Personal Reflection On Gender And Suicide

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As the course is advancing, I see how gender is deeply embedded into our society. It is pretty much at every level; it is something complex that goes far beyond just being a male or female. Gender impacts what occupations we have access to do, what type of activities we can and can’t do and even what colors we can and can’t wear. The more I read, the more I am becoming aware of the role gender plays in my life. With this in mind, this past Monday, for my suicide class we talked about how even suicide is gendered, and how it all has to do with the way it is being done. For society a successful suicide would be when a man commits it, which means he had the courage to end his life. Nonetheless, attempted suicides specifically those that have failed …show more content…
And this past week, she confessed that she was confused about her sexual orientation. She mentioned how for most of her life she has always been sure of all of her decisions and choices but now she hated herself for not knowing what she was feeling. As I asked her a few questions to see where she was coming from, she brought up that she was into (attracted to) both, men and women. Nonetheless, she paused and hesitated to continue the conversation by mentioning that she should just get over it because her family would never approve. I recall her saying, “This can’t be happening to me, I can’t be a bisexual, undocumented Latina.” Therefore, my roommate views this as nothing but barriers that really hold her back from really discovering herself. The fact that she brings up her family suggests that she grew up learning that there are two and only two sexes, and that any deviation from that is considered strange and overall unapproved (Valentine, 2016, 3). With this idea in mind, Kate Bornstein make a powerful statement, that would go with what my roommate is going through, she states, “It was the absence of a feeling, rather than its presence, that convinced me to change my gender” (24). In the case of my roommate, I feel like she was not completely satisfied with a man or woman and perhaps

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