Readers’ Club Activity Nanette

The Readers’ Club organized an insightful discussion on Hannah Gadsby’s Netflix special show, Nanette on 27 August 2018. The one-hour long discussion cumulated some strong views on Homophobia as a societal construct being imposed on individuals from their formative socialisation. It placed emphasis on the gender not-normals’ struggle to seek acceptance in a dominantly heterosexual society. The group, as a whole, agreed that a potential solution to this problem of discrimination is to offer acceptance and empathy to the not-normal community, rather than sympathize with them as victims. The students also voiced their opinions on the false association of creativity with mental suffering and the misconceptions pertaining to mental health. There were diverse viewpoints on the practice of romanticizing mental illnesses along with the concurrent need to spread awareness about the same in terms of medication and aid. The discourse ended on the idea of accepting one’s own identity in order to gain acceptance on a societal level. The entire discussion was contextualised around Nanette, a 30-minute clip of which was circulated amongst the students as preparation for the event.