Maggie Nelson’s 2016 memoir The Argonauts explores the relationship between Nelson and her genderqueer partner Harry Dodge, both of whom are undergoing a transformation. Nelson’s change is caused by her pregnancy, while Dodge is in the process of becoming male-passing through the means of hormone injections and surgery. The book focuses on the concept of fluidity, whether this is applied to sexuality, gender or bodily changes. Nelson’s memoir builds on quotations and ideas from a diverse array of authors, philosophers and artists, including Catherine Opie, Judith Butler, Allen Ginsberg and Roland Barthes, whose theoretical and critical ideas and concepts she applies to her own experiences and observations. By applying these theories and criticisms
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By challenging the fixedness of language and proving it to be fluid through the continuous redefinition of its meaning, she provokes the reader to challenge other aspects of life that are generally considered to be fixed, such as gender. At the same time, she uses Barthes’ theory to define the transformation she and her partner Harry both are experiencing. As Nelson’s body is changing due to her pregnancy, Harry is changing his to appear more masculine through testosterone injections and chest-removal surgery. The metaphor that is posed entails that, even though their bodies are changing, they remain the same …show more content…
Nelson’s challenging of binary ideas of gender originates in the need for visibility of underprivileged minorities. She claims that “visibility makes possible, but it also disciplines: disciplines gender” (107), meaning that exposure is necessary to fight the norms. Nelson’s call for visibility stems from the “eagerness of the world to throw piles of shit on those of us who want to savage or simply cannot help but savage the norms that so desperately need savaging” (39). The authoritative voice she employs in her novel helps her to “savage” social norms related to gender, sexuality and family and inspires readers to continue the fight against the heteronormative binary. Joe Moran describes the essay form as “open-ended and provisional, conveying a mind in process” (12). According to him, it can “take an emotionally freighted topic and worry away at it, holding it up and turning it around slowly in the light” (13) and gives Nelson’s authorial tone “a sense of unity” (6). Gina Consolino-Barsotti agrees, saying that Nelson’s essay “challenges both the heteronormative and homonormative assumptions inherent in one’s identity”, which, through the personal narrative, “often feels like a conversation”, insinuating that,
By challenging the fixedness of language and proving it to be fluid through the continuous redefinition of its meaning, she provokes the reader to challenge other aspects of life that are generally considered to be fixed, such as gender. At the same time, she uses Barthes’ theory to define the transformation she and her partner Harry both are experiencing. As Nelson’s body is changing due to her pregnancy, Harry is changing his to appear more masculine through testosterone injections and chest-removal surgery. The metaphor that is posed entails that, even though their bodies are changing, they remain the same …show more content…
Nelson’s challenging of binary ideas of gender originates in the need for visibility of underprivileged minorities. She claims that “visibility makes possible, but it also disciplines: disciplines gender” (107), meaning that exposure is necessary to fight the norms. Nelson’s call for visibility stems from the “eagerness of the world to throw piles of shit on those of us who want to savage or simply cannot help but savage the norms that so desperately need savaging” (39). The authoritative voice she employs in her novel helps her to “savage” social norms related to gender, sexuality and family and inspires readers to continue the fight against the heteronormative binary. Joe Moran describes the essay form as “open-ended and provisional, conveying a mind in process” (12). According to him, it can “take an emotionally freighted topic and worry away at it, holding it up and turning it around slowly in the light” (13) and gives Nelson’s authorial tone “a sense of unity” (6). Gina Consolino-Barsotti agrees, saying that Nelson’s essay “challenges both the heteronormative and homonormative assumptions inherent in one’s identity”, which, through the personal narrative, “often feels like a conversation”, insinuating that,