Reflection on Stories

All three of these stories had very different subject matter which was very interesting to learn about. Never before have I read stories concerning Jewish people or transgenders. Prior to these readings the only thing I knew about transgenders was what I had seen in movies, and the only thing I knew about Jewish people was what I had learned about in the Holocaust. In the first article when I read the word "Jap" my initial thought was the Japanese, but I was surprised to learn that in this text Jap stood for, Japanese-American Princess. This phrase was something that I was very unfamiliar with and did not realize how common it was among the Jewish community. I was also unaware that Jews were stereotyped as being wealthy and good with money. The most intriguing story to read about was "To Be Poor and Transgender" by Kai Wright. This topic was something that I did not realize to be so prevalent in today’s society. Perhaps the thing that stood out the most was the fact that these people had to first go to therapy, and then be declared insane, before they could undergo a reconstructive surgery. No one that gets plastic or cosmetic surgery has to go through all of these steps before they are given permission to have the surgery. So why should transgender people be any different? There are complications and risks concerning both situations. The third story really made me think about the world we live in and how certain people are privileged in ways that others are not.
Each of these authors uses ethos, logos, and pathos to get their point across and tell their story. Logos are used, like the statistics about the percent of transgenders that are unemployed, and the facts regarding the Jewish community. The last story by Peggy Mcintosh uses a great deal of ethos due to her personal accounts of being involved in women's studies. All three of these stories appeals to the emotions of people, depending upon what interests the reader. The story about Japs appealed to me becuase it discussed how Jewish women put down each other, which is a form of self hatred. This is something that happens in every culture and every race. People put down others just to make themselves feel better.