Sunday, July 19, 2009

My Thesis -- A Little Info For The Curious

I have mentioned here before that I am in school.  Lots of people have been asking how school is going and what my thesis is about so I thought I would write a little something for you to knawsh on.

My thesis topic is gender variant neologisms (GVN).  A neologism is a new word.  The words I am specifically looking at are grrrl, boi, cisgender, s/he, ze, hir, and shim.

My perspective on gender has changed radically in the last few years. After the last year of reading, things like Judith Butler and Foucault, I can no longer say that I believe in the truth of gender.  The dual gender truth that our culture supports is no longer something I can condone.  Truths that state that there really is something that is “a guy or a girl” and that based on biological sex characteristics (not even all of them – just a dual version of them) we offer up undeserved privilege to the aforementioned gender identities; this construct makes me question everything I thought I knew about what is real.

As I write this to share with the general pubic I wonder just how esoteric I must sound to the average reader.  Gender is a load of crap.  It’s a power structure that forces us to conform to ideals of femininity and masculinity in order to maintain the status quo.  Gender is a public prison.

GVN are slippery little words that have attracted my attention.  I’m curious about the potential for ubiquity of GVN in the English language.  My research focuses on if GVN have the potential to change the way we see the truth of gender and if so, how.

I will be doing a series of interviews during the spring of 2010.  If you would like to volunteer for my research study (or have any relevant links, reading suggestions, or informed recommendations) please send an email to WidowCentauri@gmail.com   I will schedule your interview as soon as I have IRB approval.

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