Queer Theory
by Jamie Howell-Griffith - Thursday, 28 February 2008, 12:00 PM
I wasn't to sure after reading the first group's posts on what to reply to so I decided to do a post on Queer Theory. From bits of research that I myself did and found it quite intriguing though there was one sentence that particularly stood out to me -
"Queer theory's main project is exploring the contestations of the categorization of gender and sexuality. Theorists claim that identities are not fixed – they cannot be categorized and labeled – because identities consist of many varied components and that to categorize by one characteristic is wrong."
Once seeing this I can compeltely relate and I am sure so can many others. How many time's in the outside world with meeting new people (especially in Stage Management) do we get sterotyped or have labels put on us? It happen's pretty much everyday you meet a new person who likes a certain style of clothes, or a certain type of music and people immediately put a label onto them and they only like thing's in that specific label.
Does this mean that in this world of label's that we cannot change this system of sterotyping?
Anyone with any thoughts on this would be great as would love to hear other's opinions.
Jamie
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Re: Queer Theory
by Ceri Payne - Thursday, 28 February 2008, 01:08 PM
This is really interesting Jai, and its a good question that do we as a group think Stereotypes are allways a negative thing?
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Re: Queer Theory
by Jamie Howell-Griffith - Friday, 29 February 2008, 02:00 PM
It depends on your look at it. I suppose there are times when label's are a good thing, but then on the other hand if we accept these labels that we are given, do we not lose a bit of our own individuality?
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Re: Queer Theory
by Julian Bryant - Tuesday, 4 March 2008, 06:40 AM
I think maybe there's several aspects to this one. The first is a question of identity - how individuals construct their sense of self, within a series of cultural, intellectual and other constructs, including orientation. In this sense, who we think we are and how we describe ourselves - as man or woman; as black; as gay; as English (rather than British); as working- (or middle-) class, is how we think ourselves.
The second is how we behave - what we do, rather than how we think. This is called performativity. Several commentators talk about the notion of 'performing the self'. Performance isn't just something that appears on stage, but in everyday life too.
The third aspect which follows on the question of representation - where performances are deliberate and formalised, but then how various identities are then portrayed, and how that influences the society within which the performance happens. Within the gay community, one could track the whole issue of 'camp' through from the careful coding of the pre-1968 era (Julian and Sandy in Round the Horn; Frankie Howerd); through an emerging self-ridicule (Larry Grayson; Mr Humphries in Are you being Served); then the post-AIDS period of serious reflection (Angels in America, Shopping and Fucking and other pieces of contemporary drama); into the current era of (broadly) mainstream acceptance, (gay relationships being portrayed in serial drama for example).
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Re: Queer Theory
by Jamie Howell-Griffith - Thursday, 13 March 2008, 09:43 PM
I agree their are many different aspects when we come to the subject of identity as it can be percieved in many ways. One way is the way we percieve ourselves think about when we get ready for the day ahead and look in the mirror instantly we are making a sense of ourselves for that day, second is the others that we are going to meet such as friends, colleagues, tutors and such like and the third is how we are percieved by others - people we don't even know in today's society and in a way isn't this the people that we worry and care about their opinion's of us?
How many people no matter where they are or who they are - black,white,gay,lesbian it doesn't matter go out everyday saying they don't care what other people think of them yet they go out their aiming to get the good opinions from people to make that good impression! I mean isn't that one of the main thing's I suppose in theatre - the first meets with the production team etc is to make a good first lasting impression! I think first impressions are very important in the world especially when it come's to the theatre industry.
When I was reading through Julian's reply there was one thing that caught my eye - "performativity. Several commentators talk about the notion of 'performing the self'. Performance isn't just something that appears on stage, but in everyday life too" - how many people do we see day by day performing to keep up pretenses for everyone around them!? It's a safe bet that at least 1 out of 5 people we know are doing exactly this. After reading about performativity I came across what they call "Gender Performativity" which I thought was quite close to what this topic is all about.
I got this from the rather shameful source of Wikipedia;
"Gender Performativity is a term that was created by the feminist philosopher Judith Butler. Judith Butler characterizes gender as the effect of reiterated acting which means one that produces the effect of a static or normal gender while hiding the contradiction and instability of any single person's gender act. This effect that is produced create's something Judith called 'true gender'. 'True Gender' is a narrative that is sustained by "the tacit collective agreement to perform, produce, and sustain discrete and polar genders as cultural fictions is obscured by the credibility of those productions – and the punishments that attend not agreeing to believe in them".
These narrative that Butler describes are the performative acts with which Butler is discussing she names to be performative and within the larger social, unseen world, they exist within performativity. Most well-known and social constructed aspect of gender performativity is perhaps most obvious in drag performance, which offers the potential for a revision of gender categories in its emphasis on the discursive contingency of each gender performance.
I know that's quite alot of information to take it but any thoughts before the end of week on this before it all ends sadly would be great!
Jai
xxx
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Picture of rachael dowling
Re: Queer Theory
by rachael dowling - Tuesday, 18 March 2008, 01:19 PM
Everyone has different opinions about each other but you are your own person at the end of the day. We shouldn't care about what people think about us, we are own individual. I guess it's alrite to have an opinion about somebody and if you don't like the way someone dresses for example as a goth or chav you cant change the way they dress because they have their own style just like you and they can't make you change. Its the same within the theatre, I agree that at a production meeting and meeting the team and director you should make a good first impression but you shouldn't change the way you dress just for them. You can still make a good impression by your personanlity.
Some people in the world can't except gay people because they don't understand why they have to be like that, especially the older generation as it was not that well known to be gay back in the 1930s/40s. You shouldn't care what other people think.
For example the musical Rent has lesbians, crossdressers, and gay men and they don't seem to care about what people think about them, though they are labelled as bohemians.
Good topic to talk about Jai
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Picture of Spencer Tiney
Re: Queer Theory
by Spencer Tiney - Friday, 21 March 2008, 03:31 AM
I think that it is naive to think that crossdressers drag queens etc dont care what people think of them. Just about everyone who goes clothes shopping buys a named brand cares about what other people think of them. The only types of people who truly dont care what people think of their appearance are the people featured on the 'What not to wear' programs on television.
Also dress is one of the biggest parts of a visual first impression. Although you maybe shouldn't have to change the way you dress, if it was going to give someone a more professional approach towards me because i turned up to the first Production meeting looking smart, then i would probably do it. There is plenty of time to wear what you want to wear later on.
I completely agree Jai, people do care what others think of them, i know i do and if i can steer someone's first impression by dressing the part then i will. I think that there is probably a difference between a production meeting in college, with fellow students, and a production meeting in the industry. Where a good first impression could lead to more work following on from the show you're on.
We need to think about who we are going out to impress each day when we look in to the wardrobe each morning. In the same way that "there is a ‘one’ who is prior to gender, a one who goes to the wardrobe of gender decides with deliberation which gender it will be today" (Judith Butler, sham-ably Wikipedia; Gender Performativity(i blame you Jai for forcing me in to the piteous world of Wiki)) we go to the wardrobe every morning and work out who you are going to be around that day.
by Jamie Howell-Griffith - Thursday, 28 February 2008, 12:00 PM
I wasn't to sure after reading the first group's posts on what to reply to so I decided to do a post on Queer Theory. From bits of research that I myself did and found it quite intriguing though there was one sentence that particularly stood out to me -
"Queer theory's main project is exploring the contestations of the categorization of gender and sexuality. Theorists claim that identities are not fixed – they cannot be categorized and labeled – because identities consist of many varied components and that to categorize by one characteristic is wrong."
Once seeing this I can compeltely relate and I am sure so can many others. How many time's in the outside world with meeting new people (especially in Stage Management) do we get sterotyped or have labels put on us? It happen's pretty much everyday you meet a new person who likes a certain style of clothes, or a certain type of music and people immediately put a label onto them and they only like thing's in that specific label.
Does this mean that in this world of label's that we cannot change this system of sterotyping?
Anyone with any thoughts on this would be great as would love to hear other's opinions.
Jamie
Edit | Delete | Reply
Picture of Ceri Payne
Re: Queer Theory
by Ceri Payne - Thursday, 28 February 2008, 01:08 PM
This is really interesting Jai, and its a good question that do we as a group think Stereotypes are allways a negative thing?
Show parent | Edit | Split | Delete | Reply
Picture of Jamie Howell-Griffith
Re: Queer Theory
by Jamie Howell-Griffith - Friday, 29 February 2008, 02:00 PM
It depends on your look at it. I suppose there are times when label's are a good thing, but then on the other hand if we accept these labels that we are given, do we not lose a bit of our own individuality?
Show parent | Edit | Split | Delete | Reply
Picture of Julian Bryant
Re: Queer Theory
by Julian Bryant - Tuesday, 4 March 2008, 06:40 AM
I think maybe there's several aspects to this one. The first is a question of identity - how individuals construct their sense of self, within a series of cultural, intellectual and other constructs, including orientation. In this sense, who we think we are and how we describe ourselves - as man or woman; as black; as gay; as English (rather than British); as working- (or middle-) class, is how we think ourselves.
The second is how we behave - what we do, rather than how we think. This is called performativity. Several commentators talk about the notion of 'performing the self'. Performance isn't just something that appears on stage, but in everyday life too.
The third aspect which follows on the question of representation - where performances are deliberate and formalised, but then how various identities are then portrayed, and how that influences the society within which the performance happens. Within the gay community, one could track the whole issue of 'camp' through from the careful coding of the pre-1968 era (Julian and Sandy in Round the Horn; Frankie Howerd); through an emerging self-ridicule (Larry Grayson; Mr Humphries in Are you being Served); then the post-AIDS period of serious reflection (Angels in America, Shopping and Fucking and other pieces of contemporary drama); into the current era of (broadly) mainstream acceptance, (gay relationships being portrayed in serial drama for example).
Show parent | Edit | Split | Delete | Reply
Picture of Jamie Howell-Griffith
Re: Queer Theory
by Jamie Howell-Griffith - Thursday, 13 March 2008, 09:43 PM
I agree their are many different aspects when we come to the subject of identity as it can be percieved in many ways. One way is the way we percieve ourselves think about when we get ready for the day ahead and look in the mirror instantly we are making a sense of ourselves for that day, second is the others that we are going to meet such as friends, colleagues, tutors and such like and the third is how we are percieved by others - people we don't even know in today's society and in a way isn't this the people that we worry and care about their opinion's of us?
How many people no matter where they are or who they are - black,white,gay,lesbian it doesn't matter go out everyday saying they don't care what other people think of them yet they go out their aiming to get the good opinions from people to make that good impression! I mean isn't that one of the main thing's I suppose in theatre - the first meets with the production team etc is to make a good first lasting impression! I think first impressions are very important in the world especially when it come's to the theatre industry.
When I was reading through Julian's reply there was one thing that caught my eye - "performativity. Several commentators talk about the notion of 'performing the self'. Performance isn't just something that appears on stage, but in everyday life too" - how many people do we see day by day performing to keep up pretenses for everyone around them!? It's a safe bet that at least 1 out of 5 people we know are doing exactly this. After reading about performativity I came across what they call "Gender Performativity" which I thought was quite close to what this topic is all about.
I got this from the rather shameful source of Wikipedia;
"Gender Performativity is a term that was created by the feminist philosopher Judith Butler. Judith Butler characterizes gender as the effect of reiterated acting which means one that produces the effect of a static or normal gender while hiding the contradiction and instability of any single person's gender act. This effect that is produced create's something Judith called 'true gender'. 'True Gender' is a narrative that is sustained by "the tacit collective agreement to perform, produce, and sustain discrete and polar genders as cultural fictions is obscured by the credibility of those productions – and the punishments that attend not agreeing to believe in them".
These narrative that Butler describes are the performative acts with which Butler is discussing she names to be performative and within the larger social, unseen world, they exist within performativity. Most well-known and social constructed aspect of gender performativity is perhaps most obvious in drag performance, which offers the potential for a revision of gender categories in its emphasis on the discursive contingency of each gender performance.
I know that's quite alot of information to take it but any thoughts before the end of week on this before it all ends sadly would be great!
Jai
xxx
Show parent | Edit | Split | Delete | Reply
Picture of rachael dowling
Re: Queer Theory
by rachael dowling - Tuesday, 18 March 2008, 01:19 PM
Everyone has different opinions about each other but you are your own person at the end of the day. We shouldn't care about what people think about us, we are own individual. I guess it's alrite to have an opinion about somebody and if you don't like the way someone dresses for example as a goth or chav you cant change the way they dress because they have their own style just like you and they can't make you change. Its the same within the theatre, I agree that at a production meeting and meeting the team and director you should make a good first impression but you shouldn't change the way you dress just for them. You can still make a good impression by your personanlity.
Some people in the world can't except gay people because they don't understand why they have to be like that, especially the older generation as it was not that well known to be gay back in the 1930s/40s. You shouldn't care what other people think.
For example the musical Rent has lesbians, crossdressers, and gay men and they don't seem to care about what people think about them, though they are labelled as bohemians.
Good topic to talk about Jai
Show parent | Edit | Split | Delete | Reply
Picture of Spencer Tiney
Re: Queer Theory
by Spencer Tiney - Friday, 21 March 2008, 03:31 AM
I think that it is naive to think that crossdressers drag queens etc dont care what people think of them. Just about everyone who goes clothes shopping buys a named brand cares about what other people think of them. The only types of people who truly dont care what people think of their appearance are the people featured on the 'What not to wear' programs on television.
Also dress is one of the biggest parts of a visual first impression. Although you maybe shouldn't have to change the way you dress, if it was going to give someone a more professional approach towards me because i turned up to the first Production meeting looking smart, then i would probably do it. There is plenty of time to wear what you want to wear later on.
I completely agree Jai, people do care what others think of them, i know i do and if i can steer someone's first impression by dressing the part then i will. I think that there is probably a difference between a production meeting in college, with fellow students, and a production meeting in the industry. Where a good first impression could lead to more work following on from the show you're on.
We need to think about who we are going out to impress each day when we look in to the wardrobe each morning. In the same way that "there is a ‘one’ who is prior to gender, a one who goes to the wardrobe of gender decides with deliberation which gender it will be today" (Judith Butler, sham-ably Wikipedia; Gender Performativity(i blame you Jai for forcing me in to the piteous world of Wiki)) we go to the wardrobe every morning and work out who you are going to be around that day.
Last modified: Thursday, 7 June 2012, 2:15 PM