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Post by akmaples on Aug 21, 2017 15:03:08 GMT -6
The poem, "Identity Blues" by Alok Vaid-Meno begins speaking on the topics of diaspora and ethnicity. Him doing this, forces me, the reader to look up these definitions. This then leads me to the definitions, diaspora-a scattered population whose origin lies within a smaller geographic locale, and ethnicity-the state of belonging to a social group that has a common national or cultural tradition. While I was trying to connect the two terms, I found that I struggled in doing so. Therefore, I had to read more of the poem to figure out how and what point he was trying to make, by pointing out that these two words look similar written down on paper. So I began by breaking down the title of the poem, Identity Blues. Whenever someone says they're feeling blue, I interpret that was them feeling sad or down. And if someone is feeling blue about the identity, they must have the feeling that they do not belong. This concept can go back to the word diaspora, the diaspora being someone not having the feeling of belonging within their identity and their being. I personally find it interesting how the poet begins the first stanza in first person reflecting on his own realization of this connection and how this realization connects to the "we" in the second stanza which represents basically any reader and society as a whole as a way of catalyzing a reaction from the reader to think “me too.” Next, he writes a stanza that is deliberately vague in understanding so that you can connect what he is saying to both diaspora and dysphoria. With this stanza and the question right below it he establishes his message; a message of how diaspora inherently causes dysphoria due to the feeling of being different or isolated. Then he gets to the point and talks about gender. When someone asks you what your gender is you’re almost forced (or like expected) into an answer of male or female. If you pick one then it makes you different from the other gender. He solidifies this idea with the common thought of diaspora aka ethnicity; when someone asks you where you come from. You’re forced into an answer that makes you different from other answers, or like you almost feel like there is no right answer. In other words, a lot of stuff goes into making up the answer "where do u come from "just as a lot of stuff goes into making up the answer "what is your gender" (you could be male but act feminine, vice versa you could be whatever you want to be, but there has to be an answer yet if you don't know the answer then you experience a dysphoria for feeling you don’t belong. Then the next two stanzas ask the question that connects to everyone given that the second person pronoun "you" shows that it's like oh I'm talking to "you"(reader and the narrator.) This all then connects back to the narrator himself at the end as a way of showing the detrimental effects of this kind of mentality on a human being with human emotions in saying that "I" release "water" (aka the poet is crying). The author says that when he answers the question where he is from water comes out, so if we assume that water is tears then he cries because of some sort of internal confusion or conflict. However, his use of water is different (and by how he separates it from "comes out") makes it seem like water can have another meaning...perhaps the truth? The truth flows out?
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Post by jordan on Aug 21, 2017 18:27:06 GMT -6
I agree and respectfully disagree with some things you said. When I looked up the word dysphoria, I got the definition of "a state of unease or generalized dissatisfaction with life" not necessarily feeling like you don't belong anywhere. At first I also associated "gender" with being with male or female, but when I looked up the definition of gender, Google said that it is "typically used with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological." With that new information,and after looking up the author (the author is trans-gender), I came to the conclusion that the author was struggling with being an immigrant and coming to America ("where did you come from?"). In the next stanza where he says "when I answer water comes out.", I referred to water to the sea meaning that he came from across the sea.
I also noticed that the enter poem is in lower case letters, even when the author uses first person "I". Also finding out through Google, I relearned that capitalization shows importance of specific words. I thought that maybe because of the author's gender diaspora he feels that he and his thoughts are unimportant due to the fact that he is not always around people like him or his "original homeland."
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taj
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Post by taj on Aug 22, 2017 15:41:14 GMT -6
In "Identity Blues" by Alok Vaid-Meno, the reader must remember that diaspora is not a verb. It is not an action that can be done to anyone. The word diaspora refers to a scattered population which belongs to a specific homeland. An alternate interpretation can also be the dislocation of a group from their homeland. The obvious comparison that comes to mind when comparing ethnicity to a group's movement from one's homeland is the forced movement of Native Americans to reservations (albeit to a lesser degree) and the exile of Jews from Israel to Babylon. This displacement, according to Vaid-Meno, does not allow for people to feel "at home". Meno brings this idea of not feeling home and relates it to that of not feeling at home with oneself. He does this by stating that we feel "foreign in our own bodies". This most likely refers to societal pressures to maintain gender norms and roles. The typical "men must be strong and emotionally repressed" and women must be "pretty and dependent on men" model is limiting in a lot of ways even if people don't necessarily follow them. There is much persecution and pressure to live up to that expectation and It can be very stressful. People are not allowed to be themselves and act how they would naturally act. The use of the word diaspora only serves to relate the societal isolation people feel to the geological isolation of groups from where they belong, or in the case of gender, being themselves. When posing the question of "where did you come from" when mentioning asking for ones gender, the author's response of answering by water coming out may mean more than actual water coming out (tears). Perhaps Meno actually responds by saying "water". The author would be implying that where he comes from is water, just like everyone else. This implicates that the author feels that all humans come from the same place and are displaced by the social norms or even by social categorization into gender, race, age, etc.
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Post by andrea on Aug 22, 2017 17:20:31 GMT -6
After reading "Identity Blues" I assumed that the author was a woman because they mentioned how, when they talk about gender they usually cry, as seen in the phrase, "Asking for gender is another way of asking: where are you from? Sometimes when I answer water comes out." Usually women are made to feel ashamed of being women because we are painted as being weaker, or inferior, in comparison to men. So, it's understandable that, when talking about gender, women become uncomfortable because usually sexist comments are undoubtedly going to follow. However, since I wanted to know whether the author was female or male, I looked them up, because if they happened to be male then my argument wouldn't mean much. After some research, I learned that Alok Vaid-Menon is nonbinary, which opens up a completely different door to why talking about gender can be an uncomfortable conversation for them. This also explains the meaning behind the purpose of this poem. In society, people are "meant" to be "normal", meaning you have to fit into one of the two boxes created by society: female or male. There is no in between. However, for nonbinary people, fitting into one of these boxes is far from easy. Especially considering the hostile responses they can be met with from those who can't fathom someone living outside the binary. Said hostile comments could easily be the reason for the water, or tears, mentioned in the final line of the poem.
Gender is never up for debate for many people, since in their heart or hearts they believe only two genders exist. So for those like Vaid-Menon, who don't identify as one gender, they are forced to fit into one of society's stiff boxes, made up of the many rules on what it means to be "male" or "female" or be met with confusion, anger, and, in some cases, disgust.
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Post by Keviana S on Aug 23, 2017 4:46:31 GMT -6
I agree with part of what Aliyah is saying, but I also agree with what Jordan is saying. There is always two parts to something especially when it comes to ones understanding after they break each piece down. Putting it in my own words, I would say that dysphoria is a state of feeling unwell or unhappy. It can be with ones life or there self confidence. I think of diaspora as people scattering. However the original meaning is the dispersion of any people from their original homeland. I also agree with Andrea of how people have to fit in their own bubble, because they ar uncomfortable with their own gender. They sometimes debate over whether or not they should be other people. We look at the whole big picture surrounding it and we can see that we are what and who we are, because of our characteristics.
Gender can tell us who we are, which can also answer the question whee did we come from. People often change themselves to see where there comfort zone lies. However, change is a natural part of this life, of figuring out who you are and where you belong. When we feel fill foreign we need to take a deep breath and find something we enjoy to focus on.
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Post by Quev on Aug 24, 2017 11:36:02 GMT -6
I feel the author is trying to connect to diaspora and gender because as a transgender, they feel that they have been forced to deal with not being in their homeland. The homeland in this case is the body they think they were supposed to be born in. The reference to dysphoria is call to the author being dissatisfied with life. They feel that because they don’t feel that they can express their identity. Because they were pushed from their homeland by nature I guess. The author wants us to be able to be able to understands how they feel. This is also an introspective look into the mind of the author. They believe that diaspora is a form of dysphoria. I somewhat agree with this because of a person is pushed from their homeland, i’m pretty sure they would be dissatisfied. I didn't see the connection between where a person is from and their gender, but I did see the earlier diaspora and dysphoria. Maybe it was a reference to the body being a place in a sense that it is a temple.
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Post by kristin18 on Aug 24, 2017 13:02:44 GMT -6
In Identity Blues, there could be several interpretations. My interpretation is that the poet wants people to realize what the society does to misconstrue our real value of the body which makes us feel as foreigners to ourselves. Our bodies are supposed to be temples however roadblocks such as social media have put us in a cycle of constantly trying to change ourselves to what society is telling us to be. This is where the "diaspora" actions are falling in place. We are scattering the true meaning of what we are naturally instead of being categorized. When being categorized, such as being asked what gender we are....
(Part one)
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Post by nikymbaw on Aug 24, 2017 16:02:35 GMT -6
I actually agree with the idea that both Jordan and Aliyah have presented about the definition of both diaspora and dysphoria, which in my opinion quite similar in meaning. Similar to Aliyah I defined diaspora as the scattering of people from their home land and similar to Jordan I ended up defining dysphoria as unease or dissatisfaction with life, and I've come to the conclusion that the author is speaking in both a physical and mental sense of isolation. It is clear that the author finds their own identity a mystery and a struggle to them. I find "gender" these days to be an umbrella term, and as Jordan pointed out the author identifies as trans, which often enough is looked down upon in society. There are many ways to define gender and more and more often we people try to put it as either your a boy or a girl like Aliyah said, but gender in this case is a spectrum, one that the author identities with and may have a hard time in explaining to others. When the author remarks on how "asking for gender is another way of asking: where did you come from" not only as a reader do we associate it as a question of how you were raised and how you ended up the way you did, and often enough it leads to people judging you. It bothers them, hence why whenever they answer these questions "water comes out."
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Post by kristin18 on Aug 24, 2017 16:18:27 GMT -6
(Part Two)
We can't be satisfied with life (dysphoria) because of our short comings we face when being like "societies role models". We can't be ourselves and who we are from our origin so when we are asked upon I see where Alkon says "sometimes water comes out". When I think about water I think of the phrase "you can't hold water" meaning can't hold a secret or truth . Which is where I can see Aliyah's response . Or it could literally mean crying because of discomfort.
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Post by nayaj0nes on Aug 24, 2017 16:34:05 GMT -6
I agree with what Aliyah is saying, as well as Jordan. I agree with Aliyah’s claim that the author is feeling as though they don’t belong anywhere and since the author mentioned the two words: diaspora and ethnicity, this does force the reader to look up the definitions. Therefore when you put these words together you get the notion that the author is trying to say that he/she doesn’t feel as though they belong anywhere. He also starts the talk to the reader in specifically by using second person point of view. In doing this, he does make the paths claim he is making more personal to the reader. And I agree with what Jordan said about the normal thing anyone would do is consider whenever someone says gender, they think of either male or female. Nothing in between, but if you do take into consideration that someone could be different than those two, you’d be contradiction what society expects from people. But if you were to look up the author of this poem, you’d find out that they are in fact non binary. With this being said, the author is trying to convey the idea that they or even people like them, don’t feel comfortable or even accepted in society just because of their gender. Because they are forced to chose between the two options: female or male. This in turn, makes people not feel comfortable in their own identity.
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mari
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Post by mari on Sept 15, 2017 18:40:46 GMT -6
I understood the poem by connecting " asking for gender is another way of asking: where did you come from?"to it's title "Identity Blues" I believed that the poem is concerning the humiliation of women who'm are restricted, because they are a woman. They're forced to follow this identity of being in the fragile 'woman box'and Alok expresses how much damage this does on women because they're being controlled in a body that isn't theirs. Instead its owned by everyone else. Thats why she says "we have always been made to feel foreign in our own bodies".
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