Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Eyes Open in the Dark

Brittany A. Forrest, Western University

Abstract

An unusual dissertation that presents a science fiction autobiographical narrative, following a trial of trauma and identity dysphoria. Through a trans-queer biological female lens, the vulnerable tone of the author invites the reader into wording that describes matters they will care for on a human level. This study probes the question of what lives within the silence of our perceptions by appraising reverberations between interactions that coerce the human condition. Interrogating memory is inevitable when questioning how defense mechanisms interrelate and adapt to human needs. This study penetrates the complexities of perception fabrications, power dynamics, sensory perceptions, systemic moralities, and passivity. The following is a written account of human absurdity that considers abjection as applied to the metaphysical and paraphysical pathways of gender and sexual reclamation. The objective is to guide vulnerable self-acknowledgments and activate purposeful settlement.