Comment by PaulHoule

Try

https://www.jeanhouston.com/Social-Artistry/social-artistry....

I put on my hood and people see my ears and I wait a beat and then say or do something fox like (comment on smells, a compulsion to chase after squirrels, or raise a paw glove) and it is like the set up and punch line of a joke and they laugh with me and they are in my field -- but it is not a comedy act.

If I have to explain something or do the work of myself-as-an-engineer or talk about my personal history I put the hood down and the detransformation can be startling as I shift from a voice patterned after Michael Jackson's speaking voice (always trying to be as soft as I can and still be legible) to my old booming voice that raises in pitch as emotions get high.

I practice distinctive gaits (collected trot, walking quietly, ...) with an eye on my heart rate monitor to keep my cardiovascular load low to keep it sustainable. It can take a lot of energy, one trot across campus to the Arts & Architecture school [1] I came back to my office drenched in sweat despite it being a cold day. My photo backpack became an essential part of my kit because it functions as my "tail" giving me more control of my center of gravity and a place to put my hood and other parts of my kit if I need them out of my way. When I first went out-as-a-fox with my camera I found I couldn't hold my adjustments but with the counterweight of the backpack it was easy -- but I have to pack lightly to control my cardiovascular load.

To speak in the register of the fox I need to think in the register of character acting but it is not really an act, not really a costume, but an expression of my own liminal nature as a person who has always crossed boundaries wandered between worlds.

If I am against anything it is the trauma theory, when I started looking into the "human potential" movement in my area I found so many people inclined to build an identity and discover meaning by licking their wounds. I think people should "get over it" [2] but telling them to "get over it" will only bring about backlash. I begin by being an example (witnessing as Christians would put it) of getting over it with courage and heart and authenticity in expressing myself but behind that is a vast toolbox of trickery and seduction applied to the greater good.

Does that make more sense?

[1] where i feel least comfortable as-a-fox because there creativity is something you do for a class or a job and needs slotting into a social hierarchy

[2] enjoy the pleasures of the moment, find joy inside themselves, raise their spiritual pressure, increase their "gong" as Falun Gong would put it, etc.