professormatthewclements

[professormatthewclements]

This particular article sent me on a search for more information and articles around the rules our society places around who should have sex with who and what it means. After reading this article and many others, I was more interested and intrigued by how limiting our society is around pleasure. We are taught to identify SO strongly with our reproductive organs that we end up being controlled by them and what society says they should interact with. When we are able to break free from those imaginary boundaries, we are truly free to enjoy pleasure and an abundance of experiences. This was the first article I read that really made me think how ridiculous it is that we identify so strongly with literally ORGANS in our bodies! It makes NO sense. 

So, yet again, Professor Clements presents material that opens my mind and I am truly grateful. 

[professormatthewclements]

This class has begun to open my eyes to Identity Politics. As embarrassing as it is to say, before the last couple years, I didn’t know anything about the politics of identity beyond racism and gender. A lot of that had to do with my own ignorance, which is the main reason I chose to take this class. Professor Clements’ openness and directness really cut to the chase with certain issues around gender & sexual orientation and how that is a direct influence on how you experience the world around you and how the world tries to experience/influence you. I am grateful for his knowledge and hope to continue that learning progression throughout the rest of this class and my life. He has motivated me to keep searching for new and valuable information and not let my own privileges hinder curiosity about all people. 

[professormatthewclements]

Hedwig and The Angry Itch was the first movie I watched in class with Professor Clements. I wasn’t sure what the class was about (as I had added it 4 weeks into the semester) and seeing this film first was a big hello! The conversations we had in class that day really opened up my mind to what it means to lose yourself and find yourself at the same time. Gender and the boundaries society puts on us are so limiting and Mitchel and Trask really challenged people to step back and think how they have judged or boxed themselves or others into something they wanted or thought would be best. 

[professormatthewclements]

I don’t think I have EVER heard a professor use the word “cock” and I about fell out of my chair when Prof. Clements used it so casually in a sentence. Like it was just another noun that had no derogatory meaning what-so-ever.  You gotta love someone who can say “cock” and “cunt” with a straight face in an educational setting and have it mean nothing other than exactly what it means. HAHA! 

[professormatthewclements]

If more Professors swore....the world would be better! Prof. Clements had me at “Fuck.” 

[professormatthewclements]

With the exception of someone at a local coffee shop or the grocery store that  unintentionally stumbled into the opportunity to meet Professor Clements, I might be the student/person who knew him for the shortest amount of time. I chose to add a last minute class to my school schedule and something told me that QS 304 was a great option. I looked up the professor and after seeing things like “the most memorable class I have taken,” “Professor Clements was easily the best professor I've had at the collegiate level” and “VULGAR. Don't like discussing sex? Prepare to be GRAVELY uncomfortable.” I decided THIS WAS THE CLASS FOR ME! So 4 weeks into a busy semester I signed up for his class. Little did I know 4 weeks later we would all be saying goodbye to the most fun, hilarious, crude and inspiring teacher I’ve ever met. 

Never have I ever come across a professor that offers such in-depth, curious and raw perspectives on individuality. It breaks my heart to think of his words and imagination being forced into another dimension that we cannot access until we too pass to the other side. 

Growing up in a limited perspective community forced me to look for diversity inclusion in my own way. Even though I identify as a straight female woman, I’ve always had a high level of empathy and never understood why some people choose to cast hate upon others. I’ve always wanted to learn more about the LGBTQ community, that many people I know and love live in, and this class has offered me more (even in the short 4 weeks I have been involved) knowledge and perspective then I could have imagined. I deeply thank Professor Clements for accepting my late enrollment and actively connecting with me during and after class. After one class, him and I just chatted about random things for about 10 minutes and I found myself wishing we were in the same room with a hot drink and cookies hanging out, person to person. 

It’s not often that a professor gains respect and admiration from his students just by being who they are. Usually there is a wall or a level of cold professionalism that leaves students feeling “less then.” Professor Clements naturally demanded respect while simultaneously making students feel at home in his “fun house” aura. 

In a way, his precess feels like a dream to me personally because it was so short. Like a dream that you wake up from and it hurts knowing you will never have that dream again. You try to fall asleep the next night thinking of that dream so that you might pick up where you left off, but it doesn't work that way. Dreams like this have brought me to tears. I’ve fallen involve with someone I’ve never met, raised and lost children I don't even have, created something brilliant I’ll never be able to remember, and met a professor I’ll never see again. Like a dream, he feels like a memory in my imagination.

I will think if Professor Clements when I go into my closet and sift through my collection of sequin jackets. If I had the opportunity to meet him in person, you bet your ass I would have worn a sequin jacket to every class just to make him smile.

To his daughter: I lost my father at 16. It is the thing that continues to shape me the most as I live in honor of him. Beyond the tears and the shit times where you will miss your dad terribly, there are memories and laughter that will keep you afloat, and allow you to live in a way that always keeps his spirit around. Although I did not know your father for long, he was clearly a light in this world, and that type of light never dims. Look for him in the little things you do each day and he will meet you there.