Covering concepts might assume too quickly that individuals behaving in “mainstream” ways are hiding some true identity. When really they might just be behaving as themselves. For example when a woman is either fixing her bike or fixing her flat tire, there are people who think they are doing this to look more masculine but in reality they are just fixing what is broken. Or even how we dress is a topic of gender performance, there are girls that are just more comfortable in basketball short, it doesn’t mean she is trying to be a male and if she is that’s fine. It isn’t society’s place to tell everyone how to act or what to wear. Yoshino does talk about covering and how it can help people when it needs to but not everyone is covering something up, sometimes that is just how people act. There are a lot of people who do feel the need to cover who they are and how they act, but there are many people that if they are doing something it most likely means that they like doing that certain thing or they are doing it for a reason and not because they are trying to defy gender stereotypes.

It is only when we leave the law that civil rights suddenly stops being about particular groups and starts to become a project of human flourishing in which we all have a stake. Once we stop looking at all the difference that we all have and see that we have so much more in common and start looking for those things will we finally be able to get somewhere. For example there are so many different groups of people and really they all want the same thing, they want to have their freedom and to be heard, so if they were to come together they’d find they have more in common and be able to bind together for that common goal. Yoshino talks about the court cases about how they benefit everyone and not just one person, how there was a case where the courthouse had to be wheelchair accessible, and they were thinking that everyone has the right to access the court so that is why they were in favor. This is true, when we come together and think of the greater good of everyone and not just for the minority or majority of the population, more will come out of thinking this way.

Shame is a lethal public health threat. Shame is at the root of most problems and why we hold onto so many things and internalize them. An example would be when we do something that we aren’t proud of we hold that in and it grows and becomes something so much bigger than it should be. It becomes a monster that we internalize and it’s not healthy. It can lead to many health problems like depression and even suicide. If we were to disembody the meaning of and aftermath of shame many more people would tell their stories. In the end if we allow people to talk about their stories and shame then it wouldn’t be a health problem any more. If we normalize the idea of talking about what is bothering you and it is okay, there would be less people who feel bad and maybe depression would go down because people are talking about what is wrong and others can relate to what they are talking about. It may not totally fix the problem but if shame wasn’t this thing to be afraid of people would open up more.

It take so much courage to speak a story that has been really silent…that making ourselves vulnerable in this way is an act of generosity. When we open up about something we are vulnerable but that is letting others know that it is okay and in a way being vulnerable helps people. Hallward talks about how she started the radio show and so many people talked on it and it wasn’t for them, they said they were on there to help other people. Even telling simple story, you are making yourself vulnerable and opening yourself up to be judged, but if people see that it is okay to open up more people will start to do this. An example would be with the Me Too Movement, there were so many people that spoke up after one person said something. Once one person says something it makes it almost “safe” for other people to say something. Being vulnerable and putting yourself out there to be criticized takes a lot, but you are also helping so many people feel like they can come forward as well so it is also an act of generosity towards those people, because in a way for those who won’t speak up, you are advocating for them.