American Born Transgendered
Rough Outline of Project/ To-Do list
“Come take a walk on the wild side
Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain
You like your girls insane,
So choose your last words, this is the last time
Cause you and I, we were born to die”
Death is not the intent of birth. While death is eventual, the purpose of a a life granted is to live a full and meaningful life.
Forest Gump is the inspirational story of a boy, turned man, who accomplishes many signifigant achievements in his life despite being intellectually disabled.
WHAT:
For our “We Monsters” project, we will focus on the stories of transgendered people, three minimum. Their stories will be shared in the form of a digital picture book with members of the Baruch community through one, if not more, of the schools many social media outlets. The book will feature persons throughout various stages of their transition and some of their thoughts through their road of self-discovery.
WHY:
We feel that the story of a transgender person and the main characters in the graphic novel, American Born Chinese, parallel each other. They are both discriminated and ostracized based on physical appearance. The transformation theme is also evident in both stories and was a theme of the book which we all found to be interesting and important (as seen by our history presentations). The amount of ignorance towards Jin and transgender people is also a topic we which to address. Being that the project is entitled “We Monsters”, we will address the monstrous topic by including tales of heinous crimes committed against transgender people.
Our intention is to illustrate the struggles that the transgendered persons encounters within their family and in their public life . We realize that celebrities have embraced their true-self and have documented their experience. While we applaud their bravery, we intend to focus on the “average” person and document the stories we read in online forums, peer review articles*, and the book “Beyond Magenta: Transgender Teens Speak Out”. We also realize that celebrities are scrutinized and become the punchlines of late night television jokes but we feel that they have the financial means to isolate themselves or escape from media attention. The average person may not have the financial means and are heavily discriminated against, bullied and targets of hate crimes. We plan on including reports of crimes committed against people that identify as transgender and how certain states are introducing legislation in an attempt to infringe on their right of self-identification. For example, one of the battlegrounds is known as “bathroom laws”. That is, a percentage of the population that believes that the bathroom one uses should be based on the sex they were born with and not their identification. We will not fully explore the details of the legislation but we feel it is worth noting because the bathrooms at Baruch are gender identity specific. In other words, if you identify as a female but are born with male sex organs, you are free to use the women’s restroom. We hope that after the display of our picture book, the people we showcase will serve as an inspiration. We consider people that have courageously taken the journey towards self-sexual identity as strong, heroic people and we hope that our picture book will reflect our shared sentiments.
Please Note
“Transgender” is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity and/or gender expression differs from what is typically associated with the sex they were assigned at birth.
Mindy Bayless -Individual post
1- Group made graphic novel that comes in the form of a Chinese take-out container. When you open and unfold the box the book will be attached to the base of the container. The goal of this project would be to build on the dominant theme of transformation in American Born Chinese.
Shame is just one of the many themes in the coming of age, graphic novel, American Born Chinese. It touches each and every chapter in one aspect or another. The Monkey King was not good enough for the heavens party. Jin’s denial of his identity. The shame in not being able to reconcile one’s feelings about things not within their control. For instance, body odor. Everyone smells. Whether it be a positive natural scent or a result of poor hygiene, body odor is an uncontrollable part of life. For The Monkey King and Jin, a scenario with their own smell is tied to the very shame they seek to overcome.
We are introduced to The Monkey King, ruler of Flower-Fruit Mountain, at the beginning of the novel. We learn that he is unlike others of his kind. He is born of rock, skilled in kung fu, and has mastered the four major heavenly disciplines. Upon learning of a dinner party in the heavens, he confidently ascends to the heavens and waits for his introduction. Much to his dismay, the heavens guardian would not permit his admission because he was a monkey.. a monkey who hadn’t worn shoes. His humiliation exacerbated by the laughing of the party goers, he unleashes his fury and dishonorably returns to Flower-Fruit mountain only to make an unsettling discovery. “When he entered his royal chamber, the thick smell of monkey fur greeted him. He’d never noticed it before. He stayed awake for the rest of the night thinking of ways to get rid of it”. (Panels 2-3, pg. 79 e.b.) This stench only confirmed what the guardian had said. Above all else, he was a monkey.
Jin moved to the suburbs, at the age of nine, from a predominately Chinese community. Upon realizing that he was only 1 of 2 Asian students, in his new school, he was determined in separating himself from the Chinese culture. He avoided the Asian girl in his class and adopted his white peers mentality. Even when he eventually befriends the new Taiwanese boy, his desires remain constant. As the story progresses, Jin develops a crush on his blonde-haired classmate, Amelia. Unfortunately he lacks the confidence to talk to her and his best friend, Wei-Chen, volunteers to assist Amelia in taking care of the class pets. When Jin discovers the two locked in the closet, he successfully secures a date and finds short-lived confidence. With Amelia riding passenger on his handlebars, Jin realizes the journey to the movie theater has left him with a case of body odor that would keep him from making a move. “When my parents were growing up in China, neither of them had ever heard of- let alone used– deodorant, so it never occurred to them to buy such a product for me.”(panel1, pg 320, e.b.) As successful as he believed he had been in masking his identity, not having access to western hygienic products was a reminder of his foreignness.
The Monkey King and Jin have been confronted by their identities on their own accounts. The heaven’s guardian of made no mention to The Monkey King’s smell or even indicated that he had one. He was unwilling to accept his nature until was met with it consuming his home. Amelia did not appear to have picked up on Jin’s body odor. Even after he had returned with soapy pits, the smell would have only been masked and likely linger. The two share a similar shame in their discoveries as the cause of their smell is linked to their identities. We lack any evidence in determining whether or not The Monkey King bathed, so we can assume that he would smell no different than any other monkey. Jin is more likely to have bathed regularly, but body odor occurs when one does not apply deodorant. The Monkey King could have bathed if had chosen. Flower-Fruit Mountain is surrounded by water, as shown in his descent. While he might have had a smell, it would differ from other monkeys. Comparably, Jin could have purchased his own underarm deodorant. When he sniffs his arm pits (panel 1, pg 315, e.b) this provides us with evidence that this is not his first encounter with b.o.. In all of his attempts to blend in, you would think that he would have considered asking his parents to buy him some. Because his parents were kept in the dark about the date, we know that he paid for it on his own and could have purchased it himself. Overall, these situations could have been avoided.
The scenes of their discovery share some similarities but are considerably different. It is evening when The Monkey King comes home as is met with a dark and smelly room. Rather than letting some of the moonlight in, he shrouds himself alone in this darkness. Consumed with shame, he allows it to motivate him. While Jin is battling with his body odor in a dark movie theater, the arrangement allows him to hide his shame from others. He is able to enjoy himself and find confidence, as well as a “solution” to his problem. Because Jin has spent much time consciously denying his identity, he is considerably less affected than The Monkey King. He has never thought of himself as an actual monkey.
I believe that Gene Luen Yang included these scenes to emphasize how we often experience shame as a result of our own mistakes. And that the greatest shame is the ones we inflict upon ourselves.
Warm bodies is a book/film about a zombie, named R, who falls in love with a human girl. The more time he spends with her, the more human he begins to feel and look human. While the story is a romantic comedy/horror, the idea of coming down with a case of necrophilia is a little unsettling. Nevertheless, I would gladly serve my flesh on a silver platter to the mildly decayed R (Nicholas Hoult).
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kCHz6y_B2Nc/UQtyym8XD0I/AAAAAAAAqB8/HhhVcaXM_QA/s1600/warm-bodies.jpg
“When I was thirteen years of age we all went on a party of pleasure to the baths near Thonon; the inclemency of the weather obliged us to remain a day confined to the inn. In this house I chanced to find a volume of the works of Cornelius Agrippa. I opened it with apathy; the theory which he attempts to demonstrate and the wonderful facts which he relates soon changed this feeling into enthusiasm. A new light seemed to dawn upon my mind, and bounding with joy, I communicated my discovery to my father”
In chapter 2, Frankenstein recalls his youth as being defined by his pursuits for knowledge. However, unlike most children, he yearned to discover life’s hidden secrets. His ambitions unfulfilled, it was upon strange coincidence that he stumbles across that would bring him the epiphany he so greatly desired.
“One night during my accustomed visit to the neighbouring wood where I collected my own food and brought home firing for my protectors, I found on the ground a leathern portmanteau containing several articles of dress and some books. I eagerly seized the prize and returned with it to my hovel. Fortunately the books were written in the language, the elements of which I had acquired at the cottage; they consisted of Paradise Lost, a volume of Plutarch’s Lives, and the Sorrows of Werter. The possession of these treasures gave me extreme delight; I now continually studied and exercised my mind upon these histories, whilst my friends were employed in their ordinary occupations. ”
In chapter 15, The Monster, continues to recall what would be considered his youth. Because of his insecurities, he lives as a silent observer to the Delacey ‘s. He spends his days learning from and secretly helping the impoverished family. Without any intention, he discovers 3 great works of literature that would have a profound impact to him.
There are obvious similarities and differences to the discoveries of Frankenstein and The Monster. They were accidental discoveries that effected both in such a way that they had never known. Frankenstein, despite his fathers dismissal of the treasure, was brought joy and motivation. The Monster had no one to share his discoveries with, therefore he had way to reconcile the feelings of pure joy with those of dejection.
The literary value of their discoveries is another example. The works of Cornelius Agrippa had, at some point, been of philosophical value but was now seen as “sad trash”. Because the works had been long since disproved, one might consider it’s contents “fiction” or “fantasy”. However, because his father had not taken the time to explain this to him, Frankenstein viewed this as a literary truth. Conversely, unbeknownst to The Monster, “Paradise Lost” and “Sorrows of Werter” (the books he felt most impacted by) are respected works of fiction. He read these with the same regard that he had with the works he studied from the Delacey’s.
