Friday, May 1, 2009

4-Candice O'Denver's 'all points of view'



The hegemonic identity that is constituted dualistically in relation to an other is a construct and thus possible to undo. This is described by Candice O’Denver, 'While I consider myself to be an individual, in fact my approach to myself, my circumstances, and others is obscured by habitual points of view — by my upbringing, culture, belief systems and assumptions. ... My identity is not comprised of point of view alone, it is entirely free of point of view yet inclusive of all points of view'[6]. Point of view refers to a particular identification such as 'female' in the gender categorization. Being 'female' describes some of my experiences and behavior but does not define who I am. Gender is a social construct[7]. Other categorizations can similarly be undone.

[6] O’Denver, Candice. “Inquiry One: What has all points of view”. Twelve Inquiries. CA, 2005, workshop.
[7] Butler, Judith. Undoing Gender. New York, NY: Routledge Press, 2004.

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