Unheard Voices: Stories of LGBT History

Understanding Gender Identity

OVERVIEW

In this lesson students learn about gender identity and explore the impact of rigid gender role expectations and stereotypes. Using various media – an audio interview and a video of a spoken word performance – transgender people and issues are personalized and clarified for students. Students then discuss real-life scenarios depicting conflicts around gender expression in school settings, and brainstorm ways to be an ally to transgender and gender non-conforming people.

OBJECTIVES

Students will increase their understanding of concepts related to gender identity.
Students will learn new vocabulary and clarify their understanding of terminology related to transgender issues.
Students will increase their awareness about gender related stereotypes and discrimination.
Students will explore ways to be an ally to others.

NATIONAL STANDARDS

download here (.pdf format - requires Acrobat Reader)

ABOUT THIS LESSON

Time: 1½ - 2 hours or 2 - 3 class periods

Grade Level: Grades 10 & up

Strategies and Skills: analyzing media, brainstorming, case study, connecting past to present, cooperative group work, critical thinking, forming opinions, historical understanding, large and small group discussion, listening skills, reading skills, social action, writing skills

Key Words and Phrases: advocate, ally, assume/ assumption, attire, conform, continuum, discrimination, gender expression, gender identity, gender-neutral, harassment, intersex, LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender), prejudice, sexual orientation, stereotype, transgender, transition, transphobia, transsexual

LESSON PREPARATION

Handouts/Supporting Documents: download all handouts (.pdf format)

Jamison Green background materials (one copy) and student reading (one per student), at www.adl.org/unheard-voices
Hir by Alysia Harris and Aysha El Shamayleh (one per student)
Scenarios: Gender Identity and Expression (one scenario per small group)
How to be an Ally to Transgender People (one per student)

Other Materials: Unheard Voices interviews and background materials, SMART Board or computer/projector/screen, speakers, chart paper, markers, tape, scissors

Advance Preparation:

Reproduce handouts as directed above.
Prepare to play audio and video pieces (see steps # 1 and 9).
Chart definitions, continuum and quote (see steps # 2, 3 and 8).
Cut Scenarios into separate strips (see step # 11).

PROCEDURES

NOTE: The lessons in this unit explore lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues in an open and direct way. Given the absence of this topic in the curriculum and the disproportionate rates of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment, it is important to educate students about these issues. When discussing any new or sensitive topic, however, there is the potential for some students to react in stereotypical or disrespectful ways. It is therefore imperative that educators carefully review each lesson, assess students’ maturity and readiness to engage in the lesson prior to implementation, and establish clear parameters with students that will ensure safe and constructive dialogue. See Establishing a Safe Learning Environment and Talking About Diversity with Students for guidelines on building safe forums for discussing sensitive issues.

Part I: Jamison’s Story (20-40 minutes)

Tell students they will listen to an audio interview and provide the following introduction:

Jamison Green is an activist and writer who has worked on behalf of transgender men and women for more than 20 years. Jamison transitioned from female to male in 1988. Here, he speaks with his daughter, Morgan Green, about what life was like for him as a child.

After students have listened, discuss the interview with them using some of the questions included in the accompanying background materials.

Optional: If time allows, have students read and discuss the handout about Jamison Green included in the background materials. This can be done individually, in small groups or as a whole class.

Note that the terms transgender and transsexual are both used to refer to Jamison. Clarify that transgender is a broad term that includes transsexual people (i.e., all transsexual people are transgender, but not all transgender people are transsexual). Post and review the following terms and definitions, and make sure that students understand their meaning.
- Transgender: Individuals who feel that their inner sense of being male or female does not match their biological sex; or who express their gender in ways that differ from the social expectations for the sex they were assigned at birth. Transgender is a broad term that describes many types of people who do not fit society’s strict definitions of gender and who do not accept a simple two-gender categorization.
- Transsexual: Individuals whose inner sense of being male or female do not match the sex that was assigned to them at birth. Some transsexual people alter their bodies surgically and/or hormonally. This procedure, called a transition (formerly “sex change”) is a multi-step process that may take years to complete.

Part II: Aspects of Identity (15 minutes)

Copy the continuum pictured here on a sheet of chart paper or the board, and post where all students can see it.
Draw students’ attention to the continuum. Explain that most people understand gender and sexual identity as consisting of two categories – male or female, gay or straight – and that most people feel as though they fit into one of those “boxes.”
Point out that for the majority of people, their identities line up along the left or right side of this chart. While pointing to the left side of the chart, tell students that most people born biologically male (sex) feel like a man inside (gender identity), dress and act in a masculine way (gender expression) and are attracted to women (sexual orientation). While pointing to the right side of the chart, tell students that most people born biologically female (sex) feel like a woman inside (gender identity), dress and act in a feminine way (gender expression) and are attracted to men (sexual orientation).
Add that for some people, their identities don’t line up as neatly. For example, Jamison Green was born biologically female (sex) but felt like a man inside (gender identity), dressed and acted in a masculine way (gender expression) and was attracted to women (sexual orientation). Conclude that to make things even more complicated, some people don’t feel that they fit in either “box,” but somewhere in the middle or outside the continuum. For example, some people feel neither male nor female, express themselves in both masculine and feminine ways, or feel attracted to both sexes. In addition, about 1.7% of the population is born intersex, with both male and female biological characteristics.
Acknowledge that these aspects of our identity are complex and can be confusing. Ask students to silently reflect on where they fit on each continuum, emphasizing that they may find themselves in a different place for each category. Answer any questions students may have and help to clarify any misperceptions about these aspects of identity.

NOTE: During this discussion, students should not be asked to disclose any aspect of their identity and should be discouraged from labeling others in any way.

Part III: The Impact of Rigid Notions about Gender Identity (45-60 minutes)

Post or read aloud the following quote from the young adult novel, Parrotfish, by Ellen Wittlinger:

People changed their hair and dieted themselves down to near death. They took steroids to build muscles and got breast implants and nose jobs so they resemble their favorite movie stars. They changed names and majors and jobs and husbands and wives. They changed religions and political parties. They move across the country or the world – even changed nationalities. Why was gender the one sacred thing we weren’t supposed to change? Who made that rule?

Allow students to react to the quote. Ask them what they think the rules are with regard to gender in their community (or society at large), who creates and enforces those rules, and what the consequences are for people who break the rules.
Tell students that you will show them the video of a spoken word performance that explores the experience of a transgender student who feels imprisoned by “the rules” of gender. Play Hir by Alysia Harris and Aysha El Shamayleh. Optionally, distribute the handout with the text of the poem as a reference for students. After they have listened, discuss some of the following questions with them.
- Who is Melissa? Why is she described as “not here” and “not what she seems”? Why doesn’t Melissa want to be noticed?
- Who is James? Why is he described as an “abstract reality”? Why does James go unnoticed by others?
- Why does Melissa feel “trapped in the flesh of a stranger”? What does she do to try and free herself?
- How do the people in Melissa’s/James’ environment add to those feelings of being trapped? Is there anything that they could do to lessen those feelings?

NOTE: The poem, Hir, is part of HBO’s Brave New Voices (www.bravenewvoices.org). As of this writing, the video is available on multiple sites, including www.youtube.com, www.dailymotion.com, www.vbox7.com and zootool.com.

Following on the last discussion prompt above, highlight that when people express their gender in ways that fall outside community norms, they often face obstacles and resistance. Tell students that they will spend some time considering how some of those barriers might be removed. Divide the class into six groups and have each group select a recorder and a reporter. Provide each group with a sheet of chart paper and a marker.
Assign each group a case study from Scenarios: Gender Identity and Expression and provide them with the relevant scenario. Explain that these are real-life situations that have been “ripped from the headlines.” Direct each group to read their scenario and discuss the questions below. Have the recorder write down the group’s responses to the third question only. Allow 10-15 minutes for group discussion.
- How was gender expression obstructed by community members or barriers in the physical environment?
- Were there ways in which gender expression was supported by community members or accommodations in the physical environment?
- What more could have been done to support gender expression? (Think about people’s behavior, school rules/policies and changes to the environment.)
Reconvene the class and post each group’s chart. Have the reporters read aloud their scenario and share some of the ideas they charted. After all groups have shared, ask the class for additional ideas about ways to support gender expression in general and chart their responses.
Conclude the lesson by distributing the handout, How to be an Ally to Transgender People, and reviewing the points that are most relevant to your community.