1.) Directly preceding page one of the first chapter there are two short excerpts from Shakespeare plays, Twelfth Night and As You Like It. Why do you think Vincent chose these particular literary works and what significance do they serve?
Vincent probably chose these two Shakespearean plays because they are excellent, smart, credible sources which express similar themes and ideas as her story. She is drawing parallels from history and old literature, reinforcing the idea that gender bending and disguise trace back to ancient times.
In Twelfth Night disguises and clothing changes are central to the plot. In the story two characters disguise their genders--Molvolia as a woman and the well-known example of Viola who leads everyone to believe that she is really a man, much like Vincent does in Self-Made Man. Part of the excerpt reads, "but this my masculine upsurped attire.../conceal me what I am, and be my aid/ For such disguise as haply shall become/ The form of my intent..." Shakespeare, like Vincent, raises questions of gender reversal and identity, questioning whether or not disguise can be achieved merely through outer appearance or through greater mental conditioning.
In As You Like It, Shakespeare writes the story of heroine Rosalind, an independent, strong-willed young woman who uses her charm and cleverness to disguise herself as Ganymede, a handsome young man, thereby transcending society's boundaries and expectations of men and women's assigned roles. Rosalind experiences the anxiety and ambiguity that comes along with gender similarly to what Vincent discovers through her social experiment.
2.) Vincent noted that the most significant and odd part of the experiment was not the attention she received dressed as a man, but rather the lack of comments, stares and interaction. Do you believe that Vincent’s reasoning behind the inevitable stares women receive in her neighborhood is a practice of dominance and entitlement or simply a natural biological impulse?
Her reasoning is most likely a combination of both. While it is a reality that man possesses a natural biological impulse to find a suitable partner with whom he can mate, it could be overly-simplistic to say that all stares are a direct indication of male chauvinism and dominion. It's important to consider a number of other factors such as the social and class status of the neighborhood in which Vincent resides. As the token male in our group, Eric attested that personally, he doesn't consciously try to assert dominance while interacting with women, yet he acknowledges that biological attraction plays a part in all male-female interaction.
3.) Dressed as a man, Vincent noted the lack of eye contact and acknowledgement with other men on the street and deemed it “disrespectful” and “rude”. She writes, “to look away is to accept the status quo, to leave each man to his tiny sphere of influence, the small buffer of pride and poise that surrounds him and keeps him.” Do you agree that generally men maintain this peaceful “code of behavior” or that they are equally as confrontational when interacting with each other? Why do you think men act differently among women?
We agreed upon the fact that most human beings--not just men--seem to hold a certain personal buffer zone which allows people to keep to themselves. Holding eye contact for prolonged periods of time is deemed strange for both genders, unless there is a reason to be staring (something is out of the norm). However, when people are engaging with members of the same gender, there are definite distinctions. For example, a pair of (assumingly heterosexual) men conversing, laughing and drinking at a bar would probably alter their behavior or body language if a woman joined them (may become more tame, smooth, competitive, egotistical, etc) compared to if a man had joined them. This may be because they are nervous or want to impress the other sex.
4.) How do you think Vincent’s childhood and upbringing affected her personal gender identity? Do you think she would have so enthusiastically agreed to this experiment if she hadn't grown up as a tom boy? Why or why not?
On page 16, Vincent reveals, "As my childhood proclivities can attest, I have always been and remain fascinated, puzzled and even disturbed at times by gender...I have always lived as my truest self somewhere on the boundary between masculine and feminine..." A self-professed "hard core tomboy", Norah was the type of girl who cringed at the thought of pink, ruffles and dresses, and instead had an innate affinity towards GI Joes and hiking boots. It's difficult to pinpoint if her upbringing affected her sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Possibly she was influenced by growing up with two brothers? Perhaps she had imitated her mother who often played the parts of a man? As a lesbian, Vincent has questioned her sexuality and gender during her years of development. She first got the idea to disguise herself as a man by dressing in drag on the streets of New York City. It is likely that her upbringing and general interest in gender did, indeed, affect her decision to feign a year and a half of her life as a male.
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