Week 12: Highlights from the Highlight of My Week

It feels weird typing this, knowing that this will be my last weekly blog post. I unfortunately do not have anything incredibly creative, mind-boggling, or intellectual for this week. While brainstorming for a topic worthy of my last post, all I could come up with is sharing my highlights from this class. Maybe it is the two all-nighters I pulled this week or the allergies that have now turned my brain into snot, but this list is the best I could think of. This class, of course, deserves only the best (even if that is my drowsily decided-upon best), so I will go for it... 

1. Our Weekly In-Class (and Online) Discussions 

This aspect of our class was perhaps my favorite, because I loved getting to know all of you. I am going to inflate our egos for a bit and say that our discussions were bomb. You all brought your own smart, unique perspectives to the table, and I think it is safe to say that we all benefitted from each other greatly. We all learned about so much in the way of feminism, gender, and humor from just talking to each other. Of course, the readings and standup specials helped us learn as well, but I believe our discussions solidified everything and made it more relatable. In conclusion, thank you for sharing your wonderful viewpoints with me and the class. 

2. Our Blog Posts 

On a similar note, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about you all and what you find interesting. My world has opened up so much from the various things I have read on this blog. Additionally, the comments on these posts are such a lovely feature, and I appreciated getting to interact with you even further through the comments. These blog posts were another highlight of my week, the biggest one being the class in general, and I am so grateful to have read your amazing (and hilarious) writing! 

3. The Readings and Comedy Specials Themselves 

While I am discussing writing, I will go ahead and include our readings and specials in this list. These sources were the foundation upon which we all came up with our great discussions, so I cannot NOT talk about them (you feel?). On a more serious note, Phoebe Robinson's book we were asked to read, You Can't Touch My Hair, taught me so much about the unique and unfortunate situations that black women must face. Robinson very eloquently and also hilariously recounted stories and made important points about life as a black woman. Her use of pop-culture references, which we also saw in many of the standup specials, was just great, smart writing. I could go on and on about our readings this semester, but that was the one that stood out to me the most. 

4. A Safe Outlet for Expression 

This class, both in the discussions and blogs, provides a wonderful opportunity for us to share whatever we feel comfortable with, with each other. You are all so encouraging and kind, so I feel like I could tell you anything, really. I was able to open up a bit about my depression in the forums (and also my unhealthy obsession with Animal Crossing and Tom Nook hehe), and many others have shared personal stories and other things, like their sexuality, with the class. This speaks volumes about how safe and comforting this class' environment really is. 

5. The fact that I was able to write a blog post about Tom Nook and be taken seriously... 

This last point is kinda silly, but it is true! I never in a million years thought I could write something about Tom Nook for a class (with cuss words and memes in it!!!) and be taken seriously, like AT ALL. That is one of the aspects of this class that I enjoyed the most—the freedom to discuss whatever you would like as long as it relates to class discussion somehow (which my Nook post did loosely haha). There is true room for creativity in this class, something that is lacking in a lot of the other classes here at Shepherd. For example, someone else wrote about the Blue Wiggle dude, and another wrote about drag queens. The possibilities are ENDLESS (just like in Animal Crossing hehe)! I promise that was the last AC plug, well, because that was the end of my last post... 

Seriously though (and not Tom Nook-post seriously), thank you ALL for such a wonderful, encouraging, and helpful class!

Week 11: My Quarantine Thirst Trap Who's Also a Money Trap

In response to these lovely posts about who is "quarantine-bae" material (the Blue Wiggle dude was amazing hahaha) and in honor of Thirst Aid Kit, I would like to include my quarantine thirst trap. He just so happens to also be a money trap, and someone already pointed that out last week...

I'm talking about THE. TOM. NOOK.

Just look at that friendly wave and those eyes that are heavy with investment knowledge.
Oh, how they sparkle.

But as I just said, he is a bit of a money whore.

I don't mind though, because he made ME Resident Representative of the island I live on. I named it Île Poire, literally Pear Island in French, because it grows pears and I'm bougie. 

Here's us together in our Nook Inc. merch. 

Twinsies!!!

Just LOOK at the way he looks at me! *SWOON*

In all seriousness, he has been there for me during this quaran-time. Who else would I talk to to learn DIY recipes for tools and furniture? Google? He is soooooo last month. Plus, Nookie has graciously allowed me to build a museum and a shop on the island, so I can view all of my discoveries and sell random shit, like weeds, for big bucks.

The museum is run by Blathers, the owl, who is afraid of bugs but also collects them?

 Ahhhh, Nook's Cranny, where Tom Nook's lil minions that apparently aren't his sons (suspicious, I know...I think he's keeping a secret from me) will buy whatever I shove in their faces

Here's me selling 19 tarantulas I caught on this other, very odd island full of spidey-bois...

Anyway, I have a lot of fun on the island thanks to my Nookie, so I guess you could say he takes care of me. What, you're jealous?

We're actually getting ready for Easter, which they (P.C.-ly) refer to as "Bunny Day," and I have the perfect outfit planned! (Peep the Easter egg crown, which I'm very proud of.)

Do you think he'll like it?

OMG, wait, does it make my butt look fat???




Or phat? ;)

In related Animal Crossing news, I want to end this wholesome and pointless post with a HIGHLY relatable meme (but only if you're a gamerrrr, obviously).

Week 11: Freddie Mercury and Subversion of a Homophobic World

I really wanted to do a post about ways Freddie Mercury (the lead singer of Queen and one of my all-time heroes) subversively defied the homophobic world he lived in after reading Branum, so here we are. I want to discuss four main ways Freddie (I’m going to refer to him by his first name because I consider him a close friend) told everyone who told him his identity was wrong that he didn’t care what they thought.

1.      The name of his band: Freddie met Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon soon after the four of them graduated college and the four of them formed a band Freddie decided to name Queen. When asked about this name choice years later, Freddie remarked that it was simple, theatrical, and outrageous. Outrageous is the key word here because Freddie knew what the popular connotation of the word “queen” was, and he knew a band of four men calling themselves Queen would get noticed. By calling his band Queen, Freddie reclaimed a word that has been used for decades to degrade and diminish effeminate gay men. He used the word in a positive and celebratory way, letting people know that they couldn’t reduce him to a label.

2.      His songs: Most of the songs Freddie wrote for Queen in the early ‘70s—pre-“Bohemian Rhapsody”—were fantastical stories of fairies, royalty, and magic, therefore Freddie was unafraid to produce songs that concerned typically feminine subject matter. In “This Monstrosity”, Branum states “Freddie Mercury, like all other gay guys, had this bundle of emotions that he could not let the world see directly, because if they saw, they would be horrified. He also needed to share them…” (172); Freddie’s painful emotions are obvious throughout “Bohemian Rhapsody”. The song is an expression of a closeted identity disguised as a rock song. The same year as “Bohemian Rhapsody” was released, Freddie was in a relationship with a woman while also secretly dating a man. He was struggling to find his true identity, and “Bohemian Rhapsody” was a watershed moment that helped him come to terms with what he had been lying to himself and others about his entire life. The year after “Bohemian Rhapsody”, Freddie wrote a song called “Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy”, and this song features a singer openly referring to the romantic dates he has with a man. Clearly, Freddie felt capable of more clear expression after the catharsis “Bohemian Rhapsody” brought him.

3.      His image: Branum’s metaphor in “Camouflage and Plumage” is easily applied to Freddie. If the two options for gay men and lesbian women were either hiding or displaying loud and proud plumage, then Freddie chose the latter option. In the time of glam rock and androgyny in rock, Freddie was right at home. He would describe his concerts as fashion shows, and revel in wearing tight, sparkly, extravagant, showy, and overall androgynous outfits.

Freddie in 1974

Freddie in 1977

In 1978 and 1979, Freddie adopted a full-leather look that was popular in gay clubs at the time, and it was in 1980 that Freddie first grew his iconic mustache. The full-leather look, and the mustache and tight clothing look were inspired by homoerotic art of the late 20^th century that heavily influenced the way gay men dressed and identified other gay men. The derogatory phrase used to describe this look was “gay clone”, and it was seen on gay men in places all over the world. The goal was to portray the image of a hyper-masculine man and Freddie bought into this image like countless other gay men at the time. They weren’t hiding, they were displaying their plumage.

Freddie in 1979

Freddie in 1985

4.     His refusal to publicly acknowledge his sexuality: Though practically every interviewer Freddie sat down with asked him to discuss his sexuality, he purposely averted discussion of this topic. Freddie would indirectly refer to his sexuality when he talked about how he couldn’t see himself getting married (despite what Branum said in “This Monstrosity”, Freddie was never married. He halfheartedly proposed to his girlfriend in 1975, but he never went through with the marriage), and how he felt unlucky in love and relationships. Freddie discussed his fear over the AIDS epidemic in several interviews, and he acknowledged the fact that he was at risk of getting what bigoted and ignorant people called the “gay plague”. Freddie didn’t want his sexuality to be a matter of public conversation. He wanted to talk about his music and career, yet interviewers and tabloids relentlessly pursued discussion of his sexuality. Freddie displayed his identity loudly and proudly, and he had no need to go to every newspaper in the country and publicly come out in plain terms because it was clear to anyone who cared to pay attention.

Week 10: Oh. My. Goddessness.

Hello everyone! I've missed seeing you guys and having our in-class discussions. The forum posts are great and all, but it's just not the same! (Maybe it's because of the lack of surprise candy...) I know we are all managing the best we can, and I am so proud of all of us for sticking with everything during this crazy time! From browsing the post titles, I can safely assume that a lot of you are not really doing okay, and I am completely with you on that, but we've got this! In that fighting spirit and in contrast to the sad boi posts I've been seeing (in addition to my messy and depressy forum comments oops), I am going to do something scary and brave and different on here! I am going to actually write my "goddess list" for this week's post. Please know that this will be incredibly painful for me, and if this blog post stops abruptly like mid-sentence, assume that I have passed out on the floor. If any of you saw my comment to the "goddess list" forum post, I basically said "sike nah" to the idea and responded, "actually I am garbage." But I will try this, because I know I (as a proud pessimist) could use some positivity, and this blog could too! 

Here goes nothing... 

1. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! 

2. Okay, now that I have gotten that over with, let's see. I ~suppose~ I am a good writer, at least when I'm not inserting gifs and made-up words into my writing. However, I am now debating this, because it is extremely hard to write and concentrate with the Michael Scott "No" gif on repeat right above what I'm typing. Maybe that wasn't such a good writing decision. 

3. I am an overachiever (but also a procrastinator?), which hurts my soul and my sleep schedule a bit (i.e. writing this at 5am), but the overachieving part comes in handy when doing assignments, papers, and projects. My work is always my very best and as "perfect" as my crazy perfectionist ass can get it. 

4. My singing voice has been described as "angelic" and "pure," which is everything I'm not, but oh well. I forget the fact that I have a nice voice in the music department sometimes, because I am forced to sing a lot of opera arias and classical music that just doesn't fit my voice. I am more of a folk and jazz singer, but no one really knows that. I was going to sing a solo, "The Scarlet Tide" from Cold Mountain, and accompany myself by piano for a concert this semester, but alas, my bad luck has struck again! Ugh, POSITIVE VIBESSSS! 

5. Before quarantine times, I carried three jobs and 22 credit hours with ~grace~, which can be translated to in my pajamas in class and not GAF (giving a f--art (yes, I am a child)). Plus, I am MADE for this quarantine life, hunny. You thought I was lazy, but I was just breaking in my pajamas. ;) 

6. I am a proud mother to a hairy child named Pepper. She is potty-trained, eats well, and her head is much smaller than her body. I allow her to be authentically herself. She is all kinds of sassy and sways when she walks, exuding feline confidence with each step. I aspire to be like her honestly, so I'm so proud to have raised such a fearless woman. Plus, she's like also simultaneously a bat and a dog, so she's wonderfully unique. 

7. I have "pianist fingers," which is cool because the rest of me is quite sausage-like. No self-hate, just spitting facts here haha. (Thanks, Viv, for the idea btw!) 

8. I can no longer see Michael Scott, and my brain has resumed optimal 2% functioning. Let's see...I can be witty? 

9. According to one of my Food Lion managers, I am "the best closer ever." She then followed it up with, "I know it's because you're literally OCD, but I love you for it." Come to Food Lion on a Thursday or Friday night after 10pm (except this week because I had requested off for concerts that I no longer get to be in OOF), and you'll see me scurrying around the registers sweeping, arranging and facing sodas, and stocking each register with a pen and counterfeit detector marker. Everything would be organized the same way at each register, because I'd literally die otherwise. 

10. Lastly, I am a goddess, because even through all of the self-loathing and societal conditioning to hate my body, I am still able to come up with a list of positive things about myself and that's POWERFUL. ~iF i CaN dO iT, yOu cAN tOo!~