Stephen Orgel

I found the Orgel article: “The Performance of Desire” to offer much more interesting in its material. I found it very interesting the method in which he sets up his discussion of women in Renaissance England. I didn’t know that it was only in England that women where not allow to be actresses; I assumed, as many do, that what is considered normative in one part of Europe is the same case for the remainder. I also enjoyed the tidbit given by Orgel that the theatre audience was made up of mostly women and it is they who decided what popular theatre is. In the view of this information, I think it is very interesting that the women that were excluded from the acting “club” have actually more power, than if they had been included.

I found myself baffled and yet very amused by the discussion of genitals; I think I understand it as both sexes originate from the female, as such women should be the one as with authority. Since they are the original and the male sex is the “other”, it is men who should be secondary and not women. Although I found it EXTREMELY HILARIOUS the little anecdote: “The most famous and recent, a shepherd named Germain Garnier, had been a women named Marie until the age of fifteen, at which time, as she was chasing her pigs, her genitals turned inside out, transforming her from female to male.” Are you kidding me? Thank god Orgel put in the second part about Montaigne’s disbelief of this. I think if he would have just left it at that I would have probably stopped reading, due to absurdities.

-Matt