SECTION I: UNDERSTANDING IDENTITY: INTERSECTIONS & COMBINATIONS OF GENDER, RACE & SEXUALITY

Writing Assignment #1 (25 points)

Begin assignment: Friday September 6th
Hand-in assignment: Monday September 16th, 11:45am

Objective: Reflect on how either the construction of gender or the construction of race is affected by class, sexuality and other "identifying traits."

Choice 1
Write a short (1-2 page / 350-600 word) reflection on how your "gender" is constructed. How do your physical appearance, speech, dress, experiences, relationships with peers and family and interactions with public actors (such as school officials, government bodies and the medical establishment) affect or impact what "gender" you are or are perceived to be?

How do specific societal expectations (especially of masculinity/femininity and sexuality) of others impact the social construction of your "gender"? In what ways do race, culture and community affect the way your "gender" is constructed?

What are common scripts (Wideman) associated with people of your "race" AND "gender"? How do the scripts change for people who have the same "gender" as you but different "race" or "ethnicity"? And how are these scripts perturbed again by including sexual orientation and/or class?

Choice 2
Write a short (1-2 page / 350-600 word) reflection on how your "race" is constructed. How do your physical appearance, speech, dress, experiences, relationships with peers and family and interactions with public actors (such as school officials, government bodies and authority figures) affect or impact what "race" you are or are perceived to be?

How do specific societal expectations (especially of class and ethnicity) of others impact the social construction of your "race"? In what ways do gender, culture and community affect the way "race" is constructed?

What are common scripts (Wideman) associated with people of your "race" AND "gender"? How do the scripts change for people who have the same "race" or "ethnicity" as you but have a different "gender"? And how are these scripts perturbed by including sexual orientation and/or class?

REMINDERS

0) YOUR NAME SHOULD NOT APPEAR ANYWHERE IN THE PAPER UNTIL THE LAST PAGE (ON WHICH YOU CAN PRINT OR HANDWRITE YOUR NAME).
1) NO LATE PAPERS OR ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED WITHOUT PRIOR APPROVAL.
2) PAPERS SHOULD BE FORMATTED DOUBLE SPACED, IN 12 POINT FONT WITH 1-INCH MARGINS. A TOTAL WORD COUNT SHOULD APPEAR IN PARENTHESES NEAR THE TITLE.
3) PAPERS SHOULD BE PUBLISHED TO YOUR PERSONAL BLOG BY THE DUE DATE.