Kelly's GRSJ 307 Blog

Judith Halberstam’s writing in “Drag Kings” was an enlightening read for me both in the detailing of the history of modern drag, which I had not fully known or appreciated, and in the ways it sought to expose the performativity of many diverse types of gender expression. The notion that cis female androgyny or simply not being hyper feminine is read as masculinity – or in other words the idea that norm and baseline gender is inherently masculine has frustrated and confused me for some time. Halberstam’s point that mainstream male…read more

The Toffoletti readings prompted me to unearth and reflect on my own experiences with Barbie. In my nuclear family, Barbies were seen as a very American, unnecessarily expensive, and non functional ‘thing’. They were a point of fascination and curiosity, but also a sort of forbidden, strange object. My mom, a public health nurse, was quite openly critical about Barbie as an ‘evil’ unrealistic ‘thing’ that was not a healthy part of raising girls. My dad is in marketing, so discussions of packaging and advertising were always circulating. I guess…read more

The Toffoletti readings this week were very thought provoking so I found them enjoyable to read. However, I struggled to grapple with how the theories discussed look beyond the context of an insular academic discussion. In seeking to understand Barbie as a transformative site of the posthuman, I wish Toffoletti had put more emphasis on how Barbie is a jumping off point for complicating ideas of the self. I wonder if the polarizing cultural narratives of desire and repulsion surrounding Barbie are so dominant that it almost obscures the ability…read more

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