Hi everyone, this documentary is about boys who want to be girls. Some have been on the Tyra Banks show, and everyone was super nice and respectful to them. There is a plethora of documentaries about transgender children (I must admit I watched most of them when I was obsessed about this issue), Joey/Josie, Jazz actually appeared on multiple ones, but this one comprises of all of these kids' stories and I think it gets to the point. If you have free time, check them out. There is also the German singer transgender girl in the 3rd video (which I discussed in class).
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
All the Colors of the Rainbow are Beautiful
Meet Thomas Beatie. He was born a female, had testosterone treatment, breast removal surgery but kept his female reproductive organs. This week's theme was about intersexuality and I brought this up. These are short clips of Thomas Beatie. The last video of Thomas is actually from his official youtube channel. The couple is going through separation and has been all over the tabloids (Anyone with a different body seem not to have any privacy left in the US, I think it's got something to do with the reality show culture; ofcourse this is very problematic on many levels.)
Monday, March 25, 2013
Artificial Limbs Are Beautiful
This week we talked about limb transplants at class as well as how medicine was formed as a profession. Seemingly untouchable, stuck in a strict hierarchy, I think medicine likes staying the way it is since it is able to accumulate so much power within the society.
I suggested that the high cost of some medical services are definitely intentional. Not enough investment is put to make cheaper, smaller and more efficient medical instruments. The performance of a computer has more than ten folded, its capacity has multiplied thousands of times, they can fit your palm and are extremely cheap (compared to million dollar machines in the 70s, for further information of the advancement of technology, please check out Ray Kurzweil's book "The Singularity is Near"). Technology has developed so much, but why have medical machines not become cheaper/smaller/more accessible? Why don't we have medical home appliances? We could easily have them.
I think the 3D printer has changed a lot of rules in the game. We're able to print out toys already, and 3D printers are going to get cheaper. We ARE going to print out anything we want (we will be able to download the pattern of whichever item we like from some online shops like iTunes), and presto. We'll have appliances, hairbrushes, toothbrushes, toys, gadgets, gizmos printed out from our 3D printer. Can't wait to have one! It sounds sci-fi right? But if we told someone that we'd be downloading music into our devices to someone 30 years ago, they'd call us a dreamer.
Anyways, I think limb transplants are absolutely unnecessary procedures. You get to have very functional ARTIFICIAL SUPER, AWESOME, COOL LOOKING, CYBORG limbs for relatively cheap now. WHY on earth would anyone want a limb that would not function?!
Ok check this out people. There are tons of artificial limb TED talks that are very interesting. But these two are my favorites. Meet Aimee Mullins. She gives her personal story about artificial limbs and the way the world's perspective has changed towards different bodies. I also share Scott Summit's talk, from a designer's perspective. The second one's first 3-5 minutes are not as interesting in his talk but I keep getting goosebumps towards the end. To watch the second video please click here. (Apparently there's some copyright issues and I can't put the second vid on the blog).
I suggested that the high cost of some medical services are definitely intentional. Not enough investment is put to make cheaper, smaller and more efficient medical instruments. The performance of a computer has more than ten folded, its capacity has multiplied thousands of times, they can fit your palm and are extremely cheap (compared to million dollar machines in the 70s, for further information of the advancement of technology, please check out Ray Kurzweil's book "The Singularity is Near"). Technology has developed so much, but why have medical machines not become cheaper/smaller/more accessible? Why don't we have medical home appliances? We could easily have them.
I think the 3D printer has changed a lot of rules in the game. We're able to print out toys already, and 3D printers are going to get cheaper. We ARE going to print out anything we want (we will be able to download the pattern of whichever item we like from some online shops like iTunes), and presto. We'll have appliances, hairbrushes, toothbrushes, toys, gadgets, gizmos printed out from our 3D printer. Can't wait to have one! It sounds sci-fi right? But if we told someone that we'd be downloading music into our devices to someone 30 years ago, they'd call us a dreamer.
Anyways, I think limb transplants are absolutely unnecessary procedures. You get to have very functional ARTIFICIAL SUPER, AWESOME, COOL LOOKING, CYBORG limbs for relatively cheap now. WHY on earth would anyone want a limb that would not function?!
Monday, March 11, 2013
Meet Sarah Churman
Last week we watched a very intriguing video at class which revolved around a group of deaf people in a fictitious setting in which deafness was eliminated through surgery. It sparked up many questions to whether this is discriminatory, whether this would wipe out the deaf culture, sign language and all the differences along with them. This was presented as a very problematic procedure.
However this reminded me of Sarah Churman. Here she is, watch her story. All the videos are quite short and I selected them in such a manner that it would cover the full story. It brought tears into my eyes. <3 I think it's good that people get to have a choice. I don't want to say that being deaf is bad, but this woman wanted to hear all her life. Maybe the short movie we watched at class will become reality someday. I have the impression that many people are going to opt for the operation as predicted...
Sarah Churman's story is science fiction turned into reality. You can see how her life changes, how she signs less as time goes by and how her marriage dynamics change through time.
However this reminded me of Sarah Churman. Here she is, watch her story. All the videos are quite short and I selected them in such a manner that it would cover the full story. It brought tears into my eyes. <3 I think it's good that people get to have a choice. I don't want to say that being deaf is bad, but this woman wanted to hear all her life. Maybe the short movie we watched at class will become reality someday. I have the impression that many people are going to opt for the operation as predicted...
Sarah Churman's story is science fiction turned into reality. You can see how her life changes, how she signs less as time goes by and how her marriage dynamics change through time.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Meet these folks
They say you can't change the cards you were dealt, but that you can try to play the best game possible with them. Today I want to share videos of two people I admire; they had the kindness and generosity to let us viewers have a glimpse in their lives. I found these two stories on the official Youtube channel of "Embarassing Bodies", a TV program featured on Channel 4. The whole point of the program is to overcome embarrassment, so don't let the title mislead you; I actually watch it regularly since I find it very enlightening. It's nice that the doctors feature incurable "diseases" from time to time on the program, in order to bring awareness of people with different bodies. Simon and Leeanne live their lives at the fullest. I don't want to be biased and claim they have perfect lives, nobody does...
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
The World Can Change !
Dear fellow blog readers,
My sister rocks. She sent me in two amazing videos which she thought I would like. I decided to put them on the blog since this my sister is awesome (I'm allowed to use a non-academic language for the blog, which is the whole point in journal keeping and blogging). If you think that there is anything I can post on the blog, feel free to leave a comment or just send an e-mail. Kudos to you Mish ! Both of the videos brought tears to my eyes to be honest. So heartwarming. It alleviated all the glumness I had been feeling about this week's readings. I got excited and happy since it reminded me that more than physical and infrastructural limitations, it is our minds that prevent many people from thriving. Tim is an amazing man! I wish everyone could run a restaurant like he did. Alanna is an such a kind heart who actually shows the world that a small gesture could make a huge difference in others' lives. The world will eventually be an all embracing better place for everyone. This I strongly believe.
My sister rocks. She sent me in two amazing videos which she thought I would like. I decided to put them on the blog since this my sister is awesome (I'm allowed to use a non-academic language for the blog, which is the whole point in journal keeping and blogging). If you think that there is anything I can post on the blog, feel free to leave a comment or just send an e-mail. Kudos to you Mish ! Both of the videos brought tears to my eyes to be honest. So heartwarming. It alleviated all the glumness I had been feeling about this week's readings. I got excited and happy since it reminded me that more than physical and infrastructural limitations, it is our minds that prevent many people from thriving. Tim is an amazing man! I wish everyone could run a restaurant like he did. Alanna is an such a kind heart who actually shows the world that a small gesture could make a huge difference in others' lives. The world will eventually be an all embracing better place for everyone. This I strongly believe.
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