Week 12

 This week, we read Judith Butlers, “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory” the paper was about how gender and sex are separate things and how gender is more of an ever changing social idea, than something set in stone. Think of what was considered a woman 60 years ago compared to today. Women of the past were expected to stay at home and be the baby makers. The women of today can be that, if that's their choice, as our current society in our country sees women as more independent people. However, the other end of the spectrum is never considered. What is a man? How have men changed though out history? And why does the change in gender strangely scare some people? The man in the picture below is an excellent example as he was assigned a woman at birth, yet became a gangster in the 50's. His name is Dante Tex Gill.
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 Gill, similar to many trans men, is a difficult subject to research. Their histories are often barely recorded, belittled, or simply ignored all together. The closest thing I could find to a "proper source" on him was the article Dante “Tex” Gill – World Queerstory by Queerstory. Regardless, Dante serves as an excellent example of what men were and could be. Between being a typical gangster, he also had many "un masculine" hobbies. Many of the women he was with said they were treated respectfully and he loved working with horses. His attitude was so memorable that years later, people tried to create his bibliography into film. To me, many men of today are afraid that if the stereotypical, "strong man" archetype changes, that they won't know what makes them "them". Afraid that people are secretly organizing to take their masculinity away. Which, as we've seen with Gill, gender is merely what you make it. Men of ancient Rome are not the same men that live in America today and holding onto ancient stereotypes helps no one. Men need a positive movement forward that encourages them to be themselves and not be afraid of who they see.

 

Dante “Tex” Gill – World Queerstory. (2019, July 27). World Queerstory; https://www.facebook.com/WordPresscom. https://worldqueerstory.org/2019/07/27/dante-tex-gill/

Judith Butler, “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory,” Theatre Journal, 1988

Comments

  1. Rachel ChapmanNovember 13, 2020 at 1:38 PM

    Hi Nathan,
    I think you blog had a glitch and didn’t upload your whole blog. I would enjoy reading it once you repost.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SoarxisscaredNovember 13, 2020 at 10:42 PM

      Updated! I have no idea what happened, I guess I only pasted part of that I wrote.

      Delete
  2. CharlotteNovember 14, 2020 at 9:59 PM

    I have never heard of Dante Gill, I think it is deplorable how history can simply be ignored consistently when it is against the ideals held at the time. This sort of history is vital to understanding that trans is nothing new, and not just some recent movement. My husband has a limited scope of trans history, something I am working on, and like others I have spoken to, don't know how far back in history this concept has existed. Thank you for such an excellent example.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SoarxisscaredNovember 15, 2020 at 8:50 PM

      Trans people have been around as long as the earth has been spinning. Some other examples of trans people through out history include Hatsheput, Alexander Goodrum, and Billy Tipton. Hatsheput would often dressed in kings wear, though Egypt supported the gender binary. Here is more information on that,
      https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1468-0424.12462

      Delete

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