English 114B Portfolio

Tina Vartanian Makari

After completing the course English 114B here at Cal State Northridge, I have created
several different forms of writing. Throughout the course, I as a writer have developed
as well as improved many of my writing skills. These skills were put into use when
writing on and observing a variety of the different topics. Topics such as new
urbanism, sexuality, gun control, transgender and drag community, etc. Of course,
most of my work I am greatly proud of; however, theres always room for revision. As
a writer my weakness was connecting the topic to my personal life. Although I have
not mastered this skill yet, I have tremendously improved by constantly thinking how
will this affect me? Every writer has their weaknesses, but they also have their
strengths. I believe my strength as a writer is my ability to move from one idea to the
next very smoothly and effectively. This allows my essays to flow simultaneously.
This course has opened my eyes to several issues that I did not think existed. Topics
such as hate crimes toward the transgender, drag, and gay communities, the impact of
increased sexualization, and lastly how the internet and social media affect our current
generation.


May 2014

Project Space had several
interesting topics,
especially because of the
different interpretations one
can make of the
progression itself. It
included topics such as new
urbanism, immigration
reform groups, gun control,
as well as sexualization in
popular culture. Project
Space basically focused on
the use and way our society
is built.
Project Space
Deals with the space and the issues
surrounding us
Throughout history women have struggled
with equality and freedom amongst men. Over
the years, women have gone from being perceived
as property whether it was their husbands or
fathers, to actual human beings. By changing the
outlook on women, the dynamics of sexuality also
changed. Women in general have embraced their
sexuality through their appearances, their postures,
and the way they carry themselves. The question
here being, has increased sexuality impacted our
identities? Of course it has. Although some people
believe that sexuality leads to violence and the
degradation of women, I believe that it is
empowering towards women because it allows
sexual freedom, the ability to have control of
ones body, as well as expressing and individuals
thoughts, fears, desires, etc.




Jessica Simpson
and Khloe
Kardashian are
using their sex
appeal to make a
statement on
different social
topics.

Persepolis 2: The Story
of a Return
Has the increase in
sexualization in society
caused us to have a rape
culture?
rape culture is a
concept used to describe
a culture used to describe
a culture in which rape
and sexual violence are
common
-Wikipedia

Project Text
Deals with the influence of the media on how society sees
certain issues such as the transgender and drag community.

Because there is neither an essence that
gender ex- presses or externalizes nor an
objective ideal to which gender aspires;
gender is not a fact, the various acts of gender
create the idea of gender, and without those
acts, there would be no gender at all
-Butler






A Girl Like Me is a movie that tells the
story of Gwen Arajo. Gwen, born a
male, was a victim of a hate crime and
was killed by her former boyfriends.