Mystique Of A Natural Born Woman...

The current term is “Natural Born Woman”.  The definition….. Well I am not quite sure.  It has come into the lexicon because of the recent conversations surrounding the Miss Universe Pageants.  I do know that I don’t like this current triad as it connotes something that is very superficial and used in what I consider a prejudicial way.

I first noticed this term when Jenna Talackova was initially denied the right to compete in the Miss Canada competition.  This past weekend this term was used again, when the eventual winner of the Miss USA competition, Olivia Culpo, Miss Rhode Island, was asked as part of the interview round "Would you feel it would be fair that a transgender woman wins the Miss USA title over a natural-born woman?"

Natural Born Woman?  What the heck is a Natural Born Woman anyway?  What are the requirements for being classified as a Natural Born Woman, an NBW?  Let’s break this down, as the sports analyst will tells us.

Natural.  Through Dictionary.com we find the first definition is; 1. Existing in or formed by nature.  Ok, so I guess that would mean a person would need to have been created through a natural process of conception and child birth.  Since we do not yet create and birth our population through large tubes or farms where we grow people like plants, I guess we have narrowed this down to every single person formerly or currently living.

Born.  Back to Dictionary.com, my personal favorite.  I find the second definition of this word to be particularly useful in the situation; possessing from birth the quality, circumstances, or character stated.  So once again we come back to being born a human being in this world.  But we add to that, having a quality, a circumstance, or a character of some other stated condition. Part of this can be physical, but most of this is beyond the physical.  It is of the mind or the soul or the essence of who a person is.

If one is a NBW, then the stated condition of this phrase is Woman.  Ah, now we are to the crux of the entire matter.  Woman.  What is the definition of a woman?  What makes a woman a woman?  Guess where I go next?

The first two definitions I find a bit broad or circular in their definition; 1. the female human being; 2. an adult female person.  Definition number 4 is interesting and yet I find limiting; a wife.  So an unmarried person could not be defined as a woman?  By its very nature, the Miss Universe competitions are restricted to unmarried individuals.  Using this definition, then all of the contestants fail the NBW test.

I think definition number 5 gets more to the heart of the matter; the nature, characteristics, or feelings often attributed to women; womanliness.

I intuitively understand what those using the phrase NBW mean.  They are expressing that to be a NBW one needs to have been born with the genitalia associated with a female person.  I think we find in defining the individual words Natural Born Woman, genitalia has nothing to do with being a woman.  It can be part of distinguishing what a woman is.  But really, to limit the definition, the essence of being a woman, to strictly the genitals they were or weren’t born with, in my opinion is very demeaning to all women or any person for that matter.

So we return to the word Woman.  What are these mystical Natures, Characteristics or Feelings often attributed to women?  As a Transgender Woman I can only say how I have “felt”, my “feelings”, and I can say that they have always been in direct conflict with my male friends and family and how they expressed themselves.  These feelings have always been in conflict of the need of society to make me act, dress and look a certain way.  Thus I know and associate my feelings with those of being a woman.

My Characteristics had attempted to be molded by my parents and society to try and define me as the other males we see in society, yet, I never fully acted that way.  I was never able to be that kind of a person in the way I acted.

And my Nature, as I would define it, my inner soul or essence of the person I truly and honestly was born as, has always been what society would define as feminine or female or that of a woman.

Can anyone say that Jenna Talackova did not embody the Natures, Characteristics or Feelings often attributed to women?

In today’s medical and psychological world we now have a much greater understanding and can help individuals like myself to bring the exterior we present to the world in line with the definition that society claims is that of a woman.  Once the exterior is in line with the inner essence of a person can they truly become a Natural Born anything.

So can we now eliminate this phrase Natural Born Woman?  Because those that use this phrase, are not using it in a way that truly falls under the definition of the words this phrase contains and the phrase itself can define a whole host of women!!

Who Saved 2 Billion People?

This is from Chapter 6 of a book called "The Noticer: Sometimes All A Person Needs Is A Little Perspective."  After reading tell me you won't or haven't made an impact in your lives.

 

“While it is true that most people never see or understand

the difference they make, or sometimes only imagine their actions

having a tiny effect, every single action a person takes has far reaching

consequences.

“A moment ago, you and I were talking about particular

people who had accomplished great things during the later

years of their lives. Do you know the name Norman Bourlag?”

Willow shook her head. “Norman Bourlag was ninety-one when

he was informed that he had been personally responsible for

saving the lives of two billion people.”

“Two billion people?” Willow exclaimed. “How is that

possible?”

“Norman Bourlag was the man who hybridized corn and

wheat for arid climates,” Jones answered. “The Nobel committee,

the Fulbright Scholars, and many other experts calculated

that all across the world—in Central and South America, Western

Africa, across Europe and Asia, throughout the plains of Siberia,

and America’s own desert Southwest—Bourlag’s work has saved

from famine over two billion people . . . and the number is

increasing every day.”

“Incredible,” Willow said.

“Yes,” Jones agreed. “Isn’t it? But the most incredible part of

the story is that Bourlag, for all the credit he has received . . .”

Jones glanced around as if to prevent someone from hearing

what he was about to say. “For all the credit he’s received,

Bourlag was not the person who saved the two billion people.”

“What?”

“That’s right,” Jones confirmed. “I believe it was a man

named Henry Wallace. He was vice president of the United

States under Roosevelt.”

“I thought Truman was vice president under Roosevelt,”

Willow said suspiciously.

“He was,” Jones agreed, “but remember, Roosevelt served

four terms. His first two terms, John Nance served as vice president;

his fourth term, Truman; but it was during Roosevelt’s

third term that his vice president was a former secretary of agriculture

named Henry Wallace. While Wallace was vice president

of the United States, he used the power of his office to create a

station in Mexico whose sole purpose was to somehow hybridize

corn and wheat for arid climates . . . and he hired a young man

named Norman Bourlag to run it. So, while Norman Bourlag

won the Nobel Prize . . . it was really Henry Wallace whose initial

act was responsible for saving the two billion lives.”

“I never knew,” Willow said. “Why, I don’t even remember

the man.”

“That’s okay,” Jones replied. “Now that I think about it,

maybe it wasn’t Henry Wallace who should’ve gotten credit

anyway . . .”

Willow appeared startled. “Now, why would you say that?”

she asked.

Jones dropped his eyes to the ground and rubbed his chin, as

if deep in thought. “Maybe it was George Washington Carver

who saved the two billion lives.” Then, his head popping up

again, he said, “You remember him, don’t you?”

“Yes,” Willow answered quickly. “Peanuts. But what does

he—”

“What people don’t know about George Washington Carver

is that while he was nineteen and a student at Iowa State University,

he had a dairy sciences professor who allowed his own

six-year-old boy to go on botanical expeditions every weekend

with this brilliant student. George Washington Carver took that

little tot and directed his life. And it was Carver who gave six year-

old Henry Wallace a vision about his future and what he

could do with plants to help humanity.”

Jones shook his head in wonder. “It is amazing, isn’t it?” he

said. “That Carver could spend all that time with the peanut?

Hours and months and years of work. I mean, the man developed

two hundred and sixty-six products from the peanut—that

we still use today. And then there’s the sweet potato. Eighty-eight

uses he developed from it.” Jones leaned forward, hands on his

knees. “He also wrote an agricultural tract and promoted the

idea of what he called a ‘victory garden.’”

Willow smiled. “I remember victory gardens. We had one.”

“Yes. So did most people,” Jones said. “Victory gardens—

even in the middle of major cities—fed a significant portion of

our population during World War II.

“But with all the time and effort and years that Carver spent

on things like peanuts and sweet potatoes and victory gardens,

isn’t it amazing that a few afternoons with a six-year-old boy named

Henry Wallace turned out to make that much difference!”

“Truly,” Willow said with awe in her voice. “So it was George

Washington Carver whose action saved all those people.”

“Ahhh . . . ,” Jones shook his head. “Not really.”

“What?”

“It had to have been the farmer from Diamond, Missouri.”

Jones grinned as Willow threw up her hands.

“There was a farmer in Diamond, Missouri, named Moses,”

Jones continued, “who had a wife named Susan. They lived in a

slave state but didn’t believe in slavery. Well, that was a problem

for those crazy people who rode through farms at night, terrorizing

what they called ‘sympathizers.’ And one cold winter night,

Quantrill’s Raiders attacked Moses and Susan’s farm. They

burned the barn, shot several people, and dragged off a woman

named Mary Washington . . . who refused to let go of her infant

son, George.

“Now, Mary Washington was Susan’s best friend, so Moses

sent word out immediately, trying to arrange a meeting with

those cutthroats, trying to do something to get Mary and her

baby back. Within a few days, he had the meeting set; and so, on

a January night, Moses took a black horse and went several

hours north to a crossroads in Kansas.

“There, he met four of Quantrill’s men, who arrived on

horseback, carrying torches, wearing flour sacks with eyeholes

cut out over their heads. And Moses traded his only horse for

what they threw him in a burlap bag.

“As they thundered off, Moses fell to his knees. There, in the

freezing dark, with his breath’s vapor blowing hard and white

from his mouth, Moses brought out of that burlap bag a cold,

naked, almost dead baby boy. And he opened up his jacket and

he opened up his shirts and placed that baby next to his skin.

Moses fastened that child in under his clothes and walked that

baby out! Talking to that child every step of the way—telling

the baby he would take care of him and raise him as his own . . .

promising to educate him to honor Mary, his mother, who they

knew was already dead.”

Jones looked intently at Willow who stared back in wonder.

“That was the night,” he said softly, “that the farmer told that

baby he would give him his name. And that is how Moses and

Susan Carver came to raise that little baby, George Washington.

“So there. It was obviously the farmer from Diamond,

Missouri, who saved those two billion people.”

They sat quietly for a moment until Jones raised his finger

as if an idea had just come to him. Teasing, he said, “Unless

maybe . . .”

But then, seeing the tears in Willow’s eyes, he said,

“So you see, madam, we could continue this line of reasoning all

evening. For the truth is, who knows who it really was whose

single action saved the two billion people? How far back could

we go?” Jones reached over and took Willow’s hand. “And how

far into the future could we go, dear lady, to show how many

lives you will touch? There are generations yet unborn, whose

very lives will be shifted and shaped by the moves you make

and the actions you take . . . tonight. And tomorrow. And tomorrow

night. And the next day. And the next.

“No matter your age, physical condition, financial situation,

color, gender, emotional state, or belief . . . everything you do,

every move you make, matters to all of us—and forever.”

“Thank you,” Willow said faintly. “Thank you.”

“And thank you, young lady,” Jones said as he stood. “Thank

you for the opportunity to spend a few moments with you and

rest in such a beautiful spot.” He began walking slowly westward,

toward the canal. “Let’s not rest too long, though,” Willow

heard him say as the evening darkness took him from her sight.

“Time is precious, and you have much to do.”

No Means No..........

If you happened to not have a radio or a TV or not be connected online today, May 9, 2012, there was a tiny bit of news.  President Obama publicly endorsed marriage equality for all citizens.  Facebook posts immediately blew up with the news.  Twitter was twitching like it was having an epileptic seizure.  News sites posted the video segment released by ABC News.

The impact may not be seen now.  However, I believe this is one of those days that will be seen over time as historic.  I am proud to be here to see this and understand its importance.  Yet, the politics behind it all can be maddening.  Are our elected officials not charged with the sacred duty to protect and ensure every single person in this country has the same rights as any other?  Could the President have not stood up sooner and spoke out sooner?  While the answer to both questions is *Yes*, at least now the highest elected official in this country is on the right side of history.  And more importantly on the right side of what is, well, right.

All this came on the heels of the majority of the citizens of the state of North Carolina voting to amend their state constitution to restrict the rights of some of its citizens.  And this is after their legislature passed a law restricting the rights of a segmented group of its citizens to not be allowed to marry the person they love, while others in the state are allowed to.  So once again in this country a group of citizens have now been told NO.  It is not like those LGBTQ people have never been told NO before.  

Maybe it’s time to accept the NO and stop.  Or ……… Maybe, just maybe, NO is just the beginning of NOt Yet!

We probably have all heard the famous story of perseverance of President Lincoln.   He ran for numerous political offices and in election after election he was told NO.  Yet, he continued to run and became, arguably, the most well respected and influential President on our great Union.

How about Professional Football Player Kurt Warner?  He was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 1994, only to be cut later that year.  Kurt played in low paying Arena and European Football leagues.  He also had a job in a grocery store stocking shelves for $5.50/hour.  In 1997 he had a tryout schedule with the Chicago Bears.  But just prior to that tryout, and while on his honeymoon, he was bitten by a venous spider on the elbow of his throwing arm.  He was deemed to be not healthy enough to try out.  Later that year he was selected by the St. Louis Rams to be their 3^rd string QB.  In 1999, he stepped in for the injured starting QB in a preseason game and began rewriting the Rams and Pro Football records.  He led the rams to a Superbowl victory that season and set new passing records for a QB in the Superbowl.

I mean really?  He should have just given into the NO’s long before Superbowl XXXIV in January of 2000, right?

I can give you literally a hundred examples like these 2.   Maybe this Video about not giving up and accepting will speak to you.  It did me.

 So NO, for true and full equality, does not really mean NO.  It simply means NOT YET!  Keep positive and keep sharing your story.  That will change hearts and minds and turn NO and Not Yet into YES!