Blog #7

Masculinity 2.0

Sexual orientation and gender roles have undergone many changes and the ‘norm’ is changing and even widely accepted by society at large. This is not to say its easy and everyone supports the individuals right to chose who, where and how they function in society. The individual is born male or female, according to the XY chromosomes, genitalia etc. this cant be argues really, it’s a fact. However, the psyche of the individual may think and desire things that are not prescribed to their gender and sexual preferences. Where as the acceptance to be ‘other’ has come along way the growth and progress of female masculinity has remained stagnant.

The two movies examined in Halberstams theory of heterosexual conversion narratives prove two major points regarding glorifying male masculinity. The first is the hetero male is attractive and well liked despite the unethical and repulsive traits he exhibits. The second is the hetero male is never challenged by the alternative male to preserve his precious masculine traits (will get to this in later point). The male’s heroic attributes are left in tact and the woman’s desire to love subjects her to a life of compromise. Since the man is incapable of providing the love she desires at its entirety. The woman is forced to compromise-in order to fulfill her desire to reproduce. In the Hollywood version of the story, the woman often chooses a man who is the minority and able to provide her with the love she desires as well as the tools it takes to reproduce. This minority man never challenges the leading man and his masculinity. The woman’s choice to compromise does not resign ate with a masculine female. Female’s traits of masculinity are typically undesirable-a butch lesbian who is hairy and repulsive.

Masculinity has developed and evolved in the sphere of men and their role but remains stagnant for women. The future requires work in the examination and enhancement of female masculinity in a positive light rather than the undesired image of a “butch dyke” one has come to visualize with the term masculine female.

Even the gay man’s embodiment of the properly masculine male in contemporary film has taken the place of the formerly stereotyped feminine male. This is adding more fuel to the already blazing fire of male masculinity.

Femininity needs to revamp its image. Males, regardless of their sexual orientation should happily and proudly display traits derived from a stereotypical fem female, as most women today are proud to be compared to a “masculine” male, considering that it is a sign of strength and resilience.

A man could never understand the strength of the female. The restrictions we still face today. The voice of our desires silenced for so long sound outrageous to the voice of the brave soul who shares the stories. The power-handed down from man to man to man to man is finally beginning to share a tiny sliver of its platform to the female voice. We must fight to make femininity a desirable trait associated with strength, resilience and power!

Blog #6 Gender Stuff

The shaping of self and forming an identity though to be authentic by the individual are in fact not. The formation process takes place with the nudging of institutions, particularly in the political arena, which designate the qualifications required to operate “normally” according to your gender. The trouble with this is the institution itself and the influence they have in the enabling of an identity that does not agree with the inner female desire. The desire according to contemporary theorists derives from the notion of “desire” as trouble applies to both male and female. However, these desires are rarely addressed from the perspective of the female whose voice is very new to society entirely. Feminism and the fight for equal rights.

The body according to history is imprinted in history. The man according to Foucault is subject to cultural inscription in both mind and body. Therefore the man is sufficiently able to assess himself as an individual. The coding and “writings on the wall” must be destructed for the chance of being able to self-identify.

The maintenance of self-identity is culturally bound on so many levels. The desire o be a part of the norm, to be the norm or to rebel against the norm are all in some way a clear derivative of the popular and accepted terms of society. The internal and external bounds of an individual and their identity are always subject to this public acceptance. The inner and outer conflict of the individual is a result of the desire to feel normal in order to function in society. Depending on the amount of conflict between you inner and outer desires determines the sanction of the subject to its differentiation from the abject. How does the subject conceal these desires from ever reaching the surface-how does the truth not slip from the cracks?

Gender identity and the inner and outer conflict of self-identity are perfectly executed in drag. The performer subverts the distinction between inner and outer psychic space in an effective way, “effectively mocks” the roles of each gender. The performance is allowing the audience to see the inner working of how the individual would like to perform while not performing on a stage for their amusement.

The performances seem to be over the top and outrageous in order to capture the attention of the audience, but are not so far off from the performance the individuals act out on a daily basis in order to function.