Gender is a topic that has long been disregarded or rendered too controversial by people in power. However, the voices of marginalized communities have always been there to create change, whether others wanted to listen or not. Historically, women have been prevented from many practices due to their gender. In return, such restraints sparked advocacy for expanding subjects like voting rights and marriage laws. Those who dared to rebel paved the way for many of the rights women have today; still, there is much change and compromise to be made for us and future generations of women. In recent years, gender inequality has been criticized publicly, with many people stating that such unprogressive and limiting rules have no place in modern society. Specific movements like #MeToo or abortion rights have further propelled gender-specific issues into the modern limelight. Identities that have broken through the binaries of gender, such as being transgender or gender non-conforming, have also helped realize a wider range of issues. It is evident, perhaps more than ever, that the voices of marginalized communities will not go away just because we refuse to acknowledge them. Thus in this issue, we hope our message on various gender-related topics can drive forward the fight for equality and liberty for all.
would by Sopheen Lee layout by June Jeong
if i were to crawl out of this black hole, would you still look at me the way you do now? if i were to come upright and just say it, would you still say it shouldn’t be allowed? you say you love me without condition, that no matter what i’d still be your child. but tell me, does that condition have an exception? when it comes to being god’s precious child? you’d ask me why i can’t be “normal.” just like how our neighbors are. but how would i ever live with myself? if my life depended on a shooting star? if i were to come upright and just say it, i know you’d call me a disgrace. you’d say god made a mistake creating me and slap my weeping face.
TRANSGENDER
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Written By: Nate Wilson
SPORTS Layout: Leo Sugino
Joshua Mcknight
Anna Shvets
W O M E N
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ia Thomas, a 22-year-old swimmer, has made countless headlines in the past couple of months. After breaking women’s records in swimming at school competitions, the debate on the fairness of her competing in the women’s league has divided America. Many trans people, in recent years, have found themselves in a similar position with trans participation in sports increasing. However, many lawmakers and competitors are strongly against this as it allows for an unfair advantage and while views on sex and gender have become more progressive than in the past, the question still remains: how do you balance inclusivity and fairness? That exact question is what polarizes people around this topic. While one group strives for greater equality and inclusivity for trans people, the other calls for equity. Those who are against allowing trans people to compete in female sports feel that it violates the fairness and safety promised by separating men’s and women’s leagues. This argument is summed
up well by South African exercise physiologist Ross Tucker. He has stated that “transgender male-to-female (MTF) athletes likely retain some degree of biological advantage even after lowering testosterone levels,” meaning that trans women will have an advantage if they compete with biologically female athletes. What many leagues demand is that a “MTF athlete is allowed to compete only if they show that they’ve kept their testosterone levels below a certain point (10 nmol/L for some sports, 5 nmol/L for others) for at least twelve months.” This may seem fair at first glance, but again, transitioning people tend to keep a large part of their former muscle mass even while on supplements. This points back to the fact that segregation in sports between men and women is not a gender issue but instead a sex issue. The separation for sports is not based on the way someone identifies and instead based on their biology, which is why it would be difficult to put trans men into female sports without hurting the fair play.
So why must this issue be addressed? The main reason is that the trans community is not a small one. Around 1.4 million adults in the U.S. alone report as transgender, and that number is likely a fraction of all those who are transgender due to fear of stigmatization of coming out. This number is continuing to grow in recent years, making this issue one of increasing importance. Moreover, the exclusion of trans people from professional sports may worsen the already dangerously high levels of self-hate for people within the trans community with more than six out of every ten trans youth practicing self-harm. So, this begs the question of how to be inclusive of the trans community in sports. Due to MTF athletes retaining much of their muscle mass and still retaining
some components of their former sex, it is not entirely fair to have trans people and biologically female people be in the same division: so, a possible solution to the issue may be the creation of trans leagues, which, similar to male and female leagues, would separate trans people into their own divisions. One major issue with this solution is that currently there are currently not enough trans people competing at a professional level; however, it is likely that with the creation of a separate division, more trans people would feel open to the idea of wanting to pursue sports to a higher level without having to go through the same level of obstacles that Lia Thomas did.
Image of Lia Thomas
The Independent
Brett Sayles
Dhemer Gonclaves
The Impact of Gender Norms
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n the past, societal gender norms and my own perceptions of gender affected how I wore my clothes; I remember that I would always wear blue, black, or gray to school because if any boy wore a color like pink or purple, they would get teased and bullied. This gender norm has affected many people all around the world to this day. In fact, gender norms have perpetuated stereotypes that existed in society for an extended period of time, almost dating back to the time when males and females were first civilized. These common gender norms have influenced and ingrained in each gender to act and react in certain ways. So, what exactly are these ‘gender norms’, and how exactly do they impact the behavior of women and men? Gender norms are social principles that govern behaviors of every gender of people in society, restricting their gender identity to what is considered two be appropriate. For example, girls and women, in general, are expected to dress in a feminine manner and to be polite, nurturing, and accommo-
dating, while men are expected to dress up in a more bold, masculine manner; this is a common fact that we live by in our societies. These gender norms obviously have an effect on people both individually and as a group. In some countries, women as a whole are denied from entering or taking classes in school due to the belief that women should only act as caretakers of the home. Others are denied other basic rights, depending on the region or religion. Then, how do these gender norms impact our behavior? First of all, unconscious bias is an important factor that plays a role in impacting our behavior. Our actions are guided by biases, even
though we might not be intending it or being conscious of our behaviors. For instance, let’s say a company was in need of a candidate for a digital role, someone who could handle new software deftly. However, the hiring manager passes over and rejects all older candidates with the assumption that they would not be able to handle modern technology. This is showing bias because this action is showing clear prejudice in favor of or against one group of people. Also, there is a difference in masculinity in behavior based on gender. Do gender norms create inequality? Inequality is seen not in all places, but it
is definitely seen in numerous regions and countries around the world. Differences in treatment, work opportunities, leadership roles, education, clothing, standards, job payments, and more differences are clearly visible between genders. Although gender norms are something we cannot fully get rid of at this point in society, we can still make an effort as a community to try and decrease the inequality and the effects gender norms bring as a whole. We have to collaborate and try to work effectively because this problem is something that can’t be solved by a single individual. It is essential to raise awareness of the dangers gender roles can pose through social media platforms, and gather groups of people passionate about this issue to discuss what can be done to not reinforce gender stereotypes anymore. Written by: Sahngwon Lee Layout by: Sophia Park
This illustration was made digitally and portray implies that we are not all that different. It was m that people are all just people and that t
Minji
ys a variety of people in a simple manner which made to hope that people will one day understand they will accept and support each other.
i Kim
POG
By: Eric Cho Layout: Ellen Ryu
As science is developing at a rapid pace, societies are experimenting with more and more genetic modification in organisms. All around us, we can experience the advancement of gene modification technology. For example, livestock are being genetically modified to become “super dads” so that it would increase the rate of their population growth. Gene modification also takes place in farming of crops to create the optimal plant for the market. However, as genetic modification is developing, scientists have created genetic modification for humans to a certain extent. One phenotype that scientists have successfully experimented with in recent years is gender. Let us call the predetermination of gender, “POG.” With the ability to determine the gender of the child before its birth, numerous questions arise. First, the question of ethics becomes a highly contentious argument. Second, the question of feasibility surfaces as one mistake may lead to a destruction of the life of a human being. Despite many uncertainties, POG may offer some potential revolutionary solutions to modern problems. Although POG may seem unethical to some people, POG has provided
humans with some benefits. One major problem that POG aims to solve is the problem of inherited genetic diseases. Although many diseases have no relation to gender, some disabilities are sex-linked. This means that one gender has a higher chance of getting specific genotypes that are going to be affected by the diseases. Sex chromosomes, passed down by parents, contribute to the gender of the offspring. The male’s, or the father’s, sex chromosome determines the gender of the offspring: if it is a X chromosome, the child will be a female, and if it is a Y chromosome, the child will be a male. Sex-linked traits are where the gene of the trait is in either the X or Y chromosome. For example, hemophilia, red-green color blindness, congenital night blindness, and Duchenne muscular dystrophy are all X-linked recessive traits. Affected people of X-linked recessive traits are much more common amongst males than females. This is because women have to have two of the recessive X genes in order to be affected by the disease; however, men only need to have one of the recessive X genes in order to be affected by the disease. In fact, around 8.5% of all men are color-
Sex-linked traits can only be passed down if the parents are carriers or have the trait themselves. Recently, gene testing has improved drastically to the point where it is possible to see what traits your gene portrays. From these testings, parents can find out if they are carriers who can potentially pass down the trait of the disease. Imagine a scenario where the mother has a heterozygous gene of hemophilia, a disease that affects everyday life ranging from unexpected random bleeding to chronic joint disease. Heterozygous genes are genes with one dominant and one recessive trait. Being a female, the mother is not directly affected by hemophilia and is only a carrier of the trait. Whether the father has hemophilia or not, if the child is a male, it has a 50% chance of getting hemophilia. If the father does not have hemophilia, which is a higher chance, and their child is female, the child has zero chance of even having hemophilia. It has a 50% chance of being totally free of the gene itself and that means that the child won’t pass the trait of hemophilia to their own children either. For cases such as these where the parents know that they have a certain sexlinked trait or are a carrier of one, POG might be able to save many humans from suffering.
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50% of sons affected Although POG is a contentious topic due to ethical and safety concerns, it can actually be an important step toward solving the problem of sex-linked traits such as colorblindness and hemophilia. Preventing these babies from having these diseases can allow them to live a much more comfortable life.
COVID Exacerbates Circumstances for the Transgender Community By: Laruen Kim Layout: Ellen Ryu
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owever you look and whoever you say you are out there, in here I am going to call you as I see you,” was the response Tanya Walker heard from a nurse when she was at the hospital receiving treatment for lung cancer. What’s even more, after her surgery that removed a large portion of her lung, she was forced to lie in her own feces for hours as a result of the hospital staff ignoring her calls for help. Ms. Walker’s experience accurately depicts the discrimination and harassment that pervades every aspect of transgender people’s lives on a daily basis. Intentional misgendering, prejudice, and bigotry are just a few examples of the everyday hardships transgender people face. In fact, a survey conducted by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
that nationally presented a sample of around 500 transgender and queer adults revealed that a majority of the group had been called slurs and derogatory comments about their identity. Yet even when subjected to such maltreatment, countless trans people do not have the legal basis to defend themselves, as 29 states in America still do not have legislation that protects trans people from discrimination. Though it is a fact that the younger generation is leading society into a cultural shift toward inclusion, the majority of society still refuses to treat transgender people with equality and respect, and a recent rise in vicious attacks against transgender people corroborates the status quo even further.
The COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened the circumstances for transgender people, as it has made receiving proper healthcare—something already extremely challenging—an even more difficult and vexing process. When trans people seek help from medical professionals, they are often misgendered, called by the names assigned to them at birth rather than the ones they have chosen, ridiculed, and even denied care. These traumatic experiences with healthcare have forced a large number of trans people to refuse to seek medical help even when they are in pain and in dire need of professional assistance. Ms. Walker shared that her best friend, who is also transgender, “chose not to go and see a doctor” even though “she
was sick [with COVID] for more than a week” and ended up passing away. It cannot be any more apparent that monumental changes, both legal and social, must be made for transgender Americans. Citizens who have the power to change the status quo should not become a bystander to the ongoing discrimination and harassment that transgender individuals endure on a daily basis. Mere sympathy is not sufficient anymore, real change must be made by American leaders.
Credits: Bryan Kim Aimee Choi Woojune Kim Rachel Yoon Jihoon Kim Eunice Rhee Andrew Hahm June Jeong Alice Lee Samuel Hong Nate Wilson Peter Kim Tomoki Ishikawa Lauren Kim Junseo Lee Paul Moon Lindsey Lim Sahngwon Lee Eric Cho Jay Choe Sopheen Lee Jason Lee Leo Sugino Irene Nam Sophia Park Ellen Ryu Hana Ito David Kim Minji Kim Celine Yang
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