<h1> [[Hyperbolic|Types of Geometry]]ally [[Transgender|Trans Def]] </h1>
The Metaphor and Mathematics of <em> Feelings and [[Fractals|Fractal Definition]]: Woolly Ecologies of Transgender Matter </em> by [[Jeanne Vaccaro|Jeanne Vaccaro Bio]] Different types of geometry are defined by the shapes of the planes they take place on. Euclidean geometry takes place on an infinite plane with no curvature, spherical geometry takes place on a plane with [[positive curvature|Curvature]], and hyperbolic geometry takes place on a plane with [[negative curvature|Curvature]].
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/mathematics-geometry-kenne-idrice-jemrf"> <img src="https://starfishness.neocities.org/images/zine_photos/geo_types%20(3).png" alt="Photo showing the planes that each geometry takes place on, Euclidean on a flat plane, spherical on a sphere, and hyperbolic on a pringle/saddle."> </a>
The biggest way that doing geometry on these different shapes changes things is the behavior of [[parallel lines|Parallel Postulate]]. <<set $TOG to true>>
Transgender means many things to many people, but in broad strokes, being transgender means having a gender identity different from the one you were assigned at birth. <<set $TD to true>>A fractal is a pattern that infinitely repeats itself at different scales, many visualizations can be found but a simpler one is the Sierpinski Triangle:
<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sierpinski_zoom_2.gif"> <img src="https://starfishness.neocities.org/images/zine_photos/fractal.gif" alt= "Gif that zooms into the Sierpinski Triangle eternally, showing how it's patterns are self similar and continue at very small sizes."> </a>
Fractals are commonly found throughout nature and can be seen in things like trees, coastlines, [[coral|Trans Coral]], and even in the human body like our nerves and blood vessels. <<set $FD to true>>Jeanne Vacarro is a scholar, curator, and poet particularly interested in queerness, womanhood and their connection to ecology and [[craft|Trans Craft]]. <<set $JVB to true>>The parallel postulate is a rule in Euclidean geometry, the idea is that if you took a line and a point that is separate from said line, you can only draw one distinct line through the point that is parallel to the first line. That may have been hard to understand, so here’s a visualization:
<img src="https://starfishness.neocities.org/images/zine_photos/parallel_postulate_euc.png" alt="Picture demonstrating the parallel postulate">
The black lines are parallel and the red dashed lines show that any other line that goes through the red point is unable to be parallel with the first line. The interesting thing is that the parallel postulate does not exist in hyperbolic nor spherical geometry. In hyperbolic geometry you can create infinite lines going through the red point and they’ll all be parallel to the original line, as shown below:
<a href="https://www.theiff.org/oexhibits/oe1e.html"><img src="https://starfishness.neocities.org/images/zine_photos/parallel_postulate_hyp.png" alt="Picture showing hyperbolic crochet and how the parallel postulate does not apply."></a>
This disregarding of what was once seen as a fundamental rule of geometry is compared to transness throughout the article. Just as hyperbolic geometry does to euclidean, transness bends and breaks the rules of dominant culture, creating new dimensions of possibility.
Fun fact: Parallel lines in spherical geometry can never happen, they always intersect.
<<set $PP to true>>Negative curvature means that the curve is concave (like a dent), and positive curvature means the curve is convex (like a bump).
<img src="https://starfishness.neocities.org/images/zine_photos/curvature.png" alt="Picture showing concave and convex lines.">
<<set $C to true>>Throughout the essay, Vaccaro calls attention to craft and its connection to transness, stating that transness should be identified as a process of crafting one's own identity rather than a medical diagnosis. While the main art piece that the article focuses on, the Crochet Coral Reef, is not explicitly trans, its connections to craft, [[coral|Trans Coral]], and [[hyperbolic geometry|Types of Geometry]] can be viewed through a [[transgender|Trans Def]] lens.
<<set $TCr to true>>Coral is an extremely important ecosystem that is in serious danger of being destroyed by the apathy of governments and malicious actions performed by large businesses. [[Vacarro|Jeanne Vaccaro Bio]] connects coral to transness through the danger that they both are experiencing, both are experiencing a sort of persecution.
<<set $TCo to true>><<set $JVB to false>> <<set $TOG to false>> <<set $TD to false>> <<set $FD to false>> <<set $PP to false>> <<set $C to false>> <<set $TCr to false>> <<set $TCo to false>><<if $JVB or $TOG or $TD or $FD>><div id="footer">
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<<if $JVB and $TOG and $TD and $FD and $PP and $C and $TCr and $TCo>> Essay completed! <</if>>
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