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xandromedovnaIn an effort to start creating an actual online presence (finally) slash to get my work published in a way that actually recognizes the particular nuances of my field, I'm finally using my blog to share my theoretical work, not just my artistic work. Instead of vagueblogging about it, here's probably the best example of this problem in my oeuvre, my Gleesis. I completed this in the fall of 2012 as part of my capstone project for my minor in LGBTQ Studies for my B.A. at Colgate. It was presented on February 7, 2013 as part of the Center for Women's Studies' Brown Bag Series. Afaik, Colgate doesn't catalog bachelor's theses in its library, so pretty much only five people have ever read the thing (as opposed to my Master's thesis, which about ten people have read). It still was technically publicly presented so I can ethically cite it or whatever, but the further I get in my research, the harder it is for me to work without referencing this piece, which until now no one really had access to.
Academic publishing is a beast I don't fully understand--and frankly it's far too exclusive for my taste and copyright law is a hellscape. Furthermore, so much has changed in the show, the Glee fandom, in fan studies, and in my own thinking on the topic that this would never get published regardless. But I DO understand fandom publishing, and part of my eventual research is about fandom spaces as a form of (limited) peer review, so, peers, for your review, I present this historical document in all its trashtastic glory, "Meatsuit Realness: Vocality, Gender, Sexuality, and Cyborgs in Glee".
*tries to upload file* oh right, Dreamwidth probably doesn't have file hosting. Also, this is an opportunity to a) embrace the format and b) provide some needed edits and annotations SO you're going to get the revised edition complete with editorial commentary. Original notes will use Arabic numerals, annotations will use Latin characters. If I figure out how to be super fancy maybe I can hyperlink to the notes themselves, but that sounds like a project for future!Xavia. ANYWHO here's my revised edition of the Gleesis.
The FOX television series Glee (2009-present[a]; created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan) is unique in being a successful serial TV musical[b]. It is also well-known for its strongly positive[c] presentations of all sorts of identities, marginalized and otherwise. These two aspects are intertwined: in the show, queer space is generated through musical performance, specifically vocality. The use of an eclectic musical repertoire allows the characters to articulate their identities both narratively and physically, and the performative nature of this identity articulation (in both the musical sense and the Butlerian sense) is a widely accepted queer strategy for subversion of gender and sexuality norms. However, celebrating individuality is at odds with economically successful musical production; this tension is audible in the production aesthetic of the show through the contested space of vocal grain. The shifting aural contexts of each character’s spoken and sung voice and the aesthetic values of the show create a vocal atmosphere that exposes cyborg production: vocal techniques requiring technological intervention. This cyborg production can and does limit queer possibilities by rendering individual voices uniformly unproblematic and flawless. However, it can also contribute queer space: the continuous masking and unmasking of cyborg production involves an identity strategy reminiscent of drag, and it is this contested space of vocal identity that gives the cyborg the ability to pass as human. Through this layering of performativities, Glee creates a queer soundscape in which expectations of gender and sexuality are simultaneously reinscribed and playfully subverted.
Performing the He(te)roic Narrative (Part 2)
The Gendered Voice (Part 3)
Meatsuit Realness (Part 4)
Conclusion and Works Cited (Part 5)
a) The series ended in 2015. Season 4 was still airing while this paper was being written.
b) While this was more-or-less true in 2012, Glee has since opened the door for successful TV musicals such as Empire, Smash, Star, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, among others.
c) Whether or not these portrayals are positive is a matter of significant controversy.
Academic publishing is a beast I don't fully understand--and frankly it's far too exclusive for my taste and copyright law is a hellscape. Furthermore, so much has changed in the show, the Glee fandom, in fan studies, and in my own thinking on the topic that this would never get published regardless. But I DO understand fandom publishing, and part of my eventual research is about fandom spaces as a form of (limited) peer review, so, peers, for your review, I present this historical document in all its trashtastic glory, "Meatsuit Realness: Vocality, Gender, Sexuality, and Cyborgs in Glee".
*tries to upload file* oh right, Dreamwidth probably doesn't have file hosting. Also, this is an opportunity to a) embrace the format and b) provide some needed edits and annotations SO you're going to get the revised edition complete with editorial commentary. Original notes will use Arabic numerals, annotations will use Latin characters. If I figure out how to be super fancy maybe I can hyperlink to the notes themselves, but that sounds like a project for future!Xavia. ANYWHO here's my revised edition of the Gleesis.
Meatsuit Realness: Vocality, Gender, Sexuality, and Cyborgs in Glee
Xavia Publius
Supervisor: Dr. Mary Simonson
Colgate University
LGBT 491
7 Dec. 2012
Revised edition 17 Feb. 2019
Meatsuit Realness: Vocality, Gender, Sexuality, and Cyborgs in Glee by Xavia Publius is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Xavia Publius
Supervisor: Dr. Mary Simonson
Colgate University
LGBT 491
7 Dec. 2012
Revised edition 17 Feb. 2019
Meatsuit Realness: Vocality, Gender, Sexuality, and Cyborgs in Glee by Xavia Publius is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The FOX television series Glee (2009-present[a]; created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan) is unique in being a successful serial TV musical[b]. It is also well-known for its strongly positive[c] presentations of all sorts of identities, marginalized and otherwise. These two aspects are intertwined: in the show, queer space is generated through musical performance, specifically vocality. The use of an eclectic musical repertoire allows the characters to articulate their identities both narratively and physically, and the performative nature of this identity articulation (in both the musical sense and the Butlerian sense) is a widely accepted queer strategy for subversion of gender and sexuality norms. However, celebrating individuality is at odds with economically successful musical production; this tension is audible in the production aesthetic of the show through the contested space of vocal grain. The shifting aural contexts of each character’s spoken and sung voice and the aesthetic values of the show create a vocal atmosphere that exposes cyborg production: vocal techniques requiring technological intervention. This cyborg production can and does limit queer possibilities by rendering individual voices uniformly unproblematic and flawless. However, it can also contribute queer space: the continuous masking and unmasking of cyborg production involves an identity strategy reminiscent of drag, and it is this contested space of vocal identity that gives the cyborg the ability to pass as human. Through this layering of performativities, Glee creates a queer soundscape in which expectations of gender and sexuality are simultaneously reinscribed and playfully subverted.
Performing the He(te)roic Narrative (Part 2)
The Gendered Voice (Part 3)
Meatsuit Realness (Part 4)
Conclusion and Works Cited (Part 5)
Notes
a) The series ended in 2015. Season 4 was still airing while this paper was being written.
b) While this was more-or-less true in 2012, Glee has since opened the door for successful TV musicals such as Empire, Smash, Star, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, among others.
c) Whether or not these portrayals are positive is a matter of significant controversy.
