Okay, Judith Butler. I have a bone to pick with you. It may come off as a religious bone because, well, it is. But just as much as it's an issue of religion, it's an issue of the English Language. COME ON, JUDY - The Vatican is a place. It's a building. And if I wasn't hyper aware of anti-catholic sentiments in Feminism, I'd just think you were confusing. The Vatican is as much a person as The White House. You say White House, I say - what? Who are you talking about? The President or The Obama Family? Or the Obama Administration? Or the Employees of the White House? Or all those who have inhabited it? Previous Presidents? Or has the White House actually sprouted appendages and motor functions and is doing things on its own? (I admit, the last one is ridiculous, I'm just having fun, now.)
So, dearest Judith. when you say that "The Vatican" is doing something - I'm a little perplexed. Because, you see, the Vatican (Holy See) is a City State, solely located in Rome, which has been headed by 266 different Popes, and currently is the spiritual home of 1.196 billion believers across the entire globe. The people within it have changed just a *couple* times over the past 2,000 years, so the fact that you are not only referring to the Vatican as an active being (for the sake of continuing a conversation I in theory just ended by nullifying your statements, I'll assume you meant the Papacy, or perhaps the Catholic Church as a whole), but minimizing its influence, purpose, and intentions of one of the worlds largest and most influential institutions to one facet, based on one experience, in one year without actually doing any real research on the stances, teachings, and dogmas of the Church I assume you were trying to attack.
For instance, if you had referenced the Catechism of the Catholic Church before ignorantly labeling "The Vatican" (again, I'll assume you meant the Church) is homophobic you would find that it teaches love towards all, "They [homosexual individuals] must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided." (CCC 2358).
I thank you for crediting Pope John Paul the II (though of course in your writing, he is also just "the Vatican") with his apology to Women, and just for your knowledge, he also apologized to the Jews for Catholics' inactivity since the Holocaust, for the mistreatment of Galileo, African American People for the Church's involvement with Slave trade, Protestants for post-reformation wars and burnings, among the Aboriginal Children of Australia, the Chinese, and first and foremost, the sex abuse cases. Blessed Pope John Paul II was adored across the globe, treasured femininity and literally lived to love. He deserves the title of Saint he is sure to gain, not to be reduced as one of the multiple things you've put under the ambiguous umbrella of "the Vatican."
You don't support your claims because your main goal is to shed a negative light on a powerful force. And it is a force. Because chances are, someone who knows her stuff and isn't afraid to speak up is going to pick apart your arguments to reveal how weak its structure is...like a tower of Jenga pieces coated in insults, disguised as a sturdy structure, strong enough to dissolve the core of a 2,000 year old religion and the 1.196 billion people who adore it.
So, Ms. Butler, simply put - You're confusing. And if someone is able to ignore that and read through your insults-disguised-as-logic, your reasoning is weak. At least put up a little bit of a fight.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
mega-Zine.
So this "Zine" scene is completely foreign to me. But hey, it's artsy, it's crafty, and its a silent way of being loud. 3 things I'm gung-ho for, so let's give it a shot. I could be subtle, I could be reserved, but that's not really me - and let's be honest, that's not what this class is either. So...Nudity. Oh hey.
These Zines we created, these teeny tiny little books chocked full of opinion, theory, rebellion, and pretty pictures, are just that - our creation. Now, bear with me (the self-proclaimed Jesus freak) those of you whose pursuit of truth has lead you elsewhere. Say we are created by God, (still bearing with me?) that means that our bodies, our organs, our faces and our flesh were made..but not just made - created. Like a song, like a story, like a poem, like a painting - all creations. What's my point? I'm getting there. What we've begun to churn and turn and chug out in these zines is a challenge to the portrayal male and female (minus the clothes). And we're back to the Nudity. Why is it that, out of the two (male and female) the female form is so ever-present? You know what I'm talking about - bare breasts, posed 'just so', maybe a cloth covering the lower half, but a good chance there isn't. Why is that so beautiful, so celebrated, so common, yet the male form is so rare? Is it shameful? I would posit not, based on the conversations with my hardly-subtle male friends. Is it because women wouldn't be able to harness their sexual drive if such art work existed? Hardly. Descretion seems to be innate in our beings. Is it for lack of models? Pardon me but - hahahaha. No. I'm sure I could walk out of my office and find a handful right here and now. So then what - AH HA! Vulnerability. It is, after all, by definition "the state of being exposed" (thanks, Google). So, what, we as women are supposed to be vulnerable, all the time? everywhere? In every museum, in every frame, wherever Art is needed? Alright, cool. But only if men are, too. Let's get some equality! We're both creations, we're both the ultimate art - the human form. So why don't we "celebrate" the male form as well? Is it less beautiful? Is it offensive to refer to anything male-related as beautiful? I don't care. The human form is a beautiful thing, a marvelous creation, if we can appreciate it in the feminine form and claim our vulnerability and transform it into a kind of liberation, why shouldn't men be celebrated in the same way?
I realize I'm breaking every stereotype of Feminism in this because for once, I'm claiming that men should be able to do, and have, and be celebrated in the same way as women, rather than vice versa. But the materials we read in class reflect and support this - they challenge the things of our surroundings (not just what's going on in our minds) that we've accepted and make us question, why? Alright, Men - Fight..*dun*dun*..For your right...*dun*dun*...to be Nude! In all seriousness - it's about time we start appreciating the human form, as a whole, no matter of gender. And maybe, one our art depicts that, our society will reflect it.
These Zines we created, these teeny tiny little books chocked full of opinion, theory, rebellion, and pretty pictures, are just that - our creation. Now, bear with me (the self-proclaimed Jesus freak) those of you whose pursuit of truth has lead you elsewhere. Say we are created by God, (still bearing with me?) that means that our bodies, our organs, our faces and our flesh were made..but not just made - created. Like a song, like a story, like a poem, like a painting - all creations. What's my point? I'm getting there. What we've begun to churn and turn and chug out in these zines is a challenge to the portrayal male and female (minus the clothes). And we're back to the Nudity. Why is it that, out of the two (male and female) the female form is so ever-present? You know what I'm talking about - bare breasts, posed 'just so', maybe a cloth covering the lower half, but a good chance there isn't. Why is that so beautiful, so celebrated, so common, yet the male form is so rare? Is it shameful? I would posit not, based on the conversations with my hardly-subtle male friends. Is it because women wouldn't be able to harness their sexual drive if such art work existed? Hardly. Descretion seems to be innate in our beings. Is it for lack of models? Pardon me but - hahahaha. No. I'm sure I could walk out of my office and find a handful right here and now. So then what - AH HA! Vulnerability. It is, after all, by definition "the state of being exposed" (thanks, Google). So, what, we as women are supposed to be vulnerable, all the time? everywhere? In every museum, in every frame, wherever Art is needed? Alright, cool. But only if men are, too. Let's get some equality! We're both creations, we're both the ultimate art - the human form. So why don't we "celebrate" the male form as well? Is it less beautiful? Is it offensive to refer to anything male-related as beautiful? I don't care. The human form is a beautiful thing, a marvelous creation, if we can appreciate it in the feminine form and claim our vulnerability and transform it into a kind of liberation, why shouldn't men be celebrated in the same way?
I realize I'm breaking every stereotype of Feminism in this because for once, I'm claiming that men should be able to do, and have, and be celebrated in the same way as women, rather than vice versa. But the materials we read in class reflect and support this - they challenge the things of our surroundings (not just what's going on in our minds) that we've accepted and make us question, why? Alright, Men - Fight..*dun*dun*..For your right...*dun*dun*...to be Nude! In all seriousness - it's about time we start appreciating the human form, as a whole, no matter of gender. And maybe, one our art depicts that, our society will reflect it.
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