After studying Judith Butler’s theory on gender performativity in class, we brainstormed a list of questions to ask of our memoirs in order to apply a gender lens to them. Share your top two questions. Make sure to read through all of the comments before you post so that you do not repeat questions. For your 2 comments, your job is to help each other refine the questions we plan to ask of our memoirs.
Examples:
- How are women’s lives portrayed in the work?
- Is the form and content of the work influenced by the writer’s gender?
- How do male and female characters relate to one another? Are these relationships sources of conflict? Are these conflicts resolved?
Does society's perception of females affect the main character's actions? In other words, do stereotypes of females influence the main character, Susanna Kaysen, to say/do or not say/do certain things?
ReplyDeleteDo the people's thoughts of Susanna's identity, as a female, conflict with Susanna's own thoughts about her identity.
?* There was suppose to be a question mark at the end. Sorry guyses.
Delete?* There was suppose to be a question mark at the end. Sorry guyses.
DeleteI like the questions you asked! One way the questions can be refined is if you add in the details as to why the narrator acts the way she is or why she feels the need to fall into societal norms of what "women" are. For the second question, if you wanted to get technical and complicated, you can relate it to the mirror theory because the narrator cannot change other people's minds of how she is perceived.
DeleteThese questions are very insightful! One way you can refine the question is by narrowing down or identifying the type of influence stereotypes have on women. For example, this influence can be physical, mental, or emotional influence. You can also refine the second question by narrowing down identity to a specific part of the main characters identity or specific contribution to a person's identity. For example, explain whether Susannah defines herself through her memories or experiences.
DeleteSince I'm reading the same Val, I think that society's perceptions does affect the character's actions. I think it mainly affects the way she describes things. Like for instance, from what I've read so far, Susanna mentions her boyfriend twice in which she says that she no longer wants to be with him, yet she can't seem to break this off with him officially. In my opinion, Susanna fulfills society's expectations of her as a female during the time period in which she wrote the book as her needing a man to take care of her even if she may not want him.
DeleteAll the authority figures in Paige's life are females.Her mother raised her, her female doctor made sure that her HIV did not develop into AIDS,and etc. Will Paige tend to look down on the male population since she did not have her father in her life and was constantly surrounded by strong and successful women?
ReplyDeleteSo far Paige has yet to really mention any males in her memoir. Does she feel less of a woman because she does not have the ability to produce a healthy child in which society deems as the most significant aspect of a woman? She can not fully participate in the anatomy in which women are created for (which is populating our wonderful word.*"You're welcome" -from all women*) and since biological anatomy wears the costume of gender and Paige can not fully play the part of a "woman",is she still considered as one?
You can make the second question a bit less specific and maybe ask if the character felt ostracized for not being able to conform to gender roles on her own.
Delete-Omar Romero
Reading the same book, I think the absence of male figures is very important. I feel like she doesn't necessarily look down on males, but more, she is more wary of them and prone to distrust, especially given how she got HIV. Her father gave it to her mother and when he found out, left. Since her doctor is also a woman and serves as an even bigger, intimate part of her life, it is still definitely reasonable to say that she would look down on males. I think she is considered a woman because gender, as in discussed in class, was discussed under the boundaries of being a choice. Paige doesn't really have a choice in the matter because of her illness. Other than that, though, she is still considered to be a woman.
DeleteI find your first question fascinating. I personally never had a father figure but I don't think that affected how I looked at the male species. However, I do know people who think that by not growing up with their father, they have difficulty trusting men. I think it depends on your character's personality and how she was raised.
DeleteI think she still would be considered a woman because of the traits that females have and that is to be a nurturer and a teacher. Even though, she is not able to have a healthy child, she will still be able to be a teacher and nurturer to another child who is not her own but may feel like one.Also, I don't think she would feel less of a woman not being able to produce a healthy child because you make it seem like she won't be able to have a child. In actuality, she will be able to reproduce but there is not a full on guarantee that she will have a healthy child due to the fact that she has HIV. On the other hand, she could have a healthy baby even though there is like a lower percentage of that happening.
DeleteMy memoir is About Alice by Calvin Trillin, where Trillin is reflecting upon his life with his wife. Within this book, there are many possibilities to question gender roles, as we see the relationship between Calvin, the author, and Alice, his wife. Some questions I have about gender roles within my memoir is What is the typical role of a wife and how does Alice fall under these supposed wifely roles? and What words does Calvin Trillin use to describe his wife and what do they signify?
ReplyDeleteSinead Kiernan
Hey Sinead, I like your second question. To add on to that, besides Calvin's words, maybe we can also scrutinize his actions in a greater detail?
DeleteSinead, I think your questions are very interesting to the extentent that they question these ideas of the stereotypes that exist about women within a society. Following up with your question regarding "wifely roles", I think you can further challenge this question by asking how this point of view limits a women from experiencing or becoming acquientence with their full potential? Regarding your second question, one can inquire how does Calvin's portral of his wife show or relates to the way man view women's role in society?
DeleteI really like you questions. Also, for you second question, I was also wondering how and why society prescribes specific words to describe different roles?
DeleteI think you did a good job in choosing your questions, they really seem to relate to the memoir you are reading for the literature circles. For the first question, i think you should also ask if the wife acts her role because of her husband or because of personal choice. Like is that just the way she is or does her husband influence her actions as a wife.Does he manipulate her.
DeleteI really like your questions because I feel like they can also relate to my book. Maybe you can ask what characteristics make a "good" wife and a "bad" wife.
DeleteFor the most part, Susannah Cahalan, the main character of Brain on Fire, is and tries to be a very independent female up until her behavior starts to change as a result of her unrecognizable disease. As Susannah's behavior begins to change her relationship with Stephen, her significant other, also begins to change. In the novel, Susannah states not accepting the fact that Stephen was taking care of her as much as he was because she was the one that was supposed to be taking care of him. Do all women naturally feel the need to express their compassion, sweetness, and selflessness by nurturing their loved ones just because their biological anatomy says that this is what they are created to do? Is it only a women's job to take care of their significant other? In Susannah's case she never voices her opinion because she is sick, cannot control her actions, and in a sense feels like she is a completely different person.
ReplyDeleteSusannah's relationship with Stephen correlates to the gender performativity theory because Susannah is performing based on what she knows about the relationships her mom has had. Before she was conceived Susannah's mom was married to some guy but that relationship did not last because Susannah's mom was an extreme feminist and disagreed that she should have children while she was still pursuing her career. She then met Susannah's with whom she had a faulty relationship with from the start but still conceived two children. Now Susannah's mom was with Allen. Susannah notices this trend and starts to doubt her relationship with Stephen to the point where the obsession drives her to check his emails and look through his stuff. Are Susannah's actions a product of her mothers experiences? Are Susannah's actions a product of her innate or "learned" sex and gender? Is she responsible for her actions/thoughts? Is society responsible for her actions/thoughts? Does her disease play a role in distorting her "true" identity, sex, or gender?
Crystal- The questions you pose are very interesting and relate to the points we made in class about how we associate different words and objects to females and males. As for your book, you say that compassion, sweetness and selflessness are associated with femininity. I think that, in addition to your question, you could maybe compare anatomy to gender roles by seeing if the contrary is true. Can men be compassionate, sweet and selfless? If the protagonist’s significant other is taking care of her while she is ill, why is that strange to her and to us? Maybe you can analyze the relationship between biology and identity, and see if there really is a correlation.
Delete-Sinead
My memoir, Brain on Fire, explains Susannah Cahalan journey into figuring out the strange mental state of madness that she experienced. In the beginning of the book, Susannah explains: "My dad was far from affectionate, habitually avoiding using words like 'I love you,' even with his children. It was a learned deficiency." During today's lesson, Ms. Walsh had asked us to write the word 'strength' under one of the categories, I had placed it under both, even though based on our stereotypical society, the word male and strength are automatically linked, which I think it is a great misconception, because female are too. These two idea are linked because when I read the latter mention quote from the memoir, it has the implication that the author is characterizing her father as a man who doesn't really like showing affection, which I inferred this kind of behavior have to do with pride. It is this idea that men aren't allowed to be emotional or loving because its a weakness that can be see as a tool that can undermine a male's masculinity and sense of authority. Note the fact that the occurrence of Susannah getting some kind of 'illness' had to happen in order for her dad to put his guard down. Which brings into question, why is it that male's sensitivity is seen as some kind of faulty trait or weakness?
ReplyDeleteTania I think your question is very straight to the point and very clear to Butler's theory. However, I think that you can expand your thought process by touching upon the difference between sex, gender, and sexuality and tie that into how a male's sensitivity (femininity) and why it is considered a faulty trait or weakness.
DeleteI really like your question because it makes a question the stereotypes that society puts on us based on gender and we never take one thing into consideration and that is we all have our tendencies to cry over something male and female alike. But then if a male doesn't show anytime of remorse they are seen as 'cold-hearted ' people who show no type compassion. Why is that?
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DeleteMale sensitivity is seen as a feminine trait in the perspective of society. Traditionally, this trait has been that one that has been exploited and served as precursors to bullying.
DeleteThe memoir that I am reading is "Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prision." It is basically about how the main character, Piper Kerman, is incarcerated due to money laundering and drug trafficking. Two questions that can I formulated while reading the memoir is how do men prisons differ from women prisons (such as the jobs they obtain while they are incarcerated and whether or not the women get favored)? And, would the author's point of view be different if she attended a prison with both males and females?
ReplyDeleteOne way that you can refine your question is if you get more technical and familiar with womens prisons, as co-ed prisons are not really a thing in America. You can reword the second question by saying "Would Kerman's point of view be different if she compared her experience/beliefs in a womens prison to a mans experience/belief in a mens prison?"
DeleteI strongly agree with cierra's point and I feel like your first answer might be a hard way to look at your reading because you'd need a separate text to really identify the differences.
DeleteI like your questions Christina! However, you can refine them by asking if women do get favored, WHY would they? You can relate this to a woman's promiscuity and how some use it to their advantage.You can also ask if this would be unfair to men. Is it fair that females are born with an advantage trait that can get them out of sticky situations when men are not capable of that?
DeleteYou could even go further with your question by saying do the status of women in prisons (such as a new prisoner, a prisoner who's been there for a while, or one of the staff members) affect their actions?
DeleteYou can refine your question by referring to her adaptation to women prisons and things she learned over time in prison to get even more specific.
DeleteI'm reading the memoir called "About Alice" by Calvin Trillin. As mentioned by Sinead, this book shows the relationship between a married couple. Some questions regarding the gender performativity might be:
ReplyDelete1. How did Calvin react when he first saw Alice? What force attracts him to Alice's beauty?
2. The author started the book with the following statement: "...I can state publicly that my wife, Alice, has a weird predilection for limiting our family to three meals a day." What kind of picture does Calvin paint to represent Alice, and perhaps the role of females?
~ Calvin (not Trillin)
I guess since, she is the "domestic" provider, she takes care of the meal department.
DeleteI think that that's a very interesting opening sentence (addressing the second question) and in phrasing it in that way, especially after our discussion in class, I think shows Alice (or women in general) to be the homemaker in the family. Even more than that, by saying it publicly, does this mean that it is the social norm that everyone agrees to?
DeleteMaybe for the first question you should also ask what were Alices first impressions towards Calvin and are they the same?
DeleteI think you can refine the first question by talking more in details about that force. What is it about a woman that makes a woman attractive? Do those opinions that make us think a woman is attractive have to do with society? How?
DeleteThe memoir my group and I chose is "Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison" by Piper Kerman. Kerman was incarcerated and sent to a high maximum security prison. When people hear maximum security prison, they do not think about women - they think about men instead, as men are portrayed as more "vicious" and "dangerous". So, since Kerman committed criminal acts, would she be looked at as how dangerous, convicted men are perceived as?
ReplyDeleteAnother question that I thought about involves gender/sex aggressiveness. Men are perceived as strong and dominating, while women are perceived as caring and lighthearted. When Kerman was incarcerated, she found the other women there scary, and she assumed the role of a calm, innocent woman. In a place like this, being strong and protecting onself is a must - did Kerman fall under the gender stereotype that women are weaker in this situation, although she knew she could pull through it?
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ReplyDelete1) In the book "About Alice," A friend of Calvin's wrote him a letter saying, "[..] I couldn't figure out how you managed to get Alice." What does this say about gender roles?
ReplyDelete2) Throughout the book, the author constantly praises his wife. I wonder if he does it out of the societal standard in which males are suppose to flatter the woman since she is way too emotional unstable because of her gender?
I like your first question, but I feel as if it's too broad. Maybe you can tighten the question up by asking about what factors might contribute to why Calvin's friend felt what he did, on top of your original question.
Delete-Omar Romero
Isatou, the way I interpreted your second question is as if males use this sense of flattering women as a way to compensate a women's witness. Characterizing women as this "fragile thing" that is dependent on men in order to feel strong or "stable", as you described it. Please note that by no means I think that this is the case, for he could had said it because he genuinely believe it to be so. However, from the point of point I perceived within your question, it makes me wonder how do these "societal standard" affect the way women and men treat each other and/or interact with one another?
DeleteHey Isatou, both of your questions, in my opinion, relate to the idea of "strength." Maybe the author believes that males are stronger than females?
DeleteThe memoir I'm reading is called 'The Last Lecture' by Randy Pausch, and is essentially the author recalling his - as the title implies - last lecture. There some more in-between stuff, but the idea is he talks about fulfilling your dreams and living life to the fullest. To apple the gender lens to this text, I'd ask questions like, if the professor was a woman, would the lecture topics be different to conform with societal gender ideas? Also, I wonder how gender roles will be portrayed in this setting.
ReplyDelete-Omar Romero
Good questions, I feel like thats a great question to go about and read through because it helps you see a bigger message or idea. (first question) But the second is a bit weaker in terms of what your looking for.
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ReplyDeleteIn the book, the dad has cancer and will die so he is preparing a message for his kids to watch in the future. In the book, the main character (the dad) moves his family back to where the moms family is at so they can be close to family in case they need anything and to 'help them' when he's dead.
ReplyDelete1)How is a fathers good bye different from the mothers goodbye?
2) Would the family move if the mom is the one dying instead of the dad?
Jeudy- Nice questions. I think another question you may ask is how does the role of a father differ from the role of a mother? Maybe you could see some trends in the relationship that each the mother has with her children and the father has with his children.
Delete-Sinead
Hey Jeudy, you can refine your questions by zooming in how the child's mother-figure would be affected once the dad dies. If the dad dies, does that mean the father figure is automatically out of their lives? The mom can step it and do things a dad would normally do as in watch games and teach them how to play a sport. She could do the same things as the dad would do but the fact that she is a woman, does it not make it the same as if a man was doing it? And vice versa.
DeleteIs it different from the usual norms of the role of a mother and a father?
DeleteI like the questions you asked and I think one way you could refine your questions is by observing the relationship between the kids and their parents. Do they have preference for a parent over the other?
DeleteI think the death of either parent would be taken with great difficulty and emotional trauma. However, I feel like there is always some greater emotional attachment to one parent, depending on the circumstances of the uprising of an individual, that would cause an even more devastating degree of emotional impact.
DeleteThe memoir I'm reading is called "Orange is New Black" and its about Piper Kerman's experience in a women prison for her conviction of drug trafficking.My questions are
ReplyDelete1.What are the top crimes women are convicted?Are these crimes considered more "feminism' by society?
2.Do men and women receive the same treatment when they are convicted of a crime or are they each treated differently because of their gender?
Yes, innuendo towards gender equality. Also the feminism part is interesting because it point towards the fact that a woman can perform the sam
Deletee crimes as a man can do
Women and men can commit the same crime. Also I feel like, based on your gender, you can be treated differently in prison especially since our society naturally divides people based on certain physical aspects.
Delete-Rangon Islam
In my book, Brain On Fire, a woman is plagued by this disease that no doctors can diagnose. Without a diagnostic, the doctors can not treat her properly, thus requiring her to stay monitored in the hospital. Throughout her stay in the hospital, she was constantly visited by her friends and family, including her coworkers. She bombarded them with questions concerning how the other coworkers perceive her, if they are saying negative things about her, and etc.
ReplyDelete- In theory with Butler's idea, is it more natural for a woman to be concerned with how she is portrayed in society than a male would be? Or does both genders have a kind of shallowness that can only calmed down with other people's approval?
Most of the doctors that were treating the author just so happened to be male, especially the more well known ones. When one thinks of a nurse, one automatically thinks of a female. However, the position of a doctor, more respected and higher up than the position of a nurse, seems to be more associated with males. Some male doctors were driven to help the author while some others gave up.
- Ego is usually associated with being a man. For the doctors that kept on trying, were they actually doing it to help the patient or were they doing it to see if they can diagnose and treat her in order to get the satisfaction and praise for doing so?
I really like your questions Bao. , they are really thought provoking. You can redefine your question by evaluating the fact of why do these genders have these shallowness? Is it because society has a specific standard and we have to act a certain way?
DeleteThe memoir I'm reading is called "The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong" and it's divided into four sections, but it's mostly talking about a crown princess's childhood to adulthood and family success to family downfall.
ReplyDeleteHer husband, the crown prince, was sentenced to death, with the urging of his birth mother, by his father after his mental illness, anger that leads to the death of people, and erratic behaviors. The prince was sealed alive in a small rice chest where he died eight days later. One of Lady Hyegyong's biggest regrets was not killing herself after her husband died, so she can follow him to the underworld, because she had to live for her son who was still young at the time.
1. Contrary to what gender is described as in the 21st century in America, how different or similar are the ideas of what is perceived as being male and female in the 18th century in Korea?
2. Society has set ideas on how males would react to a situation versus how females would react to a situation. Would the reactions of the son be different if he was born a female?
I like these questions! For the second one, you can expand on it asking, how would these reactions affect the main character?
DeleteFor our book, I would love to see how different it would be if the crown prince was actually a princess. I feel like the crime against the crown prince wouldn't be taken as seriously because, if he was a princess, the death of the princess wouldn't matter because the sons become the kings first.
Delete-Rangon Islam
In the memoir, Girl Interrupted, Susanna talks about the relationship between two characters. The female character likes to cook and the male character hopes to be a secret agent like his father. Does this emphasis society's perception of the role of men and women in a relationship? Is it deemed 'normal' or 'expected' for the woman to stay at home, cooking and cleaning while the man goes out and works?
ReplyDeleteIn the memoir, Susanna takes the time to describe the appearance of a female character when she is brought back to the mental home after escaping. What does a person's outward appearance say about him/her?
My group and I are reading the memoir called "Positive" by Paige Rawl. The one thing I noticed when reading the book is that Paige's mother is always by her side but not her father. Paige's mother is a representation of the way most mothers are perceived as in our society. Women in our society are seen as the people who are suppose to take care of the children and those who never lets their children down no matter what.
ReplyDelete1. Would people have that same perception if the father was the one always by their child's side and not the mother?
2. Would the author ever allow herself to be in a relationship with the opposite sex or even trust them when they promise never to leave her when the going gets tough?
I find the first question really interesting. I think that you could even ask why the mother is always on Paige's side. Is it because her mom is inherently supportive? Or is it because society has influenced her mother so much to the extent that she acts in a way society would expect?
DeleteIn the memoir, Positive, Paige is a girl who has been born with HIV. Thinking that this was a normal, Paige chooses not to tell anyone, however, there is a fear that if she makes it publicly known, she will be bullied. I'm curious about how being female and having HIV influences how society thinks. If it were instead a male born with HIV would there still be that much a stigma? Understandably, it is a very serious illness, but I'm still curious as to if being a female plays any role in how society perceives this kinds of illness.
ReplyDeleteI believe so,but just in a different way. Paige,as a women, will be labeled as a girl who just sleeps around and a man would be labeled as a perpetrator,one who is the main culprit in spreading the virus. Both equally bad,but just with different labels
DeleteThe memoir my group and I are reading is called, “Running with Scissors”. The book’s protagonist is Augusten Burroughs. The question I have is “Does a relationship with someone you closely associate with influence you in any way?” In other words, does Augusten’s relationship with his mother, Diedre, affect how he acts? He was basically imitating his mother in which he tried on his mother’s clothing. Another question I have is “Are parents obligated to uphold traditional norms? In other words, are you parents supposed to act in a way that suits your sexuality. For example, let's use the relationship of a father and a son, should the father have to act in a masculine manner?
ReplyDeleteDeirdre****
DeleteOne question you might want to consider maybe is what if a parent doesn't act in a way to suit a child's sexuality?
DeleteDoes the gender of the character affect her perspective of others around her?
ReplyDeleteDoes the gender of the people around her affect her perspective of the individual before actually knowing them?
Nice Questions! I think you should probably focus on who the character is around, more specifically does this character have a tendency to be around girls or guys. If you are able to identify who this character associates with then you're able to distinguish their behavior.
DeleteBased on " Orange is the New Black," Piper goes to a women's prison for carrying drugs on her, but before this occurred Piper was just a regular women who went to college. She suddenly meets a women involved with drugs and gets introduced to that way of life. The question I have would be, how would a situation with getting caught with drugs differ between males and females? another question would be how would society label a women going to jail for drugs since usually there is an automatic assumptions of men going to jail for drugs?
ReplyDeleteTo answer your second question, I believe society looks at Piper's conviction as irregular and that is why she was able to make her own series because when we think of drug dealers,they are either males selling on the corners or rich males from foreign lands making a drug network.Both images are dangerous and both include males. In sociery women do not do dangerous things therefore society would label her as a rebel feening for a rush
DeleteIn the memoir, "Running Con Scissors", young Augusten Burroughs, in essence, is the manifestation of the gender performativity complex. If this is so, how might his view of events be shaped through his "feminine" tendencies?
ReplyDeleteDo his "feminine" tendencies necessarily have an overarching effect on how the story is presented? Are we as readers able to distinguish and rationalize between the biases of our own gender subjectivities?
Find out in next week's episode of "THE BLOG!"
My memoir is called "The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong" and it explains a crown princess's lifetime of her husband's death by her father-in-law and the success of her grandson on the throne. In the beginning, the book introduces some background history to Chosen Korea and how society perceives males and females. Females are seen as more traditional while males are suppose to be on top of their game and in charge. Females are also suppose to be careful of everything they do because they can be attacked and their family can be blamed. However, males don't have to be as careful and have more freedom.
ReplyDeleteDo cultural traditions impact how each gender is seen? And if the tradition is broken because it seems unfair, will the person be an automatic iconoclast? Also, would this seem fair?
-Rangon Islam
Traditionally, some cultures tend to value a specific gender over the other. For example, multiple Asian groups prefer to generate males so that they can provide more money for the family and help them out more. That is a great example of a societal stereotype, which defines the male as the "bread-winner" of a household.
ReplyDeleteQ: Could the mother's decision to let go of her child be because of its gender?
Q: Why would the mother choose to give her child to her psychiatrist, out of all people? Why wouldn't she trust her child with someone of the male gender? What does this say about society and who it considers the nurturing and caring parent?
Great Ponderables Nick!!
ReplyDelete1.A)Could be.. perhaps she's ultraconservative.
1.B)Maybe the psychiatrist would better understand her son.. I think she ends up leaving her son with the psychiatrist and his family though :/ so there's some degree of trust, but maybe because she wasn't really in her "right" mind. I think society depicts men as a literal rock, incapable of feeling, cold, and simetimes moist o.O... but usually just inatimate inanimate when dealing with nurture and care.