Lesbian Photographers :: Photography Homosexuality Sexuality Essays

Lesbian Photographers Joan Scott makes many assertions in her historical essay on gender. The key point that plays into my own research is that â€Å"gender is a primary way of signifying relationships of power.† Power, in the case of women and photography, is controlling the political economy of photography--- as in the ability to control or inform both the denotations, and connotations of a photograph. My research project on lesbian and queer photography from the 1930s to today in America illustrates that there is unequal distribution of power, with a strong correlation to race, class, and gender. This mal-distribution of power changes over time and large shifts link with other large shifts in social change. Through oral histories I conducted with lesbian photographers I learned firsthand that telling lesbian or queer history means understanding the politics of shifting power of photographic representation. As Barthes explains in his essay The Photographic Paradox, scholars must look at bot h the denotations and connotations of a photograph in order to completely understand its meaning. A long history of lesbian photography shows how as social changes reconstructed ideas of women, lesbian photography both reflected changes and offered challenges, particularly with gender, sexuality, and race. As in the case for many social groups, the power to produce the lesbian image is skewed over race, class, and gender. An unequal distribution of resources because of race, class, and gender means that there are fewer resources to spread among those who seek to take pictures. In the early days of photography, those with access to photography were overwhelmingly white, male, and middle or upper class. Race, class, and gender also affected the imagining of documentation by photography, the availability of personal space, capital to purchase equipment, and funds to support taking pictures as a living. Furthermore, in order to get pictures published, the photographer needed connections or money. These prohibitive costs prevent an unforeseen number of women, minorities, and poor from imagining that they could record their lives by photograph, so many of these individuals and groups came to be represented by pictures taken by those whose primary identity may lie outside tha t group. A lack of photographers from the inside of the group did not mean that a group wouldn’t be photographed.

Love with Vronsky Essay

The younger of the two boys is the epitome of innocence and mischievousness. A blonde haired, blue-eyed boy who is lying in the grass, day-dreaming. This symbolizes all that is pure in the book, all which is innocent. The characters of Levin and Kitty seem connected with this young boy. They are both very vulnerable characters, and those who take love earnestly and base their lives around it. The older boy is working, absorbed in his work and was being very cautious and wary about his line. This boy seems to represent the character of Karenin, someone who is too absorbed in his own work to even notice what is going on around him, to be looking at the water just dreaming. When monetary expenses are discussed, Mihailov squirms and becomes irritated. This shows his loathing towards money, and how he looks beyond those aspects of life. It seems that Anna’s quirky attraction to Mihailov may have sprouted from the welcome change between a life where money and finance was a key element of daily life with Karenin, to this figure that chooses fervor over funding. After meeting Vronsky for the first time, Anna’s perception of Karenin becomes very distasteful. She notices all his faults. His hair seems to have been cut incorrectly, the cracking of his joints becomes irritating. The same happens to Vronsky in this section. Once he realizes that he is not a ‘talented’ artist, and once he stops short his experimenting because he realizes Mihailov’s ability far exceeds his, he becomes utterly bored. He notices all the faults of his situation.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"..struck them as intolerably boring in the little Italian town. The palazzo suddenly seemed so noticeably old and dirty. The spots on the curtains, the cracks in the floors, the stucco falling away form the cornices were constant eyesores.† This exposes one of Vronsky’s traits. He loves to try out different hobbies, much as he does in love (as he earlier admits that settling down seemed unreasonable to him). He becomes frustrated and grows progressively more restless. This impatience is shown by his sudden realization that he needs something new, needs to return to Russia. Anna’s company is not enough for him, yet Anna is â€Å"unpardonably happy,†4 as even though she has left her whole life behind, she has no complaints and fall even more deeply in love with Vronsky. Vronsky notices in Mihailov’s portrait of Anna a peculiar beauty.  Ã¢â‚¬  ‘One needs to know her and love her, as I have loved her, to discover the very sweetest expression of her soul,’ thought Vronsky, though it was only through this portrait that he himself learned this sweetest expression of her soul.†Ã‚  The fact that Vronsky, until he sees the painting, has not been aware of Anna’s true soul implies that he doesn’t know enough about her, (and although his love for her seems authentic) Vronsky feels he loves her more than he truly does. That a painter, someone who barely knows Anna (on a platonic level), can see something her lover cannot shows that Mihailov sees something in Anna undetectable by her closest contacts.  Therefore, this episode involving Mihailov, although not particularly important to the plot, gives the reader a deeper insight into the lives and emotions of Anna and Vronsky and the situation in which they have placed themselves. It is this episode that allows Vronsky to realize his boredom, and arguably what drives Anna to suicide (by returning to Russia.)

Mass Shootings Essay - 1505 Words

Can We Prevent Mass Shootings? There is an assumption that if you understand the minds of serial killers, or persons who commit mass shootings, that it may help prevent mass shootings. â€Å"Mass shootings are not on the rise, but have held steady over three decades, randomly clustering in time to trick our brains into finding a pattern of increase where none actually exists† (Shermer 3). Mass shootings happen at varying times without rhyme or reason. Some think that a psychological disorder or some genetic defect could be the reason people commit these crimes. Although we cannot prevent mass shootings, we can educate on how mental health issues can be a precursor to such a tragedy, and how better laws can create a safer environment. No one†¦show more content†¦Shortly thereafter they shot themselves (History 1). Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold became involved in all things surrounding German Nazi’s including wearing swastikas, giving the â€Å"Heil Hitler† salute and listening to heavy industrial metal bands. The Columbine attack was on the anniversary of Adolph Hitler’s birthday, April 20th. Klebold, after his death, was found to have writings that showed depression and suicidal thoughts. Both had violent and gruesome writings on school assignments. Psychiatrist James Brussel said that â€Å"paranoia tends to peak around age 35†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (What 2). â€Å"Mass murders were committed primarily by a single attacker (98.6%), whose average age was 34.4 and when a second attacker was present, both were typically young men (average age of 19.4). Attacks killed 9 and injured 9.6 people on average, excluding the attacker. Many of the attackers were related to at least one victim (38%), and a few also killed animals (3.1%)† (Hillshafer 1). The attacks usually ended when the attackers were confronted by police then committed suicide or they were shot down by police. Many of the killers that were arrested were either executed by the state, had to serve a life sentence or an average of 29 years in prison, or found not guilty due to the reason of insanity. Famous killers like Bryan Uyesugi, who murdered his co-workers, was thought to have schizophrenia. Or like Jared Loughner, who also has schizophrenia, believed in government cons piracyShow MoreRelatedMass Shooting Essay980 Words   |  4 PagesThere have been over 1,500 ‘mass shootings’ within the United States since the Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, CT (Schapiro, 2017). Media headlines on mass shootings tend to utilise higher numbers when it comes to how many are committed each year, mainly when it is about those committed in the United States. The lack of an official government standard on what should be considered a mass shooting has led to much confusion as to just how many there actually are. This paper will look at how theRead MoreMass Shootings Essay741 Words   |  3 PagesA mass shooting is defined as â€Å"one that kills or injures 4 or more people.† In 2015 alone there was 372 mass shootings in the U.S in 2015 that killed 475 people and wounded 1,870. The largest mass shooting in America happened in Las Vegas on October 1, 2017. In Las Vegas, the gunman (Stephen Paddock) opened fire on a crowd at a Route 91 Harvest music festival. Stephen Paddock killed 59 people and injured 527. Before this, the largest mass shooting had been in June 12, 2016 when a 29-year-old securityRead MoreMass Shooting Essay704 Words   |  3 Pages Mass shooting are very sad and scary events. They happen by surprise. No one ever expects shootings to occur. Tons of innocent people are killed in everyone of them. 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Parents expect curriculum to be followed in the school systems and for any type of contagion to include nothing more than the common cold, not mass shootings. Homicides gain abundant media attention and therefore stem copycat shooters. The Media should not be allowed to report on stories of mass shootings, as the likelihood of a second or copycat killer immediately after greatly increases. Moreover, the media plays such a crucial role in delivering material to the publicRead MoreMass Shootings In America Essay1327 Words   |  6 PagesOn October 1, 2017 America was, yet again, devastated when Las Vegas suffered the United States worst mass shooting. One man killed over 50 people and injured 527. After he was finished firing from the 39th floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort, he committed suicide. His name was Stephan Paddock (Yan and Park). 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This issue has greatly impacted the lives of young people. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;If you turn on you television and look at the destruction caused from a flood or an earthquake, you may think, quot;oh, another one.quot; Although it may shock you to see the pain and suffering of the victims, it is going to happen. Is that the way we have to look at school shootings? It seemsRead MoreMass School Shootings in America Essay1334 Words   |  6 Pages they became unlikely heroes on America’s latest battlefield. Although violence in schools is nothing new, multiple shootings are. According to the 1999 Annual Report on School Violence, the number of such shootings increased from one in 1994-95 to five in 1997-98. Tragically, the epidemic of violence continued, and in December 1999, one television newscast called a shooting in Oklahoma the ninth nationwide since 1997 (NBC Evening News). 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