Queer Masculinities: Gender Roles, the Abject and Bottomhood in Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous

2021 ◽  
Vol 139 (4) ◽  
pp. 739-757
Author(s):  
Christina Slopek
Keyword(s):  
Gender Roles ◽  
Coming Out ◽  
Sexual Intimacy ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Language Politics ◽  
White American ◽  
Sexual Orientations ◽  
Gender Performances ◽  
To Come ◽  
And Gender

Abstract This article analyzes queerness in Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous (2019), teasing out how the queer relationship at the core of the novel is framed. Ocean Vuong’s novel mobilizes queerness to straddle boundaries between cultures, gender roles and bodies. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous places the queer sexual orientations and gender performances of its protagonists, one Vietnamese American, one white American, in firm relation to the formative force of cultural contexts. Zooming in on two young boys’ queerness, the novel diversifies gender roles and makes room especially for non-normative masculinities. What is more, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous mobilizes the abject to showcase how queer sexual intimacy straddles boundaries between bodies and subjects. The article attends to language politics in connection with the novel’s coming-out performance, striated constructions of gender roles and their interplay with the abject and “bottomhood” (Nguyen 2014: 2) to come to grips with the novel’s diversification of queer masculinities.

Interplay of Power Relations in Neeharika’s Yogmaya: A Foucauldian Discourse Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 239-252
Author(s):  
Tirtha Raj Niraula
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Gender Roles ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Free Translation ◽  
The Face ◽  
And Gender ◽  
A Site ◽  
The Voice

This article aims at exploring how Neelam Karki Niharika‘s Yogmaya presents the complex web of power relations that comprise domination, submission, and resistance. It mainly draw son Michel Foucault‘s idea that power is pervasive, not just oppressive but productive as well. Viewed from the Foucauldian notion of power as a theoretical framework, the study reveals the interplay of dominant and counter discourses in propagating knowledge and truth that are constructed and reconstructed. The novel is treated as a site of struggle where the state power along with the discourses of religion, patriarchy, and gender roles prominently operate so as to suppress the voice of the dissent. Yogmaya, a rural woman of the humble background, continuously resists both verbally and physically against various forms of power in the face of threats. She exercises her power in the same way as those who traditionally believe they possess it. In this connection, the focus lies on the protagonist‘s persistent attempts of resistance through the bold interrogation of the hegemonizing discourses and regimes of truth. As the text under study is written in Nepali, I use transliteration and free translation in order to cite the lines for analysis.

Ecofeminism and Post-Apocalyptic Environments in Roanhorse’s Trail of Lightning

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Talia Gukert
Keyword(s):  
Gender Roles ◽  
Indigenous Women ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Apocalyptic Literature ◽  
Traditional Gender Roles ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Female Protagonist ◽  
Complete Reversal ◽  
And Gender

This paper examines the significance of post-apocalyptic narratives as a means of expressing deep-seated anxieties about colonialism, capitalism, and cultural erasure in Rebecca Roanhorse’s Trail of Lightning. By viewing the novel through an ecofeminist lens, I seek to illuminate and explain the political changes Roanhorse’s post-apocalyptic world, and how this new environment allows for the transformation of social and gender structures of power. The theory of ecofeminism relies upon the belief that both women and nature are equally compromised and exploited by the patriarchy, constrained by the masculine forces of colonialization and capitalism. By situating her novel in a post-apocalyptic environment, Roanhorse implies that just as the earth has asserted its power over the effects of unrestricted capitalism through the consequences of global warming, Indigenous women have similarly taken back their powers of autonomy, liberating themselves from traditional gender roles. This paper shows how the connection between women and nature is most evident in the novel’s female protagonist, Maggie, who has been able to aggressively deviate from traditional gender norms and expectations due to the apocalypse. Through this complete reversal of common gender tropes in post-apocalyptic literature, Roanhorse demonstrates that the apocalypse has proven to be instrumental in freeing women from the constraints of gender roles, advocating the ecofeminist view that cooperation between women and nature is necessary for the liberation of both.

Glasswing Butterflies

2011 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 420-436 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellis Cashmore ◽  
Jamie Cleland
Keyword(s):  
Coming Out ◽  
Football Players ◽  
Association Football ◽  
Football Clubs ◽  
Sexual Orientations ◽  
To Come ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
Online Methods ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Industry Professionals

Only one association football (soccer) player in history has declared his homosexuality during his professional active playing career. Before or since that player’s death in 1998, no other professional footballer player has come out. The prohibitively traditional culture of association football is popularly regarded as being responsible for this. Fans habitually use homophobic epithets to abuse players. In recent years, England’s governing organizations have cautiously addressed this state of affairs, though ineffectually. The present study uses online methods to explore fans’ and industry professionals’ perspectives on gay players and the impact their failure to come out has had on the sport. The article, which is based on the responses of 3,500 participants, seeks to answer three questions: (1) Why do fans, who urge gay players to come out, use homophobic language to barrack players? (2) If gay players disclosed their sexual orientations publicly what effect would this have on them personally, on football culture generally and on conceptions of masculinity in sports? (3) What prevents gay football players coming out? The overwhelming majority (93%) of participants in the study oppose homophobia and explained the homophobic abuse as good-humored banter or, in their argot, “stick.” An unusual logic is employed to make this intelligible. Participants argue that an athlete’s ability to play football is the only criterion on which he is judged and his sexuality is of little consequence to their evaluations. Although few participants encourage forcible outing, the majority welcome openly gay players, whose impact would be transformative. Football clubs and agents are cited as the principal impediments to a more open and enlightened environment: participants argue that they pressure gay players to keep their sexuality hidden and so contribute to a culture of secrecy, which permits and perhaps commissions continued homophobic abuse. Participants speculate that the continued absence of openly gay players actually reproduces the apparent prejudices. One fan concludes, “The homophobia in football will remain for longer if no gay players come out.”

scholarly journals Marxist Analysis of Mohammed Hanif's Our Lady of Alice Bhatti

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 114-120
Author(s):  
Nazakat ◽  
Muhammad Imran ◽  
Adil Khan
Keyword(s):  
Gender Discrimination ◽  
Class Struggle ◽  
Marxist Theory ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
The People ◽  
Marxist Analysis ◽  
To Come ◽  
And Gender

In the novel "Our Lady of Alice Bhatti", the novelist depicts the worse and pitiable plight of the lower classes living on the edges of marginality. The story is narrated through the perspective of a young Christian nurse and her 'choorah' family. Her oppression may well be interpreted as an instance of a class struggle between the capitalist and the proletariat. The study contends that religious and gender discrimination is, in some ways, the by-product of an uneven economic system and hegemonic capitalistic power structures. Basic tenets of Marxist theory are employed as a theoretical framework to conduct the research in a systematic way. The study reveals that the ideologies of creed, caste and colour are very often used as capitalistic tools to divide human beings, especially the lower classes. It suggests that there is a dire need for educating the people on how to come together simply for what they actually are.

scholarly journals Atwood's Men Meet the Screen

2020 ◽  
pp. 137-148
Author(s):  
Joe Montenegro Bonilla
Keyword(s):  
Gender Roles ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Television Version ◽  
Male Characters ◽  
And Gender

Margaret Atwood’s famous work, The Handmaid’s Tale, offers innovative and intriguing perspectives on gender and gender roles, as they are dramatized and problematized in the context of a dystopian society that in many ways is a projection of our own. Particularly interesting in the novel are the roles on men, represented by the principal male characters: the Commander, Nick, and Luke. As Atwood employs these personae to describe at least three different manifestations of masculinity —all with their own conflicts and possibilities—, the first season of the television version of the novel, created by Bruce Miller and resealed in 2017, explores, expands, and exploits various visions of manhood that help understand not only the protagonist’s but also the reader’s/viewer’s world. This paper is an attempt to establish a dialogue of sorts between Atwood’s and Miller’s viewpoints on masculinity through their portrayals of these three characters and their interactions with their protagonist and their context.

scholarly journals POLITIK SEKSUALITAS NAZI DALAM NOVEL DER VORLESER KARYA BERNHARD SCHLINK (Nazi’s Sexuality Politics in Bernhard Schlink’s Novel “Der Vorleser”)

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 159
Author(s):  
Cheryl Desyanti Rosyidah Antoni ◽  
Aquarini Priyatna ◽  
Safrina Noorman
Keyword(s):  
Gender Roles ◽  
Sexual Activity ◽  
The State ◽  
Premarital Sex ◽  
The Novel ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Teenage Sexuality ◽  
Bernhard Schlink ◽  
Research Show

Tulisan ini mengkaji tentang politik seksualitas  Nazi yang terdapat dalam novel Der Vorleser karya Bernhard Schlink. Teks novel ini menunjukkan adanya keterkaitan antara seksualitas dan politik. Kajian ini dilandasi oleh teori Foucault yang membahas sejarah seksualitas dan kaitannya dengan negara, serta teori mengenai politik seksualitas Nazi di Jerman yang dikemukakan Herzog. Hasil analisis menunjukkan bahwa di dalam novel tersebut terdapat gambaran politik seksualitas Nazi, seperti pelarangan aktivitas seksual remaja, sakralisasi aktivitas seksual, pengokohan identitas dan peran gender, serta pelarangan hubungan di luar pernikahan. Selain itu, hasil analisis juga menunjukkan bahwa politik seksualitas ini diterapkan oleh pemerintah Nazi dengan tujuan untuk menjaga kemurnian ras bangsa Jerman serta menunjukkan superioritas bangsa Jerman terhadap bangsa lain.Abstract:This paper examines Nazi’s politics of sexuality in the Bernhard Schlink’s novel “Der Vorleser”. The novel shows that there is a relation between sexuality and politics.  This study uses Foucault’s theory on sexuality in relation with the state as well as Herzog’s theory on Nazi’s politic of sexuality. The result of the research show that in the novel there are descriptions of Nazi’s politics of sexuality, such as the prohibition on teenage sexuality, the sacralization of sexual activity, the strengthening of identity and gender roles, and the prohibition of premarital sex. Furthermore, the results of the analysis reveal that the sexuality politics is applied by the Nazi government in order to maintain the purity of the German race and show German supremacy over other nations.

It Gets Better Videos for Suicide Prevention in LGBTIQ+ Adolescents

Crisis ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanie Kirchner ◽  
Benedikt Till ◽  
Martin Plöderl ◽  
Thomas Niederkrotenthaler
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Coming Out ◽  
German Language ◽  
Professional Help ◽  
Characteristics Method ◽  
Sexual Orientations ◽  
It Gets Better Project

Abstract. Background: The It Gets Better project aims to help prevent suicide among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ+) adolescents. It features personal video narratives portraying how life gets better when struggling with adversities. Research on the contents of messages is scarce. Aims: We aimed to explore the content of videos in the Austrian It Gets Better project regarding the representation of various LGBTIQ+ groups and selected content characteristics. Method: A content analysis of all German-language videos was conducted ( N = 192). Messages related to coming out, stressors experienced, suicidal ideation/behavior, and on how things get better were coded. Results: Representation was strong for gay men ( n = 45; 41.7%). Coming out to others was mainly positively framed ( n = 31; 46.3%) and seen as a tool to make things better ( n = 27; 37.5%). Social support ( n = 42; 62.7%) and self-acceptance ( n = 37; 55.2%) were prevalent topics. Common stressors included a conservative setting ( n = 18, 26.9%), and fear of outing ( n = 17; 25.4%). Suicidality ( n = 9; 4.7%) and options to get professional help ( n = 7; 8.2%) were rarely addressed. Limitations: Only aspects explicitly brought up in the videos were codeable. Conclusion: Videos do not fully represent gender identities and sexual orientations. Messaging on suicidality and professional help require strengthening to tailor them better for suicide prevention.

Cross-border Migration and Gender Boundaries in Central Eastern Europe – Female Perspectives

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 499-509
Author(s):  
Ágnes Erőss ◽  
Monika Mária Váradi ◽  
Doris Wastl-Walter
Keyword(s):  
Gender Roles ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Labour Migration ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Livelihood Strategy ◽  
Central Eastern Europe ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Dual Earner ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Gender Boundaries

In post-Socialist countries, cross-border labour migration has become a common individual and family livelihood strategy. The paper is based on the analysis of semi-structured interviews conducted with two ethnic Hungarian women whose lives have been significantly reshaped by cross-border migration. Focusing on the interplay of gender and cross-border migration, our aim is to reveal how gender roles and boundaries are reinforced and repositioned by labour migration in the post-socialist context where both the socialist dual-earner model and conventional ideas of family and gender roles simultaneously prevail. We found that cross-border migration challenged these women to pursue diverse strategies to balance their roles of breadwinner, wife, and mother responsible for reproductive work. Nevertheless, the boundaries between female and male work or status were neither discursively nor in practice transgressed. Thus, the effect of cross-border migration on altering gender boundaries in post-socialist peripheries is limited.

Diaghilev and British Writing

2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-92
Author(s):  
Susan Jones
Keyword(s):  
Visual Arts ◽  
The Body ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Literary Responses ◽  
Literary Aesthetics ◽  
Ballets Russes ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The Subject ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Opening Up

This article explores the diversity of British literary responses to Diaghilev's project, emphasising the way in which the subject matter and methodologies of Diaghilev's modernism were sometimes unexpectedly echoed in expressions of contemporary British writing. These discussions emerge both in writing about Diaghilev's work, and, more discretely, when references to the Russian Ballet find their way into the creative writing of the period, serving to anchor the texts in a particular cultural milieu or to suggest contemporary aesthetic problems in the domain of literary aesthetics developing in the period. Figures from disparate fields, including literature, music and the visual arts, brought to their criticism of the Ballets Russes their individual perspectives on its aesthetics, helping to consolidate the sense of its importance in contributing to the inter-disciplinary flavour of modernism across the arts. In the field of literature, not only did British writers evaluate the Ballets Russes in terms of their own poetics, their relationship to experimentation in the novel and in drama, they developed an increasing sense of the company's place in dance history, its choreographic innovations offering material for wider discussions, opening up the potential for literary modernism's interest in impersonality and in the ‘unsayable’, discussions of the body, primitivism and gender.

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