Second Session: Friday, January 24, 2020

Week 2: Chapter 2 The Fluidity

1.    Why isn’t Josh in favour of the ‘born this way’ argument?

2.    Why is Josh promoting the ‘non-binary’ concept?

3.    What does it mean to ‘misgender’?

4.    Do you agree that using the wrong pronoun for a trans person is transphobic violence?

5.    Under what circumstances would it not be necessary to use a preferred pronoun?

6.    To what extent should society as a whole be obliged to use ‘correct’ pronouns?

7.    Why might using an ‘incorrect’ pronoun be painful to some?

8.    Explain the ramifications of ‘the focus shifts from the actual trans person to the person who made the mistake (bottom page 39)

9.    According to Josh, what responsibility do trans persons have with regards to correct pronoun use?

10. Is the concept of fluid gender identity only valid for trans persons?

11. What is meant by “we aren’t all born with our identities”? (page 40)

12. How do you feel about Joshua’s wish “that my body could be as fluid as my identity.”

13. Do you think Joshua is responsible when he states “I invoke curiosity and insecurity in others.” (bottom page 41)

14. What kind of people does Josh want to engage in conversation with?

15. Why does Josh say it wouldn’t be truthful to say ‘I was born this way’ (page 43)

16. Explain “A non-binary person could still identify as a woman and be non-binary.” (page 44)

Chapter 3 The Survivor

1.    What might cause the police not to take the investigation seriously (page 50)

2.    How do you feel about Josh’s decision to go to school wearing duct tape? (page 55)

3.    Why do you think the family doctor and Josh’s parents did not call the police (page 63)

First Session: Friday, January 10, 2020

It was agreed that all future meetings of the Book Study Group will be held from 2:00 to 4:00 pm every second Friday instead of 7:30 to 9:30 pm.

It was also suggested that 10-15 minutes could be used during any session if anyone wished to share a book they thought might be of interest to the group. Please email Ken (kenbole@rogers.com) if you would like to do this, and include anything you might want printed for handouts.

Some of the questions discussed in Week 1:

• Why are we reading about trans issues when they represent such a small percentage of the population?
• What do you feel when you look at the cover photo?
• Define the following terms in your own words:

• Gender
• Sex
• Gender Identity
• Gender Expression
• Non-Binary
• Transgender
• Cisgender

Quotes for discussion:

•  “I do not speak for the entire trans community, or for all non-binary trans people.” (p ix) “…our community is incredibly diverse.” (p x)
• “My voice and many of my stories would not be the same if I were a trans person of colour.” (p x)
• “And just like that, my sex was assigned, wrapped up neatly and adorned with a blue bow—and all the gender expectations that came with it.” (p 1)
• “Our notions of gender are dependent on both culture and history. Culture makes what we assume about gender seem like an unchanging fact, something we must simply accept. However, the concept of gender is highly variable across many cultures around the world and our relationship to it has changed over time.” (p 4)
• “We refer to gender as a ‘socially constructed’ concept.” (p 4)
• “And if your assigned sex and gender identity line up according to societal expectations, the term that identifies you is cisgender.” (p 4)
• “Non-binary means any identity and expression that doesn’t fit within the two gender and sex options presented to us at birth—that one must be a male/boy or a female/girl.” (p 6)
• What stands out to you from page 9?
• “…human diversity is neither a weakness, a threat, not a fiction. Our diversity is a gift…” (p 10)
• How would you describe Joshua’s parents?
• What was Dr. Turner’s diagnosis and solution?