Professor Heather Love, of University of Pennsylvania’s English Department, has graciously agreed to lead our first Gender Talk session. In preparation participants are asked to think about the following questions:
–How often do you think about gender? Is gender an important part of your self-image? Why or why not?
–How do you express your gender? How important are clothing, haircut, gesture, behavior, etc?
–What do you think was most important in forming your gender as a child? For instance, your family’s opinion/comments? Interactions with other children? The media?
–Is your gender something that you have seen as stable across your life? Or have you gone through a lot of changes in how you experience your gender? If so, what has caused those changes?
–How do you think other people perceive you in terms of your gender? How well does that perception match up with the way you experience your gender? Are there parts of your gender identity that other people can’t see?
–What other aspects of your identity do you think are significant in determining the way other people see your gender? How is your racial, class, or ethnic identity bound up with your gender?
–Do you see your sexuality as being closely tied to your gender identity or not?
–What are things that you enjoy about your gender? What is frustrating or difficult about your gender?
–Can you imagine a world without gender difference? Is that a world you would want to live in?