raw material

hannah | she/her | german major | university of alberta

[hannah-stuparyk]

We talked a bit today about symbols in performitivity and how ones style can affect the way that others perceive them ie) the ring of keys, and the butch woman in the diner that Alison sees. I was thinking about other symbolism that signifies a persons belonging to a particular subculture or identity and I thought of this song by Weezer. The following is a snippet from the chorus:

I'm dumb, she's a lesbian

I thought I had found the one

We were good as married in my mind

But married in my mind's no good

Pink triangle on her sleeve

Let me know the truth

In this situation, the singer meets a girl who he wants to ask out but he stops himself because he notices the pink triangle symbol she wears indicating her (probable) homosexuality. The pink triangle symbol was used by the Nazis in WWII to indicate those who had been imprisoned for being gay. It has since been reclaimed by the LGBTQ+ community as a symbol of gay pride and has been used in promoting activism and awareness; especially during the AIDS Crisis of the 1980’s with the slogan “Silence = Death”. Artists like Keith Haring helped to popularize this symbol - the following piece is an example from 1989.

This song shows the power of symbols and how people alter their behaviour towards others due to the way they present themselves - even if the indicators are very subtle. If the girl in the song had not had the pink triangle motif visible on her person, the singer of the song most likely would have approached her and asked her out assuming her heterosexuality. She is taking a conscious step to perform her queerness and potentially avoid having her identification - incorrectly - assumed. 

-Hannah Stuparyk, 19/02/2017, Week 4

[hannah-stuparyk]

Paul, for example, is subjected to certain unwritten norms about masculinity and normalcy. The enforcement of these norms, however, is primarily carried out by Paul himself. When external authorities try to enforce the norms, they are ineffective, as with the frustrated teachers at the trial. Wilchins relates the Panopticon to gender conformity, writing, “Gender conformity is made possible through a sense of permanent visibility, a strong consciousness of shame before others, a rock-solid belief in what our bodies mean and that meaning’s utter transparency, and the continuous dance of gender that attaches binary meaning to every facet of our waking lives” (69). To make Paul internalize the gender binary, the dominant culture doesn’t actually need to constantly watch Paul and punish him for his deviancy. It only needs to make Paul feel that he is constantly being watched, as if imprisoned within the Panopticon. In this, the dominant culture is remarkably successful. In one of the first descriptions we read of Paul, Cather writes, “Paul was always smiling, always glancing about him, seeming to feel that people might be watching him and trying to detect something” (94). It doesn’t matter whether or not people actually are scrutinizing him. The very threat is enough to induce paranoia and, therefore, either conformity or shame.

The Execution of a Homosexual in Cather’s “Paul’s Case” by William Thomas Moore

I found an essay discussing the enforcement of gender norms in Willa Cather’s 1905 short story “Paul’s Case”. If you haven’t read this piece - I studied it in high school, some of you may have done the same - I would definitely give it a read. This essay, however, speaks at length about the harm that forced conformity causes Paul throughout the short story and how his sexuality was seen by those in around him in power positions as “deviance”. We discussed Foucault and his ideas of both the perverse implantation and his views on power structures in class and both of these concepts are presented in the essay as well as “Paul’s Case” itself.

We see the teachers attempt to force normative behaviour on Paul through discipline as they take affront to both his “suave and smiling” demeanour and his style of dress. A red carnation adorns his coat as a reference to Oscar Wilde and his sexuality. The fact that this carnation is singled out in the narrative as being something that signals Paul’s sense of not belonging is significant due to what it stands for. In degrading a symbol of identity, the teachers enforce “conformity” and “shame” on Paul and lead to his eventual rebellion from his home town in search of a place where he can be himself. This supports the ideas of the perverse implantation in that he has this idea of what he is supposed to be driven to death into his head that he seeks to be the opposite of that. The strictness of the teachers in policing his behaviour and sexuality force him to take drastic measures to feel at peace with who his - these measures turn out to end in great tragedy.

I find it interesting that the essay by Moore references Foucault’s Discipline & Punish and likens the need for conformity to that of being inside a prison - constantly watched and scrutinized by those around you.

-Hannah Stuparyk, Week 3, 12/02/2017

[hannah-stuparyk]

Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968) was a French artist who participated in the Dada and Surrealism movements throughout the first half of the 20th century. Marcel Duchamp the painting L.H.O.O.Q. (1919) parodying one of the most famous examples of the female form. In this piece he reimagines Mona Lisa holding distinct masculine characteristics in the image of his own face. From a modern perspective and in following the ideas of Judith Butler, we can interpret these works as a statement on the uncertain and constructed or performative notion of gender and the lack of boundaries in representing ones gender identity. The name of Duchamp’s piece is especially intriguing as it’s a pun on the French pronunciation of its acronym “Elle a chaud au cui” meaning “she is hot in the ass” or “she is sexually aroused.” This was a very strong and poignant statement to make seeing as how stigmatized sexuality, especially female sexuality, was at the time. It is also significant that Duchamp is implying that he himself is becoming sexually aroused at the prospect of being a woman, as it is his face being transcribed onto the work. This plays directly into the examples of drag or cross dressing and the empowerment of performing a gender that was not assigned at birth. It is also important to note that Marcel Duchamp created a female “alter ego” Rrose Sélavy that was often photographed. His works often challenged traditional gender ideals.

In applying ideas of remediation to this piece, we can see how an important cultural landmark is reimagined in the guise of a new piece of media. In order for Duchamp to portray the full impact of this commentary on gender and the way it is perceived, he must remediate something that exists in the classical canon of art. It forces those who view his work to think deeper on their preconceived ideas of both Mona Lisa and other images that they see in their lives. Making the familiar into something unfamiliar is paramount to creating new media and challenging norms.

-Hannah Stuparyk, Week Two