This World is too Global to be Much Good at Sharing

  With all this said, I would like you to think about whether you know any other cases when traditional clothes found new application. And to what extend or where/when it is respectful to adjust or utilize these clothes pieces?


The easiest way I can think to approach this topic is by asking: who is profiting from the sharing of this culturally emblematic dress? 

If a Japanese designer began to market kimono or kimono-inspired clothing to westerners? I don't think many would take issue with that, barring perversion of the cultural elements. But unfortunately, it doesn't stop there. Even if a Japanese designer creates a trend and makes a profit for themselves, those who profit most off of the trend are still the mega-fashion companies--the H&Ms, Urban Outfitters (ugh), Targets, etc. Those companies are appropriating Japanese clothing and culture without regard to the importance or lack thereof that it has. It's not really their fashion to use, but they will and have. As a consumer, you can make the decision to make sure that you purchase from the Japanese designer...but very few people who see you wearing the trend will know that you went to that trouble, and will just see the trend catching on.

I'm having trouble thinking of positive examples of this sharing, at least on a large scale. Like anything, if you buy a culturally representative item from an artist on etsy, say, or in a shop while visiting the country of origin, and the people of the culture benefit from the sharing of their culture and you treat the item respectfully, great! But more often than not, mega designers have no regard for the importance of cultural emblems and are only interested in the $$$

This has been an issue of contention with modern designers by the Native American community for some time. 
https://medium.com/@a.deroche/appropriation-of-indigenous-culture-in-the-fashion-industry-6f02387ebd26

Meanwhile Native designers feel compelled to make their artwork focused on those culturally emblematic items due to expectations of consumers.

“I don’t want to present this false façade that there’s a story behind it. I don’t rely on that as an artist. Because sometimes there’s not, sometimes it’s just fucking cool! If I happen to use my culture, by all means I’ve been blessed, but I don’t want individuals to be fooled in the sense that this is only where Native Americans get their inspiration. Because it’s not. We don’t rely on, ‘What does this mean?’ But if it has nothing to do with my culture, people tell me it’s not Native enough. Can’t the necklace just be cool?”
https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/native-american-cultural-appropriation/

So other companies are profiting of their design elements, with no sort of payment for the appropriation to the communities. And the artists within them feel constricted by the expectation to only produce culturally specific art. It's a lose lose.

However, small scale? I fully support buying from local artists when travelling abroad, and wearing those pieces when I return home. That seems appreciation to me. I will say thought, those pieces are almost never part of a trend. That's when you can't tell who is benefiting and who is exploiting.

Contacts = A Racket

My worry regarding the plan of Gov. Edwards immediately goes long term. I can see multiple consequences to this. Firstly, there is the slippery slope of the requirement to report a status of a medical test. HIPPA laws be damned, I guess. Moreover, take how the job breakdown is treated in different industries. In customer service,"front-facing" are usually those with better opportunities for pay and advancement. How would this discrepancy play out during the pandemic? Would those with immunity be in high demand? Would people expose themselves hoping to get immunity and thus higher pay? (They would.)
In other industries, the less you deal with the public, the higher status you have. How would that impact financial decisions like pay and benefits, long term?


What happens when cybernetics and prosthetics need to be upgraded every couple of years?
Well, for one, this absolutely will happen. Take contact lenses, even, as an example of how it kinda already has. First of all, that you need a yearly prescription for something that is specific to you and not a drug? Complete racket for insurance money from requiring yearly exams. Contacts have a much longer shelf-life than any box suggests. We have already found ways to profit on the need to keep cyborgs "updated." Glasses weren't as easily disposed of. 
So, really, I think this will happen for other areas in exactly the same way. Software and hardware updates will be required with a fair amount of frequency, but each individual update will not be so cost prohibitive as to deter those who can from obtaining a new limb or implant. In my view, the cybernetic feature would slowly become obsolete if one could not afford to update--buying time to find a non-cybernetic alternative or save for the subscription again. I can't imagine the system will look blatantly intended to screw anyone by design. I think, like all of our innovations of recent decades, the reliance on these technologies will, slowly but surely, become so widespread and ingrained that living without them will at some point seem impossible, much like smart phones now. 

I did not want to be made of puppy-dog tails and that was my core opinion regarding what being a boy meant.

I don't know the answer to the first question. Alex's decision highlighted the choice they had to make just to be recognized for their work and put a real face on what had previously been a hypothetical, at least at the national awards level. I need to read more debate on this, cause this ain't easy.

Sexism is so ingrained within our society, where the gender binary reigns, that if we eliminate gendered categories altogether particularly in judging already subjective art, I fear that male identifying or presenting people will benefit and feminine expression will be deemed less impressive--unless of course, it's a male-identifying actor putting on feminine traits for a role. 💁 

Take the Oscars. We can see how it plays out. Best Director? Women aren't nominated. Best Film? Films about women are anomalies and don't get the nods. We know Academy voters operate on the honors system, so they are not made to watch every movie nominated. Some older voters refused to even watch Get Out, saying it wasn't an Oscar kind of film. So, if we move to "Best Performer in a Drama," or "Best Performer in a Comedy," please. We already know how that will play out. Women get recognition for performance because they have a category where men are excluded. Sure, you'd probably get women nominated for performance, but when it comes down to give the awards out, that actress must be undeniably better than the dudes, or she's not getting the award, and Meryl Streep cannot be nominated every year. 

Best Actor in a Male Role?

Best Actor in a Female Role? 

That feels gross somehow too, but I think it's a little? better? to force characters into a gender binary than it is to force actors to choose which gender best represents them when "neither of those" is the answer. But, ideally, non-binary people will be also to see more representation of themselves in characters who are-non binary. So then??

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For fun, Manny this is hard! My first instinct when thinking about how to cast gender "neutrally" is apparently just to cast all women and make it gay, which...is not. the point. of the prompt.

I barely have dream roles with how little theatre I've read before this year, so dream roles + traditionally played by men? I've got ...?😂 Uh...when I was little I was obsessed with the Newsies. I found the one female character to be pretty boring, so when playing I used to pretend all the Newsies were girls and I was Jack Kelly*. we'll go with that!

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I don't have clear memories of being taught to preform gender, and a smattering of lessons on that I didn't have to. Honestly, the strongest and youngest memory I have of the concept of gender is the rhyme: Girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice, Boys are made of snips and snails and puppy dog tails. 

I do remember protesting being put down for being a girl pretty young, by boys in school. I do remember a few times as a kid where people were surprised I enjoyed traditionally "boy," things, but my parents never encouraged or discouraged any type of play. So that was a silently taught lesson on performance: You don't have to be a boy to enjoy things that boys like. You don't have to change to like what you like. That's probably not an uncommon experience. My parents didn't teach me what girls had to be like, though they silently showed me what girls are like by simple things, like putting me in dresses. I liked dresses fine, so never got the chance to become and issue. I liked being active and playing sports, which for my dad born in 1931, would not have been outside the realm of possibility that he could've objected.  But he didn't, so it wasn't

I sometimes think my sisters and I were lucky that we didn't have brothers. My dad always did the activities and sports with us when we were kids since my mom worked more, and they put is in everything-soccer, softball, basketball, dance, skiing, horseback riding, gymnastics, swimming, cheerleading, volleyball, track, etc. My dad always came to the practices and games and would coach on occasion. I've wondered if we would have had all of those things with my dad if he'd had any sons. I think so... I remember a lot of lessons of "girls can do anything boys can do," though I do think that if I'd had brothers, my dad would likely have shut down any traditionally "feminine" play that they could have enjoyed. I was active and tomboyish and that was always ok. But it's generally safer for women to have interests outside of what is considered typical for their gender, because interests outside of their gender are generally thought of as better interests. It's not usually cool the other way. 

This went on a tangent! 

I can't think of how I use my gender to my advantage, honestly, other than things that are built in to the function of society, like...my insurance bills are probably lower? I've likely benefited from Affirmative Action more than people it was designed to benefit. On an interpersonal level, I can't really think of much. I am proudest of my qualities that are associated with the feminine, like empathy and care-taking, and that gets me more out of my relationships and no advantage, really, from society.

*...improving on Christian Bale was apparently a goal I had set for myself young...Smart, Kaitlin. Smart.

So much bread

In the initial weeks of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, I’ve seen a lot of performing quarantine on social media. A LOT. And a few years ago, somewhere around Charlottesville, I had decided facebook was too much for me and promptly unfollowed any actual person, my feed becoming almost entirely food or animals or theatres. Only a couple people are on my feed now, so I can’t even imagine the level it’s gotten to with everyone being online now, and those that are subjected to hundreds of people’s opinions and performances during this time. I’m already dealing with growing levels of annoyance with everyone’s performing of baking bread.

Some ways of performing quarantine are positive, but I’m personally alarmed at the level of plucky, let’s pick it up and keep going attitude some people seem to have. I’ve seen a lot of what seems like new business ventures, with others shifting their established businesses online, and there is something really impressively depressing about America’s addiction to the grind. Even in a pandemic, some people are so accustomed to constantly doing that for many there wasn’t even a pause.

Of course I’m making generalizations. There are others who, like me, tell people to be easy on themselves and we are all in uncharted territory, it’s ok to behave as such. Many more who are just trying to keep going as best they can, and I think all our reactions contain some combo of the three. But it seemed as though before we, as a society, mourned our lives changing, so many of us sped up as if to pretend there wasn’t anything to mourn at all.

In terms of performed citizenry, one activism campaign that I’ve been following is Never Again Action, a group of Jewish anti-ICE activists protesting the concentration camps in our country. Their tactics before the pandemic were pretty typical to civil disobedience—blocking traffic, offices, etc. One member was runover by ICE during a protest. So now, they can’t take their activism to the streets as they always have. How do they perform it?

For the last several weeks, they’ve been organizing car protests, surrounding ICE facilities in their vehicles, protest signs taped to the sides of their cars, demanding all people trapped inside be released. Their shift was near-immediate, but there is an urgency there—of course they have to keep going just as strongly! Most of us don’t.

I’m trying to find balance but the performances I’ve seen from many of my peers has made me feel like pushing back against it. Meme culture has been a saving grace—performing emotions via images that are not necessarily personal, but very relatable is somehow more palatable to me. Thanks Henry for the reminder!

The theatres that I follow that have done really fun things, like living room zooms of classic works, however, have been really inspiring. I think for me, there is little value to individuals performance of quarantine. That’s where I get glazed over. But in terms of how arts organizations, human rights organizations, and other move their way forward, that’s where I’m looking. I’ve been heartened to see many artists providing free events online. That’s the encouragement I need—acknowledgement that things are different right now, not trying to keep them the same.

Tamara and Tamara and Tamara

A few years ago Quantum Theatre in Pittsburgh put on a production called TAMARA. It was an immersive show set in Fascist Italy. A temple housed the production, and was meant to be a villa in the Italian Countryside. The audience was treated to a catered meal at intermission, as part of the ticket price.

The experimental aspect was a lot like Sleep No More. Audience members could choose what character to follow, what story they were most interested. And then the actor moved off, audience members that were hooked in tow, and off they went throughout the house. You could follow the villa's guests or it's staff and certainly, get a very different telling of the story, depending. It was quite a lot like venturing into a large scale version of Clue. Twists and turns abounded, not just from the hallways and stairwells, and no character was who they initially appeared to be at the offset.

Skeptical audience members didn't like the idea of TAMARA because it would not allow them to see "the whole" production. Theatre traditionalists complained because in order to get all of it, they would have to buy multiple tickets, they reasoned. But from my experience, the people who attended found that complaint silly--they got a "full" story--it just wasn't the same one for each person. 

Quantum did a similar production last year that I was involved in. It was less successful, and definitely a cash grab ;)