Author Archives: Dana Balakirova

Personal Reflection by Balakirova Dana

It feels as if a tide is turning in our culture in the United States. Women’s issues are being taken seriously. There is also progress being made for transgender liberation. While there is a lot of disheartening news in today’s age, such as the current consideration to overturn Roe v. Wade, and marginalized communities are still under constant threat of surveillance and violence being perpetuated against them, there have also been events, such as the Women’s March, where millions of citizens walked and protested in defense of women’s rights. During this class, I have been able to work through the current literature in these subjects, as well as develop my own personal beliefs on these matters. Under the guidance of a great professor, I was able to expand my working knowledge of the current theories in gender and the intersections that factors like race and class play in its development.

One of the most powerful readings from the class blog was the post about love and self-love in particular. Self-love is something that I have been thinking about incredibly deeply lately. As the COVID-19 pandemic has continued, I have noticed many people around me continuing habits they started during the lockdown, like smoking cigarettes, or not exercising their bodies, and this has gotten a lot of individuals, from what I have gathered from talking to them, with this feeling deep down of shame and depression. In our society, self-love has been turned into a product. Every day people’s mental health becomes worse off from the stresses of pandemic life and now the economic downturn, which has resulted in inflation on almost every day-to-day good while wages have remained stagnant. Since we live in a ruthlessly capitalistic world, companies have cropped up all over the place, promising silver bullets in the form of meditation and remote therapy apps. When I click on those apps, however, it is always an expensive subscription service being thrust on people who are desperate for a change in their lives. There was a point in my life where the hyper-consumer culture we live in, especially when it comes to self-love and self-development, disgusted me to the point where I almost believed it was better to have self-hate since it seemed more objective and less shrouded in consumer fantasy. Yet, as Angela Davis herself stated, one cannot change the world without first taking care of themselves. I have many peers who have ambitious plans, yet they focus too much on the hustle and grind of the world, never giving themselves enough time to rest. This leads them to burnout and, ultimately, a feeling of deep disappointment because we have been conditioned to think even a small break is a compromise. This is because our society runs on our constant productivity. The learning that I have done in class has conjured many of these thoughts. As a woman, I have always thought about gender and the norms placed on women in society, but have not been able to verbalize them as clearly as I can now. Partially, this is due to the readings themselves, which I have more thoughts on in the following paragraphs of this response, but it was also due to the writing assignments. Writing assignments such as the one assigned during this course do a tremendous job at helping students think their thoughts through, be able to edit and refine them, and then present the most coherent, structured version of their arguments to an audience. I believe, as a consequence of this class, I have been able to strengthen my writing skills, especially when it comes to the topic of civil rights and gender equality. These are incredibly important topics to discuss candidly.

From this class, I have learned that the culture that has influenced our warped perspective on self-love has also externalized those beliefs onto other people. The media, family, and social systems, such as public education, are where our empty perspectives about the world are shaped. The blog post about gender ideology in media shared sentiments that I have fostered for a long time. It is interesting that even the movies that are celebrated for being progressive often still have debated gender ideologies. One example of this is the recent remake of Spielberg’s West Side Story, which I was interested in watching because of the interviews saying that the director played close attention to how he portrayed the Latinx characters, making sure to not characterize them as had been done in the original version of the film, to the point where mostly white actors were cast for the roles and wore brown face during their performances in order to appear more Latinx. However, when it comes to gender dynamics, as was explained in the blog post in the bit about “Iron Maiden,” a detail that has stuck with me, the film was incredibly poor. While the woman lead did strive not to conform to the gang war around her, the entirety of her story relies on being the interest of a white man, even as a troupe at this rate in Hollywood. This is because to make a movie, one requires money and connections. Historically, people of color have been excluded from production and acting roles, as evidenced by the original iteration of that movie. Many of the people currently living in Hollywood are thus white men. As was described in the blog post, they thus encourage “unconscious ideologies” that reinforce the white male perspective. This was most evident to me during the duration of writing and revising my assignment, which I used to explore different gender and race dynamics in contemporary artists and how they broke against the norm, often to the dismay of fans and even their own families. This shows how, for people who exist outside of the gender spectrum or are in another marginalized group, simply being genuine to themselves self can be dangerous. This is what makes it triumphant, however.

In terms of my final project, I believe I brought this passion and interest in the subject to the assignment and gave it mine very all. Looking back on the group project about gender stereotypes, I believe it gives an excellent overview of how gender norms are normalized from an incredibly early age. The group project had given an extensive breakdown of what gender stereotypes are and how they are perpetuated. Not only that, however, it presented a breakdown of the current philosophical, psychological and sociological concepts surrounding the development of gender. That said, I made sure all of my research for this project was up-to-date and thought-provoking. I worked hard not to simply regurgitate the information presented in the class, but also to give my impressions and genuine thoughts about it. The aspect of the class that I enjoyed the most was the freedom to explore my own preconceived notions and what norms I had internalized and which stereotypes I have turned down simply naturally.

That said, I believe taking this class has been of the highlights of my college career. It was very informative and the class seemed like it was full of nice, interesting, and accepting people. Everything was well organized and easy to understand, even if it required a lot of critical thought to fully accomplish. A lot of professors struggle with keeping media and assignments on their pages easy to access and it can be easy to be bogged down with links, however, I never experienced that problem in this class. Instead, every week, I was excited about new developments being posted. It was truly an enlightening experience.

Dana Balakirova Blog Post Draft 2

Gender is on one hand complicated, and on the other, quite simple. The norms of our world are what makes breaking with gender stereotypes a traumatic experience for many. Although we have heard the phrase “just be yourself,” if your version of your best self does not coincide with the norms of the time, then that advice is sure to lead to ostracization. All people want to feel included, especially in their most intimate communities. Judith Butler’s “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory,” the author delves deep into the history of societal gender norms; her paper, alongside contemporary examples from popular culture, can show readers how gender norms are not as set in stone as our culture proports them to be.

In Judith Butler’s essay “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory,” the author explains that despite the way gender has historically been linked with one’s birth sex, it has never been a steady identity in and of itself. Instead, gender and the cultural norms surrounding it are perpetuated and evolve through social agents. Butler names a number of these social agents as being language, gesture, and symbolic social signs (Butler, Judith, 519). Gender is not set in stone, but rather is a spectrum. Recently, I have been going through and watching the late Patrick Swayze’s filmography. I believe he was a good example of what Butler was talking about. As a horse rancher and chain-smoking stoic, he fits all of the stereotypical trademarks of manliness. However, he was also a classically trained dancer. During interviews, especially during the press run of the film Dirty Dancing, often talked about how people back home often didn’t understand how a man like him could be into ballet. Funnily enough, they accepted it because he was from such a tough family, and himself, from a very young age, showed a lot of grit and determination. Artists have always been generally progressive on subjects such as gender identity. To make art means breaking down one’s world and critically analyzing the norms in it. Throughout the years, there have been many artists who have exemplified Butler’s feminist theory.

Gender identity is kept rigid in our society because allowing full expression of one’s gender identity means breaking down the norms that govern our entire reality. Butler writes, “One may want to claim, but oh, this is really a girl or a woman, or this is really a boy or a man, and further that the appearance contradicts the reality of gender” (Butler, Judith,527). The musician Arca, who makes an experimental noise-pop and has collaborated with major figures in the music industry such as Kanye West and Lady Gaga, often portrays herself as a non-binary machine in her music videos. Arca said she identifies as a trans woman, going by she/her pronouns, yet in the music, she embraces technology as a metaphor for being off the binary of not only gender but the limits of what can be considered pop music. She plays with images of computers and wires, using them as cultural symbols for both the new age, yet also a sort of soullessness. However, she embraces that lack of emotion not as a hindrance, but rather as a way to transcend one’s humanity, including negative emotions, such as bigotry or self-hatred. Arca does not see herself as succumbing to technology, but rather as an organism adapting around it. This relates to the aforementioned section of Butler’s paper, where she mentions cultural symbols and how they can be picked up by individuals and internalized as part of their identities. Although Butler is specifically referencing gender expression specifically in her writing, I believe her theory could be easily re-contextualized to fit many aspects of one’s personality. The media we consume and our aesthetic interests often define us to one extent or another. For an artist as forward-thinking as Arca, for example, her futurist beliefs are directly intertwined with her gender identity. While for a man such as Patrick Swayze, dancing was his way of balancing out the rigid and traditionally macho lifestyle, as well as a way to connect to his mother; yet most people are still struck by how easily he was able to channel feminine energy during his romantic films, which is what made him such a star in Hollywood. This shows how gender expression, in addition to social variables such as language and symbols, can also be adopted simply through one’s relationship with technology, family, or any number of outside influences.

Butler concludes that deviations from the performance of gender often lead to ridicule. She compares gender to a theatrical stage here by mentioning how theatrical performances can be met with censorship, bad criticism, or even violence (Butler, Judith, 527). This definitely parallels the experience that many trans people have when coming out. Although the concept of being trans has been normalized a bit since it first hit the public discussion, there are still many places in the United States and abroad where stepping out in one’s desired gender expression can mean retaliation. This risk doubles for marginalized communities. Unlike artists like Arca, who have the privilege of wealth, people in a poor socioeconomic position are incredibly at severe risk of being victimized. Seeing gender as a performance and making that the norm would give a lot of people a lot of emotional freedom since it would allow them to try things they had always wanted to do, yet we’re afraid of being ridiculed over.

Gender should, by the end of this paper, feel much more complicated than it appears at first. For one, the intersections between race and gender are evident. Artists of a certain caliber are allowed to express themselves openly because they have the favor of the public behind them. Individuals without public support are always living in fear of whether to live authentically or to conform in order to avoid any backlash. Looking at Butler’s essay, in conjunction with how artists of an elite economic hierarchy express themselves, shows how economics, as with anything else in our hyper-capitalist society, is intertwined with gender.

WORK CITED

Butler, Judith. “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory.” Theatre Journal, vol. 40, no. 4, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1988.

Blog Post Draft 2 Dana Balakirova

Gender is on one hand complicated, and on the other, quite simple. The norms of our world are what makes breaking with gender stereotypes a traumatic experience for many. Although we have heard the phrase “just be yourself,” if your version of your best self does not coincide with the norms of the time, then that advice is sure to lead to ostracization. All people want to feel included, especially in their most intimate communities. Judith Butler’s “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory,” the author delves deep into the history of societal gender norms; her paper, alongside contemporary examples from popular culture, can show readers how gender norms are not as set in stone as our culture purports them to be.

In Judith Butler’s essay “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory,” the author explains that despite the way gender has historically been linked with one’s birth sex, it has never been a steady identity in and of itself. Instead, gender and the cultural norms surrounding it are perpetuated and evolve through social agents. Butler names a number of these social agents as being language, gesture, and symbolic social signs (Butler, Judith, 519). Gender is not set in stone, but rather is a spectrum. Recently, I have been going through and watching the late Patrick Swayze’s filmography. I believe he was a good example of what Butler was talking about. As a horse rancher and chain-smoking stoic, he fits all of the stereotypical trademarks of manliness. However, he was also a classically trained dancer. During interviews, especially during the press run of the film Dirty Dancing, often talked about how people back home often didn’t understand how a man like him could be into ballet. Funnily enough, they accepted it because he was from such a tough family, and himself, from a very young age, showed a lot of grit and determination. Artists have always been generally progressive on subjects such as gender identity. To make art means breaking down one’s world and critically analyzing the norms in it. Throughout the years, there have been many artists who have exemplified Butler’s feminist theory.

Gender identity is kept rigid in our society because allowing full expression of one’s gender identity means breaking down the norms that govern our entire reality. Butler writes, “One may want to claim, but oh, this is really a girl or a woman, or this is really a boy or a man, and further that the appearance contradicts the reality of gender” (Butler, Judith, 527). The musician Arca, who makes an experimental noise-pop and has collaborated with major figures in the music industry such as Kanye West and Lady Gaga, often portrays herself as a non-binary machine in her music videos. Arca said she identifies as a trans woman, going by she/her pronouns, yet in the music, she embraces technology as a metaphor for being off the binary of not only gender but the limits of what can be considered pop music. She plays with images of computers and wires, using them as cultural symbols for both the new age, yet also a sort of soullessness. However, she embraces that lack of emotion not as a hindrance, but rather as a way to transcend one’s humanity, including negative emotions, such as bigotry or self-hatred. Arca does not see herself as succumbing to technology, but rather as an organism adapting around it. This relates to the aforementioned section of Butler’s paper, where she mentions cultural symbols and how they can be picked up by individuals and internalized as part of their identities. Although Butler is specifically referencing gender expression specifically in her writing, I believe her theory could be easily re-contextualized to fit many aspects of one’s personality. The media we consume and our aesthetic interests often define us to one extent or another. For an artist as forward-thinking as Arca, for example, her futurist beliefs are directly intertwined with her gender identity. While for a man such as Patrick Swayze, dancing was his way of balancing out the rigid and traditionally macho lifestyle, as well as a way to connect to his mother; yet most people are still struck by how easily he was able to channel feminine energy during his romantic films, which is what made him such a star in Hollywood. This shows how gender expression, in addition to social variables such as language and symbols, can also be adopted simply through one’s relationship with technology, family, or any number of outside influences.

Butler concludes that deviations from the performance of gender often lead to ridicule. She compares gender to a theatrical stage here by mentioning how theatrical performances can be met with censorship, bad criticism, or even violence (Butler, Judith, 527). This definitely parallels the experience that many trans people have when coming out. Although the concept of being trans has been normalized a bit since it first hit the public discussion, there are still many places in the United States and abroad where stepping out in one’s desired gender expression can mean retaliation. This risk doubles for marginalized communities. Unlike artists like Arca, who have the privilege of wealth, people in a poor socioeconomic position are incredibly at severe risk of being victimized. Seeing gender as a performance and making that the norm would give a lot of people a lot of emotional freedom since it would allow them to try things they had always wanted to do, yet were afraid of being ridiculed over.

Gender should, by the end of this paper, feel much more complicated than it appears at first. For one, the intersections between race and gender are evident. Artists of a certain caliber are allowed to express themselves openly because they have the favor of the public behind them. Individuals without public support are always living in fear of whether to live authentically or to conform in order to avoid any backlash. Looking at Butler’s essay, in conjunction with how artists of an elite economic hierarchy express themselves, shows how economics, as with anything else in our hyper-capitalist society, is intertwined with gender.

WORK CITED

 

Butler, Judith. “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory.” Theatre Journal, vol. 40, no. 4, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1988.

Post Dana Balakirova

Blog Post 1 Dana Balakirova

In Judith Butler’s essay “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory,” the author explains that despite the way gender has historically been linked with one’s birth sex, it has never been a steady identity in and of itself. Instead, gender and the cultural norms surrounding it are perpetuated and evolve through social agents. Butler names a number of these social agents as being language, gesture, and symbolic social signs (Butler, Judith., 519). Gender is not set in stone, but rather is a spectrum. Recently, I have been going through and watching the late Patrick Swayze’s filmography. I believe he was a good example of what Butler was talking about. As a horse rancher and chain-smoking stoic, he fit all of the stereotypical trademarks of manliness. However, he was also a classically trained dancer. During interviews, especially during the press run of the film Dirty Dancing, often talked about how people back home often didn’t understand how a man like him could be into ballet. Funnily enough, they accepted it because he was from such a tough family, and himself, from a very young age, showed a lot of grit and determination. Artists have always been generally progressive on subjects such as gender identity. To make art means breaking down one’s world and critically analyzing the norms in it. Throughout the years, there have been many artists who have exemplified Butler’s feminist theory.

Gender identity is kept rigid in our society because allowing full expression of one’s gender identity means breaking down the norms that govern our entire reality. Butler writes, “One may want to claim, but oh, this is really a girl or a woman, or this is really a boy or a man, and further that the appearance contradicts the reality of gender” (Butler, Judith.,527). The musician Arca, who makes an experimental noise-pop and has collaborated with major figures in the music industry such as Kanye West and Lady Gaga, often portrays herself as a non-binary machine in her music videos. Arca said she identifies as a trans woman, going by she/her pronouns, yet in the music, she embraces technology as a metaphor for being off the binary of not only gender but the limits of what can be considered pop music. She plays with images of computers and wires, using them as cultural symbols for both the new age, yet also a sort of soullessness. However, she embraces that lack of emotion not as a hindrance, but rather as a way to transcend one’s humanity, including negative emotions, such as bigotry or self-hatred. Arca does not see herself as succumbing to technology, but rather as an organism adapting around it. This relates to the aforementioned section of Butler’s paper, where she mentions cultural symbols and how they can be picked up by individuals and internalized as part of their identities. Although Butler is specifically referencing gender expression specifically in her writing, I believe her theory could be easily re-contextualized to fit many aspects of one’s personality. The media we consume and our aesthetic interests often define us to one extent or another. For an artist as forward-thinking as Arca, for example, her futurist beliefs are directly intertwined with her gender identity. While for a man such as Patrick Swayze, dancing was his way of balancing out the rigid and traditionally macho lifestyle, as well as a way to connect to his mother; yet most people are still struck by how easily he was able to channel “feminine” energy during his romantic films, which is what made him such a star in Hollywood. This shows how gender expression, in addition to social variables such as language and symbols, can also be adopted simply through one’s relationship with technology, family, or any number of outside influences.

Butler concludes that deviations from the performance of gender often lead to ridicule. She compares gender to a theatrical stage here by mentioning how theatrical performances can be met with censorship, bad criticism, or even violence (Butler, Judith., 527). This definitely parallels the experience that many trans people have when coming out. Although the concept of being trans has been normalized a bit since it first hit the public discussion, there are still many places in the United States and abroad where stepping out in one’s desired gender expression can mean retaliation. This risk doubles for marginalized communities. Unlike artists like Arca, who have the privilege of wealth, people in a poor socioeconomic position are incredibly at severe risk of being victimized. Nevertheless, seeing gender as a performance and making that the norm would give a lot of people a lot of emotional freedom since it would allow them to try things they had always wanted to do, yet we’re afraid of being ridiculed over.

WORK CITED: Butler, Judith. “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory.” Theatre Journal, vol. 40, no. 4, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1988.