Reflection 20-Transsexuality

Trans sexuality and inter sexuality is a very intense subject matter that many believe that is caused during the development of the fetal during the pregnancy term of the mother. I watched a television talk show host who did a show on transsexuals and much information was given. Many transsexuals believe that their true gender was mixed at birth and pretty much in other words God made a mistake when he created them. Now, I do believe their are instances where the genitals did not develop properly, but to define yourself as the other sex is absurd. Usually many believe trans-sexuality occurs after they go through the stage of puberty and through out my reading this can happen even in animals. Transsexuals and transgenders all believe they have been rubbed of their rightful identity therefore they begin to dress as if they were the gender they are suppose to be. As I was watching the television show, one of the women in my opinion was not even sure in her sexuality because one minute she was into dating women, then the next she started to date men. I do think that transsexuals and transgenders know who they are and try to define themselves in either the opposite sex or try to find out who they are as an individual. In my personal life I have seen so many men and women confused on who they are. If you have a male who has been dressing and acting as a male all his life, then all of a sudden feels as though he is a female there has to be an identify issue that occurred somewhere in his lifetime. So many of these people even have the part of the opposite sex down to the tee. I may sound critical or against this, but in reality God can not make a mistake. There is no such thing as being born a female but mistakenly is a male. I respect them for who they are but do not agree with the choices they've made. They have an ultimate desire to be or fit in with members of the opposite sex so that is when cross-dressing begin. As I was reading along about transsexuals, I have learned their are people who do not believe they are male or female and is called ambigender. I do not to get into this subject matter because as mentioned earlier it is a very intense topic to discuss. Gays, lesbians, homosexuals, transsexuals and all the other people who do not know who they are it is a reason why they choose to make these decisions and live that kind of lifestyle. In closing, we all make choices and the choices we make there are consequences behind them whether good or bad.

Reflection 20-Transsexuality

Trans sexuality and inter sexuality is a very intense subject matter that many believe that is caused during the development of the fetal during the pregnancy term of the mother. I watched a television talk show host who did a show on transsexuals and much information was given. Many transsexuals believe that their true gender was mixed at birth and pretty much in other words God made a mistake when he created them. Now, I do believe their are instances where the genitals did not develop properly, but to define yourself as the other sex is absurd. Usually many believe trans-sexuality occurs after they go through the stage of puberty and through out my reading this can happen even in animals. Transsexuals and transgenders all believe they have been rubbed of their rightful identity therefore they begin to dress as if they were the gender they are suppose to be. As I was watching the television show, one of the women in my opinion was not even sure in her sexuality because one minute she was into dating women, then the next she started to date men. I do think that transsexuals and transgenders know who they are and try to define themselves in either the opposite sex or try to find out who they are as an individual. In my personal life I have seen so many men and women confused on who they are. If you have a male who has been dressing and acting as a male all his life, then all of a sudden feels as though he is a female there has to be an identify issue that occurred somewhere in his lifetime. So many of these people even have the part of the opposite sex down to the tee. I may sound critical or against this, but in reality God can not make a mistake. There is no such thing as being born a female but mistakenly is a male. I respect them for who they are but do not agree with the choices they've made. They have an ultimate desire to be or fit in with members of the opposite sex so that is when cross-dressing begin. As I was reading along about transsexuals, I have learned their are people who do not believe they are male or female and is called ambigender. I do not to get into this subject matter because as mentioned earlier it is a very intense topic to discuss. Gays, lesbians, homosexuals, transsexuals and all the other people who do not know who they are it is a reason why they choose to make these decisions and live that kind of lifestyle. In closing, we all make choices and the choices we make there are consequences behind them whether good or bad.

Reflection 21-The Spirit Of Romance

The Spirit of Love...attraction, infatuation, courtship, and intimacy. We all can relate to these of so touching subject matters. When I ponder on the subject a few things come to mind from experience and learning about love such as when I first feel in love and when I thought I was in love. I do believe that love begins and was created by God. He showed us many examples throughout the Bible on the importance and basis of love. Not going into detail on the different types of love, but most focus on the agape love...brotherly love. In order to love another person we must first love ourselves then that love will out pour onto others. When one feels love for another person its becomes an attraction which is basically two people who are able to reproduce form a intimacy for each other. Love is a component that can be taught meaning that we could be taught to love through situations, experiences and circumstances. Then, on the other hand, love is something that is embedded in the heart and nurtured through life. We all express love differently in all the relationships we encounter and we also share it in a variety of ways. Whether it be in a homosexual or heterosexual relationship, we all go through the steps of love. Based on Freud's perception of love he believes that love is regression and sometimes believed to be true, but when you think about the cycle of life and love everything always tend to return to the original foundation. When reading the article a lot of the information was not quit clear, but when love is in power, when love is the ultimate source of a person it over powers whatever issues that a person entangles them self with. I do believe in the different steps of love, attractions, infatuation, courtship, and intimacy. Infatuation more so deals with the lust of the eye. When we see an individual, male or female we try and base our love on their looks and outer appearance, but I have seen so many relationships fail based on infatuation. This happens in many cases because its the beginning stage of a relationship and there has not been a true test of love; its merely puppy love In the courtship stage, that is when you have the heart of the other person. During this stage it is solely on sharing and giving yourself to that person and getting past being alone period.In closing, the intimacy is shared when the individuals know that they share a common bond and attraction for each other and decide to make that conscience decision to share those feelings for each other.

Reflection 22-The Final Goodbye

Even though this is not the ending of class, I felt I should do the last reflection at this time. I came into Professor McNair's class with an understanding and knowledge of learning about culture in the classroom. As time went on, he began to clearly explain more than what I was intentionally bargaining for. I must say that I have learned and is still learning many things and this class have taught me a lot about being diverse and accepting the opinions and differences of other people. During one of our class discussions and lectures, a student made a comment that was intended for Professor McNair and she was suddenly attacked by another student. Our opinions and thoughts are not the same as another individual, but it is up to one to accept how a person feels and learn how to deal with them. I went home and really thought about what had engaged in class and was very distraught. In the opening of the next class it was an issue I had to address. Professor McNair has taught me a lot during the times that we have had our open floor discussion and allowed me to see myself as an individual. I began to really look within myself to see and know why I am the way that I am. Honestly, I am a stronger person in my thoughts and personal life because of things that Professor has taught. He taught to be an individual and stand up for what I believe in and to be accepted of how I am as a young woman. I am the mother of a very beautiful little girl and everyday when I look at her as she is growing it motivates me even more to succeed and accomplish the impossible. My overall experience in Introduction to Diverse Population was awesome. I met some wonderful enthusiastic people who is truly headed towards the right direction in life. I ultimately learned the importance of being diverse and accepting a person for simply who they are. Yes, Professor McNair gives a lot of work but through all those readings and quizzes it is well worth learning and the knowledge you receive. He is an excellent professor and this is an explicit course to take especially when becoming a future educator. Through out life and its challenges it is up to an individual become all that he or she can be. Negative thinking results in negative outcomes, but when you take a negative situation and turn it into a positive things began to change.

Reflection 19-Homosexuality

Homosexuality is such a broad and wide discussion to speak on. I do believe that God intended for man and woman to be together and produce. Personally, I do not think two people of the same gender can complete the cycle of life. Same sex gender is not a natural cause by God. I have talked in come in contact with many homosexuals and one thing they believe they have in common is that being gay was something they were born with. I honestly disagree because being sexually attracted to someone of the same sex is an emotional struggle that engaged itself at some point in life. This issue is not something that just washed upon the surfaces of rights and legal unions, but since the ending of the 1800's homosexuality has been increased and recognized through the legal movements including adoption and parenting. A little history of the word homosexuality steams from the Greek and Latin word homo which mean same and sexual from Medieval Latin sexualis and when you combine the two it's same sex, but many people tend to use the word gay or lesbian. Homosexual to me is an issue that has been something going on even during ancient times. I remember seeing an ancient art piece of two men Zephyrus and Hyacinthus in an explicit sexual position and if I am not mistaking this art piece was around 480 BC. During the biblical days of the Old Testament, homosexual was rejected. In the story of Sodom two angels visits the city and stays with Abraham's nephew Lot later two men approaches them wanting to have sexual intercourse. Later Lot escapes from the city and it burns. The spiritual aspects that if a male and a male lay with each other the same as woman to woman it is an abomination towards God. All people have their views and choices on what they believe and what they believe in, but we all must respect peoples decisions and not disrespect homosexuals in any way or form. Regardless of ones sexual choice it is not up to us to judge or criticize. I have seen many of times gay and lesbians couples who are happy and content with each other. No, I do not agree with homosexuality but its part of life and learning how to deal with people and their differences.

Reflection 16-Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing

Ethnic cleansing and Genocide in my opinion has a minor similarity and major differences in some areas. Let's began with genocide. Genocide is the purposeful intention of destroying and/or eliminating a particular race or group of people all together such as the Jews during the Holocaust and the Rwanda Genocide. The word genocide is a word that was founded by an attorney Raphael Lemkin who combined geno from the Greek and cide from the Latin. I feel as though the cruelty acts of genocide is the intent to cause harm emotionally and physically and destroying people so none is left existing to tell the story and two major events in history. The first is the Rwanda attack on the Hutu and Tutsi which began in March of 1994. In the first couple of days, assailants went house to house killing and murdering individuals who opposed Habyarimana. Then there was the Holocaust. This event was the destruction of Jews, homosexuals and other groups is also a major event that was an elaborate cause to destroy a nation of people. People were stripped of their land and property and had to give up businesses and assets. These two events were the sole deliberation of taking out a wide range of people. As I was reading and studying genocide and ethnic cleansing, I do believe their is quite a difference. For example, slavery was not really intended on destroying a society of people, but to bind and attack black Americans. Yes, there were killings and beatings, but not solely the destruction to rid out a nation of people. Clarifying more on my opinion, black Americans were in bondage and was forced to hard labor and discriminated against. Unlike the two events mentioned earlier these people were massively killed by the thousands. Focusing on ethnic cleansing is a forced deportation or removal of people from a area. A prime example would be the Cherokee people and Bosnia. As this reflection is of my own thoughts and feeling, politics and government plays a major role in genocide and ethnic cleansing. Politics and government has more power and control over society more than we could imagine. These events caused suffering to a population of people whether through ethnic cleansing, genocide, or slavery. People suffered emotional wounds and bruises all because of their race and at the ending of the day lives were destroyed.

Reflection 17-Racism

Racism and is believing or thinking another race or cultures is less superior or equal to your own particular race. Being racist is simply a group of people or members of a particular society who acts out discriminatory acts toward others whether its through killings or brutal deaths. Racism is something that is taught from either our parents or social peers. A prime example of this is the tragic events of the Holocaust and Slavery of Black-Americans. In class we watched two movies that highly defines what racism is. First, we look at the Cherokees. The estimating number of Cherokees killed was well over two thousand which is more than half of their population. How much did they suffer? No one really knows. Even when we think about the tragic events of the Holocaust and Slavery I am pretty sure their were a large amounts of epidemics and diseases these people encountered all because of people acting out a series of hate. The horrible beatings and starvation these people had to suffer was unremarkable. I think and reflect on the story of Emmett Til and how white Americans in those times simply hated blacks. The brutal killing of Til was the braking point and black Americans began to stand up for their rights and what they believed in. One point that I found to be so true is that slavery for instance, has been going on since the 1800's, but it took the death a fourteen year old boy in 1955 for us to finally take a stand. I can reflect more on the story because I am black American and feel even today the emotional pain we they suffered. As a new parent, I made a civil promise to myself to train and teach my daughter on diversity and how we should unite with others no matter what culture or religion they believe in. Most important as a future educator its important to understand the role of diversity and what it really means. We are the ones that set into motion the atmosphere in our classrooms and it is our job to ensure every student needs are met. Every culture has experienced types of racism and disgrace in through out time, but it's up to an individual to take stand and stand for what they believe in and will not tolerate.

Reflection 17-Racism

Racism and is believing or thinking another race or cultures is less superior or equal to your own particular race. Being racist is simply a group of people or members of a particular society who acts out discriminatory acts toward others whether its through killings or brutal deaths. Racism is something that is taught from either our parents or social peers. A prime example of this is the tragic events of the Holocaust and Slavery of Black-Americans. In class we watched two movies that highly defines what racism is. First, we look at the Cherokees. The estimating number of Cherokees killed was well over two thousand which is more than half of their population. How much did they suffer? No one really knows. Even when we think about the tragic events of the Holocaust and Slavery I am pretty sure their were a large amounts of epidemics and diseases these people encountered all because of people acting out a series of hate. The horrible beatings and starvation these people had to suffer was unremarkable. I think and reflect on the story of Emmett Til and how white Americans in those times simply hated blacks. The brutal killing of Til was the braking point and black Americans began to stand up for their rights and what they believed in. One point that I found to be so true is that slavery for instance, has been going on since the 1800's, but it took the death a fourteen year old boy in 1955 for us to finally take a stand. I can reflect more on the story because I am black American and feel even today the emotional pain we they suffered. As a new parent, I made a civil promise to myself to train and teach my daughter on diversity and how we should unite with others no matter what culture or religion they believe in. Most important as a future educator its important to understand the role of diversity and what it really means. We are the ones that set into motion the atmosphere in our classrooms and it is our job to ensure every student needs are met. Every culture has experienced types of racism and disgrace in through out time, but it's up to an individual to take stand and stand for what they believe in and will not tolerate.