Free Essay On Sexuality/ Gender Autobiography

Saudi Arabia is a land where religion is set on the pedestal and lives are governed by the norms and regulations of the holy texts. As it is known to the entire world, Islam is interpreted as quite orthodox in its approach toward life and the Muslims live a life of discipline and sanctity. I was born in a household where I found much love from my parents. I remember the early days of my life when I used to play with my elder brother at home with the toys. Childhood is the time of the construction of one’s gender. Interestingly, we as grown-ups hardly spend time to comprehend the forces which were instrumental in shaping our identities. In retrospection, I believe my personal sphere at my home, the influences of the society and the lessons which I received from formal schooling have all had huge contributions in the construction of my gender identity.
The Islamic society is critiqued for its patriarchal structure and how the male dominate over the women folk of the society and propagate their supremacy. In an average Muslim household, the males are supposed to be grown as the superior ones in the family and they are supposed to be ‘manly’ and protective of the women. The women, in contrast, should remain behind the veil of the burqa and would be taught to leave no stone unturned to preserve her dignity in the face of the baleful world.
I remember my father indoctrinating in me the responsibility of protecting my cousin who was older to me by two years. I used to feel very protective of her and believed that her respect and dignity was the paramount thing for me to guard as her brother. This was a defining thing for my gender as I started feeling that I should be strong enough to be able to look after my cousin. In retrospect, I believe this made me stronger as an individual and it was a stepping stone toward being masculine.
However, my father being a progressive Muslim never made me feel that women were inferior to the male folk of the society. He always said that women were actually capable of doing a lot of things better than men. However, in the Islamic society, I now believe, the concept of feminism is quite different from that of the West. Although I came to understand of my responsibilities as a male member of the family, I never did that my subjugating the female members.
The orthodoxy of the Islamic society and the lessons of my religion and the societal institutions have not been able to influence me in any way to despise of homosexuals. I met this person in my educational institution. He was gay and in a relationship. I believe that it is a matter of personal choice and in no way can a person be ascribed the right to oppose homosexuality and look down upon homosexuals. I believe that one can only have a proper identity of gender and sexual orientation if that person can respect others for what they are.
I remember of hearing about the atrocities against women by cruel men of the society in my teenage. I used to get infuriated by the brutality which was meted out to the women. I came to believe in the concept of ‘man’ who would actually respect all women and would not exercise the supremacy of his physical strength and take the privileges of the patriarchal societal order to oppress women folk in any way.
I remember how in our schools we would be taught about the tender nature of women and the machismo of the male folk of the society. It was indoctrinated in our young minds that males are stronger and the women should always guard themselves from the evil of the society. It might be so that this formal structure of making the children learn propagates patriarchal practices in some way. However, in my mind I was very clear owing to the influence of my father and other members of the family that although the two genders were to perform different gender roles according to the norms of the society, every human being was equal.
I am a male, masculine and straight, but not at the expense of marginalizing the female, feminine or the homosexual. I have my own sexual identity and am proud of it. Still, I am sincere enough to respect every other individual irrespective of his or her sexual identity or gender.