‘Gender Queer’ memoir battles ban

BY ALEXA DUMAS Web Editor

“Sometimes I feel like my brain is a machine built by someone who lost the instruction manual.”

How does society shape a person’s identity? How can society be harmful to one’s view of themselves? What does one do if they don’t feel like they belong within mainstream society? How does one combat those feelings of exclusion?

These thoughts are at the core of Maia Kobabe’s 2019 graphic memoir, “Gender Queer.” Kobabe explores what gender identity and gender expression means, along with how a person defines their sexuality while questioning their gender. All of these complexities are expressed through the use of illustration, which helps readers gain a better understanding of Kobabe’s journey.

Kobabe’s pronouns are e/em/eirs, which are known as Spivak pronouns. Spivak pronouns are a type of gender-neutral pronouns developed by Michael Spivak, an American mathematician, and were used to describe a person using gender-neutral language. Although readers don’t learn about Kobabe’s discovery of Spivak pronouns until the conclusion of the novel, it is important to note.

“Gender Queer” has two beginnings: one beginning before the title of the memoir, almost like a preface in a novel, and the actual beginning of the memoir, which starts when Kobabe was 3 years old.

The first beginning shows how Kobabe started the memoir in the first place: Kobabe heading off to San Francisco to start eir Master’s program in illustration. Kobabe goes on to show how the writing for “Gender Queer” started in an autobiography class. This sets the memoir up for readers to gain knowledge of who Kobabe is today, which allows readers to become invested in learning about what events led up to the publication of “Gender Queer.”

It is clear from the start that Kobabe always struggled with eir identity.

Hemingway said that the current culture of hunting for more “rare” variants is a drawback.

“Resellers are probably the worst part about being a collector,” Hemmingway said. Resellers are individuals who purposely buy many of a popular variant and resell them online for an insurmountable upcharge.

Hemingway explained that the toys can be “addicting.”

“Once you buy one Squishmallow it almost becomes an addiction,” Hemingway claimed. “I bought my first one at my old job and I’ve been collecting ever since. I probably have above 50 split between my dorm and my house.”

Hemingway shared how the toys have assisted them.

“I know they’ve helped me calm down during meltdowns before,”

Hemingway said. “They have a great texture and offer great comfort. I think they greatly benefit neurodivergent people.”

Joshua Simmons, a junior anthropology major, has also been delighted by the plushies.

“I like how they’re basically pillows with character,” Simmons said. “I do have a few favorites that I either have had since the beginning of my squish endeavor, or that I got as gifts.”

However, Simmons shared how over time the culture surrounding the toy line has created issues.

“They suffer from every modern day ‘collectible,’” Simmons shared. “They’re over-produced and over-consumed.”

Jacob Brant, a Plattsburgh local, has sour feelings for the toy line.

Legendary ‘Black Dahlia’ murder remains unsolved

BY BRYN FAWN Opinions Editor & PR Chair

Murder is gruesome, bloody and vicious. It’s difficult to do, and even more difficult to get away with. How could someone deposit a body, with not a drop of blood in sight, and be a freeman for 76 years?

Many cases remain cold, unsolved, but not as many are as infamous as the case of “Black Dahlia.” The FBI has had the investigation on record since 1947. A naked woman was found by a mother in a public park in Los Angeles, where she originally perceived the corpse as a mannequin. The woman was later identified as Elizabeth Short. Short had traveled to Los Angeles in hopes of becoming a break-out star.

Instead her face was plastered in the news as a murder victim. She was 22 years old, and her case became nicknamed “Black Dahlia” due to her nature to dress in black, and the popular movie that had been released at the time, “Blue Dahlia.”

This murder took place in a time where having a trail was difficult. Short had two different occurrences in the FBI’s database, one for applying to be a clerk and another for an arrest. Her mug shot from the arrest was used in papers to spread word of the crime.

Investigators suspect that the killer had medical education, due to the surgeon-like precision of the cuts on the body. Short had been dissected like a science project. No blood was found at the scene, meaning her body had been dumped there and killed somewhere else. Short’s body was cut at the waist, in half. The killer also sliced Short’s face at the corners of her mouth, giving her the “Joker smile,” reminiscent of the pop culture Batman character “The Joker.” Sections of her skin were removed. She had sustained cuts and bruises on her breasts and thighs. An autopsy revealed that her cause of death was ultimately due to lacerations and an hemorrhage from blunt trauma to her face.