Gendered

If I could

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If I could deny it all,
I would,
because what I have to accept,
is already
within me.

I don't know how to answer the question-'How am I gendered?'
What is my gender, really? In my journal, I've tried mapping out questions related to sexuality and my gender identity in the form of things that people have said to me while I was growing up.

you say either

To categorise by elimination is an easy process, especially when one is taught that gender exists in only two distinct categories-male and female. I first discovered that I am engendered female by learning that I was not the same as my brother. Despite being equally difficult children, we both would go to different aisles at the toy store and he could change into his uniform carelessly while I had to shut myself in a room. These differences became more and more pronounced as we grew older, more self-aware and interacted with our respective genders. With my peers, I understood the expectations in society that characterize the female gender and I became engendered as I developed/conformed myself in the direction in which these expectations are fulfilled even if I doubted them at times. Entering adolescence, when self-consciousness of body hair dictates one’s attire or one’s choice in music or colours is enough to label one as a tomboy, is a period when I felt discomfort with being presumptuously gendered and realised how little freedom there is to meander between genders as I would at times. I guess I was engendered female without realising it, owing to my comfort in being one and how readily I chose to be accepted as one in society . Today, I may struggle as I develop from a girl into a woman but consider myself a female comfortable with fluidity between genders.

Discovered female!

I'd rather say i discovered my gender after a considerable age, since i was not even close to being similar to the women i was born amongst. I loved being a woman but not typically feminine...i had very few of the characteristics that make up for a gender that i felt i belonged to only physically! i kept weaving a gender definition for myself, only to feel disappointed by the fact that i don't quite match my approbation. But then i grew up and learnt that there is much more to a woman than what i have grown up knowing. So, as a prolific amalgamation of a few a rooted feminine traits and a handful of incongruent ones, i discovered, I'm certainly not submissive, polite, petite, fragile or obedient, yet i'm very proudly a WOMAN.

"How were you gendered?"

Gender is something that gives an identity to the person in terms of male or female . I think my gender was decided at the time of conception only . Gender is not only decided by the genital , but it is how one identifies himself i.e. a male or a female . I think other than my genital am gendered by my masculinity . My physical appearance , my features like broad shoulders , facial hairs , voice and etc are also the points that i considered responsible for my gender . Even things like society , family and factors that are in place before birth also contribute to my gender . Defining gender is not like the once and done process of identifying the structure of a water molecule .

Theatre of the Oppressed

Image is from International Theatre of the Oppressed Organization Website. Check out their site for more info.

Forum Theatre in Sri Lanka

Augusto Boal Interview on Democracy Now - Part 1



Augusto Boal Interview on Democracy Now - Part 2

How Gendered

Your Assignment:

Create a blog post with an image from your Creative Process Journal, that reflects your response to the question "How were you gendered?"

Word Limit 200 words/post.

Post with 2 labels:

1. Your name
2. Reflective Rant

To ensure meaningful dialogue, make 2 thoughtful comments to your classmates posts.

Gender Bender

Transgender Basics - Gender Identity Project (GIP), LGBT Center NYC (2009)


Taboo: Third Sex, National Geographic Channel (natgeotv.com) (2008)

Kolkata Trip

Through this course at Srishti we will craft an original interactive performance piece that invites audience members to join us on stage in dismantling the behaviors and beliefs that perpetuate gender violence. This course will culminate in a trip to Muktadhara IV: Jana Sanskriti’s 4th Theatre of the Oppressed Festival in Kolkata, 14th -18th of December.

Check out the following videos of Jana Sanskriti: