By Closed Account
"In what ways has your community supported the thoughts you had on your identity before going abroad? In what ways has it challenged or altered how you identify yourself?"
I have to admit, I struggled a lot with this prompt. Without a doubt, I'm not the same person I was before I left for study abroad. I've become more adaptable, adventurous, self-sufficient, and comfortable exploring other cultures.
But of course, I knew this wasn't the prompt meant.
It's difficult to explain how my host community has supported and/or challenged my sexuality because in many ways, it's done neither. People seem to be generally accepting here; being gay just isn't that big of a big deal. On the other hand, there isn't a lot of gay visibility either. Exeter is extremely homogeneous; most people here are straight, cisgender, white, politically-moderate youths from Surrey. Beyond the university's LGBTQIA+ society (which doesn't do activism) and Exeter's one small gay club, there isn't much of a queer community or dating scene to speak of. And as lonely as that can be, it's given me a lot of time to focus on my own identity as a bisexual woman outside of the context of relationships and community.
The moment that kickstarted that reflection came in the form of Gender 101, a discussion hosted by Feminist and LGBTQIA+ Societies on the basics of gender identity and expression. At one point, a facilitator stated that there are as many genders as there are people, because each person interprets what it means to be, say, a cisgender woman, differently. This opens the door to multiple cisgender femininities, an idea that I had never considered before but found incredibly intriguing. ...continue reading "Gender 101"
