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A week or two ago I was learning postmodernism in my Sociology course. It was hard to understand, but this book helped me see what it really means. By definition, postmodernism is an " intellectual stance or mode of discourse defined by an attitude of skepticism toward what it considers as the grand narratives and ideologies of modernism, as well as opposition to epistemic certainty and the stability of meaning." In short, it debates the power labels and words have over us in the grand scheme of things. Facts can always be disputed, there are no "grand narratives" or shared meanings, individual experiences are limited and cannot produce universal truths, everything is interpretable, meanings are variable, and knowledge itself is a social construct. In the words of my professor describing postmodernism, "the world has lost stability and is in constant flux and uncertainty."
I have to say that from what I heard in my sociology course, postmodernism did not resonate with me. It seemed one-sided and pessimistic, almost drab. But in my gender studies textbook, I realized I am more of a post modernist than I thought. I especially relate to the viewings of Postmodern feminists. For years I have been constantly asking myself "what does it mean to see ourselves as already sexed, gendered, raced, and classed beings?". I was talking about this yesterday with a friend before even reading these words in our textbook. I have friends that are nonbinary and I think how harmful it is for people to be already gendered and sexed at birth. But what else are we supposed to do? Keep all our children gender neutral? Or give them more agency for how they would like to look? Binaries are so written into our society that is hard to see past them, but I am proud of Postmodernism for putting effort into deconstructing our binaries and structures of living and understanding the world. It helps us "expose our own biases" and see just how much our cultures and societies shape us and how we think.
Postmodernism embraces differences and disorder, which is something our societies do not. The reason so many people are racist, sexist, homophobic, or just ignorant, is because from the day we are born we are taught by our surroundings that differences are NOT okay. Any difference is felt to be an attack at ourselves and our understandings. If something is out of the normal it makes us question everything, so most people try to suppress it which brews ignorance.
I feel that in today's age, a lot of the younger generations could identify with postmodernism. It is something I think we should all attempt to understand and incorporate into our everyday lives.
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