individuals who identify as intersex who at birth have a mix of the defining characteristics that define male and female to belong to their own group. It’s not a simple question of is it 0 or 1, its now a question of 0, 1, 2, and everything in between.

Cadet Jonathan Verhoff

BI-218X

VMI Class of 2017

HR: NONE