Gender Theory 101

Throughout the book, history is also brought in with the native Americans and their heritage. With the struggles in the past, we can see how hard it must be to live now. We can understand how they live, why, and his ancestors past and how it is affecting him now. 

During discussions on the Loan Ranger, I realized Jr. must feel out of place while going to college being away from his tribe in the city. Who we are is shaped by how we are raised. He was raised in a closed off community, so to speak, and then is thrown into the city while going to school. He likes to keep to himself and doesn't go out much; relating to how he grew up. I feel the way he behaves, feels awkward, and how smart he is, is all based on how he grew up. 

My pictures basically just define integrity even more. Stating that you should do what you want/believe in doing no matter what others think. You will be judge no matter what, even if you think you are perfect, you'll be judged for that, so why fall into the social norms of living, stand up and out for what you believe in and who you truly are. The first picture is saying if you have integrity it is the key to moral courage. Just a different way of stating/showing that having morals and sticking to them shows who you truly are. 

As we discussed in class, Andy and Red's relationship is a perfect example of this. In the beginning of the story they started out not talking but when Andy knew Red could get him the tools he needed for his rock collection they began helping each other out in a business type way. They simply have a mutual respect for one another and do not judge each others pasts. They never conversed about their days/lives but just helped one another out. They are not romantically involved either at any point in the story. For the most part they are not friendly, or what we see as friendly, in the story. Towards the end they do seem to have more of an emotional friendly relationship but that is what we concluded as readers. 

The first picture says it all. He is an ass but defends it with being manly. The second picture is of a body builder, obviously this represents being overly strong/fit. Men tend to take certain aspects to an extreme to feel like they are the best, which I feel is a type of hyper masculinity because sometimes in the end it is harmful. For example, being an ass may be funny at certain times but usually doesn't end well in society. 

My picture represents an ideal hegemonic masculine man. He is clean cut, dressed nicely, has a perfect smile, and of course is giving his lady flowers. What every girl dreams of right?! Not. But I feel like this is the picture society puts into young girls minds, especially with reality TV, like The Bachelor. That if your boyfriend doesn't represent the man above he isn't truly a gentlemen. 

While reading Orlando we talked a lot about how gender/sexual expressions change significantly over time. Orlando is a great example of this. He/she changes throughout each chapter, century. In the beginning Orlando is a man of high status and writes to express himself. Then Orlando turns into a female changing not only his gender but also sexual expressions. While Orlando is a she, her costume/dressing changes representing not only the expressions changing throughout the time but her complications in life and not being comfortable with who she is. Orlando's poetry writing also changes throughout the times. It becomes wanted and read about in the end of the book and becomes more emotional compared to the dark/gloomy poetry he wrote in the beginning. Orlando's social role changes too while reading. He is of high class in the beginning and by the end is hanging out with gypsies, widows, and prostitutes. The book, Orlando, shows great examples of fluidity in many ways. 

In "A Girl" the following line shows an example of sexual/bodily affect: "A mouth, the lips apart, Like aspen-leaflets trembling in the breeze From her tempestuous heart." During our class discussion we talked about how this could be a image for a women waiting for her lover. It deeply describes her body in a sexual matter. 

In "The Consultation" the women is seeing a doctor for counseling about aborting her unwanted child. She is tired of people telling her what to do with her life and how she should live it. "No, I must cling to my beliefs in the powers of garlic,..." She is refusing the advice the doctor is giving her and sticking to her own beliefs and doing what is right for herself. Agency is about taking control and power over your own life and putting aside the norms and absolutism. 

In "The Mother", the main character is struggling with being this fixed idea of a perfect mother. In the passage she goes out on the town and is shopping, she finds a pair of sunglasses and states, "I want to own a pair and start over and not look like a "mom". She is wanting to be in style but still be a "mom" and with the stereotypes society has created she is struggling with being herself. 

The picture below describes my first question. Who are we hearing and not hearing in society and am I speaking what I want. This picture shows that some people may feel like they are unable to voice their opinions in certain situations or that their voice is not being heard. Voice is everything in today's world and expressing how we feel.

After reading this poem I felt as if this "mother" felt connected to her baby even though she didn't have a baby. Meaning that you don't have to have a child to feel/be a mother. We as women feel connected to others and automatically become nurturing. This could be with a fetus, child, pet or children we babysit for. At times we aren't trying to feel connected as a mother but end up being more connected then we thought.