Biological
jargon aside, being a human means that one is able to develop, feel, and
express emotion. Gender is a societal construct that has been developed since
human beings started coming together in groups. Gender is not assigned at birth—sex
is. One’s sex is determined by their reproductive organs, but that should not
dictate one’s gender or what it is to be a man or a woman. Although there are
gender roles, they vary from society to society and generally should not be
trusted or used as a guideline to determine what it is to be a man or a woman. The
modern generation is beginning to eclipse gender roles established years and
years ago and, slowly, it is attempting to dismantle societal norms that
cripple the outlying individuals who do not fall into the supposedly
cookie-cutter world of gender. Gender is not, and never will be, black and
white.
An
artist is a person who creates in order to convey or express emotion. In that
sense, many people are artists but they choose not to recognize it. Just
because one isn't into more “traditional” art like painting or sculpting does
not mean one is not an artist. I strongly believe that there is a line,
however, that “art” can cross when it stops being art. When an artist stops
creating for him or herself primarily, and takes only his or her audience into
consideration, it stops being art. When art becomes contrived, painful to do,
and completely disconnected from the person making it, it’s no longer art. Art
does not always have to mean something special to the artist (as made evident
by pop artist Andy Warhol), but it should evoke some sort of emotion. Commercial
art is often nice aesthetically but it has no emotional value, and I don’t
think it should be called art.
In
order to achieve our full humanity, I think people need to become more in tune
with their emotions and more “natural” self. By no means is it bad to be
someone who’s cognitive-inclined, but the emphasis on cognitive knowing has
robbed us of some of our capacity for being human in that our desire to know,
analyze, and group has got us acting like uniform little robots. In order to
achieve our full humanity, people need to embrace their natural feelings and
reactions to life’s experiences.
I find your distinction between sex and gender not only interesting but insightful, as it brings attention to something our society prefers not acknowledge in a spotlight. I also agree with the reference to art not always being traditional painting and sculpting as long as the creation evokes an emotional response. I am confused by the reference to “commercial” art. Granted, I may be thinking in the wrong area, but commercial art makes me think of advertisements and graphic design that attempt to cause an emotional response to create interest, however not in the same way as a specifically artistic creation. Lastly, I feel that there could be a little more elaboration on a human’s “natural” self. But this is altogether an interesting, eye opening post.
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