Precarious and Performative Play Web Paper 3

            I spent a considerable amount of time thinking about how I would go about this project/paper. I was concerned that I would not be able to properly project my thoughts regarding alliances, and “right relationships” and activism. I know many of us, including myself, were moved and motivated by Eve Ensler’s “Over It,” but I was concerned about trying to tackle the issue of rape for several reasons. I was also considering doing some sort of anti-bullying campaign or video, but there are already so many existing alliances out there (www.itgetsbetter.org/, www.thetrevorproject.org/), and they are wonderful resources that offer support and encouragement for queer, questioning, and LGBT youth.

Strengthening a Right Relationship that Should Already Exist

When Jason Landau-Goodman contacted me asking if I could help get Rainbow Alliance involved with the Pennsylvania Student Equality Coalition (PSEC, http://pennsec.org/), I was thrilled. Yes, I (selfishly) thought. This will increase our relationship with other schools in the area, making our events bigger, and more exciting, and allowing us to have successful activism attempts.

Meanwhile, PSEC continued to grow, having strength in the numbers they were bringing in.

When re-examining what Rainbow Alliance was doing, I felt kind of discouraged, and slightly ashamed. Our connections within the bi-co and the tri-co were not that strong (though they have been getting stronger since joining PSEC). Before PSEC we’ve had virtually no connection with Villanova University, a Catholic-affiliated university that is probably facing a whole different range of problems than Bryn Mawr may be facing. I feel that most of the issues Rainbow Alliance have been facing have stemmed from lack of attendance, which is usually due to several events on campus being scheduled on top of each other. In this generation of Rainbow Alliance, we’ve never had to face issues with administration, our events, or event funding. In fact, because we are an affinity group, we get an extra level of support from the Alliance of Multicultural Organizations (AMO).

"I Feel Pretty/Unpretty" -Glee Cast

“Or was there nothing? nothing but an incomparable beauty which she lived behind, and could do nothing to disturb?” – Virginia Woolf

Several summers ago, I was privileged to obtain an internship in New York City working in the Beauty Department of a major women’s magazine. While attending meetings with editors, I took notes on trends and studied patterns that arose for different seasons and makeup lines. Sitting in a closet (literally!) for eight hours each week day gave me a lot of time to research the products that were sent for the editors’ consideration. Within the samples that sent to the magazine were numerous advertisements, marketing strategies, and notes about how to pitch products.

Part of my internship required that I complete an academic independent study once back on campus; I chose to look at how trends in fashion and beauty carried across several other women’s magazines, being that I had first-hand experience working in the area. It’s pretty safe to say the Bryn Mawr fashion is a little bit different than that of Manhattan, being that we’re students and can get away with wearing pajamas or heels to class.

To preface this paper, I would like to note that for the past six months I have been volunteering at an organization which processes newly arrived refugees. It is after a lengthy legal processing and waiting abroad that refugees finally arrive here, where a number of social services are provided. Such services include cultural orientation, health screening, as well as help with welfare, housing, and employment. The organization’s function is not only to help make the initial transition into American life as smooth as possible, but also to help the newly arrived refugees assimilate and become self sufficient in the long term. My particular role at this organization (and what will evolve into the focus of this paper) is the delivery of a health orientation. This orientation is meant to introduce the American health care system and prepare refugees for their health screening. Although it is both helpful and indispensable, it also brings to light structural problems in the refugee/healthcare system which I would like to address:

A few weeks ago, I created a blog post that discussed Bryn Mawr’s policy of case-by-case acceptance of the applications of prospective trans female students for review. Since this post, I have been spurred by the ideas we have discussed regarding creating right relationships: it is not enough to grant rights, which requires one group to assume authority over another, but rather, all groups must be treated respectfully, and with dignity and equality. It is in the spirit of respect, dignity, and equality that I introduce a draft of a Plenary resolution that recommends the unconditional review of applications of prospective trans female students for review by the Office of Admissions.