Learning beyond the textbook in gender studies

The issues surrounding gender and identity are complex and multifaceted, and can be seen at many levels throughout society.
It’s not often however, that students have the opportunity to hear a personal account of an individual redefining their own identity in a world where ideas about gender are deeply socially ingrained.

Cate speaking to the class.
Dr Shé Hawke from the School of Sociology is teaching first-year students about gender and identity beyond what they will find in a textbook, through promoting ‘the lived experience’ in her classroom.
Recently, students in Dr Hawke’s class, Sex, Gender and Identity: an introduction to gender studies had the opportunity to hear from Lieutenant Colonel Cate McGregor about her transition from a man to a woman. After decades of feeling like she was in the wrong body, Cate formally announced to her employer the Army in 2012 that she was making the transition, a difficult decision in such a masculine environment.
“I am committed to bringing the ‘lived experience’ into the classroom where possible,” says Dr Hawke.
“As Cate is a friend, I thought this would be a stellar opportunity for the students. Cate was as usual, her erudite and generous self, and the students were genuinely appreciative of her guest presence.”
During the lecture, students were given a quick overview of terminology and theories relating to transgender, before watching the episode of ABC’s Australian Story featuring Cate. Cate has had a fascinating career that has seen her work in the Army, politics, and the media.
She currently works as speechwriter Chief of the Army and long-time friend Lieutenant General David Morrison. It was Cate who wrote Lieutenant General Morrison’s powerful speech telling people in the army to ‘get out’ if they thought the behaviour that came to light in the 2013 sex scandal was appropriate. The speech went, and has now reached over 1.4 million views on YouTube.
After getting to know her story through the documentary, Cate took questions from students.
The students asked articulate questions, making the most of the opportunity to have Cate in the room. Questions ranged from whether Cate felt she’d benefitted from the patriarchy through earlier opportunities she’d had as a man, whether she was a feminist and whether she felt pressure to conform to women’s beauty standards.
Cate answered the students’ questions honestly, earnestly, with anecdotes from her life. An avid cricketer, Cate has represented Women’s Services Cricket at CA level, and was part of the selection panel for the Prime Minister’s XI this year.
Although Cricket Australia as a whole was supportive of her decision, Cate said she had experienced the ‘invisibility’ of being a woman sitting on the Cricket Australia board, which is otherwise all men. She also experienced bullying and harassment through social media, after her story was spread widely in the media in 2012.
Cate never intended for her story to go public in the way that it did, in fact she described her journey as “uncomfortably public”. The opportunity for students to hear from her however is invaluable. In addition to helping Dr Hawke with her commitment to inclusive education, it adds a further dimension to students’ understanding of gender and identity.