#writing analysis: challenging toxic masculinity

[renniejoy]

"A data-driven deep dive into a legendary comics author’s subversion of gender norms within the bestselling comic of its time. By the time Chris Claremont’s run as author of Uncanny X-Men ended in 1991, he had changed comic books forever. During his sixteen years writing the series, Claremont revitalized a franchise on the verge of collapse, shaping the X-Men who appear in today’s Hollywood blockbusters. But, more than that, he told a new kind of story, using his growing platform to articulate transgressive ideas about gender nonconformity, toxic masculinity, and female empowerment.

J. Andrew Deman’s investigation pairs close reading and quantitative analysis to examine gender representation, content, characters, and story structure. The Claremont Run compares several hundred issues of Uncanny X-Men with a thousand other Marvel comics to provide a comprehensive account of Claremont’s sophisticated and progressive gender politics. Claremont’s X-Men upended gender norms: where female characters historically served as mere eye candy, Claremont’s had leading roles and complex, evolving personalities. Perhaps more surprisingly, his male superheroes defied and complicated standards of masculinity. Groundbreaking in their time, Claremont’s comics challenged readers to see the real world differently and transformed pop culture in the process."

[musicarenagh]

"It’s a Cock Show, Basically” – Joudi Nox Talks Toxic Masculinity in Her Latest Track When it comes to speaking frankly Joudi Nox avoids any form of hesitation. Through her music Joudi Nox uses fearless honest statements to express hidden truths that others typically avoid addressing. This latest musical release HOWTOBEAMAN (pt.1) exposes toxic masculinity through satirical analysis of irrational social rules which define male conduct. The song combines stripped-down trap instrumentals with autotuned vocals to deliver precise lyrics that reflect its targeted subject matter ironically. Through her direct observation of male interactions in her social group for many years and personal life experiences Joudi crafts her artistic expression. The initial segment of HOWTOBEAMAN (pt.1) surpasses conventional critique because it delivers a strong declaration. The track accomplishes both therapeutic release and social provocation because she uses cutting insights to decode social norms through her unapologetic sincerity. The unapologetic songwriting techniques and production methods of Joudi find their fans among Billie Eilish, Lorde and Tate McRae listeners. Joudi takes a seat to discuss the motivation she had for the track and the artistic challenges she faced while creating its message as well as preview what "(pt.1)" represents for her musical future. Joudi Nox uses her music as more than a musical medium because she creates conversations through her songs. The new voice emerging in the musical landscape will challenge established norms without hesitation. Listen to HOWTOBEAMAN (pt.1) https://open.spotify.com/track/5OL0lKgoaqFAGWHEkkCTjo Follow Joudi Nox on Facebook Twitter Spotify Soundcloud Youtube Instagram Tiktok   "HOWTOBEAMAN (pt.1)" is an intriguing title. Can you walk us through what inspired this track and what the "(pt.1)" suggests about your future plans? I wrote this song after being part of a friend group that mostly consisted of boys and I watched them over the years follow a set of rules that seemed ridiculous to me. One day I decide write all these rules down like a rule book on how to be a man, all the hypocrisies, all the absurdness, all the toxic masculinity. I originally wrote a 4-minute song but the second half felt out of place so I decided to split it into two parts. How would you describe the sound and feel of "HOWTOBEAMAN (pt.1)" to someone who hasn't heard your music before? It sounds like a bitch face or a frown. It sounds like the face I and many women I know made when the guy they’re out on a date with says the one thing that reminds us that after all he’s another boy, another follower of the HOWTOBEAMAN rulebook. It’s punchy but lowkey. It’s bassy and dark like the reality of being around a lot of men these days. It’s an in-your-face beat and vocals that sound disappointed. Was there a specific moment or experience that sparked the creation of this single? Well, years ago I was hanging out with this guy every day. We called late at time every night, we go on dates so I develop feelings. I confess, he says he feels the same. The next day he changes his mind and wants to stay friends. The dramatic person that I am goes to class pissed off, fed up with all the twisted rules boys follow. I begin writing down all these rules I learned from that boy and all my guy friends. I was fed up that the song was on paper in less than 3 minutes. I rushed home after class to produce it because I knew exactly what the bass should sound like. What’s funny is that this guy still to this day unaware that this song is about him and our friend group. [caption id="attachment_59090" align="alignnone" width="2000"] Well, years ago I was hanging out with this guy every day. We call[/caption] The title suggests an exploration of masculinity. What aspects of manhood are you addressing in this track? I’m addressing the things a lot of men prioritize in their lives over healing, emotional maturity and empathy and then label that masculine.

I learned that from my previous guy friends that even though we’re all friends, they don’t bond and don’t help each other emotionally most of the time. For that specific friend group, I noticed an undertone of competition a lot. Everything they do is not for their own fulfillment but for some competitive end, either getting more women, being more fit, having a better career, a nicer car, a longer ding dong…etc. Everything is a cock show basically. The song points out this unhealthy logic that they follow. What was the most challenging part of creating "HOWTOBEAMAN (pt.1)"? Being satisfied with the final version. The song went through a lot of tweaks and edits and then went back full circle to something similar to the original version. I learned to trust my production instincts and just let things go and improve with the next release. What was your songwriting process like for this single? Did the lyrics or the music come first? The lyrics definitely came first. The bass line even came before the melody. I just wrote things down and my brain kind of had an idea how things will sound like but I couldn’t hum it loudly like I usually do because I was in class lol. I rush home, turn on my mic, and hit record. It just happened. Most of my best songs come out as a combo when I write them, the lyrics and music come together as if I’m remembering a song that’s not been created yet. Did the final version of the song end up close to your initial vision, or did it evolve significantly during production? I knew how the bassline should sound like but I was a broke music technology student at the time and didn’t have the diverse sounds and skills that I have now to produce it exactly how I wanted. About a 3 years ago I play the old demo to my best friend who, after listening to it, wanted it released while I almost forgot the song existed. So when I reopen the session and work on it again I improve on the quality of the demo and trust the direction of where the song is taking me because in a lot of moments I paused and was like “that’s now the genre I usually make music in” but I didn’t care. I’m happy it turned out the way it did because now I’m more confident to release more music like that. How does "HOWTOBEAMAN (pt.1)" reflect your own journey or perspective? I’ve always been the blunt friend who points out BS when she sees it. Over the years, life knocked me down multiple times that I kind of lost that part of myself. So when I dig HOWTOBEAMAN out from the pile, I hear my old self being a baddie, so unafraid to be herself. It woke me up. I knew I had to release it because it would mean I get to claim myself again. I get to define my artistic style and pave my path and build my brand. How does this track fit into your broader artistic evolution? In the past few years my style was lost and I was no longer listening to music as often as I used. I had be comfortable with myself as a person and artist. I let myself listen to music from my Arab culture, Egyptian rap, Palestinian indie pop, but also indie singer-songwriter music like Gracie Abrams, and Nessa Barrett. I took a few steps back and wondered what my style was and the answer was all them. HOWTOBEAMAN is the first time I use Arab beat and instruments from my culture but also pop bass, singer-songwriter lyrics, and hip-hop style production. This song paves the way for what Joudi Nox truly sounds like. https://open.spotify.com/artist/3kUxoLycgkvz1B5cYH4tFh?si=clvdEhpLTs23S6KL8MqzHQ Is there a particular lyric or moment in the song that feels most significant to you personally? In the second half of the second verse; “Never be close to him ‘cause that shit’s gay, and tell that random girl passing by to suck your D”. I think it’s the one I resonated with the most when I wrote it down, I was like ‘damn that’s a good line’ because it calls out how a lot of male homophobic cases come from closeted men. On the other hand, it calls out how they don’t get close to each other as friends

because they think it’s “gay” and that shows how insecure and unhealed some men could be that they don’t understand that being vulnerable has nothing to do with sexuality nor feminine things, it’s for everyone. The line after that proceeds to expose the absurdity in their actions by how they make women uncomfortable with their cat-calling. The overall umbrella of this verse is to showcase men’s chaotic behaviors in society the come from deep rooted insecurities. Can you give us any hints about "pt.2" or other upcoming projects? Who says pt.2 exists? But if it does, it would probably be bolder and darker, hypothetically speaking of course. Maybe even a faster beat? We’re hoping to release more music for this year that would lead an EP. Something coherent and defines the sound of Joudi Nox. I hope that I can provide cathartic relief through my music to my fans. I may not be the friend that you can speak about your ex to over and over again because I’d probably tell you to shut up, but I’ll take you to break things or punch something to let it all out or we can take revenge on your ex, I’d be happy to help.

[itstimetowritecl]

OFMD - Use of Thematic Elements That Challenge Toxic Masculinity

I recently finished Our Flag Means Death, and while there are a plethora of things that I could highlight from the writing perspective that are positive, what really stands out is OFMD’s constant, subtle ways in which it challenges toxic masculinity and as byproduct, what it means to be a man.

What made OFMD stand out to me was the manner in which it subtly challenged toxic masculinity by using strong narrative techniques interwoven into the plot and character development. Below are four main execution examples of how the writers did this - casting, character development, scenery dialogue, and limiting the heteronormative lens.

Diversity in Representation - Through Casting Choices

There is diversity in body types and racial representation within the OFMD crew, and not those that simply meet the ‘ideal man’ that we often see in fantasy pirate shows. Many of the cast is queer and deviates from said ideal man. For example, men with larger body weight and/or softness to their bodies are not used for laughs and are allowed to have meaningful roles and relationships, such as Oluwande, a larger-sized black man who has blossoming relationship with Jim, and is seen as a competent, loyal crew member who is capable of handling any situation you throw at them.

We also see this in the queer identification of many characters, going beyond black and white definitions of either you are straight or not. Jim, who uses they/them pronouns in the show, is a great non-binary representation since they don’t fall into the typical stereotypes in media regarding non-binary people, instead is a dynamic character who is not defined their sexuality and grows in their development in their quest for revenge. Jim starts to unravel their desire for revenge as their initial desire to kill wanes over the season as they open up and show vulnerability to others.

By the way, the crew’s queerness is also historically accurate. Pirates were actually quite queer and a lot of understanding has been skewed since most shows with a pirate cast or theme are casted very heteronormative and able-bodied (Ed btw is not able-bodied, he has a mobility aid - a knee brace).

Promotion of Vulnerability - Through Character Development

Vulnerability, and the willingness to allow male characters to exhibit such is done well. In OFMD, men are not chastised or seen as weak by demonstrating any sort of vulnerable emotions. This is not the case with the crew members, as they themselves despite the risk and violence in their profession, do not look down upon vulnerability. Lucius and Black Pete’s relationship is a great example of finding calm within each other to let go of ‘revenge’ and ‘anger.’

You can think of their ship as a metaphor for escaping toxic masculinity and delving into uncharted waters of what a society could like without the shackles of toxic masculinity anchoring us down at the dock. All of these crewmembers challenge this through their development, but none is more compelling than Stede. He literally is living that story and finding himself through a lens that is not smudged by toxic masculinity.

Stede leaves behind a normal life of a wife and children that a proper gentleman should have, which includes the normalization of violence we still see today. He mentions having a “mental devastation” of witnessing violence as the primer that welcomes him to the show. But his character arc and relationship with Ed and the crew shows how mental health and challenging notions of who we ‘should be’ demonstrates that is okay to not fit the ‘norms’ of how men should behave, and also that we should challenge this notion of finding violence to be glorified. It is okay for men to feel worry, to open up about sensitive topics, and certainly cry.

Acceptance of Others - Through Scenery Dialogue

Acceptance of others is a huge thematic arc in OFMD. Shutting down homophobia, as an example often perpetuated by toxic masculinity, is treated as we should strive for. Blackbeard’s first mate Izzy Hands found his bigotry and bullying denounced. Right away, the tone is set that homophobia is not only unacceptable, but also should be rightful denounced, especially those that are rooted in toxic masculinity. Izzy is stripped of his duties to demonstrate how important it is reject such notions.

All of the pirates are accepted without question. You see this through the specific dialogue between characters, including their traumas. “If someone returns from the raid mentally devastated, we talk it through as a crew,” is a rhyme spoken by Stede but speaks to the importance of the group being able to open up to each other. There is also the acceptance of belonging, such as Ed not feeling worthy of wearing a fancy handkerchief, to which Stede responds with “Look at that. You wear fine things well.”

Another example is the challenge in finding acceptance, even within ourselves. Ed’s comment regarding “Blackbeard always wins - that’s the thing, he can’t fail. Its not even a challenge anymore,” isn’t just a boredom with life, but rather hints at the face he’s just treading water and needs a new start, which requires self-acceptance he hasn’t quite addressed. There is also a wonderful comment that Spanish Jackie makes: “All The Revenge, And Rage, And Anger, It Ages You,” which really gets through to Jim and also speaks to a development about herself. It is these small moments in the dialogue that speak to this theme.

Rejecting the Heteronormative Lens - Through Camera Focus

Finally what I found refreshing about the growing relationships between characters is that their development was not rooted in hypersexualization like unfortunately a good number of MLM relationships are. You can spot this problem in both written and video mediums by comparing this kind of relationship to heterosexual ones - queer-based relationships often focus primarily on the fact they are having sex, and are treated as a spot on the pseudowoke bingo. And when characters engage in sex, it is not treated as shocking, scandalous, or sinful, the three woes of non-heterosexual relationships.

The standout element of OFMD relationships is that the emotional aspects of the relationships are built upon prior to the physical, taking away a lens that would limit the impact it has on viewers who can relate. When a queer relationship is under the hetereonormative lens, the consequences are that the relationship is portrayed under the guise of either comedy, gratification, or derision from toxic masculinity. Instead, we find Oluwande and Jim are hoping to overcome mental barriers closing off their hearts, Stede and Ed have a mutual need for acceptance and change, and Black Pete and Lucius need someone to simply understand.

How OFMD challenges the heteronormative lens is by using a camera focus that focuses on details of care and affection unrelated to sexuality. An example is the camera panning in on the hands of Ed and Stede during pivotal moments, specifically, their slow but growing desire for physical affection and allowing themselves growing intimacy. Little things such as Ed grabbing Stede’s hand when the latter is covering in the bed from injury, Stede using his hands to set Ed’s handkerchief in a pocket, and the constant affections of hands when they kiss (this is really evident with facial touches). Hands, in this case, represent the vulnerability of reaching out and the vulnerability of accepting.

[variousqueerthings]

Weird that they are placing so much emphasis on having bio kids as the ultimate form of happiness and legacy, when Mr. Miyagi is like, right there. Do the writers think of him as different/a tragedy because he would have had it if his wife and son didn’t die, or did they just forget?

I answered and I deleted and I answered and I deleted, because I agree so much with you and I don't want to ruin the enjoyment for anyone, so let's put this below the cut:

THE ANSWER/VARIOUS RAMBLES STUCK TOGETHER WITH TAPE THAT I ACKNOWLEDGE DID NOT STICK WITH YOUR ORIGINAL ASK APOLOGIES (we did start there though):

maybe miyagi was actually secretly evil the whole time........ 🤔🤔🤔(joke)

that family structure is suspect dude, sounds queer to adopt a kid who's being bullied, years after your wife and child died and then not even knock up his mom, what are you gay?

at the very least don't pretend it's a real family you've got there, you'll always be a tragic sad man, without your biological progeny, which is the only kind that matters, and only if done in the Correct way (single parents need not apply)

weird we had the "tanmee" line in s3, but this season just straight up forgot a lot of its own building blocks in favour of some weird aggressive and regressive heterosexual bullshit -- the more I think about it the more discomfort I feel, which isn't to make this deeper than it is, I don't think there was bad intent. I think there was a tragic lack of imagination and it coincides with some real-world Politics that the show doesn't care about and is tacitly conservative about, but I sign onto the show not to be reminded of that world

a lot of people have mentioned that the show bears very little resemblance thematically to the core of the original (two) movies -- it's always been conservative in its depiction of military and war and violence, and simplified an actually incredibly complex, and yet incredibly clear-cut messaging that positions Miyagi (and his ideals) on one side and Kreese (and his ideals) on the other, with very clear reasoning as to why one is right and one is not

the show has been antisemitic, it's been racist, it's had a lack of queer characters that is all the more obvious in a story about a group of outcast kids with found family themes (first produced in 2019), and it's been sexist/underwritten the value that women have in a story about legacy and toxic masculinity and gender roles

and in fandom there have been interesting bits of analysis and writing from very talented and clever people to acknowledge these unexamined prejudices and flaws. they have been challenged in art and in narrative, and there has been plenty of discussion about where we can suspend disbelief and what we (individually) won't take onboard in our own various tellings of the story

up until s5 I have been able to hold that tension, because I truly enjoyed the story and the underlying themes and characters and was baseline expecting those themes and motivations to still matter

but oof the way that this season became entirely divorced from any of the show's own grounding themes, hasn't only made the characters hollow to me, but it's also made me realise (and hey, maybe I should realised this sooner, more fool's me) that they really don't give a shit about Miyagi

which is crazy because the story's about him.

EDIT: and i do still feel deeply uncomfortable about the final fight, and generally how daniel “defeating” anything was done totally absent of miyagi’s ideals -- the only way to solve anything is violence now. beat the other guy into submission to beat your fear i guess. meaningless to what daniel’s journey was, but good to know he’s also manly enough now

and more importantly than anything in a story that's just about liking or disliking trajectories and reads... I am deeply uncomfortable with its politics now

I think how I felt about s4 was that it had some moments I didn't like, but the trajectory made sense to me. with s5 there are moments I do like, but it's empty. I don't know why anything in the last episode happened. I feel intense discomfort about the treatment of women and girls. And to be clear I don't think that there was an intentional drive to make the messaging... that about queerness versus dominating toxic heterosexuality, but honestly I'm living in a pretty shitty world these days with a lot of backsliding in equality and I don't think that I can happily shut off my brain and watch something that conservative anymore

it's not technically anything deep as such, it's not real life. I've really enjoyed the show, I've made some lovely friends through it, and read some of the best fic, and gotten to hype up some wonderful artists and I'll stay in fandom, but I think I might be done with the show itself

but hey, miyagi adopting this skinny little punk from new jersey and giving him some valuable life lessons only for this kid to adopt him right back, that I can rewatch a million times and like I said -- the story is all about that (and it most certainly isn't a tragedy)

[bottom-of-everything]

Toxic Masculinity, Alien Sex, and Marx: A short analysis of Dawn by Octavia Butler

I will likely post more about the xenogenesis trilogy since I am writing an essay about it and genuinely love the books.

Dawn by Octavia Butler is a book of multitudes with commentary from everything from the American slavery, colonial projects around the world, mutually assured destruction, and most importantly to this analysis what it means for white men to no longer control the means of reproduction.

First lets introduce what it means to have control of the means of reproduction. Means of reproduction is an obvious allusion to the Marxist idea of means of production which describes the capital required to produce a good. Marx advocates worker control of the means of production, so that workers would not longer have to be alienated from the jobs that they do since under the current system they are working for wages rather than towards any meaningful goal.

The means of reproduction are very similar and they "capital” that makes up the means of reproduction are both sex’s reproductive organs. Under slavery white men literally owned everyone else thus making them in control of the means of reproduction, but as black men and later all women gained so called legal independence rich white men still remain able to manipulate legal and economic system to allow them more thorough control of reproduction. This manipulation includes things like sterilizing “undesirables,” restricting access to abortion, marital rape, and just the general patriarchal set up of society.

In Dawn, Aliens, called the Oankali, save humanity from a post-nuclear holocaust earth, but in exchange require humanity to breed with them so that they can select for humanity’s desirable traits to incorporate into their genome. Yes this is eugenics. Through a type of Oankali, called ooloi, they sterilize all humans forcing any reproduction to be done through Oankali means.

This change causes many humans to rise up against the Oankali and try to kill them and those who collaborate with them. The demographic that rises up against the Oankali, however, is made up almost exclusively of white men people who have had the means of reproduction deprived from them for the first time. The women that decide to resist the Oankali generally seem to only do so because their partner refuses to submit themselves to Oankali hegemony. On the other hand, many of the women and people of color accept the Oankali as simply an inevitable change of master.

The response to the transfer of the means of reproduction to the Oankali shows the obvious truth that white men see themselves as the true controllers of human sexuality and when that is challenged they see it as a direct challenge of their masculinity. By defining their masculinity by control of sex, they see women as subservient vessels rather than full fledged human beings in their own right.

In order to deconstruct toxic masculinity, we must seize the means of reproduction, challenge the patriarchal myth that sex must mean control, and legally establish women having full autonomy of their own bodies.

[papers4me]

Fruits Basket Manga Review, ch (92-93)

That was painful & so well-written! This analysis will focus on kyokyo mainly & faintly on her effect on kyo. Although, her story affects tohru’s life immensely, I won’t analyze tohru’s part & will wait until it’s a tohru’s chapter to use the knowledge of kyoko’s past to better read tohru’s mind & understand her decisions! Can’t wait! after all, that’s why I’ve read the manga to begin with!

-Kyoko’s Atonement:  (the weight of words):

 Kyoko breaks down after she learns she’s expecting. Why? cuz she hurt her mom. The notion that “yeah my parents caused me emotional trauma & so I’mma hurt them as well” is toxic & burdening as it starts a cycle of pain. Kyoko was right. She had no idea how her mom felt seeing her rebel, or follow violence or hear her harsh words. I’m not cleansing the mom from guilt nor responsibility. I’m just saying since the mom’s pov is blocked from us, assuming shes similar to the dad is wrong. kyoko’s fear of being punished with a child similar to herself is genuine, realistic & refreshing to see expressed in anime! usually character like kyoko are cool & brave, but here she’s humanly weak & doubtful. LOVE IT!

Moreover, in furuba words weigh on ppl & have consequences. We see this with kyo. His dad destroyed him verbally with words “ not my fault, it’s yours” that kyo echoes back to yuki! meaning the consequences of the dad’s words cause harm to his wife, kyo & even yuki!. Kyo was tormented with his own words for long time & clung to them even more in order not to resort to suicide! “ not my fault, it’s the rat’s” . Words can crush you down so bad if you hear them from loved ones, & worse if you utter them back to other loved ones! here kyoko learned that just the mere thought of her future child echoing her words back to her would torment her to death! Excellent writing!

-Katsuya invented Furuba’s vision (Accepting weakness & moving on):

The teachings of kyoko & tohru were really katsuya’s after all. I’m fne with that. These teachings are the core of Furuba’s vision. He tells kyoko to accept that she’s weak, afraid & doubtful. it’s okay. But gives her tools to move on. Your kid isn’t you. They’re an individual person. As parents all we can do is give love/hugs (sth kyoko’s parents didnt do), listen to them (sth yuki’s parents didnt do) & if they do sth wrong will explain it & teach them well (sth kyo’s parents didn’t do, his wrong deed was being born a cat spirit & he was hated for it with no explanation, mom gave lots of “fake” love & escaped by death, dad became a raging monster). Accepting weakness & moving on is what the cursed sohmnas needed to do to heal & what tohru taught them. Off course, tohru herself struggled to follow her own teachings & that’s amazingly realistic!

-Kyoko’s guilt (punishment brings ease):

Kyoko wanted to be punished so harsh for her husband’s death. The gossip got to her. She failed him as a life’s companion. Taking care of our loved ones is a duty we carry with much love & care. Them slipping away is perceived as us failing by none than ourselves. The thing is, death comes with no warning at times. It was his time to leave. Accepting it or not, wont bring him back, but accepting it will help kyoko deal with pain while not accepting will cause more pain for her & tohru.

One of the most painful things abt grief is that it’s personal. Life continues around you. Only you feel it.  “didn’t the world end when katsuya died”. No kyoko. Only you died emotionally. Only him died physically. Kyo once said “ mom why didn’t you kill me instead”. A different reaction to grief, guilt & pain, but same conclusion: neither katsuya nor kyo’s mom are coming back no matter how much pain kyo or kyoko felt.

Kyoko found ease in emotional death, neglecting & refusing life, punishing herself for staying after him.

kyo found ease in rage & blaming others as he his father did, later he’ll escape to emotional & physical slow death “ cat cage/confinement”.

tohru... found ease in pretending "I’m okay” & her mom is alive.. but not physically.. emotionally, so she’ll ignore the truth & live only for her.

Didn’t I say grief is harsh, weird & very very personal. It’s hard to explain, deal with & heal. The mere words of consolation hurt cuz the grieving ones dont want to accept loved one are really gone. Her dad’s harsh words cemented the “emotional death” that kyoko felt. I’m not needed. neither katsuya. nor parents in general. depression. misery. sadness. emptiness.

-The tv show helped to trigger kyoko’s desire to “meet” katsuya. She has already reached the conclusion that she isnt needed. So, the tv show with their words of the deceased wanting you to be happy. triggered her into misinterpreting the words as to mean her death NOT fuel her to live in his memory as intended.

- “Loosing your way first before finding your answer” is okay & so human!:

Ironically..Tohru... was the person Kyoko was punishing NOT herself: By being emotionally dead, kyoko neglected her daughter. Her world shouldnt be just one person. There are others. Katsuya himself gave her a person to love. Tohru. Kyoko chose death & unintentionally set tohru into a world of loneliness 10 times harsher thsn what kyoko faced. She was about to do, but was saved by a nameless child who reminded her of tohru. She chose wrong first but later saw her answer. Kyo chose death by accepting the confinement & he, too, unintentionally set tohru into a world of loneliness 10 times harsher if he wasnt with her. He chose wrong first but later saw his answer. Off course kyo’s story is more developed & complicated as he dealt with bigger issues than just tohru & his answer wasn't just loving tohru alone but also loving himself & choosing to live for them both: himself & tohru.

-Kyo’s guilt is a concussion thought eating him alive:

Part of why kyo’s story was one of the most human & complex is due him loosing his way first, failing, repeating mistakes “ I always though that hurting ppl was the only thing I was good at, after all, isnt that why mom died?” Kyo’s nightmare being a conscious effect of hearing tohru’s talk abt “ videos & memories of loved ones” is 1000 times stronger & more human than a cliche effect of seeing a “ hat” & to revive a a blocked memory... What the hell!! truly disgusting how the emotional weigh is reduced for stupid cliche drama !!!!!! ..

Anyway, kyo actively & consciously wanted punishment .He was sure that kyoko blamed him” I wont forgive you” can only mean what it literally means. The purpose of the nightmare is to cause kyo to seek “ emotional death” like kyoko & to loose his path more. It is meant to prepare kyo to refuse tohru even more. Therefore, the pay off at the climax will be better & stronger.

Reading kyo’s inner thoughts will never not be refreshing!!! Also, the slow burn is cooked on low , hot fire , so the pay off will be the most delicious there is!

Side Notes:

I’ve stated my feelings regarding the age gap between kyoko & katsuya in last chapter’s preview post. I’m done with it & won’t let it interfere with my analysis of kyoko nor tohru.

The idea of just being together as a fun hanging out activity without being bothered much of where reminds ms so much of kyo & tohru!! we see them being happy together in the anime in kazuma’s house, shigure’s rooftop, cooking pancake in the kitchen! I really like this domestic feel of romance! it contradicts the notion of expensive restaurant with the girl wearing a breathtaking dress to woo the guy for it to be utterly romantic as we see in movies, & other stories.

NGL, katsuya looked sexy waiting home.. damn it! >_<

I cried watching tohru between her parents, how they acted & how loved she was! T_T. it reminded me of my niece How her dad’s death affected her! She was the apple of his eyes.. T_T.

Tohru is indeed a rice ball! her dad gave her a masculine name while tohru is so feminine! his reasoning is “finding salty taste in sweet things make the taste better & stronger, kinda giving it a hidden flavour”, the rice ball has a pickle inside it & it’s what makes the taste so savory & delicious!

Grandpa’s “ chance meetings could lead to variety of outcomes, good or bad” YES! kyo/tohru/yuki meeting each other by chance. Fiction make it look weird, but trust me, real life has those by dozens!

“ i wonder how lost you’ll be, how much time you’ll need to get your answer”. He will screw up so bad, kyoko! it will be so good! one of the best screw up’s I’ve seen! so painful for him & tohru & amazingly written!

Kyo’s nightmare being connected to him remembering/dreaming of kyoko’s story is bigger effect than opening the ep with it & having the cause be sth that happened last ep, a week ago... the effect is NOT the same.

Momiji is so cute!!! did his curse break here or not yet? he seemed as tall as tohru.

Writing tohru worried abt kyo after seeing him pale is the tohru I know!! Not that stupid girl who watches the guy she loves have a panic attach in se3, ep6, then goes in ep 7...” dahhhh.. Jeez.. I duno why kyo is sleeping until now.. better laugh & make cute rice cakes” giggle giggle...That scene got me so furious even when I first saw it!! THIS IS NOT TOHRU! tohru cried for a stupid story that haru told abt puppets!! she’ll forget the person she challenges herself for is sick?! ugh!

I love seeing yuki & kyo chill & cool around each other.

Kyoko being fully dependent on katsuya can be a factor in her grief, but I’ve seen cases where both partners are independent but still be completely broken after the others’ death. Grief isn’t logical at all & is extremely personal.

[comparatist]

Did a feminist analysis of 'A Doll's House' by Henrik Ibsen today. Here's the gist.

A Doll's House’ is a play penned down by the famous poet and dramatist Henrik Ibsen in 19th century. The storyline follows the journey of a woman from her dependency upon her husband on almost every matter in their mundane life to leaving the family behind and walking on the path of self reliance. The protagonist, Nora, has been depicted in such a way that the play may not seem to be of feminist nature at the first, but as the plot unfolds, we get to see how her character has been conditioned by patriarchal norms of the society and and her effort to break free of that chain at last. The play is often considered as Ibsen's challenge to the notion of portraying women as stereotypical representatives in literatures. The play was written in an age when women were expected to be docile, obedient, take care of children, be a good mother and a wife, look after the house, barely step out because the public domain was still reserved for men, in simple words; be an apple of the eye of male expectations. The norms supported by the implications of religion as a guidance to indoctrinate women on the oppressive terms, like the duty towards the family should be her ultimate goal, were normalise during the period and active participation in the world outside the house counted as blasphemy. However, Ibsen's advocacy lies here in the demand of equal treatment for both the sexes. It’s a matter of debate, whether he was a feminist or not but the views expressed in his writings definitely insert a note for his support for the woman's struggle of identity.

‘A Doll's House' is set at a backdrop where the society is male dominated, where language is used as a medium to control the one situated in a lower position in the pyramid of power dynamics. Language often provides a medium to facilitate the oppression upon the dominated by the suppressor. The terms used by Ibsen in the play, are notably anti-feminist. The timing itself is a good reminder of this notion. 19th century wasn’t a time when men were so ready to unlearn their ways. The play shows how Nora’s husband Torvald calls her names which were supposed to be cute, except they were nothing but examples of lingual oppression in a subtle way. The animalistic terms such as ‘skylark' or ‘squirrel’ explain nothing beyond Torvald Helmer’s nature of treating Nora not as his equal but his pet. He even goes to the point, where calls her his ‘possession' and expects her to cherish his line of thought which is a blatant expression of him asserting his dominance over her and denying the fact that she has her own individual identity. His behaviour highly speaks of society's order of demeaning women and treating them as inferior subjects. The use of language to explain the relation between the couple on economic terms is also noteworthy. Torvald is the earning member of the house and whatever he gives to Nora, are to be received as gifts, by her. This relation between the duo points out the problematic notion of Torvald's tendency to buy Nora’s obedience and loyalty towards his supremacy. It is because of this unequal power dynamics, Torvald has the audacity to say things like, “Has my little spendthrift been wasting money again?” and get away with it because of the then suppressed nature of Nora which gives him the agency to exploit her condition of social indoctrination.

The play also ensures to capture the enslavement of men in their stereotypical roles of being ‘the man' of the house. Torvald is a victim of the same patriarchal notion of living up to the society’s expectations. His social conditioning grants him this toxic masculine character of exerting and enjoying his hold over Nora and finding nothing wrong in it as he sees himself as a bold and strong figure who wishes to rescue his wife from dangers by ‘risking’ everything for her just to boost up his inner satisfaction of saving a damsel in distress. The names he uses to call Nora seem to be the examples of affection for him because, the underlying aspect of the societal confirmation of man in the stereotypical roles never crosses his mind for once. Torvald had normalised a world where men had the agency to indulge in individualism, write laws, judge women from their own point of view and faces difficulty when he gets questioned by Nora for creating misery in her life, caging her with the bars of ‘marital bliss lies in the female obedience,’ thereby for being nice to her only because of her acknowledgement of his supremacy in the household. The work which yields money was assigned upon Torvald then, and he used to do it, not because he loved his family but to massage his male ego for being the bread earner of the family. Nora, however, initially tries hard to be ‘the woman' for her husband, abiding by all his rules, glorifying this toxic notion of being a puppet and pulling ‘tricks' and singing for him, while searching for security under his stronghold but never gets the assurance there. This strongly points out the notion of how women then come over heavily dependent upon their fathers, husbands and sons. The name of the play becomes more apt when we get to know more about Nora’s relation with her father when she says, “When I was at home with papa he told me his opinion about everything and so I had the same opinions; and when I differed from him I consealed the fact, because he wouldn’t have liked it.” The indoctrination here, runs so deep that it really shows how a girl child gets her upbringing done in an environment where voicing her own opinion might invite the wrath and general displeasure of her near and dear ones; even her parents. So she keeps her mouth shut and thereby learns the ‘art' of not upsetting people by becoming an outspoken woman and normalises being called ‘doll child’ by her father as a reward for her obedience. “He used to play with me just as I used to play with my dolls,” sadly depicts the condition of women dancing on the whims of men.

The character development of Mrs. Linde or Cristine also holds a strong ground when ‘A Doll's House’ gets discussed on the context of being a feminist bildungsroman. She represents that ‘exception' of a bold, strong woman who has seen enough of this male dominated world and has worked hard to sustain herself there, had to marry a rich man and disconnect with her lover, just to provide for her mother and brothers. She takes pride in that. She finds her solace in the thought that, she cannot be blamed of blasphemy by the society as she had to work when her husband died and that gave her more experience than experience than Nora and chances to look down upon the dynamic character of the latter. Her remark that she ‘couldn’t endure life without work’ contrasts heavily with Nora’s understanding of working where she glorifies Torvald's success as her own and thinks it’s the duty of the wife to do the same, yet secretly enjoys the time when she had to work on copying something to pay off her debts and that gave her an impression of ‘almost being a man' and thinks of it as ‘fun’ which cannot be said aloud in her husband’s presence. Cristine, however feels ‘quite alone in this world' after her mother passes away and brothers get established well and despite having her independence, she longs for a family, ‘wants to be a mother for someone' and reconnects with her old lover Krogstad. Whether her decision was right or wrong stays in a mystery, yet the character development of the two women run parallel yet opposite where Nora finally manages to break away from the norms but Cristine finds her assurance in the same.

The childish nature of Nora plays an important role in her liberation from the patriarchal norms of the society. It's her indoctrinated immaturity and normalisation of the same which make her endure the gaslighting of her husband in the name of love and affection, yet the same features in her raise a rebel who dismissed the stronghold of societal regulations quite easily while Cristine's calculated mindset fails to do so. Cristine knows that the struggle is long and therefore she seeks her security in surrendering to the oppressive structure but Nora’s lack of farsightedness gives her the thrill to taste the value of independence, without thinking much about the long end, which may not seem logical but surelybgives a sense of relief to the reader. The transformation of Nora’s character from being the person who internalised the role of ‘playing tricks' for her husband’s pleasure to someone telling him, “You are not the man to educate me into a proper wife for you,” and defying the laws of religion by saying, “I do not exactly know what religion is,” thereby dismissing the notion of a wife’s duty being at service for her husband every moment, is certainly something which steers forward the idea of ‘A Doll's House' being a feminist bildungsroman.

[lastsonlost]

This is what it looks like when you can't see past your own bias.

Aka: what happens when your lived experience is inconvenient to the narrative.

By Andrea Thompson

Watching the movie “Brian Banks” is...awkward. To some extent, it's a classic sports underdog movie, but the struggles Brian Banks had to overcome are anything but conventional. As the movie continually points out, he's exceptional. And he is, in more ways that this movie is aware of.

Based on a true story, which the movie is quick to point out with dramatic music (uh oh), the title character, played by Aldis Hodge, muses on his great love for football, which he was on track to play professionally until he was stopped in his tracks at 16 years old. It's how he was stopped that would make anyone pause; Banks was falsely accused of rape by a classmate.

After some bad legal advice leads to jail time and some years struggling to navigate the conditions of his parole (and having to register as a sex offender), Banks struggles to simply find a job while simultaneously fighting to clear his name and reclaim his life. He also repeatedly writes the Innocence Project and asks them to take his case. Refusing to give up even after they reject him, Banks goes to meet with the lawyers on the project in person, first convincing them to give him advice, then take him on, and finally, actively fight for him.

It's impossible not to get invested in just how much Banks had to overcome, from his poverty-stricken childhood and the various legal road blocks that threaten to end his fight before it even begins. Banks wasn't imprisoned, so he was not a priority for the Innocence Project, and since he took a plea rather than going to trial, he needs completely new evidence rather than simply using what was already discovered. He also has to stay sane in jail, especially when he's put in solitary. Banks even took the initiative and managed to record his accuser recanting her confession.

Except. Except. Well, there was going to be misgivings about this film being released during the #MeToo Era, wasn't there? That the film would fully embrace Brian's perspective and his struggles is natural, even admirable. However, this type of story demands more, and what the movie doesn't say is far more noteworthy than what it does. It doesn't mention that the percentage of false rape accusations are not only incredibly low, the conviction rate for them is even lower. It limits its empathy for what many women have gone through to one scene, where Banks's love interest Karina (Melanie Liburd) reveals she was raped in college, and how devastating the aftermath was for her.

Even if there's little to no doubt of Brian's innocence, it's hard not to wince as his accuser is subjected to the kinds of questions which are used to discredit actual victims, as the men questioning her ask just what she expected to happen when she went off alone with Brian, why she didn't shout, etc. It also doesn't help that Brian and the people assisting him are all easily identifiable as various levels of middle class while his accuser and his family are...not so much, let's just say.

Yes, Brian Banks suffered a terrible injustice, and he proved himself to be exceptional not just for his athletic prowess, but the strength of character it took to fight for the truth over a period of years. The performances are also incredible, and help to elevate this movie above the simplistic melodrama it would otherwise be, although it also depicts faith and how it can be a bedrock for those in pain more respectfully than most mainstream films are typically capable of. It's all in service of someone who deserves to be vindicated, but it shouldn't have to come at the expense of so many other victims.

Rating: C-

Fortunately I wasn't the only one who took issue with this "review".

Cassandra3

This is a disgusting review of a great film. I can not believe that I read what I just read. And also why did you put "(duh duh)" after saying it was a true story. You give Feminism a bad name and I am embarrassed to even have someone like you even pretend to fight for women's rights. SMH

Andree4

This is a wretched review, that quite possibly reveals deep-seated implicit biases, on your part. You didn't review the movie, you made a political statement, rooted in radical feminist, and male-hating rhetoric. This man, along with other men of similar misfortunes, is the victim-not the woman who accused him. He is a human being, that has every right to have his story told, unmolested by contrived issues that would shift the focus off of him, onto a non-victim. And so what if his economic status is above his false accusers status: does it then justify her lies against this man, that resulted in his imprisonment? Nice attempt at a fake out, but I'm sorry-you miserably failed. At the core it appears as if you feel more sorry for false accusers of men, than the men who are falsely accused by these liars. It appears that way, in light of you inserting that jab. This pitiful analysis betrays your binary agenda: all women are truthful and good, in spite of potential liars and deceivers amongst them, whereas all men are just BAD-because they're men. And God help the men if they are assertive, confident and forthright, for then they'll be accused of having TOXIC MASCULINITY, whereas a woman with those same qualities will be labeled a BOSS. Look at the woman in the mirror...

Crystal4

This is a horrible review of the movie. It doesn’t even review the movie. It more about your perspective in the Brian Banks case. I have never seen so much bias. You make it sound like the movie forces you to see Brian Banks as a victim. When in all reality he IS the victim. He was accused of raping his girlfriend and it was completely false. It was prisoned and register as a sex offender. His whole life changed on a lie from a girl who’s family wanted money. What other victims did it come at the cost of ? He just telling his story. SHOULD HE LIE OR WATER IT DOWN, BECAUSE IT HURTS YOUR SENSITIVE IDEALS ? Should he not get justice? Please explain to me what you are trying to say.

Jesse4

Even in the face of a story that proves there are two sides to this extremely challenging issue, you demonstrate that you have no regard for men who can see their lives completely destroyed when false allegations happen. This review is equivalent to me watching The Accused then writing about how it was important to shine a light on violent gang rape, but not if the movie didn’t properly explore situations where men were jailed over false allegations. I also love how you threw in the problem with WHITE MEN when the movie is about a BLACK WOMAN FALSELY ACCUSING A BLACK MAN OF RAPE. Your ideology clouds your vision to where the hierarchy of victimhood drives all understanding of right/wrong and how any narrative should be interpreted. It’s transparent to 90% of us, but your kind lives in an echo chamber. You aren’t more educated...you’re more indoctrinated and I’m looking forward to the cultural shift that sees your viewpoints thrown in the dustpan of history.

Gordon Shumway4

At no point in this cinematic review did you review the movie on its story-telling, 'watchability', acting, or general movie presentation. You took your biased, personal opinion about the story, and decided that it does not fit your false narrative that the female is always the victim.

[aroaceaunt]

Ranking the Avatar Universe Books

@threehoursfromtroy, here’s the part 1 of my Avatar meta analysis

In a move that won’t start any discord, I’m going to rank the Books of Avatar: the Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra as one.

#7. LoK: Book 2: Spirits

The writing for this book is bad. Revisiting the Korra, Mako, Asami love triangle felt like nails on a chalkboard. Bolin being the victim of an abusive relationship with Eska is played for laughs. Then Bolin goes 100% toxic masculinity. Asami’s decisions with her company are dumb. Unaloq isn’t a terrible character, but he wasn’t good either. Everything about the civil war was sloppy. The final battle was a deus ex on top of coincidence and a lot of plot armor.

The only person making sound decisions is Varrick. I hate that guy. That’s what makes him great.

That said, there is the bones of a great story hiding in the wreckage. Tenzin’s arc with his family is heartwarming. I enjoyed Avatar Wan’s story. The duality of Raava and Vaatu was neat. Seeing a Dark Avatar had potential. 

#6. LoK: Book 1: Air

Confession: I don’t like probending. I thought the season spent too much time on it. It was a good way to get the Krew together, but it overshadowed the main conflict, dealing with Amon. 

Amon had potential to be the most thought provoking villain. His opposition to the Avatar and all benders could have challenged the status quo. In a world where a significant number of people are basically superheroes, how do non-benders live? The benders vs non-benders should have been the main conflict. 

And after rewatching the season, they were leading up to that. The first half of the season is world and team building. It was slow and methodical as it laid out the groundwork. At some point Nickelodeon cut the series to 12 episodes instead of 20. The quality of the season dropped once Amon attacked the probending finals. The worst episode is the backstory exposition dump in the penultimate episode.

That said, Korra’s intro was great. Watching this person who is the opposite of Aang kick butt was wonderful. Watching her growth through the season was a delight. She is a great character.

#5. AtLA: Book 3: Fire

Book 3 at #5? How dare I! This was the pinnacle of Avatar. The greatest season!

And Ozai was a terrible villain and antagonist. The season dragged once they got to Ember Isle, though “Ember Island Players” was a great episode. Aang learning how to remove Ozai’s bending was a poorly explained deus ex lion turtle. Aang versus Ozai was the worst part of the finale. It didn’t have the weight of the Zuko / Azula fight or Sokka, Toph, and Suki in the airships.

Zuko’s arc is amazing. One of the best redemption arcs ever. The failure on the “Day of Black Sun” was fantastic. “The Painted Lady,” “Sokka’s Master,” and “Boiling Rock” episodes are the highlights.

This is a good season, but it’s the weakest of Avatar.

#4. LoK: Book 4: Balance

Balance takes the spot from Fire for one reason: Korra’s PTSD. Not many will touch that aspect of being a hero. Everything Korra experienced should break her psyche. It was refreshing to see her struggle through her mental health problems.

Kuvira was a great foil. She was calculating to Korra’s recklessness. Her goals were sympathetic. We unite the Earth Kingdoms as one. However her methods were evil. 

Watching Korra stop Kuvira with empathy instead of brute force was Korra’s arc through all the books. She grew so much from the headstrong girl in Book 1.

As much as I love Korrasami, the tiny hints were too small. Nickelodeon squashing any queer story was frustrating. The potential of a radical story never happened. At least on screen. 

#3: AtLA: Book 1: Water

Here is where it all started. The boy frozen in an iceberg. 

Going back and rewatching this season is painful. Not because it’s bad. It’s good. However, watching these great characters being immature and dumb hurts. We know who they will become. The world building is top notch. The explanation for bending is great. Seeing the seeds of who all the characters will become is sweet. 

But this book is not without its problems. The writing and acting is stiff. The switching between being too serious and silly is unrefined. Nobody wants to talk about “The Great Divide.”

The series reaches its potential once they get to the North Pole. I often forget how good the finale is because it’s the first one. Best moment of the Book is Katara proving herself.

#2. AtLA: Book 2: Earth

The Gaang in Ba Sing Se was the pinnacle of the writing for Avatar. All the gears and movements in place at during Book 1 and at the beginning of Book 2 click into place. The introduction of Toph and Azula, the two greatest characters in the Avatar Universe, was delightful. The misses in this season were still solid.

How dare you make me cry like that, “Tales of Ba Sing Se.”

#1: LoK: Book 3: Change

The philosophical antagonism of Zaheer and the Red Lotus challenges Korra in ways that she can’t punch. Had the story been written with Zaheer as the protagonist, we would rooting for him. To him, the Avatar is a tyrant who imposes their will on people. 

Watching the delight and struggles as more people find out they are airbenders was sweet. We got to learn more about their culture since Aang didn’t get to. All the relationship drama with Korra goes away. The Krew is a team. 

The ending sucks. It hurt so much to see Korra tortured. Watching her unable to function was painful. How could they end the season like that? And that’s why it was great. 

With the exception of Korra: Book 2, all of the Avatar Universe is solid. The characters are fantastic. I love this series.

[robinsoncenter]

Featured GWSS Summer Courses 2019

Featured Courses You Will Not Want To Miss!

GWSS 200: Intro to Women Studies, (5) I&S,DIV Fabian Romero

Feminist analysis of the construction and enforcement of gender differences and gender inequalities in various contexts. Emphasis on the intersection of race, class, sexuality, and nationality in the lives of women. Topics include feminist theory, motherhood, popular culture, sexual autonomy, racism, and activism in the United States, Asia, Latin America. 

SLN 11475, MW 3:30-5:40, Full Term

GWSS 255 Masculinities (5) I&S, DIV Saad Khan

What does it mean to be a man?  What is men’s relationship with power structures such as patriarchy, capitalism and colonialism? This course will attempt to answer these questions by exploring aspects of men and masculinity through the theoretical lenses of intersectionality, queer, transgender, transnational and decolonial studies.  Students will read essays, engage with different genres of writing and study various media texts (movies, music videos and tv shows), and will be encouraged to be critically self-reflexive about aspects of position, power and privilege in the U.S. and beyond. Students will also figure out what non-toxic and non-threatening expressions of masculinity may look like. The course will explore the importance of talking about masculinities, in relation to gender, women and sexuality studies, so that one can productively engage with feminist discussions and actions for positive social changes in the world we live in.

SLN 11749, MW 10:50-1:00, Full Term

GWSS 333/JSIS B 333: Gender and Globalization, (5) I&S, DIV Akansksha Misra

Netflix, Gap Jeans, US Economy, Pride Parades and so much more. Globalization means all of this to us and yet is a term that escapes easy definition. Is it a recent phenomena? What is the role of the internet and social media in connecting the globe? Is it good that my food comes from another country? While all of these are important questions, in this class we will focus more on the effects of globalization in our lives. Our lens will be gender and sexuality and we will focus on specific areas that globalization touches like international human rights, popular culture/media, education, sex trafficking, politics, and social movements. By using gender and sexuality as our lens, we will try to understand how globalization impacts social relations and the ways people see themselves and live their lives. We will try to focus on lived experiences and draw on contemporary media sources, news, and tv/movie/music to make sense of the world and our lives in it and how systems of inequality thrive but are constantly challenged as well. The only requirement is curiosity, interest in understanding cultures, and the desire to imagine a better world for all!

SLN 11752, TTh 3:30-5:40, Full Term

GWSS 374: Transgender Studies (5), I&S, DIV Mediha Sorma,

This course offers a selective introduction to transgender studies as an emerging field of inquiry and ‘transgender’ both as a gender identity category and as an analytic. The main objective of this class is to complicate the definitions of sex and gender by blurring the pre-scripted distinctions between “woman” and “man”. We will engage with movies, videos, ethnographic work, autobiographical writing to expose and challenge binary understanding of gender.  Trans identity will be complicated with sexuality, race, class, ability, history, and location, which entails an intersectional and decolonial lens. Some of the questions we will be elaborating on are: How did ‘trans’ emerge as a historical subject? What is the impact of medicine on the construction of trans identity? Why did transgender studies emerged as a field of inquiry while Queer studies was supposed to address the issues related to LGBTQ community as an umbrella field? In what ways does it make an intervention to feminism and queer theory? What are the limitations and benefits of ‘trans’ as an umbrella category for gender-nonconforming people?

SLN 11756, TTh 10:50-1:00, Full Term

GWSS 390: LGBTQ+ Politics in Global Perspective (5), I&S Cricket Keating, online/hybrid Course!

Worldwide movements for LGBTQ+ rights, justice, and inclusion have had much success over the past twenty years, as well as many challenges. On the one hand, in many high-profile and often violent cases, states have mobilized, consolidated, and/or fomented homophobia to further particular ends, whether it be to consolidate national identity, to quash or to build opposition, and/or to legitimate the centralization of authority. On the other hand, the number of countries in which same-sex acts are illegal is decreasing and an increasing number prohibit employment discrimination, punish hate crimes, and recognize same-sex marriage and adoption. LGBTQ+ activism has also led to path-breaking scientific discoveries for life-saving treatments for people with AIDS.

Globally, LGBTQ+ movement work takes many different forms across multiple institutional and cultural contexts. This course takes up this varied landscape of activism and advocacy. Taking a transnational, intersectional, and interdisciplinary approach, students will analyze various aspects of LGBTQ+ politics including movement histories, geographies, activism, legal struggles, human rights, and intersections with other progressive movements.

SLN 11757, TTh, 10:50-3:20, A-Term

GWSS 464: Queer Desires (5), I&S, DIV Jey Saung

This course sets out to trace a genealogy of the terms "queer" and "to queer" through the fields of feminist and queer studies. We will be examining the ways in which these fields interrogate institutions of power, such as medicine, education, the law and the family, that continue to produce and reinforce stabilized categories of binary gender and sex. Our primary texts will examine "queering" as a framework and an instrument of critique. We will be reading foundational texts in queer theory, such as Michel Foucault's The History of Sexuality, Vol. 1, and Cathy Cohen's "Punks, Bulldaggers, and Queens" as well as more recent texts such as José Esteban Muñoz's Cruising Utopia and Dean Spade's Normal Life. Through these texts, we will develop a foundational understanding of queer theory as well as its application to critique and future-building.

SLN 11759, MW 3:30-5:40, Full Term

GWSS 490: Black Feminist Thought (5), I&S, Bettina Judd online/hybrid course

In order to understand the growing body of scholarship that is black feminist theory, we will analyze the development of US black women’s feminist consciousness from the mid-19th Century to the present through the essays, speeches, and creative work that has named the complex systems of power which affects the lives of black women on the primary intersections of race, gender, and class.  We will examine closely the important contributions of black feminist thought to the fields of African American and Africana Studies and Women and Gender Studies through concepts by Black Feminist Scholars such as intersectionality. 

SLN 11761, MW 10:50-3:20, B-Term

[musicsenses]

As It Is Music Video “The Stigma (Boys Don’t Cry) Confronts Toxic Masculinity

A conversation is on the rise about toxic masculinity and the new music video released by British band As It Is is shedding more light on the topic.

Once they dropped their first single “The Wounded World” from their upcoming album The Great Depression, we saw and heard a darker different side of As It Is. They are continuing to explore serious topics through this dark, but meaningful journey by confronting toxic masculinity in their newest music video for their second single “The Stigma (Boys Don’t Cry).”

For those who are not familiar with the term toxic masculinity, the definition is dramatized in the video where the boys are coerced to learn outdated ideas and stereotypes of who men should be. 

For example, in the video, the boys have to:

1.  “Man up” a gender-specific term that has a masculinity ideology behind it. This term is used to influence someone to be brave and courageous when a challenge arises. The term is fitting to address in the video as it is about gender expectations. To think about this deeply, if the world only used gender-neutral terms, how would today’s society be different? And can you think about how this gender-specific has an impact on society? 

2.  Skip the makeup because make-up on a boy is shameful, almost frowned upon even though we know in reality makeup is accessible to anybody and could be worn expressively. The symbolism of boys not being allowed to wear makeup is that they are being taught to suppress their emotions just like saying boys don’t cry.

3. Be physically fit or look a certain way to showcase the ideal masculinity body. See the images of the bodybuilders? This part can be about the idea of body-shaming for boys or forcing the idea of what a man looks like.  

The narrative in the music video gives us something to think about perhaps start a conversation about our own individuality and of course, the gender stereotypes in our society and how much impact it has on our mental health and lifestyle.

Traits that are repressed upon boys can be detrimental to society for it can lead to narcissism, violence, and sexual aggression among many things.

It is important for As It Is and anyone to address such a topic because as stated on an article by The Ascent, a 2017 analysis about the mental health-related outcomes derived from conforming to masculinity standards found that “men who follow the traditional norms associated with masculinity are more likely to experience depression, stress, and body-image problems” aside from many issues. The article also addressed that men rarely seek help when it comes to medical assistance and even mental health because they do not want to be portrayed as weak.

The video even dramatized the outcome of forcing someone to conform to society’s gender expectations. Isolation, loneliness, depression, and many things.

Seems like As It Is is on a roll here as they are tackling this topic. The more there are topics about this kind of topic, the more people will start to see and open or hopefully further a discussion about it.

Sometimes the topic of toxic masculinity does not always make it to the table, but now it is out in the open more than ever when Hollywood actor and former NFL Athlete Terry Crews known best for his role in the sitcom comedy show “Everybody Hates Chris” openly talked about how toxic masculinity had negatively impacted his life on the Today Show with Megyn Kelly back in May. In addition, he recently shared a compelling testimony at Capitol Hill to push the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights, a legislation to protect sexual-assault victims’ rights, by sharing his own personal experience with sexual assault.

Here’s a question for you: How often do you see and hear men speak about their own experiences?

Here’s another one: How many men would speak about their own experiences?

Don’t freak out! This is only something to think about.

This will not be the only time the band will cover serious issues as The Great Depression will be released on August 10 this year where the album explores serious topics such as mental health, life, and death among many things. The best part is that the band is doing more than just writing songs about them, they are taking action with organizations.

The band has worked with charities such as BulliesOut and will continue to give back in this new era as lead singer Patty Walters stated in a Facebook post, “More so than ever before, we’ll be working alongside incredible non-profits, donating proceeds to worthy causes, and using our music in hopes of creating a positive change.”

A new generation is always rising and for those who are struggling will need someone (like this band) in their time of struggle to let them know that they can take control of their own individuality and reshape it however they want to.  

As the band is trying to make a positive change, they ignite a conversation first with their music. Well, the conversation has started.

Now it is your turn.

If you are interested, watch the music video down below! 

[jalebi-weds-bluetooth]

@honeybellexox see!!! Your response wasn’t controversial or outrageous at all - as you can see quite a few of us feel pretty passionately about this and as you said - it’s not because we hate Arnav, Khushi or the show, it’s because the show SET standards. And we LOVE the show.

@chutkiandchotte where do I even begin. Honey literally has some of the best thoughts and analysis and I can’t help myself from responding to them.

I could totally see Khushi misleading Shyam about her motives in finding Arnav so Shyam can slip up and she can figure out where Arnav is given he’s the prime suspect.

Also, as you said - Arnav asking for proof wouldn’t have been improbable considering how ludicrous her story is in general. Shyam was a tenant? Ok show the rental agreement. Alright Shyam was working on Buaji’s pension? Show the case file! Wait why are you reluctant to let your family tell me the truth - what do you mean by pressure? Sach bolne main kya jaata hai?

I totally don’t believe Khushi would go to Shyam for help. No way will he be an option before Payal! Also Shyam is her harasser - there cannot be a conversation between them. Khushi deserves that dignity.

And if they wanted the airport scene to be bitter it could’ve been bitter with Arnav stating that no matter what version he seems to choose, it is ultimately hurtful.

Cause if Khushi is innocent, it means she knowingly hid this to let Payal get married into the family - that’s the gist of it.

Omg I cannot reconcile the Khushi that slayed all challenges at AR to this. I mean I understand it’s tougher to fight the people you love as opposed to strangers but like…. Ugh lemme write a quick one shot as to how I could’ve rewritten this 🙈

And to anyone reading this - this literally comes from loving the show excessively! Nothing else 😂

When you strip away nuances then Arnav becomes abusive - and the thing is they had angst layered so well🤌🤌🤌 that you didn’t need the abuse. You just didn’t. They set up the Gupta family’s flaws so well.

In fact Arnav’s entire reaction - the OG post of his possessiveness and toxic masculinity really stems from stunting his character growth to stretch a dramatic point versus him actively doing anything. Either you make Khushi truly resistant so it slips into a dark comedy of who can hurt the other more, or you genuinely don’t show him hurting her to this extent.

Arnav - Possessive Behaviour (Additional Thoughts)

TW- Mentions of Suicide, Abusive behaviour, Toxic masculinity, SA.

I just wanted to add some additional thoughts that I had from the last post, specifically around Arnav and his toxic masculinity particularly how he dehumanises Khushi on many occasion, the suicide scene being a major example. Arnav reacts out of anger and stress, which is implied to be born from ‘concern and love’ (🙃🙃) yet i perceived it completely differently, to me the scene read as possessive dehumanisation, it felt to me that Arnav was more stressed about losing the ‘object’ of his desires/hatred, as opposed to a human being who is entitled to love and care, or at least basic human rights. It was like watching a child get angry over nearly loosing his favourite toy, please pardon my bluntness. The way he grabs her, screams at her and treats her in that scene, like how could Khushi even dare to attempt something like that, which he’s right…she shouldn’t have, but It’s as if she’s not entitled to any autonomy. She’s not a human with her own feelings, life and ambition, she’s not entitled to a sense of safety or even her own body (Arnav has no qualms flinging her about, or man’s handling her). She’s not Khushi, the person. She’s Khushi, HIS wife.

I think it’s great that Arnav eventually overcomes this, such as in the scene he slaps an employee for calling Khushi an ‘item’ but it’s quite hypocritical that he was treating her as such, by coercing her to come back to his house etc, by using rather cruel.

I don’t completely hate this trait, it’s a realistic character flaw and like I mentioned he does eventually overcome it, and Arnav as a character is a complex morally grey man, so I have no qualms.

But again the suicide scene just triggers my anger, Arnav, despite having his flaws, is an honourable man. This is what makes him so attractive, despite his cruelty, he has a strong sense of right and wrong, a clear code of ethics. I hate that both Arnav and Khushi were disrespected as characters during that track.

I just want to make clear that I’m not trying to bash Arnav! I love his morally grey ways but at times he does cross the fine line and the way he reacted to Khushi’s was one of them. Also there’s many instances he does enters into the dehumanising possessive territory and it’s pretty alarming, at times the show disguises it as ‘protective possessiveness’ … I’ll attempt to post a part 3 with all of the instances.

Also, the line ‘it takes 2 hands to clap’ (roughly in English) when he’s confronting Khushi, is so rooted in deep misogyny and sexism. That’s literally victim blaming …akin to ‘what was she wearing?’, ‘she must have seduced him’. I know at this time he doesn’t believe Khushi and believes his own eyes but she’s literally disclosed her truth, even if he doesn’t believe it, that’s still a very damaging statement. This is why women (and Khushi) are so scared to speak out, because women are the ones who get blamed. Arnav is meant to be a modern, rather progressive man but he still comes out with this sexist bullshit, which is so ironic as he hates toxic traditions. A part of him believes Khushi was to blame ( again along the lines of ‘what was she wearing’ ..that mentality) as later after Anjali’s self harm, he comes out with ‘if you weren’t here, Shyam wouldn’t have done what he did’ (sorry I butchered the line! It was something like this). So, deep down, Arnav must believe this to some extent up until Shyam confesses, arguably.

This is a rather sensitive topic and a radical take but please if you disagree let me know, or if anyone feels uncomfortable with this subject matter, I’ll take the post down. I’m nervous because I know this is a very controversial take!

Honey xx

[districofcolumbiaprelawland-blog]

Gender Differences In Policing

By Jessica Bride, George Washington University Class of 2022

June 5, 2020

Law enforcement is vital for maintaining order within the criminal justice system. Butas an extension of the law, police officers act with enormous discretion and frequently unchecked power. Instances of police abuse distort law enforcement’s credibility, especially as such instances make headlines in the media.Inadequate police conduct, including the use of excessive force, can lead to negative outcomes for victims, the officers themselves, and the criminal justice organizations officers represent.The culture of hypermasculinity within police organizations has been linked to police misconduct as “the pressure to conform to the ideal bureaucracy remains…and as a consequence, the adaptation of emotional labor is a complex conglomerate of masculine and feminine qualities”[1].

The stereotype of a cop is that they are white and male and, while this is not always the case, they remain the majority. According to the National Institute of Justice,less than thirteen percent of current officers are women,and this number has hardly changed over the past decades [2]. To address the consequences of gender differences in policing, it is suggested that law enforcement organizations should deliberately recruit more women and policymakers should require them to reevaluate the effectiveness of training to reduce discrimination and harassment [3].

An officer’s acceptance of police culture is influenced by their gender: “female officers were less likely than male officers to assimilate hypermasculine beliefs into their identity” [1]. With the goal to deter the use of excessive force and other forms of police misconduct, increasing the number of female police officers is important because they are less likely to engage in misconduct: “female officers and same-gender female-female officer pairs used less force” [4]. Existing female officers consistently employ styles of policing that reduce violence and corruption[1]. There is a need to decrease the adverse effects of toxic masculinity within police organizations and this paper will highlight how reducing the gender imbalance of officers can help.

In 2014, criminal justice professor Dr. Amie Schuck conducted quantitative research on gender differences in policing. She anonymously surveyed nine Chicago police districts, with specific districts chosen to“ensure an adequate number of female and non-White officers and to represent the average or typical district in the city in terms of the crime rate as well as the racial and ethnic heterogeneity of the population served” [1]. This framework provided a basis for her gender-focused hypothesis: “female officers will be less likely than male officers to acculturate the more extreme masculine values of the policing culture into their self-identify, specifically hypermasculinity and a culture of honor posture” [1]. She also expected that interactions with citizens would be more positive because a lack of hypermasculine values encourages female officers to “demonstrate concern for citizens and to listen, remain calm in high stress situations and diffuse conflict” [1].

Confounding variables were controlled for by weighing respondents’ ethnicity, educational attainment, age, length of police career, and their primary unit assignment[1]. By using scales within the survey to measure emotional labor skills and masculine police culture, she was able to assess officer’s self-concepts. Schuck’s results revealed that the skills utilized by officers varies by their gender. Alternatively, male officers “rate themselves better at reading emotions, listening, and remaining calm”[1]. This study stressed the importance of culture’s effect on behavior and why a feminist perspective is suggested for policing.

Dr. Shannon Rawski, a lead researcher of workplace sexual harassment, and Dr. Angela Workman-Stark, who wrote a book on inclusive policing, published an article about the effect of training interventions for policing organizations. They collected data from Canadian participants using the recently developed MCC scale, or masculinity contest culture scale, to score the answers [3]. To address hypermasculinity within all police organization and not just officers, the sites chosen included traditional police and a site within the same organization that “represented administrative support functions that are domination by civilian personnel and women”[3]. This was important to address the issue of systemic toxic masculinity instead of police misconduct being blamed solely on the individual officer.

This literature focused on training because police organizations use it as a solution for police misconduct and negative outcomes,but the co-authors worry “that the police organizations that need training the most are the least likely to benefit from current training interventions” [3]. After analyzing the survey results, they could not deny that “all four masculinity contest culture dimensions can be observed in policing including: (1) ‘show no weakness’, (2) ‘strength and stamina’, (3) ‘put work first’, and (4) ‘dog-eat-dog’”[3]. With the prevalence of hypermasculinity in policing, training cannot be relied on as a prevention method if it is ineffective “due to a lack of organizational support for the training’s content or purpose”[3].

Another study collected arrest data and obtained surveys from the arresting officers of multiple departments across the U.S to analyze the influence of gender on police conduct[4]. This article was concerned with both “the use of force by and against women police officers” in order to address the implication of more female officers [4]. They compared the behaviors of individual officers and “same-sex and mixed-sex officer pairings on police use of force”[4]. It was theorized that the increase of women in policing would promote institutional growth “by improving relations with community members, improving citizens’ willingness to engage as coproducers of safety, and potentially increasing citizen perceptions of the police as a legitimate institution of social control”[4]. Therefore, the costs of hypermasculinity on police misconduct would be limited.

Despite the steady growth of the representation of women in US law enforcement,there is limited research available on them which the literature used all cite as a limitation of their findings [2]. Still, they all provide an overview of the influences of gender stereotypes. This is important because stereotypes are used to discredit the policy debate of hiring more female officers by applying sexist expectations for officer behavior:“the physical risks police face reinforce the perceived need for the ideal officer to be aggressive, competitive, brave, and strong: traits stereotypically associated with men and not women” [3]. However, no data exists to support that women are worse police officers.

Instead, they perform their duties differently and benefit from it: “women police officers are less often the objects of citizen complaints, sustained allegations, and civil liability payouts”[1]. Two of the articles explicitly stated that the benefits of hiring more women as police officers, including the reduction of excessive force across departments [1, 4]. The third article instead emphasized the challenges of female personnel currently in policing, from “changing their behavior to gain or maintain acceptance” to sexual harassment[3]. The literature all used self-report measures, which provided valuable qualitative and quantitative evidence to reflect the perceptions officer behavior and the reality that pressures of masculinity is a significant influence.As expected, sworn police officers were “more likely to perceive their workplace as higher in MCC norms than civilian staff”[3]. Through a statistical analysis, a link between toxic masculinity and negative outcomes was determined: “lower levels of hypermasculinity were related to an officer’s perceptions of less negative behavior by citizens and fewer complaints” [1]. When assessing the influence of greater female involvement, whether individual officers or two female partners, it was proven that less force was involved [4]. Using a linear regression model for the MCC scale, one study provided “the first empirical evidence that MCCs within policing are related to negative outcomes”[3].

The literature approached this topic through a theoretical framework acknowledging that the emotional labor skills of female officers leads to de-escalation and less negative outcomes, while assimilation of masculine culture by female officers promotes escalation and negative outcomes. This is evident as female officers reported greater confidence in emotional work from a caring perspective, comforting citizens, and showing empathy [1]. Less females are in law enforcement, but their conduct and overall temperament continue to reflect more positively on the institutions they represent. When considering hiring more female officers, there is no evidence to indicate that these benefits would not continue.

________________________________________________________________ Jessica Bride is a rising junior at The George Washington University pursuing degrees in Psychology and Criminal Justice. She is interested in pursuing a career in public service that allows her to conduct research. Along with the social sciences, she is also passionate about creative writing and activism.

________________________________________________________________

[1] Schuck, Amie M. “Gender Differences in Policing: Testing Hypotheses from the Performance and Disruption Perspectives.” Feminist Criminology, vol. 9, no. 2, Apr. 2014, pp. 160–185, doi:10.1177/1557085113520033.

[2] Starheim, Rianna P. (2019, July). Women in Policing: BreakingBarriers and Blazing a Path. National Institute of Justice.https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/252963.pdf

[3] Rawski, Shannon L., and Angela L. Workman‐Stark. “Masculinity Contest Cultures in Policing Organizations and Recommendations for Training Interventions.”Journal of Social Issues, vol. 74, no. 3, 2018, pp. 607-627, doi:10.1111/josi.12286.

[4] Schuck, Amie M., and Cara Rabe-Hemp. “Women Police.”Women & Criminal Justice, vol. 16, no. 4, 2007, pp. 91-117, https://doi.org/10.1300/J012v16n04_05, doi:10.1300/J012v16n04_05.

Photo Credit: Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy

[variousqueerthings]

some thoughts on queerness in narrative (using cobra kai as a main point)

1. intro

It’s interesting getting to engage with pop culture right now versus even five years ago, where there was something kinda sordid and undercover about queer reads of text and even just talking about being into stuff very passionately while being queer in spaces that included creators was considered somehow icky (supernatural is always a good example, but definitely was just the most visible of these types of interactions between fans and cast/creators). Obviously that’s where a lot of modern definitions about queerbaiting and bury your gays comes from.

A lot of this kind of drama centred on queer ships rather than queer characters in their own right (dean/castiel, merlin/arthur, derek/styles and maaaan just a lot of white brunette/blond pairings, which is another post and I acknowledge that Lawrusso is also literally that... the irony)

But also this isn’t so much about “shipping.”

2.

There’s a danger of flattening out the ways in which we create a dialogue with text when it becomes just about whether or not our ships become canon (in general the way fandom discourse revolves around ships can be incredibly unhelpful for engaging critically with text) – for context I am queer and I’m queer through my transness and aromanticness and asexuality, and I also write a fair bit of shippy fanfiction and analysis, but personally am not (always) thaaat bothered about how the connections with queer-coded people are realised in text, as long as those connections are acknowledged in a queer way. How that works varies from text to text.  There is no one-size fits all proper queer representation.

An example: SE Hinton (because I just read The Outsiders/watched the movie) being really dismissive of people reading her characters as gay on twitter (why do we ever try to do this sort of deep textual analysis on twitter, why do creators – like Hinton – think that they ought to espouse opinions on twitter, why twitter folx?)

I wrote – kinda for the void, because I write a lot and I like posting some of that on tumblr, but I don’t expect people to engage necessarily – about how The Outsiders is absolutely a queer text, whether or not the creator intended for it to be. Long story short, queerness has been – and often still is – illegal and/or frowned upon in canon text, so a semiotics was created to make something queer if you knew how to read it. The fact that cis-straight creators play with and use those semiotics without knowing doesn’t negate the fact that that language is there and was deliberately created for that purpose.

That also doesn’t make it queerbaiting. Maybe cis-straight dumbassery, idk (wouldn’t be if you just went “huh, didn’t think about that, cool read”)

Intentionally playing with and acknowledging those semiotics also isn’t necessarily queerbaiting.

Definitely queercoding though.

3.

Anyway this is all a bit murky territory, so let’s talk about Cobra Kai, my current little obsession, and about Star Trek, my always-obsession. Time-was you could get sued for your Star Trek fanfiction. Nowadays that fanfiction can get turned into a for-fun zoom play and read out loud by the two actors who played the original characters (Alexander Siddig and Andy Robinson). This is very fun, new territory for a lot of us.

Meanwhile Hayden Schlossberg and the other writers of Cobra Kai are openly aware of the fact that lots of people read their lead characters – Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence - as probably bisexual (and probably as in love) and are on good terms with several active members of fandom and fic-writing. This is… so fucking fun. And it doesn’t have that weird overtone of shit like Teen Wolf (“We’re on a ship” winky-face, followed by that about heel-turn “just think it’s weird and strange” or however tf it was described later on - that shit: definitely queerbaiting).

In Star Trek there’s a slim-to-none chance that these characters will ever become canonically queer in the main text, but the acknowledgement and the light-hearted open engagement with it makes such a massive difference (not that Siddig and Robinson weren’t talking openly about it as far back as the 90s).

In Cobra Kai there is no obligation to make Johnny or Daniel canonically bi because there’s been no promise to do so – there is, in my opinion, an obligation to create a world in which queerness exists and not just on the sidelines. In the same way as there’s an obligation to generally create a world that accurately depicts what LA looks like in multiple other ways (cough, not mainly white, cough). If a part of that were through exploring how 80s era toxic heteronormative masculinity could throw people deep into the closet for most of their lives, hey, that’d be a neat storyline (such a neat fucking storyline), but it’s not the only way to do it.

While I do like canonically queer couples in stories, I also think it’d really limit what queerness can do for a text if that were the only way it was represented - sure I ship Lawrusso, but I find the above-mentioned analysis of toxic masculinity’s effects on the characters-as-queer-coded to go much deeper than whether or not they get together. 

I also would love trans and/or other-gender characters - we all know Johnny needs his “gender-what?” ignorance challenged and the potential for characters like that to fit into a narrative around trauma, loneliness, and misfit-families is kinda perfect (and when I say characters, I mean that plural, we’re not a one-size fits all).

Lastly I think there is also an obligation to do exactly what the showrunners are doing - what didn’t happen with Hinton or SPN or Teen Wolf or Star Trek of yore or so much other popular fiction: say, oh yeah, that language is absolutely there, we recognise it, we can read it and it’s not weird or sordid or something to be judged. So that’s already a massive thumbs up/promising start.

4. some final thoughts:

Idk where all this’ll go. I’m still missing a lot of canonically queer representation - and when I say representation I mean more than just shoving in a queer character into a scene and not thinking about how that affects the world that’s been established. But I’m feeling a lot better about queerness and story than I used to.

I’m hoping that whatever comes moving forwards in culture in general it’ll have some thought put into it. I’m hoping that queerness and queer allegory and coding will be recognised more and more as important reads of text and will go into informing how something is made (Hannibal, Black Sails, Sense8, Pose). I’m just hoping this’ll mean some interesting, intelligent, wildly varied narratives.

Just very excited.

[genderandkidlit]

Analysis 3: Tove Jansson and the Moomins

It is no surprise that representation can be handled differently when a queer author is creating it. The awareness of certain societal constraints, gender roles, and a sense of community often seeps into their work. Tove Jansson’s Moomin series isn’t perfect in this regard, however was rather prolific for its time. The series centers around Moomintroll, his family, and their world Moominvalley. Her experiences as a queer woman in Finland during the 40s-70s are embedded in the stories, as she often based characters in the series off those in her life. Moomin explores themes of war, loneliness, love, gender roles, and a queer element that borders subtext and representation.

Jansson’s niece, Sophia Jansson, describes her ideals as, “...she challenged a lot of the assumptions that were still held by society about how women should live at the time- for example, that they should stay at home and dedicate themselves to bringing up children….she defied convention.” Moomin has various characters based off of Jansson’s loved ones, many of which either allude to the author’s queerness, or the queerness of the character themselves. For example, the character Too-Ticky is based off Tove’s lifelong partner, Tuulikki Pietila, who Vanderhooft describes as “delightfully dykey.” Pietila came into her life while struggling with her creative process and the commercial success of the Moomins, which is apparent in the novel that pays homage to their meeting. In Moominland Midwinter, Moomintroll wakes up during the town’s winter hibernation to find himself alone, unable to wake his family, and without the sun for months on end. He soon finds Too-Ticky wandering the winter landscape, and later teaches him how to live in a dark, desolate world until spring. The concept itself has a very romantic undertone to it; two people alone in the world who find happiness in dark, hopeless circumstances. Boel Westin, author of Jansson’s authorised biography, states that, “Too-ticky is the one who gives Moomin guidance through the winter and the hard times, so she was really important to Tove. It’s Tuulikki’s book. It’s a book for her and it’s a book about her.” While the novel is perhaps not overly overt in representing queer characters, the subtext and inspiration is still present. Another pair of characters that allude to experiences in Jansson’s life are Tofslan and Vifslan. The two are introduced as nervous, tiny creatures who are fleeing the countryside to escape a creature called The Groke, a spirit of death and cold, who wants whatever is inside the suitcase they are carrying. They are never assigned genders by the cast of characters, always try to hold hands or keep each other close, and speak a separate language only the two of them can understand. Tofslan and Vifslan are based on Jansson’s relationship with Vivica Bandler in the 40s. With Bandler being married to a man, and queerness only recognized as a mental illness at the time, they attempted to keep their relationship secret; though Bandler is often depicted in Jansson’s murals and personified as Vifslan. In the end, the two revealed the secret of the suitcase to Moomin, which contained a giant, glowing ruby- namely a symbol of their love. Westin describes it as, “You could read this as being the lesbian love between Tove and Vivica. They have their secret love in this suitcase, and when they open the suitcase and show it to the whole of Moominvalley, it is also a picture of how they show their love to the world.” Tofslan and Vifslan are possibly more overtly queer than any other characters mentioned; their storyline is almost absent of subtext and moves towards a metaphor for the author’s relationship in that time period. The quote by Vanderhoff describes it perfectly, “The two scared little creatures make a fantastic image of how it must have felt to be queer in the forties…”. The last example of queer subtext/representation is Moomin’s relationship with Snufkin who is based off another one of Jansson’s lovers. Snufkin is inspired by Atos Wirtanen, who was together with Jansson in the 40s as well. The two wander as they please, and have no ties to material possessions. It is no secret that Tove injects many of her experiences into Moomintroll, thus the two character’s relationship is special. Moomin doesn’t understand Snufkin’s desire for absolute freedom, yet always longs for and waits for him the most out of any other character; just as Snufkin finds himself missing solely Moomin while he is away for the winter. There is more subtext involved in the two boy’s relationship than the two others previously mentioned, yet is inspired by romance and longing nonetheless. The question of whether or not Jansson’s characters themselves are outright queer is a bit of a grey area, yet their inspirations certainly are. Tove was probably as outright as she could be about their representations for the time period and her position in society. Though there is no question about the sweet, loving nature of the relationships she depicts.

The portrayal of gender roles in Moomin has a similar quality; impressive for the mid-late 20th century. Jansson certainly pushes some boundaries in what is properly masculine or feminine. For example, Moomin who is referred to by he/him pronouns, is often seen as naive and soft-hearted, as well as picks flowers, cooks with his mother, and maintains close, emotionally invested relationships with others. These are all qualities that conflict with what is typically expected of a young boy, yet the series and Jansson’s life did not exist in a vacuum away from the dominant culture of the 40s-70s as depicted in the Look Janet text. Vanderhooft argues that the books do not have a social structure that, “....mandates heterosexual behavior,” however this is just untrue. Perhaps there aren’t wildly toxic manifestations of gender roles in the series, but they are still present. On a physical level, some of the ‘girl’ characters often have more/longer hair, have pink, or different eyes compared to the usually more plain ‘boys’; though some do seem to break this convention such as Tofslan and Vifslan as previously mentioned, Too-Ticky, the Hemulens who wear dresses and go by he/him pronouns, The Groke, and various others. The most evident gender roles present are the ones within the Moomin household. Moominmama is the only one who cooks, cleans, and prepares beds for the family as well as any other guests, while Moominpapa often doesn’t help with daily chores unless it involves immense physical strength, and writes his personal memoir his study all day with Mama doing domestic chores downstairs. There is also the compulsory heterosexual element to Moomin and Snork Maiden’s relationship. Before even meeting the two are immediately regarded as love interests, and throughout the series there is a bit of a forced facet of their relationship but by the later books it is more diluted. Yet, even though the feminine characters have stereotypical aspects embedded in their characters, they still get the chance to be the hero of the story, save the day, conquer fears, and play along with everyone else. Depictions of gender roles in Moomin are not ground-breaking by any means, yet provide a bit of a leap in a more diverse direction, especially compared to the study described in Look Janet.

Depictions of characters in Jansson’s series were rather innovative compared to other works discussed in this blog. They express her experiences as a queer woman through the mid-late 20th century, which in turn makes the reader rethink dominant gender roles, as well as pick up on the subtext that isn’t quite subtext in the relationships and gender identities of her characters. Yet, this begs the question are the characters she created actual queer representation? Is there a difference between being inspired by queerness and an outright declaration? Perhaps taking Jansson’s openness about her relationship with Tuulikki later on as well as the fact that being queer was categorized as an illness and illegal in Finland throughout her whole life into consideration is the most important part of this conversation. No one can say whether she would have written them differently if she had been alive at another point in history, yet it is clear she was not afraid of her identity and did not think of it as villainous. She depicted it as something beautiful, and certainly suitable and relatable to children. To this day, Jansson remains one of the earliest, openly queer children’s book authors to have widely commercial success which portray an array of complexity both socially and emotionally.

[ainosalms]

10/10/2017: Translating a short(ish) essay

Date and time: 10/10/2017, 2,5 hours

Activity: I translated an essay I wrote for another class (academic writing in Finnish). The translation is quite literal, meaning I didn’t change the sentence structures that much.

Language focus: I wanted to test my translation skills and also see if I know words related to gender and media studies in English. I also wanted to practice using the Oxford Collocations Dictionary. I may show it to my “Writing in General” teacher once the group starts.

Reflection: Translating such a short text took me a lot longer than I’d thought! I also had to look up a lot of words. The Oxford Collocations Dictionary proved to be really useful, especially with prepositions which have always been my weak spot. I think this opened my eyes to see that even though I do read a lot of academic texts relating to my field (gender and media studies), most of the words are still in my passive vocabulary and I’ll have to work on learning to actively use them! I feel like this was a beneficial exercise for me and I’ll definitely write or translate something else soon. Here’s the whole text:

Feminist media studies - what and why?

Feminist media research combines themes of equality, portrayal of women and relationships between genders with analysis of media texts and imagery. It connects media studies with gender studies and its fields include both the conventions of producing and consuming media texts and their relationship with society as a whole. What can feminist media research bring to the field of media studies? How does it differ from cultural studies which has gained a firm foothold? How has feminist media studies responded to the challenges posed by the more and more multicultural media society?

Feminist theory borrows a lot from Marxist thinking. An example of this is the fact that feminists have brought to the mainstream the concept of patriarchy which is largely based on Marx’s theory of the conflict between bourgeoisie and proletariat and the disproportional position of these two groups. Early feminists thought that the oppression of women can also be explained using the concepts of patriarchy and capitalism. Men were supposed to be active citizens and earn the money for the whole family whereas the role of women was to stay at home and take care of the children, their authority being limited to make the acquisitions needed for the wellbeing of the family, using the money her husband has earned. This kind of thinking is one of the reasons for why feminist media research is still needed. Advertisers see women as an interesting target audience because instead of being considered producers, they’ve been seen mainly as consumers for decades. This way of thinking has dominated in Finland, too, since the country became independent and modern and the standard of living rose significantly. This can be seen both in advertisements aimed at women and in the actual journalistic material. Even though the influence of class society has been greater in some western countries than in others and it has also affected women of different classes in different ways, the advertising aimed at women has been very similar globally. Advertisers strive to create needs in women by making them feel bad about the way they look, for example.

In the 2000s Butler’s theory of gender being produced and performed instead of being essential has become one of the big trends in feminism. Gender is constantly produced in society and it’s performed by not just cultural conventions but by individuals too. They modify their behavior and appearance to fit the norms and expect others to do so as well. Feminism has become more and more intersectional which can also be seen in academic gender studies. Feminist media studies has expanded itself to cover representation of manhood and masculinity and the manifoldness of gender. Attention is focused also on other differences between groups of people besides gender and the mechanisms of othering certain groups of people. Even though the world has become globalized, ethnicity is still often represented in mass media through exoticizing. Feminist media research studies for example the roles people who represent different races, disabilities, sexual minorities or social classes are given in media. This expansion of point of view has had positive impacts and it has led to multiple new discussions about different positions in society, but it has also stirred up some critique. Critics claim that feminist media studies has moved too far away from its original subject and the distinction between it and other theories has become artificial.

The greatest merits of feminist media research lie in the fact that even though its differences with more general cultural studies are subtle and hard to define, it brings up viewpoints that wouldn’t be acknowledged otherwise. It associates traditional capitalism critique with the importance of gender aspect for example. Nowadays it also acknowledges themes related to racism and sexual identities. Gender equality is a dynamic concept which is redefined in every media text. However, media texts aren’t separate from reality and society as a whole. It’s important to analyze the ways texts either strengthen predominant ideas as well as the ways they challenge them. Feminist media studies can be applied to practice in both the academic world and cultural dimensions. Research can help to make representations of gender more positive and less toxic. Feminist media studies is a timely theory in which the vast changes of media, citizen journalism and the weakening of dominant traditional media empires’ position has brought new and exciting research subjects.