Butler and James

Wow, Judith Butler's "Imitation and Gender Insubordination" was a difficult but intriguing read. It tended to focus on identity and the social constructions for homosexuals, classes if you will. She made extraordinary insights which I agree with, including the passage about being a lesbian and yet having to "be" a lesbian. Such as the example of Yale, my feelings on this are that while you are a lesbian in every way, It almost needs to be proven, as if it's acted. You only "are" something in the context it is represented. Remember the controversy of Britney Spears' on-stage kiss with a woman? I suppose this challenges the affirmation of gender idea but how would that on-stage kiss be received if Britney was a lesbian? What was the point of the whole stunt? certainly not to just "be" gay, or "come out", but what of the other woman? Is she an out lesbian? who knows, but I believe this example to be a representation of the "I". Really what all this means is taken from the coming out process. Homosexuals come out of a closet, into a world set on manipulating itself to keep the "closet" as such, a place to keep all the homosexuals away from being "normal". There are many other controversial ideas in this essay I hope we'll explore further in class.

On "Uncle", I found myself easily put in the boy's shoes, yet some of the events seem far-fetched. Jake's mother thought Uncle Paul was gay or at least a child molester, although I had that vibe for a while too. although It seemed as though Jake was causing all the events and that he was discovering the "closet". He didn't want to tell anyone of his "gay" tendencies, yet he didn't know that's what they were. Vince also plays a role to build Jake's sexuality, but what I really loved in this story was the religious significance. The ending was so powerful. Jake doesn't want to be associated with Satan, he doesn't want to be different but he is discovering that he is. Jake will probably grow up very confused with himself, and have different opinions of Uncle Paul, who he looked up to (pun intended). This was truly a story of a 6 year old's first experience of gender/sexuality line, the distinctions of gay and strait, and it'll only get more complicated as he gets older. I don't know if it's based on a true story, but I had no clue Jake's feelings could exist like they did at such a young age, eye-opening.