Voicing Rhetorics of Beauty

I. Rhetoric

            We talked in class about culture as disability, about how culture can disable individuals and groups. The qualities that are considered “abling” (or empowering or desirable) in a culture are only definable because of the absence of these qualities. Therefore, any created culture necessarily shuts some people out; it “teaches people what to aspire to and hope for and marks off those who are to be noticed, handled, mistreated, and remediated as falling short” (McDermott and Varenne). Modern Western culture is a culture of consumption; many of our abling judgments are based off the concept of consumption through vision (Garland-Thomson 29). Two valued abilities in our culture are the abilities to see, and the right, legitimizing ways to be seen; the ability to consume, and the ability to be consumed. In this essay, I’ll argue that beauty—as the standard to which the objects of vision and consumption are held—is disabling, that modern concepts of disability can be read as beauty, and that the conflation of these constructs can yield empowering results.

                                 Claiming the Stare: Jes Sachse and the Transformative Potential of Seeing

  We all love to look. While staring is most commonly thought of as an act to be avoided or ashamed of, Disability and Women’s Studies Scholar Rosemarie Garland-Thomson argues that the stare at its best actually has the potential to create new meanings and more open societies.  The stare as Thomson defines it, has the potential to help us redefine the language we use to describe each other and ourselves, create space for the often-excluded in communities, and craft our own identities. The stare is most dynamic and productive when the subject of the stare, the staree, is able to wield some control over the interaction and in doing so present their story to the starer.

            Mark Twain once said, “Clothes make the man, naked people have little or no influence on society.” If this is true, and clothes really do make the man, then what happens when clothes make the man a woman, or vice versa? If the main function of clothing is to literally cover up or hide our sex, then the main focus of fashion is to exploit our gender. The clothes we wear let the outside world know who we are, and there is a lot of room to play. Men can become queens, women can be kings, and with androgyny, it can all be left a mystery.

            The way we dress gives an immediate impression of who we are to the world. Throughout history, from fairy tales to historical figures, fashion has undoubtedly played a major role in defining and exemplifying our gender roles in society. From the Hippies of the past to the Hipsters of today, our culture is built on individuals using fashion as a means to explain and exhibit personal beliefs to society.

Grey Matters: Age as Disability through the Lens of Sexuality

Lee Wacker

10/1/11

PPPPP Gen/Sex

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            I choose to explore my current understanding of en-abling the intra-action of gender, sexuality, and disability by looking at a series of images done by photographic artist, Nina Berman. I actually saw this photo series in New York City in 2010 at the Whitney Museum of American Art’s 2010 Whitney Biennial.

            Before I entered into the exhibit space for, marine wedding, there was a warning sign, largely printed and strategically placed for viewers to take note of. The sign foretold of graphic, violent and disturbing imagery. I ignored the sign and forged ahead into the room. There were very few people examining these images. Other rooms in The Whitney were packing with visitors for the Biennial’s hot young artists and eye-catching displays but this room was near vacant. I entered the room with my mom and found that almost immediately she decided she didn’t want to look at these images. There was something about the nature of these images that discomforted her enough to leave the room.