I have my class read “Subculture: the Meaning of Style”, just the intro and the first chapter, to get an idea about what culture is, and subculture, and some intro semiotics, and some investigation into the ideas of “ideology” and “hegemony.”
At the end of the first chapter, Dick Hebdige writes:
Jean Genet, the archetype of the ‘unnatural’ deviant, again exemplifies the practice of resistance through style. He is as convinced in his own way as is Roland Barthes of the ideological character of cultural signs. He is equally oppressed by the seamless web of forms and the meanings which enclose and yet exclude him. His reading is equally partial. He makes his own list and draws his own conclusions:
I was astounded by so rigorous an edifice whose details were united against me. Nothing in the world is irrelevant: the stars on a general’s sleeve, the stock-market quotations, the olive harvest, the style of the judiciary, the wheat exchange, the flower-beds, . . . Nothing. This order . . . had a meaning – my exile. (Genet, 1967)
I try an experiment tonight, where I say to the class, ok, what is your list? What is on it? The things that order your exile. I say, I don’t want to imply that you are homosexual thieves, but I do know that there is a list in all of us. I had them write five things, first, and then give me three. Here’s what they wrote:
Messed up teeth, southern accents, working class
Time, space, degree
Forced/expected motherhood, television, expected consumerism
Consumerism, apathy, conformity without question
Aging, body image, teeth, loss of optimism, acceptance/success as returning student
Perfect wrinkle and scar free skin, large houses
Financial institutions, subjective beauty, corporations
Stock market, politics, money, fashion, hair, conversation, drugs
Leering men in public, sexist advertising, need to get married to be legitimate/have kids
Not feeling safe on the street at night
Language barriers, motherhood/reproductive rights/class in relation to who your father is
Men “outing” me in public, clowns (happy face with unknown meaning), jealousy
Body image, economic standing, language barriers
My gender, my culture, experience
Adult and Family Services, child welfare, fashion
Appearance, education, money
Self-acceptance, money, time
Minimum wage, bras, cars, meat consumption
Skinny women, war, politics
Sexism, ignorance, negative attention
People, being white, sexism
Fear, class, religion
Woman, young, in college (expected to pay for everything, but not able to have a career)
Religion, ignorance, lipstick
Female, young, unable to support myself financially w/o help
Woman, young, appearance/body
Church pews, aluminum siding, entitlement
Wanting to not have a schedule
Being reduced to a piece of ass b/c of my looks
The sucky economy
Fashion changes, money, fitting into the social norm, racism
This order . . . had a meaning – my exile.
1 comment:
before i read your student's responses, i thought about my own and fucked up teeth was on my list. i was sad and surprised to read it more than once on the students' lists.
Post a Comment