Subject: gender: topics
sverhoef@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu
Date: Wed Sep 15 1999 - 03:49:52 CDT
Sorry--this is unbearably long--ergo the helpful headings...
A DISCUSSION
> According to
> Christianity (ew the C word), the last person alive that was asexual was
> Jesus.
>
I know I haven't done my intro yet--sorry; I was having a crisis--but
I'd like to respond to above post.
I wonder if biology is so determining, if sexuality is so essential,
that it is impossible for a person to be asexual? We know that sexual
desire exists on a contiunum and varies over time, but are we willing to
entertain its complete absence? Or is the presence of sexuality a
boundary we cannot escape? This question seems on point, especially
given the multitude of mandates put on women (i.e. MUST look appealing,
MUST affect youthfulness, MUST wear make up, MUST shave legs, MUST defer
to men, MUST be sexual, MUST become mothers).
I'm really tempted to get in to a discussion about the above quote,
interrogating issues like whose version of Xianity, and how complete or
edited a version of J's life does it present, and how based in reality
is it given authorship and translation issues, but instead how 'bout an
intro?
MY INTRODUCTION
My name is Susan VerHoef, and I received my BA in RTF in '89, and will
receive another BA in sociology in'00, followed by another dozen or so
years in academia if I stay the course I'm currently envisioning.
I'm quite sensitive to the mandated sexuality of women because I'm 40
years old and came of age during the sexual revolution. Some of my
friends say 'Roller Girl' in "Boogie Nights" reminded them of me 'back
in the day', but I never lived with Burt Reynnolds (or any other 'sugar
daddy'), and I never engaged in prostitution (in its narrowest
definitions), although I did work in the 'adult' (hah!) entertainment
industry for many years, most enjoyably prior to its gross
commercialization/domestication when it was still a realm where outlaws
outnumbered corporated actors.
Given the 'old school' origins of my conceptions, I've found new school
feminist thought quite challenging and stimulating. I often wonder
about some post-feminists' claims that they are equal and refuse to
recognize (as recognition constitutes complicity) women's
subordination. I often wonder how much youth privilege masks female
non-privilege.
MY ABILITIES, PROCLIVITIES
So what do I do? I've been working in video for 10 years offering
'turn-key' services, and am very strong in all aspects of hands on
production--I am also very familiar with the virtual absence of women in
production and with the challenges under-representation in the
production process poses. I am happy to say I also see this situation
changing *SLOWLY*.
My software skills include Photoshop, Painter, Director (more anim. than
lingo), Avid and a bit of html. My tendencies towards hands on rather
than administrative skills spring in part from my experiences with the
DIY ethic of the late 70's punk rock scene. I still tend to value
substance over stylistic flourishes (I was on the hard-core, political
side of the hard-core / new wave schism) and grow concerned over the
tendencies of bandwidth gobbling technologies to exclude the
economically disenfranchised from the discourse.
Finally I play guitar, and after 5 or 6 years of it, I'm on the verge of
considering myself a 'real' musician.
MY PROJECT(???)
For a project, I'm considering an interactive web based
interruption/intervention. I would invite visitors to respond to
questions asking them to describe their gender in non-masculine/feminine
terms, to list a behavior they engage in that is inappropriate for their
category, and to list a behavior they would like to engage in but don't
because it is precluded by their gender classification. Their responses
are then included on the page.
I have kind of a fluid attention span, though, so this idea may just be
my interim project. I would love to collaborate on other projects as
well--interaction is where all the learning takes place, I think.
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!
God, as IF you want any more information about me (sorry for being so
blabby!!!) I've got a highly self-serving web presence at:
http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~sverhoef/
and, for all you voyeurs/lurkers, will be posting stuff for my
autobiography class this semester at:
http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~sverhoef/autobio/
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