Wikipedia defines cyborgs, as “those creature that complicate traditional boundaries between mind (or spirit) and matter, machine and animal, evolved and invented, living and dead.” Women of color might also be though of as people who “complicate traditional boundaries.” A cyborg can transcend borders of race, class, and gender and offer affinity to those who want it. Cyborgs are a way out of dualism, something that greatly holds women of color back in our sexists, racist world.
Eyes
Eyes allow us to see. The color of one’s eyes can suggest what race someone one is. The shape of ones eye can also do this. Often times, as we get older, our eyes need assistance from glasses. If we’re young and use glasses, the high classes can chose to wear contact lenses. Eyes color can help us blend in or stick out, depending on the circumstances. Many North Americans assume all Mexican people have brown eyes and they also assume that any Latino person is Mexican. When I was in Argentina, many people had very light eyes—hazel, green, blue, even crystal blue. My light eyes were not unlike the eyes of many of my peers when I was there.
What we do with our eyes is another story. Whenever they are open, we are looking, but staring is considered rude. If we look at someone for an extended amount of time, then there can be awkwardness and confusion. Eyes allow us to physically see but often times they impair us from truly seeing all of someone.
People without functioning eyes can be cast from society and devalued as people. Many opportunities they would’ve had are lost when it is know that they are without vision. Yet blind people often times are more in touch with the rest of their five senses as they do not depend on their eyes. Often times their sense of smell, touch, taste, and hearing are among the sharpest of a community.
Eyes can both hurt and help, excite and depress, and enhance or withdraw from.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Clothing, Countries, Orlan, and the Other
1. Stretch pants, made in USA
2. White T-Shirt, made in Brazil
3. Underwear, made in Cambodia
4. Bra, made in the Philippines
5. Running shorts, made in Mexico
6. Bathing suit, made in China
7. Dress, made in USA
8. Sweater, made in China
9. Nice top, made in USA
10. Bathrobe, made in China
Linkages. Well, just by reading where the items were made, not too much is known exactly about what the people are like who made them, how they were treated, and how they are viewed in relation to each other and to the rest of the working world.
I have a rough imagination of what the conditions must have been like to make the running shorts in Mexico as I have read and seen some documentaries about Maquiladoras. But in relation to Orlan’s "self-hybridization" project, I would say the same, “lowest tier” of people whose job it is to do such tedious, manual labor, are the same people depicted in Orland art. They are the other: the people who are official seen as people but unofficially not treated as people but as subhuman. By being seen as subhuman, they are able to be treated with such unsatisfactory standards and no questions are asked.
But sometimes questions are asked. I didn’t list the first 10 items of clothing I found because almost half of them were made in USA. I was not shocked by this, as I make a conscious effort to buy clothing made in USA—expecting that the working conditions are better so as that the people who make them are treated as real people and not subhuman. But at the same time, most clothing is not manufactured in USA and the conditions are not good. Until all people are treated with respect and are not forced to work or live in horrible conditions, we will not be past the perceived historical event of putting down the “other.”
2. White T-Shirt, made in Brazil
3. Underwear, made in Cambodia
4. Bra, made in the Philippines
5. Running shorts, made in Mexico
6. Bathing suit, made in China
7. Dress, made in USA
8. Sweater, made in China
9. Nice top, made in USA
10. Bathrobe, made in China
Linkages. Well, just by reading where the items were made, not too much is known exactly about what the people are like who made them, how they were treated, and how they are viewed in relation to each other and to the rest of the working world.
I have a rough imagination of what the conditions must have been like to make the running shorts in Mexico as I have read and seen some documentaries about Maquiladoras. But in relation to Orlan’s "self-hybridization" project, I would say the same, “lowest tier” of people whose job it is to do such tedious, manual labor, are the same people depicted in Orland art. They are the other: the people who are official seen as people but unofficially not treated as people but as subhuman. By being seen as subhuman, they are able to be treated with such unsatisfactory standards and no questions are asked.
But sometimes questions are asked. I didn’t list the first 10 items of clothing I found because almost half of them were made in USA. I was not shocked by this, as I make a conscious effort to buy clothing made in USA—expecting that the working conditions are better so as that the people who make them are treated as real people and not subhuman. But at the same time, most clothing is not manufactured in USA and the conditions are not good. Until all people are treated with respect and are not forced to work or live in horrible conditions, we will not be past the perceived historical event of putting down the “other.”
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Nueromancer and The Body
Gibson deploys the body as a item ready and able for technical logical modifications. It is not a stagnant item that is wholly natural but something that can last for many years with the right technical upgrades. In some cases, the body is not necessary for a sustained life as the brain can be uploaded on to a computer and a person’s mind can live endlessly.
This is similar to many current day modifications such as plastic surgeries that make people look younger, organ transplants, and medications available to sustain life. When the natural body has a heart of liver failure, we are now able to replace these organs and sustain peoples’ lives much longer than ever previously possible. The same is true for vision impairment—we can conduct eye surgeries—bone and joint problems—screws and metal can be added—or hearing impairments—we have hearing aids. While we haven’t figured out a way to look young forever, there are many surgical procedures that we can conduct to tighten people’s skin and create this effect in a semi-permanent way.
Aside from surgical procedures, we have come up with thousands of vitamins and medications to thin blood, strengthen immune systems, and do everything else in between to sustain our lives. While people used to just get old and die, now, in the west, with all of our medical technology, people are living to 90, 100 and 100 + years of age.
While we have not come up with a way to directly upload our whole, thinking brains onto computers, we have come up with ways of preserving our greatest thoughts and ideas by storing important information on data bases both in print and electrical. In many ways, his work does have an eerie feeling of prophesy within it, which to me, at least, is a scary thought. The presentation of Gibson’s work may be categorized as science fiction but in many respects, it feels like its is more science reality that he writes about.
This is similar to many current day modifications such as plastic surgeries that make people look younger, organ transplants, and medications available to sustain life. When the natural body has a heart of liver failure, we are now able to replace these organs and sustain peoples’ lives much longer than ever previously possible. The same is true for vision impairment—we can conduct eye surgeries—bone and joint problems—screws and metal can be added—or hearing impairments—we have hearing aids. While we haven’t figured out a way to look young forever, there are many surgical procedures that we can conduct to tighten people’s skin and create this effect in a semi-permanent way.
Aside from surgical procedures, we have come up with thousands of vitamins and medications to thin blood, strengthen immune systems, and do everything else in between to sustain our lives. While people used to just get old and die, now, in the west, with all of our medical technology, people are living to 90, 100 and 100 + years of age.
While we have not come up with a way to directly upload our whole, thinking brains onto computers, we have come up with ways of preserving our greatest thoughts and ideas by storing important information on data bases both in print and electrical. In many ways, his work does have an eerie feeling of prophesy within it, which to me, at least, is a scary thought. The presentation of Gibson’s work may be categorized as science fiction but in many respects, it feels like its is more science reality that he writes about.
The Body Social
I think that women, as a group, conceptualize the body many, many different ways. First we must identify which women we are talking about. North American women? Conservative women? Liberal women? Religious women? Practicing body modifying women? Women in India? Women of what cast? Women in Argentina? Women from maquiladoras? Who? I suggest all these different groups of women because I believe that varying groups of women conceptualize their bodies very differently. And even within these groups, there’s bound to be differences.
The group of women I know best would be a middle class, North American, young women, specifically from Los Angeles. Even within this group of women, I would say my closest high school friends conceptualize their bodies differently than a the group of girls from my high school that were more interested in their looks. My group of friends, predominantly athletes, conceptualize their bodies as a vessel they move around the world in but do not associated their identities too closely with their bodies features. I believe they think less about their body than someone interested in fashion, as fashion is the art of clothing in relation to the body. Women interested in fashion probably see their bodies as highly valued elements of their self which can hold a piece of clothing very beautifully or not. I believe these women are more concerned about maintaining a specific body type and when that type is unattainable, using fashion to appear like they have that type. To some extent, this is how I see my body, but then again, not fully.
From hearing Kate Bornstein, a noted transsexual author, actor and speaker present on two different college campuses I have gained both a greater and lesser understanding of transsexuals and the way they conceptualize their bodies. I say lesser because Kate made a clear statement that she, in no way, tries to represent the transsexual community, but can only speak from her own experiences and feelings.
She said she has had a very love/hate relationship with her body as she was born the wrong gender, male, and did not convert to female until well into her life. I think she conceptualizes her body as both very much who she is and very much who she isn’t—something like a permanent crossroads. While I have even read some of her writings, I would like to learn more about how she and many other marginalized groups of people conceptualize their bodies.
ETHNOGRAPHIC INTERVIEWS ABOUT HUMAN HANDS
Interviewer: What do you associated with human hands?
Informant 1: Well kept hands, neatly cut nails, clean fingers and non-dry skin is a reflection of one's personal hygiene. Dirty hands suggest that the person doesn't care for hygiene as they touch everything with their fingers, therefore dirty fingers=complete dirtiness
This informant is a 19 year old girl who admits to being over interested in all forms of cleanieness. It is interesting to see how this kind of obsession plays out in response to a broad, general question and her first thought about human hands is about how they’re kept. Specifically in regards to nails, it is definitely a cultural phenomenon for women to have nice nails, which by bringing the woman’s attention to the nail, seems to often times progress to the well kempt-ness of the whole hand. This response, is while the informant doesn’t realize it, quite gendered.
Interviewer: What do you associated with human hands?
Informant 2: Hands, I associate with building. Just of hands building the world lol... ideally they're used for constructive things...but also destructive...but yeah...just that with your two hand you can accomplish anything.
This informant is a 19 year old, North American boy who attends military school. The difference in their response is fascinating! He associated his hands with building and strength and success and she associates her hands with portraying her cleanliness.
The group of women I know best would be a middle class, North American, young women, specifically from Los Angeles. Even within this group of women, I would say my closest high school friends conceptualize their bodies differently than a the group of girls from my high school that were more interested in their looks. My group of friends, predominantly athletes, conceptualize their bodies as a vessel they move around the world in but do not associated their identities too closely with their bodies features. I believe they think less about their body than someone interested in fashion, as fashion is the art of clothing in relation to the body. Women interested in fashion probably see their bodies as highly valued elements of their self which can hold a piece of clothing very beautifully or not. I believe these women are more concerned about maintaining a specific body type and when that type is unattainable, using fashion to appear like they have that type. To some extent, this is how I see my body, but then again, not fully.
From hearing Kate Bornstein, a noted transsexual author, actor and speaker present on two different college campuses I have gained both a greater and lesser understanding of transsexuals and the way they conceptualize their bodies. I say lesser because Kate made a clear statement that she, in no way, tries to represent the transsexual community, but can only speak from her own experiences and feelings.
She said she has had a very love/hate relationship with her body as she was born the wrong gender, male, and did not convert to female until well into her life. I think she conceptualizes her body as both very much who she is and very much who she isn’t—something like a permanent crossroads. While I have even read some of her writings, I would like to learn more about how she and many other marginalized groups of people conceptualize their bodies.
ETHNOGRAPHIC INTERVIEWS ABOUT HUMAN HANDS
Interviewer: What do you associated with human hands?
Informant 1: Well kept hands, neatly cut nails, clean fingers and non-dry skin is a reflection of one's personal hygiene. Dirty hands suggest that the person doesn't care for hygiene as they touch everything with their fingers, therefore dirty fingers=complete dirtiness
This informant is a 19 year old girl who admits to being over interested in all forms of cleanieness. It is interesting to see how this kind of obsession plays out in response to a broad, general question and her first thought about human hands is about how they’re kept. Specifically in regards to nails, it is definitely a cultural phenomenon for women to have nice nails, which by bringing the woman’s attention to the nail, seems to often times progress to the well kempt-ness of the whole hand. This response, is while the informant doesn’t realize it, quite gendered.
Interviewer: What do you associated with human hands?
Informant 2: Hands, I associate with building. Just of hands building the world lol... ideally they're used for constructive things...but also destructive...but yeah...just that with your two hand you can accomplish anything.
This informant is a 19 year old, North American boy who attends military school. The difference in their response is fascinating! He associated his hands with building and strength and success and she associates her hands with portraying her cleanliness.
Ethnographic Conversation about Hair and Gender Identity
Interviewer: “Have you ever cut your hair very short?”
Informant: “Actually once I got it cut from there [below my chest] to like below my ear lobes and the woman did something funky like buzzed the back shorter. So then my mom and I evened it up, so it was above my ears. And I hated it so much. I think I felt masculine. And I had dyed my hair and when it was that short I dyed it pink to make it feminine.”
Here the informant, a twenty-year old Caucasian woman, talks about the length of her hair as a symbol of her femininity. Before the cut, she took for granted the fact that her longer hair served as a symbol for her femininity. After the cut, she expressed hatred with it because she lost one of her main expressions of femininity—her longer hair. It is interested how she chose to add the color pink to her hair—a shade undoubtedly associated with femininity—as a semi-permanent alternate of expressing her femininity through her hair. This quote serves as great evidence that North American women use their hair to assert their femininity.
Informant: “Actually once I got it cut from there [below my chest] to like below my ear lobes and the woman did something funky like buzzed the back shorter. So then my mom and I evened it up, so it was above my ears. And I hated it so much. I think I felt masculine. And I had dyed my hair and when it was that short I dyed it pink to make it feminine.”
Here the informant, a twenty-year old Caucasian woman, talks about the length of her hair as a symbol of her femininity. Before the cut, she took for granted the fact that her longer hair served as a symbol for her femininity. After the cut, she expressed hatred with it because she lost one of her main expressions of femininity—her longer hair. It is interested how she chose to add the color pink to her hair—a shade undoubtedly associated with femininity—as a semi-permanent alternate of expressing her femininity through her hair. This quote serves as great evidence that North American women use their hair to assert their femininity.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Mowing the Grass
At first glance, I revert my eyes because I don’t want to be looking at another woman’s pubic hair or region. Then I look back and chuckle a little. Is it meant to be a statement about shaving pubic hair or just something funny? Does the woman who’s wearing it have a stance or opinion about shaving? I’d like to think she does.
She got this because her boyfriend of 4 years just broke up with her. While not the exact main reason, it was in part because, in the end, she refused to shave and wax her legs, armpits, and pubic region. When he first told her that he liked smooth, hairless women, she didn’t think much of it and removed her body’s hair. After her first Brazilian wax, she was shocked. It has hurt so bad to lye on that table and have a stranger scrutinize the place between her legs, violently ripping the soft and natural hair off her sensitive skin. She couldn’t believe that so many women went through that process routinely and willfully, actually paying for it to be done. And for what? For whom?
In her case at least, it was for her boyfriend. This guy who she thought she really liked and who supposedly liked her equally. But did he like her equally, if he wanted her to go though such an unnatural, unpleasant and painful process? Before she new it, 4 years had passed and she had become a regular at the local nails and waxing place. It was only after their breakup, which of course was a result of her realizing she would and could never be the person her ex wanted her to be. It was with this tattoo, that she was able to create humor out of pain—both physical and emotional—and remember never to go down that road again.
I am writing from a western woman’s position. I am a young woman with parents whom have tried to shelter me from the idea of changing oneself for others and participating in unnatural acts of using makeup, shaving, or dying hair. For the most part, I don’t mind trying things once or twice, so I can form my own opinion on things. But currently, I am in a gray area, a middle ground, where I haven’t figured out what types of modifications are ok and what kinds aren’t, or if one can even make clear opinions or generalizations about actions like that.
Ultimate Piercing or Ultimate Insight
At first, the eyes of this woman scare me. She looks terrified. Then I see her mouth. What? Really? Calm down, I think, this is just a photoshop image. But that’s a HUGE problem. This image says and does a lot. What I HATE is the caption or title at the bottom that says “Ultimate Female Piercing.” To me, “ultimate,” has a positive connotation. Like ultimate dirt biking or the ultimate adventure. Who made this? Who the hell thinks that the ultimate piercing a “female,” not woman, can get is to pierce her mouth closed? This picture does nothing to zip my mouth shut. If anything it makes me want to scream or yell. It makes me want to talk and talk and talk about the symbolism of the image and the world is trying to do to women. I want to talk about how someone, or maybe many people, would be pleased to have women’s mouths pierced closed. I want to talk about how this is represents our culture’s desire to keep women silent. This country wants women without opinions or thoughts or insight. To me this is not the Ultimate Female Piercing it is the Ultimate Truth about how the world wants women and how I refuse to be.
I am woman with a voice. I am a woman with a voice who loves and needs to be heard. I have a lot to say and I have been encouraged to say it, especially when people don’t want to listen.
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