ruschka's Journal

The gathering information part of my research process has been very informative! It is great to know that there are so many women who feel exactly as I do. It makes the world a little brighter and my load a little lighter  

I have posted the same discussion topic in various support groups: pcos, hysterectomy, breast cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer. I sought out a few groups dealing with woman issues on the premise that a woman's body is vital to her identity and when something happens that affects the normal alignment of the body, the woman's feminine identity would be affected.

However today I realised that it was not just women who shared the feminine identity, but also men who identified as women, such as intersexed and transgendered people. This opened a whole new area to think about: what makes a woman, who decides whether you are woman enough, and by what standards... was sex and gender mutually exclusive, did having a uterus make you more of a woman, if your cells were abnormal were you genetically less of a woman than any other woman.... did biology even matter when it was possible for a man's body to betray his inner feelings of identifying as a woman.

Regardless of all variables, we have the common bond that our bodies betrayed us in various ways, and each of us is learning to deal with it. The stories of dealing with and negotiating femininity in the context of reproductive issues so inspired and motivated me.

Everyone is so willing to share and I am very happy with the posts that have been coming in response to the forum threads I have created. With all your help I am well on my way to realising my goal!