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Yes, I felt like the statements created binaries in saying men are one way and women are the opposite. This same idea exists in terms of the Latinx culture. In regards to my family, the men provide for the family and the women stay at home. My uncles work in construction. They may have between two and seven children, and like the Chinese culture the mother are responsible for the education of their children. In contrast, the first generation Mexican-Americans follow different paths, from getting pregnant and married at a young age to go to college and financially supporting themselves. With this next generation, I feel we are somewhat breaking the cycles of oppression. In my perspective having these binaries are oppressive, because it does not allow people to be who they want to be.

I also agree with the statement you made about self-awareness and meeting our own needs without external validation. I feel that we don't need others to validate our existence. We are enough as a single person. Our value does not come from others, but we are taught that it does. Everyday, I strive to teach my students that value comes from within and not from others. Society has taught them that they need others to "complete" them, but that is not true. I believe that by showing my students that I travel and I am living life on my own terms will give them a different perspective of how life can be. Ultimately, students need to be shown different perspectives of life, so they can choose what they want for their lives.