Author: Sunny Jenkins

Gone Home and The Riot Grrl Movement

Set in 1995, Gone Home is an understated interactive story game. You play as a young woman named Katie who has just returned home from overseas to find that your entire family is gone, leaving an eerie and deserted mansion for you to explore. Through letters and objects, you string together what happened to your family while you were away and the people they have become.

The part that stuck out to me most was the story of Sam, Katie’s younger sister. With Katie away, Sam, a shy type who relied on her older sister, attempted to make friends. She found friendship in Yolanda “Lonnie”, a JROTC cadet and lover of all things punk rock including the riot grrrl movement. Through a series of notes, it revealed that Sam and Lonnie have developed a romantic relationship. Sam and Katie’s parents are unsympathetic to Sam’s relationship and coming out, deeming it as ‘just a phase.’ Later, Lonnie was sent off to military service leaving Sam heartbroken but Lonnie made a last-minute decision to get off her bus and call Sam to tell her she wanted to be together. So Sam runs away to be with Lonnie just days before Katie’s arrival home, (which coincides with their parents being on a couples counseling trip) leaving their home desolate and in pieces. Sam’s story could be summarized and related to the theme of breaking away. Sam breaks away from her parents, and Lonnie breaks away from the military they both escape some sort of societal/traditional set of rules to be together.

Though I did not have time to personally play the game this week, I may play it over spring break to get the full experience. It reminded me of the original “Life is Strange” video game which I love dearly. Life is Strange is a lot more action-driven but it has similarities in that they both are an eirie-mystery that you have to put together… and both have WLW (woman-loving-woman) romances.

Throughout Gone Home, there are themes and visuals akin to the riot grrrl scene. Firstly, It centers on a woman’s narrative. The story revolves around Sam and you play as Katie; the plot is about as far as it can possibly be from a “damsel in distress.” The game serves as a reminder of the ongoing fight for gender equality and the power of female voices. Additionally, we see acts of rebellion against her parents and societal norms from Sam. She pursues her own interests, disregarding the desires of her parents. Lorde has a great quote about standing alone and transforming what makes us different into what brings us power.

Those of us who stand outside the circle of this society’s definition of acceptable women; those of us who have been forged in the crucibles of difference-those between us who are poor, who are lesbians, who are Black, who are older- know that survival is not an academic skill. It is learning how to stand alone, unpopular, and sometimes reviled…It is learning how to take our differences and make them strengths.

Lorde, 1984. Found in Dill and Kohlman- Intersectionality

It’s not a coincidence that Lonnie is said to be involved in the riot grrrl movement. All that was previously mentioned can be contextualized by their actions. The riot grrrl movement is a rebellious and disruptive feminist subculture founded by female punk artists in the 1990s. The movement challenged societal norms (particularly those relating to sexism), rejected all forms of discrimination, and promoted female empowerment. I think it can be summarized with a quote from the  (1991), “Riot Grrrl Manifesto” “We are angry at a society that tells us Girl = Dumb, Girl = Bad, Girl = Weak.” When learning and researching more about this movement, my initial reaction was basically “where do I sign up?!” The DIY and subversive nature of it all really spoke to me, especially as an artist. It’s definitely a new interest of mine and will continue to research on my own time!

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

After a major health scare, Audrey Lorde writes about the power of language. Pain and suffering are inevitable whether it comes from the visibility of speaking out or otherwise. “We fear the visibility without which we cannot truly live” So why waste your life staying silent when there are so many things to be said? She urges us to speak out and break the silence, turning language into action and action into change for a better humanity.

“And I remind myself all the time now that if I were to have been born mute, or had maintained an oath of silence my whole life long for safety, I would still have suffered, and I would still die.”

“It is not difference which immobilizes us, but silence. And there are so many silences to be broken.”

“Death, on the other hand, is the final silence. And that might be coming quickly, now, without regard for whether I had ever spoken what needed to be said, or had only betrayed myself into small silences, while I planned someday to speak, or waited for someone else’s words.”

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

There were so many profound quotes from these short pages. I just kept collecting them so here are some of my favorites. I made connections to gone home because both the text by Audrey Lorde and gone home share themes of breaking free of something. Lorde, her silence and society, and Sam, her parents… and also society. I also think there’s something to be said about the silence of Gone Home. In moments, the game is eerily quiet. Additionally, there is little to no spoken conversation, just Katie stringing together the pieces.

3 ideas I might want to explore in My Research Essay

• Drag in Arkansas, Bill SB43– Arkansas has a rich history of drag but recently it has been under attack. Bill SB43 was proposed to ban drag in public and for those under 18. If passed the bill would have not only affected drag artists but trans and gender non-conforming people as well. How does this relate to the study of gender?
• Representation in children’s media- Throughout my adolescents I loved watching cartoons. My favorite was the cartoon network show: “Steven Universe”. If you know anything about the show you know that it is packed with LGBTQ+ representation. I genuinely attribute the show to helping my young self understand and accept my own sexuality. This topic would be abundant in cultural artifacts as there is no lack of children’s media I could talk about.
• Gendered housing- Should housing still really be required to be separated by gender? West hall on the UALR campus is and I’m trying to change that. I am advocating for a gender-inclusive living space for artWING residents and so I think this would be a relevant and helpful thing to study. I’m unsure of what my cultural artifact would be besides articles and such but am open to suggestions.

Check-in + Stress Relief

Dr. Londie mentioned ending this blog with a “check-in”; I didn’t realize how badly I needed this until I started writing. Life has been super duper difficult recently. I live on campus about 30 mins from my family and lately, I’ve spent every moment I’ve had to see them. This is partly due to my great-grandma being sick and unfortunately, she passed away last week. It hasn’t gotten much better either because since then, my grandma has been very sick too. This while balancing 2 jobs as a full-time student has been a major weight on my shoulders. Spring break could not come any sooner! This may be a bit personal for a check-in so I apologize, but I haven’t told anyone but my partner and close friends so it feels good for some people to know.

One thing that keeps me grounded and can relieve stress for me is working out. I like to lift weights most every day but just a moment to stretch and walk is also nice. Stress accumulates for me when I feel unproductive, so even if I’m being lazy, taking time to move my body and work on flexibility makes me feel a bit better.

Want to start this blog post off just with a good song that I thought was at least a little relevant to all the reading!

(1977) “The Combahee River Collective Statement”

Keywords: anti-racist/interlocking/liberation

The Combahee River Collective Statement splits black feminist issues into four major talking points. First, “The genesis of Contemporary Black Feminism” where they basically talk about the origin of the movement in the 1960s as well as the personal genesis that takes place within an individual. Secondly, the passage “what we believe”. This could not be better summarized than with a quote: “Our politics initially sprang from the shared belief that Black women are inherently valuable, that our liberation is a necessity not as an adjunct to somebody else’s may because of our need as human persons for autonomy.” They believe sex, class, and race politics are simultaneously experienced. Political-economic systems of capitalism only add to this, and ultimately they fight and believe in the ending of these oppressions. The last two topics, “Problems in Organizing Black Feminists” and “Black Feminist Issues and Projects” are fairly self-descriptive, listing their respective issues.

Ijeoma Oluo (2018), “So You Want to Talk About Race”

Keywords: Race/Harm/ System of Power

She begins this talk by reading the introduction to her book. She speaks on her personal experiences with racism, as well as the joys her community has brought her. She dives deeper by questioning why it is so difficult to talk about race. One of the main reasons why is that we live in a system of power that is designed to benefit some while others suffer and because of that we are denied the tools and education we need to properly identify and dismantle this system. It is intentionally kept vague and hard to describe so we don’t know how to stop it. It’s not that everyone is evil and bad, it’s just that we are put into a system that intentionally makes us want to sit back and do nothing. If we don’t accurately describe the issue then people are more likely to keep failing and keep supporting this system of oppression. The other reason she outlines as “why it’s so hard to talk about race” is that we want this all to be about intentions. We all understand that racism is bad but it’s not just about you being a good person with good intentions. It’s about making an actual political impact.

I specifically relate the stories of her childhood and the racism she experienced with the game: Momo Pixel (2017), Hair Nah

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

Keywords: Differences/ Oposistion/ Fear

“We have all been programmed to respond to the human differences between us with fear and loathing and to handle that difference in one of three ways: ignore it, and if that is not possible, copy it if we think it is dominant, or destroy it if we think it is subordinate” (Lorde Pg. 115)

I love this quote from the text because it really puts our system into words. We live in a profit economy that whats us to reject differences to create minorities and to create a “pecking order.” This specifically reminds me of how wealth hoarders and white supremacists use social Darwinism to excuse their awful deeds. As Lorde said, “history conditions us to see human differences in simplistic opposition to each other.”

Question: Do you think at some point in your life you have been good-intentioned but passive to these issues? Do you feel like you now have the proper tools to be actively engaged to make a political impact?

Keywords: Gender / Spectrum / Multiracial Feminism / Race / Hierarchy

Maxine Baca Zinn and Bonnie Thornton Dill (1996), “Theorizing Difference from Multiracial Feminism”

Women of color have long been pushing back against the oppressive and narrow-minded structure of feminism. Since the late 1960s, they have been vocalizing their exclusion from feminism, their experiences being misinterpreted, and their need to challenge systems of power- not only on the basis of their gender but on all fronts of their oppression. Even though women of color have different perspectives and take different stances on feminism, their goal remains the same- to dismantle existing systems of oppression. Multiracial Feminism is an accumulation of multiple different perspectives from different races developed primarily by women of color. It acknowledges the limitations of traditional feminism and establishes that gender is constructed by multiple systems of oppression.

“Power is the cornerstone of women’s differences. This means that women’s differences are connected in systematic ways. Race is a vital element in the pattern of relations among minority and white women.” (p.327)

The Replacements (1984), “Androgynous” (lyrics)

Another group of people who fought against narrow-minded views was the band The Replacements. In the 1984 song “Androgynous” sings of a couple defying gender roles. The first time I heard this song it was a few years ago and I remember feeling extremely touched. I see myself and every relationship I’ve ever been in within this song.

“Now, something meets Boy, and something meets Girl. They both look the same, they’re overjoyed in this world”

This lyric is playing off the cliche of “boy meets girl” replacing “boy” and “girl” with “something”. Referring to a person as “something” may sound demeaning, but can actually be seen as freeing. It is a placeholder that is allowing you to set your own terms, not abiding by typical gender roles.

Catherine G. Valentine (2020), “The Prism of Gender”

“Most of us cannot remember when we learned gender stereotypes and expectations or came to think about sex, gender, and sexuality as natural, immutable, and fixed. It all seems so simple and natural. But is it?” (p.4)

This paper speaks about how humans aren’t just stereotypes and there are no absolutes or certainties in our preconceived notions of “masculine” and “feminine”. It dives into how gender roles aren’t simply “roles” that we play. Unlike other roles, we play like a job, and we really can’t “quit gender”. Well, as we become more aware of them and understand the prism of gender we sure can try, but it’s so ingrained in our western culture that even if you try to reject them, people will still force them onto you. But in other cases when we defy the gender assigned to sex at birth we are forced to “quit gender”. Or like a job, “leave our gender at work”. This would be like performing as or assigned sex at birth is expected in some scenarios, and expressing yourself freely in others.

As a cultural artifact, I have included a recent picture of myself and will share a recent experience I’ve had. This picture was taken at a protest this past week against the SB43 bill restricting drag. Defining drag itself is very difficult but in short, it would make performances of the “opposite” gender a strictly 18+ affair. Many fear that this will infringe on people expressing their gender the way they want to. This bill only reinforces the western ideas of gender and gender roles. But as we have learned from this text our behavior is flexible, malleable, and constantly changing.

So on that note, I leave you with a question: Why would the government want any sort of jurisdiction over a form of art and self-expression? Why do people in general want to keep systems of “traditional” gender in place?