Mz Ryan is an example of a fat studies scholar who had In one of her writings Joelle Ruby Ryan (pictured at left) likely refers to a picture of me (Below) taken at a school board meeting during ramadan wearing hijab. She then proceeds to talk about me being delusional essentially for thinking I look good. More specifically for thinking that I would not be considered autogynephilic according to Blanchard. This hints at a value system where femininity in the biological male is rewarded instead of punished. Such as by being a male to female transwoman who is sexually attracted to men (a 5-6 on the Kinsey scale),or a straight transsexual woman. That valuing of femininity is the opposite of how the rest of the world perceives such a person. That shouldn't be a great secret to any transsexual woman, or gender queer "wo/man" like her.Yes she is an accomplished author and scholar, perhaps a PhD. by now that's not clear, and we should not judge a persons worth by appearances but come on. Really? :-\ Really? :-/ Need I say anything? If your gonna to criticize someone else based on appearance when this is your absolute best....who's really delusional? I'm not talking about her size either. Read some of her webpage "Her current research interest are GLBT Studies, feminism, queer theory, ethnic studies, film and media studies, fat studies and sex work." Focus, focus, focus on a research interest, get those letters then do as you like.
Where to begin? Ethnic studies: where white people like her dare to tell actual ethnic people about themselves. I suppose doing some reading, and talking to some people would have to mean that she would know more about being black or hispanic than a black or hispanic person. The same kind of thing many of like mind to hers criticized, rightly, in regards to a certain book. Sex work ok sure she could study sex work but how. Again by talking to sex workers about their work? I for one an skeptical that a woman who hasn't done the work themselves could write anything meaningful. Like most feminist I would expect her to condemn it as the objectification, and exploitation of "ethnic", under educated women. The typical feminist line. As opposed to sex work being an empowering experience of liberation from economic dependence on anyone, an entrepreneurial enterprise made dangerous and difficult mostly by it's illegality. Last the penultimate made up field of all the humanities, "fat studies". (At left: me at a school board meeting last Ramadan. Photo: Yasmin Nair. To see me at my best see page top. Or here where I entered a contest about demonstrating healthy shape acceptance. )A video of Joelle Ruby Ryan taken by a friend.
How about some of her work on fat studies? Let us judge by the quality of her work. Her webpage links to nothing published or unpublished on fat studies. Googeling for academic papers, even unpublished, or self published ones, webpages, or even blog postings, yields nothing. Though she was involved on some level with a panel discussion of fat studies. Let us look at her groundbreaking book "gender quake". Which I have not read in full so this is not a book review. However one can look in the table of contents and draw some reasonable inferences. The poems in the book in particular in a part entitled "Just say "No!" to Assimilation: Forwarding Radical Resistances", are entitled "Do Not Pass", "A Poem to Gay Sell Outs" and "Fuck your binaries (verbatim)". Like any good titles these likely reflect in microcosm the contents of the compositions.
- "Do Not Pass". Passing for a transsexual is the concept of being accepted as a non trans man or woman by others. There are a number of transsexuals who equate passing with deception. Some of them seem to resent those who pass.
- "A Poem to a Gay Sellout". I can imagine any log cabin republicans would have plenty to say about that. To many liberal LGBT people anyone who is not on board for all manner of ultraleft wing idea's is a sell out. I suspect that's the general tone of the poem. Just based on the shrill nature of other things she has written.
- Last but not least "Fuck Your Bianaries (verbatim)".
The words used in the poem and video convey anger and resentment at any "binaries" and those who more or less fit those binaries. "Binaries" such as male female, gay straight, man woman, and fat thin. Based on the username transamazon I take it Mz. Ryan created this. When it's time to F the masculine feminine binary, the images chosen are male and female models. One of which is Pamela Anderson who is considered to be beautiful by our societies standards. She invokes the image of crucifixion as she feels oppressed. Being transgender can be oppressive for sure. She also invokes the image of a upheld black fist. As in the black nationalist salute thus appropriating a almost sacred "ethnic" black symbol for her self. What I suppose is intended to be a defiant statement of non-conformity with society seems to me to be ... little more than conformity with a subculture rather than true individualism. "Fuck Your Binaries" a work which demonstrates much of what I suspected. Many "fat studies"/ "fat acceptance"/ "fat feminist" are simply embittered people who want to intellectualize their resentment of those who succeed where they chronically fail.
That's right Mz, she says she is neither male nor female and a gender neutral salutation like that shows that I have respected her personal gender identity.
