Is there such thing as a woman?

Is a woman born or made?  It must take deep thought to dwell on what it takes in order to call oneself a woman. Caitlyn Jenner's name has been brought up in recent times when regarding transgender women.  In a Vanity Fair interview, Caitlyn Jenner discussed how she feels spiritually after undergoing the process of switching from being a man to a woman.  Caitlyn states, “I’m just going to go live life, I’m going to go enjoy life. I have nothing left to hide. I am kind of a free person, a free soul. It’s a wonderful feeling to go through life. I’ve never been able to do that; it’s always been confusion, it’s always been, you know, I’ve got one side [with] boy clothes, the other side’s women’s clothes.”  Caitlyn is a prime example of someone who was not able to express their true self in the body that they were born in.  

This ties back into the opening question because it shows us that in certain situations, a woman can be created just as a caterpillar is formed into a butterfly.  Being a woman is not always a strict ‘gender’ but instead a spiritual awakening in which the person wants to express its femininity in such a way that requires a total change in life.   In The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir, we get a controversial view on the opening question. de Beauvoir believes that women have caused their own oppression because they have to reassure themselves through their actions that they are a 'woman' while men do not reassure themselves that they are indeed 'men'.  de Beauvoir also believes that a woman is made through her upbringing and teachings, such as the case of Caitlyn Jenner.  A transgender is a free spirit that can be brought up through any type of sexuality.  Another reading, titled The Transfeminist Manifesto, explores the power of the feminist communities and their ability to help transgender women feel at peace with themselves.  

The author Emi Koyma states, “Trans-feminism believes that a society that honors cross-gender identities is the one that treats people of all genders fairly, because our existence is seen as problematic only when there is a rigid gender hierarchy”.  This statement describes how our education regarding male dominance is the only thing that steps in the way of accepting trans gender women.  Being a woman is not comparable to a line drawn in sand.  It is a way of life and is dependent on your upbringing and values.  This is not a blog advocating any gender to be better than the other, but rather trying to show that gender is not only subject to a person’s body.  Through the articles and interviews, we can see that there are no predetermined roles regarding men or women.  Being a woman or even being a man for that matter is only an issue when society keeps it a relevant topic to debate upon.

 Beauvoir, Simone De. The Second Sex. New York: Knopf, 1953. Print.

 Bissinger, Buzz, and Annie Leibovitz. "Caitlyn Jenner Talks About Life After Procedure." HWD. Vanity Fair, 2015. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.

 Dicker, Rory Cooke, and Alison Piepmeier. Catching a Wave: Reclaiming Feminism for the 21st Century. Boston: Northeastern UP, 2003. Print.