Complex Personhood- Soleil Hernandez (1)

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1 Small Assignment #1- Complex Personhood Soleil Hernandez University of California Berkeley GWS10: Introduction to Gender and Women’s Studies Dr. Barbara Barnes September 13, 2023

2 Small Assignment #1- Complex Personhood “Complex personhood means that all people, albeit in specific forms, are beset by contradiction, remember and forget and recognize and misrecognize themselves and others. Complex personhood means that people suffer graciously and selfishly too, get stuck in what symptomizes their troubles and also transforms themselves. Complex personhood means that even those the society names “other” are never that. Complex personhood means that even those who haunt the dominant society are haunted too by things they sometimes have names for and sometimes do not. Complex personhood means that the stories people tell about themselves, about their problems, about their society and about their society’s problems are entangled and weave between what’s immediately available as a story and what their imaginations are reaching towards.” (Gordon, Theory and Justice, pg.100-101) Put simply, complex personhood means that life is much more convoluted than it is made out to be. We are so beset with contradictions that oftentimes our words do not parallel our thoughts and or actions. Truthfully, everyone is merely looking out for their best interests and no one else’s. This creates a competition within our society, which in turn leads to division of classes, race, religion, sex, etc… Although, this does not mean that every person is selfish and heedless. The point that Avery Gordon is trying to make is that everyone is flawed in some way or the other, no matter how good our intentions may sometimes be. Even those who seem the most humanitarian, charitable, or selfless. She also brings up a very good point of language in regards to complex personhood. She states that imagination plays a big part in story telling. Many examples of this can be found in the media. Writers twist stories with the mindset of what is most profitable. Labeling a situation with just one word, such as racism and including that in a headline is simply impossible because of all the other factors that must be considered. Yet, it is still being done. Language is such an important part of complex personhood because language allows us to find people who are similar to us, while also segregating us. Oftentimes language flattens a situation and does not give justice to all the factors involved. We need to be careful and specific when labeling situations. Complex personhood is a reasoning as to why humans act the way they do. It is a philosophical idea which means to justify the contradictions riddled within our lives.

3 Example of Complex Personhood in the media On January 7, 2023, 29 year old African American Tyre Nichols was harshly beaten by 5 black officers in Memphis, Tennessee. He was pulled over for “alleged reckless driving” ( ABC News, Alfonseca ). The officers proceeded to pull Nichols out of the car as he yelled “I’m just trying to go home.” ( CNN, Rabinowitz ). He was pepper sprayed, tased, punched, kicked, and repeatedly defiled as he called out for his Mother. Nichols proceeded to flee on foot from the 5 police officers, when he was caught and beaten again. Ambulance response was delayed, but when medics finally arrived they found the 29 year-old in critical condition. He suffered blunt force trauma to his head and torso, multiple contusions, hemorrhaging in the brain, and abrasions ( NPR, Franklin and Wamsley ). Sadly, Nichols died in the hospital just three days later. After 8 months of trials the officers involved in Nichols’ death must finally face the consequences of their actions. Just yesterday, September 12th, U.S Attorney Kevin Ritz filed an indictment which lists four counts. They read as follows…Excessive Force and Failure to Intervene, Deliberate Indifference, Conspiracy to Witness Tamper, and Obstruction of Justice ( The Associated Press NBC 24, Chaney ) This very disturbing example from the media is a very good portrayal of complex personhood. It is important to note that the aforementioned incident took place only a few months ago. Thus insinuating that complex personhood is still very prominent in our society today. It is not just a theory that has been written with no transference to our real lives. Media coverage largely focuses on the fact that Nichols was killed by officers of his own race. But it has not been made common knowledge that Nichols was also a father of four. He loved photography and skateboarding and was very close to his mother. These details humanize Nichols instead of labeling him as “just another Black man” that has been wronged by our corrupt justice system. The news’ intentional disregard of these facts relates back to what Avery Gordon stated about society’s problems being entangled in reality and what our imaginations are reaching towards. By mislabeling this situation as merely one more incident of police brutality instead of stopping to remember the person that Nichols truly was, the media willingly keeps consumers ignorant. Complex

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