I've been watching a lot of RuPaul's Drag Race and it's got me thinking... You know, in this day and age, I feel like we are so quick to not only judge others, but to take our judgement so far that we then begin to judge an entire group of people.
Up until recently, I had a total misconception about drag queens. I believed not only that drag queens were very feminine, but also that, in a way, they wanted to be women. Being exposed to RuPaul and his queens has really opened my eyes, not only to drag queens but to both the gay community, which I've always felt severed from, and the difference between a transexual and a transgender.
Let's begin with the difference between a transexual and a transgender. A transexual is someone whose mind works like the opposite sex's. In short, they're "insides" feel like they're the opposite sex. Meaning that, in their heart and mind, they feel like they're the opposite sex. A transgender, however, is someone who has or is in the process of transitioning into the opposite sex. Meaning, surgically, they are switching their body from their "birth gender" to the gender they feel they should have been from the first place. That means, possibly, prior to the transition, a.k.a. sex change, that individual was a transexual and, after some very long time to think it over, decided that they were tired of feeling like the opposite sex, but not being truly able to embody the appearance of the opposite sex.
Now, onto the main topic on my mind: Drag queens. As I said before, I believed drag queens were all overly feminine and wanted to be women themselves. However, once I started watching RuPaul's Drag Race, my perception took a full 180-degree turn. Firstly, not all drag queens are overly feminine. Many of them are, but not all, and that doesn't make them any less of a drag queen in any way. Secondly, drag queens are so misunderstood for being perceived as desiring to be women. It didn't take me very long to wrap my head around what drag is really all about: Performance.
Being a drag queen is sort of like a creative outlet. Drag queens are performers, not transexuals. Because, you see, especially with gay men, there is a feminine side of us that we are in tune with. That does not mean we want to be women simply because we have a feminine side. Drag is a creative outlet for this feminine side. To give this feminine side life and to set it free, gay men dress up like women. What fun is it to stroll around in men's clothes while trying to set this feminine side free? There isn't any. Thus, gay men dress in drag in order to really bring this side of them to life, usually by giving it a name.
For example, my feminine side that I am most in tune with is Shanaynay. I created her off of Shane Dawson's character when I was a freshman in high school. I created her simply to make my friends laugh while we all sat around at the lunch table. If you think about it, I was doing what drag queens do: Perform. Now, my "performances" were usually just me talking like a girl from the ghetto, but if someone would have given me the outfit, a wig, some heels and, most importantly, the confidence to put all of that on, I could have knocked my little lunch performances out of the park. Why? Because, with the clothes on, I would have been able to feel more like Shanaynay and let her take over, per say; I could have given her true life and let the character in my head become a physical, tangible character and I could have shared the image in my head of Shanaynay with my friends.
Drag queens are not transexuals; they are performers giving life to and embracing their feminine sides.
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Common Misconceptions About Computer Memory, Processors, and Gaming Computers
Many people these days have some misconceptions about technology and, as I have been watching an obscene amount of technology videos lately, I'd like to share my newfound knowledge.
Misconception #1: Adding more RAM (memory) to your computer will make it faster.
Until recently, I believed that adding more memory to a computer makes it faster. I was surprised to learn that, in most cases, this is not true. Adding more RAM to a computer doesn't necessarily guarantee that it will be any faster. Adding an SSD (solid state drive, which is the same type of technology used in phones, iPods, etc. as a means of storage), however, WILL make a difference as your computer can read and write data to it much, much faster than it can to a traditional hard drive. So, yes, 4GB of memory will definitely be enough for the computer of your average Joe. You'll only need to upgrade if you use programs that are very demanding on a computer, such as a video processing program.
Misconception #2: The better the processor, the faster my computer will be.
Once again, I believed in this until just recently. As it so happens, the CPU (central processing unit, a.k.a. the processor) doesn't exactly use itself as a whole when you're, say, playing a web-based game like Candy Crush Saga. Instead, it only uses what it needs to. Why make a processor push out all the power it's capable of when the program you're using only requires it to push out a fraction of that? This applies to multi-core processors as well, i.e. quad-core processors. Just because a processor has more, that does not mean that your computer will be using them all at all times. For most people, an Intel i3 processor will be more than enough. As I said before about RAM, the only time you'll need a higher-end CPU is when you are using programs that are very demanding on the system.
Misconception #3: For a computer to be considered a gaming computer, it needs to have lots of RAM and a high-end CPU.
Watching all of these technology videos has gotten me in the mood (again) to look into building my own custom computer at some point. As with the two previous misconceptions, I believed that gaming computers needed to have high-end hardware. However, once again, I found that I was completely wrong--well, to an extent. What I said before is still valid: You DON'T need 8GB of RAM or an Intel i7 or AMD equivalent for your computer to be a "gaming" computer. Surprisingly, your computer will not be needing much of this when you're playing a game. Most of what it will be dependent on is all in the GPU (graphics processing unit, a.k.a. graphics card). The better the graphics card, the more performance you'll be able to get out of your computer when you want to play a game. Graphics cards are equip with on-board memory (yes, just like RAM) and thus the additional 8GB of RAM, for example, isn't needed. A graphics card with, say, 500MB of memory isn't going to perform as well as one with 1GB or even 2GB.
The problem with a computer you buy from Walmart, for example, is that a majority of them are going to have a stock GPU, or an on-board GPU. Meaning, the GPU is soldered to the motherboard and more than likely isn't going to do a very great job at handling those more-demanding games. The only way to upgrade the graphics on your computer is to purchase a graphics card that can be inserted into a slot on the motherboard. That means, yes, you will have to open your computer and manually insert the card. But, no fear, this is probably one of the simplest upgrades possible.
So, next time you're shopping for a computer, keep all this in mind: Unless you're using some very demanding programs, you DON'T need 8GB of memory and you DON'T need an Intel i7 processor, or even i5. And, although costly, an SSD would be nice to look into, as it improves performance of your computer and is less prone to "crashing" or "dying" like a traditional hard drive very much is. Lastly, for any gamers out there, remember that you also DO NOT need 8GB of RAM or a high-end CPU. Focus mainly on the graphics card of your system and you'll see a difference.
Misconception #1: Adding more RAM (memory) to your computer will make it faster.
Until recently, I believed that adding more memory to a computer makes it faster. I was surprised to learn that, in most cases, this is not true. Adding more RAM to a computer doesn't necessarily guarantee that it will be any faster. Adding an SSD (solid state drive, which is the same type of technology used in phones, iPods, etc. as a means of storage), however, WILL make a difference as your computer can read and write data to it much, much faster than it can to a traditional hard drive. So, yes, 4GB of memory will definitely be enough for the computer of your average Joe. You'll only need to upgrade if you use programs that are very demanding on a computer, such as a video processing program.
Misconception #2: The better the processor, the faster my computer will be.
Once again, I believed in this until just recently. As it so happens, the CPU (central processing unit, a.k.a. the processor) doesn't exactly use itself as a whole when you're, say, playing a web-based game like Candy Crush Saga. Instead, it only uses what it needs to. Why make a processor push out all the power it's capable of when the program you're using only requires it to push out a fraction of that? This applies to multi-core processors as well, i.e. quad-core processors. Just because a processor has more, that does not mean that your computer will be using them all at all times. For most people, an Intel i3 processor will be more than enough. As I said before about RAM, the only time you'll need a higher-end CPU is when you are using programs that are very demanding on the system.
Misconception #3: For a computer to be considered a gaming computer, it needs to have lots of RAM and a high-end CPU.
Watching all of these technology videos has gotten me in the mood (again) to look into building my own custom computer at some point. As with the two previous misconceptions, I believed that gaming computers needed to have high-end hardware. However, once again, I found that I was completely wrong--well, to an extent. What I said before is still valid: You DON'T need 8GB of RAM or an Intel i7 or AMD equivalent for your computer to be a "gaming" computer. Surprisingly, your computer will not be needing much of this when you're playing a game. Most of what it will be dependent on is all in the GPU (graphics processing unit, a.k.a. graphics card). The better the graphics card, the more performance you'll be able to get out of your computer when you want to play a game. Graphics cards are equip with on-board memory (yes, just like RAM) and thus the additional 8GB of RAM, for example, isn't needed. A graphics card with, say, 500MB of memory isn't going to perform as well as one with 1GB or even 2GB.
The problem with a computer you buy from Walmart, for example, is that a majority of them are going to have a stock GPU, or an on-board GPU. Meaning, the GPU is soldered to the motherboard and more than likely isn't going to do a very great job at handling those more-demanding games. The only way to upgrade the graphics on your computer is to purchase a graphics card that can be inserted into a slot on the motherboard. That means, yes, you will have to open your computer and manually insert the card. But, no fear, this is probably one of the simplest upgrades possible.
So, next time you're shopping for a computer, keep all this in mind: Unless you're using some very demanding programs, you DON'T need 8GB of memory and you DON'T need an Intel i7 processor, or even i5. And, although costly, an SSD would be nice to look into, as it improves performance of your computer and is less prone to "crashing" or "dying" like a traditional hard drive very much is. Lastly, for any gamers out there, remember that you also DO NOT need 8GB of RAM or a high-end CPU. Focus mainly on the graphics card of your system and you'll see a difference.
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