Tipping the velvet...

Just had to get that into a title somewhere here. But on a more serious note, the book as a whole really does render itself well to the whole gender issue in several ways. To me, the most interesting thing to think about is way Nan changes over the course of the book with regard to how she perceives herself. In the beginning, she seems to be pretty much an innocent girl who just happens to have a thing for Kitty. However, as the story progresses we see her experimenting and gradually developing her own persona based on what she learns. After she catches kitty cheating on her, the dreamy fairytale-like feel quickly disappears. When we see her under the strict rule of Diana, she is going through a transitional phase. As a pretend male prostitute, she does seem to reach some satisfaction through her ability to pass as a male. However, she soon moves on and as she progresses, she begins to achieve a certain level of self confidence that allows her to finally become an independent woman as opposed to a kind of subject. I guess if I had to point out what about this process interests me most I would have to point to the section where she poses as a male prostitute. It just seems interesting to see how she plays the role of a man in such a nonchalant manner, almost as if she just decided to see what it would be like to be a man. This book, more so than any of the others we have read this semester, gives an interesting incite into the issue of gender relations, performance, etc...