Exploring Gender Studies Together

“The Prism of Gender” by Catherine G. Valentine

“Men can do mothering; women can “takes care of buisness”. Real people are not sterotypes.”(pg.3)

Keywords: Gender, Sexuality, and Sex

The reading “The Prism of Gender” explains of how gender is viewed throughout society. Valentine goes into detail about this can cause an open door to diversity of human experience no matter the situation. As, I can see exactly by that because in sports there are certain categories where this only made for women or this certain sport is only for men. For example, cheerleading it was looked at as a sport for just women, but now it’s open for whoever wants to be apart of that sport and that is improvement from how it was then to now in society.

Also, Valentine brings more emphasis on the viewing of gender is very complex, and it is because it is not just a simple notion amoung other people. As it said in the text, ” There is no single pattern of masculinity or feminitity.” because roles can be done on either side; as for the term “intersex” it goes very much deeper and it bring conclusion that there isn’t just only just only a certain distinct type when it comes to gender, sex, or sexuality there are multiple and this explains of how it is all complex instead of it being simple to understand about gender.

“Theorizing Difference From Multicultural Feminism” by Zinn and Dill

keywords: Race, Multiracial Feminism, and Gender

From the reading of Zinn & Dill about the differences that women faced of multicultural feminism. It details of how women went thorugh so much and things were so seperated for them especially for their rights. Also, it emphasized much about the multiracial feminism throughout social life being treated differently by privelege from their race, class, and gender this made things very difficult for them. As it says from the reading “Multiracial feminism brings together understandings drawn from the lived experiences of diverse and continuously changing groups of women.” (pg.9) As for this not just of women of color, but women of other ethincities and for the multiracial feminism it shows every woman went through the same thing, and it is making a difference in transformation for society.

“Androgynous” by The Replacements

While hearning this song for the first time, the song is actually him saying of roles of gender are changed or switched. In the lyric it -says “Here comes Dick, he’s wearing a skirt. Here comes Janes, you know she’s sporting a chain. Same hair, revolution. Same build, evolution. Tommorow who’s gonna fuss.” That lyrics stands out to me is because whehter as though they were different clothing from their own gender and it’s reversed around no matter what they still love each other, and they don’t care who approves of them or not on what they do all that matters is that they have each other.

Connections

From all three of things that were talked about in the blog, the ones that connects so well together to me would be “Adrogynous” by The Replacements and with “The Prism of Gender” by Catherine G. Valentine. These two relates so much cause they both talks about how society sees others about gender and the roles are switched.

Questions

What does the song “Adrogynous”by The Replacements means to you ?

Out of the two readings which one did you enjoy reading the most? and Why?

Gone Home Reactions:

As a fan of horror play throughs (although I am too scared to play on my own haha), Gone Home was an interesting experience. It was not a horror game in the sense that there was a monster chasing after you, but it did have a creepy vibe to it, due to the dark lighting, thunder outside, and the antiquated house. I think that this element adds to the overarching theme of queerness. Sam, the sister, was going through a confusing time of adolescence and her identity. This was emphasized by her “rebellious phase” of listening to rock and sneaking out with her first love. This, coupled with feeling unaccepted by her parents, might be why we see the house as this horrifying, creepy place. It just didn’t have the warmth and security of a home because it wasn’t the right place where Sam could be who she is. The theme of home applied to us in a literal sense (we came home and uncover the mysteries) but it also applied to the parents (leaving home to go to couple therapy) because the “home” was breaking apart for them. Lastly it of course applies to Sam most of all, she ran away from the house to be with her true home, Lottie. This game is a lot like the coming out simulator by Nicky Case. The player doesn’t really have an option, as by the end we find out all the events have already taken place and really we are just by-standing viewers. It touched on the similar subject of homophobia (parents stating its just a phase and lover is a bad influence) as well as acceptance through oneself, despite what others believe. To me this game also connects to the newer reading by Audre Lorde in the sense that being true to oneself, or speaking out and rebelling, is the only way to make change. This is why Lorde’s story, despite being silent and complacent for so long, as well as the story in Gone Home, is so important to tell.  

“Tell them about how you’re never really a whole person if you remain silent, because there’s always that one little piece inside you that wants to be spoken out, and if you keep ignoring it, it gets madder and madder and hotter and hotter, and if you don’t speak it out oneday it will just up and punch you in the mouth from the inside.” Lorde pg. 42

This line emphasizes the rebellious spirit that the Riot Girls Movement was about. It is a defiant cry against societal norms, such as patriarchy or in the case of Lorde also heteronormativity. It went hand in hand with art, as it was an expressive movement (music, zine), which we see in the game through cassette players, posters, and writing of Sam.  

Ideas for research paper:

Something that I would like to explore for my project is the feminist art movement of the 1900s, which I am using as a stepping stone for my art project in a different class. I think it might be fun to learn more about it. Another idea is exploring the concept of virginity and how it plays into gender. Possible culture artifacts for the feminist movement are art works by Miriam Shapiro, Judith Butler, Frida Kahlo, etc. while an artifact for virginity could be common tropes in popular media (virginity as a rite of passage, stigma if still virgin by certain age, etc)

I decided to not play the game and just watch videos of other people playing it because I’m not much of a gamer. At first glance it seemed a little boring because it was so quiet and gloomy. What I learned from watching other play is that Katie had just arrived to her parents house and found out that no one was home. When she got there she found a letter from her sister and she had ran away from home and her parents were no where to be found. So Katie has to go all throughout the house to find clues about what happened. Her sister Sam expresses her personality changes through the 1990’s Riot Girl Movement.

A topic I would like to write about is gender stereotypes and how they affect us. Another topic that I am considering writing about is how gender roles affect children.

Something that calms me down and cheers me up is listening to music. Music is a very important part of my life. One of my favorite songs is called “Show Me Love” by Sam Feldt, if you would like to give it a listen.

GONE HOME

This game felt like an extended hide-and-seek. Katie returns home from being overseas and discovers that her family’s lives have changed. Her younger sister, Sam, has gone through several emotions including adaptation, confusion, anger, and even love. For her age, 17, all of these emotions are new to her. As Katie moves around the family home, some materials coincide with Sam’s journey of discovering who she is, and her parents are also going through changes. Change is inevitable and continuous. We will discover ourselves numerous times in our lives.

RIOT GRRRL

According to Western society, women and girls are to be dainty, shy, soft-spoken, weak, and always loving. Deviating from these forced traits is scolded by society. Riot Grrrl is not afraid to be scolded, and their revolution encourages females to live unapologetically.

CONNECTIONS

Audre Lorde’s text incorporates Martin Luther King Jr’s concept of how silence is betrayal. To be silent in times when it could positively impact an outcome is a betrayal to not just others but yourself. Being silent when you know you want to speak your mind is not being true to yourself. Your time on earth could end at any moment, and with your last breath, you will regret the times you did not speak up. Being afraid is natural, but we should not let that fear deter us. The words we choose to speak could be the words others want to speak as well as the words needed to create change.

“I was going to die, if not sooner than later, whether or not I had ever spoken myself. My silences had not protected me. Your silence will not protect you.” (Audre Lorde, 1977, p.41)

The Riot Grrrl movement and manifesto also emphasize speaking up. The accepted societal views on how females should behave are unacceptable. Riot Grrl uses their voices. They seem loud and angry, and that is because they are. Enough is enough when it comes to society trying to dictate women’s every move, thoughts, and feelings. It does not work like that. I will not work like that.

In Gone Home, there are materials placed throughout the home that we can use to conclude Sam has been trying to find herself. Sam is nonconforming to what society believes about females being attracted to only males. She has discovered that she likes her female friend more, and they both feel like they are revolting against what society made acceptable. Sam even has a Riot Grrrl poster and music is played in the game.

 “The future of our earth may depend upon the ability of all women to identify and develop new definitions of power and new patterns of relating across differences.” (Audre Lorde, 1980, p.123)

This quote from another one of Audre Loude’s texts – “Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference” stresses the importance of discovery when it comes to self-identification and gaining power or confidence. As it relates to Riot Grrl, this quote means standing up for what you believe in and not letting anyone take away your voice just because you are different. The world is becoming more diverse every day, and by speaking up, we can create a world that acknowledges and accepts our differences instead of belittling them. With Gone Home, this quote would likely resonate with Sam on her journey for self-discovery.

Research Essay Topics

Topics that I find interesting and could enjoy relating to gender studies include Art and Sports. Women artists (in every medium) are underpaid and underappreciated. The same can be said for female athletes.

Reference

Audre Lorde (1977), “The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action”

Audre Lorde (1980), “Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference”

Kathleen Hanna (1991), “Riot Grrrl Manifesto”

I chose to watch the game, Gone Home. I initially did not understand how the game was played but quickly caught on. It didn’t feel like a game to me. It was more like an interactive audio book. I liked it. There was a lot going on in the game. Dad had lost his primary source of income and had shut down from his wife. He wasn’t talking to her and she was sharing her concerns with her friend. What I did notice is that everyone wrote letters and barely talked. The silence and lack of communication made me think of Lorde’s statement in. Audre Lorde (1977), “The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action”, “And I have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood. That the speaking profits me, beyond any other effect.”(p. 40). Dad wasn’t speaking about what was not speaking about what was important to him. Mom was not speaking of what was important to her. And Sam was not speaking of what was important to her. However, she did talk to her parents (even at the risk of hiving it bruised or misunderstood) after all her parent’s told her “You are not old enough to know what you want!” “It’s just a phase!” It is my belief that a lot of people who live a life differently from the “norm” silently go through what Sam was going through within her home. Sam didn’t quite know what she was feeling initially but she knew it was something different. She knew her parents did NOT understand what she was going through. The parents, as many of us parents are, think that it’s a phase and are in denial about what is right before our eyes. They didn’t want to accept that their daughter was not who they wanted her to be.

When Sam started at the new school. She introduced herself to everyone and told where she lives. There was a crumbled up letter from one of the other students, that made me think of Notes on a Sociology of Bullying by CJ Pascoe. Pascoe says, “Young people get bullied for a variety of reasons.” (p. 90). The fact that Sam lived in the “creepy house” began the bullying but as she and Lonnie began their relationship and Sam stated “everyone at school knows about us” and “Lonnie stood up for her at school” made me think that the bullying continued because of their relationship.

Lonnie and Sam’s relationship made me think of Kathleen Hanna (1991), “Riot Girl Manifesto” “BECAUSE we know that life is much more than physical survival and are patently aware that the punk rock “you can do anything” idea is crucial to the coming angry grrrl rock revolution which seeks to save the psychic and cultural lives of girls and women everywhere, according to their own terms, not ours.”

Lonnie reminded me of Bikini Kill (1993), Rebel Girl and she was Sam’s Role Model from the song. I also felt that Sam and her parent’s relationship was strained and she expressed herself well in her creative writing. Sam’s story of Captain Allegra and her First Mate (Lonnie) made me think of X-Ray Spex (1977), “Oh Bondage! Up Yours!” Throughout the game, there were glimpses of Women heros and leaders and she was fighting against patriarchy.

I thought about when bell hooks said in ,“Feminism is For Everybody”, “To end patriarchy (another way of naming the institutionalized sexism) we need to be clear that we are all participants in perpetuating sexism until we change our minds and hearts, until we let go of sexist thought and action and replace it with feminist thought and action.” (ix). Sam’s writing about Captain Allegra was her way of fighting for feminist rights. Women couldn’t be heroes or leaders.

Sam’s journal entry about “I don’t get Lonnie” was interesting because although Lonnie was rebellious, she was also willing to allow herself to follow the rules and authority to be in the military. For a second, I thought Sam was contemplating suicide because she couldn’t imagine her life without Lonnie and I thought of Sam as a Damsel in Distress but her writing was all about women in Power.

In the end, Sam followed her heart. Sam cared for herself. Audre Lorde says in “Thought of Self-Care as an Act of Political Warfare, “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” She didn’t keep silent, she spoke her truth verbally. Sam spoke her truth in writing, and she followed her heart. She stood her ground. In her creative writing, she showed that WOMEN can be leaders and whatever and whoever they want to be!

I’m not quite sure as to what I am going to research. I am thinking about the Queer Umbrella, Drag Culture, or exploring more about the Damsel in Distress in video games and television.

Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining difference

One quote that really caught my attention was at the very end of the passage which was, “Change means growth, and growth can be painful. But we sharpen self-definition by exposing the self in work and struggle together with those whom we define as different from ourselves, although sharing the same goals. For Black and white, old and young, lesbian and heterosexual women alike, this can mean new paths to our survival.” It is a very powerful quote. Although it doesn’t summarize the passage it was quite an interesting quote. What I believe the main purpose of the passage was to emphasize the harshness that black women go through.

The Combahee River Collective Statement

This passages main purpose was about a collective of black feminists since 1974. It was also about what they believed in, the problems they had, and projects they did.

So you want to talk about race

This video talks about the struggles and the good things she went through in her life.

Connection

The connection I saw was that they each had to deal with black women just in different ways.

Question

Does your race go through any struggles?

After watching Gone Girl on youtube, I enjoyed watching this game’s gameplay. At first, I was skeptical, but it all turned out well. I initially dismissed it because I assumed it was a horror game, but once I realized it was a story-based game with numerous plot points, I was hooked. I wish there were more games like this. I fall asleep listening to the soundtrack when watching it on YouTube. The sweetness and low-point anxiety that slowly rises and then sinks complement each other well. This is an excellent game that surprised me. We need more games like this.

“Riot Grrrl Manifesto” by Kathleen Hanna

“Us girls crave records and books and fanzines that speak to US that WE feel included in and can understand in our ways,” she wrote in 1991 in the Riot Grrrl Manifesto. Because we want to make it easier for girls to see/hear each other’s work. Not only because of its feminist, anti-capitalist politics, the Riot Grrrl movement feels like one of the last true revolutions in rock and punk. As Polyphonic explains in his short music history video, Riot Grrrl was one of the last major events in rock music before the internet. And it’s even more exciting because it all started with women in the punk scene having a right to complain. Bands and their fans were predominantly male, and sexual harassment was common.

Research Essay Topics:

After Brain Storming on different topics, the topics that I have decided to do is to talk about mental health and possibly gender identity. I am thinking about how some people’s gender identity affects their mental health because I know there is a lot to go through. Some people don’t know how to act and bully others because they identify with something they don’t agree with. And doing this can affect people’s mental health because of all the online bullying.

From watching the video game Gone Girl played on Youtube, I really enjoyed watching the video game played as well as the storyline. When I first started watching the video game being played, it kind of gave me a sense of crime solving because of everything being picked up and examined at a closer look and the distressed voicemail left on the answering machine. There was documents, boxes and other items laid out that gave the impression that the house seemed to be abandon at the last minute. As I continued to watch, I started to notice that there was this disconnect between the family that really took a tool on everyone after moving into their new home. However, despite the disconnect and the weird/creepy vibe of the game, Sam journal does offer an interesting yet meaningful depiction of her personal life. The love story between Sam and Lonnie was amazing to watch and see the transformation of their relationship.

Upon reading this week’s reading material, I found one quote that I think really sets the scene when it comes to Sam and Lonnie relationship and the ups and downs they went through. The quote from “The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action by Audre Lorde states that “We can learn to work and speak when we are afraid in the same way we have learned to work and speak when we are tired. For we have been socialized to respect fear more than our own needs for language and definitions, and while we wait in silence for that final luxury of fearlessness the weight of that silence will choke us”. I think this relates to the game because it shows that even though their parents weren’t accepting of their sexuality, their love for each other never stopped growing.

A couple ideas I would like to explore in my research essay would be economics and pay inequity, Reproductive justice and sports. I want to explore the differences and similarities of women and men in these topics and explain ways that we can improve or better society or individuals when it comes to discussing these topics.

Resources:

Lorde, A. (2017). “The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action” (1977). University of Pittsburgh Press EBooks, 302–305. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt5hjqnj.51

Gone Home.

Gone Home game was similar to a book I read in elementary school, I don’t recall the name of the books, but they had videos that went with them that was similar to this game. I ended up watching the game due to me being a little too tired to actually play the game. I expected it to be a story behind the game because of the name I just wasn’t sure of what the story line what it would be. I like the story line of how Katie arrived how and noticed no one was home. She didn’t and couldn’t understand why her sister ran away and where her parents where, so she had to take it upon herself and figure it out.

“RIOT GRRRL MANIFESTO”

In the 1990’s a band was created by Washington State band Bikini Kill and Lead singer Kathleen Hanna. This band was created to show women empowerment to show everyone that women are allowed to do whatever they please just like men are. The Riot GRRRL Manifest stated, ” BECAUSE we are angry at a society that tells us Girl = Dumb, Girl = Bad, Girl = Weak.” I 100% support what was being said right here because men and also the government look at women as weak minded and we are not. Us women are stronger than half of these men.

I only use to play video games as a kid, now I play like building games or candy crush when I have the time but typically, I never do.

Research Ideas

A few more things I would like to research on is why do men feel just because a woman is wearing those type of clothes that she wants him to touch on her. I just hate when people try to blame the rape victim especially because of what she got on.