reblogging this so i’ll read it later~
THIS IS REALLY GOOD. the scan is unfortunately pretty low-resolution so some of it is a bit hard to read but SO GOOD.
I read this zine in my Queer Poetics class with Rebekah Edwards at Mills College. One of my first exposures to zines, and an amazing array of critical and creative work.
(via tangledupinlace)
Vietnam may just become the first Asian country to fully legalize marriage equality.
The Justice Ministry has proposed drafting an amendment that would include same-sex couples in the country’s legal definition of marriage. It will consider public and governmental opinions before submitting the potential proposal in May.
“I think, as far as human rights are concerned, it’s time for us to look at the reality,” said Justice Minister Ha Hung Cuong last week. “The number of homosexuals has mounted to hundreds of thousands. It’s not a small figure. They live together without registering marriage. They may own property. We, of course, have to handle these issues legally.”
While it is unknown how long it would take to make such a proposal reality, gay-rights activists are hailing this notion as a major step forward, and are confident that one day soon they will see Vietnam become the first Asian country to embrace same-sex marriage.
“I think everyone is surprised,” said Vien Tanjung, an Indonesian gay rights activist. “Even if it’s not successful, it’s already making history. For me personally, I think it’s going to go through.”
Wow. This is truly impressive. I hope it goes though.
(via projectqueer)
#Chick-Fil-A, I’m disappointed. I believed you had progressives in your midst. Good for you, Boston and Mayor Menino!
Mayor Menino’s letter to Chick-Fil-A
(via sincerelyqueer)
I tend to not repost blogs simply because I fear it will remove the personal aspect of my writing, but this photo essay is certainly personal and powerful. I especially love the first photograph - For regular readers and friends, I am sure it is no surprise why. Enjoy!
(via afeministboy)
waitwasthatsupposedtobelesbian:
This is a parody of Shit White Girls Say to Black Girls, which was a parody of Shit Black Girls Say, which was a parody of Shit Girls Say. So I guess this is the very definition of jumping on the band wagon.
Very funny! I’ve definitely heard everything at least once…
Flawless
Rick Perry: Wears a coat that a gay character wore whilst saying homophobic things to the backdrop of a song that a gay man wrote
it’s like he’s some sort of conservative hipster; “I WAS WEARING THAT COAT IRONICALLY. You’re just too liberal to get it.”
That coat said “Brokeback Mountain” all over it.
(via duckwhatduck)
I’ve been getting quite a few questions as to what OTJ means/stands for, so here’s a quick summary of the background and status of this term.
The Claim: Calling non-aces “sexual people” is offensive/slut-shaming
- Calling people “sexual” reduces them to the sex acts they perform
- It makes people…
In fighting so hard for non-normative, non-hegemonic sexual practices and desires to be recognized as legitimate, or fighting for space for such desires/practices/individuals in our society, our queer communities often forget those folks who don’t identify with a sexuality or have sexual desire. Yet another marginalized community within a marginalized community. It’s important to self-inform about all the various forms of self-/gender-/sexual- expression within our communities and not jump to judging the ways they struggle to define themselves in a community that so often overlooks their existence.
This link outlines some of the arguments for and against the asexual or “ace” community calling those who identify otherwise “sexual”.
[also, if I have mis-framed this argument, please do alert me, I’m still learning]
~Ashley
(My reblogged response from my Queer Studies group blog.)
As a non-binary trans* person, I have been very apologetic in my life about pronouns. That’s my own issue, thinking that non-binary pronouns are too difficult for cisgender or binary-identified trans people to understand. I didn’t give those people enough credit.
I have no personal pronoun preference as of this point in my life, as long as those pronouns are non-binary. (I have said that I prefer male pronouns over female pronouns, just to show that there is difference between my assigned gender and identity. Male pronouns are still a way lower preference from me than non-binary ones.)
For a while, I chose to use “they”, because I felt like that was easier for some people, because it was at least a word they’ve heard before. You should never feel pressured to choose a pronoun because it’s easier for others to use, but I did, especially because I felt like I had to, based upon my gender presentation.
I quickly realized that I was wrong; “they” is surprisingly difficult for people to use in the singular form, especially after they’ve seen someone. Something about our culture means that, unless there are visual “clues” that you don’t identify with the gender you were assigned at birth (or even if there are clues), you will be given a pronoun based on your appearance.
[Edit: of course there are issues with grammar, which is why I’ve included resources in that arena.]
But, until we see someone, or have been told other pronouns to use, “they” comes naturally (unless of course it’s involving a profession or otherwise where we use sexism to assume the male default).
Example 1:
I have to go to an internist about my blood work. I wonder what they will say. I need to have them send a letter to my endocrinologist, stating their opinion on my how my medications interact. I hope they’ll do that soon.Congrats! You’ve just used “they” in the singular form!
Example 2 (courtesy of my friend, Ethan; this takes place behind the counter at a grocery store deli):
Mike answers the phone. It is his first day at work, so he passes the phone to Cameron: “I have a customer on the phone who would like to order a cake.” Cameron replies, “Okay, just ask her …(corrects self)… them what they would like on it.” Cameron corrected himself because he realized he doesn’t know the customer’s gender.Cameron used “they” in the singular.
So why is it so difficult to use when people request it? Because you’ve seen them. That is beyond hurtful to non-binary identified people. When people request a pronoun, even if they give you another option, go with the one they prefer. Always. You can do it, with practice.
Resources:
We’ve been inoculated to judge gender based on appearance or assumed gender or sex, and even in the LGBT community I’ve observed a lot of resistance or lack of respect when binary-nonconforming folks ask to be referred to non-binary pronouns or even “they.” I admit its hard to un-train myself from labeling people, but that’s not the fault of these folks who are only asking for respect and to be acknowledged as a person. It is my task to practice and learn, not someone else’s to constantly remind me.
~Ashley
[EDIT: changed “inoculated” to “inculcated”]
Sharmen! The couple that made me first realize not only did I love women, I could get hot for them.
(via sincerelyqueer)
~Ashley
While explicitly stating all are welcome, this poster forecloses the existence of individuals who do not conform to the gender binary. (It is also interesting to note, though this may be me reading too much into it, the order in which the figures are arranged. In a society that reads from left to right, this creates a hierarchy of what appears to be gay couples, then lesbian couples, then straight couples, and then single men and single women. Of all the possible orders, why did the artist choose this one?)
I read it as binary because the figures used to illustrate it are historically used to symbolize the two socially constructed binary sexes/genders, male=man, female=woman. As such, whether they are cross dressing or not, whether it was the artists’ conscious intention or not, it still perpetuates the idea that there are only two possible gender-expressions, or that those are and should be the dominant ones. There is no room, or space, in other words, for other types of expressions of gender, for other sexes, for folks who would see this and feel “othered.”
The phrase says “All are welcome here,” but the illustration forecloses the possibilities of that “all.”
It’s easy to get absorbed in our own problems. Between dealing with unsupportive parents, hostile work environments, tricky legal issues, and medical nightmares, most of us hardly have any time to think about anything else. As trans* men in particular, it’s difficult to remember we’re not the only ones under the “T”. Our voices are so loud on sites like youtube and tumblr, we tend to drown out or forget trans* women.
This is troublesome, because it allows us to forget that transgender women (particularly women of color) are disproportionately the target of hate crimes, that 44% of LGBTQ murder victims are trans* women, that trans* women have particular difficulty accessing health care and enormously high rates of HIV, and that they are so frequently (far more frequently than transgender men) the butt of jokes in the media (take, for example, the recent Family Guy episode called “Quagmire’s Dad).
Of course the point of this post is not to play the oppression olympics, but to issue a call to every individual who considers themselves a transgender activist or member of the trans* community: DO NOT FORGET YOUR TRANS* SISTERS. Trans* women in our society are often the victims of transmisogyny (what happens when sexism and transphobia climb into bed together) and face unique issues that are often glossed over when the struggle over trans* issues focuses on trans* men (and transmasculine individuals in general). Yes, as trans* men we have it hard. We have it very hard, but at the moment we have more privilege than trans* women and we should not use that privilege to abandon them the way transgender people have so often been abandoned by the GLB movement.
Transgender Day of Remembrance is fast approaching (Nov 28th) and is the perfect reminder that this is not just about us (in fact, it is hardly about trans* men at all), it is about them too. We are all under the “T”.
Zara
How can she be “all for gay rights and an end to prejudice and discrimination” when what she’s doing in this very article is prejudice and discrimination? Invalidating other people’s identities. True, identity and rights discourses have their limitations, but not in the way she is saying. What does she mean, “broadening the boundaries”?
Well, actually I ask that question knowing the answer, because I know people who think the same. They apply the domino theory to everything (even though it was shown not to be true after the Cold War), believing that if there are not black and white boundaries, or if the boundaries continue to be “grayed” or “wiped out”, the world will go to hell. Or the apocalypse will come…sigh…
Eamon Delaney reminding us all why we’re cynical of journalism:
I’ve recently begun to get impatient with the endless trumpeting of gay ‘identity’, and the growing appetite for more and more rights and privileges.
I’m not being reactionary and I’m all for gay rights and an end to prejudice and discrimination, and always have, but at this stage it seems as if the tables have turned and a minority community — the gays — want to increasingly change mainstream culture to suit them…
… And there are other things about the growing gay rights movement which make outsiders impatient and uneasy. Like, when did the gays and lesbian community become the ‘LGBT’, an acronym that also includes Bisexual and Transgender?
Sorry, but this is broadening the boundaries in a way that makes many of us understandably sceptical.Bisexual? Isn’t that reminiscent of the loose Seventies sexual experimentation? How many bisexuals are there? And will the plain people of Ireland be happy with legalising rights for, and spending money on, all of this?
