While reading Heather Roffo’s “9 Parts of Desire” I was struck by how intimate and detailed each monologue/character was and the depth of the emotional response each provoke. Even though I was aware that the characters (and the play itself) are dramatized, fictional composites of the many testimonies of Iraqi women, the narratives still ignitedContinue reading “The Human Experience: 9 Parts of Desire”
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The Non-Binary Community: How Literature is Helping
Literature is perhaps one of the most powerful pieces of media in human civilization. It can influence an entire mass of people into thinking or believing a certain idea, but it can also empower writers and readers. This has happened countless time throughout history: Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe empowered abolitionists to fightContinue reading “The Non-Binary Community: How Literature is Helping”
Homegoing: viewing through different lenses
By Ella Deignan In Gyasi’s novel titled Homegoing, Gyasi offers stories from individuals and intertwines each of the stories to create a more complex tree of relationships. Through these relationships, we as the reader can see the story through a window, viewing these new ideas, cultures, and individuals through literature. However, we can also useContinue reading “Homegoing: viewing through different lenses”
Rape as a Product of War; How Women Become the Second Battlefield
Although Lynn Nottage’s Ruined brings up the conversation of rape in the context of war, it only offers the effects of this issue and fails to discuss the causes. Rape was considered an inevitable part of war; it’s something that was unfortunate, to say the least, but unavoidable. After reading Ruined, I’m left with oneContinue reading “Rape as a Product of War; How Women Become the Second Battlefield”
From Courtier to Modern Man: Snapshots of Gender Roles throughout Time
By Daria Haner We can all agree that Western gender roles have changed vastly from generation to generation– from the proper Victorian lady of the house, to the stereotypical 1950s housewife, to the working woman today. However, I would like to explore how masculinity has developed over the generations, specifically in Europe and the UnitedContinue reading “From Courtier to Modern Man: Snapshots of Gender Roles throughout Time”
The Questionable Format of Modern Casting
By Eli Daniel Modern casting is described as a “pre-production process that involves choosing actors to fill roles in a particular TV show, movie, commercial, or play,” according to Master Class. Furthermore, casting is one of the most crucial parts of the filmmaking process as the actors’ performance directly affects the impact of the filmContinue reading “The Questionable Format of Modern Casting”
Sexuality in the 1950s: A Historical Analysis of France
by: Anisa Thompson When reading Giovanni’s Room, was anyone else shocked that France was guillotining people in the 1950s? I was. As any curious (and slightly disturbed) person would, I began to wonder what actually went down during the 1950s in France. Thanks to Janine Mossuz-Lavau’s “Politics and Sexuality in France, 1951-1991,” I have someContinue reading “Sexuality in the 1950s: A Historical Analysis of France”
Redefining Masculinity- are you brave enough?
by Ella Deignan The social stigma of men’s masculinity, created and upheld by lockerroom talk, paternal pressures (mental+physical abuse), and women’s dependency on men leave many men with little space, internally and externally, to show vulnerability. In The Atlantic’s The Miseducation of American Boys, Peggy Orenstein writes on multiple factors that lead to boys definingContinue reading “Redefining Masculinity- are you brave enough?”
Class and Gender: A Nuanced Intersection
by: Daria Haner When we speak about gender norms, we tend to do so through the context of our own lives or through those we are exposed to in the literature we read. However, we must understand that the intersectionality of class and gender plays a huge role in gender roles and what is expectedContinue reading “Class and Gender: A Nuanced Intersection”
A Critique of Dr. Heather Heying’s Claims
Dr. Heather Heying explains how gender stereotypes can lead to the assumption of gender in this video. She makes valid points about the harm of assuming someone’s gender, but I, as a progressive female, disagree with her when she says this is fueled by the normalization of being transgender. Dr. Heying believes that if sheContinue reading “A Critique of Dr. Heather Heying’s Claims”
Constructions of Gender in Literature 