The Role Of Cultural Expectations On Sexual Orientation...

In the documentary Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She, the prejudices towards transgender and intersex individuals, as well as the fear they experience because of these prejudices, are underlined. A transgender individual is one that identifies with a gender that is not associated with their biological sex. An intersexual individual, however, is one that is born with indefinite sexual anatomical characteristics, making it difficult to identify as a male or female (Croteau Hoynes, 2013). In addition, this documentary emphasizes the impact of cultural expectations on sexual orientation and gender identification. The theme of prejudice and fear experienced by transgender and intersexual people can be observed all throughout Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She. At the very beginning of the documentary, this theme is illustrated through the murder of Gwen, a transsexual teenager. She had had sexual relations with two of her murderers who exclaimed, â€Å"I can’t be gay!† when they discovered she was a transsexual. They viewed Gwen as a boy pretending to be a girl, and beat her ruthlessly until finally strangling her to death. Her mother’s greatest fear was that her daughter’s transition might result in her ultimate demise, a fear that materialized into a horrific nightmare. Another instance of prejudice found in this documentary can be found in the story of Noah, an eight-year-old child with male anatomy that identifies with the female gender. Noah lives in the AmericanShow MoreRelatedGender Identity and Social Construction868 Words   |  4 PagesGender Identity and Social Construction Gender identity is a highly controversial subject. The notion that ones gender is a significant determination of personality traits, behavioral characteristics, social tendencies, romantic engagements and self-perception is a critical one. 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