The genre™ is part memoir, part cultural analysis, and part design theory. Who says you can't mix shade, tea, and feminine realness in a critique of the ways concepts of god, gender, race, and design heroes have failed us — all in pursuit of divining the power we hold to heal ourselves?*

Writing gives a spoken voice to the genre™. In this packet, I reflect on the knowledge and experience gained in my second semester working with my mentor Yoon Soo Lee who started this journey with a magical lesson in transformative goop.

Notes capture thoughts, ideas, and valuable bits of information collected from readings, podcasts, film and TV. The Fifth Sun a book that describes the history of pre-Hispanic Mexico, the Spanish Conquest, and the hybrid culture that formed after that—all from an indigenous perspective. Funeral for Flaca, a Chicana memoir by Emily Prado, is so relatable that is feels like I am hanging out with my primas.

Projects give a visual voice to the genre™. Much planning is dedivcated into PinUp in order to help myself get the kind of feedback and critique I need/ would be most useful. This process is very much informed by the “Functional Criticism” by Yoon Soo Lee. Writings are gathered, and designed into a third chapbook called “Ella Habla Mucho / She Talks Too Much.

Care & Feeding catalogs the “being” part of “human being.” This month I document the areas around my corner of Los Angeles that let me know I am home.

Pulled from my semester 1 eval from Silas Munro “ The genre is part memoir, cultural analysis, and design theory. And the vibe is right. Who says you can't mix shade, tea, and feminine realness with a critique of the ways masculinity and design heroes have failed us?”