Adjectives

Do you have a race?
A gender?
A sexual orientation?
A gender identity?
An abled status?
A religion?

When you watch people of your gender play sports in a professional league, is the league's name preceded by an adjective specifying the gender playing that sport?

When you read a story describing someone of your race, does the writer mention hair color first or skin color?

In this country, the generic person is a white man who is straight, identifies as male, and has no disabilities.

This generic person represents fewer than 22% of people in the US. But it is he who is considered typical for medical purposes. He who is considered typical for advertising purposes, he who is considered typical for manufacturing purposes, he who is considered typical for writers of all stripes (including me).

So, an exercise for the reader (h/t my Small Group Communications Professor): Describe yourself using 20 sentences beginning with the words, "I am".

I'll start.

I am a woman
I am white
I am Jewish
I am straight
I am happy identifying as a woman
I am not currently disabled
I am a mother
I am a wife
I am a daughter
I am a sister
I am a (recent) college graduate
I am a reader
I am a blogger
I am a knitter
I am a Democrat
I am a member of several boards
I am a grand-daughter
I am a cousin
I am a niece
I am a friend

Your turn!