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"I don't know where I'm going from here, but I promise it won't be boring." - Bowie

[thezodiacwriter-blog]

Best (Gay) Life Draft

      Homosexuality has always been at the heels of oppression and judgement by society for centuries and though it’s slowly becoming more widely accepted, this is only the beginning meaning there is still much work to be able to create the ‘ideal’ accepting society that many individuals dream of. One prominent way of progression is the use of music and expression, these two have always gone hand in hand since its creation, and it continues to be an outlet for many different musicians and artists alike. Some of the more famous ‘gay’ artists include but are not limited to are David Bowie, Elton John, and Freddie Mercury. These men have consistently challenged the narrative of queerness and queer acceptance throughout their lifetimes and their work almost 50 years later still has a large effect on what queer means today. These 3 have been a  major part of breaking norms and using their own sexuality to shape and mold what is allowed in modern society,  their large influences created the queer society we are able to live in today.

[thezodiacwriter-blog]

Blog 4: Honestly, I don’t know what to title this

     I find it harder to feel motivated lately with finding new articles and ideas for this research paper. It's becoming difficult to grasp a concept in what exactly I want for this paper, I know what I want to have and talk about and who I need but its irritating because I feel no matter how much work and research I put into this paper, I still feel like I’m not accomplishing everything. I did like the workshop day, it helped getting started somewhere but now I feel like I’m so behind and I feel bad for not having as much as others. Another dilemma I find is searching for peer reviewed articles that fit into what I need for my paper so I started to venture off and look for online sources like news articles and biographies that give me more of what I need information wise.

      I can’t shake the feeling of not knowing exactly where I am supposed to be in terms of the paper, I know we are still working on finding information and gathering up ideas in order to use everything we find for later but it feels like I have to rush myself because the small amounts of work that we’ve been doing. I guess it's because I’m so used to a heavy workload by writing the paper as I research (which is what your are not supposed to do) so this must explain as to why it feels like I haven’t done any work since claiming a topic. But I understand that this is only the beginning, writing a good paper shouldn’t be written on a whim, it takes research, knowledge and a good idea in order to gather everything together in creating this paper. Good papers can not be written overnight, this is something I have to remind myself while going into this class.

      I have noticed by using these online journals to update on myself on where I am and to figure out what I still need to do. It keeps me consistent and focused on what I want for my topic and how I can go about in doing so. I prefer the online journals over the writing journals because it’s still work, I am happy to say that by using this platform to ground myself and keep me in line has showed significant improvement in how I usually do research papers. Usually I do my work last minute and I don’t have a concrete thought or the best sources that I could have, like forcing myself to use a source that doesn’t help my paper but having to because it’s the only source that has anything to do with pheromones in children (this is an example of a research paper I did 2 years ago that needed major revision). However what this researching process has taught me is not allowing sources like that to be used in my paper. If I don’t need them, then it's okay to toss it and look for something else.

[richardmaddendaily]

[bowielifelessons]

#BowieLifeLessons 👨🏻‍🎤⠀

What has David Bowie taught you?⠀

[torahfeminist]

Queer Theory and the Jewish Question (2003) by Daniel Boyarin, Daniel Itzkovitz, Ann Pellegrini.

The essays in this volume boldly map the historically resonant intersections between Jewishness and queerness, between homophobia and anti-Semitism, and between queer theory and theorizations of Jewishness. With important essays by such well-known figures in queer and gender studies as Judith Butler, Daniel Boyarin, Marjorie Garber, Michael Moon, and Eve Sedgwick, this book is not so much interested in revealing – outing – “queer Jews” as it is in exploring the complex social arrangements and processes through which modern Jewish and homosexual identities emerged as traces of each other during the last two hundred years.

Order a copy here.

[cosmicsignificance]

Judith Butler and Gender Performativity (a guide for beginners)

Part 1: Gender Performance and the Development of a Sense of Self A central concept of Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity is that gender does not exist naturally. Rather, a person's gender is constructed through their own repetitive performance of that gender. In other words, "gende...

I really like Judith Butler’s ideas, and I think a lot of other people might find them interesting as well. Unfortunately, Judith Butler’s writing is not always easy to understand, especially if you don’t have much experience reading theory. 

So I made an outline of the major ideas she outlined in Gender Trouble, except paraphrased in a way that I hope is easier to understand. All of the info is in this Google doc, which should be open to the public. Let me know if I should change anything to make this outline more helpful! 

[thezodiacwriter-blog]

Blog 3: Sex, Gender, Masculinity

     With all the new information from last class, it made me realize how many different approaches I could take on writing this paper. As I looked into theories like Queer theory and understanding on how I could integrate that with my research about sexuality, gender and identity by using iconic queer musicians like David Bowie, Freddie Mercury and Elton John. I noticed while using the library’s database it was a bit difficult finding articles that fit into what path I wanted to take but I guess that’s the entire point of constructing this research paper and creating new thoughts, theories and ideas. One thing I have noticed while searching for my three iconic artists, Bowie is the one that is written about the most, where as Elton and Mercury there was a selective few especially when it came to sexuality and gender. Though all three are well known for their promiscuous lifestyles its surprising they aren’t used for more queer theory articles especially since how impactful they were to the queer community then and now.  

      My next goal in searching for articles is looking at other forms of sources like books, films and music to present what ‘queerness’ meant during the late 70’s. These will give good insight on how crucial it was to break these types conformities in order to create the communities we are able to live in now. It’s interesting to see how because of this type of music these musicians wrote, felt and lived, we as a generation are able to live in a much more accepting in society as a whole while also inspiring creators like Lady Gaga and countless others. These articles and various sources will become helpful in finding the evolution to gay acceptance and how it has completely changed the face of music throughout the years.

      Another factor I need to consider is also branching out in looking for gay writers who emphasizes on writing about queer theory, sexuality, gender, identity. I feel like I have a good start on each artist and queer theory but I am beginning to search for more sources considering sexuality and gender. Though I am unsure if I should focus more on masculine identity rather than identity as a general concept. Seeing as all my subjects are males and are the biggest to break these societal norms, then specifically focusing on male identity should narrow my research and provide a solid idea on what certain things I need to focus on more. My topic is not as simple as it sounds and I will definitely need to research extensively and try to only use credible sources to make this piece as authentically accurate as I could possible make it. I personally feel like this topic will be easier than the first one I had initially wanted to do simply because I am part of this community as well as a huge fan of David Bowie so I as a queer individual feel like I can add some realism, passion and value into this research paper which is my ultimate goal.

[thezodiacwriter-blog]

Blog Post 2: Sexuality, Gender and Identity

      I struggled a lot with my last topic that I decided to change gears completely and focus on a new approach that I have a better understanding and connection to which is sexuality, gender and identity. The way I will be conducting this research topic is using iconic musicians like David Bowie, Freddie Mercury and Elton John’s music to define and help understand these impactful  themes not only in modern society but within the LGBTQ community. What I came to the conclusion that all three men have in common are the LGBTQ, music and they were all icons that still are relevant to today’s societal norms. Back in the 1970’s these individuals were considered as deviants by breaking social norms and their roles as men. They expressed themselves through their career by heavily focusing on their identities within their music and performances. A few examples are dressing in drag, wearing make-up and being open with their sexualities and relationships. Many consider these artists as icons for opening the doors for other performing artists like Lady Gaga to express themselves throughout their musical careers in order to break away from social conformity and gradually turning it into what is now accepted in today’s musical industry as well as the general population.

      I, like many others, look up to these artists and praise them for all the hard work they went through just to demolish any barriers and struggling queer individuals to finally have the chance to express themselves openly for the public eye and creating a more accepting and safe environment for queer folk alike. I particularly connected with Bowie the most, his songs, performances and even interviews completely devoured my mind, thoughts and feelings with my own sexuality and I couldn’t escape. In fact, I never wanted to leave, I am still much into Bowie as I was when I was first introduced in my 6th grade art class when my teacher played the infamous Bowie film “Labyrinth”. After watching the film I was mesmerized by this character Jareth and more importantly who was this actor playing him. That’s when I fell in love with David Bowie. I was obsessed, I wanted to know more, I wanted to listen to all of his music, and own all his merchandise. My fascination with Bowie continued to grow throughout the years as I grew into my own self discovery of sexuality and identity. Bowie remains my favorite artist even today and though his death may have ended his music career, his legacy will live on forever.

      David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, and Elton John represent a wide part of the population in need of representation, understanding, and unity. These are stars turned icon, and icon turned idol. These are some of the few who made a better life possible for many people today, including myself. And for that reason my topic will consist of focusing on David Bowie, Freddie Mercury and Elton John’s music because I want to find out how they have influenced sexuality, gender and identity in order to understand the importance of breaking social norms within the LGBTQ community.

[thezodiacwriter-blog]

Blog Post 1 : Serial Killers

      Something I have always been interested in writing about is dissecting the psychological process and thoughts of a serial killer. It’s not so much about how they kill but rather who, why and what made them feel this way. One of the biggest debates about these serial killers are whether they are born like this or instead are they created that way? Is it because of how they were raised or any possible traumatic events that took place during their childhood or something more chemically influenced such as having neurological damage in the brain? When looking into the theory nature versus nurture is one of many major topics that creates a flood of opinions and beliefs among society, scientist and criminologist alike. Whether you believe one things or the other it really is up to you and what your own personal beliefs are about these killers. Personally I gravitate towards the nurture theory, I believe how you were raise, who you were raised by and what you learned as a child truly changes how you grow into becoming an adult. Childhood traumas or trauma in general are especially things that could shape your entire life on how you view others and the world.

      There is something I have noticed recently that continues to come up frequently that should be talked about as well. Serial killers are increasingly becoming popular which is both good and bad. Good because it does open for discussion on how neurologist or even as individuals can detect these characteristics or brain patterns in preventing, helping and learning more about these individuals in order to protect and prevent any future killings and victims. However with the rise of media and filming industry recreating these killers’ lives and how they came to be, it creates a romanticized version of the heinous crimes and acts of violence and diminishing the fact that these individuals were notorious killers who committed horrible crimes that cost the lives of many innocent victims.

      With the way that serial killers are portrayed recently, should not be something we should accept as a society. People lost their lives to these people and still people forget that people like Ted Bundy wasn’t a pretty face, but a man who made it his goal to harm women. Romanticizing serial killers causes more harm than good because it allows current and potential serial killers to believe they are welcomed and that their crimes can be accepted or forgotten so as long as they fit the criteria set by mass media enough to be excused. Finding the wrong interest in these murderers can be seen by some believing in its rebellious scene and how it makes them seem so ‘cool’ and ‘edgy’, however theses are not people who should not be sympathized no matter how tragic their past may have been. Bundy like many others can fit under the nature versus nurture theory by giving open opportunities for psychologist and criminologist to grasp a better understanding on why and how these people grew into becoming the most hated criminals.