Unaware that he is being watched, a Hasidic Jew massages his temples with his gnarled hands, alone and frustrated. Nearby, a food cart touting “Gyro over rice and Philly Cheese Steaks” overcrowds two women eating sandwiches by themselves, while a third woman angrily stares at two men blocking her exit off of the bus. In the corner, a hairdresser combs through her customer’s … [Read more...] about Alone, Together
Humanities
Dude, Where’s My Gender Fluidity?
It is a widely accepted notion in the Social Sciences that humans construct gender by performing culturally established gendered behaviors drawn from an existing repertoire, which either conform to or resist conceptions of masculinity and femininity. When carried out by a large number of individuals, these “performances” make up a social gender display that can reinforce, and … [Read more...] about Dude, Where’s My Gender Fluidity?
The Faces of Korean Beauty
Decades ago, the image of a typical Korean woman was very different from the doll-like faces plastered across cosmetics advertisements and popular Korean dramas1. But as Korean the economy prospered and a voracious appetite for Korean pop culture spread across the globe2, the faces of Korean celebrities grew to be admired by many women. These faces—all shaped delicately into an … [Read more...] about The Faces of Korean Beauty
Breeding a Serial Killer
The correlation of gender to identity fuels our current social structures, particularly patriarchy—a devastating and cyclical force that can transfer a tradition of dominance from father to son. The traditional institution of patriarchy can have sinister, and sometimes even deadly, consequences. In the fictional novel Zombie, by Joyce Carol Oates provides an insightful look … [Read more...] about Breeding a Serial Killer
Out of the Closet, Into the Comic
Homosexuality is a common theme in Japanese comics aimed at girls and women. One of the most popular girls' comic genres in Japan is “Boys' Love:” stories about love between men written by and for women. However, a rapidly-growing genre called yuri, or “lily” features romance between girls. Scholarship on queer sexuality in these Japanese comics examines the appeal Boys' … [Read more...] about Out of the Closet, Into the Comic