Blog 10- Wachowski Response

In Sydney, Australia, I finally came out to my family. When I told my mom what was going on, she jumped on a plane immediately. It was this big, tear-soaked baptism, and she confessed that she had been afraid to arrive and grieve the loss of her son. But when she arrived she found it wasn’t so much a death as it was a discovery. That there was this other part of me, an unseen part, and she felt it was like a gift because now she could get to know that part of me. [applause]

We went to dinner. I dressed as feminine as I could, wanting to be seen by strangers as Lana. Hoping that waiters would not call me “sir” or “he,” as if these people suddenly had the power to confirm or deny my existence. My mom is also a bit talkative. She always introduces herself to the waiter or waitress. And she’s like, “Hi, I’m Lynne. This is my daughter Lana.” And the waitress smiles and says, “Wow, she looks just like you.” [applause]

When my dad arrived he shrugged it off easier than accepting that his wife and daughter had once voted for Jane Byrne instead of Harold Washington [for Chicago mayor in 1983] -- a choice that still rankles him today. He said, “Look, if my kid wants to sit down and talk to me I’m a lucky man. What matters is that you’re alive, you seem happy, and that I can put my arms around you and give you a kiss.” [applause] Having good parents is just like the lottery. You’re just like, “Oh my god, I won the lottery! What the -- I didn’t do anything!”  (Wachowski, Lana. HRC Visiblity Ward Acceptance, 2012).

               I found this (very long) excerpt from the speech to be fascinating. Prior to encountering Lana in class I didn't knew a single thing about either her or her brother. Despite my lack of prior knowledge about her, I still found her speech to be both entertaining  and quite telling. This excerpt was particularly fascinating because it made me wonder how her parents found it within themselves to be so instantaneously accepting, at least externally. I would suspect that internally they may have still had to wrestle some of the emotions that such change in their daughter uncovered, but they still managed to be outstandingly supportive. From my limited experience with the topic of transgender experience, very few parents are as boldly and instantly accepting of their child's choice. Many parents never reach any level of  acceptance, no matter how many years pass. I was moved almost to tears at some parts of Lana's speech and the segment about her parents I found to be very moving.
            I particularly loved how Lana highlighted her father's greater frustration with her voting choices than her gender choices. This emphasis served to highlight that perhaps a gender choice is not quite as significant as it is often presented to be. Of course it is significant and important to an individual that is embracing an identity that is fitting for them; but another person's choice should not be so significant to the rest of us. Our entire understanding of who are person was, who a person is , and who a person can be, should never be  wrapped up in one word such as male or female.
                Perhaps it says something about my own acceptance of transgender individuals that I find the Wachowski parents' acceptance of their daughter so amazing; but I feel that put in the same situation it would be difficult to even attempt to put on such a supportive face. I consider myself an open minded an accepting person, but even thinking about being put in the same situation as Lana's parents puts questions into my mind about how supportive I could be. Put in the same situation I think that I would have so many questions, and that while I would still  love my child, my instinct would be to ask why, over and over again. I would also have to mourn the loss of a child who will never be quite as I imagined him or her to be. I'd like to think that after a brief adjustment period I would be a parent as good as Lana's mother or father. I also sincerely hope I'd choose a partner capable of doing the same thing. Lana noted that she felt like she had one the parent lottery, and that is a feeling that  I wish so many other children could experience.

Wachowski, Lana. "HRC Visibility Award Acceptance." Human Rights Campaign Annual Gala. Human Rights Campaign. Westin St. Francis, San Francisco. 20 Oct. 2012. Speech.

Blog 9- Berger Response

     "You painted a naked woman because you enjoyed looking at her, you put a mirror in her hand and called it the painting Vanity, thus morally condemning the woman whose nakedness you had depicted for your own pleasure." (Burger, p 51, 1972)

            I had read this particular Berger piece once before for a prior class, and I distinctly remembered this quote as soon as I reopened the chapter. It struck me because it seemed to be a blatant indictment against a cultural idea that has permeated popular culture. Day in and day out women are made to be put on display; they are portrayed in television, in print, in tabloids, and even in well reputed news publications as objects to be on display. Female newscasters are only ever presented with hair perfectly done, makeup in place, and a perfectly coordinated outfit. The media industry portrays women not as entire human beings but rather as breasts, thighs, necks, legs; all of these pieces are bought and sold like any other commodity. Many times, in music videos and commercials, women are portrayed as a series of body shots that never show their face. Women become diminished to the parts that make up their whole for the pleasure of the consumer that is not interested in knowing anything else.
         Many times, even the most intelligent and supposedly well respected women are siphoned down into only the cut of a dress rather than a three dimensional, living, breathing individual. In 2007, Senator Hillary Clinton's black v-neck shirt precipitated a Washington Post article of over 700 words. When Michelle Obama toured Yellowstone National Park wearing a pair of shorts, the Washington Post style section again published an extensive article about the length of the shorts and the manner in which they inappropriately showcased the first lady's well toned legs.I found this to be absurd. Had a stylist or a male photographer dressed these women in such outfits, Clinton may have been applauded for adding some variety to her wardrobe. Obama would have been lauded for her well toned figure. Yet when these women chose to dress themselves this way, they became the objects of intense scrutiny.
      While Berger addresses the way in which the mirror is placed to call a painting vanity, I also think it is important to note that within the art he discusses, there is also the assumption that no woman should take pleasure in their own appearance, the way Obama or Clinton may have. It is only when the nakedness suits the male viewer that it is acceptable. That when a woman derives any pleasure or pride in her appearance she is vain, silly, selfish. Calling a woman vain for appreciating her own beauty, for even daring to look at that beauty usurps a woman of her power to claim her own body and to be proud of it. This can have long-lasting and damaging effects.

Berger, John. "Chapter 3." Ways of seeing: based on the BBC television series with John Berger. London: British Broadcasting Corp. ;1977. 45-64. Print.