In my social justice class, I chose to read the book "The Last Time I Wore a Dress," by Daphne Scholinski. Scholinski writes a humorous, and ironic memoir of her life in a mental institution. She explains the difficulty in finding her identity and being accepted during her stay. The memoir reveals her experiences where psychiatrists and staff are dehumanizing in their “ironic” efforts to help. I found it particularly interesting in how the setting defined her personality. Many times, Daphne would feel forced to over exaggerate and lie about herself for the amusement of the psychiatrists’ close-minded mentality. She would go as far as to make it a game with other patients, trying to see what new diagnosis could be added to her profile. There is a point in where she acts anorexic, and without much surprise, the psychiatrists easily eat it all up. Despite Scholinski’s witty attitude and strong character, there are many times where she feels hopeless and depressed. She would frequently think about suicide, and even went as far as attempting it once. The inability to define herself and be accepted in society caused her to be insecure and aggressive towards others. The abuse from her parents, as well as her confusion for liking girls caused many insecurities throughout her life. During a time when being a lesbian was widely unacceptable in our society, she was often labeled as having a Gender Identity Disorder.
I found this book truly fascinating; I couldn’t believe how psychiatrists and the staff would force her to be more “feminine.” She explains that all the psychiatrists appeared to really care and pay attention, but she could see right through them. She didn’t feel as if she could be sincere with anyone, causing her to exaggerate and make up wild stories. It frustrated me at how the staff couldn’t see improvement, or didn’t believe the patients when they told the truth. There was a time when Daphne thought she’d had enough with the alcohol and drug abuse lie, and she made an effort to be honest. However, the psychiatrist labeled this as denial. I found it unbelievable at how every action at the mental institution was considered abnormal. The psychiatrist and staff focused on changing the individual, rather than trying to help the individual. This gives me an entirely new perspective in diagnosing people and defining their problems. Despite the fact that this book was written in the 1980s, it gives a new perspective to the mindset of staff and doctors in psychiatric hospitals. A student in my class mentioned that not much has changed since, so I'm interested in doing more research to the macro level of psychiatric hospitals.
Observation: A student tried to commit suicide in the School of Social Work building. There are many questions unanswered.
Observation: A student tried to commit suicide in the School of Social Work building. There are many questions unanswered.
I read part of this book too and found it quite startling that this is how people have been treated in institutions as little as 20-30 years ago. I think it really highlights how shallow and arbitrary adhering to gender stereotypes are - as if putting on lipstick and mascara is going to internally change who a person is. I think it really shows how little people understand a naturally occurring phenomena - which is that people lie more on a continuum of gender expression and not a binary of male/female. That is not how nature is, so it's interesting that society holds so strong to those narrow stereotypes. Thanks for sharing.
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