Your first job this week is to write a 750-word (three-page) essay in which you explain what explicit bias and genderism are. We studied these two kinds of bias last week. Explicit bias is “the conscious process in which we evaluate another person, deem them ‘acceptable’ or ‘unacceptable,’ and then treat that other person according to how we see them. Unlike implicit bias, which is most often unconscious or automatic, explicit bias is holding a clear and conscious judgement about groups of people based on their identity” (The Jed Foundation). “Genderism, or bias resulting from a gender binary view, is a system of beliefs that perpetuates negative evaluations of gender nonconformity” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). In other words, genderism is prejudice against people who do not fit the gender binary of “male” or “female.”
In your essay, you will use “Le Tengo Que Decir Algo” (“I Have to Tell You Something”), a 2023 short story by Amy Mejia, as a vehicle (a way) to help you to explain what explicit bias and genderism are, as Mejia’s story contains a blatantLinks to an external site. example of both explicit bias and genderism in action. In Mejia’s story, Papi deliberately ignores Aunty Cristy for one reason only: she is queer (either lesbian or transgender).
For detailed directions about how to complete this assignment, please access Essay Requirements for “Le Tengo Que Decir Algo.”
Important Note: Amy Mejia is the author of “Le Tengo Que Decir Algo”; she is not a character in her story. Refer to the story’s narrator as the protagonist (main character), narrator or daughter.
Help with Your Essay: Summary & Annotated Outline (Optional)
You can use this model summary of the story to help you to create a summary; do not copy the summary, please–use it as a model. You also have the option of using this annotated outline to help you to structure the essay. Whether or not you decide to use the outline, please study the outline. Via its rhetorical focus, the outline shows you how to apply Aristotle’s logos, ethos and pathosLinks to an external site. to an essay. Additionally, the outline will help you review or learn how to write a variety of paragraphs: short transitional paragraphs and longer paragraphs in which the thesis is supported.
