Gay male culture Essay Example for Free

Gay male culture Essay American culture has focused much more heavily on gay men than on other members of the LGBT community. This may be due to larger numbers of men than women and it may also be due to gay men having more resources available to them to justify, explore and perform their sexuality. The western culture as a whole still sees men and male experience as the central experience in culture, even if the men in question are transgressing established gender norms. Gay culture relies upon secret symbols and codes woven into an overall straight context. The association of gay men with opera, ballet, professional sports, , musical theater, the Golden Age of Hollywood, and interior design began with wealthy homosexual men using the straight themes of these media to send their own signals. In the Marilyn Monroe film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, a musical [filmfreakcentral. net] number features a woman singing while muscled men in revealing costumes dance around her. The mens costumes were designed by a man, the dance was choreographed by a man, and the dancers seem more interested in each other than in the female star, but her reassuring presence gets the sequence past the censors and fits it into an overall heterocentric theme. Today gay male culture is publicly acknowledged. Celebrities such as Liza Minnelli spent [topix. net] a significant amount of their social time with urban gay men, who were now popularly viewed as sophisticated and stylish by the jet set. Celebrities themselves were open about their relationships. Gay men cant be identified by the way they look or what kind of music they like. There are gay men in every field and all sorts of fashions and music. Lesbian culture A lesbian is a woman who is romantically and sexually attracted only to other women. The history of lesbian culture over the last half-century has been linked to the evolution of feminism. Older stereotypes of lesbian women stressed a dichotomy between women who adhered to stereotypical male gender stereotypes (butch) and stereotypical female gender stereotypes (femme), and that typical lesbian couples consisted of butch/femme couples. Today, some lesbian women adhere to being either butch or femme, but these categories are much less rigid and there is no express expectation that a lesbian couple be butch/femme. There is a sub-culture within the lesbian community called Aristasia, where lesbians in the community adhere to exaggerated levels of femininity. In this culture, there are two genders, blonde and brunette, although they are unrelated to actual hair color. Brunettes are femme, yet blondes are even more so. Also notable are diesel dykes, extremely butch women who use male forms of dress and behavior, and who often work as truck drivers. Lipstick lesbian refers to feminine women who are attracted only to other feminine women. Bisexual culture In modern western culture Bisexual people are in the peculiar situation of receiving hatred or distrust [Lunde 1990] or even outright denial of their existence from some elements of both the straight and lesbian and gay populations. There is of course some element of general anti-LGBT feeling, but some people insist that bisexual people are unsure of their true feelings, that they are experimenting or going through a phase and that they eventually will or should decide or discover which (singular) sex they are sexually attracted to. One popular misconception is that [Lunde 1990] bisexuals find all humans sexually attractive. That is no truer than the idea that, say, all straight men would find all women sexually attractive. More people of all kinds are becoming aware that there are some people who find attractive sexual partners among both men and women sometimes equally, sometimes favoring one sex in particular . Distinctions exist between sexual orientation (attraction, inclination, preference, or desire), gender identity (self-identification or self-concept) and sexual behavior (the sex of ones actual sexual partners). For example, someone who may find people of either sex attractive might in practice have relationships only with people of one particular sex. Many bisexual people consider themselves to be part of the LGBT or Queer community [Barris, 2007]. In an effort to create both more visibility, and a symbol for the bisexual community to gather behind, Michael Page created the bisexual pride flag. The bisexual flag, which has a pink or red stripe at the top for homosexuality, a blue one on the bottom for heterosexuality and a purple one in the middle to represent bisexuality, as purple is from the combination of red and blue [Lunde 1990]. Transgender culture The study of transgender culture is complicated by the many and various ways in which cultures deal with gender [hrc. org]. For example, in many cultures, people who are attracted to people of the same sex — that is those who in contemporary Western culture would identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual — are classed as a third gender, together with people who would in the West be classified as transgender or transsexual. Also in the contemporary West, there are usually [hrc.org] several different groups of transgender and transsexual people, some of which are extremely exclusive, like groups only for transsexual women who explicitly want sex reassignment surgery or male, heterosexual only cross-dressers. Transmens groups are often, but not always, more inclusive. Groups aiming at all transgender people, both transmen and transwomen, have in most cases appeared only in the last few years. Some transgender or transsexual women and men however do not classify as being part of any specific trans culture. However there is a distinction between transgender and transsexual people who make their past known to others . Some wish to live according to their gender identity and not reveal this past, stating that they should be able to live in their true gender role in a normal way, and be in control of whom they choose to tell their past to. Epistemology of the closet. The expression being in the closet is used to describe keeping secret ones sexual behavior or orientation, most commonly homosexuality or bisexuality, but also including the gender identity of transgender and transsexual people [branconolilas.no. sapo. pt]. Being in the closet is more than being private, it is a life-shaping pattern of concealment where gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender individuals hide their sexuality/gender-identity in the most important areas of life, with family, friends, and at work. Individuals may marry or avoid certain jobs in order to avoid suspicion and exposure. Some will even claim to be heterosexual when asked directly. It is the power of the closet to shape the core of an individuals life that has made homosexuality into a significant personal, social, and political drama in twentieth-century America. (Seidman 2003, p. 25). Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, in her book Epistemology of the closet, majorly focuses on male homosexuality. She is also an intellectual who is interested in gay and lesbian studies, queer studies, gender studies, and feminism. Sedgwick (Seidman 2003, p. 25) â€Å"proposes that many of the major thoughts and knowledge in twentieth-century Western culture as a whole are structured—indeed fractured—by the now endemic crisis of homo/heterosexual definition, indicatively male, dating from the end of the nineteenth century†. Incoherent ideas about homosexuality inform the way men are acculturated in the modern West, and (Seidman 2003, p. 25) since this is so, this incoherence has come to mark society generally. Incoherence characterizes the attitude toward homosexuality in the West and is beyond debate. examples, are gay men ridiculous figures of fun or are they sexual monsters who prey on young children? ; is the homosexual a limp-wrested effeminate unsuited for the armed forces, or the lothario of the showers who will gaze upon and/or rape his fellow servicemen? ; Is sexuality an orientation or is it a choice?; are homosexuals born or are they made? ; essentialism or social constructionism? ; nature/nurture?. These are all part of the effect of this crisis in modern sexual definition. Sedgwick believes that it is impossible to adjudicate between these (Seidman 2003, p. 25). In describing in general terms the mass of contradictions that adhere to homosexuality, she proposes that one consider it in terms of an opposition between a minoritizing view and a universalizing one. A minoritizing view takes the position that homosexuality is of primary importance to a relatively small group of actual homosexuals. A universalizing view takes the position that homosexuality is of importance to persons across a wide range of sexualities. Under the universalizing view, one can put nurture, social-construction, choice and a warrant for social â€Å"engineering† to eradicate homosexuality(Seidman 2003, p. 25). Sedgwick says that the current debate in queer theory, between â€Å"constructivist† and â€Å"essentialist† understandings of homosexuality is the most recent link(Seidman 2003, p. 25). She goes on to conclude that the continuation of this debate is itself the most important feature of recent understandings of sex. The aim of the book is to explore the incoherent dispensation under which we now live. Through an examination of a number of mostly late nineteenth century literary and philosophical works, including (Seidman 2003, p. 25). Melvilles BILLY BUDD, Wildes THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY, various works of Nietzsche, James THE BEAST IN THE JUNGLE, Thackerays LOVEL THE WIDOWER, and Prousts REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST, Sedgwick discovers a number of pairs of opposing terms (binarisms) which she then shows to be inconsistent with and dependent upon each other. I found it fascinating to follow her explication of the ways in which these terms were related. Among the pairings that she assembles and dissects for our consideration are secrecy/disclosure, private/public, masculine/feminine, majority/minority, innocence/initiation, natural/artificial, new/old, growth/decadence, urbane/provincial, health/illness, same/different, cognition/paranoia, art/kitsch, sincerity/sentimentality, and voluntarity/addiction (Seidman 2003, p.25). She asserts that a true understanding of the force of the opposition of these terms must be grounded in the realization and acceptance that the content of all of these terms was determined around the turn of the century amid and through anxious questioning over who and what was homosexual. These opposing terms, all of which operate today, therefore have a residue of the homo/hetero definitional crisis(Seidman 2003, p. 25). In addition, Sedgwick perhaps delivers the coup de grace(Seidman 2003, p. 25), if such was needed, to sleek, masculine, modernist objective criticism. She demonstrates that modernist criticism finds its genesis in the homo/hetero definitional crisis and both its flight into and prizing of abstraction is a direct reflection of its homophobia.

Philosophy of Education Essay -- Philosophy of Teaching Educational Es

Philosophy of Education It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge. -Albert Einstein Tell me, and I’ll forget. Show me, and I’ll remember. Involve me, and I’ll learn. -Marla Jones The two quotes that I have listed above can in essence describe my feelings on education and teaching. For me teaching is sharing a passion not only for learning, but also for the material you are teaching. My passion happens to be English, and to me that means allowing my students to read something and think about it. (What does it say? How do you feel about it? What does it mean?) Education is not only passing on factual information or simply stating what you as a teacher know, it is supplying the tools and information your students need as they need it, allowing them to make their own decisions and find their way to their own conclusions, not telling them what the end result is. The best way I have learned is from the questions that I answered, the questions that my teachers supplied the means to get to the answer, but allowed and sometimes required me to find the answer myself. This involved me in my own learning process, which made me appreciate what I learned all th e more, because I felt like I had achieved it, not because someone told me this is the answer. We learn best through experience. Teaching is about evolving your students and helping them when they need it. Teaching is about encouragement, reassurance, and supplying what your students to need to reach their goals. Learning is not something you can force, but you can instill a desire to learn. My desire to learn came from the experiences provided by my teachers. It is impossible for a students mind to grow i... ...d more complex sentence structure. Looking at their writings from beginning to send showed huge improvement and made me feel like I had helped guide them and provide them with information they needed. It was one of the most wonderful experiences I have ever had. I was able to implement things I had learned in my education classes and see them work. To me education is supplying what is needed to allow your students to grow and think, giving them opportunities that allow their involvement in what they are learning. Teaching is about experience and sharing whit your students your own passion for learning and your content. It is about instilling a desire and knowledge that allows them to reach for their dreams. To me teaching is about guidance, involvement, allowing creative thought, and awakening a passion for learning. As a teacher those are my goals.

The Horla by Guy de Maupassant

â€Å"The Horla† By Guy de Maupassant Guy de Maupassant’s short story â€Å"The Horla† is a great example of the notion that art sometimes imitates life. In 1887, while battling the end stages of syphilis and institutionalized for insanity, de Maupassant’s last story â€Å"The Horla† was published. In the pages his fictional character, the narrator, chronicles his journey into madness while fighting an unseen beast. The protagonist can be compared to de Maupassant and his own struggle with syphilis and psychosis. This story was originally written in French, the author de Maupassant’s native language.It begins merrily with the narrator, who by all means seems young, healthy and wealthy, living in an estate, journals his first entry on May 8th exclaiming, â€Å"What a lovely day! † (de Maupassant 1). In subsequent entries what the narrator says about himself, through his actions, his diary becomes the witness of his madness and parallels the authors own progression of syphilis. The first signs of the narrator’s depression begin to manifest four days after he spots a â€Å"superb-three mast† Brazilian vessel and salutes it.He will later come to believe that this single gesture, performing a salute, has unconsciously invited a supernatural being that was aboard the ship to enter his home. He is plagued by a fever and melancholy, changing his mood from happiness into despair. Feeling as if â€Å"some misfortune has upset his nerves and given him a fit of low spirits† (de Maupassant 2). Like his fictional character, the narrator, de Mausspant would have likely suffered from fever. The disease plaguing de Mausspant, Syphilis, is sexually transmitted and has many symptoms.In the early stages of his disease, fever is a common symptom of syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease. The medical symptoms of Syphilis tend to mimic many other diseases. Patients within four to ten weeks after contracting the v irus tend to have flu like symptoms; fever, muscle aches and decreased appetite. As the story continues, the narrator is overwhelmed with anxiety as if some irrational being is at work, one that the human eye cannot see but is nonetheless to blame, he begins to wonder if the fever is not only having an effect on his body but also on his mind. On May 16th he enters in his journals that yes, e believes he is becoming seriously ill. His writing begins to show that he is being gripped by paranoia. Feeling as if something inevitable, some unseen force is around the corner and ready to attack his physical well-being. He has a horrible â€Å"sensation of some danger threatening him† (de Maupassant 3), but has yet to give his affliction a name. Paranoia as being defined by Webster’s dictionary is a psychosis that is characterized by delusions of persecution or grandeur usually without hallucinations. There may also be a tendency on the part of an individual towards irrational suspiciousness or distrustfulness.Subsequently, paranoia is a defying feature for paranoid schizophrenics. Using these guidelines and the narrator’s own description of his emotional state, it would tend to lead the reader into believing he is suffering from schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is also a medical induced symptom of syphilis (Kaplan, and Sadick). To escape his overwhelming feelings of being tormented and haunted by the unknown, the narrator escapes to Mount St. Michel. Feeling refreshed, he returns home in good health and spirits. However, very soon after his return, his nightmares return.Once again, he leaves and travels to Paris, hoping to enjoy the July 14th festivities. In Paris, he has the opportunity to attend a demonstration of hypnosis. At this demonstration, he learns about the power of suggestion. His spirits renewed, he decides to return home and once again the manifestations return. The creature which he has named The Horla, takes control of his body. Soon, he's unable to leave his home in order to escape from this invisible monster. Reaching this point in the story, one would believe the narrator is struggling with an inner demon, mental illness, not a physical entity.Fearing an unseen monster has possessed him, the narrator becomes withdrawn; unable to leave the confines of his home. You could ask, is the monster real or just another symptom of schizophrenia? Has the author, de Maupassant described his own feelings? Displaying his feelings as his protagonist in the story? People with schizophrenia may have hallucinations, hearing voices that other people don't hear. They may believe other people or things are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or plotting to harm them. This illness can make a person seem withdrawn or extremely agitated. On August 18th, the narrator writes â€Å"Oh!Yes I will obey Him, follow His impulses, fulfill all His wishes, show myself humble, submissive, a coward. †(de Maupassant 14) Feelin g overpowered, the narrator succumbs to the control of The Horla. His writing becomes like that of a maniac cumulating to thoughts of killing his captor, the captor that at times resides inside of him. Feeling that he may be able to take control when The Horla is creeping around the house and kill him the narrator in a moment of frenzy sets fire to his home. With his home in blazes the narrator flees to escape, only to realize he has trapped his servants in the home. The home has now became the servants grave.Overcome with paranoia when he realizes that he could not kill that which he could not see he decides his only way to escape is death. The narrator’s final line brings the conclusion to this story, â€Å"I suppose I must kill myself† (de Maupassant 18). Many sufferers of mental illness believe that suicide is the answer. On average, one out of every 10 schizophrenic patients will commit suicide. The high risk of suicide in schizophrenia is due in large part to the depression and paranoia that characterize the disorder (Veague). While unknown to the readers if the narrator actually kills himself, he was surely mad.This very madness has been documented in the real life of the author Guy de Maupassant. He himself tried to commit suicide by cutting his throat in 1891. His failed suicide attempt, his growing fear of death and paranoia led to his being institutionalized. He would spend his last 18 months of life in a Paris mental institution (Lombardi). His last work, â€Å"The Horla† should be remembered as one of his best short stories, one in which he had written himself into, as the stories own antagonist. Guy de Maupassant’s short life ended on July 6th, 1893. Works Cited de Maupassant, Guy. The Horla (Fantasy and Horror Classics).Digital. Read Books Limited, 2011. 1-18. eBook. Kaplan, Harold, and Benjamin Sadick. â€Å"http://www. schizophrenia. com/family/misdiag. html. † Schizophrenia. com. Baltimore:Williams & Wilkins , n. d. Web. 18 Oct 2012. Lombardi, Esther. Guy de Maupassant Biography. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. . Veague, Heather. â€Å"Schizophrenia, Impact on Families and Society. † Suicide and Schizophrenia. N. p. , 12 2009. Web. 17 Oct 2012. .

The Epic Of Gilgamesh By Andrew George And Monkey Essay

Usually if a women were to present herself to be a powerful being, she s unpleasant, distasteful, and can even be considered a bitch. Women who express their sexual sides can be viewed as loose, disrespectful to themselves, or even foul. People often forget that women can be powerful and sexual beings. Women in society, nowadays and even three thousand years ago have always dealt with these problems simply because they are not male. A woman could show complete class, intelligence, and ambition and portray herself to be a powerful or even sexual being and she would still be given a hard time. The Epic of Gilgamesh translated by Andrew George and Monkey translated by Arthur Waley have fantastic examples of women being looked up to for being immortal, powerful, and sexless while other women are looked down upon for having any association with sexual activity regardless of power or being mortal. My ultimate judgment about the view of women in the societies of both of these books is even though there are very few women that are respected, it is explicit that women who hold qualities of sexual desire are looked down upon more than women who hold qualities of power. Both texts are harsh when it comes to depicting a female character. Shamhat the harlot and Ishtar the goddess of love are both main female characters in The Epic of Gilgamesh, both representing temptresses. Blue Orchid is a female character from the novel Monkey and she is represented as a powerless woman. ShamhatShow MoreRelatedThe Epic Of Gilgamesh By Andrew George And Monkey Essay1380 Words   |  6 Pagesdealt with these problems simply because they are not male. A woman could show complete class, intelligence, and ambition and portray herself to be a powerful or even sexual being and she would still be given a hard time. The Epic of Gilgamesh translated by Andrew George and Monkey translated by Arthur Waley have fantastic examples of women being looked up to for being immortal, powerful, and sexless while other women are looked down upon for having any association with sexual activity regardless of The Epic Of Gilgamesh By Andrew George And Monkey Essay Usually if a woman were to present herself to be a powerful being, she s unpleasant, distasteful, or even exasperating. Women who express their sexual sides are viewed as loose, disrespectful to themselves, or despicable. People often forget that women can be powerful and sexual beings. Women in society, nowadays and even three thousand years ago have always dealt with these problems simply because they are not male. A woman could show complete class, intelligence, and ambition and portray herself to be a powerful or even sexual being and she would still be given a hard time. The Epic of Gilgamesh translated by Andrew George and Monkey translated by Arthur Waley have fantastic examples of women being looked up to for being immortal, powerful, and sexless while other women are looked down upon for having any association with sexual activity regardless of power or being mortal. My ultimate judgment about the view of women in the societies of both of these books is, even though there ar e very few women that are respected, it is explicit that women who hold qualities of sexual desire are looked down upon more than women who hold qualities of power. Both texts are harsh when it comes to depicting a female character. Shamhat the harlot and Ishtar the goddess of love are both main female characters in The Epic of Gilgamesh, both representing temptresses. Blue Orchid is a female character from the novel Monkey and she is represented as a powerless woman. Shamhat the harlot isShow MoreRelatedThe Epic Of Gilgamesh By Andrew George And Monkey Essay1400 Words   |  6 Pagesdealt with these problems simply because they are not male. A woman could show complete class, intelligence, and ambition and portray herself to be a powerful or even sexual being and she would still be given a hard time. The Epic of Gilgamesh translated by Andrew George and Monkey translated by Arthur Waley have fantastic examples of women being looked up to for being immortal, powerful, and sexless w hile other women are looked down upon for having any association with sexual activity regardless of