The Different Parts of Me by Dina Lee

Sexuality

dlee465_ — 2023-11-26 22:16:00 UTC

I identify as a panromantic asexual and despite it being a part of the LGBTQ+ community, sometimes people disregard it and say it's just because I haven't found the one or I haven't explored enough. Being panromantic and asexual for me means that I don't experience sexual attraction, but I do feel romantic attraction towards anyone regardless of who they identify as. I've often heard people say that I'm like a plant or I'm too young to really know who I am or how I know if I can like anyone. I remember when I told my friend that I had a crush on a transgendered man and she questioned the validity behind it, but I saw it as just me, a person, simply liking another person. She started questioning how a hypothetical relationship between us would even work. It reminds me of Invention of Heterosexuality by Jonathan Ned Katz where he states that women were judged for both their sex-enjoying nature as well as their lack of sexual pleasure. When it does come to my relationships with other people, it isn't what they are or their looks, it's about who they are and how they act. Thus, this image makes me value platonic love that comes from long-lasting friendships.

Gender & Sex

dlee465_ — 2023-11-26 22:41:08 UTC

I have always identified with being a woman and I understand how privileged I am for identifying as cisgender. I feel close to it and I love calling it my girlhood as it makes me feel connected to both myself and my sex and the gender I identify with. Especially in today's current society where women are constantly being brought up and being fought for. Even though there are still miles of improvement that could happen for women and transgendered individuals, finding women whom I could look up to had a huge impact on how I perceived my gender. I sometimes felt so much envy towards men and how easily certain things came for them. The stereotypes that automatically attach to women seemed less and less appealing as I got older until I came across Lily Ki's content. She is a Twitch streamer whose true dream is to pursue music, and once she was able to gain a decent following, she began to create and compose her own songs. She would share her experiences and how difficult it is to be taken seriously as a woman in the industry, but she was able to work and become one of the most recognizable faces on Twitch. It reminded me of Judy Tzu-Chun Wu's Asian American Feminisms and Women of Color Feminisms as it highlights the intertwined processes of feminism for these women. Though Lily Ki started as a simple musician who streamed occasionally, she is now using her platform to speak about world events such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It empowers me because I look up to her, but also because I know that other women around me are also empowered by her. I am extremely proud to be a woman and hope to find more meaning in what it truly means to be a woman.

Friendships & Relationships

dlee465_ — 2023-11-26 22:51:19 UTC

In Lisa M. Diamond's Having a Girlfriend Without Knowing It, she talks about the intimate friendships between women and how important they are in a woman's lifetime. Reading it made me remember, not only when I was confused about my own sexuality, but also about women I've been friends with whose friendships I dearly appreciate. In particular, my best friend, Naomi whom I took this picture with, it is sometimes even hard to tell her that I appreciate her in fear that it may come off as clingy or give her the impression that I like her more than a friend. It sometimes feels uncomfortable and scary to tell my girl friends that I love them or appreciate them because it feels like a line that shouldn't be crossed, just like the separate spheres model represents. Because of how much same-sex relationships were looked down upon by my own family, I was never allowed to explore who it was that I was attracted to or know the boundaries of platonic/romantic relationships. It wasn't until middle school that I realized that the possibility even existed and it was because I had a girl best friend. Just like the reading, I felt like there was a line between friendship and romance that I could not cross when it came to the same sex.

Identity

dlee465_ — 2023-11-27 00:50:35 UTC

We Are All Works In Progress by Leslie Feinberg details how people should be able to talk and be open about their gender and sex. The concept of bodily autonomy is incredibly important for each individual to understand and Feinberg's experiences detail the struggles of their and their partner's lives. I found a lot of what Feinberg talked about very inspiring and it reminded me that I, too, am a work in progress. When I started my diary when I was 15 years old, I had no idea it would turn into a place filled with mental and emotional growth. 100,000 words later and I feel like I have only scratched the surface of who I am and what I was meant to do. Even though our identities are not solely about sex and gender, they play a large part in our lives. And, it's those parts of ourselves that sometimes cause us the most pain. Sometimes, there is pressure where I feel like I need to really show that I am a woman and the only way I can prove that is through stereotypical means. Sometimes, I feel like I need to prove the "Asian" inside of me by conforming to stereotypes despite how problematic that is. And frankly, it's unnecessary most of the time. My life will never be as hard as a transgender person's nor will it ever be as easy as a white man's might be. However, it may be these complexities that give people their individualism and experiences. Breaking down the stereotypes and the gender norms is something I have been working on consciously in my day-to-day life, and it's just one step closer to making the world a little bit more inclusive.

Race & Ethnicity

dlee465_ — 2023-11-27 01:44:28 UTC

I've always been proud of being Korean. After all, it has K-pop and K-dramas and also cultural beauties that can appreciated by anyone. When I was younger, it was like a badge of honor as people would say they were jealous of how I understood their favorite K-idols. In this picture, I was at an age where things like looks, race, gender, sexuality, and sex didn't matter and didn't define ay part of you. Sometimes, I miss those simple times where people were just people and the childlike innocence solely saw others as potential friends. However, as I got older, I didn't look the stereotypical Korean that people see on television or the news and people would begin to question my ethnicity. It made me feel insecure and that maybe I wasn't Korean enough. It bothered me less as I realized that there isn't supposed to be a way people are required to look. I understand that as a Korean, I will not fully understand what it means to be oppressed like African American or Latinx people. We have seen in recent times movements such as Black Lives Matter and Stop Asian Hate, and I believe these are great steps toward improving the inequality that our country still suffers from. I know I will never understand the privilege that white people may have, but it doesn't mean that we can't improve the current situation for all people of color. However, I find it important to learn about these different cultures and engage in understanding their difficulties and differences.