This piece is from my first group discussion board. The assignment was to read two essays in the Identity chapter and determine what the thesis statement was and how the author argued their points. The topic was Gender and Identity Markers, and the essays were "Dude Looks Like a Lady" by Kathy Wilson (Remix 21) and "The "He" Hormone" by Andrew Sullivan (Remix 25). As groups we summarized the essays, depicted the thesis, and determined if we thought the two authors would agree with each other.
Wilson wrote "Dude Looks Like a Lady" and was boyish in her looks. She wore her hair very short and was disturbed by the fact that everyone thought she was a man. She felt it was apparent that she was a woman despite the fact that her hair was short because her breasts made it obvious she was a woman. Proving her identity as a woman was always a challenge and she didn't care for it, but had excuses about why she didn't want to change her hairstyle; she was lazy and it was cool looking to her. Wilson was not very friendly to people, especially those who made this mistake. She had nicknames for everyone, generally based on their color or background. She was enraged at someone she called "Redneck Man" because he said to "take her boy-lookin' ass on somewhere!" (23). She tried to chase him down in the road, to get him at a stop light so she could give him a piece of her mind, but luckily the light turned and he was gone. Upon realizing she almost let this man have power over her she said, "I am a black woman whose bald head makes me invisible to some, boyish to others, and beautiful to me" (23).
Sullivan wrote "The "He" Hormone" and wrote about his findings from taking testosterone because he is HIV positive, as well as the affects it has on both men and women. He makes it clear in his writings that he is in favor of taking testosterone even though there is the seldom anger episode that he doesn't like having. While he is taking it for a medical reason, he states that he would continue to take it even if a Dr. didn't prescribe it for him. He spent time discussing the effects of testosterone on other men who are taking it. Their feedback was "It turned my life around", "I felt stronger-and not just in a physical sense. It was a deep sense of being strong, almost spiritually strong.", and "I walk into a business meeting now and I just exude self-confidence" (29). In our discussion board posts we talked about whether he was speaking from facts he found through research, or those that were speculation but that he favored. He used the words may have and may be a lot, leading us to think he did in fact research the issues and took the points he favored the most based on his own experiences, and used them to write his essay. He did include some actual facts such as genital distinction, body hair, the ratio of muscle to fat, upper-body strength, and behavioral differences in men and women.
During this discussion board we analyzed not only whether or not the two authors would agree with each other, but whether or not we agreed with them. The group felt Sullivan would agree with how White felt, but White would not agree with how Sullivan felt. They also thought White may of had higher testosterone levels, causing her to be OK with looking like a man because that was most comfortable to her. Higher testosterone levels could also account for the way she became angry towards people so easily. Someone asked me if I felt that Wilson had more testosterone than other women because of the way she looked and led her life and the choices she made regarding her appearance. I do feel that Wilson could have more testosterone than other women, because she doesn't care that her hair looks like a man's, but doesn't want to be looked at that way. We also talked about the fact that testosterone levels may impact which partner in a gay relationship is the male figure vs. the female figure, depending on the sex. In the female relationship the male role may be played by the women with the most testosterone. This discussion board was out of the ordinary because of the conversations we had, but we all remained courteous and ethical, so that we would not offend anyone.
Wilson wrote "Dude Looks Like a Lady" and was boyish in her looks. She wore her hair very short and was disturbed by the fact that everyone thought she was a man. She felt it was apparent that she was a woman despite the fact that her hair was short because her breasts made it obvious she was a woman. Proving her identity as a woman was always a challenge and she didn't care for it, but had excuses about why she didn't want to change her hairstyle; she was lazy and it was cool looking to her. Wilson was not very friendly to people, especially those who made this mistake. She had nicknames for everyone, generally based on their color or background. She was enraged at someone she called "Redneck Man" because he said to "take her boy-lookin' ass on somewhere!" (23). She tried to chase him down in the road, to get him at a stop light so she could give him a piece of her mind, but luckily the light turned and he was gone. Upon realizing she almost let this man have power over her she said, "I am a black woman whose bald head makes me invisible to some, boyish to others, and beautiful to me" (23).
Sullivan wrote "The "He" Hormone" and wrote about his findings from taking testosterone because he is HIV positive, as well as the affects it has on both men and women. He makes it clear in his writings that he is in favor of taking testosterone even though there is the seldom anger episode that he doesn't like having. While he is taking it for a medical reason, he states that he would continue to take it even if a Dr. didn't prescribe it for him. He spent time discussing the effects of testosterone on other men who are taking it. Their feedback was "It turned my life around", "I felt stronger-and not just in a physical sense. It was a deep sense of being strong, almost spiritually strong.", and "I walk into a business meeting now and I just exude self-confidence" (29). In our discussion board posts we talked about whether he was speaking from facts he found through research, or those that were speculation but that he favored. He used the words may have and may be a lot, leading us to think he did in fact research the issues and took the points he favored the most based on his own experiences, and used them to write his essay. He did include some actual facts such as genital distinction, body hair, the ratio of muscle to fat, upper-body strength, and behavioral differences in men and women.
During this discussion board we analyzed not only whether or not the two authors would agree with each other, but whether or not we agreed with them. The group felt Sullivan would agree with how White felt, but White would not agree with how Sullivan felt. They also thought White may of had higher testosterone levels, causing her to be OK with looking like a man because that was most comfortable to her. Higher testosterone levels could also account for the way she became angry towards people so easily. Someone asked me if I felt that Wilson had more testosterone than other women because of the way she looked and led her life and the choices she made regarding her appearance. I do feel that Wilson could have more testosterone than other women, because she doesn't care that her hair looks like a man's, but doesn't want to be looked at that way. We also talked about the fact that testosterone levels may impact which partner in a gay relationship is the male figure vs. the female figure, depending on the sex. In the female relationship the male role may be played by the women with the most testosterone. This discussion board was out of the ordinary because of the conversations we had, but we all remained courteous and ethical, so that we would not offend anyone.
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