Teegan Birch

Hi, my name is Teegan Birch. Im 16, and I come from a small town on the northeast side of Michigan. I am an out and proud fem bisexual man, my interests are Pop culture, Fashion and aesthetics. Through the Identities In literature course, I’ve learned so much valid information that has opened the lenses of my perspective on how important it is to know that we as people who communicate with various dialects, convey one's perspective upon a situation or subject that could negatively or positively have such a consequential affect on someone or something. I've learned through communication that words have power and the tone of how you converse with a peer can dictate a heap of thoughts and possible scenarios could ensue. The general tone of these group discussions that I had with a group of seven, were quite informative and reassuring. We talked on how complicity is a form of ignorance in our society and is a recurring pattern that has plagued how we treat social issues and marginalized minorities, which now has divided our country that we see presently today. We also discussed the topic of identity and how paramount it is when referring to one's gender/pronouns. Morally it’s the respectable thing to refer to the correct pronouns of someone and their identity. It’s also important not to just assume, we can’t just make biased judgments just because some lack diversity and overall perspective of the issue. Having Mitchel as my Teacher during the course was very much so a privilege. He is so intelligent and well versed in what he is teaching. As an out bisexual man I aspire to gain just a fraction of how he carries himself and what he represents in a way that is so influential and candid. Especially seeing someone from my small town do things that help beat stigma and oppressive societal standards that young and older people deal with on a daily basis, it shows to me that representation truly matters. Mitchel helped me understand the overall perspective of what and how it’s like to be a transgender person by reading a book called “If I Was Your Girl” I gained so much clarity of how hard it is, especially when media based propaganda and our global culture is very much influenced by the heteronormative narrative created by white straight cis men. It puts me in a place of empathy for all my queer and POC brothers and sisters that are oppressed by the same threat. Mitchel’s teachings have exposed me to so many important dilemma’s that we as a society need to learn to get through and to have those uncomfortable conversations that most have been sweeping under the rug. The materials I value the most during the course is learning that microaggressions don’t just affect just POC it affects many people who could be labeled as a minority. Another is learning what the lenses are like for a Transgender teen going through a heternormatve written narrative. It really showed relatability and vulnerability that I do appreciate truly experiencing. The level of appreciation I have that I learned about the context of what language is and how it affects the way we communicate and refer to people is something that I will never take for granted and has definitely molded the way I come in contact with people and to people who I am close to. I highly recommend taking this course. You will learn so much on how the relatively informative notions shown will truly affect how you see the real world and what the causes and effects that take place, and what you can do to make it better.