"When all you have is your word, you’re always dependent on other people’s beliefs."
A woman writing about the confusion of her sexuality in being straight while being a lesbian. Anna Pulley- http://www.salon.com/2012/03/01/san_francisco_turned_me_straight/singleton/
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Friday, April 25, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
More work on the project
Yesterday I met with my fabulous friend L. She lives in LA, so we met for coffee on my flying trip, and she spoke about the responsible persona she presents to the world and how she wants her reality to match that. She is young, but so wise in that she has realized she needs strict deadlines in order to accomplish tasks, and she prefers to work with people. While she calls herself a procrastinator, its clear that she what she values and what she wants to be are lining up. Her studies in urban planning and her passion for social justice are so beautiful. Looking at her face through the camera lense, I see pure beauty.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Work in progress
Yesterday was a busy day of interviewing and photographing.
It started with A, who came by the house. She spoke about establishing herself as a business woman and about helping other hispanic women. She said she's been a mother, a wife, and a housewife. She's got those roles down. Now it's time to move into a new role. My converstation with G later in the day was along similar lines. She said she's entering a new stage of her life. Now that she's given herself a firm physical foundation she's free to explore the interior her. It's like the pieces of the puzzle have all come together and now she can finish painting the picture. Her marriage is at a point where they've settled into communication and support, she's got two kids and doesn't plan for more, she's finished her education and has a job she likes. So now, it's time to focus on herself. She described herself first as a woman in her thirties.
I'm finding that identities are falling into two categories- either the women are coming to a new place in their lives- entering a new stage- or there is a conflict within them between various identities and they are choosing one.
I also met with AM to photograph her. Before we began we sat around chatting with her mother. When I finished taking As pictures, I realized I should has her mother to participate as well, since our conversation had been an interview. She spoke about her struggle with being a mother-in-law because of her daughter-in-law's perceptions of her. The joy is in her new son-in-law with whom she has a beautiful relationship. This is one woman, being perceived differently by two different people, a perfect example.
It started with A, who came by the house. She spoke about establishing herself as a business woman and about helping other hispanic women. She said she's been a mother, a wife, and a housewife. She's got those roles down. Now it's time to move into a new role. My converstation with G later in the day was along similar lines. She said she's entering a new stage of her life. Now that she's given herself a firm physical foundation she's free to explore the interior her. It's like the pieces of the puzzle have all come together and now she can finish painting the picture. Her marriage is at a point where they've settled into communication and support, she's got two kids and doesn't plan for more, she's finished her education and has a job she likes. So now, it's time to focus on herself. She described herself first as a woman in her thirties.
I'm finding that identities are falling into two categories- either the women are coming to a new place in their lives- entering a new stage- or there is a conflict within them between various identities and they are choosing one.
I also met with AM to photograph her. Before we began we sat around chatting with her mother. When I finished taking As pictures, I realized I should has her mother to participate as well, since our conversation had been an interview. She spoke about her struggle with being a mother-in-law because of her daughter-in-law's perceptions of her. The joy is in her new son-in-law with whom she has a beautiful relationship. This is one woman, being perceived differently by two different people, a perfect example.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Sage Publications
needs a new copy editor. Both of the books we read published by this company were rife were errors, which made reading difficult!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Annotated Bibliography
Austin, J. L. "How to Do Things with Words." William James Lectures. Harvard University. 1955. Rpt. in How to Do Things with Words. Ed. J. O. Urmson and Marina Sbisa. 2nd. ed. N.p.: Harvard University Press, 1975.
Austin's book addresses the performative speech act. Through speaking we create what is real. In this project, the subject is given the authority to create her identity through the words that she speaks. Her utterances may be verdictive in that they are an acknowledgement or decision of who she is; commisive, in that they commit her to being this identity; expositive, in that they explain why she is this identity; exercitive, in that they influence her listeners/observers so that they see her in this way; or behabitive in that they express her attitude towards herself.
Barker, Chris. Cultural Studies Theory and Practice. 2000. 2nd ed. London: Sage Publications Ltd, 2003.
Barker's text presents a variety of theories of culture studies. This project was most influenced by Chapter 8, "Issues of Subjectivity and Identity," and Chapter 10, "Sex, Subjectivity, and Representation." Subjectivity is "how we are constituted as subjects and how we experience ourselves." Identity is a project always in progress, based on our past and present experiences and heading toward our future hopes. We also have social identities, constructed by our cultures, and taught to us by by society. (Giddens) As women, we cannot seperate ourselves from our material bodies. (Butler) We can, however, resist being "coat racks" on which cultural meanings are hung without our participation. When we become agents in our own subjectivity, we join the discourse that constructs our identities. This project acknowledges that there is no "universal identity of woman" and allows women the position of agent in their subjectivity, as well as acknowledging the social construct of identity by inviting the viewer into the discourse. The images attempt to stand in contrast to many of the stereotypical images present in the media. The women's attributes are not being contrasted with a male attribute, nor are they an attempt to say what a woman should be like. Although they are constructing subject positions, they allow for negotiation between the subject and the text, as well as the viwer and the text (subject).
Erving, Goffman. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. 1959. Woodstock, New York: Overlook Press, 1973.
Goffman's work deals with the ways that we present ourselves, as if we are perfomers on a stage. Our personas change frequently as we come into contact with different audiences. As more and more personas are added, the backstage becomes another stage. The demand for one persona or another is constant, and a woman must play the persona that is being demanded by that audience. This project gives women a space to choose the persona they would like to present, as opposed to having it chosen for them. In addition, it provides a space for them to more fully explore a persona that is being developed or has been pushed to one side.
Reese, Venus Opal. Lecture. Storytelling as Cultural Studies. University of Texas at Dallas. 31 Jan. 2008.
Our identities are created by a network of conversations. In this project, women are invited into a conversation with the photographer in order to create or explore an identity. In listening to a subject's story, the photographer finds an identity that speaks to who the woman is now, and, in futher conversation, explores that identity with the woman. A photograph is created and presented to the viewer, extending an invitation to join the conversation begun by the subject and photographer.
Saukko, Paula. Doing Research in Cultural Studies: An introduction to classical and new methedological approaches. London: Sage Publications Ltd, 2003.
Saukko reviews a variety of research approaches and methodologies. This project mirrors her own interest in poststructuralist and multi-site research methods. It is also informed by the various case studies she uses to describe methods of research, such as Rapp's study on amnioscentesis, with its variety of perspectives and the tension inherent in these. Most importantly, the subject is not marginalized but given a position of power in the project by being a fully informed and interacting participant. This is explained in the Arendtian model which acknowledges the 'uniqueness' of the subject's voices, the compelling nature of storytelling, and the communal creation of the project.
Austin's book addresses the performative speech act. Through speaking we create what is real. In this project, the subject is given the authority to create her identity through the words that she speaks. Her utterances may be verdictive in that they are an acknowledgement or decision of who she is; commisive, in that they commit her to being this identity; expositive, in that they explain why she is this identity; exercitive, in that they influence her listeners/observers so that they see her in this way; or behabitive in that they express her attitude towards herself.
Barker, Chris. Cultural Studies Theory and Practice. 2000. 2nd ed. London: Sage Publications Ltd, 2003.
Barker's text presents a variety of theories of culture studies. This project was most influenced by Chapter 8, "Issues of Subjectivity and Identity," and Chapter 10, "Sex, Subjectivity, and Representation." Subjectivity is "how we are constituted as subjects and how we experience ourselves." Identity is a project always in progress, based on our past and present experiences and heading toward our future hopes. We also have social identities, constructed by our cultures, and taught to us by by society. (Giddens) As women, we cannot seperate ourselves from our material bodies. (Butler) We can, however, resist being "coat racks" on which cultural meanings are hung without our participation. When we become agents in our own subjectivity, we join the discourse that constructs our identities. This project acknowledges that there is no "universal identity of woman" and allows women the position of agent in their subjectivity, as well as acknowledging the social construct of identity by inviting the viewer into the discourse. The images attempt to stand in contrast to many of the stereotypical images present in the media. The women's attributes are not being contrasted with a male attribute, nor are they an attempt to say what a woman should be like. Although they are constructing subject positions, they allow for negotiation between the subject and the text, as well as the viwer and the text (subject).
Erving, Goffman. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. 1959. Woodstock, New York: Overlook Press, 1973.
Goffman's work deals with the ways that we present ourselves, as if we are perfomers on a stage. Our personas change frequently as we come into contact with different audiences. As more and more personas are added, the backstage becomes another stage. The demand for one persona or another is constant, and a woman must play the persona that is being demanded by that audience. This project gives women a space to choose the persona they would like to present, as opposed to having it chosen for them. In addition, it provides a space for them to more fully explore a persona that is being developed or has been pushed to one side.
Reese, Venus Opal. Lecture. Storytelling as Cultural Studies. University of Texas at Dallas. 31 Jan. 2008.
Our identities are created by a network of conversations. In this project, women are invited into a conversation with the photographer in order to create or explore an identity. In listening to a subject's story, the photographer finds an identity that speaks to who the woman is now, and, in futher conversation, explores that identity with the woman. A photograph is created and presented to the viewer, extending an invitation to join the conversation begun by the subject and photographer.
Saukko, Paula. Doing Research in Cultural Studies: An introduction to classical and new methedological approaches. London: Sage Publications Ltd, 2003.
Saukko reviews a variety of research approaches and methodologies. This project mirrors her own interest in poststructuralist and multi-site research methods. It is also informed by the various case studies she uses to describe methods of research, such as Rapp's study on amnioscentesis, with its variety of perspectives and the tension inherent in these. Most importantly, the subject is not marginalized but given a position of power in the project by being a fully informed and interacting participant. This is explained in the Arendtian model which acknowledges the 'uniqueness' of the subject's voices, the compelling nature of storytelling, and the communal creation of the project.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Abstract
Refocusing the Lens
Images of women saturate our world- photographs of women grace magazine covers and centerfolds, images of women sell beer and books, and art works of women, naked, draped, or clothed, fill museums. These images, even if not created by men, are usually created for the male gaze. In an instant we can read which stereotype of a woman we are meant to understand- virgin, whore, mother, feminist. There is no dialogue between the viewer and the viewed.
In this project, I attempt to open a space for discourse in which women position themselves as subjects. The women become signs, signifying what they choose to signify. The male perspective that has dominated the photographic landscape, in particular the commercial, placing the female subject into an “unreal” position, is put aside. The typical cultural constructs of women, or stereotypes, which also do not reflect reality, disappear in the reality of the photograph. The subject of the photograph and the photographer enter into conversation in order to create an identity, focusing closely on those parts of the subject’s identity most in flux, in order to define this identity more fully. Values typically termed masculine as well as those categorized as feminine are acknowledged. The subject is stepping outside of the confines of her culture to define who she wants to be on this occasion.
The viewer is invited to step outside as well and join this conversation, negotiating her or his own meaning just as the subject of the photograph has negotiated her presentation to the viewer with herself and the photographer.
Images of women saturate our world- photographs of women grace magazine covers and centerfolds, images of women sell beer and books, and art works of women, naked, draped, or clothed, fill museums. These images, even if not created by men, are usually created for the male gaze. In an instant we can read which stereotype of a woman we are meant to understand- virgin, whore, mother, feminist. There is no dialogue between the viewer and the viewed.
In this project, I attempt to open a space for discourse in which women position themselves as subjects. The women become signs, signifying what they choose to signify. The male perspective that has dominated the photographic landscape, in particular the commercial, placing the female subject into an “unreal” position, is put aside. The typical cultural constructs of women, or stereotypes, which also do not reflect reality, disappear in the reality of the photograph. The subject of the photograph and the photographer enter into conversation in order to create an identity, focusing closely on those parts of the subject’s identity most in flux, in order to define this identity more fully. Values typically termed masculine as well as those categorized as feminine are acknowledged. The subject is stepping outside of the confines of her culture to define who she wants to be on this occasion.
The viewer is invited to step outside as well and join this conversation, negotiating her or his own meaning just as the subject of the photograph has negotiated her presentation to the viewer with herself and the photographer.
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