[Senior Thesis] The Valkyries

[kouject]

Hello gracious members of the internet!

Serey's in her final year of college as a studio art major. Serey wants to graduate with honors, very much. Help Serey out with her thesis please? :D;;;

My project is a series of dressforms that address gender identity and how we as people view ourselves in relation to gender. Do you see your gender stereotypes as a constant burden? Or do you overcome those somehow? Does your gender add to your identity, subtract from it, or is it just neutral? You don't have to answer these questions specifically. Just write whatever comes to mind. Use this as catharsis if necessary, or a personal exercise. BUT BE WARNED, IF THINGS HEAD IN A DIRECTION I DO NOT LIKE (i.e.: arguments that are derogatory towards another person's opinion, things that are just hurtful and not constructive), I WILL LOCK THE THREAD AND TURN ON SCREENED COMMENTS. DO NOT THINK I WON'T. That being said, if there is something you'd like to tell me, but don't feel comfortable posting it, please let me know and I can give you a place to email your piece. :3

Well, I'm not exactly looking for ranting per se, but more how you view yourself in relation to gender. :3 Like if you feel more empowered by being female/not being feminine/acting feminine or masculine/etc. These are just some ideas I thought up just now. XD; But that doesn't mean that negative things are undesirable! This is just supposed to be more scholarly and (to be honest) positive.

I was ranting to a friend the other day about how I was sick and tired of seeing negative contemporary art, screaming about how the world sucks. I'm tired of hearing the world sucks. I want to find something good somewhere and show people that through a subject that most consider ugly (gender separation, prejudice, gender bias, gender expectations), something bold and beautiful can come through by just expressing yourself and saying, 'hey world, this is me! Screw you if you don't like it, because I'm cool with it! ♥'

...that's the mission statement, at least. ._.;; Idealistic? Of course. Who do you think I am? XDDD

And that's that! With the theme and general outline in mind, go crazy! Post with your journal, RP journal, Anonymously, whatever! I'm really excited to see what you guys have to say!

Comments

[jaysummers.livejournal.com]

So...odd question. YOu talk about dressforms and being female/not being feminine etc. What about being male/not being masculine, like with myself?

I'll happily talk about it, but I don't wanna clutter this entry with stuff that won't help your thesis. :P

[little-serenity.livejournal.com]

Sure! Anything helps if it has to do with gender identity! <333

[jaysummers.livejournal.com]

Haha, alrighty. Well, I'm sleepy, but let's see how this goes...

I really don't define myself as "feminine" or "masculine." Not really. I know I have quite a bit of both, really, but due to the way society views the boundaries between men and women, I'm often seen as more feminine than anything else. It's a little funny, women are starting to be accepted when they display masculine traits or characteristics in dress...they can wear pants, wear their hair short, and women are making more of a presence in the world of competitive sports. Women hold jobs and can even be the primary breadwinner for a family, and none of this is looked at as odd. But a man who enjoys theater, who cleans and cooks, who is more in touch with his emotions and tends to be a little extra-sensitive, who would rather spend his life raising his children than working...there's still something seen in him that's not quite right, and to express such classically feminine traits is to be looked down on by society in general.

So with that in mind, I find that while I do enjoy a good romance novel, or sing along to Rent, or squee over fangirlish things in Anime, and don't like football, I also don't like to cook or clean (though I will if pressed), I like porn and going to strip clubs, and feel very awkward around babies. I see myself as a man, but as I like to say to others, I'm the "gayest straight man in the world."

As another amusing thought...I always think it's odd that dresses are seen as "feminine," and that any man wearing a dress would be seem as a little off, when the kilt is perfectly acceptable in scotland.

So I guess it's an issue of this: the traits that define us, gender wise, are a local thing, and what is seen as masculine to us may be feminine to another society, or vice versa. So yeah...I identify as a man, but I have the sinking suspicion that I'll in part take up the role of the "woman" in any relationship I enter just as they take the role of the "man."

anyways, I'm sleepy, so hopefully that made sense.