A Defense of My Final Project:

The queer voice today is louder than it ever has been. Pride flags proudly hang outside establishments and billow strongly in the forceful wind, influential institutions like our very own university encourage the use of introducing oneself with their preferred pronouns, and legislation passed in the past few years has allowed queer people to share the same rights as their heterosexual peers than ever before. However, transgender women are still being murdered at an alarming rate, the current adminisitration has created laws that actively discriminate against LGBTQ+ citizens, and schools are firmly silencing its queer students. Because of these reasons, and many more, my final project is an absolutely necessary testament of the queer voice that many have attempted to squash under the boot of institutional protection. This project proves that though many have tried to silence us, we still scream for justice, for representation, and for equality. 

Over the course of this class, I have realized that there are plenty of different ways to write about social change. From manifestos, to letters, to memoirs, and even memes, these different mediums allow for different perspectives and experiences to shine through. Through this course, I have seen how meaning can be expressed in more ways than just language. Layli Long Soldier’s WHEREAS and Nick Drnaso’s Sabrina made this quite clear to me, as they both relied on formatting and the purposeful lack of language to express their respective points. A question that still lurks in my head is how exactly I can incorporate this lack of language and formatting into my own work in order to express my point. Can I make a point about social change that does not inherently rely on language? 

Process Notes: I know these two paragraphs don’t really go together, but I wanted to write the first one as a possible introduction to my project, and the second paragraph responds to the prompt for this week’s assignment. I wanted to include some poetic elements and imagery in my first paragraph as poetry is a form of literary expression that I love. I would be open to feedback if this doesn’t particularly work here, or ways in which I can connect these two paragraphs. Also, I plan to title my final project, I’m just not sure what it is yet.