EP's blog

After watching the short clip of Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, I started to think about the nature of staring as type of reinforcement of the social norms of our society. People stare what is unfamiliar to them, and those who are considered outside of the what is considered the norm are constantly the objects of staring. While the intention of the starer is probably not to be unkind or rude, the person being stared at can feel that they fall outside of what is considered "normal," thus feeling othered. Through the act of staring (whether it is intentional or not), the norms of society are reinforced through a subtle act. The person being stared at feels as if they do not belong because they do not fit the criteria of what is considered "normal."

One of the major issues in Persepolis is how the views and expectations of women changed in revolutionary Iran as author Marjane Satrapi grew up there. The contrast between the more "liberal" views of her parents and the "conservative" ones of the people like Marji's schoolteacher shows the importance of cultural perspective when it comes to looking at gender. People forget that when coming to understand gender and gender roles in society, you also must consider other factors, such as culture and class. Gender does not exist on its own. Gender exists within an individual, but the roles that come with it exist around the individual. It is important to remember that, when studying gender, one cannot do so effectively looking exclusively through their own cultural lens. It is important to understand gender and gender roles throughout many different cultures.

Reading the comic Fine. made me think about the visual representation of gender. While we discussed "Seeing Gender" in class, we realized that we have a tendency to attach gender to things that don't necessarily require it, such as the written word. A few people said that words like "lilac" were "feminine." This is due to our perception of gender and what it represents. If we assign gender to words, what does that say about what we assign to people? One person in Fine. talks about how they feel like they are not strictly one gender, though people assign them to one based on how they look. People have a tendency to put others in to boxes or categories based on what they perceive about that person (particularly how they look), not knowing that they could be completely inaccurate about it. This is due to people assigning gender to a certain visual representation, much like assigning it to words, even though it could be inaccurate or unnecessary.

My avatar is a picture of a bridge at a nature preserve near where I grew up. It's a very calming and happy thing for me. It was a place to think and not be disturbed by the anxieties in my life. I'm not a very "outdoorsy" person, but there's something about just walking around that I really enjoy. I love standing on the bridge and watching the water rush by. I love seeing what's on the other side and continuing my journey. That's how I view my changing ideas of gender and sexuality. I had a Catholic upbringing and grew up in a conservative community. Gender roles were very strict (even taught in school) and people were very closed-minded about sexual orientation and gender identity. As someone who did not completely fit these narrow roles, it was frustrating. I am now happy to be part of a community that is more welcoming to people of different sexual orientations and gender identities. I've crossed a bridge into a place where I can continue my journey of trying to understand others (as well as understand myself).