Section I
B. From one of the articles given in question A, choose a paragraph(s) of approximately 100
words. Paraphrase your chosen paragraph(s). (10 Marks)
Unlike Sakina
I decided to leave.”
Sunita (changed name), a 30 year old transgender woman was able to avoid family
commanded marriage unlike Sakina. But she also continues to live as a man instead of a
woman who she believes she is. Her parents fulfill their normal household roles, father
being a grocer and mother a homemaker. She did not have guts and lacked confidence to
come out to her family. "They were all urging me to marry but how can I possibly wreck
another woman's life? It would be so unfair to her, me and our future. So I left my home.
I decided to leave because if people found out who I was, my family's honor will be at
stake, no one will accept my sisters as brides and my family will have to bear and put up
with the consequences.
C. Summarize one of the articles given in question A. (10 Marks)
Transgender people face a lot of hard times in their lives. They're treated unfairly,
discriminated everywhere, disrespected, taunted, looked with contempt, and are forced to
act like someone they are not. They are harassed almost everywhere (school, work, on the
streets, homes, wherever they go) and by everyone (family members, spouse, relatives,
shopkeepers, police officers, etc.).
They start noticing changes in them during the time of poverty. They start feeling like
they do not belong to the gender they are assigned by birth and want to live, behave,
dress and be like the other gender. They try coming out to their parents' but that doesn't
end well usually. They are told to "act normally", taken to priests and healers, sent for
personality therapy, beaten up so they 'toughen', and even thrown out of their homes.
Society doesn't accept them and nor do their parents, relatives and family. They're either
forced to live in denial and live as someone they're not, or they're married off forcefully,
or thrown out of houses. They are not accepted anywhere so they cannot finish their
studies, they are not offered usual jobs, and are often forced into begins or sex work for
their livelihood. Some of them even hide their true identity in order to be treated
normally. They live a very excluded and miserable life where everyone behaves
inhumanly to them. Many of them often end their lives, or get addicted to smoking,
drinking, or sex work.
None of it is their mistake; they do not choose who they want to be and who they take
birth as. They do not choose to be a transgender. People need to understand that
transgenders are also normal humans and deserve to be treated normally. That is all they
want. There are many interventions in progress and many fighting for their rights but
there is a long way to go. Things will gradually and hopefully become better.
Section II
Write an argumentative essay on one of the areas of research – Gender and Sexuality.
Gender and Sexuality
What does it take to be a male or a female, a man or a woman? Our sexual organs alone do not
define who we are. Everyone is assigned male or female at birth by biological sex–hormones,
chromosomes, penis, vagina, ovaries, and testes but sexual identity, gender identity and sexual
orientation are different terms. Gender is a social construction whereas sexual identity or
sexuality is biological and natural. Our gender consists of a combination of our behaviour,
characteristics, beliefs and wishes. It comprises of the way we choose and wish to act, behave,
talk, dress and be. Sexuality on the other hand includes the overall aspects of a person’s sex,
gender identity (the internal perception of one’s gender) and sexual identity. Thus, society’s
definitions of masculinity and femininity may not always capture how we truly feel, how we
define ourselves, how we want to act and behave, and who we want to be.
Gender and sexuality are both fluid concepts irrespective of the biological reality. Even though
anatomy and physiology explains the basic concepts of human sexuality, most people’s gender
and sexual expression (The external display of one’s gender) come from their thoughts, beliefs,
social behaviours and feelings. The roles which we play as a man or a woman are the direct
product of what society has taught us with regard to our sexuality. These roles are what make the
concept of gender i.e. masculine or feminine. Most of these roles are nothing but stereotypes and
sanctioned norms like women stay inside while men work outside, or women is sensitive
whereas men are rough and tough. This might not always be true for all 7.8 billion people of the
world. Some people might feel trapped and not relate to the gender they were assigned at birth,
they might not feel comfortable in following these predefined norms, they might not feel
belonged and want to act and be different.
When a person gender identity, assigned sex and gender expression are all same, it is known as
cisgender or binary. But when any one of these components differs or does not fit, the person is
referred to as non-binary. This segment includes all the LGBTWQ+ identities i.e. lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, transsexual, queer, intersex, intergender, asexual, etc. This list continues
the sexual identity spectrum is a very broad one. It is different and unique for every individual.
The image is not just pink and blue i.e. boy and girl but in actuality, it is the entire spectrum all
the available shades, intermixed and blended together. This is why the LGBTQ+ community
uses rainbow colours as their motto. Studies suggest that even a person’s gender identity is fluid.
Not everyone is either masculine or feminine by nature. They too have terms like masculine,
feminine, multigender, genderqueer and agender. A person’s sexual orientation also is an
extremely fluid concept. It ranges from heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, asexual to different
type of attraction to different people. There are four types of attraction: romantic, sexual,
emotional and spiritual and it is not necessary that a person finds all the types only in one person.
A survey conducted in the US suggested that 3.8% of the population i.e. about 9 million
Americans belonged to LGBTQ community. We need to understand that in actuality, everything
does not go down by the books. Things are not simple out there in the real world. People are
complex and everyone is uniquely different and that is okay. Gender identity, sexual identity,
and sexual orientation are not something a person decides or chooses for himself. These concepts
are natural and it doesn’t make anyone any less of a human.
The people who deviate even a tiny bit from the prescribed societal norms of gender and
sexuality face a lot of hardships in their lives. These people are mistreated, harassed, rejected,
alienated, and socially secluded. Their family and relatives either do not accept them or try to
change them by unnatural processes. They’re treated with contempt and considered a disgrace in
the society. Most of them are bullied in their high school because that's when they start noticing
visible changes in them. Some decide to hide their identity, some are forced to marry and live as
the opposite gender, some are tortured and sent to healers, and others leave their homes. Some
decide to hide their identity, some are forced to marry and live as the opposite gender, some are
tortured and sent to priests and healers, and others leave their homes. Even after leaving, they’re
mistreated and rejected for being who they are everywhere. People look down on them and taunt
them every day; they’re not given jobs if they disclose who they are. They are not given a place
to live, discriminated and excluded everywhere they go. In the USTS report, it was found out
that nearly half (48%) of all transgender respondents in the sample said they had been refused
equal treatment, verbally harassed, and/or physically assaulted because they were transgender in
the previous year. In a survey conducted in 2015, out of 71 LQBTQ respondents, 44 stated that
they had been subjected to physical and sexual violence, where only 19 of them went to the
police and in only 8 cases, a formal notice was written.
Gender and sexuality are both fluid concepts. Gender is a social construction which defines the
norms for masculinity and femininity by the society. Everyone might not want to stick with these
predefined stereotyping norms. Every individual is unique and should be free to choose his or her
characteristics. Sex assigned at birth also may not always determine the characteristics, behavior
and sexual orientation of a person. A person might feel like a man trapped in a woman's body or
vice versa. A person might be attracted to same gender, opposite gender or both the genders.
These concepts are not rigid. If someone wants to deviate from his/her gender's predefined role,
they should be allowed to do so. There is absolutely no need to treat such people any differently,
hate or harm them. They already go through a lot in their lives. One should have an open mind
and understand that each individual is different and that’s okay. Everyone is human and deserves
to be treated as one. Everyone should be free to be what they want to be, to love whoever they
want to love and to dress, act and live as they wish to live. There is absolutely no reason to stop
non binary people from whatever they're doing or to tell them how to live. Being different should
be normalized by making people aware. Every human being who is born in this planet has rights
and deserves to be treated with kindness, accepted, respected, and loved. Being humans, if we
cannot offer them that freedom, then we should not be considered as most intelligent species.
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