First of all, this might be a simple question, but I wanted someone to clear up what the difference between being queer and gay? I hear these terms being uses interchangeable, so I always thought they were the same thing.
Leslie Feinberg talks about transgender people in her piece “We are All Works in Progress”. She talks briefly about transgender people being subjected to abuse, verbally and physically. Do you know more about this? I had never heard about this type of abuse, and for that reason I don’t think it is typically broadcasted. Why do you think this is?
Emily,
ReplyDeleteI am thrilled that as a scientist you are exploring questions of essentialism, social construction, where they differ, and how they overlap. The nature/nurture debate has been going on for so long: is it one, the other, or a combination of both? I don’t know of any feminists who completely reject biology as having an affect on who we are, but this could be something you explore more for the final project. You could approach your project as a scientist who is looking for responsible/ethical answers to such large philosophical questions without disregarding science completely. And, many of the essays on sex, gender, sexuality and science offer up possibilities/alternatives/ideas. I was particularly drawn to the moment you ask: “Do you think this theory applies or is used in the same way by every person?” You could explore the disparate ways feminist scientists approach your questions.
I believe you question regarding gay and queer is a very interesting one as when being around people it does seem that the word gay and queer are used interchangeably. I think people in their ignorance many times jst blurt out the first thing that comes to mind instead of stopping and thinking how their words may affect the person they are talking too. I am guilty of this just as many people are if everyone would be honest and truthful i think dearie helped clear up some of the terminology issues many in the class were having.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to your second question it does seem transgender peple take abuse even sometimes without people even realizing what kind of emotional abuse they may be giving them. Most people when they see someone who just doesn't seem to fit the identity that they want to be known by people automatically start saying oh are they trans or boy or girl without even knowing the person. I think they take abuse in more than just physical i believe they take on much more verbal and emotional by the glances and the talking many people do around them.
Your third questions brings up a very interesting topic of discussion . Can science and social constructionist theory coexist? I believe they can when you sit down and think about it. I mean social constructionism states that humans create the environments which they are in and science is apart of that environment. Many social constructionist in their research use science methods ot find their results. I believe for society we can't totally disregard either one. Some things can be explained with science as some can not. So we should continue as a society to try and learn to just accept all points of views and realize we all are striving to better society.