# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
"You Is Smart, You Is Kind, You Is Important"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
If there has been one defining trait of the first month of the Trump administration, it's bullying. Americans have watched their president turn on some of the country's most vulnerable populations, including Muslim refugees and travelers and the judges who rule in their favor, as well as undocumented immigrants and the cities that offer them sanctuary. Even the leader of one of the United States' closest allies has labeled him a bully. Threats against religious and ethnic minorities are on the rise as a result.

And on Wednesday, President Trump targeted another vulnerable demographic: transgender children, who already fear for their safety at school.

The administration's decision to rescind federal guidelines protecting transgender students in public schools nationwide didn't come as a surprise to most advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. Whatever feelings Trump has toward LGBTQ people, most of us assumed he'd owe it to the Christian right that helped put him in the White House to let conservatives target transgender people. On Wednesday, those fears were confirmed.
[As a transgender high school student, going to the bathroom is scary]
Trump's move comes even after several recent high-profile incidents of bullying against trans kids. In Britain, an 11-year-old trans girl was subjected to horrific harassment for five months before being shot with a BB gun last week by a male classmate. In her case, her bullies called her a "tranny" and a "freak" and drew penises on the covers of her books. They told her that she should be taken to the gym and beaten up "because you're a boy, not a girl." The abuse escalated until she was shot. She's 11. In what world is it okay to do that?

Those people who stand in the way of child transitioners often say that children are too young to know their gender. Bullies, apparently, aren't too young to know, though; where's the admonishment for them?

Harassment and bullying of transgender children is painfully common. Study after study reports that LGBTQ students are at higher risk for bullying, with trans kids bearing the brunt of the abuse. Society's gender roles are strictly enforced, especially among those assigned male at birth. Children are coerced into proper behavior for their birth-assigned sex role by everyone around them, including parents and other children, and bullies remain an important tool of oppression.

When I was growing up, I was still very closeted, but even so, I faced incidents of bullying for being trans. When I was in 10th grade, I told a girlfriend of my affinity for dressing in girls' clothes in private. I trusted her with that information at the time, but then we broke up, and she told her cousin, who already happened to have been my biggest bully. The next day, my locker was broken into and my belongings were defaced with homophobic slurs. It was terrifying for a young, closeted trans girl, and I decided to try to swallow my true nature at all costs. It would be 19 more years before I actually began my transition.

Those of us who advocate a more free and accepting society for trans kids often hear people express concern that allowing children to transition will only set them up for bullying by peers. But why is the U.S. government now seeking to control the victims of abuse instead of going after the abusers?

Stories of the abuse of trans children come from far and wide. In St. Paul, Minn., a charter school's initially supportive stance toward a trans girl who started transitioning became a political hot potato once other parents were notified. Zack Ford of ThinkProgress chronicled the many letters sent to the board of Nova Classical Academy; one comment, in particular, shows how bullying of trans kids is endorsed by parents who should know better. "I don't have to inform the school leadership that transgenderism is a behavior and thought mentality that is novel and only lately approved of in common culture," the parent wrote. "I have no ill will to any transgender people. But it is foolish to assume that such behavior is normal and should not raise any eyebrows. For children to find such things either alarming or strange is natural."

The children at the school had no problem with their trans classmate until the teachers decided to intervene. Child bullies can take cues from their parents. If those parents are demanding that schools out their children's classmates, and schools aren't allowed or willing to protect students on the basis of their trans status, it creates an environment of harassment.

When the schools treat trans girls as boys and trans boys as girls, how can they expect their classmates to accept them? Suddenly their school is endorsing bullying. And trans students are most at risk for suicide; bullying and abuse only exacerbate the problem. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, 41 percent of trans people will attempt suicide in their lifetimes; the most common factor is bullying.

When Trump was elected, his wife, Melania Trump, vowed to make bullying the centerpiece of her advocacy work as first lady. She recognizes that it's difficult to go through the day while being subject to constant abuse and that children - teenagers especially - are ill-equipped to handle it. In a speech last summer, she specifically said children and adolescents need protection from bullying: "As adults, many of us are able to handle mean words - even lies. Children and teenagers can be fragile. They hurt when they are made fun of or made to feel less in looks or intelligence. This makes their life hard and forces them to hide and retreat. Our culture has gotten too mean and too rough, especially to children and to teenagers." The job of educators is to teach the children of our future, and that cannot be done when a whole class of students fear for their safety at school.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos reportedly objected to rolling back the Obama administration's guidance on bullying, and she issued a statement Wednesday night pledging to protect trans children, although she also said the issue is "best solved at the state and local level," which advocates know isn't true - just look at the legislation some states have passed to require trans people to use bathrooms based on their assigned sex at birth. And at this point, whatever DeVos says is too little, too late. Trump has given cover to every bully who stalks our schools' hallways to target the most vulnerable among us. Now trans people and our allies must turn our attention to Gavin Grimm, a trans boy from Virginia, and his Title IX case - to be heard later this year by the Supreme Court. Gavin's case will decide whether the law applies to trans students. If he wins, Trump's action becomes moot. Again, conservatives who can't stomach the thought of equality have forced it to be determined by the courts.
Read more: Gavin Grimm: I'm transgender and can't use the school bathroom. The Supreme Court could change that. I lived in peace as a transgender woman for years. Then the GOP got involved.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Perspective | Transgender kids are bullied all the time. The White House is helping the bullies.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
If there has been one defining trait of the first month of the Trump administration, it's bullying. Americans have watched their president turn on some of the country's most vulnerable populations, including Muslim refugees and travelers and the judges who rule in their favor, as well as undocumented immigrants and the cities that offer them sanctuary.

# data[].attributes.body
more related to the quote by Barbra

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
5/5: " My terms amount to cultural heresy. I had to say: I will eat what I want and look as I please and laugh as loud as I like and use the wrong fork and lick my knife.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The image of an unarmed African-American woman in a flowing dress, calmly standing in front of two officers clad in head-to-toe riot gear, is being hailed as iconic, as tense protests continue in the U.S.

Over the weekend, dozens of protesters were arrested in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as Black Lives Matter supporters decried the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling by police officers last week.
READ MORE: Thousands attend protests across U.S. against police killings in Louisiana and Minnesota
But the woman in the dress has become a focal point of the protests - with many social media users attributing her calm, strong demeanour to the strength of the Black Lives Matters movement.

Jonathan Bachman's #BatonRouge protest photo will become as iconic as "woman in red" during 2013 protests in Turkey. pic.twitter.com/igMnWOdL4g

- Matt Sandiford (@catsbegrey) July 11, 2016

"Look at her posture. She is balanced, powerful, upright and well-grounded with both feet firmly planted on the earth. Look at the line made from the crown of her head to the heels of her feet. She is only protected by the force of her own personal power," wrote Facebook user Jami West.

"This is a legendary picture. It will be in history and art books from this time."

The now-famous picture was taken Saturday outside the Baton Rouge police headquarters where demonstrators had formed a blockade.

In an interview with The Atlantic, New Orleans-based photographer Jonathan Bachman - who was covering the protests for Reuters - said he turned to photograph the young woman after hearing her say she was going to be arrested.

"It happened quickly, but I could tell that she wasn't going to move, and it seemed like she was making her stand. To me it seemed like: 'You're going to have to come and get me,'" he told The Atlantic.

"It wasn't very violent. She didn't say anything. She didn't resist, and the police didn't drag her off."
WATCH: Police arrest Black Lives Matter protesters in Louisiana for demonstrating on public roads
Police arrest Black Lives Matter protesters in Louisiana for demonstrating on public roads

According to reports, the woman in the dress is Ieshia Evans. She reportedly has a five-year-old son.

"This is my best friend that I have known since we were 8 (20 years now)," wrote Facebook user R. Alex Haynes.

"Her name is Ieshia and she has a 5 year old son. She went to Baton Rouge because she wanted to look her son in the eyes to tell him she fought for his freedom and rights. They haven't released her as of yet but she's fine."

She has since been released from custody, according to Black Lives Matters activist Shaun King.

Bachman said the image represented the peaceful nature of the protests in Louisiana.

On Sunday, some 2,000 people rallied peacefully outside the state's Capitol building in a protest that State Police Maj. Doug Cain called "very organized and peaceful."

By Sunday night, a few hundred protesters blocked an on-ramp of Interstate 110 in Baton Rouge. After a lengthy standoff, helmeted police in riot gear moved in, pinning some of the protesters as others fled. Thirty to 40 people were taken into custody.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The woman in the dress: The story behind the 'iconic' Black Lives Matter protest photo - National | Globalnews.ca

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The image of an unarmed African-American woman in a flowing dress, calmly standing in front of two officers clad in head-to-toe riot gear, is being hailed as iconic, as tense protests continue in the U.S. Over the weekend, dozens of protesters were arrested in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as Black Lives Matter supporters decried the fatal shooting of Alton Sterling by police officers last week.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
P!NK - Beautiful Trauma (Official Video)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Feminism. Probably one of the hardest things to talk about in today's day and age because everything you say is going to be so hotly contested. If you're a self-proclaimed feminist, you are going to get backlash for being too outspoken, too direct, too needy. If you claim you are not a feminist, the backlash is going to be equally as rough; women will attack you saying "How dare you not support your own gender," or even worse, saying you are proliferating the oppression of women. What many people don't understand, though, is that there are many different types of feminism, different ways to look at the monster that is "feminism." Often times white and black women find themselves at a crossroads, not knowing how to intertwine the two.

Black feminism is in fact a very real term, and a completely different branch of feminism. Black feminists felt the need to coin their own term because white people, shockingly, were leaving black women out of the fight for equality. Black women felt as if they had no place in feminism because while yes, they were women, they were black and that was another factor holding them back. Black women are the most marginalized group of people, because not only do they have to work up from their gender, they have to work up from their race as well. You cannot deny or fight this concept because of basic statistics.

Growing up and finding myself, a white girl, feeling very to the left in most situations, I did not know how to approach the topic of black feminism. I didn't know if because I was in fact white I could not hold the mindsets black feminists did. I didn't know if I did, black women would be mad because I was white. But my freshmen year of college my women studies teacher brought in a group of black women from South Africa to speak to our class. Upon expressing their troubles of growing up black and they way they were treated being a women as well, I asked a simple question:
How can I, as a white women, better not only understand the struggle that black women go through, but help combat it?
And every single one of their jaws dropped and said what I have been trying to preach: they just want white women to acknowledge their struggle. And that's when I put two and two together. We grow up with the mindset of white privilege, we grow up with the mindset of white supremacy and the illusion white people can fix everything, just like we think white women can fix the problem black women are dealing with. Instead, acknowledging there is a problem and actively working to, in easy terms, "jump off our high horse" is the way to combat this problem.

Women do a disservice to women everywhere when they deny the fact of feminism and an even bigger disservice when they think all feminism can be lumped into one. White feminists and black feminists alike could make the fight for women's equality much easier by recognizing each others struggle and deeming them as worthy even if they aren't their own struggles.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Feminism. Probably one of the hardest things to talk about in today's day and age because everything you say is going to be so hotly contested. If you're a self-proclaimed feminist, you are going to get backlash for being too outspoken, too direct, too needy.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The media are held responsible for the supposed growth of eating disorders in the country. To what extent is this true? In this short article I would like to separate myth from fact, and to provide the reader with some articles that might help them decide which is cause and which is effect.

What Is The Media?

The media is an important aspect of life in our culture. About 95% of people own a TV set and watch for an average of 3-4 hours per day. By the end of the last century over 60% of men and 50% of women read a newspaper each day and nearly half of all girls, from the age of 7 read a girls magazine each week. In addition, people interact with a wide variety of other media such as music delivered by cd's or videos, and communications via personal computers.

Each form of medium has a different purpose and content. The media seek to inform us, persuade us, entertain us, and change us. The media also seeks to engage large groups of people so that advertisers can sell them products or services by making them desirable. Other institutions such as Governments also engage the public via the media to make ideas and values desirable. Institutions from politics to corporations can use the media to influence our behaviour. We can trace our involvement with the media back to the drum messages of the Indians, the shouts of the town crier. All that has changed are the multitudinous ways in which information passes to us and the increasing sophistication of the media providers.

The argument about whether the media shape society or merely reflect current or nascent trends is constantly under debate. Before the Second World War, it was believed that the media "injects" values and morals into society. However, social research in the 1960s showed that the audience is not a passive receiver of moral values. Society is constructed of many different subcultures, classified by factors such as race, social class, political outlook, adhesion to value systems such as "vegetarianism" or lifestyles (such as "cocooners" (Popcorn 1999) . These differing social groups select and filter information and reject messages that are not consistent with the values of that group. On the other hand, irrespective of social clusters, research has shown that it is those with low confidence and self esteem within each group who are most influenced by media communications.

So there have been many debates about the influence of the media and social behaviour, for example sexual morality or violence. We recognise, as a result of these debates, that the interaction between message and response is complex and audience dependent. To quote the BMA report on eating disorders, body image and the media:

"In a media saturated culture, the argument that long term exposure can help shape the world views of particular sections of the audience is one that merits consideration, however, the EXTENT to which the media contribute to the personal identity remains unclear and is subject to continuing academic debate....the media do not, by their very definition, provide pure experience of the world but channel our experience of it in particular ways".

In other words, all research into the media must take into account the different levels of attention, and interpretation of individuals with different motivations, personalities, immediate situations and socio-cultural contexts who bring different information processing strategies to the task.

The latest "POSTMODERN" thinking on the role of media is that it provides learning that is incidental rather than direct, and it is a significant part of the acculturation process.

Now the battle centres on a new morality of food and eating. We accuse the media, by glorifying the culture of thinness, of causing an epidemic of eating distress, especially among young women. The media denies culpability, or at least responsibility for doing anything about it. Kelly Brownell, a US expert in eating disorders, argues that the media contribute to a toxic environment in which eating disorders may be more likely to occur. This is because of the "Damaging Paradox" of modern society in which the media promotes, in a compelling manner, a low weight sculptured ideal body.

At the same time the environment provides an increasing array of foods high in fat and calories, with compelling pressures to consume these products. As a result we are getting heavier, and the gap between the ideal and normal body weight is giving rise to anxiety. We seek to reduce this anxiety by reducing our body weight, the preferred method being to go on a diet, since we believe that weight IS under our control and, in addition we believe that once weight is lost it should not be regained. But dieting causes rebound binge eating and attempts to deal with this, by going on further diets, will lead many people into a disturbed relationships with food.

There are other dangers arising from this cultural paradox. The models and actors who promote consumption of these calorie laden foods are usually slim and attractive, which would not be possible in a real world if they actually ate these foods. This will add to the cultural confusion, which is said to nurture the onset of eating distress. To what extent are these accusations true?

Is There An Increase In Eating Disorders?

There is no doubt that the ideal body size, as reflected in the style icons promoted in the media, is getting thinner. This ideal body size epitomised by "Gerri Halliwell" "Posh Spice" or "Ally Mcbeal" is unrealistically thin, their BMI is on the borders of what a clinician would regard as anorexic. Due to the proliferation of food in our culture, people are getting bigger, fatter, and maturing younger and younger as the years pass by. The gap between actual body sizes and the cultural ideal is getting wider, and giving rise to anxiety among almost all women, although it is the most vulnerable who are most affected by this.

There is a lot of dieting going on as a result, because dieting is viewed as the solution to the problem of "excess weight", even if the excess is just all in the mind, as a result of faulty messages from "out there". There is evidence from dieting studies that twice as many people diet as need to; in other words' of all people who diet, half are not even overweight. However, dieting doesn't inevitably lead to anorexia. Anorexia is not a slimming disease.

To push the point home, there is no strong evidence of an increase in anorexia. There are more reported cases coming to the attention of services, but we believe that this is just because we now know so much more about the illness. Hence we are more likely to recognise it rather than hide it away. There are more services available so the anorexic person is identified rather than left to fight the illness on their own. It is hard therefore to justify an accusation that exposure to supermodels will cause our teenageers to develop anorexia.

Dieting behaviours are however a risk factor for the other eating disorders, compulsive eating and its variant, bulimia nervosa, an illness in which the sufferer, usually a young woman but many men suffer too - diets, experiences rebound binge eating due to food deprivation and then purges to rid herself of unwanted calories. Compulsive eating is a direct outcome of rebellion against food restraint, a behaviour that can rapidly turn into a remorseless habit. On the other hand, bulimia is an illness which may start out as a useful strategy to control weight gain but rapidly develops into an addictive illness, which engulfs the sufferer and becomes a way of coping with emotional difficulties.

Studies of prevalence show that bulimia nervosa is on the increase, although again these figures may just reflect a growing awareness of the disorder or an increased provision of services. People are more likely to apply for help Still, the link between the media and bulimia is tenuous. Women feel pressure from many sides to control their weight, from the media but also from their peers, from boyfriends, from parents and from the fashion shops that carry clothes in ranges and sizes that suit only the smallest among them.

What Power Does The Media Actually Have?

There is no doubt that the media provides significant CONTENT on body related issues to young women, over 50% of whom, (between the ages of 11 -15 years) read fashion and beauty related magazines. The exposure to ideal images coincides with a period in their lives where self regard and self efficacy is in decline, where body image is at its most fragile due to physical changes of puberty and where the tendency for social comparison is at its peak. Girls thus find themselves in a subculture of dieting, reflecting messages not only from the media but also from parents, peers, members of the opposite sex as well as the media.

Analysis of media content both provide a stream of articles on weight control, either through fitness or food control, and physical beauty, together with models whose curvaceousness has declined steady over the period from 1959-1978 (Guillen and Barr). In all cases, the emphasis on diet or fitness was designed to help someone become more physically attractive and thus acquire status.

In the late 1990s, there was a fair degree of comment from the media about Sindy dolls sold to girls under the age of puberty, with an impossible bust to waist ratio and impossibly long, lean legs. The accusation was that Sindy dolls would "encourage anorexia" by providing young girls with an adult body shape that they would aspire to but never achieve. Various experts appeared on radio and TV accusing the manufacturer of social irresponsibility.

It must be pointed out however, that while it is true that growing and adult women are exposed to thin images and many article on diet and fitness, this fact tells us little about how these messages are received by the audience or by parts of it.

How Messages Are Received

There have been a number of studies, which attempted to combine analysis of the content of messages with studies of attitudes or behaviour to assess the impact of images or messages.

However, we are warned to guard against the short term view of media influence on body image or eating behaviours, rather than assess the long term outcome of exposure to certain images and values, or even to assess the effect of exposure to any set of values independently of the "shifting sands" of social and technological change.

Some of these studies point to a measurable, short-term association between reduced self esteem, heightened anxiety or anger and depression, and exposure to culturally ideal body shapes, less among men and more among women. However there is no way to know how or if this anxiety persists over time or translates into future dieting or aberrant eating behaviours. One other study showed that there was no relationship between body dissatisfaction and the number of hours of TV watched per week, although there was a relationship between body anxiety and number of hours spent watching soap operas. Drive for thinness, a different construct, is related significantly to watching pop or music videos among adolescent girls. Women in a variety of studies consistently report that magazines influence their idea of what a good body shape is, and lead to determination to lose weight with subsequent dieting behaviours.

These findings must be interpreted against the fact that women tend to overestimate their body size, a feature that extents back to early days of puberty. Waller and Hamilton have an interesting view of the effects of the media in this respect. They claim that the media may act as a "negative reinforcer of body size overestimation, which may lead to eating disorder". In other words, the media doesn't make women feel a need to be thinner per se, but the media may assist them in feeling bigger than they already feel themselves to be. The starting position for many females is thus a built-in vulnerability, which is reinforced by the culture of the media. This view must be considered alongside other, parallel studies on body image. These show that the development of body image over time, a more useful predictor of protection from eating distress, is dynamic and affected by many variables, including exposure to traumatic events, body issues in childhood and general self esteem derived from core personality traits.

Cross Cultural Studies

Many cultures have conferred status on a slim body size, for example in China - and some have had a preference for large builds for both sexes, such as in Polynesia. Anne Becker, an anthropologist of Harvard Medical School, who has worked extensively with the Fiji population, has shown that exposure to western ideals of beauty have led to a high percentage of adolescents dieting within the last decade. It is hard to prove that it is exposure to TV images which have caused this change, although it is reasonable to assume that this is the case.

Media Influences On Body-Image, Eating Behaviour And Self Esteem

It is hard to evaluate the relationship between the media and eating disorder without considering the multi faceted impact of media messages on body size, on food consumption, on the desirability of certain foods and their consequent consumption, and other matters relating to personal identity and status.

The media can have many influences in relation to food and eating including:

It confers hidden meanings on food - nostalgia, sexiness, being a good housewife and mother, rewarding oneself, having uninhibited fun etc, and creates unnatural drives for food.

The media can persuade us that wrong eating habits are right and natural. I cite the case of a MacDonald's advertisement recently in which a young boy persuades both his parents to take him for a burger and chips rather than a healthy outing at the zoo.

The media can create anxieties about being deprived if we don't have what "everyone else" is having."

The media presents us with an idealised shape which is invested with attributes of being attractive, desirable, successful and loveable but which is unattainable without resorting to sinister or dangerous eating habits.

The media perpetuates the feeling in people who do not have the ideal shape that their life would be fine if they were slim.

What Is Body Image?

Body image is an important part of self-identity and self esteem. We all have a body image which is defined as the physical and cognitive representation of the body which includes values about how we should look along many dimensions (age, size, height, colour, attractiveness etc) and emotional feelings connected to acceptance or rejection. Body image is closely connected to self-esteem. It is possible to have low self worth and a good body image if other aspects of functioning are important. On the other hand it is hard to maintain good self worth if one's body image is disturbed.

It is believed that women and men configure an internalised ideal body and compare their actual or perceived actual shape against the socially represented ideal (Myers and Biocca). This presents a body image which is elastic in that it will feel different at different times and in different contexts, such as being on a beach in a swimsuit.

We have already explained both that the ideal body has become smaller, thinner and differently shaped over the past 20 years. The ideal body is now sculptured, pared of fat (with a BMI that would place most models firmly in the anorexic category), with narrow hips, a small waist and rounded breasts, a stature which can only be achieved by most women with the help of surgery since under conditions of weight loss breast tissue tends to shrink.

This may explain two factors:

Why women consistently overestimate their weight, and

why dieting behaviours are so prevalent. Over half of all dieters are not overweight, which means that of all people currently dieting, 1 in every 2 doesn't need to. Dieters, especially young ones, tend not to be responsible in their eating habits. We define this as "normative discontent", referring to the fact that poor body image is normal among women in today's society. But what is worrying is that, responding to this low level of body dissatisfaction; women may be harming themselves with their responses. On a study of 869 Australian diets in 1998, one third were using extreme methods such as fasting, crash dieting, smoking or drugs, in the belief that these methods would be harmless.

It would seem that the media doesn't simply make the ideal body desirable, these dieting behaviours spring from an epidemic of low esteem, stress, guilt and depression about having a body that falls short of the cultural ideal. People who diet believe that they look bad, and that this will affect their ability to get a good job or attract members of the opposite sex unless they are thinner. This is true to a certain extent. Research shows clearly that OVERWEIGHT women suffer in a number of important respects. They are less likely to be accepted into higher education, they have lower salaries; they are less likely to date in adolescence and are less likely to be married in adult life. Conversely, graduate career women are more likely to feel guilty about eating than any other target group.

This finding reflects the conflicting pressures on women of today which are reflected in media. Women are supposed to be thin, attractive and successful in the workplace and in academia, while maintaining feminine characteristics of nurturing, maternal, warm, socially engaging and givers. It is thought that women who cannot reconcile these roles and who feel out of control of their lives may turn to the control of weight to regain a sense of coping. However this is just a hypothesis.

The Media As Risk Factors For Eating Disorders

It is hard to separate the influence of the media in the development of eating disorders. Various studies point to the correlation between low self-esteem in young girls and high scores on eating distress measures as they grow.

Self-esteem is a dynamic construct, like body image, which is influenced by a whole variety of factors such as parenting, childhood experiences, core personality and body image especially in girls. It follows thus by logical reduction that influences on body image will affect self esteem and promote the risk of developing an eating disorder as a person turns to the control of their body in order to feel acceptable. In this respect the media may contribute to low self-esteem by promoting slenderness as the pathway to gaining love, acceptance and respect while at the same time reflecting a trend in society to demonise fat.

When women are asked what they fear most in life, most will cite the possibility of gaining weight. When women are asked what they least like about themselves most will describe a part of their body (usually stomach, thighs, legs) rather than no physical attributes like laziness or low confidence. Men conversely are more likely to mention non-physical attributes. When women are asked what men find attractive in them, most mention physical appearance. Women thus feel judged by their looks rather than their other resources.

Esteem isn't the only risk factor for an eating disorder. Traumatic childhood experiences, timing of puberty, family functioning, emotional resilience, exposure to unhealthy eating patterns in other people, family concerns about weight, fear of growing up, sexuality problems, bullying, loss, history of dieting, all may have an influence on a persons relationship with food. So we can conclude that the media may both steer and reflect our cultural obsession with how we look and what we put into our mouths.

Advertising Policies And The Counter Argument

Some institutions in Government, Psychology and the media industry itself are becoming concerned about the use of thin models to promote goods and service. There was a Government "thin summit" in 2000 to which moguls of the magazine industry were invited. In a similar vein, the Independent Television Commission has issued guidelines stating that it is desirable to ensure that advertising does not stimulate unhealthy attitudes to eating and that is must not imply that being underweight is desirable.

Good in theory, but this is a policy which has not had significant impact on the sizes of models in magazines, nor of the size of girls in music bands. Celebrities continue to attract attention for their weight loss rather than their accomplishments, and the greater the furore about their size the more attention they receive. The new "celebrity anorexia" may be creating more ripples in society than any former use of models in fashion shoots.

As a direct repose to "do-gooders" in some sections of the media, a wristwatch manufacturer used an excessively thin model to advertise his watch. Many publishers, while paying lip service to a policy of self acceptance at any weight, continue to print pictures of slim models, run articles about dieting and fitness, and promote all sorts of esoteric eating plans. It is felt that the new wave of articles on healthy eating is just dieting in another guise, the objective being to manage health through control of weight thereby undermining such defences as may exist against dieting per se. These new wave articles are so compelling, that, viewed against a background of increasing confusion about what is good or bad to eat, they are creating a new eating disorder known as "orthorexia". This is condition where the sufferer become wedded to stringent eating plans (such as food combining or anti allergy plans) which imply weight loss and which mask a profound unhealthy relationship with food.

Some style setters in the media frankly refuse to adjust their policies, they say, not unreasonably, that women like to look at perfect bodies, they won't buy magazines with pictures of ordinary people, and that they are not quite as silly to believe that these fantasy figures, photographically enhanced in many cases, are bodies that they should aspire to. This is to a certain extent confirmed by my own discussions with teenage girls in schools who are fully aware that diet and exercise would not be enough to get you looking like a model in a magazine.

The Media And The Obesity Epidemic

There is one aspect of media policy which has largely been ignored, because of over concern with thin images. This is the use of media to promote unhealthy eating attitudes which may be contributing to a national epidemic of obesity, which in itself will provoke damaging eating strategies as our ever expanding nation seeks to control its weight. An individual watching television for 2 hours per day will see over 20,000 food advertisements in one year, most promoting foods high in sugar and fat, mainly urging us to eat for reasons that have little to do with survival. The problem is ever worse for our children. During child-friendly broadcasting hours, they are exposed to a continual stream of advertisements for sweets, chocolate, and sugar laden cereals. This aspect of media functioning supports the food industry in contributing to a significant effect on future problems with eating and with weight.

Positive Media Influences

The media does not influence eating patterns or self-esteem in an exclusively negative fashion. Broadcast and written media can be a source of valuable information on health and well-being. In addition, awareness of eating disorders, through magazines, articles and television programmes may educate people about the danger of abusing food, and may help to make sufferers aware that they have a problem and they are not alone.

In this respect the media may have two useful roles: the first in health promotion for the public at large, the second, in the arena of primary prevention. Health promotion seeks to promote healthful behaviours or attitudes to the public at large. Primary prevention is defined as an activity designed to eliminate or render ineffective, factors involved in the causation of a disorder and an activity designed to strengthen the host against noxious influences.

From this definition it can be seen that the media both opposes and contributes to health promotion and primary prevention.

It has been suggested that the media might respond to its critics in the following ways

Present a greater variety of body shapes and sizes in photos, in the music industry, as television presenters etc.

Should discourage dieting

Should assist people with an influence on young people (such as parents, teachers) from making weight an issue

Provide positive fat role models

Should not glamorise celebrities who lose weight

It is expected that such changes, if they were put in place, would take a while to filter down through society before any significant shift in attitudes could be achieved.

Can The Media Change Attitudes Against Current Trends?

Would all this work anyway? My personal view is that it would not. There is a larger dynamic behind cultural trends, which drive behaviours, cultural values and attitudes. Such changes would be swimming against the tide. I do believe therefore that the media is sensitive to these emerging trends and brings them to the surface. In this respect they are seen to be trend creators, yet they are just mirrors of patterns which already exist.

In addition we are not isolated, but are part of a global culture. The trends cross the entire developed world are consistent in their glamorisation of slenderness and youth as a feminine, and increasingly a masculine ideal.
The media would find it hard to convince the national psyche, therefore, that thinness is not a desirable ideal. By promoting sensible messages, however, they may impact on those individuals in society who are vulnerable and who may otherwise filter unhealthy messages, which will lead them into a path towards developing eating disorders.

Carl Jung in his book The Undiscovered Self; Routledge Press offers the view that it is hard to create change by pushing messages at the culture as a whole. The route to changing a culture is by changing individuals who will have a subtle influence within their immediate circle of acquaintances. This influence will ripple outwards and it will take time to filter through into public consciousness. In conclusion to this essay, I quote directly his opinion.
"...The psychologist seems to be the only person who knows from experience how precarious the psychic preparedness of modern man is, for he is the only one who sees himself compelled to seek out in mans nature those helpful forces and ideas which over and over have enabled the individual to find the right way through darkness and danger. For this exacting work the psychologist requires all his patience, he may not rely on traditional "oughts" or "musts" leaving the other person to make all the effort and contenting himself with the easy role of adviser and admonisher. Everyone knows the futility of preaching about things that are desirable, yet the general helplessness in this situation is so great, and the need so dire, that one prefers to repeat the old mistake instead of racking ones brains over a subjective problem. ...The effect on ALL individuals, which one would like to see realized, may not set in for hundreds of years, for the spiritual transformation of mankind follows the slow tread... and cannot be hurried or held up by any rational process of reflection, let alone brought to fruition in one generation. What does lie within our reach, however, is the influence of others of like mind in their circle of acquaintance. I do not mean by persuading or preaching - I am thinking, rather, of the well known fact that anyone who has insight into his own actions and has thus found access to the unconscious, involuntarily exercises an influence on his environment. The deepening and broadening of his consciousness produce the kind of effect which the primitives call "mana". It is an unintentional influence on the unconscious of others..."
A full list of references on issues pertaining to the media may be found in
Eating Disorders Body Image and the Media. BMA 2000 ISBN 07279 13339

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
National Centre for Eating Disorders - The Media & Eating Disorders

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
By Deanne Jade, National Centre For Eating Disorders. Acknowledgement: The British Medical Association, Eating Disorders Body Image and The Media The media are held responsible for the supposed growth of eating disorders in the country. To what extent is this true? ... Continue reading →

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The feminist blogosphere has become as much a space for social activism and encouraging change as it has for people to air their opinions and comments without fear of consequence. Though online feminism has been instrumental in bringing important issues to light, others worry that it has become exclusive to a fault, leaving out some individuals and groups that want in on the conversation.

Recently, many opinions on the possible shortcomings of feminist media in general have again been highlighted. There have been rumblings, some below the surface and some outspoken, indicating that there is a dearth of inclusivity among the main players of online feminism.

We wanted to dig deeper into the issues of online media, elitism and the exclusivity of feminism, so we called up a group of women that we think broadly represent a swath of different perspectives.
Check out these smart opinions.
Erinn Furey, a queer activist, social worker and a former American Idol contestant, spoke out about her concerns that online feminism isn't doing enough to encourage women to identify as feminists.

"I come from the perspective of a queer woman and queer professional, but also as a woman that works with queer individuals and young people and their families. When I see feminism have increased popularity via the Internet, and specifically I'm talking about stuff that is shared on social media sites, not just blogs, it feels like something that doesn't include not only queer women, but women that don't automatically identify as feminists. A lot of Internet feminism seems to suggest: If you are not thinking about what we are thinking about, or how we are thinking, then we are not interested in having you as a part of the conversation.

"I feel like a lot of internet feminism is leaving some women out of the conversation because Internet feminism is thinking about what Internet feminism wants, and not necessarily what is best for women as a whole. And, of course, if you're marginalized, you're going to fall through those cracks even more.

"It's interesting that Internet feminism forgets about women who are not identifying as feminists. So, that Victoria's Secret model featured on Jezebel -- we all know that she is part of a larger conglomerate and that people have to earn their living in various ways. I think that even with figures like Farrah Abraham, too, people were like: 'How dare you defend the choices that she has made?' or 'How dare she make a living off of something that feeds into beauty standards?' I think that is the opposite of feminism. I think those were good chances to take women who don't identify as feminists and say: 'Hey! You can be part of the movement, too.'"

Alex Berg, a producer from HuffPost Live, added to the concern over queer representation in online feminism.

"For me, when we talk about online feminism, I think it's really interesting because it sort of marginalizes a lot of women, like women of color and queer women. I also think it excludes women who are not in a particular social class as well. The way that I portray online feminism is that there is a very rich blogosphere and Twitter community of marginalized feminists, and I try to engage with that community, but I find that as a queer woman the way that I experience the challenges that feminism tries to address is really different from a the way a straight woman might experience feminism.

"I also think it's interesting that in the workplace, feminism worries about how you will be treated because you are feminine. For me, I not only worry that I will be treated differently because I'm a woman, but because people are going to make assumptions about my sexual orientation. I'm treated differently because in over 30 states, I could be fired potentially, if someone disagrees with my sexual orientation. There are a number of institutions that mainstream feminism doesn't address."

Brittney Cooper, the co-founder of the Crunk Feminist Collective (blogger name: "Crunktastic") thinks that online feminism has made great strides for the modern-day women's movement, but that there is still work to be done in terms of inclusivity.

"I think online feminism is an experiment in what democracy looks like. There are many more voices at the table now, which means that there are new people defining the rules. Many of those people are women of color. While online feminism is a tough space for sure, it is no tougher or any more judgmental towards women, or their bodies, than what it means to move through the world on the regular.

"But because feminism, online feminism included, is a human project, it is full of people with traumas and issues and less than productive ways of engaging. Feminist space is not utopian. Injustices and exclusions happen there everyday. Still, when I think of online feminism, I think it has made space for many more voices than it has excluded. At Crunk Feminist Collective, we would call this cacophony of voices, "productive dissonance," and "percussive feminism." It's loud and noisy, but it makes you think and it makes you move. And that is something to celebrate."

Ashley Love is a journalist and a transexual media advocate.

"Both feminist and LGB online news sources often lack balanced and fair journalism when covering transsexual and transgender issues, even excluding, belittling and misrepresenting voices of trans women. The 'tra**y slur controversy' was primarily covered by gay male journalists who censored the feminist element out of the debate. The 'Hollywood trans-face' pattern of male actors mocking and misgendering trans women's lives is underreported or apologized for in LGB and mainstream feminist media. True feminism is not just giving voice to privileged women, but to all women, nor is LGB media outlets (mis)speaking for transsexual women or suppressing their dissent considered genuine ally behavior."
Have an opinion of your own? Good. We want to hear it. Comment below or email us at debate@debateout.com. We'll be curating some of your most poignant thoughts on the topic.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The feminist blogosphere has become as much a space for social activism and encouraging change as it has for people to air their opinions and comments without fear of consequence. Though online feminism has been instrumental in bringing important issues to light, others worry that it has become exclusive to a fault, leaving out some individuals and groups that want in on the conversation.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Dua Lipa - New Rules (Official Music Video)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"Intersectional feminism" is much more than the latest feminist buzzword. It is a decades-old term many feminists use to explain how the feminist movement can be more diverse and inclusive.

If feminism is advocating for women's rights and equality between the sexes, intersectional feminism is the understanding of how women's overlapping identities - including race, class, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation - impact the way they experience oppression and discrimination.

A white woman is penalized by her gender but has the advantage of race. A black woman is disadvantaged by her gender and her race. A Latina lesbian experiences discrimination because of her ethnicity, her gender and her sexual orientation.

Intersectionality has received increased attention in part due to how the Women's March on Washington came together. The rally, which began organically on Facebook, was initially criticized for failing to include any women of color as organizers. Now its leaders include Tamika Mallory, an African-American civil rights activist and former director of the National Action Network; Linda Sarsour, a Muslim who heads the Arab American Association of New York; and Carmen Perez, a Latina activist who directs Harry Belafonte's Gathering for Justice. The march's policy platform is called "Unity Principles," which include the belief that "gender justice is racial justice is economic justice."
At 2.6 million strong, Women's Marches crush expectations
"This has been a conversation about feminism for years, but what we're witnessing now is a literacy, newer generations are coming to feminism and starting to understand how intersectionality fits within their feminism and how it can widen their view in a sense of how we think about advocating and shaping policy," said Syreeta McFadden, professor of English at the Borough of Manhattan Community College in New York City and a writer on racial discrimination and African-American culture.

The concept was given a name in 1989, when Kimberlé Crenshaw, a law professor at UCLA and Columbia and a leading thinker on race theory, wrote a seminal paper on the topic.

Today, the term makes some people uncomfortable in part because it suggests that white women recognize their privilege and examine the ways in which that privilege can make other women invisible within the feminist movement.
Watch live: Women's March on Washington
"White women do not want to jeopardize their power or their interests, so now they need to ask what they will do differently to help other women," said Ruth Enid Zambrana, director of the Consortium on Race, Gender and Ethnicity at the University of Maryland and the interim director of the university's U.S. Latino Studies Initiative.

Intersectional feminism means not focusing solely on breaking the glass ceiling in corporate America, for instance, but in raising the minimum wage, as nearly two-thirds of minimum-wage workers in the U.S. are women, according to the National Women's Law Center.

"I'm a bit over how the mainstream narrative flattens the feminist movement to try to make it into the Sheryl Sandberg-identity of feminism," McFadden said. "Not to say that she didn't have ideas that were helpful and on point, but there is a class conversation that gets lost."

Intersectionality also means broadening the conversation around reproductive rights.

"Some intersectional feminists have been critical of framing reproductive justice claims in terms of a feminist demand for 'choice,' since choice discourse presumes that all women have the economic means to afford an abortion if they so choose," said Juliet Williams, professor of gender studies at UCLA. "Moreover, privileging attention to abortion rights over other reproductive justice issues - such as forced sterilization - can be seen to elevate a middle-class white women' agenda over other issues that are equally if not more important to poor women and women of color."

In the current political climate, some say the time is right to embrace intersectionality.

"Intersectional feminism is especially important right now as we face a situation in which many women are confronting multiple forms of vulnerability," Williams said. "In times like this, there is a real danger that feminism itself can function in an exclusionary manner by marginalizing less powerful and less privileged women and allies - the very people who most need feminism today."

Here's how feminist scholars explain the meaning of intersectionality in their own words:
Juliet Williams, professor of gender studies at UCLA
"Intersectional feminism is a form of feminism that stands for the rights and empowerment of all women, taking seriously the fact of differences among women, including different identities based on radicalization, sexuality, economic status, nationality, religion, and language. Intersectional feminism attends to the ways in which claims made in the name of women as a class can function to silence or marginalize some women by universalizing the claims of relatively privileged women."
Nancy J. Hirschmann, director of the Alice Paul Center for Research on Women, Gender, and Sexuality at the University of Pennsylvania
"Intersectional feminism is the idea that 'gender' or 'women' doesn't just refer to a single unified concept: all women have a race, whether white, black, Asian, Latina, etc. as well as a class, ethnicity, religion, etc., and their experiences as 'women' differ because of those other differences. The different aspects of our identity intersect - white women's experiences 'as women' is partly defined by their race, just like black women's experiences are, it's just that it's easier for white women to ignore their race. So if 'feminism' is supposed to represent 'women' it has to attend to those differences."
Ruth Enid Zambrana, director of the Consortium on Race, Gender and Ethnicity at the University of Maryland
"There isn't just one 'feminism. There are 'feminisims.'"

"Intersectionalism is crucial. How do we begin to disentangle 'women' from 'African American women' from 'Puerto Rican' women from 'Mexican American women' from 'international women'?"

"White women need to recognize that gender isn't a single category. There is a need to acknowledge underrepresented women and domestic groups that have different histories and are at a tremendous disadvantage."
Alia Dastagir writes about media and culture for USA TODAY. You can follow her on Twitter @alia_e.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What is intersectional feminism? A look at the term you may be hearing a lot

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"Intersectional feminism" is much more than the latest feminist buzzword. It is a decades-old term many feminists use to explain how the feminist movement can be more diverse and inclusive. If feminism is advocating for women's rights and equality between the sexes, intersectional feminism is the understanding of how women's overlapping identities - including race, class, ethnicity, religion and sexual orientation - impact the way they experience oppression and discrimination.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
"I built a white feminist temple. Now I'm tearing it down."-Layla Saad

I'll always be here for Kimberle Crenshaw. She gave a name to the face of compounded oppression that women like me survive on the daily. Women who live in constant danger at the intersection of race and gender. What I was not here for was the concept of intersectional feminism. The notion that white women will magically take accountability for their dismissal, bias, and mean girl spirit and become the kind of gals who are all about passing the mic to black and brown sisters... unheard of.

It wasn't until I re-read Angela Davis's Women, Race, & Class that I had a change of heart. A biography about American women's liberation from slavery to present, Women, Race, & Class uses history and factual resources to spell out what white women have yet to comprehend; their ignorance and apathy towards the struggle of black women has been to the detriment of any could-be collective feminist movement. While white women were exercising their freedom, black women were fighting to stay alive on the plantation field. When black Americans pleaded with white feminists to support their efforts to gain the right for black men to vote, Susan B Anthony spoke against it. She, along with Elizabeth Stanton and a slew of other white feminists demanded that women be granted the right to vote before Blacks, despite the mass lynchings, race riots, and the KKK, which destroyed black communities simply because they had the voting power to do so. White feminists chose self-interest over the lives of black people. This fundamental decision was the beginning of what is now known as white feminism.

I became convinced that Women, Race, & Class would bring about a massive come-to-Jesus moment to white women who failed to see the racial violence in their detachment from non-white women and non-white issues. It was also around this time that I started watching lectures and interviews by Kimberle Crenshaw to learn more about the intersections women experience (gender + race + sexual orientation, gender + race + physical handicap, gender + race + ethnicity).

If intersectionality was a train, I was the conductor. I ranted on and on about both the concept and the term to anyone who would listen. I spoke about it to college students at SUNY Old Westbury. I even created an intersectional book club for cisgender and trans women. I was all in.

Intersectional feminism doesn't mean anything if white women still struggle to support and advocate for those who's identities cross intersections that are foreign to theirs.

As the honeymoon wore off, I began to notice some things I hadn't before. For starters, many white women announced themselves as intersectional feminists, yet, were still completely detached from the lives and issues of cis and trans black women and women of color. I also noticed that black women and women of color weren't too quick to join the intersectional movement either. Instincts and too many bad experiences in white-centered environments made them very distrustful of intersectional feminism.

As time progressed, any hope that intersectional feminism would be this magical path to racial and cultural harmony between white women and non-white women disappeared. Despite the legion of spaces dedicated to intersectionalism-including my own book club, it always seemed that every environment was divided by race. I know what sisterhood is and I know what white women think sisterhood is; they got it all wrong.

Deep down inside I knew what the problem was, I just didn't have the heart to admit it. Intersectional feminism doesn't mean anything if white women still struggle to support and advocate for those who's identities cross intersections that are foreign to theirs.

Meanwhile, the sisterhood between black women of color and non-black women of color has become increasingly stronger. Social and racial justice warriors are creating spaces exclusively for non-white women, allowing us to exhale, grow, and continue strengthening our collective goals and organic connection. It seemed as though all that time standing on the outside made us realize, "We are in this. Together."

I was beginning to lose sight of the role white women were supposed to play in this whole intersectional feminist thing when the wrongful arrest of Chikesia Clemons happened.

Chikesia and her cousin Canita were dining at a Waffle House-not the same Waffle House where four Black people were massacred by a white man. A different Waffle House (Stay. Out. Of. Waffle House). After a request for cutlery, Chikesia was told she'd be charged fifty cents for it. Upon challenging this fee, employees did the thing they always do when they're free to enable white supremacy without judgement: they called the police. This resulted in an unnecessarily aggressive, humiliating arrest that left Ms Clemons face down, hands cuffed, and breasts exposed.

I waited for the moment when white women were going to learn how to pronounce Chikesia's name and fight for her justice with the same conviction they would fight for their own, Parkland style. I'm not a fool; I expected nothing from white feminists, or even the run-of-the-mill standard feminists-the ones who cap out of convenience rather than conviction. Still, I sincerely expected... something from intersectional feminists. I expected them to show everyone what true sisterhood looks like. No doubt, there were more than a few white women who spoke Chikesia's name and donated to her GoFundMe's campaign that's raising money for her lawyer fees. But, in regard to the collective white woman... *crickets*.

What happened to Chikesia has all the ingredients that require radical feminist action. She was wrongfully arrested. Her body, exposed to the world for every hater and prospective employee to see. The intersection of being a woman in black skin could have cost her her life. Sadly, the women who are in need of protest, protection, and sisterhood most, black women, are the ones who get it least. Even when a black woman creates a term and a concept to describe just how dangerous it is to be a black woman, white women take it, run with it, build over the fundamentals, and save no room for black women. Fucking ironic.

Sure, breaking up is hard to do, but, it's also healthy. As a black woman who lives in a country that can arrest me for needing to eat with a fork, murder me for not putting out my cigarette, demote me for wearing my hair natural, and do everything to convince me that I'm not pretty, I'm not composed, I'm not smart, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not... I'm not putting up with this idea anymore.

I find myself at the end of my intersectional feminist road. It's time to hop into survival mode, ditch this dumpster fire, and live by a black feminist agenda. One mapped out by the pros. Audre Lorde, bell hooks, Patrisse Cullors, Angela Davis, Kola Boof, and all the other sisters who stay convinced that we need to divest from white feminism and invest in black and brown women, nurture our black magic, and hold one another to a higher esteem.

Black feminism gives me everything I need. Removal of any and all environments that hold no space for me and my sisters, a sisterhood bonded in dedication towards the progress and liberation of all of us, and freedom from the respectability politics that strangle us.

When I live life as a black feminist who's dedicated to a black feminist agenda, I'm doing all the things that I did before, only, I'm centered inside the collective goal. I can hold space for all my marginalized sisters, rather than feel as though I have to compete with them for the few vacant 'minority' slots reserved at intersectional functions. In the words of Gabrielle Union, "I don't want to be at your table at all. I built a house over there."

We can't all be black feminists. It's something you're born into, it isn't acquired. However, we can all and we should all adopt a black feminist agenda. When black women win, mankind wins.

I've broken up with plenty of people and things before due to my conviction, but leaving intersectional feminism is way different. It becomes easier to stop loving someone or something when you accept the fact that it does not love you back. At the end of the day, if intersectional feminism holds no space for Chikesia, it damn sure doesn't care about me.
This post was originally published on Medium. Tamela J Gordon is a writer, black feminist, and creator of the women's empowerment group, Sisters with Aspiration.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Why I'm giving up on intersectional feminism

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"I built a white feminist temple. Now I'm tearing it down."-Layla Saad I'll always be here for Kimberle Crenshaw. She gave a name to the face of compounded oppression that women like me survive on the daily. Women who live in constant danger at the intersection of race and gender.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What is feminism? What are some of the different types of feminism? What's the difference between Black feminism and womanism? What Does "Intersectionality" Mean? Why is intersectionality important in feminism? How can I make my feminism more intersectional? Should I call myself an "intersectional feminist"? - I'm not a Black woman / Black non-binary person. Why do you say I can't call myself an intersectional feminist? - What about non-Black women of colour? - You say I'm not allowed to call myself an "intersectional feminist" because I'm not a Black woman / Black non-binary person. But I do face multiple oppressions / But I do want my feminism to be inclusive. Am I not supposed to be intersectional? Is intersectionality for everyone? Answers What is feminism?
Feminism is a broad collection of movements that recognises that women are oppressed, which means they are granted less power, social capital, material goods, and/or freedom than men. Feminism is a response to this oppression that aims to provide women with liberation or equality. There are many, many different feminisms, which have different theories about the causes and solutions of the aforementioned disparity.
What are some of the different types of feminism?
Here are some of the many types of feminism. Each type in itself is a broad movement, so there can be big differences between feminists even when they consider themselves the same 'type' of feminist. Some feminists don't use any of the labels below, and some use multiple.
What's the difference between Black feminism and womanism?
I (mod T) do identify as a womanist in addition to a feminist. Why do both? Because I like to emphasize the difference between the two.

I see womanism as a softer, more personal form of feminism. Womanism for me is more about culture and community.

Some notes I wrote ages ago about the difference between womanism and feminism [specifically black feminism, though intersectional feminism can work in its place]:

Womanism can be seen as a mediator between Black Nationalism and Black Feminism

Womanism is a more homegrown, mature, nurturing, motherly version of feminism, not simply a branch or type (womanism is to feminism as purple is to lavender)

Womanism is a wholesome compromise for women of color that have always been torn between feminism and cultural ties

Womanism can be a support system for women of color who care more about community and real life stories than about academia and theories

Womanism is a mode of analysis that does not exclude men of color, but rather embraces them and includes them in the solution instead of regarding them as part of the problem

So, womanism is the social/community side of social justice work for me, whereas feminism is the political side. Oftentimes, the terms used in feminism can be too academic or clinical for me, and the theories and language can be very inaccessible for those who aren't college-educated. Womanism keeps it real for me. Womanism has concepts I understand easily that feminism makes confusing with big words and sociological studies. Womanism is anecdotes and experience, while feminism is statistics and seminars.
What Does "Intersectionality" Mean?
The term "intersectionality" was coined by Critical Race Theorist Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989, though the actual concept was around since at least 1851 (see: Ain't I a Woman? by Sojourner Truth). It is a feminist sociological theory that centers around analyzing and discussing how oppression often intersects, creating unique and varied experiences of discrimination.

Originally, intersectionality referred to the discrimination faced by black women that is not only sexism and racism, but an experience that is more than the sum of its parts (now referred to as "misogynoir" in black feminist and womanist circles). Intersectionality has since been expanded to include the analysis of discrimination faced by anyone who identifies with the multiple social, biological, and cultural groups that are not favored in a patriarchal, capitalist, white supremacist society.
Why is intersectionality important in feminism?
The goal of feminism is to move toward gender equality and/or justice for people of all genders. To this end, feminism investigates and challenges the forces that cause injustice or inequality. However, those forces are not the same for all women, because forces of oppression (sexism, racism, classism etc.) intersect.

Without attending to intersectionality, two things tend to happen:

1. Problems which are unique to specific subsets of women or non-binary people go unaddressed. The issues of lower-class lesbians, or the issues of non-binary people of color, for instance, aren't discussed in mainstream feminism.

2. Problems which occur for most/many women are only solved for otherwise-unoppressed women. For instance, when "women" in the US got the vote, what that actually meant was that white, upper-class women got the vote. It was decades before Black and Native American women got the vote.

Thus, to ensure justice and equality in the feminist movement, it is very important to be mindful of intersectional issues.
How can I make my feminism more intersectional?
Here are a few ways to make your feminism more mindful to intersections. First of all, try to be an ally for groups you aren't a part of. More information on how to be an ally can be found here.

Try to seek out information about things that are going on for other oppressed groups. Part of that can be following tumblrs which talk about racism, queerphobia, etc.

When you read or talk about feminist issues, another useful technique is to 'ask the other question'. Instead of thinking about how something relates to gender, ask 'how does this relate to race?'. For instance, when you're watching a movie and are annoyed at the stereotypical portrayal of women, you can also try to think about race by asking: are there people of color represented? How are they represented? Are there characters who are both female and of color?

Here's a (non-exhaustive!) list of some other things you can do online/on tumblr to show you're striving to be intersectional:

Cut slurs out of your vocabulary

Try to make your blog more accessible to folks with disabilities

Tag lots for black list users

Do not derail posts about a specific topic (Ex. "All Lives Matter")

When reading studies, think "Okay, so this affects white women in this way, but how does it affect Latinx and Black women? How does it affect women with disabilities?)

Reblog problematic things with commentary! (This one can be exhausting, but you have no idea how relieving it is to see that someone I follow reblogged what began as a really gross post with a golden commentary. It makes folks feel safer!)

Never send hate!

Sign petitions, signal boost fundraisers and charities, and donate when you can

Work on making your blog feel safe and comforting

Work to make your feminism inclusive to trans and intersex women by eliminating cissexist/intersexist language, uplifting voices of trans or intersex women, and correcting other people when they're being transmisogynist or intersexist

Should I call myself an "intersectional feminist"?
We get a LOT of questions about this. This is an issue on which there are different stances in the feminist community. Here is our stance: The term "intersectional" was coined by a woman of color, Kimberlé Crenshaw. Use of the term has expanded to cover not just analysis of Black women's position, but also analysis of the ways different oppressions interact for other groups of people.

Because the term was coined by a Black woman, there is debate over whether it is appropriate for people who aren't Black women to call themselves "intersectional feminist". Our stance at this blog is to not use this term unless you are a Black woman or a Black non-binary person.

However, calling your feminism intersectional and speaking about intersectionality ARE things you can do, even when you are not a Black woman. Thus our recommendation is to call yourself a feminist (if you want to, of course) and to bring up intersectionality and intersectional themes separately, unless you are a Black woman like Kimberlé Crenshaw. In that case, the term 'intersectional feminist' is available for you to use.

Follow-up questions about this topic:

I'm not a Black woman / Black non-binary person. Why do you say I can't call myself an intersectional feminist?
If you're white, don't call yourself an intersectional feminist because-

you do not experience the type of oppression that the term was coined to discuss

it has been used by white feminists as a shield to avoid being held accountable for bigoted actions or words

some white feminists fixate on it as a way to separate themselves from other white feminists in order to seem less problematic without putting in actual intersectional work (again, avoiding accountability)

intersectionality is often used without proper credit being given to the creators of the concept (Black women)

claiming it as a white woman erases Black women and pushes away the issue of anti-blackness

Please see this post for a longer explanation.
What about non-Black women of colour?
We don't believe anyone beyond black women should be able to claim that title because the whole concept of intersectionality was created by a black woman for black women, as a way to analyze the intersection of racism and sexism that black women face.

The type of racism a black woman faces is very different from the racism an Asian or Hispanic woman may face because of the added layer of anti-blackness.

Anti-blackness and colorism are issues unique to black folks (EDIT: colorism does affect dark skinned folks of any race, but it is directly linked to anti-black racism and white supremacy, which deems blackness as ugly, inferior, and animalistic), and they affect black women the most. You can find anti-blackness in every single social and ethnic group.

That is why it is important to allow black women to claim the title of intersectional feminist. It is a reminder that whenever blackness is added to an already busy intersection of oppression, things get worse. Things become more dangerous.

This does not mean that intersectionality cannot be for anyone else. This movement has been expanded to include every minority group. Here at this blog, you can see that we address multiple issues, and work to include everyone. This is by no means an exclusionary tactic.
You say I'm not allowed to call myself an "intersectional feminist" because I'm not a Black woman / Black non-binary person. But I do face multiple oppressions / But I do want my feminism to be inclusive. Am I not supposed to be intersectional?
Yes, you ARE allowed and encouraged to use intersectional theory and thought, think intersectionally, be inclusive, name and discuss issues of intersectionality, etc. You are allowed and encouraged to bring up intersectionality when you talk about what feminism means to you. You are allowed and encouraged to call yourself a feminist.

Is intersectionality for everyone?
While intersectional theory was originally meant to address the unique intersection of oppression faced by black women (misogynoir), it has since been expanded to include anyone who suffers disadvantages in a White supremacist, capitalistic, patriarchal society.

Those with disabilities, mental illness, non-Western religious identities, non-white ethnic or racial identities, non-thin bodies, non-Eurocentric features, low income, those who are not alloromantic, allosexual, heterosexual, or cis gender [specifically cis male by Western standards], or those who simply do not adhere to a Western model of gender or sexuality all experience oppression due to their relative "disadvantage."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What is feminism? What are some of the different types of feminism? What's the difference between Black feminism and womanism? What Does "Intersectionality" Mean? Why is intersectionality important in feminism? How can I make my feminism more intersectional? Should I call myself an "intersectional feminist"? - I'm not a Black woman / Black non-binary person.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Forbes Welcome page -- Forbes is a global media company, focusing on business, investing, technology, entrepreneurship, leadership, and lifestyle.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
When I was learning how to drive, one of the first things Driver's Ed taught was that driving is a privilege, not a right. With this understanding, the "privilege" of being able to drive is and can be stripped away if you fail to drive well. You're not born with the ability to drive, you have to work for it. However, some forms of privilege are not earned in this way and people are afforded privileges based on innate characteristics.

According to Merriam-Webster , privilege is "a right or benefit that is given to some people and not to others." In feminist conversations, these rights or benefits are often forms of power societal systems give to certain people based on characteristics like gender, race, wealth, or sexuality.

It is understandable why the concept of privilege can be confusing to some. Some people wonder, how can a social system be beneficial for some people while disadvantageous for others?

Everyday Feminism compares privilege to the concept of oppression. According to the article, oppression occurs because society is structured in a way that automatically puts individuals with certain traits at a disadvantage. In other words, it's harder for oppressed people, such as women or people of color, to advance in our society. This is the opposite of privilege, in which certain characteristics make it easier for people to succeed in society.

Our identities are made up of various aspects, some of which may afford certain privileges while some may lead to oppression from others. These different characteristics in various ways.

For the majority of the US population, most people are privileged in some aspects and disadvantaged in others. For example, as a woman I am disadvantaged in this society, but I am also privileged in that I am receiving higher education and I have a supportive family. I am neither wholly privileged nor wholly disadvantaged, and this applies to most people in our society.

One very important thing to consider when thinking about privilege is to think about the ways you are privileged. If you are able to read this article, you have some privileges that others do not. By considering the ways you hold privilege, you are better able to understand and listen to those who experience oppression (or more oppression) and can learn on how to work together to end the oppression and create a society in which everyone enjoys the same opportunities.

As Roxane Gay describes in her essay "Peculiar Benefits," it is important not to play the "Game of Privilege." She explains that people often play this game in which you ask who is more privileged when comparing different demographics, for example, comparing a wealthy white man to a wealthy black man. Gay writes that privilege is "relative and contextual," and therefore playing this game is pointless. The game is also harmful because it pits people against each other and creates a hostile environment. Rather than working together to end oppression, the game of privilege tears people apart.

Gay also claims that many people have become "privilege police," in which they find people talking about their own experiences and point out the various forms of privilege they hold. By doing so, you are demeaning the experiences of those who have encountered other forms of oppression. In order to prevent yourself from doing this, you must listen and understand others' experiences, and as mentioned above, understand the ways in which you have privilege.

Author: Nayiri Hovsepian

Nayiri is a third-year Psychology major. You can often find her re-watching episodes of Friends while drinking tea. She also likes dogs, the beach, and listening to feminist punk.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When I was learning how to drive, one of the first things Driver's Ed taught was that driving is a privilege, not a right. With this understanding, the "privilege" of being able to drive is and can be stripped away if you fail to drive well.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
An excerpt from 'White Anti-Racist Activism: A Personal Roadmap' by Jennifer R. Holladay.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Scott L. asks: Is it true that Michael Jackson bleached his skin to turn himself white?

Many scandals marred Michael Jackson's personal life, overshadowing his otherwise remarkable musical career. One such scandal was the obvious change in his appearance, especially his skin color, which started from the mid-eighties to slowly but surely turn from dark to white.

By the mid-nineties when Jackson released his album History (1995), it was more than obvious even to his most dedicated fans that the man of Thriller (1982) looked nothing like the man who had recently married Elvis Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie. By this time, Michael Jackson was milky white; a skin-color transition that started almost a decade earlier was more or less complete. So what happened?

According to his family and Jackson himself, the "King of Pop" had vitiligo, a condition that causes depigmentation of parts of the skin, which usually results in white spots on the patient's body; these are even more noticeable if the person has a dark complexion as in Jackson's case. The 1 in 250 or so people who have this condition typically first start seeing signs of it beginning between 10 and 30 years old. Approximately 30% of the people who have it also have it run in their family, which is true of Jackson.

In addition to this skin disorder, Jackson also reportedly suffered from systemic lupus erythematosus, which besides potentially being a very serious condition can also cause loss of skin pigmentation.

When the controversy about his changing skin color hit its zenith, Jackson spoke openly about his vitiligo for the first time in an interview he gave to Oprah in 1993. He said among other things,

It is something I cannot help. When people make up stories that I don't want to be who I am, it hurts me. It's a problem for me. I can't control it. But what about all the millions of people who sit in the sun to become darker, to become other than what they are. Nobody says nothing about that.

In the days after, at Jackson's request his condition was publicly confirmed by his dermatologist, Dr. Arnold Klein, who also stated Jackson was first diagnosed with the condition in 1984. It was also confirmed that he had lupus erythematosus, but that it was in remission.

Conspiracy theorists propose that there was much more to it than this. That in fact Jackson had no such disease and that he, instead, systematically bleached his skin using Benoquin cream and other medical cocktails in his quest to look like a white person.

The obvious and extensive cosmetic surgeries he had on his eyebrows, eyelashes, lips, and nose only served to enforce the theory that he was simply purposefully tweaking his appearance even more by bleaching his skin.

So is there any truth to this? Dr. Christopher Rogers, deputy medical examiner at the Los Angeles Coroner's Office and the man who conducted Michael Jackson's autopsy, chimed in on this after performing the autopsy on Jackson. Dr. Rogers confirmed that Jackson indeed suffered from vitiligo, most noticeably with patches around his face, chest, abdomen, and arms.

So did he also bleach his skin? According to dermatologist Dr. Hanish Babu, Jackson did; this is sometimes a treatment used for those with vitiligo.

When these white patches first started appearing, you can see from certain of Jackson's concert footage that he was trying to mask them with makeup matching his original skin color. Once the patches became too numerous to easily hide with makeup (and he supposedly became tired of the extensive time needed to apply the makeup every day), he switched strategies and began the process of bleaching his skin, supposedly under the care of his dermatologist and using 20% monobenzyl ether of hydroquinone (Benoquin Cream). Much later, in June of 2009 after his death, tubes of Benoquin and hydroquinone were found in Jackson's home. As Dr. David Sawcer said, "some patients with vitiligo get to the point where it makes more sense to remove the brown bits because so much of the skin is pale."

Besides giving him a white complexion, this also results in being prone to sun burns, which is why in later years he often kept himself nearly completely covered when outside in the sun. (See What Causes Sunburns and How Sunscreen Prevents It)

In the end, only Jackson knew his true motivation for ultimately choosing to bleach his skin, whether as a treatment for his vitiligo to even out his skin color as reported, or as the conspiracy theorists claim, to further change his appearance to more of a Caucasian look, though one would think the latter would be an odd move for the co-author of the line (with Bill Bottrell), "It don't matter if you're black or white."

If you liked this article, you might also enjoy our new popular podcast, The BrainFood Show ( iTunes, Spotify, Google Play Music, Feed), as well as:

Bonus Facts:

Thanks to his vitiligo and needing frequent care from a dermatologist, Jackson met Debbie Rowe, a nurse of his dermatologist. The two became fast friends and over a decade after they first met, they married in 1996. They divorced three years later, but reportedly remained friends for the rest of his life.

The autopsy also found that Jackson's lips were tattooed pink, while his eyebrows were tattooed a dark hue. The front of his scalp was also tattooed black, apparently to blend his hairline in with the wigs he wore (he was balding). Also according to the autopsy, Michael Jackson was 5´9˝ and 136 lbs at the time of his death.

Expand for References

Share the Knowledge!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Why Michael Jackson's Skin Turned White as He Got Older

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Scott L. asks: Is it true that Michael Jackson bleached his skin to turn himself white? Many scandals marred Michael Jackson's personal life, overshadowing his otherwise remarkable musical career. One such scandal was the obvious change in his appearance, especially his skin color, which started from the mid-eighties to slowly but surely turn from dark to white.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Understandings of gender continually evolve. In the course of a person's life, the interests, activities, clothing and professions that are considered the domain of one gender or another evolve in ways both small and large. This has perhaps never been more true than it is now. The data show that today's young people have significantly different understandings of gender than previous generations, with consequences for all children, families, organizations and institutions. For example:

A 2015 Fusion Millennial poll of adults ages 18-34 in the USA found that the majority see gender as a spectrum, rather than a man/woman binary.

A 2017 Harris Poll of millennials found that 12% identify as Transgender or gender non-conforming.

Research by J. Walter Thompson Intelligence (the research arm of the global marketing communications company) found that 56% of those aged 13-20 know someone who uses gender-neutral pronouns (such as they/them).

Leading businesses are beginning to change traditional gender-based marketing of products, such as removing "pink and blue" clothing and toy aisles.

All of us are inundated with gender messages from the time we are born, yet we offer children few opportunities to more deeply consider or understand this fundamentally important aspect of life. Basic gender literacy is essential for children to understand their own gender, engage in healthy relationships, identify and place media and social messages in context, and have agency in determining aspects of their gender now and in the future. Societal ideas about gender will affect every critical aspect of their lives, from education to career, finances, relationships and more.

Dimensions of Gender

People tend to use the terms "sex" and "gender" interchangeably. But, while connected, the two terms are not equivalent. Generally, we assign a newborn's sex as either male or female (some US states and other countries offer a third option) based on the baby's genitals. Once a sex is assigned, we presume the child's gender. For some people, this is cause for little, if any, concern or further thought because their gender aligns with gender-related ideas and assumptions associated with their sex.

Nevertheless, while gender may begin with the assignment of our sex, it doesn't end there. A person's gender is the complex interrelationship between three dimensions:

Body: our body, our experience of our own body, how society genders bodies, and how others interact with us based on our body.

Identity: the name we use to convey our gender based on our deeply held, internal sense of self. Identities typically fall into binary (e.g. man, woman), Non-binary (e.g. Genderqueer, genderfluid) and ungendered (e.g. Agender, genderless) categories; the meaning associated with a particular identity can vary among individuals using the same term. A person's Gender identity can correspond to or differ from the sex they were assigned at birth.

Social: how we present our gender in the world and how individuals, society, culture, and community perceive, interact with, and try to shape our gender. Social gender includes gender roles and expectations and how society uses those to try to enforce conformity to current gender norms.

Each of these dimensions can vary greatly across a range of possibilities and is distinct from, but interrelated with the others. A person's comfort in their gender is related to the degree to which these three dimensions feel in harmony. Let's explore each of these dimensions in a little more detail.
Body
Most societies view sex as a binary concept, with two rigidly fixed options: male or female, based on a person's reproductive anatomy and functions. But a binary view of sex fails to capture even the biological aspect of gender. While we are often taught that bodies have one of two forms of genitalia, which are classified as "female" or "male," there are Intersex traits that demonstrate that sex exists across a continuum of possibilities. This biological spectrum by itself should be enough to dispel the simplistic notion that there are just two sexes. The relationship between a person's gender and their body goes beyond one's reproductive functions. Research in neurology, endocrinology, and cellular biology points to a broader biological basis for an individual's experience of gender. In fact, research increasingly points to our brains as playing a key role in how we each experience our gender.

Bodies themselves are also gendered in the context of cultural expectations. Masculinity and femininity are equated with certain physical attributes, labeling us as more or less a man/woman based on the degree to which those attributes are present. This gendering of our bodies affects how we feel about ourselves and how others perceive and interact with us.
Identity
Gender identity is our internal experience and naming of our gender. It can correspond to or differ from the sex we were assigned at birth.

Understanding of our gender comes to most of us fairly early in life. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, "By age four, most children have a stable sense of their gender identity." This core aspect of one's identity comes from within each of us. Gender identity is an inherent aspect of a person's make-up. Individuals do not choose their gender, nor can they be made to change it. However, the words someone uses to communicate their gender identity may change over time; naming one's gender can be a complex and evolving matter. Because we are provided with limited language for gender, it may take a person quite some time to discover, or create, the language that best communicates their internal experience. Likewise, as language evolves, a person's name for their gender may also evolve. This does not mean their gender has changed, but rather that the words for it are shifting.

The two gender identities most people are familiar with are boy and girl (or man and woman), and often people think that these are the only two gender identities. This idea that there are only two genders-and that each individual must be either one or the other-is called the "Gender binary." However, throughout human history we know that many societies have seen, and continue to see, gender as a spectrum, and not limited to just two possibilities. In addition to these two identities, other identities are now commonplace.

Youth and young adults today no longer feel bound by the gender binary, instead establishing a growing vocabulary for gender. More than just a series of new words, however, this shift in language represents a far more nuanced understanding of the experience of gender itself. Terms that communicate the broad range of experiences of non-binary people are particularly growing in number. Genderqueer, a term that is used both as an identity and as an umbrella term for non-binary identities, is one example of a term for those who do not identify as exclusively masculine or feminine. This evolution of language is exciting, but can also be confusing as new terms are created regularly, and since what a term means can vary from person to person. For further information on specific identities and what they commonly mean, please see "The Language of Gender."
Social
Social gender is the third dimension. This includes Gender expression, which is the way we communicate our gender to others through such things as clothing, hairstyles, and mannerisms. It also includes how individuals, communities and society perceive, interact with, and try to shape our gender. Social gender includes gender roles and expectations and how society uses those to try to enforce conformity to current gender norms.

Practically everything is assigned a gender-toys, colors and clothes are some of the more obvious examples. We begin to teach children about gender from the moment they are born; given the prevalence of the gender binary, children face great pressure to express their gender within narrow, stereotypical definitions of "boy" or "girl." Expectations regarding gender are communicated through every aspect of our lives, including family, culture, peers, schools, community, media, and religion. Gender roles and expectations are so entrenched in our culture that it's difficult to imagine things any other way.

Children who express gender outside of these social norms often have a difficult experience. Girls thought to be too masculine and boys seen as feminine face a variety of challenges. Kids who don't express themselves along binary gender lines are often rendered invisible or steered into a more binary gender presentation. Pressures to conform at home, mistreatment by peers in school, and condemnation by the broader society are just some of the struggles facing a child whose expression does not fall in line with the binary gender system.

Because expectations around gender are so rigid, we frequently assume that what someone wears, or how they move, talk, or express themselves, tells us something about their gender identity. But expression is distinct from identity-we can't assume a person's gender identity based on their gender expression. For example, a boy may like to wear skirts or dresses. His choice in clothing doesn't define his gender identity; it simply means that he prefers (at least some of the time) to wear clothes that society has typically associated with girls. In fact, how we interpret a person's gender and the assumptions we make about them is related to our personal understanding of gender and the norms and stereotypes we have integrated-it isn't about them.

Finally, norms around gender change across societies and over time. One need only consider men wearing earrings or women having tattoos to see the flexibility of social expectations about gender. Even the seemingly intractable notion that "pink is for girls, blue is for boys" is relatively new. Prior to the mid-twentieth century, pink was associated with boys' clothing and blue with girls' clothing (still due to the gendering of colors, but with a different rationale associating each color with particular gendered characteristics).

Congruence

Gender congruence is the feeling of harmony in our gender:

experiencing comfort in our body as it relates to our gender;

naming of our gender that adequately corresponds with our internal sense of who we are;

expressing ourselves through clothing, mannerisms, interests and activities;

being seen consistently by others as we see ourselves.

Finding congruence is an ongoing process throughout each of our lives as we continue to grow and gain insight into ourselves. It is most often found through exploration. For some, finding congruence is fairly simple; for others, it is a much more complex process. But the fundamental need to find gender congruence is true for us all, and any degree to which we don't experience it can be distressing.

"Transitioning" is a term commonly used to refer to the steps a transgender, agender, or non-binary person takes in order to find congruence in their gender. But this term can be misleading as it implies that the person's gender identity is changing and that there is a moment in time when this takes place. More typically, it is others' understanding of the person's gender that shifts. What people see as a "Transition" is actually an alignment in one or more dimensions of the individual's gender as they seek congruence across those dimensions. A transition is taking place, but it is often other people (parents and other family members, support professionals, employers, etc.) who are transitioning in how they see the individual's gender, and not the person themselves. For the person, these changes are often less of a transition and more of an evolution.

Instead of "transitioning," a more apt phrase is "pursuing congruence measures." A person can seek harmony in many ways:

Social congruence measures: changes of social identifiers such as clothing, hairstyle, gender identity, name and/or pronouns;

Hormonal congruence measures: the use of medical approaches such as hormone "blockers" or hormone therapy to promote physical, mental, and/or emotional alignment;

Surgical congruence measures: the addition, removal, or modification of gender-related physical traits; and

Legal congruence measures : changing identification documents such as one's birth certificate, driver's license, or passport.

It's important to note, though, that a transition experience can be a very significant event in a person's life. A public declaration of some kind where an individual communicates to others that aspects of themselves are different than others have assumed, and that they are now living consistently with who they know themselves to be, can be an empowering and liberating experience (and moving to those who get to share that moment with them). Oftentimes during a transition experience a person will announce a change in the name and pronouns that they use and ask that others use their new name and pronouns going forward. Honoring this request is a sign of respect and a critically important way to demonstrate support.

Personal Gender

While the Dimensions of gender and the desire for congruence are common to us all, ultimately gender is personal. Each dimension of gender is informed by our unique intersection of

identities, experiences, and personal characteristics. We are more than our body, gender identity and gender expression: we are also our race, ethnicity, class, faith, sense of geographic place, family history, and more. Our gender is personal because, while we share some of these aspects of self with others, the way that all of these identities, influences and characteristics come together is unique to each of us.

Gender Is Different Than Sexual Orientation

One final distinction to make is the difference between gender and Sexual orientation, which are often incorrectly conflated. In actuality, gender and sexual orientation are two distinct, but related, aspects of self. Gender is personal (how we see ourselves), while sexual orientation is interpersonal (who we are physically, emotionally and/or romantically attracted to).

Why is it so critical to distinguish between these two concepts? When we confuse gender with sexual orientation, we are likely to make assumptions about a young person that have nothing to do with who they are. For example, when someone's gender expression is inconsistent with others' expectations, assumptions are frequently made about that person's sexual orientation. The boy who loves to play princess is assumed to be gay, and the girl who buys clothes in the "boys'" section and favors a short haircut may be assumed to be a lesbian. These could be faulty conclusions. What someone wears and how they act is about gender expression. You cannot tell what a person's sexual orientation is by what they have on (for that matter, you can't know what their gender identity is, either ... unless they tell you).

Our society's conflation of gender and sexual orientation can also interfere with a young person's ability to understand and articulate aspects of their own gender. For example, it's not uncommon for a transgender or non-binary youth to wonder if they are gay or lesbian (or any sexual orientation other than heterosexual) before coming to a fuller realization of their gender identity. How we come to understand our gender and our sexual orientation - and the choices we make to disclose and express these parts of ourselves - are distinct paths. Thinking of these two aspects of self as interchangeable may, instead of helping us know ourselves and one another better, actually get in the way of understanding and communication.

What's Next?

There is a generational divide in how we think about gender. In order to bridge this gap, those of us who were raised with a more limited view of gender can take this as an opportunity to explore gender with new eyes, to read and ask questions to better understand gender's complexity. As with any learning experience, you'll learn more about the world around you and about yourself in the process.

Gender diversity has existed throughout history and all over the world. As one of the most fundamental aspects of a person's identity, gender deeply influences every part of one's life. Where this crucial aspect of self is narrowly defined and rigidly enforced, individuals who exist outside of its norms face innumerable challenges. Even those who vary only slightly from norms can become targets of disapproval, discrimination, and even violence.

This does not have to be the case. Through a thoughtful consideration of the uniqueness and validity of every person's experience of self, we can develop greater acceptance for all. Not only will this create greater inclusion for individuals who challenge the norms of gender, it will create space for all individuals to more fully explore and express who they are.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Understandings of gender continually evolve. In the course of a person's life, the interests, activities, clothing and professions that are considered the domain of one gender or another evolve in ways both small and large. This has perhaps never been more true than it is now.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The latest CBSN Originals documentary, " Gender | The Space Between," takes a deep dive into the complexities of gender identity and gender expression. While transgender stories have become more visible in the media, there are many identities and terms outside of the two most culturally accepted genders - man and woman - that fall under the trans umbrella. And in many social circles, the vocabulary related to gender identity is unfamiliar or inaccessible.

Gender identity is an extremely personal part of who we are, and how we perceive and express ourselves in the world. It is a separate issue entirely from sex, our biological makeup; or sexual orientation, who we are attracted to. There are dozens of dynamic and evolving terms related to how people identify. While this glossary cannot cover every possible identity a person might have, it provides definitions for some of the most common vocabulary necessary to understand the layered world of gender.

Below is a guide to some of the topics and terms discussed in "Gender: The Space Between," as defined by the Human Rights Campaign, GLAAD, The Trevor Project, and the National Center for Transgender Equality.

Gender Identity Definitions

Agender: A term for people whose gender identity and expression does not align with man, woman, or any other gender. A similar term used by some is gender-neutral.

Androgynous: Identifying and/or presenting as neither distinguishably masculine nor feminine.

Bigender: Someone whose gender identity encompasses both man and woman. Some may feel that one side or the other is stronger, but both sides are present.

Binary: The gender binary is a system of viewing gender as consisting solely of two identities and sexes, man and woman or male and female.

Cisgender: A term used to describe someone whose gender identity aligns with the sex assigned to them at birth.

Dead name: How some transgender people refer to their given name at birth.

Gender dysphoria: Clinically defined as significant and durational distress caused when a person's assigned birth gender is not the same as the one with which they identify.

Gender expression: The external appearance of a person's gender identity, usually expressed through behavior, clothing, haircut or voice, and which may or may not conform to socially defined masculine or feminine behaviors and characteristics.

Gender fluid: A person who does not identify with a single fixed gender, and expresses a fluid or unfixed gender identity. One's expression of identity is likely to shift and change depending on context.

Gender identity: A person's innermost concept of self as man, woman, a blend of both, or neither - how individuals perceive themselves and what they call themselves. Gender identity can be the same or different from one's sex assigned at birth.

Gender non-conforming: A broad term referring to people who do not behave in a way that conforms to the traditional expectations of their gender, or whose gender expression does not fit neatly into a category.

Gender questioning: A person who may be processing, questioning, or exploring how they want to express their gender identity.

Genderqueer: A term for people who reject notions of static categories of gender and embrace a fluidity of gender identity and often, though not always, sexual orientation. People who identify as genderqueer may see themselves as being both male and female, neither male nor female or as falling completely outside these categories.

Misgender: Referring to or addressing someone using words and pronouns that do not correctly reflect the gender with which they identify.

Non-binary: Any gender that falls outside of the binary system of male/female or man/woman.

Passing: A term used by transgender people which means that they are perceived by others as the gender with which they self-identify.

Queer: An umbrella term people often use to express fluid identities and orientations.

Sex: The classification of a person as male or female at birth. Infants are assigned a sex, usually based on the appearance of their external anatomy.

Transgender: An umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or expression is different from cultural and social expectations based on the sex they were assigned at birth.

Transitioning: The social, legal, and/or medical process a person may go through to live outwardly as the gender with which they identify, rather than the gender they were assigned at birth. Transitioning can include some or all of the following: telling loved ones and co-workers, using a different name and pronouns, dressing differently, changing one's name and/or sex on legal documents, hormone therapy, and possibly one or more types of surgery.

Transsexual person: A generational term for people whose gender identity is different from their assigned sex at birth, and seek to transition from male to female or female to male. This term is no longer preferred by many people, as it is often seen as overly clinical, and was associated with psychological disorders in the past.

Two-spirit: A term that refers to historical and current First Nations people whose individual spirits were a blend of male and female. This term has been reclaimed by some in Native American LGBT communities to honor their heritage and provide an alternative to the Western labels of gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The gender identity terms you need to know

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The latest CBSN Originals documentary, " Gender | The Space Between," takes a deep dive into the complexities of gender identity and gender expression. While transgender stories have become more visible in the media, there are many identities and terms outside of the two most culturally accepted genders - man and woman - that fall under the trans umbrella.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
There are a lot of different ways someone can express their gender or sex.

Gender identity isn't an easy topic to understand, and sometimes we need to unlearn some of our old ideas about what it is so that we can really get what gender is all about. Most of us were taught that there are only two genders (man/masculine and woman/feminine) and two sexes (male and female). However, there is a lot more to it than that.

In this section we'll talk about:

Gender 101 | Gender Roles | Transgender Identities | Using Proper Trans Terms | Understanding Transphobia | Intersex Identities | Talking About "Intersex"
Gender 101 and Gender Roles

Gender is actually a social construct, which is an idea created by people to help categorize and explain the world around them. You may not notice it all the time, but each gender comes with a set of expectations, like how to act, talk, dress, feel emotion, and interact with other people. For example, when you think of a teenage boy in America, what comes to mind? Do you imagine him playing football, or do you picture him dancing in a ballet recital? It's likely that you imagined him playing football, first - but why?

In America, we have very defined gender roles that describe what it means to be masculine or feminine, or a boy or a girl, and we learn what's expected of us at a very early age from parents, family, friends, culture, religion, television, movies, and more. Even though these expectations are made up - there is not an objective reason why boys shouldn't be encouraged to practice ballet, for example - gendered characteristics, activities, expressions, and stereotypes are really ingrained in our society, and shape most of our lives.

Here are some other gender-specific differences that you might recognize: Girls get pink clothes, and boys get blue clothes; men shouldn't cry, but girls can be emotional; it's masculine to have a deep voice, and it's feminine to have a higher one; boys play with building blocks, and girls play with dolls; men are athletic and aggressive, girls are nurturing and gentle...the list of expectations based on gender can go on and on, and change from culture to culture.

It's important to remember that these gender roles aren't set in stone. Even though our society expects certain things when we identify as a man or a woman, we don't have to follow them if they don't fit who we are. In fact, gender and sex exist on a spectrum, meaning that there are a lot of different ways that people can express their gender identity or sex.
Transgender Identities
When we're born, a doctor assigns us a sex. This has to do with our biology, chromosomes, and physical body. Male babies are generally assumed to be "men" and female babies are generally assumed to be "women." Some people never question their assigned gender or sex, and choose to identify with what they were assigned at birth - that's called being "cisgender." But there are others who do question their gender or sex, and that's completely normal and ok.

If you don't feel that your gender identity - meaning, your own personal sense of what your gender is - matches the gender you were assigned at birth, you might identify as transgender (or trans). In addition to being a gender identity, transgender is also an umbrella term that includes many other labels, like genderqueer and gender non-conforming.

Genderqueer and gender non-conforming identities describe someone whose gender expression is, or seems to be, different from their assigned gender role. Usually, genderqueer and gender non-conforming people avoid gender-specific pronouns like "she/her" and "he/him," and use more neutral pronouns instead. It's important to note that not all genderqueer or gender non-conforming people identify as transgender, even though they fall under the umbrella of diverse gender identities.

Are you questioning your gender, and aren't sure what feels right to you? Don't worry. You are not alone! Consider a few of these questions, taken from our "Coming Out As You " guide.

How do you feel about your birth gender?

What gender do you wish people saw you as?

How would you like to express your gender?

What pronouns (like he/him or she/hers, or ze/zir or they/them) do you feel most comfortable using?

When you imagine your future, what gender are you?

Remember, there are many parts to our gender, including:

Gender Expression: How we choose to express our gender in public. This includes things like our haircut, clothing, voice and body characteristics, and behavior.

Gender Identity: Our personal sense of what our own gender is.

Gender Presentation: How the world sees and understands your gender.

If you decide that your current gender or sex just isn't right, you may want to make your gender identity fit with your ideal gender expression and presentation. This is called "transitioning," and can include social (like telling other people about which pronouns you like), legal (like changing your name, officially), or medical (like taking hormones, or having surgery). You don't have to go through all of these things to be "officially" transgender, or to have your gender identity be valid. It's all up to you, and what feels safe and comfortable.
Using Proper Trans Terms
It's very important to use appropriate terms when talking about the transgender community. For example, you may see the term transgender shortened with an asterisk (*) to include the many identities that fall under the transgender umbrella.

The term "transgender" should only be used as an adjective and never as a noun. Also, the term "Transgendered" is grammatically incorrect and should never be used. Other offensive words include: tranny, transvestite, she-male, he/she, lady man, shim, "it," or transsexual*.

Example: My friend is transgender.
Example: I think I'm going to come out as a transgender man.
* Some transgender people prefer to identify as transsexual, although others consider it to be outdated. Always ask for, and use, the term that a person prefers. Understanding Transphobia
Unfortunately, trans people often face hatred or fear just because of who they are. Even some LGB people may have transphobic feelings that can make it harder for them to support transgender people as they also fight for equality and acceptance. If you ever feel that you are a victim of a transphobic hate crime, please visit the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund site.
Intersex Identities
Remember, sex does not equal gender - it's actually an entirely different thing that relates to our biology and physical characteristics. Generally we think about sex as a binary: male and female. However, there are several conditions that a person can be born with that don't fit the typical definitions of female or male. For example, a person might be born appearing to be female on the outside, but have mostly male anatomy on the inside. Or a person may be born with genitals that seem to be in-between the usual male and female types. Others may be born with "mosaic genetics," so that some of their cells have XX chromosomes and some have XY. Sometimes intersex characteristics aren't noticed until puberty, when our body goes through a lot of different changes.

Many intersex people are given a sex of male or female at birth, even if they fall somewhere in the middle. If you think you might be intersex, don't worry. There are people out there who can help! Here is a comprehensive list of intersex conditions and related resources and support groups: http://www.isna.org/faq/conditions/know.
Talking About "Intersex"
Intersex is an adjective that describes a person. Intersex is never a noun or a verb, because no one can be "intersexing" or "intersexed." You may have heard the word "hermaphrodite" from Greek mythology. Please don't use this term, as it is archaic and offensive to intersex people.

FAQ

1. I am not completely comfortable with the body I was born with. How will taking hormones affect other things, like taking birth control, or getting my period? Will I need to get a hysterectomy because of taking hormones?

2. I told my mom that I think I'm trans, but she thinks that it's just a phrase. What if she's right? I really, really don't want to come out and ask people to use my preferred name and pronouns, and then have it mean nothing. What if I decide that I'm not really a man?

3. Lately I've had this desire to be a girl. I know I'm not ready for a sex change, but I'm planning to grow out my hair and wear more girly-types of clothes. I'm not sure what my parents would make of it, but I can't get this off of my mind. Should I go ahead with it?
Gender Identity

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Trans + Gender Identity - The Trevor Project

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
There are a lot of different ways someone can express their gender or sex. Gender identity isn't an easy topic to understand, and sometimes we need to unlearn some of our old ideas about what it is so that we can really get what gender is all about.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Those who identify as butch and femme today often use the words to define their presentation and gender identity rather than strictly the role they play in a relationship, and that not all butches are attracted exclusively to femmes and not all femmes are exclusively attracted to butches, a departure from the historic norm.