This past weekend my friend Danielle helped to organize a conference called "(Dis)Embodied Feminism" at McGill University. I attended the keynote speech and one of the panels and came away with some new knowledge, plenty to research and lots to think about.
Now, I consider myself a feminist. Possibly a third wave feminist. I haven't decided just yet. This doesn't mean that I'm all for the "scary" feminism that thinks straight men can't so much as mention a woman without having the fires of hell released onto them. I believe that if you want to do something, and its not hurting anyone else, you quite possibly should do it. (But remember, just because you can do something doesn't mean you should do something. Ahem.) Hence the enjoyment of the show Secret Diary of a Call Girl. To each his/her own.
Which, before getting to art and critical theory, brings up an article that warmed my feminist heart. There is a muslim neighbourhood in urban Mumbai that a sporting equipment company fixed a basketball court for. Because basketball is a quintessential urban sport whether you live in L.A. or Mumbai. Apparently. And there are a handful of girls who play. Who really, really try, and after 3 years are being accepted by the boys and may end up with club team jobs from it. They do not have a lot of money. They are disapproved of my the local mosques and most of the adults of the community. But the girl the article focussed on just asked. She asked her pretty awesome parents if she could play. And they said yes. Because it made her happy. And the fact that they saw past what their community was saying and past what would be an "acceptable" thing to do, that girl plays basketball. All the time. And is actually happy. And I think there is a lesson to be learned there. From urban India.
But back to my weekend. The keynote speech was by an artist who is involved with "lived" pieces. Meaning she gets into a community, a thing, submerges herself and then makes art about it. Kind of like an artistic sociologist. Which is fascinating. One of the projects she spoke of a lot was called "Amber Doll" about the realistic sex doll she had made in her image. Which reminded me of Lars and the Real Girl. Sort of. Excellent movie, btw. And weird things happened to this doll in the end. While on display at a gallery showing, someone punched the doll in the face. Someone else literally cit her nose off. Who touches pieces of art at a gallery? Or, not just touch, as I suppose people do, but who intentionally ruins a piece of art at a gallery? Its like graffiti-ing Stonehenge. Oh Wait, people did that too. And now you can't get within 20 feet of the stones. I forgot. O.o
The pannel I went to was about health. About the social effects of balding (which apparently no woman would ever do without it being caused by physical or mental illness. Or a movie role.), the internet forums on PCOS (apparently middle class white women are obsessed with babies. Duh.), and MTV's view on mental vs. physical self as repressented in their reality show "I used to be fat." And a presentation via skype (very 21st century) about illness and queerness and having to "work" the health care system. These presentations were all very slanted to the physical interacting with the social acceptance. The pop psychology of real issues. Danielle asked if the media's reaction to Britney shaving her head, that it must be a sign of a mental breakdown, because why else would a pretty girl shave her head?, would fit under the guise of cancer baldness. I chickened out before asking about the non-baby, non facial hair related issues of PCOS, such as the effect it has on mood and weight gain (weight gain specifically in the positive way that its not fair for healthy women, women who would not otherwise have weight issues or as severe weight issues, from a health perspective, as they do thanks to effects of PCOS). And then the thing about Queer Theory.
Now, when I was listening to this panel, I did not know what Queer Theory was. I assumed it was what it sounds like: some sort of gender and sexuality studies thing about queerness. Which it kinda sorta might be. But its also a lot about people who are different. Different in any number of ways. Challenging typical ways of living, mostly. Or so I gather from the wikipedia page about it that I read when I got home. Because that is often how I do base line research. Yes, I am a graduate student.
It is not that I have an issue with this being a line of study. But it is the idea that all us people who are queer walk around with it tattooed on our foreheads that I have an issue with. I was a punk as a teenager. I had green hair and dreads and wore boy pants and band tshirts and skate shoes and studded belts and went to concerts and played tag on school yard playgrounds in 11th grade and hung out with the scary kids. Other people could say at least their friends didn't bite. I could not. And this was pre Twilight. This grew into coming off as artsy in undergrad. Somehow (when I actually had the dreads and the green hair at the same time). But all good things must come to an end, so now my hair is its own colour for the first time in a decade. Not that I don't still want green hair sometimes. I have tattoos instead. Less upkeep. And I have something resembling a normal person job. So I look like a normal kid. I look like a lot of other people. I look straight. But my interests. The things I do and think are awesome and funny and amazing and that I care about, well, not so much. I have, what one of my friends called "hippie hobbies" because I sew and cook and make jewelry and keep a worm composter. I am not exactly a "normal" and I hope I never become one. Does this mean I actively think people treat me better now? Well, maybe. But I think what they thought of me and who I am was a hell of a lot more accurate when I had green hair. So maybe life is different for the obviously queer. For straight kids with radical haircuts. For people who stand out. But when different is more accurate, I would rather stand out than fit in.
But back to my weekend. The keynote speech was by an artist who is involved with "lived" pieces. Meaning she gets into a community, a thing, submerges herself and then makes art about it. Kind of like an artistic sociologist. Which is fascinating. One of the projects she spoke of a lot was called "Amber Doll" about the realistic sex doll she had made in her image. Which reminded me of Lars and the Real Girl. Sort of. Excellent movie, btw. And weird things happened to this doll in the end. While on display at a gallery showing, someone punched the doll in the face. Someone else literally cit her nose off. Who touches pieces of art at a gallery? Or, not just touch, as I suppose people do, but who intentionally ruins a piece of art at a gallery? Its like graffiti-ing Stonehenge. Oh Wait, people did that too. And now you can't get within 20 feet of the stones. I forgot. O.o
The pannel I went to was about health. About the social effects of balding (which apparently no woman would ever do without it being caused by physical or mental illness. Or a movie role.), the internet forums on PCOS (apparently middle class white women are obsessed with babies. Duh.), and MTV's view on mental vs. physical self as repressented in their reality show "I used to be fat." And a presentation via skype (very 21st century) about illness and queerness and having to "work" the health care system. These presentations were all very slanted to the physical interacting with the social acceptance. The pop psychology of real issues. Danielle asked if the media's reaction to Britney shaving her head, that it must be a sign of a mental breakdown, because why else would a pretty girl shave her head?, would fit under the guise of cancer baldness. I chickened out before asking about the non-baby, non facial hair related issues of PCOS, such as the effect it has on mood and weight gain (weight gain specifically in the positive way that its not fair for healthy women, women who would not otherwise have weight issues or as severe weight issues, from a health perspective, as they do thanks to effects of PCOS). And then the thing about Queer Theory.
Now, when I was listening to this panel, I did not know what Queer Theory was. I assumed it was what it sounds like: some sort of gender and sexuality studies thing about queerness. Which it kinda sorta might be. But its also a lot about people who are different. Different in any number of ways. Challenging typical ways of living, mostly. Or so I gather from the wikipedia page about it that I read when I got home. Because that is often how I do base line research. Yes, I am a graduate student.
It is not that I have an issue with this being a line of study. But it is the idea that all us people who are queer walk around with it tattooed on our foreheads that I have an issue with. I was a punk as a teenager. I had green hair and dreads and wore boy pants and band tshirts and skate shoes and studded belts and went to concerts and played tag on school yard playgrounds in 11th grade and hung out with the scary kids. Other people could say at least their friends didn't bite. I could not. And this was pre Twilight. This grew into coming off as artsy in undergrad. Somehow (when I actually had the dreads and the green hair at the same time). But all good things must come to an end, so now my hair is its own colour for the first time in a decade. Not that I don't still want green hair sometimes. I have tattoos instead. Less upkeep. And I have something resembling a normal person job. So I look like a normal kid. I look like a lot of other people. I look straight. But my interests. The things I do and think are awesome and funny and amazing and that I care about, well, not so much. I have, what one of my friends called "hippie hobbies" because I sew and cook and make jewelry and keep a worm composter. I am not exactly a "normal" and I hope I never become one. Does this mean I actively think people treat me better now? Well, maybe. But I think what they thought of me and who I am was a hell of a lot more accurate when I had green hair. So maybe life is different for the obviously queer. For straight kids with radical haircuts. For people who stand out. But when different is more accurate, I would rather stand out than fit in.
-K
Check out a video that I think perfectly fits my sentiment of being entirely queer and entirely possibly straight. Because it doesn't really matter at the end of the day. Wait & See by Diamond Rings.
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