Class Pulse

1. This course is definitely something I was not expecting. That isn't necessarily a bad thing seeing that every week I am intrigued at the new information that I am absorbing. Like Professor Fuqua has expressed it is indeed an overwhelming amount of information for a mere 3 hour class. Honestly these topics in our Gender, Sexuality, and Media class has been so stimulating that the 3 hours does seem too restricted and the need for a break is very unnecessary. I partook in the Teen TV course in the previous Fall semester which served me well as a foot in the door for this class. As a result terms like gender binary or author's such as Judith Butler were not something new to me. This course, though, has been much more intense and I am able to effectively enjoy it through the various articles and videos we have watched and especially through the passion that Professor Fuqua puts into her lectures. Being in this class the song that comes up in my mind is one of my personal favorites; Creep by Radiohead. I feel like it fits perfectly with how individuals like Ludovic from the film Ma Vie en Rose where this gender binary confuses those who do not feel like they fit into one or the other. "But I'm a creep/I'm a weirdo/What the hell am I doing here?/I don't belong here."

2. To say that this course material did not affect me in any way would be a lie. This material, excluding the gender in media representation, has turned my world upside down; it really has. I never thought of any of these things like queer reading or how females are scientifically considered the default sex. These things blew my mind honestly. It's insane as to how much of these topics are not taught regularly or on how, like Professor Fuqua stated, we are often told by others that we are interpreting a text wrong. It was that whole conversation of queer reading that had me going back to moments where someone has actually told me in school that the way I was reading something was incorrect. What especially played with my mind was the reading and class discussion of how Fight Club could be read queerly. I have seen that movie over a dozen times and honestly was blind to the vast amount of homo-eroticism that lies within the text. I was so wrapped up in the fighting part of it that I just figured it was a movie for dudes basically.

3. As I was starting to discuss in the paragraph before this one I feel like the most engaging text that we discussed was the Fight Club text; Hiding Homoeroticism in Plain View: The Fight Club DVD as a Digital Closet. That afternoon I found out so many things that were hidden to me before in that movie. Honestly after the reading and then seeing the film it wasn't even hidden it was plain in sight; right in front of my eyes. It's not like it even ruined it for me because it actually made more sense to me after reading it queerly. Things like why Tyler was always shirtless and ripped, or why he wore a pink bathrobe to the "bitch-tits" comment that I just found funny made a much more impact after this class. During the lecture we also spoke about homosocial male bonding which I have never heard about before but truly enlightened me with a whole new perspective. I never really thought of these things before like how sexualized things really are like going to the gym. I will not deny that when I'm at the gym I will compliment someone for their gains or in a way check them out and actually admire the persons fitness. This does not mean there's any sexual attraction or homosexual tendencies but this is what this class is all about. It's these male bonding activities and buddy films that I have only interpreted one way all my life that I am able to read queerly now.

4. Definitely Judith Butler is very hard to figure out all at once. I feel like I understand the basics, the tip of the iceberg, but there's so much more substance to her theories that I was not able to grasp so fast. Although, the Judith Butler Gender Performativity explained with cats definitely did help.