scholarly journals Between the Acts: Anonymity and the Gendered Self

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebekah Galbraith
Keyword(s):  
Queer Theory ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
The Self ◽  
Artistic Practice ◽  
Feminist Poststructuralism ◽  
Critical Position ◽  
Narrative Studies ◽  
Between The Acts ◽  
The Subject ◽  
And Gender

<p>This thesis establishes and explores a new concept in critical theory: the anonymous mode. Developing from ideas around anonymity, gender, and authorship, the anonymous mode is my original contribution to the field of narrative studies, where the conventions of rhetoric represent identity through a discourse of self-conception based on absence. My critical reading of anonymity offers a new way of examining and understanding the central role of self-authorisation in gendered identity. The semiotics of absence in the anonymous mode, both as formal significant and contextual signifier, theorise identity as an objective construct: the private compromise of anonymity complicates the motive and intent of the self-producing subject. </p> <p>The anonymous mode establishes identity as an object, where the primary condition of the subject is absence; it forgoes the narrative reconciliation of self-authorisation, and restores the subject to a state of dislocation. Literature in the anonymous mode demonstrates a persistent, intersubjective engagement with textual absence. Narrative examples of textual absence include, but are not limited to: doubled selves and dissociative states; shattered and split identities; non-identification (or non-recognition); nameless narrators, author surrogates, and other extreme acts of literary ventriloquism (such as the author-as-prosopopoeia); agender, non-binary, and other gender-fluid narrators or protagonists; collage, pastiche, and plagiarism, as a means of further distorting the self-conceived boundaries between fact and fiction, truth and reality. These encoded methods of communicating an absence of identity are thereafter decoded as gendered anonymity: an explicit, cognitive dissonance between self and subject. </p> <p>There are two components to this thesis: a critical investigation of gendered anonymity, and a creative component that satisfies the conditions of the anonymous mode. The critical evaluation of the anonymous mode begins with a historical survey of anonymous publishing, before providing a comparative reading of Virginia Woolf’s posthumously published essay “Anon”, and its companion piece, “The Reader”. Woolf’s final writings explore the theoretical assumptions of anonymity, signaling the preconditions of authorship later established by Roland Barthes’s declaration of the author’s theoretical death. This critical position is fundamental to any reading of anonymity in female narrative consciousness, where the hegemony of authorship seemingly liquidates feminist artistic practice, deflecting questions of participation, inclusion, and autonomy. The critical component of this thesis engages with the semiotics of heteronormativity, feminist poststructuralism, narrative studies, and gender and queer theory to examine the representation of autonomy and sexual agency in writing by women. Writers in this thesis’s critical framework include: Sylvia Plath, Angela Carter, Kathy Acker, Chris Kraus, Maggie Nelson, and Rachel Cusk. </p> <p>The creative component of this thesis––The Albatross––is explicitly produced within the critical framework of the anonymous mode. By introducing a multiplicity of selves, and thereby destabilising a fixed identity, The Albatross draws attention to the anonymous mode’s preoccupation with dissociation, depersonalisation, and derealization. An experimental text, intersecting at the level of criticism and autotheory, art and aesthetics, non-fiction, and autobiography, The Albatross demonstrates the creative value of the anonymous mode: it is a mode that constantly shifts and expands to incorporate experimental, intertextual practices as flexible methodology, actively displacing the subject within a text.</p>

scholarly journals Between the Acts: Anonymity and the Gendered Self

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebekah Galbraith
Keyword(s):  
Queer Theory ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
The Self ◽  
Artistic Practice ◽  
Feminist Poststructuralism ◽  
Critical Position ◽  
Narrative Studies ◽  
Between The Acts ◽  
The Subject ◽  
And Gender

<p>This thesis establishes and explores a new concept in critical theory: the anonymous mode. Developing from ideas around anonymity, gender, and authorship, the anonymous mode is my original contribution to the field of narrative studies, where the conventions of rhetoric represent identity through a discourse of self-conception based on absence. My critical reading of anonymity offers a new way of examining and understanding the central role of self-authorisation in gendered identity. The semiotics of absence in the anonymous mode, both as formal significant and contextual signifier, theorise identity as an objective construct: the private compromise of anonymity complicates the motive and intent of the self-producing subject. </p> <p>The anonymous mode establishes identity as an object, where the primary condition of the subject is absence; it forgoes the narrative reconciliation of self-authorisation, and restores the subject to a state of dislocation. Literature in the anonymous mode demonstrates a persistent, intersubjective engagement with textual absence. Narrative examples of textual absence include, but are not limited to: doubled selves and dissociative states; shattered and split identities; non-identification (or non-recognition); nameless narrators, author surrogates, and other extreme acts of literary ventriloquism (such as the author-as-prosopopoeia); agender, non-binary, and other gender-fluid narrators or protagonists; collage, pastiche, and plagiarism, as a means of further distorting the self-conceived boundaries between fact and fiction, truth and reality. These encoded methods of communicating an absence of identity are thereafter decoded as gendered anonymity: an explicit, cognitive dissonance between self and subject. </p> <p>There are two components to this thesis: a critical investigation of gendered anonymity, and a creative component that satisfies the conditions of the anonymous mode. The critical evaluation of the anonymous mode begins with a historical survey of anonymous publishing, before providing a comparative reading of Virginia Woolf’s posthumously published essay “Anon”, and its companion piece, “The Reader”. Woolf’s final writings explore the theoretical assumptions of anonymity, signaling the preconditions of authorship later established by Roland Barthes’s declaration of the author’s theoretical death. This critical position is fundamental to any reading of anonymity in female narrative consciousness, where the hegemony of authorship seemingly liquidates feminist artistic practice, deflecting questions of participation, inclusion, and autonomy. The critical component of this thesis engages with the semiotics of heteronormativity, feminist poststructuralism, narrative studies, and gender and queer theory to examine the representation of autonomy and sexual agency in writing by women. Writers in this thesis’s critical framework include: Sylvia Plath, Angela Carter, Kathy Acker, Chris Kraus, Maggie Nelson, and Rachel Cusk. </p> <p>The creative component of this thesis––The Albatross––is explicitly produced within the critical framework of the anonymous mode. By introducing a multiplicity of selves, and thereby destabilising a fixed identity, The Albatross draws attention to the anonymous mode’s preoccupation with dissociation, depersonalisation, and derealization. An experimental text, intersecting at the level of criticism and autotheory, art and aesthetics, non-fiction, and autobiography, The Albatross demonstrates the creative value of the anonymous mode: it is a mode that constantly shifts and expands to incorporate experimental, intertextual practices as flexible methodology, actively displacing the subject within a text.</p>

scholarly journals “I Am Not Good at Any of This.” Playing with Homoeroticism in The Arabian Nights

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 480
Author(s):  
Frank G. Bosman
Keyword(s):  
Gender Roles ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
The Self ◽  
French Translation ◽  
The West ◽  
Arabian Nights ◽  
Safe Environment ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Cross Dressing ◽  
And Gender

The story collection known in the West as The Arabian Nights or One Thousand and One Nights, is famous, among other things, for its erotic playfulness. This eroticism was (and is) one of the key reasons for its continuous popularity after Antoine Galland’s French translation in 1704. The Arabian Nights includes, besides traditional, heterosexual acts, play, and desires, examples of homoerotic playfulness—even though we must tread lightly when using such Western concepts with an oriental text body such as this one. The homoerotic playfulness of The Arabian Nights is the subject of this article. By making use of a text-immanent analysis of two of the Nights’ stories—of Qamar and Budûr and of Alî Shâr and Zumurrud—the author of this article focuses on the reversal of common gender roles, acts of cross-dressing, and, of course, homoerotic play. He will argue that these stories provide a narrative safe environment in which the reader is encouraged to “experiment” with non-normative sexual and gender orientations, leaving the dominant status quo effectively and ultimately unchallenged, thus preventing the (self-proclaimed) defenders of that status quo from feeling threatened enough to actively counter-act the experiment.

scholarly journals Ego trip

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Nabil El Jaouhari
Keyword(s):  
Queer Theory ◽  
Art History ◽  
Visual Language ◽  
Social Construct ◽  
Cultural Assumptions ◽  
Gender Binary ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Subject ◽  
And Gender

My exhibition, entitled Ego Trip, was an attempt to explore the concepts of biological destiny, productivity, and gender roles through the lens of feminist and queer theory. This lens was focused on the myth of Narcissus, revealing commonly held cultural assumptions with masculinity and flowers. The work was important to make because I was trying to question my sexuality through questioning the way that I am perceived through a cultural lens. It wasn't celebratory; it was perhaps a stepping-stone toward understanding my own position in society. The work was also important to make as a commentary on the associations of materials and representations and motifs to gender. One should care about it because everyone has to live with and within the social construct of a gender binary. I wanted to explore my own gender or my own orientation through this binary, and I was trying to find the natural in art. The familiarity of these representations allures the viewer, but also prompts the viewer to question those familiar associations. The work has a beautiful, seductive quality to it but at the same time blurs the boundary between masculine and feminine and illuminates how fragile these constructs really are. I learned a lot of technical aspects when it comes to constructing a room or an installation. I learned how to take an idea or a concept and try to push yourself as hard as possible to actually create a link between the myth and a contemporary representation. I leaned on the history of art (e.g. Caravaggio, 16th century floral painting) and contemporary installation art and married them together to create this installation that not only has all of these different stops on this timeline but also has all of these materials, which I also learned to marry to each other. I learned about the placement in the gallery and how a person should navigate around this space. I would love to find this way into art borrowing these aesthetics from art history and molding them into something contemporary. I learned how to marry material and concept, and how to use the preexisting associations of the material itself to start to say something more. How do you force a placement or an assembly in order to force it to say something more or less about the idea? Material starts to talk to concept; there is a lot of material that is associated directly with what I'm trying to say (e.g. wallpaper). There is also the idea of construction and maybe random associations of different representations of work. Different representations on the level of manifestation and on the level of material itself, the same idea morphs into more than one representation. In the myth of Narcissus and Echo I found a threshold to mirror what I was trying to say. Because of the flower and the floral aspect there was a link between Narcissus and the decorative, and the story supplied the visual language that inspired the idea of these display rooms. That visual language came from the subject matter and took different forms, morphing into more than one kind of display because of the different materials I used, which mirrored different aspects of the concept.

scholarly journals Unbearable Lessons: Contesting Fat Phobia in Physical Education

2008 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Sykes ◽  
Deborah McPhail
Keyword(s):  
Physical Education ◽  
Queer Theory ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Physical Activities ◽  
Sex And Gender ◽  
Feminist Poststructuralism ◽  
Fat Phobia ◽  
Fat Bodies ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The U.S

In this article we examine how fat-phobic discourses in physical education both constitute, and are continually negotiated by, “fat” and “overweight” students. This claim is based on qualitative interviews about memories of physical education with 15 adults in Canada and the U.S. who identified as fat or overweight at some time during their lives. The research draws from feminist poststructuralism, queer theory, and feminist fat theory to examine how students negotiate fat subjectivities in fat-phobic educational contexts. The interviews reveal how fat phobia in physical education is oppressive and makes it extremely difficult for most students to develop positive fat subjectivities in physical education; how weighing and measuring practices work to humiliate and discipline fat bodies; and how fat phobia reinforces normalizing constructions of sex and gender. The interviews also illustrate how some students resisted fat phobia in physical education by avoiding, and sometimes excelling in, particular physical activities. Finally, interviewees talk about the importance of having access to fat-positive fitness spaces as adults and suggest ways to improve the teaching of physical education.

scholarly journals Studi Komunikasi Pengungkapan Diri Remaja Laki-Laki Feminin

Koneksi ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 200
Author(s):  
Ai Ching ◽  
Suzy Azeharie
Keyword(s):  
Personal Information ◽  
The Self ◽  
Communication Process ◽  
Self Concept ◽  
Literature Study ◽  
Self Disclosure ◽  
Intrapersonal Communication ◽  
Male Adolescents ◽  
The Subject ◽  
And Gender

Gender is a difference between women and men which is judged by their behavior and character which is feminine or masculine. Self disclosure is the process of disclosing personal information that is not necessarily known by others. When someone experiences a difference between sex, which is a reproductive tool, and gender which is his nature, then that person will be underestimated by some societies. The subject of this research is male adolescents who are feminine while the object is self-disclosure by male adolescents who are feminine. In this study, the authors will examine the self-disclosure communication process carried out by teenage boys who are feminine. The theory used in this research is the concept of gender, intrapersonal communication, self-disclosure and self-concept. The author uses literature study, interviews, observation and documentation to gather the required information. In the interview process, the writer chose three main sources, namely three teenage boys who have feminine traits and one psychologist as justification. The results showed that male adolescents who have feminine traits are different from gay and transsexual men. Intrapersonal communication is needed by teenage boys in expressing themselves which is feminine. Communicating with himself can make it easier for feminine boys to make decisions. After expressing themselves, male adolescents who are feminine know themselves better and accept the shortcomings and differences between male adolescents who are feminine and male adolescents in general.Gender adalah suatu perbedaan antara perempuan dan laki-laki yang dinilai dari kelakuan dan sifat mereka yang feminin atau maskulin. Self disclosure adalah proses pengungkapan informasi pribadi yang belum tentu diketahui oleh orang lain. Saat seseorang mengalami perbedaan antara sex yang merupakan alat reproduksi dengan gender yang merupakan sifatnya, maka orang tersebut akan dianggap remeh oleh beberapa masyarakat. Subjek dari penelitian ini adalah remaja laki-laki yang bersifat feminin sedangkan objeknya adalah pengungkapan diri yang dilakukan oleh remaja laki-laki yang bersifat feminin. Dalam penelitian ini penulis akan meneliti proses komunikasi pengungkapan diri yang dilakukan oleh remaja laki-laki yang bersifat feminin. Teori yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah konsep gender, komunikasi intrapersonal, self disclosure atau pengungkapan diri, dan konsep diri. Penulis menggunakan studi kepustakaan, wawancara, observasi dan dokumentasi untuk mengumpulkan informasi yang dibutuhkan. Dalam proses wawancara, penulis memilih tiga narasumber utama yaitu tiga remaja laki-laki yang memiliki sifat feminin dan satu ahli psikolog sebagai pembenaran. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa remaja laki-laki yang memiliki sifat feminin berbeda dengan gay dan transeksual. Komunikasi intrapersonal dibutuhkan oleh remaja laki-laki dalam mengungkapkan dirinya yang bersifat feminin. Berkomunikasi dengan dirinya sendiri dapat mempermudah remaja laki-laki yang feminin dalam mengambil keputusan. Setelah melakukan pengungkapan diri remaja laki-laki yang bersifat feminin lebih mengenal dirinya sendiri dan menerima kekurangan dan perbedaan antara remaja laki-laki yang bersifat feminin dengan remaja laki-laki pada umumnya.

The politics of becoming: Disidentification as radical democratic practice

2020 ◽  
pp. 136843102093578
Author(s):  
Hans Asenbaum
Keyword(s):  
The Self ◽  
Democratic Politics ◽  
Gender Theory ◽  
Democratic Practice ◽  
Democratic Practices ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Democratic Ideals ◽  
And Gender

Current radical democratic politics is characterized by new participatory spaces for citizens’ engagement, which aim at facilitating the democratic ideals of freedom and equality. These spaces are, however, situated in the context of deep societal inequalities. Modes of discrimination are carried over into participatory interaction. The democratic subject is judged by its physically embodied appearance, which replicates external hierarchies and impedes the freedom of self-expression. To tackle this problem, this article seeks to identify ways to increase the freedom of the subject to explore its multiple self. Understanding the self as inherently fugitive, the article investigates participatory, deliberative and agonistic concepts of self-transformation. As all of them appear limited, it introduces a transformative perspective in democratic thought. Enriching the transformative perspective with queer and gender theory, the article generates the concept of a politics of becoming, which, through radical democratic practices of disidentification, advances the freedom of the subject to change.

Self-Compassion and Quality of Life in Adults Who Stutter

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 2097-2108
Author(s):  
Robyn L. Croft ◽  
Courtney T. Byrd
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
The Self ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Self Compassion ◽  
Adults Who Stutter ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this study was to identify levels of self-compassion in adults who do and do not stutter and to determine whether self-compassion predicts the impact of stuttering on quality of life in adults who stutter. Method Participants included 140 adults who do and do not stutter matched for age and gender. All participants completed the Self-Compassion Scale. Adults who stutter also completed the Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering. Data were analyzed for self-compassion differences between and within adults who do and do not stutter and to predict self-compassion on quality of life in adults who stutter. Results Adults who do and do not stutter exhibited no significant differences in total self-compassion, regardless of participant gender. A simple linear regression of the total self-compassion score and total Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering score showed a significant, negative linear relationship of self-compassion predicting the impact of stuttering on quality of life. Conclusions Data suggest that higher levels of self-kindness, mindfulness, and social connectedness (i.e., self-compassion) are related to reduced negative reactions to stuttering, an increased participation in daily communication situations, and an improved overall quality of life. Future research should replicate current findings and identify moderators of the self-compassion–quality of life relationship.

The Self-Description Questionnaire-1: A Lithuanian Application

1995 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Watkins ◽  
Anne McCreary Juhasz ◽  
Aldona Walker ◽  
Nijole Janvlaitiene
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Europe ◽  
Factor Structure ◽  
Response Bias ◽  
Internal Consistency ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
The Self ◽  
Nigerian Children ◽  
Gender Biases ◽  
And Gender

Analysis of the responses of 139 male and 83 female Lithuanian 12-14 year-olds to a translation of the Self-Description Questionnaire-1 (SDQ-1; Marsh, 1988 ) supported the internal consistency and factor structure of this instrument. Some evidence of a “positivity” response bias was found, however. Comparison of the Lithuanian responses to those of like-aged Australian, Chinese, Filipino, Nepalese, and Nigerian children indicated the Lithuanians tended to report rather lower self-esteem. The Lithuanian males also tended to report lower self-esteem than their female peers. Interpretation of the results are considered in terms of reactions to the recent upheavals in Eastern Europe, stable cultural dimensions, and possible cultural and gender biases in the items of the SDQ-1.

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