The Intruder By Andre Dubus

Argument: Dubus includes multiple conflicting examples of Kenneth’s personality, which hints towards an inner conflict inside Kenneth; let his transgender feelings show, or become the “man” of the house.

American society today is not any different from the past, except today people are apt to discuss everything publicly on various social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram just to name a few. Transgender persons happen to be one of those subjects that have become the hot topic of the new normal. Nowadays there are blogs, tweets, and pictures posted online of people’s transition “coming out.” Like the past, society is still tough when it comes to judging each other. Although transgender might not have had a recognized community in the past, it is prevalent that society is becoming more accepting of their community, and aware of issues their community faces. In this essay the names, nouns, or pronouns used will be in accordance to the individual’s preference.

Since the beginning of the year, I’ve been attending most Transmissions meetings. Transmissions is a community-based club for transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people and allies at Rutgers University. In this reflection, I’ll be speaking about the meeting I attended the previous week, where the main discussion revolved around internalize and externalize transphobia and self-care. This was a very sensitive topic for myself as well as most others who attending the meeting.

      If the house is symbolically a metaphor for the biased literary world, her husband John is one of the oppressors.  John is not effeminate in the least, rather he is an archetypal male: "practical in the extreme," he has "no patience with faith," and does not believe in irrational superstitions.  He is the stereotypical male writer who has his eyes on large, tangible topics such as death and war, and cannot fathom anything that is not "felt and seen and put down in figures" such as love, birth, and in this case, insanity (3).  If John symbolizes the biased male writer, it naturally follows that he would not appreciate her

Kidd and Witten define the term transgender vaguely, stating it “describe[s] people who transcend the conventional boundaries of gender, irrespective of physical status or sexual orientation” (Kidd & Witten, 2007, p. 36). This term is a reference for the ‘other gender’ that is not particularly male or female. Currently, within the American society, there is a growing awareness of individuals who are transgender. Much of this awareness comes from LGBT movements and

Wright. The sheriff and county attorney reflect these values as well, but with their elevated status in the community, it makes their remarks even more impactful, which can be seen in the way the women act around the men. As the scene starts, the women stay close to the door rather than huddling around the fire with men, showing that they are uncomfortable to even be near them. The women stick together because they are support for each other. When the men verbal attack them with comments and bites at their gender, the women instinctively huddle together, which is seen after Hales remark when “The two women move a little closer together,” (942). They despise the men, but what can they do but stand together, silently showing solidarity with each other. It is also worth noting that the entire play takes place in what would have been seen as a woman’s sphere in the home at the time, the kitchen. The kitchen in this house is in complete disarray, with unfinished furnishings sitting front and center in the scene. This is a reflection of the relationship that occured within the home, which is absolutely lost on the men, as they see nothing but a mess and, “kitchen things,” (942). The irony in this case is that as the men walk from room to room, from the house to the barn, back and forth, they are trying to find a motive. What they can’t see, however, is that

Through the viewpoint of a binary and rudimentary mindset, man and woman are seen as two opposing forces. As Michael S. Kimmel notes in “Masculinity as Homophobia”, in modern society being a man is equivalent to “not being like women”; the concept of “being a man” is ultimately obtained by avoiding particular lifestyle choices and personality traits (Kimmel, 31). For example, as long as a male does not exhibit homosexual tendencies, evades participation in female dominated activities, or refrains from displaying immature emotions such as intense jealousy, a male will ascend society’s social hierarchy and attain various forms of power and dominance. According to the logic outlined, the underlying foundation of achieving manhood as cannot exist without a social hierarchy. In order for a social hierarchy to exist, there must be a group of people that are subjected to the subordination of a different group of people who possess abundant dominance and power. Within the play, “The Toilet”, various African-American men and one White man, demonstrate this social phenomenon in which particular individuals are subjugated to the dominance of more powerful individuals. The depiction of male figures in “The Toilet” ultimately seeks to reveal that men, specifically African-Americans, must purposefully or inadvertently degrade representations that oppose the ideal depiction of a masculine man in a hegemonic society in order to maintain dominance and obtain power.

Ryan Wilson Ms. Bolick English 12 Honors 3rd Period Canterbury Tales Essay Prompt: The Knight The Canterbury Tales is a story told of a trek involving many members of the Middle English society. The beginning of the story starts with an explanation of what is happening in the sense of the trip to Canterbury, but then it leads to the explanation of each character involved in it. The first character introduced in this story is the mighty and noble Knight. Within the introduction of the Knight, the narrator shows: the job he had, the expectation for him in his job, stereotypes about his character, and criticism of society due to his character.

Fifty years ago, nobody could ever have imagined how widely accepted transgender individuals would be in modern times. Countries all around the world had only ever known about the social distinction between men and women, which is known as ‘masculinity vs. Femininity’. However, now it is much more complex than that; as transgender and gender confused individuals are more widely accepted, it has become more of a case of sex vs. gender. “Sex is the biologically based distinction between men and women centring on sexual organs, while gender is the social and cultural rendering of masculinity and femininity.” (Oakley, 1972) And even though transgenders are accepted into society they still face inequalities such as not being accepted into a particular community, ostracised by families and friends,

In a world moving advancing with near instantaneous publication worldwide the fringe edges of society have become more visible. One group of people that has had the spotlight shined on them is those suffering from gender dysphoria–persons who are not comfortable living in the bodies that they are born with and are often referred to as transsexual. As of 2010, there was an estimated population of less than 1,000 of these fringe members of our society incarcerated in state and federal facilities. (Brown)

While discrimination is pervasive for the majority of transgender people, the intersection of anti-transgender bias and persistent, structural racism is especially severe. People of color in general fare worse than White transgender people, with African American transgender individuals faring far worse than all other transgender populations. Many transgender people are also the targets of hate crimes. They are also the victims of subtle discrimination—which includes everything from glances or glares of disapproval or discomfort to invasive questions about their body parts (Bassichi, Lee, & Spade, 2011). Discrimination laws and hate crimes laws encourage us to understand oppression as something that happens when individuals use bias to deny

"[T]here is a profound difference between pretending to be something in imaginary play, and declaring who you are - insistently, consistently, and persistently. Those are the three markers that set Transgender [people] apart." In the summer of 2014, Debi Johnson gave a speech telling the story behind mothering a Transgender child; with this quote she grasped the concept behind what it means to identify as Transgender in the best way possible. In today’s society, Transgender people are the most targeted group in the LGBTQ+ community for hate-based crimes of violence. Seventeen percent of Transgender people were victims of such violence in 2009, with 11 percent targeted towards those who identified as female, according to the Office for Victims of Crime. The Transgender community is fighting for their freedom to express their way of life without the worry of judgment or discrimination. Acceptance needs to be found first in their own homes if they want to move further along in society. Security of life is greatly dependent on their acceptance into society. As teens and as adults they need to have ease of mind that they will be able to live normal lives without consequences coming from it.

The Interlopers by Saki, is set in the forest somewhere in the eastern spurs of Carpathians. The story is focused on two men by the names of Ulrich von Gradwitz and Georg Znaeym. The two men are enemies over land, each detailing ill wishes to each other. The fued had been going on since before their time, so It was natural that the two would do the same.

The discovery of my identity began in a health classroom, where I attempted to make a potentially life-changing decision: outing myself as transgender, or blending in with what society wished me to be. Hands trembling, I was the only student still standing up after the teacher’s explicit instructions- girls on the left side of the room, and boys on the right. Acutely aware of the quick beating of my heart, I froze up. While tears welled up in the corners of my eyes and my expression fell to a frown, the teacher simply stated, “Just sit down,” expressing what I perceived as apathy for my predicament. This was not a decision I was ready to make. However, save faking sick and running out of there screaming, I knew that it was impossible to

dentity is a key factor of an individual in the society. Identity often is skewed despite the rhetorical statement: “You are who you are.” However, many times a society unconsciously attempts to mold the identities of individuals into homogenous products. The important thing is not to let yourself prejudge individuals or acts of people because this creates an assumption that brings a stigma against the individual. Transgender people face the difficult challenge of being accepted into society because they either do not fit a traditional gender assignment to their sex, or they are not willing to specify a particular gender recognized by society. It is a shame that society would force a person to hide their identity but many have concealed themselves in order to conform into social norms. One group that has been socially marginalized and forced to hide their true selves are the transgender community. The definition of transgender is “Appearing as, wishing to be considered as, or having undergone surgery to become a member of the opposite sex.” (“Free Dictionary”) People have many prejudices and ideas of what transgender is but many times these are erroneous. Transgender people have been in society since it began but have been forced into hiding due to society’s ignorance, tendency to categorize, and lack of knowledge.