SEMINAR DESCRIPTION

This course will surface the ways in which LGBTQ+ people and communities have impacted the ways in which mainstream American culture has been shaped by cultural production derived from thinking that challenges heteronormativity in post-World War II America until the validation of same sex marriage in 2014 Through the lenses of queer theory, evolving queer history, Since the emergence of “homosexuality” and “transsexuality” as identities in the late 19th century, queer culture has been presumed to develop in the margins of American life, ancillary to and shaped by heterosexual norms. Yet, the vast majority of queer people in the last hundred years have lived (to at least some degree) in the closet, allowing them to exist in the mainstream while maintaining a distinctly non-normative identity. Thus, to quote bell hooks, allowing them "to bring the margin into the center." In 15 meetings over the course of the semester, through lectures, discussions, texts, slides, films and video, we will explore the ways in which transformative integration of queer designs for living have occurred. Highlighting pivotal events and shifts in American cultural, political, and creative history this course will provide food for thought about the ways in queerness is integral to American notions of progress and freedom.

Monday, March 18, 2024

Sam U. March 14, 2024 "Further Research Conducted for my Online Exhibition"

Ultimately, the topic I wish to cover for my online exhibition is the subject of the different types of reconstructive surgery that are available for trans people to undergo to alleviate gender dysphoria. As well as learning how the development of such surgeries came to be in the medical field.

It is no small feat to perform a whole gential reconstruction and other aspects of plastic surgery without having to face some bumps along the way. Surgery is a big process and has many risks to it. Compared to today’s standards, medical procedures performed back then had little to no precautions for hygiene practices. This of course leads to infections which would then lead to death. So when the trans community wanted to make advancements in the medical field to advocate for gender affirming surgery, the medical field had to come up with several techniques to get the results they wanted with minimal issues. 


Again though, surgery is hard to do and undergo, so medical practitioners had to come up with several new surgical procedures and have the patients willing to undergo such experimentation and risky procedures. This leads me to remember a film called “The Danish Girl” which was loosely based on one of the first ever trans women to undergo gential reconstructive surgery. She was made aware of the risks and potential death this procedure could have, yet she insisted on having it. It was difficult to even find a doctor to perform such a procedure as it was risky and deemed unnecessary as doctors at the time still held biased conservative standards against their patients. 


Only when she traveled to different countries to find a doctor willing to perform the surgery did she have the procedure done. This was the first break in trans health procedures where a doctor was able to construct a vaginal canal on a trans woman. Unfortunately, the procedure was too harsh on her body as infection took over and claimed her life (not based on real life). Yet her courage advocated for further research to be done on the development of trans health to the point that it can now be performed seamlessly and safely in today’s era.


The tragic true story behind The Danish Girl

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Erika Bauer - Final Project

 Link to my final project https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/10M3X31MtgSnCAicMzf6pDhINFAjSNRaGX8BJnh3_9Eg/edit