After the discussion we had last Wednesday, which was one that seemed to provoke more in-depth thinking in terms of how we define gender and sexuality, it got me thinking about what the basis of our understanding is. Gender and sexuality is something that is very personal. If challenges arise within our lives that contradict what society defines and gender and sexual orientation, we experience a very internal, personal growth experience. I think one of the reasons why these topics are uncomfortable to talk about is because most of us cannot comprehend what it’s like, for example, to not feel like we belong in our bodies! So then how do we even try and understand it or define it?
We’re reading in class all these stories and articles that are heavily based in a historical context; so does that mean we base our ideas and knowledge on what we’ve learned from history? Do we base it on our political views? Do we base it on personal experience? What I found when trying to dissect how we derive at a personal conclusion is that there are a lot of influences that seem to be fluid and ever changing. Take politics for example- the whole system of laws and governance changes over the years, molding to an ever-changing and advancing society, so how can we base our knowledge on a system that is never stable? If we look at personal experience, that’s something that is very individualistic since no one has identical experiences that create the same learning.
So it seems to me, we are forming conclusions based on truths that are never constant, or only pertain to our lives. What is out there in the world that is an eternal truth, that is constant and never changing, and has moral values in which we can try and apply while formulating our ideas and beliefs?
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