DOCSLIB.ORG

An Exploration of Women in Gender-Bending Cosplay

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
An Exploration of Women in Gender-Bending Cosplay Costuming as Inquiry: An Exploration of Women in Gender-Bending Cosplay Through Practice & Material Culture Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Rebecca Baygents Turk, M.A. Graduate Program in Arts Administration, Education and Policy The Ohio State University 2019 Dissertation Committee Dr. Shari L. Savage, Advisor Dr. Christine Ballengee Morris Dr. Jennifer Schlueter 1 Copyrighted by Rebecca Baygents Turk 2019 2 Abstract This study explores the phenomenon of gender-bending cosplay (GBC) through its material culture using costuming (the acts of making and wearing artifacts and the artifacts themselves) to examine the motivations/interests/expectations of women who participate. GBC embraces the shifting, or bending, of the identified gender and/or biological sex of a fictional character to match the gender identity and/or biological sex of the player. This study concentrates on self-identified women adapting male characters to female versions of the same characters. The principal approach of the research design is Practice as Research (PaR) from an Art-Based Research (ABR) paradigm. Research methods include costuming, performance, ethnography, narrative inquiry, interviewing, participant observation, and discourse analysis. The worlds of text and image are melded in the amphibious, mixed-methods design and presentations of this study. GBC involves creating and using material culture, the artifacts of a culture/community. It becomes a creative outlet for many who may not otherwise be making art. When material culture can be worn, an interactive embodied performance can be experienced between the maker and the player, the player and the artifacts, the player and the audience, the player and fellow players, the player and cultural texts. This performance simultaneously emphasizes and ii challenges gender binaries, gender roles, and expectations. It is a performance of culture. The communities of play collaborate to interpret and reinterpret the performance and the material culture. They tell and share stories that uncover insights into the phenomenon, society, and culture. iii Acknowledgments I wish to thank my advisor, Dr. Shari L. Savage, for taking up the mentorship baton without hesitation and shepherding me through the dissertation process. Her guidance, expertise, and insight are invaluable. I am eternally grateful to Dr. Christine Ballengee Morris for her wisdom, endless encouragement, and her spirit. I am thankful for Dr. Jennifer Schlueter, her continued enthusiasm around my research, and her understanding of my vision. I am indebted to Dr. Debbie Smith-Shank for years of mentorship and for introducing me to the study of material culture. I am grateful for my interview participants and their willingness to share their experiences with me. More than anything, I wish to thank my family. I cannot fully express how appreciative I am of your support, patience, and love. iv Vita 1998…………………………………………B.S. Theatre & Dance, Mathematics minor, Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville 2014…………………………………………M.A. Art Education, The Ohio State University 2011 to present……………………………...Costume Studio Manager/Instructor, Department of Theatre, The Ohio State University Publications Hur, H., Ravisankar, R., Smith-Shank, D., & Turk, R. B. (2016). The nest as metaphor: Reflections on mentoring, growth, and material culture. Visual Inquiry, 5, 3, 393-405. Fields of Study Major Field: Arts Administration, Education and Policy Specializations: Art Education and Analysis of Material Culture v Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iv Vita ...................................................................................................................................... v List of Figures .................................................................................................................. viii GUIDE ............................................................................................................................... ix Section 1: FORWARD ....................................................................................................... 1 Section 2: UNDERPINNINGS ......................................................................................... 16 Performativity ............................................................................................................... 20 Adaptation ..................................................................................................................... 36 Play ............................................................................................................................... 37 Section 3: FIBERS ............................................................................................................ 42 Practice as Research (PaR)... or Performative Research .............................................. 43 Arts-Based Research (ABR) ......................................................................................... 46 Material Culture ............................................................................................................ 53 Creation of Material Artifacts ................................................................................... 58 Interaction with Material Culture .............................................................................. 61 Different insights/interpretations/multisensory ........................................................ 62 Ethnography & Phenomenology ................................................................................... 63 Narrative Inquiry & Storytelling ................................................................................... 65 Performative Interviews ................................................................................................ 67 Discourse Analysis........................................................................................................ 70 Participant Observation ................................................................................................. 79 Section 4: PIECES ............................................................................................................ 84 The journey ................................................................................................................... 87 Setting the Conditions of Play ...................................................................................... 88 vi Parameter 1: GBC ..................................................................................................... 88 Parameter 2: Which character? ................................................................................. 91 Parameter 3: Time Period ......................................................................................... 94 Parameter 4: Visual Markers of Gender ................................................................... 95 Parameter 5: Iconic Design Elements ....................................................................... 99 Pencil to Paper ............................................................................................................ 100 Interacting with Materials ........................................................................................... 107 Construction ................................................................................................................ 115 Testing /Fitting ............................................................................................................ 126 Performing .................................................................................................................. 128 Section 5: PULLING THREADS ................................................................................... 140 Threads of Performativity ........................................................................................... 141 Threads of Adaptation................................................................................................. 146 Threads of Play ........................................................................................................... 148 Section 6: DESIGNS ON THE FUTURE ...................................................................... 151 Applications ................................................................................................................ 151 Directions .................................................................................................................... 155 References ....................................................................................................................... 156 vii List of Figures Figure 1: Art Autobiography – pre-teen, 2015 ................................................................... 2 Figure 2: Hopkins Gallery ................................................................................................ 26 Figure 3: Research Display ............................................................................................... 27 Figure 4: Conceptual sketch of a dimensional rhizome or fuzzy Slinky® ....................... 47 Figure 5: Conceptual sketch of how our filters affect our interpretations of experiences
Load more

Recommended publications
  • DOWN the RABBIT HOLE and INTO the CURIOUS REALM of COSPLAY By
    DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE AND INTO THE CURIOUS REALM OF COSPLAY by Margaret E. Haynes A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of George Mason University in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Anthropology Committee: ___________________________________________ Director ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ Department Chairperson ___________________________________________ Dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences Date: _____________________________________ Fall Semester 2017 George Mason University Fairfax, VA Down the Rabbit Hole and into the Curious Realm of Cosplay A Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts at George Mason University by Margaret E. Haynes Bachelor of Arts George Mason University, 2016 Director: Rashmi Sadana, Assistant Professor George Mason University Fall Semester 2018 George Mason University Fairfax, VA Copyright 2017 Margaret E. Haynes All Rights Reserved ii DEDICATION To my dog, Gypsy, who had to forgo hours of walks and playtime in order to supervise my writing. To my loving parents and younger brother, who are the foundation of my success with their unconditional support. To the cosplay community who welcomed me with open arms. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank everyone who helped make this thesis possible! I would first like to give a huge thanks to my thesis advisor, Dr. Sadana, and the other members of my committee, Dr. Gatling and Dr. Schiller, who were always happy to give me constructive criticism on my ideas. A special thanks to the convention committees at Nekocon, Katsucon, and Anime Mid- Atlantic, who gave me permission to interview cosplayers at their conventions. This work would not have been possible without my friend, Samantha Ouellette, who introduced me to cosplay and conventions.
    [Show full text]
  • Gender and Audience Reception of English-Translated Manga
    Girly Girls and Pretty Boys: Gender and Audience Reception of English-translated Manga June M. Madeley University of New Brunswick, Saint John Introduction Manga is the term used to denote Japanese comic books. The art styles and publishing industry are unique enough to warrant keeping this Japanese term for what has become transnational popular culture. This paper represents a preliminary analysis of interview data with manga readers. The focus of the paper is the discussion by participants of their favourite male and female characters as well as some general discussion of their reading practices. Males and females exhibit some reading preferences that are differentiated by gender. There is also evidence of gendered readings of male and female characters in manga. Manga in Japan are published for targeted gender and age groups. The broadest divisions are between manga for girls, shōjo, and manga for boys, shōnen. Unlike Canada and the USA, manga is mainstream reading in Japan; everyone reads manga (Allen and Ingulsrud 266; Grigsby 64; Schodt, Dreamland 21). Manga stories are first serialized in anthology magazines with a specific target audience. Weekly Shōnen Jump is probably the most well known because it serializes the manga titles that have been made into popular anime series on broadcast television in North America (and other transnational markets) such as Naruto and Bleach. Later, successful titles are compiled and reprinted as tankobon (small digest-sized paperback books). The tankobon is the format in which manga are translated into English and distributed by publishers with licensing rights purchased from the Japanese copyright holders. Translated manga are also increasingly available through online scanlations produced by fans who are able to translate Japanese to English.
    [Show full text]
  • Barnett Family Halloween a Vampire and Moana Go Trick-Or-Treating
    CaseBarnettLaw.com 949-565-2993 OCTOBER 2018 BARNETT FAMILY HALLOWEEN A VAMPIRE AND MOANA GO TRICK-OR-TREATING On Sept. 1, my wife and son were both ready to start decorating for the season. Ever since he was a baby, The weather outside may still be hot and beautiful, but inside our house, Nicole Finn has loved going in the has created a cozy fall retreat. It even Halloween stores and seeing smells like fall in our house. Meanwhile, Finn is on a mission to turn our home into all the scary, gory decorations. a real house of horrors. We were a little behind on decorating the new house for fall because we spent a week in San Diego while the water restoration team cleaned up Finn’s waterfall. But we’re personalities will be. Finn back on schedule now and the house certainly shows it. has decided he’s going to be a vampire this year, and he A few weeks ago, we took Finn to Lowes, where they had those big wanted Harlow to be a bat. inflatable Halloween decorations on display. Finn became obsessed with When Harlow heard this, them, and long story short, there’s a 16-foot-tall blow-up ghost hanging she just shook her head and out on our front lawn. It’s so obnoxious and awesome — we’re like the declared, “No! Me Moana!” Halloween Griswolds of our neighborhood. Our family goes bananas for She wants to dress like the Halloween, mainly because of Finn. We end up swinging by the pop-up main character from the Halloween store a few times throughout the season to get all the supplies Disney movie “Moana.” Nicole we need.
    [Show full text]
  • Investigating the Freedom of Gender Performativity Within the Queer Space of Cosplay/Cross Play
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Repository@USM 3rd KANITA POSTGRADUATE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON GENDER STUDIES 16 – 17 November 2016 Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang To be or not to be the queerest of them all: Investigating the Freedom of Gender Performativity within the Queer Space of Cosplay/Cross play Elween Loke Malaysia Corresponding Email: [email protected] Abstract This paper examines freedom of gender performativity among Crossplayers and Cosplayers within the queer space in which they embody gendered identities. Cosplay refers to acts of role- playing based on characters from anime and manga, or Japanese animation and comic respectively. Crossplay, on the other hand, is similar to Cosplay, except that participants dressed up as characters that are of their opposite gender. While Cosplay is already regarded as a queer activity, Crossplay is observed as the queerest among the queer, as it defies the traditional gender norms in patriarchal country like Malaysia. This research is significant as both Malaysian Cosplay subculture (and Crossplay), which is increasingly popular, remained understudied, as well as issues with regard to the deviant aspect of gender performativity. Using data collected from in-depth interviews with eight respondents and four sessions of participant observation at various Cosplay events, the researcher observed interactions between Crossplayers and Cosplayers, and subsequently analysed the findings to provide insights into freedom of gender performativity within the queer space. Findings and analyses showed that, while the queer space provides a space for participants to construct their very own gender identity, it is not independent of the influence of the traditional gender dichotomy.
    [Show full text]
  • Examining Girls‟ Changing Experiences with the Socially Constructed Labels
    As the Body Unfolds: Examining Girls‟ Changing Experiences with the Socially Constructed Labels „Tomboy‟ and „Girly Girl‟ by Robyn Barbara Legge A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Department of Adult Education and Counselling Psychology Ontario Institute for Studies in Education University of Toronto © Copyright by Robyn Barbara Legge 2011 AS THE BODY UNFOLDS: EXAMINING GIRLS’ CHANGING EXPERIENCES WITH THE SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED LABELS ‘TOMBOY’ AND ‘GIRLY GIRL’ Doctor of Philosophy 2011 Robyn Barbara Legge Department of Adult Education and Counselling Psychology University of Toronto Abstract This study explored the lived experiences of girls with the socially constructed labels „tomboy‟ and „girly girl‟. Using a prospective, life history, qualitative methodology, girls between the ages of nine to fourteen years old were interviewed up to four times over five years for an extensive embodiment project. The present study investigated girls‟ narratives of the „tomboy‟/ „girly girl‟ dichotomy to deepen an understanding of how gender discourses affect how girls learn to live in their bodies. A total of 87 interviews were collected from 27 girls representing diverse social and cultural backgrounds as well as different urban and rural Canadian locations. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed for themes using the constant comparison method from Grounded Theory. Examining the data from a feminist poststructuralist theoretical approach, three main dimensions emerged that described these girls‟ experiences of living with these labels from childhood through adolescence. The first dimension described the shared cultural stereotypes of the „tomboy‟ and „girly girl‟ labels. The second dimension delineated the social outcomes in terms of the privileges and consequences associated with each label in childhood and in adolescence.
    [Show full text]
  • Resources​​To​​Support Equity​​&​​Inclusive​​Education
    Resources to Support ​ ​ ​ ​ Equity & Inclusive Education ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Grades 9-12 ​ ​ ​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​ Print Resources ​ ​ Book Kits – A selection of Fiction and Nonfiction books on a topic ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Equity and Inclusive Education: Transgender resources ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Equity and Inclusive Education: LGBTQ resources ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Issues 21 is a dynamic, cutting-edge literacy series that dares students to imagine a ​ ​ ​ ​ ​​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ world where change is possible and, when equipped with the right knowledge, skills, ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ and tools, they can make it happen. Sets of 6 copies with a Teacher’s Guide. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Oppression of Women Mental Health ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​ ​ Poverty Justice ​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ ​​ Discrimination Novel Sets – 10 copies in a bin When E​ v​ eryth​ ​in​ g​ Fe​ e​ ls Like t​ h​ e ​ M​ ​o​ vies ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ I’ll Give You the Sun ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Calling Dr. Laura (graphic novel ) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Kite Runner ​ ​ American Born Chinese (graphic novel) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​​ ​ ​ A Long Way Gone ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Bifocal Monster Wenjack
    [Show full text]
  • The Power of Live Performance
    THE POWER OF LIVE PERFORMANCE Music director Daniel Meyer tells us why 2011-2012 might be the best season yet for the Asheville Symphony. PAGE 16 Asheville Bravo Concerts opens its 80th season with a performance by the National Acrobats of China, one of four distinct and dynamic performances. PAGE 22 Kristen Hedberg, Asheville Lyric Opera’s new Associate Artistic Director, shares a behind the scenes peek at Madama Butterfly. PAGE 3 PLUS: The Altamont Theatre page 19 Robb Helmkamp, contemporary furniture maker page 21 Chall Gray and Sandee Shaffer Johnson, Steven Samuels owner of the Bizarre Bazaar page 23 at the Magnetic Patti Best, landscape artist page 23 Heritage Weekend Field. PAGE 17 at the Folk Art Center page 24 Blake Sneed of Bogart’s page 37 13th Season Diana Wortham Theatre ashevillelyric.org Box Office: 828-257-4530 PG. 20 A September 2011 — RAPID RIVER ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE — Vol. 15, No. 1 PRINTS COLOR RAPID RIVER ARTS performance INTERVIEW WITH INTERVIEWED BY DENNIS RAY Kristen Hedberg uccini’s Madama Butterfly returns to Asheville, this time featuring Jennifer Davison, international soprano, in the title role. Jon Truitt, acclaimed director of last season’s The Magic PFlute, returns to direct this beautiful new production. This Italian opera is set in Nagasaki, Japan at the turn of the last century. The story centers on a young geisha whose life is changed forever by an American naval officer, exploring the sacrifices she makes Kristen Hedberg, Associate Artistic Director, for true love and the cruelty of the world Asheville Lyric Opera. around her.
    [Show full text]
  • Chuck Palahniuk Snuff 1
    Chuck Palahniuk Snuff 1. Mr. 600 One dude stood all afternoon at the buffet wearing just his boxers, licking the orange dust off barbecued potato chips. Next to him, a dude was scooping into the onion dip and licking the dip off the chip. The same soggy chip, scoop after scoop. Dudes have a million ways of peeing on what they claim as just their own. For craft services, we’re talking two folding tables piled with open bags of store-brand corn chips and canned sodas. Dudes getting called back to do their bit—the wrangler announces their numbers, and these performers stroll back for their money shot still chewing a mouthful of caramel corn, their fingers burning with garlic salt and sticky with the frosting from maple bars. Some one-shot dudes, they’re just here to say they were. Us veterans, we’re here for the face time and to do Cassie a favor. Help her one more dick toward that world record. To witness history. On the buffet, they got laid out Tupperwares full of condoms next to Tupperwares of mini-pretzels. Fun-sized candy bars. Honey-roasted peanuts. On the floor, plastic wrappers from candy bars and condoms, bit and chewed open. The same hands scooping M&M’s as reaching into the fly and elastic waistband of boxers to stroke their half-hard dicks. Candy-colored fingers. Tangy ranch-flavored erections. Peanut breath. Root-beer breath. Barbecued-potato-chip breath getting panted into Cassie’s face. Tweakers scratching their arms bright red. High-school virgins wanting to lose it on camera.
    [Show full text]
  • The Girl in the Postfeminist World: Rethinking the Impact of Chick-Lit Fiction
    Union College Union | Digital Works Honors Theses Student Work 6-2011 The irG l in the Postfeminist World: Rethinking the Impact of Chick-Lit Fiction Sarah T. O'Connor Union College - Schenectady, NY Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalworks.union.edu/theses Part of the Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, and the Fiction Commons Recommended Citation O'Connor, Sarah T., "The irlG in the Postfeminist World: Rethinking the Impact of Chick-Lit Fiction" (2011). Honors Theses. 1038. https://digitalworks.union.edu/theses/1038 This Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Work at Union | Digital Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of Union | Digital Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Running Title: Chick-Lit Fiction Impact The Girl in the Postfeminist World: Rethinking the Impact of Chick-Lit Fiction By Sarah T. O‘Connor * * * * * * * * * Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for Honors in the Departments of English and Psychology UNION COLLEGE June, 2011 ii ABSTRACT O‘CONNOR, SARAH The Girl in the Postfeminist World: Rethinking the Impact of Popular Chick-lit Fiction. Departments of English and Psychology, June 2011. ADVISORS: Professors Judith Lewin, Claire Bracken, Suzanne Benack This thesis discusses ―chick-lit‖ series in relation to popular culture, adolescent development, and feminist theory. The role of the female in the United States is currently dominated by both neo-liberal and conservative postfeminist ideology. Postfeminism advocates female empowerment via consumption, sexual attractiveness and physical beauty, while at the same time valorizing passive femininity and the roles of wife and mother.
    [Show full text]
  • Being Les: Reimagining Masculinity and Femininity Through Body Work
    UvA-DARE (Digital Academic Repository) Lipstick tales Beauty and precarity in a southern Philippine boomtown Taqueban, E.M. Publication date 2018 Document Version Other version License Other Link to publication Citation for published version (APA): Taqueban, E. M. (2018). Lipstick tales: Beauty and precarity in a southern Philippine boomtown. General rights It is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulations If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. UvA-DARE is a service provided by the library of the University of Amsterdam (https://dare.uva.nl) Download date:05 Oct 2021 Chapter 3 Being Les: Reimagining Masculinity and Femininity through Body Work True to her promise, Ellie introduces me to her les friends. One of them is Junie, who she grew up and went to school with. “We never became a ‘thing.’ We were not each other’s type,” she confides, laughing. Junie is 19 years old and a self-identified les (a term commonly used by young lesbians in the city to refer to themselves).
    [Show full text]
  • Rich, Attractive People in Attractive Places Doing Attractive Things Tonya Walker Virginia Commonwealth University
    Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Scholars Compass Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2006 Rich, Attractive People In Attractive Places Doing Attractive Things Tonya Walker Virginia Commonwealth University Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd Part of the English Language and Literature Commons © The Author Downloaded from http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/992 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at VCU Scholars Compass. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of VCU Scholars Compass. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Rich, Attractive People Doing Attractive Things in Attractive Places - A Monologue from Hell - - by Tonya Walker, Master of Fine Arts Candidate Major Director: Tom De Haven, Professor, Department of English Acknowledgement This thesis could not have been completed - completed in the loosest sense of the word - had in not been for the time and involvement of three men. I'd like to thank my mentor David Robbins for his unfailing and passionate disregard of my failings as a writer, my thesis director Tom De Haven for his patient support and stellar suggestions that are easily the best in the book and my husband Philip whose passionate disregard of my failings and patient support are simply the best. Abstract RICH, ATTRACTIVE PEOPLE IN ATTRACTIVE PLACES DOING ATTRACTIVE THINGS By Tonya Walker, M.F.A. A these submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2006 Major Director: Tom De Haven, Professor, Department of English Rich, Attractive People in Attractive Places Doing Attractive Things is a fictional memoir of a dead Manhattan socialite from the 1950's named Sunny Marcus.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Undoing Gender Through Performing The
    1 Undoing Gender through Performing the Other Anastasia Seregina1 1Anastasia Seregina ([email protected]) is a Lecturer in Marketing at Goldsmiths, University of London, Lewisham Way, New Cross, London SE14 6NW, United Kingdom. 2 Abstract Following the perspective on gender as a socially constructed performance, consumer research has given light to how individuals take on, negotiate, and express a variety of gender roles. Yet the focus of research has remained on gender roles themselves, largely overlooking the underlying process of gender performativity and consumers’ engagement with it in the context of their everyday lives. Set within a performance methodology and the context of crossplay in live action role-playing games, this paper explores how individuals undo gender on a subjective level, thus becoming conscious and reflexive of gender performativity. The study suggests that individuals become active in undoing gender through engaging in direct, bodily performance of the gender other. Such performance does not challenge or ridicule norms, but pushes individuals to actively figure out for themselves how gender is performed. As a result, individuals become aware of gender performativity and become capable of actively recombining everyday performance. Keywords: gender performativity, performance, agency, crossplay, live action role-playing game, LARP 3 Introduction Gender is a central aspect of how we define ourselves and how those around us define us. Within contemporary consumer culture, gender also becomes inseparable from consumption, its practices, objects, and contexts (Schroeder and Zwick 2004; Holt and Thompson 2004). Butler (1990, 2004) proposed that gender is a performatively produced doing, that is, it is a doing based in a repetition that creates its own effect.
    [Show full text]