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Play In The City

09/15/2013

It’s All About The Details

            “I can feel the history of the building as I observe the architecture, as I run my fingers along the spines of books that have been read countless times, as I breathe in the smell of ink and paper.” This is what I wrote in my journal just minutes before attending a performance of The Quiet Volume. I also wrote that my goal for this trip was to experience the city in small but meaningful ways. To notice the details.

    I first visited Philadelphia a few weeks ago with a friend for a quick day in the city with light shopping and Shake Shack.  My first impression was that Philadelphia was simply like a smaller, less crowded, and slightly cleaner New York.  I quickly felt at home there thanks to the familiarity from the similar architecture, known stores, common and slightly disgusting smells, and recognizable street layout.  Visiting for a second time yesterday I noticed much of the same things I had previously; engine oil near parked cars, a subway system nearly identical to that of New York, sidewalks covered in gum, many museums and galleries, and small parks and gardens. 

I was laying in bed the other night, thinking about whether I'm a very effective student.  My most recent example that says otherwise is my reaction to the Bornstein's Gender Workbook.  I am not sure if gullible is the right word to describe myself--easy to trick, easy to please--or if I simply err on the less critical side as I read.  I watched many of my classmates make effective, concise arguments against the many issues with Bornstein's method of judging how we view gender and identity, mainly through the use of multiple choice quizzes.  It's been repeatedly noted that the quizzes featured a certain bias.  Although I was able to see that I was being herded like an intellectual sheep, I could still find value in the perspectives that were presented by the featured replies.  For me, this provided an interesting, albeit directed opening perspective to the idea of gender fluidity.  As Anne said in class, it is often as good an opportunity to read with an open mind as it is to read with a critical one.  Like the glass of water metaphor, I found a fair amount of information to reflect upon after picking out the "dirt" in the glass of water. I found myself questioning what I consider to be male and female traits--something that truly hadn't crossed my mind before opening the book.  It also became clear to me that my perceptions of gender rely heavily on the exterior, such as appearance and clothes and the way a person speaks of themselves.

There is no such thing as a "perfect" male or a "perfect" female (someone who conforms to all gender stereotypes).

Stereotypes will never be truthful when talking about gender because gender is constatly changing and everyone has their own individual identity.

Identity is the only thing that all humans have in common- it both separates and binds us together.

Together, we can break down the socially constructed views that condemn any one person for their preferred gender identity.

groups members: vhiggins, pialamode, sschurtz, Ann Lemieux and Christina (also not sure of her username)

I read Persepolis and its sequel two summers ago in the shadow of the movie's popularity. Now, I get to read it again, and I'm really excited to see what I'll get out of it now. Most of all, I'm really looking forward to seeing how her younger self changed over the period of time that The Complete Persepolis covers.The two books were originally published over the course of three years, so I'm also interested in seeing the change in how Satrapi tells the stories. I think Bornstein tried to show the fluidity of gender in her book, but I think Persepolis will highlight it in a more digestable form. Persepolis doesn't summarize a whole lot, it presents a series of events that is from a very specific point of view. The summarization in Bornstein's workbook made me feel like her point of view was really being forced on me, and I hope Satrapi's, because it's presented in such a different form, won't be. Bornstein recognized that she had a point of view that was very specific, but I really didn't think that Bornstein's disclaimers were enough or presented in the appropriate places. Placing the book within a different nation and, actually, throughout several nations, as well as over a period of years, will, I think show more of a progression in gender presenattion and will allow us to see gender in a different way than Bornstein even said she was able to.

Yijing Lu

  While the train was approaching Philadelphia, the old song The Start of Something New was playing in my earphone, and the view of skyscrapers was coming into my eyes. It was my first trip in America for me since I arrived here, which made me extremely excited and curious. And I consider that this trip, as a new beginning, is the key that opens my colorful new life abroad.

  After looking around in a part of the city, I noticed that, unlike my hometown, Philadelphia has its own style which can not be described clearly with single words or phrase. Here comes something new to me I found out when I exploring the city:

The Appearance of the Center City

  In my mind, the center of the city should be a business district, which is full of shopping malls and markets of various sorts and is noisy and crowded. However, in the center of Philadelphia, there are libraries, galleries, museums and the Swann Memorial Fountain donated to honor the society’s founder in 1924, which makes the city seems solemn and peaceful and covered with the atmosphere of history and culture.

            Play is a crucial part of human life. Without it the world becomes dull and uninteresting, lost to all those who cannot live in the moment and embrace what comes their way. This is what I was reminded of during my excursion into the city of Philadelphia this weekend.

            Everywhere in the city people filled the streets, museums, and markets going about their daily activities. There were many that stared straight ahead and marched on with determination as they walked from place to place. Others were more relaxed, simply glad to be out in the sun enjoying the city’s lively atmosphere. I found myself in awe of all the amazing things that I passed by as I strolled slowly down the streets trying to take in everything all at once.

So this post sort of relates to a conversation we've been having in all of our classes not just the most recent ones. The sex we are assigned comes with gender roles that are forced upon us and carried through generations. the realtionship between father and son is one that is extremely different from the relationship between mother and daughter. I came across a video of a poetry slam in which Lily Myers performs for Wesleyan University her piece entitled "Women Shrinking" she addresses the roles of gender in their family and how there is such a divide betwen the men and women in her life. Her gender roles were inherited and as she so wisely states "inheritance is accidental." I've attached the video of her performance, it is truly powerful.

Going into Philadelphia yesterday, I was certain that I was going to go to the Barnes Foundation, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, or both. However, plans change and time restrains. My group and I found ourselves on Walnut Street, a major shopping street in the city. While I did not get to see a Post-Impressionist painting, I did manage to purchase some clothes from Urban Outfitters, some books, tea, and perfume.

The Quiet Volume was extremely bizarre; I’m not too sure how else to explain it. It felt strange, having a man whisper instruction into my ear. Oddly enough, it did make me aware of what I wasn’t usually aware of when I’m in a library, or when I’m reading. I became conscious of the placement of my hands, the noises I was making, and what I was reading. Every flick of the nose, flip of the page, little cough was audible to the people around me.

One of the pieces that I felt connected with during my trip yesterday was Sunstein’s piece about finding serendipity. While attempting to find serendipity on the Internet might be impossible due to personalized news, it is possible to find serendipity in real life. Finding serendipity is considered old-fashioned, according to Sunstein, but in my opinion, I find it beautifully rare. A place might exist in the sense that it is a part of the city; however, coming across it might affect someone in such a way that cannot be explained.

I have not been able to get my hands on a copy of the book yet, but I am borrowing from Vaughan tonight!  I wanted to reflect on my experience with the Borenstein book. 

As stated in some of my earlier statements, blog posts, and sentiments in class I have come to this discussion apprehensive to immerse myself in the ideals of feminism.  Regardless of the socio-historical context in which many women have been left out of this movement, I struggled with Borenstein's use of sarcasm/satire in this workbook.  I will admit, as a social-science major, I am quick to find flaw and problems within a particular framework.  Although this is my personality (both of my parents are lawyers--I tend to argue/question.. ha!), I find myself to often be one of few in many of my classes that not only acknowledge the systematic oppression of minorities, but the more subtle/nuanced ways in which minorities face micro-level/macro-level racism/sexism/any of the isms today.  I realize that I am in a learning space which is hyper-sensitive to these various forms of oppression, but also we all come from different backgrounds and experiences which shape our lens of race/sexuality/gender/class/everything today.