Connecting the dots

“Except for these few unconnected things the dance faded to a blurred memory, its outlines mingling with those of other dances of its kind that she had attended in the past and would attend in the future.”

Passing, by Nella Larsen, page 78

As she had mentioned earlier in her description of the dance to Clare, anyone who had a dollar to pay for the ticket would be there. However, as she had made this description to Clare, alongside the general racial tension described in the book, I had an idea that this might have just been an excuse to dissuade Clare from attending.

I found it noteworthy that, for the first time in this book, there is a mix and interaction of races in a setting void of racial tension. Three-quarters of the book depicts racial tension and the one scene that is lacking is not as highly detailed. In the case where Irene feels infuriated and humiliated during the tea with Mr. Bellew, there is an extensive description of Irene’s sentiments and subsequent actions in regards to contact with Clare. Yet, an event of such importance to the community is shrugged off.

Just as the people in the dance, the entire night was disconnected and simply just a mixture of things. Those who attended came from a conglomeration of racial, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds; so incredibly mixed, that it is difficult to pinpoint where each individual might be from. This stark contrast between descriptions serves to show that although racism may have been the norm of the time, it was not the norm for Irene, which is part of the reason why she is so put off by her interaction with Mr. Bellew, but regards the dance so normally

Passing

“Irene couldn’t, she absolutely couldn’t bring herself to utter the polite fiction, or anything approaching it.”

Passing, by Nella Larsen, page 43

It goes without saying that there are many undertones in the Nella Larsen’s writing of this book. It has very strong cultural implications, especially for the time in which it was published. This being said, and acknowledging that racism is still present today, though not nearly as prominently as in Larsen’s time, I am choosing to focus on this line from the book because it is an aspect of culture that has and will always exist.

Growing up, there are very simple teachings which parents pass unto their kids: always be polite, say please and thank you, and always tell the truth, even though it is hard to do at times. In teaching, these things seem very simple, and are often taken for granted (especially in society nowadays, I find). 

However, sometimes these teachings come into conflict, as can be seen with Irene. In the case above, Irene is conflicted with how to regard John Bellow after all his hateful, racist remarks over tea. Should she say what is polite, or what is the truth? Or nothing at all? 

It is important that Larsen refers to the pleasantries as “polite fiction”. As it suggests, the aspect of cultures which makes people feel compelled to engage in small-talk and exchange pleasant greetings is most commonly simply the creation of an ideal taught to us as children that we must always be polite, especially in the presence of others with whom we are not well acquainted. Essentially, they are just artificial and mechanical sayings that come out of people’s mouths. 

“Great weather we’re having today.” It could be cloudy and uncomfortably hot and humid, but it still won’t be an uncommon thing to be heard said by a stranger. Where is the line drawn between saying something out of politeness, despite the fact that it is untrue, or saying the truth and being considered rude? How do you choose between the two ideals?

CP Feminist Perspective on Sex and Gender

“...the mistake...was not that they provided the incorrect definition of ‘woman’. Rather (the argument goes) their mistake was to attempt to define the term ‘woman’ at all.”

Feminist Perspective on Sex and Gender, page 16, quote from Judith Butler, 1999

This is just about my favorite line from this entire piece. 

Up until this point, there was a conglomeration of advocates, both in favor and in contrary of making the distinction between sex and gender, which presented a multitude of various different points of view. Although the points differed in theoretical content, they all had one thing in common: the assumption that what a man and woman is can be defined. 

For example, Nancy Chodorow suggested “...gender is a matter of having feminine and masculine personalities that develop in early infancy as responses to prevalent parenting practices.” (page 8). Props to Chodorow for at least acknowledging that nurture plays a large role in human development, and that nature alone does not determine everything. However, Chodorow put it into simple, definitive terms; gender is a result of something, and can be assigned. How could it possibly be that simple?

Butler’s view that we shouldn’t define what a woman is, is a modern concept in comparison to other ideologies. Although flawed, Butler’s theory at least also takes into consideration the portion of our population that does not identify as the same gender as they are assigned (either in terms of born sex or social classification). This idea that “...the transvestite’s gender is just as real or true as anyone else’s who is ‘traditionally’ feminine female or masculine male.” (page 18). 

Although this point of view is very altruistic, it is still flawed in that even though it doesn’t define the specific gender terms “woman” or “man”, it still assigns gender to physical (or expressed) acts. I find it contradictory that performing gendered activities can then make you that gender. So now, instead of defining the two (typical) gender terms, it is defining (or at least using social definitions) the gender of acts performed? And by performing acts that “make” you a gender, isn’t it then also necessary to at least draw out which acts to perform and how often you need to perform those acts to then become the gender? 

I can agree with Butler that it both should not be done and is unnecessary to define what a woman is. However, it is contradictory to then assign a gender to every performable act and state that gender is made by performing said acts. At least she started off on the right track. 

Writing is an expression of yourself.

My name is Maria Alejandra Huertas. I am Colombian, but have spent the majority of my life living in Miami. As a Hispanic woman, there are many stereotypes about the things that I should spend my life doing- namely raising numerous children, cooking, cleaning, and of course, being perfect.

Although, it can be said that the prior statement is what every woman is supposed to be meant to do. However, I feel that in Hispanic countries, this is emphasized significantly more. To this day, many hispanic women do not pursue higher education, but rather stay home and raise a family. Whereas in American culture, it is still very important for a woman to receive a higher education, despite the fact that they will not put it to use. Which is of course pointless.

My interest in Literature, Gender and Sexuality is just that: the ways literature historically portrays gender roles, and sexuality. However, what I am most interested in seeing is how this portrayal has changed over time. How would society today view me, a gay Hispanic woman?