#gwss3404

[mutarules-blog]

Course and topics: Optional topics post

Reflect on your developing thoughts on the course and the topics

We have covered so many topics that had never been given enough of a focus in my previous classes. I really appreciated that our readings came from different authors each week instead of taking the knowledge from a single textbook. I’ve realized the importance of looking at a subject from other people’s perspective. When I am gathering an opinion on a non-western subject or interest, I’ve learned to look at that issue from many different angles instead of just looking from someone’s perspective that is more or less the same as me. I’ve also learned that while it’s a good idea to look outside our personal bubble, that it can also lead some structures to try to implement change where that form of change is not wanted or needed.

As we discussed global right’s organizations or NGOs, we’ve been exposed to the problematic nature of forcing one’s ideas of what is humane or natural onto a society that doesn’t share the same beliefs. So often these actions come from a political standpoint, and those in charge are just trying to gain personal benefit from “rescuing” others.

Then there are topics like HIV and AIDS that should be more popular and discussed concerning global issues, but those topics are brushed over and seen as a problem for “them” not “us. The film that we watched about the organization that was working to create change concerning the narrative used to discuss the HIV/AIDS epidemic was very powerful. I appreciated that the film showed a wide range of people who were affected by the epidemic and it showed the sort of grassroots organizations that worked to eradicate the virus and disease from their communities.

Overall, I have found this course to be very powerful. While I wasn’t sure how I felt the classroom dynamic to be in the beginning, I thought that our class was able to be honest and open with each other by the ends of it. It was beneficial to sit in the circle formation everyday, so that we could really be face to face with each other when we were discussing such important and valuable subjects. I also think that is why it was hard to share in class at times, but it made me push through my own insecurities, which I think I am better for today.

[mutarules-blog]

Sex Work: Optional topic post

For this week’s optional topic post, I will be writing about the topic of “Reflect on your developing thoughts on the course and the topics.” I want to write about sex work and sex workers to process through my thoughts on the subject. Many of my friends as well as the classes I’m taking have been discussing sex work lately. Whether that be in the context of a health perspective or a rights-based discussion, I have gathered a lot of opinion-based information about this all recently.

My good friend Anna, who I re-blog a lot from, recently had done some zine work about sex workers. Here is a quote from their tumblr, “110% believe decriminalizing sex work is a feminist and queer issue and something all allies should be fighting for. Decriminalizing sex work should be a conversation that comes up in queer/feminist circles but is rarely discussed, is rarely organized into action. I’m not saying that people need to speak for sex workers, rather to support them, to do some of the grunt work, to take some of the backlash. Check out Sex Workers Outreach Project for more info on decriminalization versus legalization and ally resources!” I agree with Anna’s shared opinion that sex work is something that needs to be brought up in feminist circles more often. I find it controversial that it doesn’t, but I can see many reasons why it doesn’t. Even though many feminists believe in sex-positivity or sexual liberation, for some reason sex and sexuality are viewed differently when money is involved.

Overall, I hold a very limited opinion on sex work. I value the idea that everyone needs to make money, and that people should be able to use or not use their body as each person feels fit to do so. I think that my preconceived stereotype about sex work fogs my actual opinion on the matter. I find myself judging the conversation, but then when I push past my biases, I realize that I don’t have valid reasons for those judgments, and I believe they are there just from negative media and political representations of sex work. This is why I have appreciated so much information about sex work, so that I can better understand the subject and all that it can encompass. 

[mutarules-blog]

The Wedding Banquet discussion: Optional topic post

The Wedding Banquet was a very enjoyable movie to watch. I felt myself instantly following along to the storyline and feeling a sort of kinship to the characters straight away. I appreciated that a lot of the movie was not in English, which let me watch the movie and feel involved rather than dissecting every word that was spoken.

One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when Wai-Tung and Simon are talking about what Wai-Tung should put on the list of requests for what he is looking for in a bride. They joke about her needing to have 2 PhDs, sing opera, be 5’9’’ (which came down from 5’11’), along with other requirements. One of the following scenes is Wai-Tung struggling to carry this women’s luggage as they talk about all the qualities she shared from that exaggerated list. Then when Wei-Wei dramatically confronts Wai-Tung at the lunch with this new woman, I knew I loved with Wei-Wei!

I appreciated the ending to the movie and how the father was much more aware and therefore accepting of what was going on than he had let on to the family. The scene with him and Simon out by the water was a beautiful example of breaking down stereotypes. I did critique this scene in my final essay, but for how it represents the father, I really did find it heartwarming. The critique I shared in my essay was that I was skeptical of if the father would have been so empathetic with Simon if he would have not had a grandchild on the way. My sister is dating someone who comes from a very traditional and strict Chinese family and she just told his parents that she was pregnant. She thought they would be okay with it once they processed that they would be getting a grandchild from their only son, but it has been a few weeks not and they are still not responding positively to the news. Everyone takes in information differently, regardless of the community or culture you are from.

[mutarules-blog]

Week 13:

In “Gay Imperialism”, Haritaworn, Tauqir and Erdem talk about the integration project of civilizing “homophobic immigrants” (14). What is this project of integration? How does this affect LGBT Muslims, according to the authors?

The integration project of civilizing “homophobic immigrants” is a way to politicize and gain attention on two topics that are always quick to be used when it is beneficial for the ones speaking out against the subjects. Gay rights and immigration are two areas that are quick to be portrayed in politics and power. As was stated in Gay Imperialism, the ‘integration of gay migrants’ is a way for white gays to “stake out their territory in the lucrative integration game and entering mainstream politics” (14). This follows the problematic idea that gay rights can be seen as universal and the rights wanted or needed (depending on who’s talking about them) can be seen as the same for all gay communities involved.

The project of integration is a political tool used by outsiders to invoke and prescribe change to the insiders. When the outsiders gain traction with this prescription of change, they can then be seen as a powerful symbol. The article stated a great quote about this; “.. the colonial trope of the white man’s burden, who forgoes his own needs for the sake of saving the poor victims who cannot help themselves” (16). When Western organizations are seen helping those that are “less fortunate,” they are seen as “global champions of ‘civilisation’, ‘modernity’ and ‘development’” (16). Specifically in regards to this article, this project of integration affects LGBT Muslims because not only “represents gay Muslims as victims without agency who cannot represent themselves,” but it also portrays the Muslim community as the “ideological token victim who must be liberated from its ‘barbaric, backward’ society, by menas that include political and military violence” (16). I know I’m quoting a lot from the article, but as I was reading I really found their words to carry a lot of strength. The idea that LGBT Muslims come from a place that is at odds with ‘western values’ will only lead to great political involvement, which typically results in violence for everyone involved.

Jin Haritaworn, Tamsila Tauqir and Esra Erdem, “Gay Imperialism: Gender and Sexuality Discourse in the ‘War on Terror’”, in Adi Kuntsman and Esperanza Miyake (eds), Out of Place: interrogating silences in queer raciality. London: Raw Nerve Books, 2008. Pp 9-33.  

[mutarules-blog]

Week 11:

According to Joseph Massad, how do US military and political interests in North Africa and the Middle East impact discussions of sexual rights?

US military and political interests in North Africa and the Middle East impact discussions of sexual rights because of the “Western interventionist trends and their effects on the contemporary Arab world”  that Joseph Massad speaks about in their article, Re-Orienting Desire (160). Colonization is often spoken about in terms of physical locations, but Massad refers to colonization in terms of thought processes and areas of knowledge as well. As the West worked on sexual liberation in their own nations, they also sought out the liberalization and “universalization of ‘gay rights’” internationally (160). Through organizations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, the West was able to spread their beliefs about human rights, including sexual liberation and gay rights into other nations. Western-led NGOs try to change and spread the idea of gay rights, which can be looked at as that as a type of a missionary task and a way to spread cultural tolerance. This is problematic because then these rights are perceived to not exist in those areas already.

It is also problematic when organizations are labeled as international groups, but ran primarily by specific regions. The title of an international group is then misleading because the actions are still being represented from a Western-led perspective. When an issue becomes politicized, such as sexual rights in North Africa and the Middle East many organizations are going to jump on board to help “save” or “liberate” those that are deemed less fortunate. As Massad writes, “By inciting discourse on homosexual and gay and lesbian rights and identities, the epistemology, nay, the very ontology of gayness is instituted in such discourse” (174). Massad goes on to write that when gayness is politicized, it is turned to “support them or oppose them” (174). Issues such as telling people how they should identify reaffirms the need for a label to be visible within LGBT politics.

Joseph Massad, “Re-Orienting Gay Desire: The Gay International and the Arab World”, in Desiring Arabs. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008. 160-190

[mutarules-blog]

Week 2:

Prompt: Think about the social location exercise and the definitions of the transnational we talked about in class. Which definition of the transnational resonated with you? Find an example related to sexuality to show how it resonated and why.

When discussing transnational, the definition of 'different lenses' really stuck out to me. Everyone has a way of looking at a subject differently, due to their various intersectionalities. I may look at sexuality through my lens, which has been adjusted because of my different truths. Maybe it's because I come from California, or because I was raised by my liberal mother, or because I've had different life experiences that may set me apart or draw me closer to others.

When I look at sexuality with an emphasis on different lenses, then I draw on the experiences and realities of others to portray a certain kind of story or narrative. Transnational sexuality is to me in this context, a fluid term that draws on the stories and experiences of others to help describe one's idea of sexuality. One's story can be influenced because of the nation they live in, the culture they are surrounded with, the people that populate the areas around them, or so many other things. We are all born with sexuality, but it gets manipulated and developed due to our interactions, or lack thereof, over our lifetime.

An example of this is that my lens has been changed to fit my distinct experiences with sexuality. Because of my unique lived experiences, my definition and reality of sexuality is different than the person standing next to me. We are never fully aware of all that has happened to shape our realities, but everything that happens in our lives molds and changes the way we view things and how we react to those areas. For example, if someone was raised with a family and community that portrayed sexuality as a positive and vibrant trait, then that person will see sexuality accordingly. If another person was raised with sexuality being a negative aspect and that it should be repressed, the lens through which they see sexuality will be skewed because of those experiences.