A cross-cultural encounter is often times a difficult experience, as I have found traveling around the world (to China, Britain, Italy, and Germany); you lose your comfort zone and at the same time become very curious about this new and interesting person you have been introduced or exposed to. I decided that I wanted to study the transgendered/transsexual community to see if those that have been through the sex change process have discovered themselves entering into a different culture (i.e. male-culture v. women-culture). But, is this a cross-cultural experience for them as well; that is, is it even a culture? That is my exploration.
I watched a film last spring semester (2007) as part of my "Self and Society" class called "Southern Comfort" (2001), a story of a transsexual man, Robert Eads, who discovered he had ovarian cancer. The sickening aspect of his story is that NO DOCTOR would give him the operation, a seemingly common occurrence (malpractice) based on the experiences of other transsexuals in the film. They suffered through botched operations and first-hand discrimination, not to mention rejection from family members. Due to a kind of forced alienation, the group of friends found comfort among each other, giving and receiving love and support. So, why do I think this is important? As human beings, we all need interaction and attention, and physical touch if we are allowed it. When we are denied access to the majority, we form groups of our own, and create a sort of culture. We may have traditions that no one else has, interactions that no one else has, suffer together, eat together, become an extended family. If this is the case, as it appeared to be in "Southern Comfort" (2001) could the transsexual community arguably be a subculture of American culture, or of French culture, or Japanese culture, etc.? Since I had no idea of what these people went through (not necessarily all, I expect, have experiences quite like what I am referring to), I found "Southern Comfort" (2001) extremely hopeful and sad at the same time. It seems as though just when you discover that the world cannot possibly hate any more than it already does, someone such as Robert Eads finds himself in the most ironic situation, and still has room enough in his heart to love those around him.
I am not sure what I will find as I continue this project, but I do think that there will be some aspects of a new culture evolving in the transgendered/transsexual community. I hope to learn if that is and why that is, and could it be mostly because among themselves, they find the most understanding? For the most part, I want to understand their experiences in depth, and whether I discover that there is an evolving culture or not, it will be an experience that will teach me more about individual and unique human beings. As Lola, Robert's partner, remarks at the end of the film after his death, "Nature delights in diversity. Why don't human beings?"
~ Katherine Niemczyk
Sources -
www.planetout.com, 1995-2007, PlanetOut Inc. Electronic Document. http://www.planetout.com/images/popcornq/dbimages/s/southerncomfort.jpg)
1 comment:
I like how you describe immediately what a cross-cultural encounter entails. It is often times uncomfortable to think that when you come into contact with another culture you have to be stripped of your reassurance and comfort. Clearly, if you have become aware of this, you are already doing a good job of understanding your culture of study because you are aware of how much of yourself you have to give up and disconnect from. I imagine this is often the hardest part about learning about another culture and you have already accomplished it. I like how you are not necessarily studying one culture but you are studying what it is like to change cultures and what happens if people who have sex changes do not feel like they fit into the transgender/ transsexual community. It must be an uneasy feeling to feel disconnected from a culture. I really like how you describe how humans create their own culture. I never thought our culture in this way. I always assumed it was something we were born into. Forming ones own culture seems so simple now. It does not have to be so complex and does not even have to have a religion or strict traditions attacked to them. All a culture has to entail is human interactions with love and support. Just by reading your definition of culture, I have already changed the way I look at my own interactions and social relations with my friends and family. I think your study is a great way, as you mention, to learn about “unique human beings” and social interactions. I would love to know the answer to the question that Lola Robert’s partner poses, “Nature delights in diversity. Why don’t human beings?” And thus, could diversity be it’s own culture? No two people are ever the same. Thus, could diversity, while it is sometimes looked down upon and rejected, could it be the one thing that unites human beings? This would be interesting to study. I like your thoughts about gender being a black or white issue. This reality seems to exclude those who do not feel they connect with the gender they were born into or perhaps any gender at all. Why must people feel they need to live through and according to the norms if it alienates so many people? I choose to comment on this blog because I rarely see discussion about the topic of transgender or transsexuals. I think it is a topic that is often ignored and I thought it was interesting that you chose to study something that many people probably do not know about.
Post a Comment