The topic of gender is relevant to everyone. It is also a topic that evokes a strong emotional response. Gender is a social construct and few of us are aware of the system of rewards and punishments that have shaped our gender identity. For others who this system did not ‘succeed’ are often more aware of the process that shape identity as they have had to confront and defy. It is worthwhile to spend some …showed first 75 words of 2552 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2552 total…me to think and see things in a new way. I think I will end this essay with one of the questions that Califia ends her book with, I feel it sums up one of the more intriguing ideas “Who would you be if you had neve! r been punished for gender inappropriate behavior, or seen other children punished for deviation from masculine or feminine norms, or participated in dishing out such punishments?”. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography**