The Journal of Counseling & Development

The Journal of Counseling &  Development published a study on how transgender youth deal with the daily discrimination. The focus of this study is to get a better understanding of how counselors and other can support transgender youth. The study consisted of 19 transgender identifiers between the ages of 15-25. The study was mostly constructed of just a series of questions during an interview. after interviewing all 19 participants they collaborated in identifying five supporting factors; the ability to self-define and theorize one’s gender, proactive agency and access to supportive educational systems, connection to a trans-affirming community, reframing of mental health challenges, and navigation of relationships with family and friends.  They also were able to identify six threats which include experiences of adultism, health care access challenges, emotional and
social isolation, employment discrimination, limited access to financial resources, and gender policing.

 

 

Transgender people for the most part probably feel lost and confused. there are not many people  that they feel like they can go to that would understand what they are going through. the harassment and discrimination on top of all the confusion and loneliness can be very dangerous. This study was constructed to help find out how to support people struggling with this sort of transition. It can be very hard for people when they feel like they have no escape. Transgender people face challenges at work, school, and even at home. With minimal knowledge of what it is like to be faced with such a emotional and internal rollercoaster we need to find ways to support and not discriminate.    

 

Dr. Money

Summary:

August 22, 1965 Janet Reimer gave birth to twins, Brian and Bruce. Who looked to be healthy babies, would lead painful lives, on account of one scientist's radical theory. At seven months the two babies were sent to the local hospital to get a routine circumcision. During the procedure the electrical equipment malfunctioned and Bruce's entire penis was burnt off. Brain did not under go the operation. The family was troubled and did not know what to do until many months later when  Janet and her husband, Ron, saw a TV commercial about Dr. John Money, a well respected sexologist, featured in a debate about sex operations on transsexuals. Janet wrote to Dr. Money and they decided to turn Bruce into Brenda, they surgically reconstructed Bruce's genitals to look like a woman's and were going to raise him as a girl. Dr. Money used this as research for his theory 'The Gender Gate', he argued, before the age of two if the parents chose the sex of the child, the way they brought it up would determine the child's gender, not its physical characteristics.

Reflection:

 

Bruce grew up confused and probably felt very lost. He was raised to be something he wasn't and that caused a tremendous emotional impact during puberty when he was beginning to have normal teenage boy thoughts. He was lied to by everyone that loved him and supposedly had his best interest in mind. In my eyes, Dr. Money experimented on an consenting subject and altered his life forever. Part of  Bruce's identity was stolen from him through these lies and he could never truly experience life as his true self. Dr. Money's theory is unethical on so many levels. How would it be okay that your parents challenge what sex they want you to be rather than the sex that you are born. Your parents raise you off of their morals and values, and shape what you believe in but in the end it is up to you and nobody can decide who you are and that is what the Reimer's tried to do with Bruce.      

Proposal

For the expansion essay I will be using mini essay four which I used an article by Deborah Blum, The Gender Blur: Where Does Biology End and Society Take Over? to state that gender identity is based on biology while gender based behavior is based one biology and social norms. I chose this essay because I thought it would be the easiest essay to expand on, because of all the research and controversial opinion. In my expansion essay I will be focusing on transgender issues with the use of movies such as Boys Don't Cry and a lifetime movie titled A Girl Like Me based on a true story about a boy that turned into a girl and was murdered by four young men. I will also focus on research like Dr. Money's theory, where he advised a family to raise a son that undergone a circumcision gone wrong as a girl. 

 

Key terms I will be using in my research include:

• Dr. Money
•  gender dysphoria
•  transgender teens
•  sexual conditioning
• Gender based behaviors
• Boys Don't Cry
• A Girl Like Me



The Things They Carried

Enemies & Friends

Enemies:

O'Brien recalled a fight one morning between Dave Jensen and Lee Strunk over a jackknife that Strunk had stolen from Jensen. It resulted in Strunk breaking his nose because of Jensen repeatedly hitting him. After the fight Jenson became incredibly nervous that Strunk was going to get even with him, Jensen was always on edge never letting his guard down because he had no idea when revenge would be coming. Eventually Jensen uses the butt of a pistol to break his own nose so they could finally be even. But what Jensen didn't know was that they were already even because Strunk did steal his jackknife..

Friends:

After their spat Jensen and Strunk learn to trust each other and become pretty tight in the war. They make a pact with each other that if one gets seriously injured the other would put them out of their misery. During the chapter Strunk's lower leg gets blown off and he keeps begging Jensen not to kill him, a helicopter came to get him but he did not survive the flight. 

 

Reflection:

I believe O'Brien included these chapters to show how crazy war could make you. Jensen could not and would not let his mind rest and he went almost insane, he was crazy enough to break his own nose. He also included it to show how war can bring some people together and gets them to work out their differences. No matter who it is when you are at war with the same person enemies can become friends especially is your life depends on them. It was also very petty to get in a fight over a knife, showing that the soldiers were still young and immature. It is also very realistic with the use of the pact how both Jensen and Strunk were sure that they did not want to live in a wheelchair and the other would put them out of their misery yet, when the time came both of them did not want what they said.



 

The Gender Blur

By: Deborah Blum

Summary:

In the "Gender Blur" Blum is questioning the theory of Nature vs. Nurture. Is the way you envision yourself as a person, male or female, purely genetics and biology or the way you were raised and through behavior. Blum touches on the fact that men tend to be more aggressive than females, which could be caused biologically from male's large amount of testosterone. Are children conditioned to be a certain way? Once born a baby is immediately dressed as a boy or a girl, and get to play with certain toys based on their sex,  boys are held strictly to trucks and dinosaurs as girls get dolls. If a boy does not obtain a certain amount of testosterone will he be more feminine? The question of Nature vs. Nurture is unclear but future studies might reveal an answer.

 

Response:

It is tough to tell whether it is all biological or just us humans following social norms. In my own opinion I think of it as a mixture of both, yes the level of testosterone in your body is a factor just like every other neurotransmitter is a factor, but I do feel that people's social upbringing has a huge role. If you were a girl and your parents dressed you as a boy and gave you all of the toys a boy would most likely play with it is highly likely you would start school and relate more with the young boys in your class possibly causing you to feel more like a boy and growing up thinking of yourself more in that way. Biology is a main factor but the opinion of others and socialization I think has a bigger impact.



 

 

The Things They Carried

By Tim O'Brien

"Love"

Summary

Many years after the war, Jimmy Cross goes to visit Tim O’Brien at his Massachusetts home. They spend their visit drinking coffee, smoking cigarettes, and reminiscing with old photographs. When an old picture of Ted Lavender comes up, Cross confides in Tim by saying that he has never forgiven himself for Lavender’s death. They spend more time on the happy memories and then Tim finally asks Cross about how things ended up with Martha. Cross says when they were finally reacquainted at a college reunion, they spent most of their time catching up. She became a Lutheran missionary and never married saying she didn’t know why. During their time together Cross took a leap of faith and told her he loved her and never got an answer in return. He also told her about the night they went to see Bonnie and Clyde, all he’d wanted to do was to take her home and tie her to her bed so he could touch her knee all night long. Martha sharply replied that she didn’t understand how men could do such things. At breakfast the following morning she apologized and gave him another snapshot of the picture he had burned after Lavender's death. Cross claims he still loves Martha, after that she wasn't brought up again. As Cross was about to leave Tim asks for his consent in writing a story about some of the things they talked about. Cross says yes and to make him look good but not to mention a certain something.

Reflection

Martha was a form of comfort to Cross during the war, thinking of her made him feel that everything would be okay and that she could possibly be home waiting for his return. She gave him hope. This demonstrates how some men after the war came home and nothing was how they had hoped. I feel conflicted on whether or not Cross is really in love, that word is not to throw out into the world lightly. He and Martha had only went on a single date to go see Bonnie and Clyde, but I guess some people believe in love at first sight? Another thing I question is whether or not Tim O'Brien kept his word to Cross by not including that certain something in his writing, he could have very well included it but us readers not know because he did not say what he wanted left out, or did he keep his word and not put it in his book?

Enough About You

"Enough About You" an article written by Brian Williams' touches on the self-centeredness of this generation. As the title suggests Williams believes that people on social media is very conceited and worried too much about themselves, he refers to these people as the User-Generated Generation. "The implied message is that if it has to do with you, or your life, it's important enough to tell someone. Publish it, record it ... but for goodness' sake, share it--get it out there so that others can enjoy it" Williams sarcastic remark expresses that not everybody is worried or cares about what "you" are doing or what happens in "your" life, there are much more important things in life for someone to prioritize. Williams also emphasized the lack of privacy used, "Diaries once sealed under lock and key are now called blogs and posted daily for all those who care to make the emotional investment". We share a lot of personal information without thinking twice. He also brought up that everybody gets celebrated, not just the best, such as sports and all the players getting a trophy. Williams believes that we need to stop celebrating ourselves and worry about the bigger problems in the world.

 I find myself a little bit on both sides after reading this article. Williams is absolutely right in the fact that we throw way to much of our personal business out into cyber world for strangers to see, and that people do need to stop thinking that their lives are so important that everybody wants to know what they are up to all day every day. For example people who instagram pictures of their food, thank you so much I was dying to know what kind of sandwich you packed for lunch today. I especially think that we should stop celebrating everybody and celebrate the ones who worked hard and deserve it. The people who work the hardest and achieve the most should get the trophy, nothing should be handed to you, it provides motivation for people and lets them know that nobody is entitled to anything in life. But on the other note I believe that if you have something that you are proud of and get extremely good news you should share it! Send out positivity to the world and be proud of yourself just don't think that you are some sort of special inhabitant of this earth.