Melissa and Miranda's Takeaways

 

    Melissa is an incredible, welcoming, and charismatic character to use as an example (not an exemplar) to help any child struggling with their gender identity.

     Although Gino only writes from one perspective, they capture what I believe to be very poignant reflections on identity and finding that identity through adolescence. What I appreciate MOST about Gino's writing is the way they captured Melissa's feelings about her identity through feelings. Gino puts words to the feelings of genderqueerness, which would give transkids the language to express the feelings of discomfort within their bodies. On pages 89 and 90, the conflict of gender is described through the medium of sensations. "'I'll bet he read the stupid spider's part by mistake!' Jeff smirked. 'he's such a freaking girl anyway...' but George stood, stuck in place. The hairs on her arms stood straight up, and the back of her neck tingled." Melissa experiences the rushes of confirmation of her gender from the bullies, then the shame of it being seen as 'wrong', and then the fear of coming out or being forced out. When Gino writes these experiences somatically, it helps kids understand their feelings and relate to the conflict that may be present within their own minds. 

    As someone with an AFAB brother. I loved this book. I felt like it encapsulated that experience and that struggle growing up. It takes great courage to come out as trans, especially as a kid, and especially now. I remember taking the time to educate my parents on my brother's preferences, his pronouns as they evolved, and his chosen name as he was finding it. There are times when I worry about him. I worry about the disproportionate amount of violence that he will face. I worry about how he's perceived by my family. especially the older generation. I worry about making sure he's comfortable in what he wears and what he does to express himself. But I ultimately know that he will be okay. He has the confidence and the courage to start forging his own path. Some might consider Melissa's mom a transphobe, but part of me understands her hesitation. There are worries. I have worried them. I think Melissa's mom could have been more supportive, yes, but ultimately there are greater concerns about protecting her child from violence than being transphobic.

    I think there are many takeaways from this course. But the biggest thing I can think of is this: reality makes you smarter. When we censor other realities we promote a culture of ignorance. We limit resources that may help others, we prevent perspectives from marginalized voices, we allow the spread of misinformation. Banning books is an act of censorship. Especially when they are being banned for reasons as shallow as 'diverse content' or 'sexually explicit.' Books are banned to continue a social hierarchy that is present in America. Books that challenge that hierarchy are banned because they threaten a status quo and threaten white-cis-male perspective that is present throughout so many American novels. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why Ban Bronx Masquerade?

As I was reading Nikki Grimes’ Bronx Masquerade, I could not figure out why this book was banned. While I am vehemently against the idea of banning books as a whole, usually I can at least identify why some parties want to censor certain stories. I understand why The Color Purple was banned by conservative forces for its depiction of sexual assault and homosexuality even if I believe that those things have no right to be censored by interest groups with no connection to those experiences. Bronx Masquerade perplexed me, however, as most of its more mature themes are in the background. It did not linger on some of these heavy topics in a way that I thought could lend some to censor it. The bulk of the story explores the writings of Mr. Ward’s students. While many have tragic backgrounds that deal with heavy topics, they are all referenced and referred to in the past tense. None of these darker ideas are lingered on or shown in the present like in The Color Purple. For example, one of the
Read more

Charlotte is Dead and Why That is Real

 Here is the first passage I read from my copy of George . It is the last statement of the FAQ (AOTAWTS). (It should be understood that Alex is talking explicitly as the author.) It is the last page of my copy before the About the Author section. I recommend reading all of this section. " I'm so glad I understand transgender people now. Okay. This isn't a question, but I'm adding it here anyway. George is only one story. It is the story of a white, middle-class transgender girl growing up near New York City, written by a white, middle-class genderqueer person who grew up on Staten Island, New York. Every transgender story is different, just as we are all different. Race, money, disability, and other realities further impact these differences . I will add that you don't need to understand someone to respect them, so while I'm glad you have a greater insight into Melissa's experience, I hope you also learned from Mom, Kelly, Scott, Jeff, Rick, Ms. Udell, amd
Read more

Two Main Insights for CRT Dialogue

1. Banning books is a way to push the white supremacist agenda, as seen through the case in York, PA when they banned 270+ books about black and brown experiences. This was also demonstrated through the specific banning of The Hate U Give for reasons such as youth activism and revolution.  2. Keeping books on separate shelves makes people feel invalidated about their life experiences, whether that includes their sex, gender, race, or sexuality. This is especially prevalent for young minds that are not fully developed, because if they see themselves as "other," they will begin to believe it. 
Read more