The Illusion of Gender

Today's writing is 418 words.

Gender identity makes no sense. I can understand biological sex (which is what the term “gender” meant when I was a child) and I can understand gender roles (which are culturally constructed norms). What gender identities seem to do is to reinforce gender roles to the point of granting them some biological reality. What the gender identity movement seems to be saying is that if social expectations for a specific activity is granted to a different biological sex, one must really be that sex on some internal level. While they often claim to be running against social norms, the reality is that they are reinforcing these arbitrary associations, some even to the point where they modify their bodies in order to conform.

Oddly, this is precisely opposite of what we (meaning my social peers in the punk, goth, and death-rock scene) meant by such terms as gender-bending and gender-queer in the 1980s and early 1990s. Our goal, which seemed to be shared by many, was to destroy the concept of gender roles, or at least to break off the “gender” qualifier. If one felt a desire to perform a certain action, one should engage in it whether it was socially acceptable for one’s gender or not. When I dropped out of the scene in the mid-1990s, it seemed that we had been successful. Imagine my surprise when I returned to college in 2009 to find that the concept had been restored and mixed with biological determinism. Gender roles were now seen as some form of immutable intrinsic force.

This isn’t to say that all gender roles are completely arbitrary. Those things that deal with bearing or siring children are tied to biology and thus meaningful (though the behavior of a Mother or Father are culturally constructed expectations). The further one gets from biology, however, the more arbitrary the distinction becomes (e.g., the idea of men being doctors and women nurses). Gender identity seems to focus on these more nebulous roles. As an example, let’s say that society dictates that women are bad at math, but there is a girl who is good at math. In the 1980s, we would have advised her to tell them to “fuck off” and study math. Gender identity seems to advise them that they are “really” a male. They then come under pressure to “act like a man” in other areas. Rather than being a liberatory force, gender identity has instead become a restrictive force. The Bed of Procrustes seems to be eternal.

Finding God

Another piece from my writing project. For this I am constrained to 77 words. OZ.

The simple fact that things in our reality are greater than the sum of their parts constitutes proof of the divine. If we take all of the elements that comprise a rose, in proper proportion, and mixed them together, we would not have a rose. I don’t pretend that I understand the agency behind this anti-entropic force, but I can see it reflected in the natural world about me. This is god, both immanent and transcendent.

Dystopia as Critique of Modernity

Another work from my writing project, this one limited to 418 words.

 Dystopian settings are inherently commentaries on society. They take elements of “normal” society and amplify them until they reach horrific proportions. This is true in hardcore dystopian settings and those where the dystopian vision is a discordant thread. Examples of the former include 1984, Brave New World, and Psycho-Pass. Examples of the latter include Ghost in the Shell and Time of Eve.

One should note that dystopia is not always a source of terror. In 1984, the cruelty and tyranny of Big Brother is blatant and brutal. However, the dystopia of Brave New World and Psycho-Pass are ordered societies seeking to promote the happiness and welfare of its citizens. In Ghost in the Shell, even the heroes are a part of the dystopian vision where they exploit the oppressive nature of their society in order to curb the excesses of other elements within the dystopian order. Time of Eve has a storyline built around a classic theme of dystopia whereby society benefits and is promoted via the suffering of the other, which is played by the android. This theme is also found in LeGuin’s The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas.

Fantasy and Science Fiction requires dystopian elements. Their scope is far reaching and the heroes must fight against world spanning corruption. More important is how these elements are manifested. If we take the thread and trace it back to the root that is invariably present within modern society, what is the critique that can be found? An early manuscript of l’Engle’s A Wrinkle In Time has  surfaced where the root of her dystopian vision is spelled out in clear terms. The blunt description was removed as an editorial decision, but it indicated that Camazotz came about not as an imposition, but as an encroachment in the name of safety. A look at current trends within the United States indicates that this critique of society is as valid today as it was when A Wrinkle In Time was written.

Dystopia provides a convenient tool for any critique on modernity. This is not to say that the authors of dystopian works are against modernity. However, we can take these critiques of society and expand on them to see that their worries and concerns are a logical expression of current trends within modern society. Since modern society is an expression of modernity, dystopia is a useful tool for showing how modernity may play out. We need to investigate how the forces of modernity resolve into such dystopic vision.

Some comments on De Cultu, Resh, and the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram

Note: This is part of a project where I am attempting to write something every day. I roll a die and get a word count from a list of twelve entries. Those dealing with topics relevant to this blog will be posted here. This piece is 333 words in length.

De Cultu gives instructions for the practices of the Thelemite. It is found in Liber Aleph (chapter 16). First, we are told to practice as instructed in the Holy Books. At the very least, this should be interpreted as an injunction to study the Holy Books (aka Class A material). Next, we are told to perform Liber Resh, the Lesser Ritual of the Pentagram, and to assume the posture of Hoor-pa-Kraat (aka the Sign of Silence). Next, we are told to perform either the Mass of the Phoenix or the Gnostic Mass daily. Finally, we are told to perform the Mass of the Holy Ghost, travel the Astral Planes, and practice all eight forms of Yoga.

Of the second injunction, I combine them into a daily ritual. On arising in the morning, I start with a performance of the Star Ruby. This is followed by the Thelemic Invoking Ritual of the Pentagram. The Thelemic variant is identical to the standard form except that it adds “Aiwass” on the downward motion and extends the lower arm to the Svadisthana chakra. That is, touch the forehead saying “Ateh,” then the heart saying “Aiwass,” and then the groin and say “Malkuth.”

Following the pentagram rituals, I perform Resh as follows. Stand straight and make the sign of the enterer saying “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law.” I then make one of the signs of NOX, depending on the time of day: Vir-Ra, Mulier-Ahathoor, Puer-Tum, and Puella-Kephra. I then bring my feet together at a right angle (think of it as a reversed ‘L’) and say Resh. For the Adoration, I pivot my left foot so they are parallel (an ‘I’), then I pivot my right foot to form another ‘L.’ I then face the next quarter and sing “aka dua…” from Liber XV. I make the sign of NOX for that quarter and say “Love is the law; love under will,” followed by the Sign of Silence.