Hello Module Three!
Anyone who really knows me will know I'm awful at blogging! It is not a natural go-to for me and one of my biggest failings (or succeedings) in life is that once I get started on something, I just can't stop. This is both demonstrated by my inability to get round to blogging...and my lengthy blogs that go on, because I then can't stop!
I didn't know how to start this Module 3 blog as I've been keeping my own notes on how thoughts are developing over the summer - I would say on a separate document but in reality they are scattered across my whole life leaving a small trail of where i've been for someone to find!... Anyway, this lead me to re-read my past blogs and honestly it is so strange to go back now and hear your 'voice' but from a different perspective. I mean, how did I sound so wise (if I do say so myself) during a time of complete confusion hahahahah. It's all a front, like a duck paddling on water, underneath it's manic!
I will try to be more succinct now with my points, however hear me out, this has reached a level of complexity that I need help with exploring...
A controversial question I've been wondering over this last week of discovery and reading.
What is Gender?
I've been reading and discussing the idea of Gender in relation to my inquiry about 'Female roles in Shakespeare' and the big thing that keeps coming up is the difference between 'biological gender' and 'personality gender', which of course leads to the position of transgender, non-binary and gender non-conformist, a massive massive topic which I can only just scrape the surface off.
My big controversial question/idea to explore now is:
In my very limited experience (and this may be where everything falls down, please feel free to come back to me on this one) but.... in my very limited experience of the LBGTQIA community one word or phrase that I hear so often is the idea of 'constraints'. Not feeling comfortable with certain constraints. Feeling constrained by a gender. Feeling constrained by society. The other words that often come up are 'unaccepted' and 'accepted'.
These words also came up in conversation with a friend I recently engaged in. She identifies biologically as female but androgynously in personality. She has a wealth of experience in playing both typically 'male' and 'female' written parts in Shakespeare as they were traditionally written. She expressed, when playing Richard iii that she felt 'free', that the constraints that are there in the 'female' gendered roles are not there when she plays the 'male' gendered roles and the conversation then also developed to touch on areas of feminism and patriarchy. -Now of course with Shakespeare there is historical context that cannot be ignored however...
Having mulled that over a bit I have come to question, are the 'constraints' really gone or has she not yet viewed the constraints of Richard the iii as being constraints on 'males'? (Because I cannot believe there are no constraints) Or maybe she feels the constraints are not comparable, imbalanced, not as restricting...?
This lead me to question
Do we all have constraints? we must? Transgender works both ways so there must be a feeling of constraint from both biological genders.
What if there were no constraints... If everyone were equal (Which is also an aspect of Feminism) then these constraints would, theoretically, not exist? So, if all constraints were gone and therefore everyone was accepted, gender constraints would not be a thing? How does this affect transgender? Would transgender disappear. Is LBGTQIA a product of, a response to, to a society full of constraints and judgement?
Now we enter the world of patriarchy and patriarchal structures of society! Is that the root of or the cause of our modern day constraints.......? IS it a thing!?
My mind can't take any more today. I am so overwhelmingly aware that I do not know enough on any of these topics and feel a race against time trying to learn and understand them.... This is module 3!
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, if anyone has something to say on this I would love to hear your stance, your position, your criticism, your answers, your response!
An interesting article I recently read on these topics:
Hi Lorien, I totally agree with you that 'gender' is effectively a social construct - we train little girls and boys to behave in specific ways based on how we perceive their gender, and expect different things from them. I think that this is totally rooted in the fact that ultimately we live in a patriarchal society! But I don't know that if this were not the case that people would no longer come out as transgender because I think that that is about feeling able to live 'authentically' - to be able live in the world as your true self and be seen as such. Gender is a societal construct that we have created in order to label people and fit them into boxes, but I think that as long as there are different 'sexes', there will be gender and therefore it is important for people to be able to present as the gender they are?
ReplyDeleteI don't know that that really helps but that's my 2 pence for what it's worth! I think that as you say, it's a really nuanced topic and difficult to comment on when it's not part of your lived experience. Have you thought of getting in touch with Mermaids (charity which helps gender-diverse children) or on the Stonewall website they have loads of online resources which might be interesting? I think with a topic like this it is best to talk to/engage with people who have real lived experience!
Hi Lorien, such an interesting blog post and it was really refreshing to hear more about the topic of your inquiry- something which isn't associated with dance! I think the topic of gender is a very sensitive one and I've often wondered what proportion of self identification is nature or nurture. I remember watching a documentary where they assigned young boys and girls typically opposite gender activities. It was fascinating to see how even from a young age, boys would turn their noses up at girly things and vice versa. However, both genders adapted very quickly and enjoyed a wealth of activities. I know that was a bit of a diversion- but in terms of your friend, I wonder what the substance of the constraints were in playing a female role? Maybe it would be different if she were to play another modern day female? Perhaps the female character she is playing needs to feel that constraint....could it be synonymous with the stance of the character? Looking forward to hearing more about your research! x
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