Jake in Transition

Jake in Transition

The following essay is in response to the Jake in Transition exhibit which displayed the many psychological and physical stages Jake went through to change his gender from a woman to a man

The artist of the exhibition demonstrated different stages of Jake 's transition from female to male . As the artists discussed in his interview , he felt awkward ' at first when photographing Jake . This awkwardness is to be expected , society has socialized us to feel certain ways about gender , creating stereotypical feelings . Since the time an individual

is born , they are taught by society what is expected of them as either a male or female . However , in some cases such as Jake 's , some individuals are born one gender and feel as though their gender is a wrong fit . In Jakes case , he was born a female but was so uncomfortable in his own body that he felt he had to physically change it to a male body in to be comfortable . I believe Jake felt the need to conform to society 's gender `norms his body was female but he felt he did not demonstrate typical female attributes as depicted by society . Jake went to extreme measures to conform

Jake discussed how he felt being a woman , his fear of being considered a freak ' because he was trapped inside a woman 's body with the mentality and tendencies of a man are a result of society 's ideology of gender roles . Jake went against this ideology when deciding to take surgical measures to become a man

Jake demonstrates his natural ' male instincts after his surgical procedure when he marries the woman he loves . Other activities he enjoys , such as , horse riding and playing the guitar are not typically attributed to either gender as both men and women enjoy partaking in such activities but Jake however feels these are masculine activities

The exhibit displayed Jakes surgery photos , which caused me antagonistic feelings at first . I had not expected to be effected by this , breast surgeries are broadcasted on the television daily . Jake however , was removing her female identity , I am still unsure if this is a personal feeling or one that I have been trained by society to believe is wrong . I am leaning towards the latter , since I can not identify with Jake 's unhappiness with his born gender . I can not say I agree with changing ones gender through surgery . I do however understand Jake 's need to share his experience , in hopes to find acceptance in a society with such rigid gender norms

I question the underlying factor that caused Jake to go through such extremes as to remove all traces of femininity . I feel there must have been a deep resentment of his female body for him to go against nature and wipe out his female gender . If it were just a matter of sexuality that Jake was attracted to females , I doubt it would have led to him getting surgery...