Word: Realness

This kind of seems like an obvious word to use, especially since we've used it before, but I wanted to try to relate it to observations from another class. I had to watch this about a month ago in a documentary/ethnography class, and we discussed the filmmaker's intentions and what we saw happening in the film. The film seemed to show two parts of their lives: the ball (charade) and their outside lives (reality). Just as Butler is saying, at the balls they are trying to duplicate something that they are not but in a more glamorous or exaggerated way. The scenes in their real life show how life is outside of the ball, and they are still transsexual but without putting on a show of the white, straight world. We also discussed that this divided environment was a means of highlighting their struggle and what they conceive as real. The film focuses on a real identity and lifestyle with a less real ball.