From Joshua Wang: Why do you think Edgar Ramirez's peers choose to discriminate against him based on his sexual orientation? Do you think a comparison of gentalia size is an appropriate response?
From Jose Dilig: Where in society does the speaker in Nellie Wong's poem "When I Was Growing Up" (111) belong? Is there anywhere she can fit in?
I think they chose to discriminate against him due to his sexual orientation because thats what they "got" on him. I think it was funny and actually very witty that he chose to counter their discrimination by comparing their genitals. It is a very witty response and good statement of doing. As vulgar and vapid as his writing, i enjoy it a lot because I feel that it serves a good purpose and point.
ReplyDeleteI think his peers discriminated against him because they were trying to "prove themselves" in some way; as if striking down male homosexuality somehow makes their hetero-sexuality more masculine. I think many young children make fun of different young children in order to reinforce what they believe to be the desireable identity; they hear someone they think is cool say something bad about another group and suddenly they have to embrace that notion in order to be as cool as the person who said it. I think Edgar's response was excellent because it reversed the discomfort that they had caused, so that they "got a taste of their own medicine", which I think is a form of justice. I imagine he made the other boys really uncomfortable, and "called their bluff" about being hyper-masculine by challenging them to show their own genitilia: when the boys didn't produce enourmous genitlia for the crowd, it made them seem like maybe they were shy because they had small genitals (which, by their own standards, would make them less masculine), and made them appear unconfident and bested by Edgar. The best thing about it was that (I believe) Edgar was expecting them to experience a degree of cognative dissonance which would throw them off completely: because while it would be masculine to be able to meet Edgar's challange and show everyone how "big" their genitals were, it would also perhaps be very "un-masculine", by their standards, to show their genitals to an open homosexual at his request. The dissonance between those two notions about masculinity would force them into inaction, thus defeating them; and expertly played tactic on Edgar's part.
ReplyDeleteI think the speaker of Nellie Wong’s poem does not belong to anywhere. It is very obvious that she tried to fit to the white dominated society, but unfortunately she failed. Although she had perfect English, she preferred American food, and she even bathed herself in an attempt to whiten her skin, it did not make her white. On the other hand, since she was born in the US, she might not fully inherit her Chinese culture and may be very different from her peers in China. Therefore, she did not belong to that society either. I have a friend who was born in US. Although her ancestors originally came from China, she does not know any Chinese Culture or even speak Chinese. She always thinks America is her country until one day she had a fight with some white girls, and these girls yelled at her, “ Go back your own country!” She got confused after she heard that. Since she does not know anything about China or speak Chinese, she does not feel she is a Chinese at all. Since she is not white, some white people may think she is not an American.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Fang that the speaker doesn't belong or fit in anywhere in the society. She didn't have what the society wanted which was mainly the light skin She really wanted light skin herself, but you are born with a certain color skin for a reason. Maybe one thing she does have is the brain, she's smart. Americans/Whites are pretty smart.
ReplyDeleteTHey discriminate him because he was different. When you stand out in a good or bad way, you will become the center of attention. In this case, acting like a homo is not a good way to draw attention. Another reason why i think they call him a faggot is make themselves feel better to bully someone else. Although he does seem like a legitimate faggot, i dont think its nice to pick on others just because they are different. Diversity is what makes America special. Including the homos. ahahaha
ReplyDeleteQ1: That's a question for a large census of Americans. I think they discriminated against him due to their ignorance of sexual orientation. They probably felt threatened by him as if he could secretly love them which be like a poison to them, so in return the respond in hate. But then again there are a lot of illogical reason for homophobia such as faith or thinking it's a human flaw and unnatural.
ReplyDeleteI agree whole-heartedly with James. Kids often choose to single out one who's not like themselves and ridicule them. The bullies choose to target Edgar not only because he is gay, but because he is unabashedly so. He refuses to be ashamed of who he is and this threatens the bullies' sense of dominance.
ReplyDeleteAs for his response, I think it was pretty damn effective. He struck where any boy would feel uncomfortable. By questioning the size of their genitalia in public, he questioned their masculinity, as in their eyes penis size was a huge indicator of such.
Q2: I think there can be place where the speaker in Nellie Wong's poem can fit it. It doesn't have to be exactly with Asians or with Americans, she can relate to other girls who had to go through the same thing.
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