Chrissy Munder's Blog - Posts Tagged "realliveblog"
Idle musings and rabid speculation
One man's term is another man's choice.
One of the many new terms I assimilated as I ventured onto the web was “Gay Okay”. I have to admit this one puzzled me, as well as quite a few friends that happen to be GLBT.
While my understanding may be flawed I’ve since come with further research to accept that in this context it refers to a writer that has chosen to present their story in a world in which the characters are surrounded only by GBLT characters, and only by GBLT situations.
I have come across this comment being used in what is commonly a reproving manner. The underlying impression I’m left with is that presenting a story in a “Gay Okay” setting negates the struggles and/or real life experiences of those that have dealt, and continue to deal with the opposite.
I’ve thought about this in the framework of my own life experiences – those being most readily accessible to me, and I can only conclude that in real life, as in fiction - like seeks like.
As a young woman in my very early 20’s one major criterion when apartment shopping was that I wanted to live in an apartment complex filled with young singles of comparable age and attitude, rather than in one filled with families and small children.
This choice was made for purely selfish reasons as being awakened at 7:00AM on a Saturday morning by the sound of a big wheel being ridden back and forth across the small strip of sidewalk under my apartment window after a festive night out at the bar was not my idea of a good time. (Trust me; it only has to happen once.)
When I hang with those who happen to be GLBT I observe a similar pattern. I visit apartments and houses where the majority of their neighbors are GLBT. When we go out to eat we usually patronize cafes and restaurants owned by and catering to those in the GLBT community. We visit bookstores and shops owned and staffed by those that are GLBT.
It’s not that these individuals are living their real life in a fictional “Gay Okay” world; it’s simply that they have chosen to surround themselves with people and places that contribute in a positive manner to their comfort level and their daily life much as I did as a young woman and still do now.
So when I write a fictional episode in a GLBT character’s life and I pull from my interactions with friends and acquaintances I have to wonder. Am I committing the “Gay Okay” trespass? Am I contributing to and perpetuating a stereotype despaired of by those that coined the phrase to begin with?
I remind myself that this is where skill needs to come into play. I need to continually develop my skills as a writer so that I convey the impression that it’s not that character is living in a “Gay Okay” world, but that they are living in the real world filled with outcome of the choices they have made for their own comfort.
My constant goal is to write a believable and interesting piece. One in which the sexual preferences of the characters are always secondary to the events of the story.
Sometimes I might even succeed.
One of the many new terms I assimilated as I ventured onto the web was “Gay Okay”. I have to admit this one puzzled me, as well as quite a few friends that happen to be GLBT.
While my understanding may be flawed I’ve since come with further research to accept that in this context it refers to a writer that has chosen to present their story in a world in which the characters are surrounded only by GBLT characters, and only by GBLT situations.
I have come across this comment being used in what is commonly a reproving manner. The underlying impression I’m left with is that presenting a story in a “Gay Okay” setting negates the struggles and/or real life experiences of those that have dealt, and continue to deal with the opposite.
I’ve thought about this in the framework of my own life experiences – those being most readily accessible to me, and I can only conclude that in real life, as in fiction - like seeks like.
As a young woman in my very early 20’s one major criterion when apartment shopping was that I wanted to live in an apartment complex filled with young singles of comparable age and attitude, rather than in one filled with families and small children.
This choice was made for purely selfish reasons as being awakened at 7:00AM on a Saturday morning by the sound of a big wheel being ridden back and forth across the small strip of sidewalk under my apartment window after a festive night out at the bar was not my idea of a good time. (Trust me; it only has to happen once.)
When I hang with those who happen to be GLBT I observe a similar pattern. I visit apartments and houses where the majority of their neighbors are GLBT. When we go out to eat we usually patronize cafes and restaurants owned by and catering to those in the GLBT community. We visit bookstores and shops owned and staffed by those that are GLBT.
It’s not that these individuals are living their real life in a fictional “Gay Okay” world; it’s simply that they have chosen to surround themselves with people and places that contribute in a positive manner to their comfort level and their daily life much as I did as a young woman and still do now.
So when I write a fictional episode in a GLBT character’s life and I pull from my interactions with friends and acquaintances I have to wonder. Am I committing the “Gay Okay” trespass? Am I contributing to and perpetuating a stereotype despaired of by those that coined the phrase to begin with?
I remind myself that this is where skill needs to come into play. I need to continually develop my skills as a writer so that I convey the impression that it’s not that character is living in a “Gay Okay” world, but that they are living in the real world filled with outcome of the choices they have made for their own comfort.
My constant goal is to write a believable and interesting piece. One in which the sexual preferences of the characters are always secondary to the events of the story.
Sometimes I might even succeed.
Idle Ramblings of the Uncaffeinated Kind
A matter of perception: Early morning, pre-caffeine sort of rambling.
If necessity is the mother of invention (Thorstein Veblen), and assumption is the mother of all fuck-ups (Movie Quote: Under Siege 2:Dark Territory), then what do I consider perception?
Is perception solely the sum of our life experiences and knowledge through which we filter our daily input? Or is it something more? Ignoring the obvious answer, can we choose to deliberately alter our perceptions? Perhaps more finely tune our filters?
Consider a segment I’ve worked on recently. An assortment of input received on it included the following descriptive terms: dark, aggressive, graphic, violent, and angry. Please note that yes, I am without a doubt taking these comments out of context for this ramble, and that I also consider all of the above comments compliments of a high order in regard to the piece.
In each instance the perception of the segment was filtered through the reader’s perceptions. What I find interesting is how the varying perceptions of what was written differed from my own. Of course, the beauty here is that there is no right or wrong answer. It’s simply a matter of perception. Obviously my perceptual filters are set to a much different level when it comes to anger, aggression and sexual violence. (We’ll ponder that another day).
Different people. Dissimilar filters. Differing perceptions.
If I may momentarily channel a film character in honor of the upcoming North American Release of the new Star Trek movie - Fascinating.
So now I contemplate with bleary-eyed and uncaffeinated wonder, is this something I should consider when I am writing? Or could it be more of an editing tool? At what point do I attempt to view my writing through a more en masse filtration rather than an individual one? Or even should I? Is it possible for me to re-sensitize myself and alter my perceptions at will? Do I want to?
My life experiences and perceptual filter insist that undoubtedly I will not. But then, I know better than to contemplate such things before coffee.
Sometimes, I even succeed.
***
As a side note here are some interesting words I came across while undertaking caffeination:
Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them. -Epictetus.
Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world. -George Bernard Shaw.
Only in quiet waters do things mirror themselves undistorted. Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world. -Hans Margolius.
We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are. - Anais Nin.
The mice think they are right, but my cat eats them anyways. This is the point, reality is nothing, perception is everything. – Terry Goodkind
If necessity is the mother of invention (Thorstein Veblen), and assumption is the mother of all fuck-ups (Movie Quote: Under Siege 2:Dark Territory), then what do I consider perception?
Is perception solely the sum of our life experiences and knowledge through which we filter our daily input? Or is it something more? Ignoring the obvious answer, can we choose to deliberately alter our perceptions? Perhaps more finely tune our filters?
Consider a segment I’ve worked on recently. An assortment of input received on it included the following descriptive terms: dark, aggressive, graphic, violent, and angry. Please note that yes, I am without a doubt taking these comments out of context for this ramble, and that I also consider all of the above comments compliments of a high order in regard to the piece.
In each instance the perception of the segment was filtered through the reader’s perceptions. What I find interesting is how the varying perceptions of what was written differed from my own. Of course, the beauty here is that there is no right or wrong answer. It’s simply a matter of perception. Obviously my perceptual filters are set to a much different level when it comes to anger, aggression and sexual violence. (We’ll ponder that another day).
Different people. Dissimilar filters. Differing perceptions.
If I may momentarily channel a film character in honor of the upcoming North American Release of the new Star Trek movie - Fascinating.
So now I contemplate with bleary-eyed and uncaffeinated wonder, is this something I should consider when I am writing? Or could it be more of an editing tool? At what point do I attempt to view my writing through a more en masse filtration rather than an individual one? Or even should I? Is it possible for me to re-sensitize myself and alter my perceptions at will? Do I want to?
My life experiences and perceptual filter insist that undoubtedly I will not. But then, I know better than to contemplate such things before coffee.
Sometimes, I even succeed.
***
As a side note here are some interesting words I came across while undertaking caffeination:
Men are disturbed not by things, but by the view which they take of them. -Epictetus.
Better keep yourself clean and bright; you are the window through which you must see the world. -George Bernard Shaw.
Only in quiet waters do things mirror themselves undistorted. Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world. -Hans Margolius.
We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are. - Anais Nin.
The mice think they are right, but my cat eats them anyways. This is the point, reality is nothing, perception is everything. – Terry Goodkind
