People Are Strange..... But it's not a bad thing!!

1. Using plenty of adjectives and also lyrics from a popular song, describe your impressions of the course so far. How would you describe your experience of the readings, screenings, lectures, discussions (Twitter and in class)?

The song which came to mind while thinking about how I was going to answer this question was People Are Strange by The Doors.

“People are strange when you're a stranger 

Faces look ugly when you're alone 
Women seem wicked when you're unwanted 
Streets are uneven when you're down 

When you're strange 
Faces come out of the rain 
When you're strange 
No one remembers your name 
When you're strange 
When you're strange 
When you're strange”

This song is all about how strange people are, and honestly too many this can be a bad thing but I have always been amazed and in awe of how different humans are. Over my time in this class, and over the past four years of my college education, I have certainly changed how I look at media. I’ve found that within what we watch and hear that there is just as many ways to interpret as there are people watching or listening. Being able to express and share thoughts at an instance while doing the readings through twitter has been fun, mainly because I am terrible at having a pen when reading so my thoughts often get lost and forgotten.

2. Has the course material challenged, reinforced, surprised, baffled, you-fill-in-the blank, your existing ideas about gender, sexuality, and media representations? Please remember that you have seen a range of media representations in this class -- mainstream and independent and or "alternative."

The material we have covered has not only reinforced my own thoughts on the ideas of gender and sexuality, it has also expanded them. I myself decided a while ago that I would look at a person for who they are and their actions, not by how they look or how others see them. So far it has worked out well. Through the weekly readings and in class discussion in have found links with my own thoughts and that of others and the course topics. The readings about the history of and the different theories surrounding the various LGBTQI activist groups I found the most eye/mind-opening. It has also caused me to really appreciate my family and friends more as they accepted my lifestyle choices without any great issues. They are happy as long as I am, and this is amazingly awesome.

3. What has been the single most engaging reading/topic so far and why?

The reading I found most engaging was the J. Jack Halberstam piece. I found it to be of familiar content and it really broke down the flaws within the binary system for something so varied. I think I had the most connection with this piece as I had a somewhat rough time with others when I was younger as they didn’t understand why I wasn’t “like all the other little girls”. Thankfully those I care for have found ways to accept me for me, which can’t be said for all those in similar positions.

4. What has been the single most difficult reading/topic so far and why?

The Anne Fausto-Sterling was probably the most difficult for me to get into, mainly because the writing style was so hard to follow at times. I found myself having to re-read most of it a few times to even begin to try and figure out what was being said. The work put in was worth it though, after getting through the writing style it was full of interesting ideas.