Parents and guardians are lovely people because they provide for us and take care of us while we grow up. I grew up with both my mom and dad, who had the highest expectations for both me and my brother. I always heard the words “doctor”, “lawyer”, “engineer”, etc. Even from a young age, I knew that it was not something that I wanted to do because all those careers are very closed-minded compared to my personality. I would not be able to be in a career where I am not free to have fun and be myself. I am not saying that the careers my dad wanted me to have are boring, but they are very serious jobs that limit my personality.
Month: October 2016
The Race Talk & A Good Mimosa!
A black person grows up in this country – and in many places – knowing that racism will be as familiar as salt to the tongue. Also, it can be as dangerous as too much salt. I think that you must struggle for betterment for yourself and for everyone. ~Maya Angelou Continue reading
Spank Me, Daddy!
Content warning: spanking, physical punishment, parenting
When it comes to parenting, there is perhaps no concept more divisive than the use of spanking as a form of punishment. From conversations with my peers, I have heard a wide variety of opinions on the matter, from what classifies as spanking to whether or not corporal punishment should be administered to children at all. Based on my experiences, those who were spanked as children view the act as an entirely normal part of childhood and even commend their parents use of corporal punishment, while those who were not spanked cannot imagine why someone would put their hands on their child in order to teach a lesson. Continue reading
The Imagination in my Shoulder
“what? I don’t feel it, are you sure it’s there?” asks my friend who is a massage therapist. “It’s there you have to push deeper” I say. Continue reading
A Freak of (Un)Nature: On “Unnatural” and “Natural” Bodies
There is nothing I dread more than the confused, shocked, horrified look on people’s faces after I open my mouth and say something incomprehensible to their untrained ears. I feel like I am exposed for the freak of nature that I am. Despite my years and years of preparation in the form of weekly speech therapy sessions and high-tech cochlear implant, I still clumsily navigate the hearing world, where sound reigns supreme, constantly tripping over tasks that seem mundane to most people.
My body, and more specifically, my ears and voice, are seen as something out of the ordinary and freakish that must be covered up as efficiently as possible or put somewhere else where there are “people like me”.
We don’t talk about death
Whenever I feel fear or uneasiness I am no longer able to engage in discussions. I shut down.
Today in class when were discussing Trumpet, specifically the question regarding the smell of death in the room shortly after Joss’s death, I felt myself unable to pay attention. I tried to take notes to keep myself engaged or read along with the passages being read but my mind was scattered and I did not feel present.
“Oh, but you don’t look gay”
When I tell people that I identify as a lesbian I find that I often have people make comments to me like “oh, but you don’t look gay” or “yeah, I could tell by the way you dress and carry yourself.” I have always found it very strange how people can have such different opinions and views of someone simply from the way they dress and look. It has always bothered me when people would say to me that “I don’t look gay.” What is gay supposed to look like? How am I supposed to respond to that? In this class we have discussed a lot about how our bodies are mediums and are really important for expressing ourselves to the world around us. Not everything that I do is to express that I am gay. I dress the way I do because it is comfortable and because it is what I like, not to make sure that my sexual orientation is known. Some days I wear dresses, and other days I wear jeans and boots which some would say make me look more “masculine” but I dress and carry myself the way I do because it is what is comfortable for me. Which is really important for me since it has only been recently that I have felt comfortable with my body and my style. Most people wouldn’t respond to someone who says that they are straight with “oh, you don’t look straight” so why is it believed to be okay to say it to someone who is not. Especially when people follow the statement with, “it’s a compliment that you don’t.” How a statement like that is supposed to be a complement is beyond me. I am just living my life in the most comfortable way that I can and know how to at this point.
So, You Want To Grab Her By The Pussy?
There you have it folks!
Not only is Donald Trump a bigot, but now he is also a sexual assailant. Continue reading
Split Second
Change happens very slowly. You can feel it weighing down on you overtime.
It squeezes you until you can’t take deep breaths anymore. It’s a white entity that gets heavier and heavier until you feel suffocated and start seeing flashing lights. It’s a gloomy creature that rests on your neck and crushes your vocal chords, until your voice crackles and then disappears.
When you least expect it, your eyes lose their shimmer and are replaced by glass with no reflection.
Change happens slowly. But I saw someone change before me in a matter of seconds. Continue reading
Why do we condemn the unfamiliar?
Unnatural. Abnormal. Powerful. Wicked. Strange. Horrible. Terrifyin
g. These are some of the words used to compile definitions of a “monster”. Continue reading
Unruly Bodies 