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Dominique Quezada

Stephanie Maenhardt

ENGL1050

April 26, 2017

Part 1 Othering

Although American society has progressed into a cultured and

accepting nation, there are unfortunately still many negative stereotypes

and situations of othering. The term othering is used to describe the way

minorities are viewed and treated by majority groups. Different races,

cultures and ethnicities are often subjected to othering and extensive

historical othering has caused segregation, slavery and genocide.

There have been many events in the 21st century that have helped

shape the diverse and accepting society we have today. In 2012, Barack

Obama was the first US president to publically support same-sex marriages.

In 2015, the United States Supreme Court decided to recognize marriage

equality for same-sex couples (Obama, 2016). Not only was this a historic

victory for the LGBT community, but for everyone in the United States to

celebrate freedom, love and equal rights. The LGBT community has gained

tremendous support from every corner of society and this was an exciting

time to celebrate and be an American citizen. The US Military as well as the

Boy Scouts of America are also taking progressive steps towards equal rights

initiatives.
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Although there have been several milestones and accomplishments

made in the past 10 years, people of different races, gender and sexuality

are still facing discrimination in America. Tracey Cooper-Harris discusses the

difficulties that she and her wife faced with life insurance and benefits. They

both served in the military and expected to receive the same benefits as

their fellow veterans. Tracey and her wife were unfortunately not recognized

as a married couple under federal law. I found out that if something

happened to me, my wife wouldn't be recognized as such by the country I

fought to defend. While I was alive, & even in death, the Defense of Marriage

Act would deny her the VA benefits any heterosexual spouse of a veteran

receives (Cooper-Harris, 2014). It is difficult to understand how Tracey and

her wife could defend their country but still be treated differently.

Gavin Grimm also discusses his experience with othering and how

suppressing and damaging it is to label our differences and treat each other

differently. Gavin was a high school student that identified as transgender.

He was forced to use a specific restroom at school in order to make the other

students feel comfortable. He recounts the humiliating circumstances that

surrounded the negative attention, Instead of supporting me and the

decision of the school administrators, the school board convened two public

meetings, inviting the community to discuss my genitals and restroom usage

in front of reporters and television cameras (Grimm, 2016).

Language and culture can also be negatively impacted by othering.

Gloria Anzaldua discusses being bilingual and the consequences she faced
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for speaking Spanish. She mentions being scolded by her teacher, If you

want to be American, speak American. If you dont like it, go back to

Mexico where you belong (521). These type of remarks are only suppressing

minorities and insinuating that any non-American behavior is wrong. This is

damaging for various reasons, but I think its especially awful because it

reinforces othering and finds solutions that dont unite us, and only divide

us. Tracey, Gavin and Glorias stories are only a few examples of othering

and the extreme repercussions that stem from a them vs us attitude.

Part 2 Rhetorical Analysis

Gavin Grimm openly discusses the challenges he faced and effectively

engages the reader with thought provoking details. I wanted to focus on this

piece because I think Gavins story is simple and powerful at the same time.

He uses a combination of rhetorical strategies to tell his story and leaves a

resonating message. Gavin takes this very controversial issue, and simplifies

it. He states, If you told me two years ago that the Supreme Court was

going to have to approve whether I could use the school restroom, I would

have thought you were joking (Grimm, 2016). The message he focuses on is

logical and points out something the reader can identify with. Gavin also

appeals to the readers feelings by explaining his experience and how he was

embarrassed and humiliated publically. He recalls, Instead of supporting me

and the decision of the school administrators, the school board convened

two public meetings, inviting the community to discuss my genitals and


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restroom usage in front of reporters and television cameras. I think this is a

powerful part of his story because no one would ever expect their privacy to

be discussed and debated. Gavin takes his controversial situation and is

honest about the thoughts and feelings he experienced. He engages the

reader with simple logic and effectively points out why he shouldnt be

deemed a threat to his classmates or to society. We are not perverse. We

are not broken. We are not sick. We are not freaks. We cannot change who

we are. Our gender identities are as innate as anyone elses. Although

Gavin was faced with an awful experience, he concludes his argument with a

hope for change and a determination to help others that may face similar

controversies.
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Works Cited

Anzaldua, Gloria. How to Tame a Wild Tongue. Reading Culture: Contexts

for Critical Reading

and Writing. Diana George and John Trimbur. New York: Longman,

2012. 521-527. Print.

Cooper-Harris, Tracey. Why Marriage MattersIts About Family. Marriage

Equality USA.

http://www.marriageequality.org/why_marriage_matters_it_s_about_fa

mily 2014.

Grimm, Gavin. Im transgender and cant use the student bathroom. The

Supreme Court could

change that. The Washington Post.


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https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/im-transgender-and-cant-

use-the-student-

bathroom-the-supreme-court-could-change-that/2016/10/27/19d1a3ae-

9bc1-11e6-

a0ed-ab0774c1eaa5_story.html?utm_term=.a9a6f2209bd9 October 27,

2016.

Obama, Barack. Presidential Proclamation. The White House Office of the

Press

Secretary. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-

office/2016/05/31/presidential-proclamation-lgbt-pride-month-2016.

May 31, 2016.

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