The video game Gone Home was a very interesting game. It was a very slow game, but it did hold a lot of emotions. I rarely see video games like this one, so it was interesting to see. I was happy at the end that Katie’s sister was able to go with her girlfriend and be happy.
I had no idea what the Riot Grrrl movement was until this assignment. Learning about them was fun. I enjoyed how they let their true feelings out and their personality felt like it was radiating out of the text as I read the text.
Audre Lorde (1977), “The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action”
Keywords: Silence, Language, Difference(s)
Lorde argues that silence brings about more harm than good. They state how speaking out. The statement that “language has been made to work against us” stood out to me the most as today’s society, people believe it is best to stay silent about certain things despite it desperately needing to be talked about as there are “many silences” that need to be broken (Lorde, Page 43). Language has become something to be feared though it helps set people free.
Kathleen Hanna (1991), “Riot Grrrl Manifesto”
Keywords: Sexism, Girl(s), Revolution
The silencing of voices can be found in both Gone Home, The Grrrls, and the work by Lorde. The way the silencing occurs in the game is from the homophobia that is riddled through it because two of the characters are gay. There are many connections to be found between the two, but these stood out the most to me. In the game, the mother tried to brush off the sister’s sexuality as only a phase. There are many more examples of this throughout the game that is not only from the parents but at school as well. They try to silence her and her girlfriend as they don’t want to accept them for who they are. Language and actions combined were used as a weapon to try to repress the girls and make them conform to what is considered acceptable. In Riot Grrrl, this is also the case. One quote that supports this is, “we are unwilling to let our real and valid anger be diffused or turned against us via the internalization of sexism” (Riot Grrrls). Their voices are being repressed due to the sexism that plagues society and the gender norms that try to constrain them from being who they are and want to be.
Some quotes that connect to this as well:
- “Masculinity and heterosexuality are privileged, while femininity and homosexuality are denigrated.” (Valentine 2020, Page 6)
- “Seven norms of the Western masculinity ideology: Avoidance of Femininity, Fear and Hatred of Homosexuals, Self-Reliance, Aggression, Achievement/Status, Non-Relational Attitudes Toward Sex, and Restrictive Emotionality.” (Yogachandra 2014, Page 4)
Research Essay
- Found Family
- Fandom/Fan Culture
For my research essay, I would like to explore mainly found family dynamics within the LGBTQ community. I like found families as it is a great way to show how anyone can be your family, even if they aren’t related to you by blood. I see gender roles may affect how families function or how they are made. I believe it would be a good fit for the research essay assignment because family is an incredibly important thing. Humans require communities to thrive, and this topic fits that perfectly. Having a family can aid you even in the worst of your days. I am unsure what cultural artifact I would use for it, but I may end up using a documentary, movie, or video game. If I don’t do found family, I will go with fan culture. I am in a lot of fandoms and see various takes on gender in each of them. The culture around fandoms has been built around the shared ideas of people within the fandoms, so it would be a great insight into what people think about gender and things like it. I would use various games and series that have large or small fandoms as my cultural artifact for this.
Your research topics are both so interesting! It would be fascinating to read how gender may influence the groups to which individuals are drawn when trying to create a family dynamic and if the process of creating a family varies too.
I do know much about fandoms so would also love to learn more about them, particularly through a gender lens. Things I imagine you could consider are the construction of the fandoms, the topics addressed, how certain fans interact with each other, and the types of things they post.
I think that both of the topics you are considering could be really interesting. I especially like the first one. I agree with what you said about people needing a sense of community to thrive. It can be difficult having being born into a family that doesn’t really feel like one, so I think expanding on that topic could be nice. The fandom topic seems fun, I have been part of a few in the past and the topic of gender has varied in at least a few.
Great Post! I thought the video game was slow as well, but it did hold many emotions.
I do find your topics for your essay interesting. I agree that people do need a sense of community to thrive, and people tend to look for that in their family even if their family isn’t excepting in their ways.