Ever since I began to realize that my gender identity was being formed by the society I live in I've been very interested in gender studies. I've never been a girly-girl but that never really made a difference until the onset of puberty. I'm angry that gender roles are so inflexible and biased. Throughout my entire life there have been periods when I felt like less of a woman for something small, like for instance that my hair wasn't long like the other girls, or I didn't wear makeup like the other girls, or I preferred to dress modestly unlike the other girls. I hated that feeling of "social defeminization". I wanted to be seen as a woman not because I was stereotypically feminine or because I bent backwards trying to achieve the feminine ideal. I want to be seen as a woman in my own right. Because of that feeling, I've always felt some animosity toward my gender role. Sometimes it's been difficult rebelling against my gender role because society generally frowns upon it, but I can't see myself as becoming a convert to the ephemeral feminine ideal any time soon.

At times like these, I always think of Harriet Tubman. She was by no means a glamorous woman, but she was still a woman. Even more importantly, she was a strong and independent woman. In many ways I emulate her.  

Nebraska teacher arrested in Mexico after allegedly fleeing with boy, 13

One of the things that bothered me most about this sad story (aside from the violence against a child, obviously) is the way many media outlets reported it. For example, the above article reads:

Of course, I do believe in “innocent until proven guilty,” even though the media often don’t seem to. They’re far too quick to print the names and faces of alleged criminals, probably ruining innocent people’s lives. That’s another issue for another day, though, and of course the situation is a little different when they’re actively looking for someone who has been kidnapped. My complaint here is simply with the double standard regarding sex/gender and the reporting of crimes. This is nothing new, of course, and it’s sad that it’s the second thing that came into my mind when I heard this story (the first being that I hoped the child was okay), but I think the media’s portrayal of crime has something to do with the way crimes are prosecuted with regard to, but not limited to, sex and race.

Women can be every bit as violent, cruel, devious and greedy as men, but many of the media (and others) seem to think that a female authority figure who has sex with a boy is doing it out of some sort of twisted, misplaced love, while a man who does the same is just a monster who deserves to die. The woman’s story becomes a very special Oprah episode or a Lifetime made-for-TV movie that invites us to look deep into the woman’s soul to figure out what horrible demons from her past forced her to turn to crime. The man? Who cares? Lock him up! Even with other kinds of crime—burglary, murder, prostitution, drug dealing, etc.—we often assume a woman was pushed into it by her boyfriend, husband or another man, while men are just itching to commit crimes all the time for any reason whatsoever.

CNN.com reported on the "liaison" between the teacher and student. MSNBC reported that the teacher and student were “on the run.” No, they weren’t! She was on the run, and she was taking her victim with her. Even if the boy said and thought he wanted to be there and did not resist, or even if he thought up the plan himself, a 13-year old—even the world’s most mature 13-year-old--isn’t mentally or emotionally capable of making major decisions about love, sex, relationships, or “running off” to another country. That's why 13-year olds are taken care of by parents, teachers and other authority figures who are supposed to know better. This crime has been portrayed almost as an illicit love story; if the sex roles were reversed, you can bet no one would be mentioning love, liaisons, intimacy, or running off. They'd be discussing kidnapping, rape and child abuse. The teacher is charged with several very real crimes, but this seems to be secondary in the headlines.

I used to consider myself a feminist before I realized what the movement had turned into. Now I’m a member of ifeminists and I just want simple equality of and peace (if possible) between the sexes. If women want equal treatment, that means we must acknowledge our criminals as well as our victims and saints, and stop blaming all the evils of the world on men.

There are, however, a few evils that I think we should blame entirely on men: the TV show Jackass, competitive eating contests (yeah, I know, there’s a woman who competes who can stuff more hotdogs in her face than most men can, but she’s just confused), and, of course, the automatic pasta-twirling fork.

I'm doing a panel discussion on Judy Brady's "I want  a Wife" in my English class and I was wondering if anyone could point me to some polls concerning gender rolls and/or women in the workplace. It would be greatly appreciated.

WOMAN'S GENDER CHANGE SHOCKS THE MAN SHE DATED

By Abigail Van Buren
Thu Jun 15, 8:09 PM ET

DEAR ABBY: I recently met a gorgeous woman I'll call "Giselle." After we had dated for a couple of months and became physically involved, she told me she had had gender reassignment surgery and used to be a man! I was, to say the least, shocked and deeply disturbed.

I did not punch out Giselle as I would have liked to -- which brings me to my question. What is the etiquette regarding physically confronting someone like that? Is it the same as hitting a girl? We're roughly the same size. -- DISTRESSED IN VIRGINIA

DEAR DISTRESSED: Because Giselle is now a female, it would, indeed, have been the same as hitting a girl, and I'm glad you restrained yourself. I have a feeling that she was probably more hurt that you stopped seeing her than any physical blow you might have inflicted. As to the "etiquette" regarding hitting her, if you hit someone of either gender, it is assault and battery -- or possibly worse -- and it's a crime that can land you in jail. Be glad you controlled your temper.