Kate’s Readings
When I was reading her excerpts for Stone Butch Blues, I thought of the documentary “Paris is Burning.” The interaction between our narrator and those around her is very similar. They take her underneath their wings, but they are also the first to tear her down. When she was flirting with Monica and fails, the way Al tries to forces our narrator into hitting her is similar to being taught to fight by a father figure. Al won’t hit Monica for Jess because then Jess will never learn how to stand up for herself. However, it is important for Jess to learn how to defend herself because she won’t always be with accepting people. It a cycle.
In the documentary, “Paris is Burning,” the figures talk about how they read each other in the ballroom scene. However, this is considered an act of protection because it is so important to pass in this real world. They say the goal is for these women to be able to leave the ballroom and board a train without being clocked for their gender nonconformity. This ritual of tearing someone down because of the consequences in the ballroom is just the loss of a trophy, but the consequences in the real world are death. This world might seem like they eat their young, but it is all done in the effort to teach and preserve the youth.
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