Month: April 2023

“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.