Prompt 1
The cultural artifact I chose to represent women outside of the gender binary is a character from a television series called "Game of Thrones." The character's name is Arya Stark. This particular character is a perfect representation of a female who acts outside the gender binary. She was brought up in a noble home where traditional "lady-like" behavior was the norm. Lucky for her, she had parents who allowed her to act outside of those expectations early on. She is separated from her family at a young age and goes on pursuits that force her to act on instinct rather than order; this becomes the basis of her character. Arya does a number of things throughout the show that represents this; like acquiring a short - "not feminine" - haircut, learning how to sword fight, killing, and a general interest in adventure over vanity. Beyond her non-binary gender expression, she still identifies as a female.
Prompt 2
This artifact reveals the truly boundless expectations of gender expression. Her character implements the notion that being female is just a biology, it doesn't define what it means to be who you are. There's not a quality in her character that reinforces the traditions of femininity. I believe that the writer chose to create her character this way with full intentions of pushing back the traditional ideas of gender expression. She is a young girl doing what she loves and knows best which happens to go against the grains of what it meant to be a young girl in medieval times where sex was the basis of self-expression.
Prompt 3
This representation of gender has definitely influenced the way I think and express my own gender identity. I am a female who enjoys fulfilling feminine qualities but also fulfilling some masculine qualities. A lot of my gender expression is represented through the way I dress. I often times wear a mixture of masculine and feminine clothing and I often times wear more of either. This representation of gender identity, and many like it, has taught me to do what I want for the sole purpose of satisfying no one else but myself and staying true to who I am.
Prompt 4
Using Wendy Griswold's cultural diamond, the cultural artifact is Arya Stark from the TV series "Game of Thrones." The social world in which she exists is the fictional place called Westeros during medieval times. The creators are George R. R. Martin, David Benioff, and D. B. Weiss. Their intended audience is people of the 21st century, who have a more progressive perspective on social schemes, that may find interest in the producers' version of this medieval social world.
The cultural artifact I chose to represent women outside of the gender binary is a character from a television series called "Game of Thrones." The character's name is Arya Stark. This particular character is a perfect representation of a female who acts outside the gender binary. She was brought up in a noble home where traditional "lady-like" behavior was the norm. Lucky for her, she had parents who allowed her to act outside of those expectations early on. She is separated from her family at a young age and goes on pursuits that force her to act on instinct rather than order; this becomes the basis of her character. Arya does a number of things throughout the show that represents this; like acquiring a short - "not feminine" - haircut, learning how to sword fight, killing, and a general interest in adventure over vanity. Beyond her non-binary gender expression, she still identifies as a female.
Prompt 2
This artifact reveals the truly boundless expectations of gender expression. Her character implements the notion that being female is just a biology, it doesn't define what it means to be who you are. There's not a quality in her character that reinforces the traditions of femininity. I believe that the writer chose to create her character this way with full intentions of pushing back the traditional ideas of gender expression. She is a young girl doing what she loves and knows best which happens to go against the grains of what it meant to be a young girl in medieval times where sex was the basis of self-expression.
Prompt 3
This representation of gender has definitely influenced the way I think and express my own gender identity. I am a female who enjoys fulfilling feminine qualities but also fulfilling some masculine qualities. A lot of my gender expression is represented through the way I dress. I often times wear a mixture of masculine and feminine clothing and I often times wear more of either. This representation of gender identity, and many like it, has taught me to do what I want for the sole purpose of satisfying no one else but myself and staying true to who I am.
Prompt 4
Using Wendy Griswold's cultural diamond, the cultural artifact is Arya Stark from the TV series "Game of Thrones." The social world in which she exists is the fictional place called Westeros during medieval times. The creators are George R. R. Martin, David Benioff, and D. B. Weiss. Their intended audience is people of the 21st century, who have a more progressive perspective on social schemes, that may find interest in the producers' version of this medieval social world.
I am familiar with this show too and I love that you were able to use her to represent a female outside the binary gender. I think this character conveys a meaning to women that we too can do "manly" tasks and duties just as well as they can. This character breaks that normal tradition that females are obligated to do house chores, motherly duties, wear dresses, etc. Just because we are a female does not mean we have to express ourselves in a feminine way. Arya chooses to do what she enjoys including sword fighting, killing, etc. which challenges the traditional gender expression of femininity as woman. I especially like the point you made about how being female is just a biological concept, it doesn't define the person we are. We all have the ability to become whoever we want to be and like whatever we want regardless of what gender we may be.
ReplyDeleteAs a really huge Game of Thrones fan myself, I can see how Arya breaks the stereotypes. You explained it perfectly in your blog: how she has a more masculine haircut, isn't very lady-like, and is a fighter. I remember in the show, her mom tries to tame her into becoming a lady, but she really insisted on learning how to sword fight. Her dad gave her the opportunity to train as a fighter and seeing a little girl sword fight completely breaks the feminine stereotypes. Arya stark is a powerful woman.
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