#plenary4

This was honestly one of my favorite plenaries. I feel like so many of the topics we discuss in class are very similar. Many of them, I had already had prior knowledge on. The video during plenary 4 however brought us into the worlds  of people whose issues I never even imagined could have existed. I loved how raw the video was and how much emotion the subjects allowed themselves to show. It showed their strength and their courage, and in a way could motivate anyone to stay strong in whatever it is they find difficult to find peace with in life. 

In Plenary #4 we watched a documentary about intersex individuals and their stories. This plenary was definitely the most educational. We live in world of two sexes. Mel and female. Most people don’t even know of the existence of intersex and so ignorantly refer to such individuals as hermaphrodites. I think an important part of this documentary was seeing not only the similarities in the individuals but also hearing of their differences. Intersex is actually so diverse and this documentary did a great job of highlighting that. Truly well done.

When I heard that we were watching a film about intersex I really wasn't sure what to expect. Before watching the film I knew that intersex was but had never gotten the chance to really understand what it is. The film did an amazing job and sharing many peoples stories who are intersex. What really stood out to me about the video was how many years ago when a baby was born and the doctors tried to change the sex of the baby through surgeries and hormonal medications they told the family to move away and never tell the baby that their sex was changed. That made me really upset because they were acting like being intersex is such a bad thing and is something to be ashamed about. People who are born intersex are just like everyone else and are wonderful people who deserve to have the right to be whatever person they would like to be. The video really opened my eyes to how much discrimination people who are born intersex go through. Some of them are forced to have many surgeries just so they can look like one specific gender. People should be able to make their own choices about if they want to have the surgeries or not and being born intersex should not be thought of as something to be ashamed of. I really enjoyed watching the film because it opened my eyes to seeing how people are not just born male or female and that everyone should have the right to be whoever they want to be. 

 kcSVH"�

The plenary we had on November 11th was very interesting to me eventhough it was hard to relate. She told us a lot of inspiring stories, but since I personally am not a spiritual person, I unfortunately could not understand the meaning/the depths behind her stories. I am, however, very curious about meditation and have been wanting to try it. A lot of my friends have been telling me how great meditation helps them to feel more relaxed and be happier. So I am definitely going to give it a try after listening to Karla Jackson-Brewer talk about spirituality and how it helps her to become a better person. Overall, her plenary was very fascinating and comforting.