Gender (Articles & Essays)

Preview of the Readings

Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail

Abused and scorned though we may be, our destiny is tied up with America’s destiny.

Before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth, we were here. Before the pen of Jefferson

etched the majestic words of the Declaration of Independence across the pages of

history, we were here.

Henry David Thoreau, Where I Lived, and What I Lived For 

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential

facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to

die, discover that I had not lived.

Richard Rodriguez, Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood 

Memory teaches me what I know of these matters; the boy reminds the adult. I was a

bilingual child, a certain kind — socially disadvantaged — the son of working-class

parents, both Mexican immigrants.

Ellen Goodman, The Family That Stretches (Together) 

So, our families often extend along lines that are determined by decrees, rather than

genes. If the nucleus is broken, there are still links forged in different directions.

Lori Arviso Alvord, Walking the Path between Worlds 

The outside, non-Indian world is tribeless, full of wandering singular souls, seeking

connection through societies, clubs, and other groups. White people know what it is to

be a family, but to be a tribe is something of an altogether different sort.

Robert D. Putnam, Health and Happiness 

Countless studies document the link between society and psyche: people who have

close friends and confidants, friendly neighbors, and supportive co-workers are less

likely to experience sadness, loneliness, low self-esteem, and problems with eating and

sleeping . . . for in study after study people themselves report that good relationships

with family members, friends, or romantic partners — far more than money or

fame — are prerequisites for their happiness.

Dinaw Mengestu, Home at Last

I’ve known only a few people, however, that have grown up with the oddly

permanent feeling of having lost and abandoned a home that you never, in fact,

really knew, a feeling that has nothing to do with apartments, houses, or miles, but

rather the sense that no matter how far you travel, or how long you stay still, there is

no place that you can always return to, no place where you fully belong.

Scott Brown, Facebook Friendonomics 

We scrawl “Friends Forever” in yearbooks, but we quietly realize, with relief, that

some bonds are meant to be shed, like snakeskin or a Showtime subscription. It’s

nature’s way of allowing you to change, adapt, evolve, or devolve as you wish —

and freeing you from the exhaustion of multifront friend maintenance.

Malcolm Gladwell, Small Change: Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted 

There is strength in weak ties. . . . Our acquaintances — not our friends — are our

greatest source of new ideas and information. The Internet lets us exploit the power

of these kinds of distant connections with marvelous efficiency. . . . But weak ties

seldom lead to high-risk activism.