Culture, Race, and Gender in Public Spheres
Culture, Race, and Gender
Social scientific, interpretive, and critical scholars have grabbled with the subject of culture using different theories. One of such theories used in understanding culture is cultural studies theory. Cultural studies focus on “understanding how discourse places and sustains relationships between people in society and how we might bring about positive changes in those relationships with the end of making the world a more humane place” (Rosteck 23). At the core of studies on culture, are gender and race not only in the United States but also in other countries, such as Nigeria.
For a while now, we have examined how sex and gender are constructed in public discourse. I have chosen to interpret some of those concepts in this essay. These concepts have been taken from the themes, Masculinity and White Victimhood and Paradox of Progress, and I will be sharing my interpretations. Kelly (2020) discussed some ideas to help understand how masculinity and white victimhood have been wielded as tools of oppression. Among the many concepts used by Kelly (2020), I find ego, apocalyptic man, melancholia, death drive, and victimhood, as relevant for my interpretation. The apocalyptic man and melancholia put together is the outward projection of hate by the male to feed his ego or express his feeling of loss of power or control. When the male is in this psychological state, he[1] instinctively wants to cause chaos, and this causes him to project insecurities on the female through physical, emotional, and sexual abuse; and to explain his actions, he plays victimhood. Victimhood is often expressed through blame-shifting and manipulation. (Kelly 13). These three concepts, apocalyptic man, melancholia, death drive, and victimhood, all put together to explain the unjust murder of Brandon Tenna. Sloop (2004) exposes us to how gender has been shaped in American public space “through our language and behavior toward one another… and to see how those norms have been protected through public arguments and public discussions.” (2). For instance, Brandon’s identity was perceived differently by society. The public or the social construction of gender conditions people’s gender on the basis of what is environmentally acceptable.
Also, Sloop (2000) claims that “gender is socially constructed and performative” (3) in a hegemonic system. This public construction makes me think of Darwin's (1859) theory of natural selection, which proposes that species evolve to take on the best traits and become best suited for their environment.
Kelly’s (2020) frame work, which uses the concepts, the apocalyptic man, melancholia, death drive and victimhood can help to further understand the Brandon Teena’s story. Brandon to her assassinators, was a threat to social order of things, and to restore that order, Nissen and Lotter “forced Brandon to leave the party with them and proceeded to drive to a desolate place where each in turn raped him”. (Sloop 51).
One aspect of this tragic story that is gripping is the sexual abuse of Brandon. The apocalyptic men, Nissen and Lotter felt melancholia or unfathomable pain because Brandon was a threat, as he was very likeable by women. Their masculine ego had been bruised and their uncontrollable anger or death drive not only led them to rape him, but also kill him. To explain their unjust act, they sought defense by playing victimhood through blame shifting. Nissen was quoted to have said that Brandon was “feeding him lines” (Sloop 59). This is what manipulators do, they play victimhood to make excuse for their unjust act.
As I reflect on how the concepts described above have been used, I found enthralling parallels with my research interest. I am interested in learning how people become victims of abuse and stigmatization in interpersonal relationships, and how victims of these experiences can get justice. I am also curious to know how, if all left-handedness culminates in the normalization of abusive experiences. As a victim of abuse, I can identify with the Brandon Tenna story, even though my experience is that of a cisgender female. The abusive experience that I find rather haunting is my relationship with a Narcissist. I later realized that "life with a narcissist can be extremely stressful, leading to depression or anxiety." (Anderson 4). One of the characteristics of a Narcissist, even in Classical mythology, is egocentrism. This ego, has also been explained in Freud (1895) earliest writings. My ex being an egoistic male, was constantly in a state of “loss of control” whenever I am unagreeable, and to restore order, he becomes an apocalyptic man using the death drive instinct, to perpetrate all kinds of abuses. Even more, he would play victimhood to explain his conduct and making me the reason for his bad behavior, through gaslighting.
As I think about my lived experience, and the fact that I was silenced for many years, I imagine the number of people in such complicated interactions who never get justice. This social chaos reinforces my drive to not only learn the communicative way to help unravel this mystery, but also learn through family law, how victims can seek legal redress. In conclusion, the Apocalyptic man concept cannot be genderized, as there are females with such personalities, just as there are female Narcissists, even though Narcissism is a masculine term.
Also, the readings from the past weeks, as I put them in the context of my lived experience, as someone from a different country and culture, I see the parallels in the almost universal nature of concepts such as ego, apocalyptic man, melancholia, death drive, victimhood, and Narcissism. I therefore affirm that discourse happens in different places and time in almost the same way. This is what Sloop (2000) described as the materiality nature of discourse.
Citations
Anderson Scott. “Don't let Narcissists ruin your life”. Psychology today. 2019. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mood-microbe/201905/dont-let-narcissists-ruin-your-health.
Darwin, Charles, and John, Murray. “The Descent of Man: And Selection in Relation to Sex.” London: John Murray, Albemarle Street, 1871.
Kelly, Casey. “Apocalypse Man: The Death Drive and The Rhetoric of White Masculine Victimhood”. The Ohio State University Press, Columbus. 2020.
Macey, David. “ego”: The Penguin of Critical Theory. Penguin, 2000.
Rodrigo, Quim. “Materiality of Discourse with Foucault.” YouTube, uploaded by Critique with Nietzsche and Foucault, 16 Jan. 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lklhyNP6-YM&t=204s.
Sloop, John. “Rhetoric of Sex Identity in Contemporary U.S. Culture”. University of Massachusetts Press, 2004.
[1] He/his is used to represent “masculinity” not the male gender or sexuality.