Middlesex-Journal+Entry+9

The Mediterranean Diet, The Wolverette, and Waxing Lyrical

- Pg 271: Fra Angelico- An Early Italian Renaissance panter- described as having "a rare and perfect talent" by Vasari in his //Live of the Artists.// - Pg 286: Eclampsia- an acute and life-threatening complication of pregnancy, characterized by the appearance of tonic-clonic seizures. - Pg 287: Dupuytren's Contracture- a fixed flexion contracture of the hand where the fingers bend towards the palm and cannot be fully extended. It is an inherited proliferative connective tissue disorder which involves the palmar fascia of the hand. - Pg 287: "They were the Hitler of foods" - Pg 302: Boethius- a philosopher of the early 6th century- Born in rome, composed his //Consolation of Philosophy-// a philosophical treatise on fortune, death, and other issues. - Pg 309: (Heinrich) Schliemann- A german businessman and amateurarchaeologist, and an advocate of the historical reality of places mentioned in the works of Homer. - Pg 316: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi- developed the Transcendental Meditation technique and was the leader and guru of the TM movement, characterized as a new religious movement and also as a non-religious movement.
 * Definitions**: Wikipedia
 * Bratwurst- a sausage usually composed of veal, pork, or beef.
 * Sauerbraten- a German pot roast, usually of beef, marinated before cooking in a mixture of vinegar, water, spices and seasonings.
 * Königsberger Klopse- Prussian specialty of meatballs in a white sauce with capers.


 * What does the term hermaphrodite mean to you? Do you know the definition? What associations do you have about the word? What about transsexual?**

I do not know a lot about hermaphrodites. People do not talk about this word a lot. I think a hermaphrodite is a person that is born with both male and female genitalia. I don't have a lot of associations with the word. My one association would be Jamie Lee Curtis because I have heard that she was born as a hermaphrodite and had surgery to become a woman. I think transsexual is when a person identifies with the opposite sex and may act more similar to the opposite sex, even thought they may not be attracted to their own sex. (Still attracted to opposite sex but identifies and acts like opposite sex?). Both of my ideas of these words are probably very politically wrong but I do not know a lot about either.

Dictionary. com definition- Hermaphrodite: an individual in which reproductive organs of both sexes are present

Merriam-Webster deifinition- Transsexual: a person who strongly identifies with the opposite sex and may seek to live as a member of this sex especially by undergoing surgery and hormone therapy to obtain the necessary physical appearance (as by changing the external sex organs)
 * 6.** These chapters really shows how much gender roles are engrained into society and the fear of being different. These chapters show the beginning of Calliope's development. She is constantly noticing the "transformations" of her class mates and is extremely self-conscious about her own body. She is not experiencing any of the development that the girls in her class are and it makes Calliope worry. She has ridiculous thoughts as to why she isn't developing like them, one being her "Mediterranean diet". Calliope notices some abnormal things in her development but she hides these things. She thinks she is too abnormal so she does not want to share them with anyone. In the locker room she waits until everyone has gone and she still is too self conscious to change and show her body so she uses a towel while changing to cover herself. These chapters show how people feel when they are not going through what is considered "normal". Calliope only wants to be like the other girls and she does multiple things to make herself appear "normal". She starts waxing her upper lip and uses multiple products "in a losing battle to make [herself] look beautiful" (312). She is afraid to be different. Her feelings are depicted very clearly in this chapter. She wants to fit in and fears being different from the other girls. She does not know how to handle her differences so she hides them, keeping a secret.