5 Fun-ish Facts About Gender Roles
Ever since human gender has been a thing, the timeline of which is debatable, there have been certain expectations and roles which make males and females do things differently. Some of these make sense, such as giving birth being a mostly female only job. The rest, honestly, don’t make a lot of sense at all. This is because humans are incredibly weird, and have divided the species in completely arbitrary ways. Even weirder is that when some humans do certain things, other humans become incapable, or at least unwilling, of doing something they may have previously enjoyed. For example, as we will see, things that were popular among men quickly die out when women start doing them as well. Why is this, you may ask? Nobody knows yet. But here’s some examples of this strange phenomena surrounding ‘gender.’
#1:
Before World War 2, women rarely shaved their legs, as it wasn’t ever expected of them. Then, while almost all the men were fighting in the war, razor companies had no one to sell razors to. So, they started marketing them to women, causing it to be basically socially unacceptable not to shave your legs. Also, in the thirties and forties, fashion changed to show a little more skin, as well as shorter skirts and the rise of pin-up girls.
#2:
Before baby blankets were colored or in style at all, every baby in western civilization, no matter its gender, wore a white dress. This was for ease of changing, and for ease of cleaning with bleach. Over the course of time, this stopped, and babies began wearing blankets colored to supposedly match whatever gender the parents said it was. Female babies wore a gentle, light blue color, like the birds and the sky. Male babies wore a bright, bold pink color, for strength. Then, once again in World War 2, the pink triangle began being used for gay men in concentration camps in the same way the yellow star of David was used to identify Jewish people. Since then, the color pink has been seen as unmasculine and for girls, and gay men*, causing the color for baby blankets to also be switched.
#3:
Back in Persia, men wore high heels to make it easier to ride horses. To stand up and fire arrows, they used the heel of the shoe to secure their feet in the straps. Europe discovered this idea, and, like they do to everything, stole the idea for themselves in the name of meaningless fashion. Then the lower English class began copying the upper class, so the upper class made the heels even higher to assert their authority. Still, only the men did this, even though it was impractical and made it hard to walk. By the end of the 18th century, however, women had started using the style which ‘obviously’ meant men could no longer wear heels for fear of being feminine.
#4:
Around the eighteenth century, the way we view generally feminine things now used to be a sign of wealth. For example, lace was completely gender neutral for a while, as it showed that a person had the money to afford lace, which took a very long time to make and was thus extremely expensive. This fell out of style before the 19th century, however, as fashions tend to do after long periods of time. Crying, as well, used to be common and even expected of rich people, no matter what gender they were. If you didn’t cry at the theatre, you were of the lower class and didn’t understand the play.
#5:
Even being gay used to not be as big of a deal in almost every culture. Though it’s switched fairly frequently between ‘socially acceptable’ and ‘punished by death,’ the main attitude was one of insignificance. In other words, though it might be illegal, nobody really cared. It was very common in almost every ancient culture, spanning across the entire globe, with lots of ancient art depicting men together romantically or sexually having been discovered. In fact, it ended up being so common in Florence, Italy, that people in Germany started referring to ‘sodomites’ as Florenzers, and the French called homosexuality the ‘Italian Vice.’ Notable gay men from history include Florencian artists Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci, Greek king Alexander the Great, 19th century writer Oscar Wilde, Greek hero Achilles and his lover Patroclus, Roman conqueror Julius Caesar (occasionally), Greek philosophers Aristotle and Socrates, along with many others. To this day, some gay men are described as ‘Achillean’, much as lesbians are described as ‘Sapphic’, from the Greek poet Sappho.
*Another thing about the pink triangle that isn’t related to gender but is still important to know: Being gay was still a crime in Germany for many years after the holocaust. Gay men who had previously been in concentration camps were made to experience the rest of their sentence in jail, even though they had been ‘freed’ from the Nazi regime. Similarly, right now as of April 2017, in Chechnya (a small country bordering Russia) LGBT people are being round up and sent to concentration camps. It’s weird how things change so much and yet, at the same time, not very much at all.
Ever since human gender has been a thing, the timeline of which is debatable, there have been certain expectations and roles which make males and females do things differently. Some of these make sense, such as giving birth being a mostly female only job. The rest, honestly, don’t make a lot of sense at all. This is because humans are incredibly weird, and have divided the species in completely arbitrary ways. Even weirder is that when some humans do certain things, other humans become incapable, or at least unwilling, of doing something they may have previously enjoyed. For example, as we will see, things that were popular among men quickly die out when women start doing them as well. Why is this, you may ask? Nobody knows yet. But here’s some examples of this strange phenomena surrounding ‘gender.’
#1:
Before World War 2, women rarely shaved their legs, as it wasn’t ever expected of them. Then, while almost all the men were fighting in the war, razor companies had no one to sell razors to. So, they started marketing them to women, causing it to be basically socially unacceptable not to shave your legs. Also, in the thirties and forties, fashion changed to show a little more skin, as well as shorter skirts and the rise of pin-up girls.
#2:
Before baby blankets were colored or in style at all, every baby in western civilization, no matter its gender, wore a white dress. This was for ease of changing, and for ease of cleaning with bleach. Over the course of time, this stopped, and babies began wearing blankets colored to supposedly match whatever gender the parents said it was. Female babies wore a gentle, light blue color, like the birds and the sky. Male babies wore a bright, bold pink color, for strength. Then, once again in World War 2, the pink triangle began being used for gay men in concentration camps in the same way the yellow star of David was used to identify Jewish people. Since then, the color pink has been seen as unmasculine and for girls, and gay men*, causing the color for baby blankets to also be switched.
#3:
Back in Persia, men wore high heels to make it easier to ride horses. To stand up and fire arrows, they used the heel of the shoe to secure their feet in the straps. Europe discovered this idea, and, like they do to everything, stole the idea for themselves in the name of meaningless fashion. Then the lower English class began copying the upper class, so the upper class made the heels even higher to assert their authority. Still, only the men did this, even though it was impractical and made it hard to walk. By the end of the 18th century, however, women had started using the style which ‘obviously’ meant men could no longer wear heels for fear of being feminine.
#4:
Around the eighteenth century, the way we view generally feminine things now used to be a sign of wealth. For example, lace was completely gender neutral for a while, as it showed that a person had the money to afford lace, which took a very long time to make and was thus extremely expensive. This fell out of style before the 19th century, however, as fashions tend to do after long periods of time. Crying, as well, used to be common and even expected of rich people, no matter what gender they were. If you didn’t cry at the theatre, you were of the lower class and didn’t understand the play.
#5:
Even being gay used to not be as big of a deal in almost every culture. Though it’s switched fairly frequently between ‘socially acceptable’ and ‘punished by death,’ the main attitude was one of insignificance. In other words, though it might be illegal, nobody really cared. It was very common in almost every ancient culture, spanning across the entire globe, with lots of ancient art depicting men together romantically or sexually having been discovered. In fact, it ended up being so common in Florence, Italy, that people in Germany started referring to ‘sodomites’ as Florenzers, and the French called homosexuality the ‘Italian Vice.’ Notable gay men from history include Florencian artists Michelangelo and Leonardo Da Vinci, Greek king Alexander the Great, 19th century writer Oscar Wilde, Greek hero Achilles and his lover Patroclus, Roman conqueror Julius Caesar (occasionally), Greek philosophers Aristotle and Socrates, along with many others. To this day, some gay men are described as ‘Achillean’, much as lesbians are described as ‘Sapphic’, from the Greek poet Sappho.
*Another thing about the pink triangle that isn’t related to gender but is still important to know: Being gay was still a crime in Germany for many years after the holocaust. Gay men who had previously been in concentration camps were made to experience the rest of their sentence in jail, even though they had been ‘freed’ from the Nazi regime. Similarly, right now as of April 2017, in Chechnya (a small country bordering Russia) LGBT people are being round up and sent to concentration camps. It’s weird how things change so much and yet, at the same time, not very much at all.
How to Spend a Long Weekend: Top 4 Game Recommendations
#1: Inside
STORY: The basic plotline of this game could be a child exploring a world after some sort of apocalypse, and investigating a facility that might be government owned. But throughout the game there’s little mention of an entire cohesive storyline. It begins with the playable character, a young boy with a red shirt and no face, falling out of a pile of rocks. No plot, just go, and evade any other living creatures. If you get caught, you die, realistically and graphically. There’s no text or words whatsoever, so the only way to really understand the game is to complete it a few times and give it your best guess.
DESIGN: The game design itself is pretty simple, and hardly ever confusing. Since it’s very linear and 2.5D, the controls are a very simple left, right, and up, with an added ‘action’ button. There’s no fighting at all, so there aren’t any hard-to-remember combos or strategies. It’s mostly puzzle based, and if you find yourself struggling with a puzzle, then you’re probably overthinking it. The game also uses an even balance of atmospheric sound and environmental sound, which makes it very immersive. A lot of the time you could even hear the main character breathing. The sound was mostly comprised of just tones in the background, giving it an atmospheric vibe. However, even out of the context of the game it can be pleasant to listen to.
GRAPHICS: The graphics in this game are one of the reasons it’s one of my favorites. Even though the game is on a straightforward path, it feels deeply immersive and like there’s a real world inside the game that goes beyond where you can walk. Possibly the most unique feature of the style is none of the people in this game have faces. It’s a strange quirk, but it makes it that much more off-putting and unsettling, which is one of the themes of the game. The color palette also serves to that purpose, with minimal and desaturated color use. The only exception to this is the main character’s bright red shirt, providing a nice contrast of color to the dark world around him.
OPINION: This is definitely one of the best games I’ve experienced in a while, and probably my top game overall right now. My favorite element of it is the art style and how it works with the overall tones and unique atmospheres of the game, creating an experience I’ve never felt before. My criticisms are mostly along the lines of wanting to figure out more about the world you explore inside the game, so more story hints and different endings would have really made the game for me, unquestionably. Also, the ending of this game was really unexpected and surprising, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, I enjoyed it a lot as I felt that it fit in with the nature of the game in its entirety.
REPLAY VALUE: This game is only 2 or three hours long, so I’d highly recommend replaying it at least once. Not only that, but it’s a relatively confusing game that will require more looking into to in order to really understand it. I can’t guarantee that everything will make sense the second time, because it likely won’t, but things will make much more sense than when a player first starts the game. There’s also a secret ending that’s pretty complicated to achieve, and that requires going through the game a couple of times to find it. And even if you do find it, don’t expect it to clear up any mysteries, because if anything it makes everything more confusing.
PSYCHOLOGY: The effect that this game has on the player is normally one of mild discomfort. It can be scary at times, which has drawn a lot of people to it. But with this game, while it can get graphic and slip into the horror genre, it’s mostly just tense and uncomfortable, with the mystery of it all burning in the back of the player’s mind. When you’re playing it, you just want to understand it. You want to know more about the main character, where he comes from, why he’s here, etc., and you want to know why the world looks the way it does. You want to know what the title, ‘Inside’ means. You want to know where all of the other humans are, and why you’re alone, and what the mildly terrifying half-dead people are. Are they dead? Are you dead? Who knows? But that’s the reason you keep playing, and you’ll play it again, and then you’ll make other people play it, so that you can maybe hope to figure out what it ‘means.’ But does it really have to mean anything? It’s just a game, after all. It doesn’t have to have some deeper meaning. But it sure is fun to try.
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#2: Life Is Strange
STORY: This game’s main focus is the story and the development of the characters. It’s divided into five episodes, which were all released separately, and each has its own miniature story arc. The first episode is called Chrysalis and it introduces the setup of the game. The main character, Maxine Caulfield, has a nightmare of an impending hurricane and wakes up in her photography class. She goes to clear her head in the bathroom, and witnesses a girl get shot. She panics, and discovers that she has the ability to reverse time and thus save the girl’s life. The game then revolves around the time traveling mechanic to develop the plot and the story. Just a word of warning, the game gets more and more dark the further in you play, dealing with many ‘taboo’ topics that are rarely implemented in mainstream video games.
DESIGN: The game’s dependent on choices, which is a mechanic that a lot of games have been using lately. This ties in very well with the time travel aspect. Because of this power, you can make a decision that will affect the game, and if you dislike the immediate outcome, you can rewind time and redo the choice. The controls are fairly standard for most console games, so there’s no problems there. There’s no fighting in this game, either, so there’s no controls for that. The soundtrack of this game consists of a majority of indie songs, and not really the standard video game music. Music can be the most important part of a scene, and the main catalyst for any emotional response. This game uses this method often, and it will probably make the player cry at least once. This can be contributed directly to the music and heartbreak of the story.
GRAPHICS: The graphics in this game are beautiful, from the realistic yet stylized use of color to the textures and natural effects such as storms and water. All of the textures are hand-painted, making it the stylistic choice that stands out the most. It has a watercolor look to it, or as the developer says, ‘impressionistic rendering.’ It’s all in 3D, with an open world style. The settings and backgrounds are all designed perfectly for this game, and the use of colors and shading is what makes a lot of the story’s experience. In terms of graphical design, I’d say it’s one of the better games out there.
OPINION: I like this game a lot, mostly because of the aesthetic. It has simultaneously made me love and hate photography, and hipster indie culture in general, seeing as the main character is a hipster indie photography student herself. The other thing I really like about this game, in the brand of representation and deviating from the norm, is the fact that the main couple of the game is with two girls in an undeniable romantic relationship. But if you’re set against it then it is possible to avoid anything too romantic. That being said, that kind of representation is a good feature of this game. But there are a few criticisms I have of this game. First of all, the pacing can be very slow, making fetch quests become very tedious. My other criticism is that while it did have a lot of choices, there were only two endings, and you can chose either one without having them be affected by your previous choices. It’s also not very consistent with time travel, and it could have been done better. But despite its faults, this really is a good game, and I would say that it is worth anyone’s time.
REPLAY VALUE: This game is highly dependent on choices, which makes replaying it easily accessible, interesting, and, in my opinion, worth the time. The game makes it easy by keeping a log of every choice you make, and you can go back to those set points and continue the game from there to see what could happen with different choices. Though the choices don’t have a huge effect on the ending, the game is worth going through and experimenting with different choices. It all boils down to two separate endings, and you can choose whichever you want. Most players will choose to view both endings at the least.
PSYCHOLOGY: The drive in this game is to find the best possible outcome for every situation, which is one of the most basic human desires. With the added factor of time travel, this should be easy, and a very nice way to find satisfaction. Every single interaction can be rewound, and tried again, in order to get things right. Why can’t this happen in real life? Well because, as always, there are complications and consequences. Even in a world without immediate consequences, and the ability to undo anything that doesn’t turn out right, things can’t always go your way. This is a huge factor in how the game ends, where basically you have to choose whether or not to keep your powers. The player is forced to take responsibility for their actions. That’s what really impacts people, and keeps them thinking. Would you sacrifice one for the good of many? Or do some people’s lives matter more than others? Are your powers worth the cost? That’s for the player to decide.
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#3: Undertale
STORY: The game starts with the basic backstory of a war between humans and monsters, where the monsters lost and were sealed under a mountain for eternity. Many years pass, and a human arrives at the mountain. They trip, and fall into a hole leading to the realm of the monsters, or the underground. The meet a few monsters, but find that not of them are bad. In fact, it seems that none of them are anything but kind and caring. The human must then journey through the underground to find their way home, and possibly break the seal that’s keeping all the monsters down there along the way. They’ll meet many more characters, and unravel many mysteries, all in the hopes of someday leaving. How they go about it, however, is up to the player.
DESIGN: The music in this game is just fantastic. It has a retro sound to it, but still makes complex melodies and exciting battle music. The soundtrack is perfect for creating the mood, telling the story, and listening to in general. This game is huge on choices, and almost everything that you do will change an outcome, so be very careful how you play. The other thing that makes this game so unique is the fighting system. You basically must dodge projectiles in a typical ‘bullet hell’ style. But the really unique feature here is that you don’t have to fight back. There’s always the option to spare an enemy and show them mercy. The game’s tagline is ‘the game where nobody has to die.’ You don’t have to kill anyone, but you can, if you want to. The power is yours. Choose wisely.
GRAPHICS: This game uses a retro pixelated art style, but it’s in very clear, very good quality, which I really admire. It tries to replicate older video games but with a new, stylized take on it. There’s sprites for each character, with different expressions, actions, and emotions. The color, too, is great, with some scenes being fully colored and others black and white. It’s very effective to the mood and the atmosphere, which combined with the music can make you feel like you’re really there, despite the pixelated style.
OPINION: This is definitely one of my favorite games of all time. It forces you to have existential questions, wonder about the nature of humanity, question your own morals, rethink everything you know about games, and form real bonds with fake characters. Speaking of the characters, that is also one of the game’s strongest aspects. Every single NPC that you interact with will have something unique to say, and add things to the plot and the worldbuilding. And representation in both sexual orientation and gender is also a strong point with the characters in this game, such as many of them being genderless, as non-human monsters, and most use they/them pronouns. Both of the human characters in this game use they/them pronouns as well, and while people constantly debate their genders, saying that they are a boy or they are a girl, it’s not debatable that there’s as much evidence for them simply being genderless, or nonbinary, as there is evidence for any other characters being girls or boys. And the main characters are all so unique and genuinely entertaining, and even though they are monsters they all feel like real people, with real problems and issues and lives that you’ll be reluctant to destroy or determined to save. The only criticisms I have for this game is that there’s so many mysteries that go unsolved. But the mystery is part of the appeal, so I can’t really complain.
REPLAY VALUE: There’s no point to this game at all if you don’t replay it. In fact, the game quite literally forces you to replay it as part of the plot. It’s fairly short, only about eight hours depending on what the player wants to do. You’ll have to replay it a couple of times in order to get certain endings, and that’s just how it works. You can complete the game on what people call a ‘neutral run,’ and you’ll have to complete at least one of these to get the ‘true’ ending, or the ‘pacifist’ ending. There’s many different ‘neutral runs’, and these are the most common unless you already know things about the game. The third separate ending that’s possible is what people call the ‘genocide’ ending, or the ‘no mercy’ ending. This one is considerably darker, and I wouldn’t recommend this one until you’ve played the other two a few times. Experiment first, why not. Just be warned that the game will probably call you out on it.
PSYCHOLOGY: This part will be the hardest to write without spoilers, but here we go. The biggest theme in the game is, as can probably be guessed, pacifism and choices. What you do and say actually matters, and can hurt or help people. It’s your choice. This game depends very heavily on the stereotypes and general aspects of every video game, and enjoys giving them a turn. For example, you have stats such as LV. What’s LV, you ask? Just kidding, you didn’t ask. Everyone knows that stands for level, right? Not in Undertale. In Undertale, it stands for LOVE. That’s your first lesson in the game, that things don’t mean what you think they mean. But this is only one example of this game turning regular RPG tropes onto their heads. This game delights in the unexpected, which is why so many people like it. People want something new, and Undertale definitely fits that mark.
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#4: The Stanley Parable
STORY: This game starts off simply, explaining the plot with the voice of a soothing narrator. To summarize, you are Stanley. Stanley works in an office cubicle, and his job is merely pushing buttons. His computer tells him when to push the buttons, what buttons to push, and how to push them. It’s a pretty simple, easy life for Stanley. However, one day, Stanley is at his computer, but no orders come through. He hasn’t had to do a single thing all day. Come to think of it, none of his coworkers even showed up today. The office building is completely silent, save for Stanley’s narrator. It’s the player’s job to assist the narrator and Stanley in finding out what’s going on, and why today’s different than any other day, and possibly uncover not only corporate mysteries, but maybe the meaning of life.
DESIGN: This game utilizes minimalism in the sound department, at least as far as music goes. You don’t really notice it’s there at all, during the game, unless something exciting is happening and the music gets more intense. It’s all atmospheric, and real life sounds depending on your actions. Such as flicking a light switch, opening a door, etc. Then, of course, there’s the narrator, who really runs the show in this game. The narrator narrates exactly what you’re doing at all times, and can be funny, sarcastic, mean, goofy, and rude. He is definitely his own character, and you could argue that he’s the main character. His voice is a very nice, soothing British accent, and it feels like you’re being accompanied on this strange journey by someone who could either be a friend or an enemy. As far as gameplay goes, in this game you control Stanley with your standard PC controls, i.e. the arrow keys and mouse. If you look down, you can see that there isn’t really a Stanley, you’re just a floating camera. Which is a little unnerving, and the narrator will definitely point that out in some endings. The narrator will do a lot of different things, really, even though you never see him.
GRAPHICS: This game uses a pretty simple, realistic 3D modeled world. It doesn’t look lifelike by any stretch, but it still maintains a lot of realism. The main setting is a generic office building, so it’s really nothing fancy, but it suits the game’s needs very well. It’s a little bland and there’s nothing really unique about it, but don’t let that deceive you. This game is fantastic for many different reasons besides the graphics.
OPINION: I played the demo of this first, which was a delightful tour of how they made the Stanley Parable, with the narrator from the game guiding you through the virtual game facility. It felt exactly like what the game ended up feeling like, with all the surreal almost-horror that that entails. I really liked the vibes and sense of humor and surrealism that the demo had, so I bought the full game for myself, and it was very fun to play for hours on end. I enjoyed the need to explore a lot and satisfy my curiosity, with problems such as, I went through the left door last time, like the narrator told me, so what if I went through the right door? And then what? I have to try everything! To summarize, it’s a good time waster that will give you an existential crisis.
REPLAY VALUE: This is another game that must be replayed to have any value. Most of the time your game is very short, and then it puts you back at the beginning again. Every choice you make can lead to a different ending, whether it’s deciding to go through a different door, look in a different room, go up the stairs or down the stairs, listen to the narrator or ignore him, or even just stay in the broom closet for all eternity. But the main value of this game is trying everything until your curiosity can finally be satisfied.
PSYCHOLOGY: This game is just the sort of blend of humor, abstract thinking, genre blending, surreality, horror, and action that I personally adore. The major themes of this game are the need to rebel, and the need to fight control, which is what the narrator embodies. If the narrator says, “Stanley then went through the left door,” when you come across two doors, it’s likely that your impulse is to do the opposite, and not let anyone tell you what to do. But in this game, and in real life, that can get you killed. There are so many ways to die and/or lose this game. To get any real ‘good’ ending, try going against your instincts.
What is LGBT?
Have you ever heard the term LGBT, but didn’t quite know what it meant? Have you ever wondered if it was a type of sandwich? Have you ever felt too awkward, or like you’re being insensitive, to ask? Well, turns out it’s actually pretty simple, originating all the way back to the 90’s. Let’s go down the line.
The L stands for lesbian. This is a girl who likes girls and only girls, easy as that. The word ‘lesbian’ comes from a Greek poet named Sappho, a woman largely known for being a symbol of girls loving other girls. She was from the island of Lesbos, which is where the term lesbian comes from. Another word inspired by her is the term sapphic, which describes a lesbian. It is used as an adjective, for example a ‘sapphic girl’. Other words for this include wlw, which stands for women loving women, butch, which is a more masculine lesbian, femme, which is a feminine lesbian, and a lipstick lesbian, which is similar to femme. Dyke is also a word for lesbians, however this one is offensive and probably shouldn’t be used. For more information ask your local lesbian.
The G stands for gay, which is the most common word for the LGBT community as a whole. This word can mean different things to different people, but for most it means homosexual, or someone who is only attracted to their own gender. Another alternative definition that has gained a bit of traction is that gay simply means ‘not straight,’ because the LGBT community is constantly working towards ‘gay rights’ and ‘gay marriage,’ which requires a bit of a broader definition. Gay is also very similar to lesbian, however only girls can be lesbians. Girls can choose to label and identify themselves as gay instead, and it is completely up to them to decide. On the other side, a boy cannot call himself a lesbian. A boy who is attracted to only boys is gay.
The B stands for bisexual. There has been some debate on the exact definition of this, one being that a person of any gender is attracted to two genders, commonly being man and woman. The other definition is that a person is attracted to their own gender, and those not their gender. This definition acknowledges that bi is the latin root for two, while also keeping in mind that there are more than two genders. Bisexual is also often shortened to just ‘bi’. This sexuality can be misunderstood, dismissed as just a phase, thought of as not gay enough, or ‘basically straight.’ A common misconception lies in who a bisexual person may be dating. For example, consider a bisexual girl dating another girl. People might say she’s a lesbian, which she is not, this essentially denying her sexuality, and vice versa where if she were to date a boy people might not consider her LGBT. These are harmful stereotypes and can be combated by avoiding assuming someone’s sexuality, not ‘gate keeping’ the LGBT community, and not dismissing people’s identities.
The T stands for transgender. A transgender person is someone who doesn’t identify with the gender they were assigned at birth, the one the doctors said they were, which was then used to decide the color of the baby’s room. Fun fact about colors and gender, in the early 1900’s, pink was very masculine because it popped out and seemed aggressive, while blue was a soft, gentle, feminine color, and that was how babies were color coded with blankets after birth. The reverse being common is a relatively new thing. Anyways, there are many ways to be transgender. For example, some people are assigned male at birth, then transition to being a girl later in life, and vice versa. The degrees of transitioning as well as how much later in life it is vary greatly from person to person. Many people choose to go all the way and have full surgery, take hormones, and completely change their appearance. However, this is really expensive, and many more do not fully transition. This does not make them any less of their gender, and their names, pronouns, and what they are comfortable with should always be respected at all times. The experience of being transgender, trans for short, is different for everyone. The most reliable source for information about being trans is to ask a trans person what they think, while keeping in mind that their words will not hold true for everyone.
What is LGBTQIAPD?
In the previous article, we went over the first four letters of the LGBT+ acronym. To recap, the L is for lesbian, a girl who likes girls, the G is for gay, someone who likes the same gender, the B is for bisexual, a person who likes both or all genders, and the T is for transgender, a person who’s sex assigned at birth does not match their gender identity. For information on how to use these words it is always best to ask a person you know in one of these categories, and recognize that not everyone will agree with every definition or on what is alright and what is not. The full acronym, or at least the most complete one that I found, was LGBTQIAPD. That’s another whole 5 letters that need to be defined and discussed, and there may still yet be more. But we’ll just focus on these new ones, so let’s get started.
The Q stands for questioning, which is kind of self-explanatory, or it can more commonly stand for queer. This, next to the word gay, is one of the most broad and used terms for the entire community as a whole. If you don’t want to say the whole acronym, or the abbreviated version, then simply saying ‘queer’ is fine in most cases. However, this is one of those words that has been reclaimed. This means that it used to be a slur that invoked violence and very negative connotations, and used to be a very harsh insult. In general people in the community have reclaimed it and don’t see the usage of it as a problem, but older members of the community may still see it as a slur and would prefer it not to be used. This should be respected, and if someone tells you not to use it then you should never use it around them if at all. People have many different opinions on this word, so take the word of the people around you rather than this article if the opinions conflict. This is a general rule.
I stands for intersex. This is a biological sex similar to male or female, but cannot be categorized into either of those. It is not necessarily a gender identity, but rather something that is assigned at birth. This happens when sex characteristics don’t line up perfectly, and may have mixtures of both male-typical and female-typical anatomy. Besides anatomy, people can also have mixed up chromosomes, which people don’t get tested for unless there is an actual problem. This means that anyone could be intersex and live their whole lives without knowing it, which happens surprisingly often. The term for intersex used to be hermaphrodite, but this has fallen out of fashion for being offensive and inaccurate. Hermaphrodite means that a person is born both fully male and fully female. The sad thing is that if a baby is born obviously intersex, doctors will oftentimes perform surgery to ‘correct’ them, and this can cause lasting issues for the child both medically and mentally. It’s especially terrible if the child turns out not to identify with the sex they were medically altered to be.
The A in the acronym stands for asexual. It can also stand for aromantic or agender, but something that it does not stand for is ally. Allies are not a part of the community, and shouldn’t call themselves so, because they are straight and cisgender. Anyways, being asexual is to experience no sexual attraction to any gender. If you are straight or gay, for example if you are a straight girl, consider how you aren’t attracted to girls and what this feels like. This is how asexual people feel, just with all genders. It doesn’t mean that they are celibate, it doesn’t mean they can’t have relationships or fall in love, and it doesn’t mean that they will die sad and alone. Another important thing to note is that asexual is not a gender, as is, for some reason, a common misunderstanding. Asexual is often paired with aromantic, which is a romantic orientation. Romantic orientations were first explored with asexual people, because sometimes it is possible that a person will have no sexual attraction but will have romantic attraction. So an asexual person can be asexual and also biromantic, for example, if they are romantically attracted to multiple genders. However, many asexual people are also aromantic, which means they also don’t experience romantic attraction at all. Agender, mentioned earlier, is a gender identity that means basically having no gender, feeling like neither a boy or a girl, and not leaning in any way towards either.
The P stands for pansexual. The latin prefix ‘pan’ means all, so this orientation means that a person is attracted to all genders. From my understanding, it is a more modernized way of saying bisexual, acknowledging that there are more than two genders. However, many people choose to identify themselves as bisexual, either because they are only attracted to two genders or don’t want to go through the trouble of explaining what pansexual is every time they come out. Many people use this to mean they are attracted to people’s personalities, regardless of what they look like or what gender they are. The P can also stand for polysexual, which is when a person is attracted to more than one gender, but not all genders. Since there are many genders, being polysexual is not hard as people don’t have to be attracted to all genders.
The D stands for demisexual. This sexuality is kind of similar to being asexual, in that there is generally not a lot of sexual attraction. However, it is different in that attraction can develop over time, but before a strong platonic connection is formed there just isn’t any. This can be after two people have become close friends, and a demisexual person might suddenly develop attraction. A demisexual person wouldn’t look at strangers, for example, and become attracted to people in the way many others do. People can also be demiromantic, and have that paired with any other sexual orientation.
A Series of Unfortunate Events- A Review
The first season of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events came out Friday the 13th, January of 2017 on Netflix. It follows the three orphans Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire after their parents and their home burned in a tragic fire. They are placed in the care of their estranged uncle, Count Olaf, played by Neil Patrick Harris, who is a villain that will do anything to get a hold of the Baudelaire’s large fortune. The orphans end up passed around from guardian to guardian as the Count proves unsuitable, but he is never far behind with a disguise to fool the adults into letting him get away with his dastardly plans. Lemony Snicket, pen name of the author who wrote the original book series, is featured as a character and narrator played by Patrick Warburton, who you may recognize from roles in Emperors New Groove, Ted, and Family Guy. He follows them on their adventure as they are pursued by Count Olaf, dismaying over the tragic events that are his responsibility to tell.
Any review of this show would be lacking without a mention of the warnings that bombard anyone watching it. The theme song, sung by Neil Patrick Harris and titled ‘Look Away,’ paints a pretty clear picture that this is not for the faint of heart, as the subject matter can get very dark. Every episode opens with a warning, begging you to watch something else, something more pleasant. Sources have also said that this series is even lighter than the books, which says a lot about the nature of the books in question. Taking these facts into account, I would advise heeding the warnings, but watching anyway, because this show is a complete masterpiece.
It is hard to prescribe a genre to a show like this, with a blend of humor that doesn’t quite bring it to a comedic classification, with elements of a mystery that expands beyond the show, action and adventure scenes mixed in along the way. The overall appearance of it might remind a viewer of Tim Burton, with the bright colors artfully combined with gothic aesthetics and vintage appeals. It is also anachronistic, a word here which means it does not conform to any one time period and instead takes a blend of all you can think of. There are still rotary dial phones, mostly clothes inspired from the 20’s, 50’s, and 60’s, old film reels, as well as mentions of the internet, a suggestion to call an Uber, and other mentions of modern day life. Daniel Handler, the real author under the pen name of Lemony Snicket, has stated that it takes place in, ‘The Year of the Rabbit.’
In 2004 a movie was made of this series, however it did not do very well even then, as it attempted to combine the first three books together and still leave it with a satisfying ending in case they weren’t able to make a sequel. And there never was a sequel, though it didn’t get terrible reviews, just not great ones. There are thirteen books total, and, understandably, readers loyal to the books weren’t entirely pleased with the way the movie was made and the things that were changed, as book fans rarely are. The Netflix series, however, divided it into a two-episodes-per-book format, covering the first four books over the course of one season. The second season, presumably, will cover the next four books, and so on, until all thirteen have been developed. I haven’t ever read the books personally, however I am in contact with people who have and so far reviews have been overwhelmingly positive from long-time fans of the series.
This show is a must-watch, whether you’ve been following the Baudelaires for years or you’ve never heard of them. Book fans can prepare for twists and new interpretations, but if you watched the first episode and were put off by how it ended, just keep watching. Explanations will come. New watchers, take nothing for granted, keep an open mind, and enjoy the witty sense of humor the show brings. And don’t worry if you don’t have a Netflix account, you can get a 30-day trial for free and watch it then.
The Ups and Downs of Valentine's Day
The debate of Valentine’s day is brought up every February. People seem very split on the subject, though I have noticed an interesting trend in both sides. People against Valentine’s are often very passionate about the subject, and absolutely hate the holiday. However, people who are on the other side and don’t hate it are normally more indifferent without very strong feelings. Does this make one side more valid than the other? Possibly, possibly not.
The origins of Valentine’s day aren’t what you might expect. They are also a bit obscured, so it’s hard to say exactly what happened. The most common story is that in ancient Rome, marriage became outlawed because they wanted men to only focus on becoming soldiers, but a man named Saint Valentine continued to perform marriage ceremonies regardless. He was martyred, and his legacy carried on into the fourteenth century, where it finally became associated with romantic love. It turned into a festival in which lovers gave each other flowers and cards, traditions that have carried on to this day.
There are very valid reasons that a person might not like Valentine’s Day. For example, the most common people who are on this side are single people. Specifically, single people who wish that they weren’t single and see this holiday as a painful reminder. This is especially for minorities such as LGBT+ people, for whom dating is much harder, causing the day to feel even worse. But many couples aren’t very fond of Valentine’s either. Couples that can’t afford to buy each other gifts or go out for the night can feel awkward and uncomfortable by the expectations traditionally set. This feeling can be heightened by members of a couple wanting to break up, but are made to endure faking being a happy couple for at least a day. It’s also hard for people close to romantic couples, such as kids with romantic parents, or friends of romantic couples just because all the issues above can be heightened.
But I feel that people focus on the negatives of Valentine’s Day way too much. There are lots of cool things about Valentine’s day that everyone can appreciate, even if some of the traditions are more exclusive. Most people like chocolate, and the sharing and giving of chocolate has never been a ‘couple’s only’ thing. Even if you don’t have people to give or receive chocolate, it’s still a lot cheaper and in much more variety because of the holiday, and it’s never wrong to eat it by yourself. This is good for everyone.
It’s also the perfect opportunity to share pick up lines and stupid jokes and puns. That’s one of the most beautiful things about Valentine’s Day, in my opinion. The joke cards are also the best, mostly making terrible puns that make people laugh even if they’d never actually work on someone. Unless they liked puns, which is always a possibility.
One person I interviewed said this: “I like giving my friends cards and stuff, it makes them happy which makes me feel really good.” That’s because the other main point of Valentine’s Day is making people feel special and happy, regardless of whether or not they’re a couple. And for some people, it gives them hope and makes them happy to see couples being romantic regardless of whether or not they’re in a relationship. For people who are single and don’t have an interest in dating, (like myself,) the holiday can be really fun.
While it’s ‘cool’ to hate Valentine’s Day, and while also acknowledging all of the very valid reasons to hate it, I don’t think that the negativity is helping anything. Valentine’s day doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon, so wouldn’t it be easier to try enjoying it? Being negative all of the time isn’t healthy, and if you keep a positive attitude then you’ll enjoy life more. I understand that this isn’t nearly as easy as it sounds, but it’s an idea that could work for people. If you really look into why you dislike Valentine’s day, then it might reveal things about yourself. If you hate all of the couples and hate being single, try being happy for the couples and proud that at least someone is romantic and happy. Just try to appreciate the people you love such as friends and family, and just as important, love yourself.