tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6374165830593791989.post5852279161773625533..comments2012-03-07T15:39:52.491-08:00Comments on Queer Performance: Intersectionality and Kinship on Glee (Carla's Blog Post #2)MsAnimangahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06253235061440752665noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6374165830593791989.post-12059364910563593282012-03-07T15:33:30.460-08:002012-03-07T15:33:30.460-08:00Spawning from your analysis of Santana’s relations...Spawning from your analysis of Santana’s relationship with her abuela, it is important to understand that for queer Latinas, coming out to family members is a precarious situation, that too often results in either negatively harsh backlashes, denial, and immediate ignorance, based on the strictness of the cultural taboos. In Santana’s case, her abuela responds to her confession by telling her that “the sin is in the scandal, not the secret,” which Santana challenges with “it would have been better to keep this a secret?” In the culture, it is not appropriate to talk about any type of behavior that strays from the heteronormativity, and strict gender roles of society. That is why many Latinas remain silent on their non conforming sexuality because it is considered a “scandal,” and often an offense and threat to the patriarchal order of the culture. Family is considered a huge component of life, and to go against “true” family is taboo because in most tough situations, no one except your family will be there for you (Weston). This type of understanding, though, implies that without respecting your family, you are left without support, and for Santana to go against cultural taboo and come out to who she believed as family, inherently, her right to family support was no longer present.<br /><br />What I would like to see discussed are the ways in which Santana gains support from her friends, and their relationships to her versus that of her blood relatives. How “kinship” is defined for her in relation to those respected relationships, is dependent upon her “chosen family,” (Glee Club) and her girlfriend, Brittany, (Weston). <br /><br />Weston, Kath. 1998. “Forever is a long time: Romancing the real in gay kinship ideologies”.Alicia Guerrerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09286270575437176247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6374165830593791989.post-27906857531875703142012-03-07T00:34:55.196-08:002012-03-07T00:34:55.196-08:00I agree with everything that you have said Carla. ...I agree with everything that you have said Carla. I am a Glee fan and I remember the episodes that you describe and how hard it must have been on Santana to feel like her own family does not support her. Being a Hispanic woman there is definitely patterns in our culture that separate us from other cultures, but I agree with you in that the message of hiding sexuality as opposed to addressing it is common among people of color. When my aunt came out to her mother, my grandmother, she had the same reaction. In Hispanic culture there is nothing worse than a scandal, but the person’s feeling are never accounted for. As a human being, there cannot be a more devastating feeling than to feel alone, unwelcomed, and unsupported. But it is the hardship that unfortunately many people in the LGBTQ community still face today, and needs to change. As Barbara Smith stated in her article “Homophobia: Why Bring It Up?” in order for this homophobia to cease, education needs to begin at a younger age and schools need to begin to challenge negative attitudes about what it means to be homosexual. The misconception that she mentions about how lesbian and gay oppression should be a private concern is exemplified through Santana’s grandmother. Her grandmother believes that Santana needs to keep this a secret from everyone she knows, or that everyone she knows does not need to know. It is not something to be proud of. I am glad that you provided a clear example of how members of the LGBTQ community are being represented that does not exclude a certain gender, race, or class. Hopefully the messages in these episodes of Glee and other shows like it will help society to build a better understanding of the effects their negative behavior can have on people in the LGBTQ community as a whole. <br /><br />Smith, Barbara, “Homophobia: Why Bring It Up?” from The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader. ed Henry Ablelove et al New York& London: Routledge, 1993.Melissa Bernabehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11601067212830297434noreply@blogger.com