pipermartz's blog

As I mentioned in class, the Committee of Sleep, is a book discussing "dream incubation" and the various ways of problem solving in your dreams. Some of you might find strong connections to the movie, Inception.

Read this interesting wikipedia article for more information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream_incubation

I stumbled upon this XKCD comic that commented on the series of books titled "Porn For Women" that feature chisled men ironing, vacuuming, and performing various cleaning chores (see photos below). At first, I must admit, I thought it was so clever and witty! Then I was quite horrified and offended because there were many offensive and restrictive implications found in this book. For one thing, it implies that women don't utilize "regular" porn. For another, it suggests that all women want is a nice, muscly, and masculine "stud". And then comes in the topic of housework- how women must be "turned on" when men do the housework. It implies that men don't do housework; that all women are sick and tired of housework; and that the female population has fallen into the stereotypical roles of homemakers and are unsatisfied with their lives. It's all quite appalling. 

 'The Key' on pages 99-102.

I was highly disturbed and transfixed by the story of the magical golden keys that would grant a young boy access to paradise if he was "lucky enough to die." This paradise is supposed to be filled with food, women, and houses made of gold and diamonds.The young boy who recieved the key in Persepolis was just 14 when he was basically told that dying for his country would bring him women and take him to an afterlife that was "better than Disneyland." It reminded me of the Quranic tale of how muslim men are promised 72 virgins in heaven if they die as martyrs. After searching around online, I discovered that a muslim woman is promised one good, satisfying husband. I was displeased with this inequality AND the overall idea of exchanging death to recieve an implied sexual satisfaction from virgins or a perfect husband. 

I also found the image on page 102 really powerful! Contorted, anonymous bodys fly through the air with keys tugging away form their necks. Those poor boys experienced such an intense, traumatizing side of humanity that I would never wish upon someone else. 

Have I questioned my gender enough?
What defines "enough"?
Is being aware of your gender enough?
Is it ever over?
When did it begin?
Why did it begin? 


Gender is the best sex toy!
Toys are the best part of sex!
Sex evolves.
Evolution is essential for change.
Change those toys!
Toys aren't just for children. 

It can be quite surprising to step back for a moment and think- not once, not twice, but many times- about which visual should represent your internet presence. It seems silly to hesistate over such a simple task, but it is difficult to find one image with those implied "1,000 words" that will be the right words you want people to associate you with. How I precieve my avatar will be different than how anyone else interprets my avatar, so maybe my self-satisfaction is the priority in this decision. I can't be sure. 

I ultimately landed upon a very physically distorted, black and white film photograph of a nude woman standing beside the decrepit walls of a presumably run-down building. Our eyes follow the light coming from an unknown source to her left, which bring her body to full attention. But there is a huge, bulbus burn mark on the photograph that completely obscurs her face, her most identifiable feature. She becomes a pair of legs.

As a photographer, I love returning to this photo and finding comfort and frustration in it. The subject's identity is lost in the photo because of a perfectly placed physical distortion. That's how I feel about choosing an avatar because so many aspects of my life, my identity, and myself as a being become invsisible the moment I actively single out one image to represent me in a way that I hope others will precieve me. This selection process dilberatly manipulates, distorts, and limits how the public views us.