Gender and Sexuality Are Two

Gender and sexuality are two totally different things. Gender is probably one of the most difficult concepts for people to grasp because it is not something that is fixed but rather it is a construct that operates on a continuum. Gender, in our society, normally is defined by what our sex organs are -- whether or not they make us male or female. But what about people mentioned in the article such as David Reimer (Myers) who was born a male but socialized as a female? He was even given hormones to make him grow breasts, yet he said he always identified as a male. Knowing this, it is hard for one to say that it is merely sexual organs that make us male or female. Gender is so much more complicated than that.

Sexuality, likewise, is something that is -- or should be -- viewed on a continuum. We, as individuals, are constantly evolving in terms of sexuality. We may "identify" one way at a certain point in our lives and another way at a different point in our lives. Our sexual identity may be shaped by our values -- or by other people's values. but, as Myers (2009) points out, "Labels describe, but they also evaluate" (p. 113). It is important that we don't label or evaluate people based on their sexual preferences because, as mentioned, sexuality is something that is more of a construct that moves around on a continuum as opposed to something that is fixed and never-changing.

RA: Myers (2009) begins Chapter 5 with the story of Heather Sellers who cannot recognize faces. This has nothing to do with her vision, but rather her perception. This is the first story that gets one wondering about perception. How do we perceive things? If we think about everything that we come into contact with day in and day out, all of the stimuli, it seems crazy that we are even able to remember anything. Our brain, which we consider the headquarters of our existence, is all alone in the dark perceiving these things that it never truly sees, hears, touches or smells.

Extrasensory perception -- also known simply as ESP -- is something that scientists have been studying for decades. Brownstein (2011) notes that until recently discussion and testing of ESP has centered on the human experience. He claims that there hasn't been any type of examination on the physical conditions that are independent of human beings, however, without which, "ESP would not be possible as a human faculty" (p. 73). Brownstein (2011) claims that sensing another's feelings is independent of reading people's minds and seeing other people's activities. In order to show how this sensing of other's feelings can work, Brownstein (2011) attempts to show that there is a foundation that has nothing to do with human experience for all of the types of ESP aforementioned. There are our senses, of course, (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch) and the fact that we all have physical capabilities (even though they do tend to vary quite dramatically). Then we have our emotions that help us to cope with everything that we are feeling. We also have beliefs that include things that we do not have proof of (religious beliefs, for example). Lastly, according to Brownstein (2011), we have our reason, which is how we make sense of all of our logical thoughts. This is not all, though, according to Brownstein (2011), who believes that ESP makes up a sixth category. He calls this the "flow of existence" (2011, p. 73). He explains that just like a river flows, so does existence. ESP is all about sensing what is going to happen next in the now moment of our existence. Brownstein (2011) notes that the most important part of being able to use this extrasensory perception is solely "based on one's ability to be sensitive to another person's Aura, which all living beings possess and emit" (p. 74).