Summary Of They Aren T Jellyfish At All
What I learned.
I learned the differences between transgender, transexual, and transvestite (cross-dressing). Jennifer Boylan made it understood that she is a “male-to-female transexual” and not a transvestite. She said that the word transvestite sounds “creepy” and bug-like. She believes that it is not about dressing up like a female but mentally and physically feeling like one. She explained that transgender is not a hobby and is purely about identity. In the chapter “They Aren’t Jellyfish at All”, Boylan says that most gender problems are encompassed in the term transgender and that a transexual is a person who does not feel their soul (“spirit”) connects with their body. I also learned that questioning gender starts at childhood and it is not something you just decide; it takes over your entire life. Boylan struggled with gender identity the majority of her life until she took ahold of it. I found that even with all the explanations Boylan gave, it is still hard to understand the idea of changing genders. She mentioned that it is always a “mystery” to people and that these people still have opinions about …show more content…
At first, the book made me feel sorry for Grace and made Boylan look selfish, especially in the “Drunken Noodles” chapter, where Grace finally explained how she felt. As I was reading, I was in total agreement with Grace. Boylan had the plan to change genders all along, even though she did not know it. I can feel Grace’s pain and struggle in understanding Boylan’s choice, especially because they have been “building something for 12 years.” Their relationship changed from husband and wife to being more like sisters, which was not what Boylan wanted at first. Grace is an extremely strong person to stay and accept Boylan’s change in gender. I can understand how she feels “betrayed” and “abandoned.” She did not get to participate in Boylan’s plans; she said that it felt like it “did not really matter” in the
I learned the differences between transgender, transexual, and transvestite (cross-dressing). Jennifer Boylan made it understood that she is a “male-to-female transexual” and not a transvestite. She said that the word transvestite sounds “creepy” and bug-like. She believes that it is not about dressing up like a female but mentally and physically feeling like one. She explained that transgender is not a hobby and is purely about identity. In the chapter “They Aren’t Jellyfish at All”, Boylan says that most gender problems are encompassed in the term transgender and that a transexual is a person who does not feel their soul (“spirit”) connects with their body. I also learned that questioning gender starts at childhood and it is not something you just decide; it takes over your entire life. Boylan struggled with gender identity the majority of her life until she took ahold of it. I found that even with all the explanations Boylan gave, it is still hard to understand the idea of changing genders. She mentioned that it is always a “mystery” to people and that these people still have opinions about …show more content…
At first, the book made me feel sorry for Grace and made Boylan look selfish, especially in the “Drunken Noodles” chapter, where Grace finally explained how she felt. As I was reading, I was in total agreement with Grace. Boylan had the plan to change genders all along, even though she did not know it. I can feel Grace’s pain and struggle in understanding Boylan’s choice, especially because they have been “building something for 12 years.” Their relationship changed from husband and wife to being more like sisters, which was not what Boylan wanted at first. Grace is an extremely strong person to stay and accept Boylan’s change in gender. I can understand how she feels “betrayed” and “abandoned.” She did not get to participate in Boylan’s plans; she said that it felt like it “did not really matter” in the