Become the Change You Want to See
Jack Halberstam is a transgender man, English professor, queer author, and alumni from UC Berkeley. He is known for being a gender/queer theorist who challenges the role of gender masculinity. Jack Halberstam ,once known as Judith, was invited as a guest speaker for the class of 2013 of UC Berkeley’s Department of Women and Gender Studies.Halberstam’s overall audience for this speech is Berkeley 's Department of Women and Gender Studies, people who are interested in gender issues, and the LGBT community. Mr. Halberstam is currently an English Professor and Director of the Center for Feminist Research at the University of Southern California. Mr. Halberstam advises his audience to “to take a new route, to
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This statement is illustrated in ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ in the scene where Hiccup was seen as a wimp, due to this peer pressure and teasing this resulted in Hiccup attempting to slay a dragon. As he injured a dangerous night fury dragon which eventually became his best friend and named him “Toothless”, he realized what he most wanted to achieve soon became the action he most regretted. The advice “To move forward with rather than ahead of others” relates to this scene because as much as Hiccup wanted to be liked and prove his masculinity, he did so by injuring a creature and impacting it’s future because it could no longer fly. As much as we want to advance, we must do so by not impacting anyone’s or anything’s nature. Through this experience Hiccup learns from his mistake that to genuinely get what he most desires he shouldn’t hurt anyone. Hiccup proves his masculinity through his knowledge, and in the end everyone admires Hiccup for being different and being …show more content…
In life if we move ahead of others we will do so temporarily but first we must learn from our mistakes because this is the only way we will be able to move forward with our peers. Learning from these high school experiences and incorporating Halberstam’s messages in my life, I will continue to learn from my mistakes and move forward with my peers in college. These techniques will help me succeed in college because I will be responsible of my faults and to learn from my classmates will allow me to teach others in return. Halberstam expresses this advice in his commencement speech for UC Berkeley 's graduates of the Department of Women and Gender Studies. That in order to be like we must be whom we truly are and be supportive towards each other by not competing against one another, and by that we will eventually see the change in
“Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.” This mantra from Margaret Mead is a somewhat humorous yet slightly satirical spin on how people tend to think of themselves as one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable human specimens. However, one English teacher from Wellesley High School takes this critique one step further with his polemic presentation at the school commencement. David McCullough, a Massachusetts English teacher, gave a seemingly somber sendoff to his graduates in 2012, with a speech that contained some unapologetically harsh sentiments. However, by looking past the outwardly dismal surface of the speech, the students can infer a more optimistic message. By incorporating devices of asyndeton, paradox, antimetabole, and anadiplosis, McCullough conveys to each student that even though none of them is unique, their commonality is not a fault they all have merit and should strive to view the world through a more selfless lens.
To regard the importance of the bigger picture, he maintains parallel structure and utilizes the repetition of words in the body of the speech. “The fulfilling life, the distinctive life, the relevant life” occurs when one seizes the day—when one finds the joys in life by realizing “you are not special”. The pauses and short sentences also adds to the conversational aspect and pace of the commencement piece. To continue, he notes how in this moment of time, every single one of them is dressed “exactly the same” and their diplomas are “exactly the same”. The unification of these prospective seniors further augments the message of settling. McCullogh further critiques the phrases that defy logic. High school students have perceived that “good is no longer good enough, where a B is the new C”. The goal into doing one’s best has been shaped into doing the capabilities of another, in which McCullogh responds metaphorically to only focus on the betterment of the self: “climb [the mountain] so you can see the world, not so the world can see you”. All of these seniors have fallen into the preconceived mindset of superiority, unifying them together but it is their personal capabilities that distinguishes one from another, successes from failures. The support and inspiration he is aiming for is clearly portrayed in proposing to the students to, “[d]ream big. Work hard. Think for yourself”. He inspires them to experience life instead of accomplish
Halberstam, Judith. The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. from Masculinity Studies & Feminist Theory. ed Judith Kegan Gardiner. New York, Columbia University Press. 2002
“There happens to be whole, large parts of adult American life that nobody talks about in commencement speeches. One such part involves boredom, routine and petty frustration” (Wallace 2005). This is what David Wallace in his 2005 Kenyon Commencement Address This Is Water refers to as the day in and day out of every day adult life. Wallace breaks the mold of commencement speeches with his nontraditional way of telling graduates the truth about adult life and what it means to learn how to think. In his speech “This is Water” David Wallace states that he believes we should change the way we think about things and become more outwardly aware of the world and that this is the true definition of learning how to think.
Butler, Judith. "Gender is Burning: Questions of Appropriation and Subversion." Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of Sex. New York: Routledge, 1993. 121-140.
Since the dawn of the Victorian Era, society has perpetuated unrealistic gender performance ideals that supposedly find their roots within biological sexual differences. Judith Butler has spent a lifetime seeking to break the mold todays social constructions, specifically surrounding gender and sexuality. The theory this pioneer pegged is now known as Queer Theory, and brought forth in the education system through Queer Studies courses. In the text Sexing the Body: Gender Politics and the Construction of Sexuality by author Anne Fausto-Sterling, gender and sex are similarly challenged on both a social and biological level. When reviewing Fausto-Sterling’s work in conjunction with Queer Studies and Human Sexuality, an efficient and effective format is loosely based upon a Critical Literary analysis.
Seidman, Steven, Nancy Fischer , and Chet Meeks. "Transsexual, transgender, and queer." New Sexuality Studies. North Carolina: Routledge, 2011. . Print.
From the moment a woman is born, she is automatically expected many things from her. Wear a dress, have no body hair, be with a man, don’t be too loud, etc. The list of “norms” that a woman is anticipated to uphold to goes on for days. And often times, women that decide to branch out from those “norms” are viewed as less valuable or obscene. In Robyn Ochs essay, “Bisexuality, Feminism, Men and Me”, she discusses the revolutionary moment when she realizes that living up to the assumptions of what it means to be a woman systemically limits us from our true potential. As presented in the movie “Frida”, a brilliant artist is often times overshadowed by her promiscuous relationships with women and men. A woman’s life does not dwindle down to the
Gender Outlaws (Smith, 2010) breaks the laws of gender by defying gender normative rules that exclude trans, queer and other non-conforming gender expressions often oppressed by “gender-norming rules,” rules, “expected to observe” or be subject to ridicule and often times labeled as freak by those who consider themselves as normal (p. 28). A gender outlaw seeks to, redefine the notion of gender and are carving out spaces of their own” (p. 30).
In a reading taken from Women 's Voices Feminist Visions called Trans Identities and Contingent Masculinities: Being Tombois in Everyday Practice, the author Evelyn Blackwood went
The end of my first graduate school semester leaves me with a bittersweet feeling. Although I'm glad that the stress and pressure of continuously feeling unprepared to take on graduate school is now over, the feeling that I can successfully accomplish my goal and become a School Counselor seems more attainable. Working towards something I feel passionate about, and coming to the end of the beginning of a long journey has never felt so satisfying. What feels even better is all of the knowledge that I have acquired about the profession which society needs in order to function in times of despair. During our very first class we were asked about, “Our life’s motto?” From this day onward and after listening to the different perspectives, backgrounds,
“The world might improve if we deliberately and systematically selected students not only for their knowledge and analytical skills, but also for their creative and practical skills – and their wisdom.” (Sternberg, 2010). This quote is something that I truly and deeply
Betsy Lucal, "What it means to be gendered me: Life on the Boundaries of a Dichotomous Gender System."
Wood, J. T. (2013). Gendered lives: communication, gender & and culture (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
In the challenge to classify and distinguish the sex, gender and gender preference, Judith Butler `s theory about perforsmative acts in her Performative Acts and Gender Consititution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory is very important for us to understand queer. She purposed, the acts of homosexual, bisexual or heterosexual are not a settled identity; it is an act that is constantly changing like a actor. In her opinion, there is no real gender in this society. Gender is a substructure for repetitive act that is histrionic.