Critical Analysis #9 - Isabelle Wong
This past week’s lecture was interesting to me because I learned a lot more about gender and the different experiences with gender that people have. I grew up in a very cisgender and gender-confirming society, so I have not had much exposure to anything else. I did not know very many people who did not identify with their biological sex.
I understand that this is a very “hot topic” lately with media and society, but I think it is important to look at and understand the subject in a bias-free way in order to best serve and protect the community itself. One of the guiding questions for this week was “What are some challenges that LGBTQ+ youth experience at the individual, family, peer, and societal levels? What are the implications for the mental health of these individuals?” and I thought about this throughout the week.
I think individually, in today’s society, it is complicated and confusing as a young person to go through adolescence and youth. Today’s youth face numerous difficulties that kids from twenty, even ten years ago, did not face. The rise of technology in terms of smartphones, laptops, AI (artificial intelligence), and changes in societal norms have created a lot of challenges that many often do not know how to fix. Many pre-teens are on social media platforms and are exposed to violent or graphic content that is beyond their capability and understanding, or have unlimited access to a whole new world that is difficult to see and process. There are a lot of bullies on the internet, and people who hide behind an online screen in order to show hate. Because of that, it is easy for LGBTQ+ youth to have mental health issues when all they see/hear is hate and arguments. In terms of family, individuals who have a family who loves and supports them is going to have a widely different mental health experience than an individual who has a family filled with violence and hate. It’s important to stand up for love, justice, and truth, and that is not something that every family emulates. In terms of peer relationships, this is one of the most impactful relationships that a person has, especially when still in school. Youth face lots of pressure to be with the “in-group” at school, and popularity is something that most people seek to have, even if it is not a conscious decision. The 2017 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (from the textbook) data found that nearly half of sexual minority youth had “seriously considered suicide” in the past year. There is evidence of mental health vulnerabilities for LGBTQ+ youth that researchers, policymakers, and all members of society should be conscious of.
And in terms of society, I think this is where we get to the “big” questions that many politicians and policymakers are trying to look at. I want to come off on this issue as fair and simply trying to ask questions to look at the issue from different perspectives, so I hope that my words convey this message.
There are a lot of conversations going on right now about women’s sports, especially in the news. Women’s (college) volleyball teams have been forfeiting matches against other college volleyball teams that have transgender athletes, citing that there is injustice being committed against women’s sports (NY Post). Biological, cisgender women are being lectured about “not understanding science” and are coming out saying that they feel “unsafe” and “dismissed” when they talk about their fears and concerns. As someone who supports women’s sports and wants there to be more representation and pay equalization for female athletes, this is a topic I feel very strongly about. But, I also see the nuances with the sides of this subject and wanting to protect people from harm.
This begs the question: Is there a way that we can make transgender and cisgender women “equal” on the playing field? According to Joanna Harper, a post-doctoral researcher of transgender athletic performance at Oregon Health and Science University, “Trans women are, on average, taller, bigger and stronger than cis women, even after hormone therapy” (NBC news). However, there is currently not really any categories for transgender athletes, especially if they do not want to play on a team where they must identify with their biological sex, but also if they are on a team where they are not fully recognized according to their gender identity.
Overall, this week’s learning helped me think critically about this subject, and I hope to continue learning about it too.
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