[Trigger warning for transphobia]
I've noticed lately that I'm increasingly sensitive about, well, everything. Perhaps the prudent thing would be to blame my moodiness on ZOMGLADYHORMONES. (Besides, who doesn't like an excuse to buy chocolate?)
Here's a thing: in the over five years I've been out as a queer lady, experience has taught me not to trust other people. I'm pretty quick to perceive other people's actions as slights simply because of the incredibly massive number of times over the past five years I've been :ahem: slighted. As a friend of mine (who also happens to be trans) once explained to me: 'It's not paranoia if people really are out to get you.' Perhaps that's an extreme way of putting it, but it also gets to the heart of the matter.
There are those of us in this world (feminists/womanists, and/or people of color, and/or queer and/or trans people for starters) who often encounter the charge that we're being too sensitive.
In my case, I am pretty sensitive. Here's a couple of the latest reasons why:
Exhibit the Ath: Campus Pride's 2010 College Climate Survey
According to the Q Research Institute (which is owned(?!?) by Campus Pride):The [survey] documents experiences of nearly 6000 students, faculty, staff and administrators who identify as LGBTQQ at colleges and universities across the United States. Recommendations and findings from the national study provide the means for student activists, campus program planners and policy makers to implement strategic initiatives to address the needs and concerns of their LGBTQQ students and employees.
The results are predictable, but what really concerns me is this:Thirty-eight percent of 2010 State Of Higher Education for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People respondents indicated their gender identity as man, 48 percent as woman, 3 percent as transmasculine, 2 percent as transfeminine, and 8 percent as “other.”
Interesting. I hope this isn't going...Thirty-nine percent of transmasculine respondents, 38 percent of transfeminine respondents, and 31 percent of gender non-conforming (GNC) respondents reported experiencing harassment compared with 20 percent of men and 19 percent of women.
A significant number of transmasculine respondents (87%) and transfeminine respondents (82%) indicated their gender expression was the basis for harassment compared to 20 percent of men and 24 percent of women.
here. Wow.
I understand that many cissexual people sometimes have a hard problem dealing with trans and gender non-conforming people's identities, but that doesn't mean that it's okay to disrespect them, particularly when you're representing yourself as our ally.
I was e-mailing with Liss and Caitie, and none of us could figure out Campus Pride's delineation of gender.
First, transmasculine and transfeminine aren't AFAIK typically identities. I've certainly had plenty of discussions about transfemininity, but I don't know a lot of trans women who use "transfeminine" as primary way to describe their gender identity. Likewise, I've always seen "transmasculine" used to describe personal attributes that dominant culture codes as masculine and gender-transgressive. Moreover, these terms certainly aren't mutually exclusive with gender non-conformance. If anything, they're synonymous with it.
Second, and this one's big.... it's possible to be trans (and/or gender non-conforming) and still be a man or a woman. How many times do trans people have to go over this one with our cissexual allies?
Normally I wouldn't get all “sensitive” over a wee misrepresentation of my uh, identity, but like I said, I've been over this one before. Worse yet, this isn't the first time I've had such an issue with a campus-based "LGBT" group. I'm not saying that there aren't amazing folks working on many college campuses-- I've interacted with some of them. However, if anyone out there is wondering why I'm really, really slow to warm to “LGBT” organizations that purport to represent me, this is a reason why.
Exhibit the Bth: The Rochester Lesbian & Gay Film & Video Festival (ImageOut)
I get that the letter T doesn't show up in the title of the festival (nor do B or Q), but not only are some trans people lesbian or gay, we're kinda in the mission statement:ImageOut presents LGBT arts and cultural experiences showcasing films, other creative works and artists to promote awareness, foster dialogue and build community.
I'm not sure how [TW]inviting Israel Luna to speak counts as “building community.” I suppose it's more of a fostering “dialogue” think. :cough:
For. Fucks. Sake.
A friend was telling me about this yesterday, and I couldn't could believe it. But you know, we've been here before. It's not as if folks at ImageOut can feign surprise that trans people might be, uh, [TW]upset about Luna's inclusion in the festival lineup.
On the contrary:TOTWK was causing controversy even before its final cut was complete. Some trans and queer activists loudly question the relevance and objectivity of such an egregious portrayal of transgender women and the associated violence. But scandal has only given this outrageous screen romp a higher platform from which to kick ass. Is it really entertaining or just disgusting? Well, don't take our (or anyone else's) word for it. Join ImageOut for this late-night screening, see for yourself, and form your own opinion.
HELLO. I HAVE FORMED MY OWN OPINION. But forget about me, I'm just loud. And feeling even more indignant than usual ATM. [ETA: For the record, it is people who run film festivals who have given TOTWK a bigger platform, not "scandal."]
I live in Syracuse, and Rochester's the nearest bigger city, about 90 miles to the east. I've got plenty of friends around town who are LGB and/or T and/or Q, but I don't sense much of a LGBT community here. Certainly, I don't feel like part of much of what passes for the LGBTQ community in Syracuse.
My natural impulse is to seek out a place for myself in places where there's greater cultural diversity. Realistically, Rochester is that place (although in practice, I tend to forget about it/not have gas money). But, much as the case in other cities I've lived in, a part of the LGBTQ community in Rochester is doing its part to make me feel unwelcome.
What's worse is that I'm actively involved in building a stronger, more vibrant, inclusive LGBTQ community here in Syracuse. Well, that's not problematic. Rochester and Syracuse aren't worlds apart. I'm desperately trying to trust folks in “the community” here. Lots of folks have earned my trust. However, slaps in the face like the one from ImageOut really do make it hard for me to trust new acquaintances, even those who may be trustworthy.
I'm not sensitive, some people are not sensitive enough.
[ETA: Lest anyone think I'm being a bit too easy on ImageOut, I now see that they're "so excited" to bring viewers TOWTK, presumably because it's "challenging" and that "everyone has been talking about [it] all year." As if "everyone" hasn't been talking about the horrible economy all year, too.]
I'm not sensitive, some people are not sensitive enough.
Monday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by Shaxco, proud distributors of Professor Dilong's Pocket Protectors.
Recommended Reading:
Echidne: TLC On Women
Resistance: 85 Days [TW for racism and disablism]
Chally: Sometimes Social Justice Is About Staying Silent
Lesley: This is why your TV is fat: Q & A with Savannah Dooley [TW for discussions of body image]
Stephanie: Ripley's Rebuke: The Big C [TW for fat hatred]
Andy: [video] Gay Men Interviewed After Locking Lips for 33 Hours in Record-Breaking World's Longest Kiss
Leave your links in comments...
Hood Ornaments
In case you weren't riveted to C-SPAN's coverage of the "Value Voters Summit" this past weekend, you might have missed the news that Indiana Congressman Mike Pence came in first in their straw poll for president in 2012. Sarah Palin came in fifth, behind such luminaries as Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney. I guess that tells you what this particular right-wing gathering thought of Ms. Palin; she's great on the stump, but even they don't want her to run for president. Or at least they'd rather have a white guy from Indiana.
It's interesting to note that the most prominent spokespeople for the Tea Party have been women: Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, Sharron Angle, and now Christine O'Donnell. They're outspoken, occasionally charismatic and fun to watch as they give speeches, but when it comes to actually running for president or attaining a real leadership role in the default party of choice, none of them will be given any real power.
Discussion Thread: Do Not Track List
Consumer and privacy advocates would like to create a Do Not Track list similar to the Do Not Call list, which would allow internet users to opt out of being tracked for the purposes of serving targeted advertising.
Discuss.
[H/T to Shaker Janice.]
Greyhounds-a-Go-Go
This weekend, our local rescue had their annual Greyhound Picnic. Food! Music! Door prizes! And ONE BILLION greyhounds!
The weather was pretty dreary, unfortunately, and it was raining most of the time we were there, but it was still fun to see 100+ greyhounds running around together and being their comical, graceful selves. They are truly the most elegant goofballs. At one point, nearly the whole lot ran up the hill in one giant throng, curving around together like a school of fish, their collective gallop like a thundering orchestra. It was breathtaking.
Video description: Footage of the greyhounds in the ginormous dog run at the picnic, including some of Dudz running around and getting trampled (oof!) as all the dogs goof around. Set to Elizabeth Mitchell's cover of "Ladybug Picnic," which you can purchase here.
Pix below the fold…
Dudley and his doppelganger, Logan.
Dudley is wearing his racing muzzle in that picture because we were about to take him into the dog run, where muzzles are required just a safety precaution. Everywhere else at the picnic, they are allowed to be muzzle-free.
The Space Cowpokes' rescue in New Jersey also had their annual Greyhound Picnic this weekend, and Space Cowboy sent me this great pic of him with his boy Alfie, who is Dudley's fourth or fifth cousin:
"Who's such a good boy?!"
If you're interested in adopting a retired racer, you can find a rescue near you here.
More on the Rage of the Rich
In Which Mr. Deling Responds to Someone Who Might Be Professor Todd Henderson, by Brad DeLong.
A must-read.
[Via LeMew.]
I Keep My Bootstraps on Display in the Conservatory
Reading Paul Krugman's column about the anger among rich Americans at the prospect of paying higher taxes, it occurs to me that the the Bootstraps Rap ("nobody ever gave me nuttin'!") is nowhere to be heard when it comes to taxation. The same people who don't want the government spending money to feed and house desperate people are whinging like spoiled toddlers about the government potentially not spending money to subsidize their ridiculously low tax rate.
Sure, they frame it as the government taking something from them, but, in practice, lower tax rates (lower income) effect the fed's bottom line in ultimately the same way higher welfare rates (higher outgoing) does. So the framing is just a way to make themselves feel better about projecting their narratives of laziness and greed onto poor folks.
You know, conservatives always talk about how they want to return to some magical Golden Age of America, circa 1945 to 1960, and I say we start with bringing back the 80%+ tax rate that the wealthiest Americans paid at that time. Yay for nostalgia.
Big Tent
[Trigger warning for institutional homophobia.]
Over the weekend, the AP reported that the Montana Republican Party adopted an official platform earlier this year that "keeps a long-held position in support of making homosexual acts illegal, a policy adopted after the Montana Supreme Court struck down such laws in 1997." Yes, that's right—in the year two thousand and fucking ten, the Montana GOP wants to criminalize being gay/bi.
The fact that it's still the official party policy more than 12 years later, despite a tidal shift in public attitudes since then and the party's own pledge of support for individual freedoms, has exasperated some GOP members.Has Republican John Brueggeman actually ever met any other Republicans? Did dude Rip Van Winkle the Bush years, when the Republican Party wanted to amend the US constitution to codify anti-gay bigotry into the document established to "secure the Blessings of Liberty" for this nation's residents? Does he understand that "I believe people should be legally allowed to be gay, but be denied comprehensive equal rights, like the right of marriage and the right to serve openly in the US military" is a fundamentally horseshit position?
"I looked at that and said, 'You've got to be kidding me,'" state Sen. John Brueggeman, R-Polson, said last week. "Should it get taken out? Absolutely. Does anybody think we should be arresting homosexual people? If you take that stand, you really probably shouldn't be in the Republican Party."
...Brueggeman suspects that the vast majority of the party believes, as he does, that the Republican party should remove statement. It's against every conservative principle for limited government and issues like this exemplify how a political party can interfere with the relationship between lawmakers and their constituents.
"I just hope it's something that's so sensitive that people don't want to touch it," he said. "Even if there wasn't a Supreme Court decision, does anyone really believe that it should be illegal?"
Montana Human Rights Network organizer Kim Abbott said the GOP platform statement does not represent the attitudes of most Montanans, and it shows that the party is out of touch with the prevalent view of the people they are supposed to represent.Indeed. The actual wording of the plank is: "Homosexual acts: We support the clear will of the people of Montana expressed by legislation to keep homosexual acts illegal."
Either the GOP thinks that there are no gay people in Montana (in which case, the legislation is unnecessary!), or they are talking about "the people of Montana" and gay/lesbian/bisexual people are mutually exclusive groups, which is dehumanizing and marginalizing language of the sort one finds in the playbooks of eliminationist fucknecks.
You can contact the Montana Republican Party here.[H/T to Shaker Brunocerous.]
Open Thread
Hosted by delicious Lemonheads.
This week's open threads have been brought to you by things that are yellow.
The Virtual Pub Is Open
[Explanations: lol your fat. pathetic anger bread. hey your gay.]
TFIF, Shakers!
Belly up to the bar,
and name your poison!
Say It With Me: To Stop Rape, Get Men To Stop Raping
(Trigger warning for rape and rape apologia)
On the night of September 10, at a rave outside of Vancouver BC, a young woman was slipped a drug to incapacitate her, after which a group of young men filmed themselves repeatedly raping her (the video itself is not at that link; it's a link to a CBC report on an arrest of one of the suspects).
As seems to be all too often the case lately, this film has made its way onto the Internet, and though the police have made some efforts to have the video removed where they find it, we all know that once it's on the Net, it's never, ever going away. They anticipate using the child pornography laws to pursue anyone they can catch putting it up or possessing a copy themselves (as is the law in Canada; any depiction of sexual activity by people under 16, or looking like they're under 16, or of sexualized children, is deemed child pornography).
I can't find a media report of it (most have updated to the version linked above, replacing earlier stories with it), but Shaker Erin writes to say that their local station was reporting:
Listening to my local news station, they had a piece on it this afternoon. Christy Clark was asking whether parents feel that their daughters are safe, and how to educate them to stay safe, and whether those parents feel that their sons would step in to help in a situation like this, not stand around and watch. But nothing about teaching their sons (and daughters) about enthusiastic consent, not raping, etc. Even though, when first questioning the students at the high school the victim went to, almost all students were victim-blaming. Even though she had been drugged.As usual, the MSM focus is on victim-blaming: the advice all carries the usual "Well, if girls/women would just stay home and not do anything fun, they wouldn't be so vulnerable to rape," rather than what we know the situation to actually be: "If rapists would just stay home and not do anything fun, (girls/women) wouldn't be so vulnerable to rape."
If you would like to express that message to the superintendent of the local school district, who has been inviting police to give lectures on how girls can stay safe, then:
The superintendent for the Maple Meadows school district is Jan Unwin and her email is junwin@sd42.ca.I would suggest, as I usually do, a polite but very clear missive explaining how to conduct rape safety training (TRAIN THE BOYS NOT TO RAPE, DUH!).
The mailing address for the school district is: Ms. Jan Unwin
Superintendent of Schools
SD #42 (Maple Ridge)
22225 Brown Avenue
Maple Ridge, BC V2X 8N6
Phone: 604-463-4200
Fax: 604-463-0573
junwin@sd42.ca
Teaspoons up, Shakers.
ò,óP <-- is Caitie's Angry Face, with Teaspoon
Tip of the CaitieCap to Shakers Anelle, somebodyoranother, and Erin, as well as Liss for sending it on to me. Also, JenMR, who gave updated information on contacting the superintendent.
News from Shakes Manor
Iain, by email, under the subject header "Question": Do you like David Brooks?
Liss, by email, under the subject header "Answer": I'm leaving you for David Brooks.
Iain: I wish I could come up with a cogent argument for why you shouldn't do that, but he is such a superlative example of American masculinity that I can do naught but endorse your decision.
Liss: A wise and courageous gesture of this magnitude would undoubtedly stir within Mr. Brooks such a profound and fervent admiration for your moral fortitude that he would almost certainly advise me to remain your loving, doe-eyed bride. Thus shall we remain as one.
Iain: I would expect nothing less from such a magnanimous individual.
Liss: Just get your butt home already, cute stuff.
Today's Edition of "Conniving and Sinister"
See Deeky's archive of all previous Conniving & Sinister strips here.
[In which Liss reimagines the long-running comic "Frank & Ernest," about two old straight white guys "telling it like it is," as a fat feminist white woman (Liss) and a biracial queerbait (Deeky) telling it like it actually is from their perspectives. Hilarity ensues.]
...Starring Deeky!
In which Liss re-imagines masterpieces of postmodern cinema, making them tinglingly better by adding me (Deeky: The Rutger Hauer of the Wax Trax Generation) to their classic posters. Today, the cyberpunkiest film of all time not starring Billy Idol.
Johnny Mnemonic
(Why do I look exceedingly prissy in this poster?)
(See also.)
Photo of the Day
Warrior Angels, courtesy of Gaydar, greet the pope in Twickenham, England, yesterday.
Friday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by Shaxco, producers of the upcoming Deeky W. Gashlycrumb biopic, Giant Jazzhands!, starring Deeky W. Gashlycrumb.
Recommended Reading:
[TW for sexual violence] Cara: On Birth Rape, Definitions, and Language Policing
[TW for sexual violence] Lisa: Welcome to Rape Culture: Sex with Drunk Girls is Funny
[TW for sexism] Fannie: Learning Gender Through Ads
[TW for racism] Shark-fu: On Bethany Storro
Andy: Gay Activists Target Senator Webb in 'DADT' Combat Boot Drop
Tigtog: It's not censorship when it's a personal decision over privately owned space.
Also: "Derailing for Dummies" has been updated!
Leave your links in comments...
