Fashioning the Body: Versions of the Citizen, the Self, and the Subject

1. How do binary ways of thinking about the world shape one's understanding of the three major themes involved in this program?

Rubric:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the term binary. Know what the three major themes of this program are. Be able to discuss in detail the relationship between the citizen, the self, the subject and binary modes of thinking about them. 

Question:

2.Does the method or medium in which different ideas are discussed effect how they are recieved or understood? Please discuss your reasoning and give an example. (You are not limited to one example. The more the merrier!)

***For example: Gender and identity are concepts that we have explored in several different manners, such as film (Southern Comfort) performance (127 Easy Steps to Becoming a Man) and many our readings (My Gender Workbook, The Technology of Gender).

Rubric:

2. Know how to distinguish difference in medium. Exhibit an understanding of the materials that they are discussing. Stay away from hollow or lengthy quotes. If employing quotes really break them down and give them purpose.

Question:

3.Kate Bornstein, in My Gender Work Book describes a gender/identity/power pyramid that is constructed to demonstrate a function of power in which the perfect gender would claim the top of the pyramid. How does the pyramid help or hinder your understanding of the gender/identity/power system?

Rubric:

3. Clearly display an understanding of the reading. Be able to express this understanding in connection with a sound estimation of the purpose of the pyramid and its power relations.

(with a little Bertolt Brecht)

Through two very different modes of teaching Bornstein and Schofield discuss issues of gender, identity, and power in an interesting and involved manner. In order to better understand why each chose to fashion their lesson plan the way they did I created an exercise similar to ones in My Gender Work Book and I built a fort! Each had created difficulties within my analysis because of time constraints but in the end enriched my understanding of the reasons behind their decision to utilize their chosen medium.

Schofield's approach was to bring his audience into a space that was comfortable enough to discuss sensitive issues in a humurous way by inviting the audience to participate in the experience. By means of building a fort in which to perform Schofield took control of our general expectations for the performance's outcome. By inviting his audience to participate in the action he added a little bit of unpredictability. In building my own fort I learned that when you invite others to join you it only adds to the experience and brings up things you may have never thought up on your own. On the other hand, you are inviting them into a space that you own because you created it. That ownership gives you license to guide the discussion any way you see fit. Schofield's detailed examination of his own gender offers up a unique understanding of gender and identity. In an interview on the topic of his performance he says: "Transbodies can do things that other bodies can't...When I take off my clothes...I go from being this cute young man to an adult female to both of those things and more in a single moment. To me it's the moment of beholding a human body that contains so many complexities that really drives it home. Of course not every queer theorist wants to get naked to prove thier point!(homofactuspress.com). His comfort or willingness to put himself into a pretty vulnerable situation is assuring to the audience and creates a sense of intimacy while shocking them into thoughtful consideration of his story. From my own experience with fort building I found that the structure of the fort became something of a conductor in the sense that it allowed conversation and ideas to pass through. In view of this experience Schofield's performance becomes the tangible version of this particular type of conductor.

"Discourse" would seem to be a rather simple and easily defined word. In the context of Foucault's The History of Sexuality, it is not. Wading through the murky waters of Foucault's alternative word meanings has been mentally exhausting. However, I found an enlightening bit of information in the Pocket Oxford English Dictionary; The definition of the word "discourse" reads:

"Discourse: 1. Written or spoken communication or debate;2. A formal discussion of a topic; 3. to write authoritatively about a topic."

It goes on to describe the latin origin, "discursus," which means, "running to and fro." Visualizing the movement is what brought me a better understanding of Foucault's usage of the word. Discourse is a mobile term; it shifts and is molded by Foucault's writing style. Throughout the majority of the seventy-three pages I have read so far, Foucault utilizes the word discourse to describe the ongoing discussion of sexuality. Early on he informs the reader that, "...the essential thing is the existencein our era of a discourse in which sex, the revelation of truth, the overturning of global laws, the proclamation of a new day to come, and the promise of a certain felicity are linked together"(7). This tells me that discourse, as he describes it, is a movement of human sexuality, bringing it back to the place it once held in the seventeenth century. This is where he begins his discussion of this particular topic. At this time, he says, "Codes regulating the coarse, the obscene, and indecent were quite lax compared to those of the nineteenth century"(3). All of which describes discourse as it moves throughout time.

In the nineteenth century sexual discourse became a "screen-discourse"(53). In this form of discourse one had to become selective when speaking about sex or sexuality. The language chosen or not chosen was of the utmost importance.

I am a pretty chill, motivated and disciplined person working on discovering the deeper relationship between people and culture as it relates to images, sound and popular culture with an emphasis on blues and jazz because they are the basis of contemporary forms of music. So looking at this from a historical point of view is key. I have a great deal of experience in research. Gathering infromation is an essential part of this project so I'm looking for someone open to new ways of researching. Of course there are the typical trips to the library and whatnot but I'm looking more towards going out into the world and experiencing it as I learn more about it.

I grew up in a house full of women who would be considered "Tom boys" because we were all raised by our two older brothers. This is the order of things: Sam and Joe, the two oldest brothers and then the girls Grace, Mattie, Sharon, Cerise, Manoknae, and Hotahae. These progressivley unusual names correspond to how crazy our mother was becoming. My youngest sister, Hotahae, has this theory that goes a little something like this: Our mother having given birth to ten children and having eight of them survive had a lot of herself drained from her body. Everything that was drained was very unsystematically gifted to us, her children. The oldest got the cream of the crop, the common sense, responsibility, basically half a brain. The younger ones on the other hand had to take from what was left, the CRAZY. 

Because the older siblings were in better shape than us young ones they had to deal with our crazy by trying to evenly distribute our mother's good and bad attributes. An undertaking of this sort is bound to take time so until we have come to some kind of agreement on which parts of our mother go to which of her children we are bound to live a life full of drama. My two younger sisters and I have a miliion and one theatrical performances for me to choose from so I will try and pick one of the most memorable...

 

In Portland there is this mass transit light rail system called the MAX. Recently I went home to visit and I was riding with my younger sister, Hotahae, on a very crowded train because it was the red line to the airport and people had all kinds of luggage stuffed everywhere. Anyways we came to a pretty abrubt stop and Hotahae fell on top of this womans luggage and she got really upset and was accusing Hotahae of falling on her things on purpose and started calling her names. She hollered out racial slures, often informing us and the other MAX passengers that she was an American citizen, and told my sister to go back where she came from! (this last part was quite ludicrous and kind of funny because our family is Native American).