[Content Note: Fat bias; eliminationism; racism.]
Yesterday afternoon, I had the amazing opportunity to speak to a photography class taught by Shaker gwyllion about the Beauty Standard, culturally constructed norms, visibility, and transgressive/deviant beauty, specifically around fat bodies (although during the Q&A following my Skype talk I ended up talking a lot about other marginalized bodies, too, like trans* bodies, bodies with visible disabilities, etc.).
I was the second in a speaking series, following after Leonard Nimoy (!) who spoke about his photography and "The Full Body Project." I was, naturally, completely intimidated having to follow Leonard Nimoy (!), and have been referring to this talk among friends as my "I Am Not Leonard Nimoy Talk," lol. But of course I was beyond thrilled to be in such fine company speaking on such an important subject.
So I spoke for about a half hour, and then took questions for another hour, and it was SO AWESOME. The students were so engaged with the subject and asked a million excellent questions. I loved and valued the experience more than I can say. My sincere thanks to gwyllion for inviting me.
At gwyllion's suggestion, I'm posting the text of the talk below the fold. Some of the information will be familiar to regular readers of the Fatsronauts 101 series, but there's a lot of new stuff, too. I hope you enjoy it.
The Fat Body Visible and Beautiful
Quote of the Day
[Content Note: Hostility to agency.]
"Rick is going to Austin this week to join those in giving a voice to the unborn."—Republican strategist and senior Rick Santorum adviser John Branbender, alerting the country that Rick Santorum is: 1. Going to Texas; 2. Still a total asshole.
LUCKY TEXAS.
I love, by the way, that Republican men need to travel to Texas to "give a voice to the unborn" while (primarily) Republican men in Texas silence the voices of pro-choice women et al. What was that I was saying about valuing fetuses more highly than the people who carry them again...?
(And, you know, not for nothing, but where are the ostensibly pro-choice Democratic men holding national office to go stand with pro-choice people in Texas? It sure would be nice if the leaders of the ostensibly pro-choice party were as engaged in this fight as the opposition.)
Anyway. In conclusion: Rick Santorum is terrible.
Yes, yes you are.
Daily Dose of Cute
Loyal hound.
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
In The News
[Content note: Homophobia]
Tuesday News and Links:
The IRS just put tens of thousands of Social Security numbers out on the Internet for anyone and everyone to see. Whoops.
A giant chrome T-Rex skeleton is terrorising Paris! Oh noes!
Don't worry! A giant Colin Firth will save us! Thank you, giant Colin Firth!
Florida lawmakers have effectively outlawed every computer and smart phone in the state. Good one!
Pat Robertson is still super gross and offensive.
It's weird, it's almost like American businessmen are just greedy sacks of shit.
Need some One Direction duct tape? Yes, you do!
A heavy rainstorm in Toronto, which dumped more than 3.5 inches of water on parts of the city, caused transit chaos across the city and left 300,000 customers without power.
Number of the Day
[Content Note: Hostility to agency.]
43: The number of abortion restrictions enacted in US state legislatures this year so far, "the second-highest number ever at the midyear mark and is as many as were enacted in all of 2012."
Huh. I wonder if anyone has mentioned this to our pro-choice president who has the biggest bully pulpit in the entire world and the capacity to change the national conversation with a single soundbite. He doesn't seem to have noticed.
Grumpy Trans* Lady Corner
[Content note: Discussion of trans*phobia]
Last week, there was some really great news out of California. The state legislature passed a bill that requires school districts to respect trans* kids' genders. (And you know, poop on "gender identity". I mean, I get that gender is an identity, but I've always though that "gender identity" is a term that some cis* people like to throw around to distinguish "real" genders from the genders that trans* people merely "identify as.")
Really, I think this is great news.
But, um, here's how the Sacramento Bee reported the story: Senate OKs bill letting transgender students pick facilities.
When I read that, my reaction was "O HAI THANX GREAT AND POWERFUL CIS LEGISLATORS FOR LETTING FOLKS LIKE ME GO TO THE APPROPRIATE BATHROOM, WE WERE SRSLY WAITING FOR UR PERMISSIONS." (True story, after 6 pm I think in CAPS LOCK.)
Yes, I suppose part of the reason I've been indignant about this all weekend is the Bee's wording. The bill isn't about letting trans* people live our lives as much as it prohibits school districts from discriminating against us.
But there's something else at play. I really wanted to say that cis* people go to the bathroom and enjoy gender-segregated activities all the time without permission from the state, but that's simply not true. Governments have spent tons of time protecting cis* people's genders.
However, policing is the flip side of protecting. So, while I appreciate the work of the California legislature and the lives it will improve, I don't see this victory as a replacement for doing the hard work* of not policing each others' genders, of not creating and defending establishments that alternative proscribe or erase lives.
--
*In particular, this would appear to be a lot of work for many cis* people. Yes, I know trans* people that fall into the trap of policing other people's identities, but the whole "gender policing" thing is pretty much cis people's baby. Y'all need to own that shit. See also: the cool way that discussion of this bill erases the existence of non-binary genders.
Texas Monday Retrospective
[Content Note: Stories of Reproductive Coercion]
So, yesterday was a day.
No. Stop. Back up. I want to point out something first. Again. None of this activism? Is free. NONE OF IT. Everyone who testified before the senate committee yesterday had to take off of work or drive to Austin or rearrange their schedule or just spend the spoons it takes to wait around and stand in lines and hang out at the capitol for fifteen hours to testify. Every person who live-blogged or live-tweeted the witness testimony had to take time and energy and spoons to do this. And the witness testimony took a LOT of spoons. A lot of tears, a lot of rage, a lot of feels.
Good Morning! Or Whatever!
Our air conditioning is broken. Or, there is an outside possibility that I have died and been sent to hell but just haven't realized it yet. I need to call Haley Joel Osment.
AC isn't a luxury for me. I can't sweat, so I get heatstroke really easily. When I was a kid, there were multiple times I'd be running around outside during the summer, doing my swell-up-and-flush-like-a-giant-tomato thing, and I'd just collapse from overheating and have to be revived with Gatorade, lol.
So I've got someone coming to look at it sometime today and let us know whether it can be repaired or needs to be replaced. In the meantime, please send me cooling thoughts.
Question of the Day
What's the strangest/funniest/most misleading combination of items you've ever purchased at once?
We're All Devastated, I'm Sure
[Content Note: Image of gun.]
Rick Perry says he's not seeking a fourth term as governor of Texas. OH NO! LEAVING SO SOON? HOW SAD FOR US ALL, ESPECIALLY THE LADIES OF TEXAS!
Rick Perry has announced that he will not stand for re-election as governor of Texas, paving the way for a possibly unencumbered run at the White House in 2016.Super! I was worried there for a second I would never have the opportunity to write "Rick Perry is still definitely in the race! He has not dropped out yet!" ever again, but now it looks like I will get to write it SO MANY MORE TIMES! Yay!
This fucking guy.
The thing I find most incredible about Rick Perry is that he actually thinks the shit going down in Texas right now is going to make him a stronger national candidate. HA HA NO.
Wimbledon Open Thread
So, the Wimbledon finals were this weekend, and there is A LOT TO TALK ABOUT, if you're interested in talking about that sort of thing! By which I mean tennis, or Scotsmen, or misogyny, or body policing, or racism!
First, here is a fun video of the final moments of the final match between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, Scotsman, while Jessica Luther and Iain McEwan, Scotsman, watch. (Sorry my finger's hanging in the video frame, but I was watching the match, too! Btw, Jess was tweeting stuff "Iain McEwan, Scotsman" was saying while we watched, which was completely hilarious. There really just needs to be a Twitter of ALL THE THINGS that Iain McEwan, Scotsman, says all the time, because he is awesome and hilarious.)
Iain, a white man, and Jess, a white woman, sit on the couch watching the game on TV. Jess clutches her phone so she can live-tweet because SHE LOVES TENNIS SO MUCH. Iain looks nervous. As they watch a volley, Jess squeals anxiously, her hand to her mouth. Iain says, "It's all over...nope...oh my god." They watch intently, then shout excitedly and raise their arms in the air. "ANDY!" yells Jess. "OH WOW COME ON NO WAY!" shouts Iain. Jess laughs. Iain says, "What an amazing game! ...Come on. Championship point. ...I mean, I thought he was just going to spike it, but he didn't go a very good job on that smash." Jess tweets. Iain furrows his brow. "Come on, let's not fuck around here; let's just do this," says Iain. "I want to see this first serve go in. ...Beautiful." They watch intently. And then SHOUTING AND CHEERING AND ARMS IN THE AIR. "YAYYYYYYYYYYYYY!" yells Jess. "YES HE'S DONE IT!" exclaims Iain. "AHHHH HA HA!" says Jess. "No way! Brilliant." says Iain. They grin and laugh. I pan around to the TV to show Andy Murray lifting his fist in the air and hug Djokovic. "That was a well-fought game," says Iain. I pan back to Iain. "What do you think, babe?" I ask him. "Ach, I'm really not excited," he says, facetiously. "Not at all?" I ask. "Nope," he replies. I pan back to the TV, where Murray is on his knees on the court. "Ohhhhhhhh," says Jess, and makes an I LOVE HIM face. "Aww, there's Mama! Go give your mother a kiss!" she says. "There needs to be a pitch invasion," Iain says. "He needs to be carried on the shoulders of the crowd down Downing Street or something." Jess says, "So now let the talk begin about the 2014 pressure to repeat." And they both laugh.In other news, there was SO MUCH MISOGYNY surrounding Murray's win, as he was announced the FIRST BRITISH WINNER IN ONE MILLION YEARS, which is true, as Chloe Angyal observed, "unless you think women are people." Whoops.
Also! There was SO MUCH horrendous shaming and body policing and general fucking awfulness directed at women's winner Marion Bartoli. Via Shaker Clawfoot in comments, you can find here an unbelievable (HA HA TOTALLY BELIEVABLE) compilation exemplifying the undiluted fuckery that was directed at Bartoli.
And! Wimbledon is still so privileged and SO WHITE, as noted by Writers of Colour.
Plus so much other stuff! Discuss.
Monday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by owls.
Recommended Reading:
Trudy: Bikini vs. Burqa: Examining the Inaccurate Argument About Women, Clothing and "Freedom" [Content Note: The post at this link includes discussion of policing women's choices and self-image.]
Eren: The Downfalls of Feminism and Why I Am Still a Feminist [Content Note: The post at this link includes discussion of racism and appropriations.]
Reni: Having a Grown-Up Conversation about Racism [Content Note: The Storifies linked from this post include frank discussion of racism, including specific manifestations of racism.]
Aura: This is What Force-Feeding a Guantanamo Bay Prisoner Looks Like [Content Note: The video at this link is incredibly difficult to watch, but also provides insight into what is being done by the US government in US citizens' names.]
Igor: Koch Brothers to Pour Millions into Obamacare Misinformation Campaign
Rebecca: There's a 12-Foot Tall Statue of Colin Firth's Wet-Shirted Mr. Darcy Emerging from a Lake in Hyde Park. What a Time to Be Alive.
Steve: Heroic Kangaroo to the Rescue
Leave your links and recommendations in comments...
Headline of the Day
[Content Note: Violence; racism; dehumanization.]
WTF is this headline, LA Times?
I'm pretty sure the trial has been goddamned personal to a lot of people, like Trayvon Martin's parents, all the fuck along.
And from the accompanying article: "For the prosecution, [Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin's mother] was the figure of sympathy." For the prosecution. For the defense, she is just an inconvenience to their wretched campaign to dehumanize Trayvon Martin into a personified threat against aggrieved heroes like George Zimmerman.
* * *
Yes, I understand defense teams have a job to do. No, it does not make me any less contemptuous of the particular strategy of this defense team on behalf of their loathsome client.
Perfect
"Republicans in search of an attack line against Hillary Clinton have begun to cast her as a tired relic of the past -- an implicit contrast to their own bench of up-and-comers like hip hop-listening Marco Rubio and libertarian-leaning Rand Paul," Politico reports.Sooooo last time she was a political noob who didn't have enough experience because she'd "only" been a First Lady and US Senator. This time, she's a has-been. Perfect.
"But Democrats are confident that giving voters the chance to make history by electing the first female president -- by definition a forward-looking act - would trump any argument that Clinton is too 20th century and give her a 'change' mantra of her own."Also, said Democrats, we're totes ready to have a lady nominee because the Republicans' war on agency is totally fucking heinous, and we can't be arsed to mount a meaningful national opposition, but we're pretty sure putting Hillary out there would be enough to cover our asses and make us look like we give a shit.
Said Democratic operative Stephanie Cuitter: "If Secretary Clinton runs, she'll be the nominee -- the first female nominee of either party. That breaks through the 'old' tagline that the Republican geniuses are cooking up because, if handled correctly, women of all ages will absolutely be inspired by that. I don't recommend that be the totality of her message or platform, but there's no way to hide that fact and it certainly shouldn't be discounted."
Daily Dose of Cute
Sleepy Livs.
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
In The News
[Content note: Gun violence, misogyny, racism, homophobia, disaster]
News, π, and Information:
At least 67 people have been shot across the city of Chicago since Wednesday afternoon during the long holiday weekend, 11 fatally.
About 40 people were declared missing amid a rising death toll in a Quebec town that saw its downtown core obliterated by the fiery explosions of a runaway train.
Ebony "Wondagurl" Oshunrinde, a 16-year-old Canadian schoolgirl, produced a track on Jay-Z's latest album. Awesome!
Nessie may be just be fart bubbles!
Speaking of fart bubbles: Ted Nugent is considering a run for the White House. LOLOLOL!!! Yes! This would be hilarious and awesome! Do it, you dipshit!
Also: Rick Perry is scheduled to announce plans for his political future, leaving open the question of whether he'll seek an unprecedented fourth term next year or try again to seek the White House. Good lord.
In other political aspiration: Eliot Spitzer, who resigned as governor of New York amid a prostitution scandal, is running for the citywide office of comptroller of New York City. Seriously?
Attention bargain hunters: All Paula Deen cookware is on sale at Target.
New Jersey Senate Democrats say they will hold a vote to override Governor Chris Christie's veto of a marriage equality bill.
A Boeing 777 crash landed at SFO, killing two passengers.
Beginning next year, a same-sex couple applying for a marriage license in the state of Indiana will be guilty of a Level 6 felony, punishable by 18 months in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Meanwhile: A Louisiana official is drafting a proposal that would outlaw the flying of the rainbow flag in any public venue.
The United States Navy has authorized active duty servicemembers to wear their uniforms in the San Diego LGBT Pride Parade.
Quote of the Day
[Content Note: War on agency; rape culture; medical malfeasance.]
"Being treated like I was less than human produced in me a despair. [State prison officials] are the real repeat offenders. They repeatedly offended me by denying me my right to dignity and humanity."—Kimberly Jeffries, a former inmate at Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla, California, who was pressured by a prison doctor to have a tubal ligation (a sterilization procedure) while she was "sedated and strapped to a surgical table for a C-section in 2010." She refused. But nearly 150 female inmates in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation were sterilized from 2006 to 2010, "without required state approvals" and often (or always) without consent, following coercion by prison medical staff.
Naturally, Dr. James Heinrich, Valley State's OB-GYN, says that the women making allegations of coerced sterilization are liars: "They all wanted it done. If they come a year or two later saying, 'Somebody forced me to have this done,' that's a lie. That's somebody looking for the state to give them a handout."
Sure. They all wanted it. Amazing how a man who is alleged to be hostile to consent sounds exactly like a rape apologist.
Note that Heinrich is accusing a group of women—who are probably disproportionately women of color—of looking for "a handout" after being sterilized. Just like poor women—who are also disproportionately women of color—are looking for "a handout" when they have children. Same old welfare queen shit about how poor women use their reproduction to scam the state, uttered by the masters of projection who try to wield the state's power to control their reproduction.
Egypt
[Content Note: War; death.]
This is the latest, following the military coup that ousted President Mohamed Morsi:
A deadly shooting at the site of a sit-in by Muslim Brotherhood supporters in Cairo, demanding the reinstatement of ousted President Mohamed Morsi, has left dozens of people dead.I don't even know what to say. I don't know where this is going to go. It isn't clear at this point how this will be resolved in a way to ensure lasting peace and a more just culture, or even whether that can happen.
The Egyptian health ministry said at least 42 people had been killed and more than 300 injured in the incident early on Monday morning.
Mohamed Mohamed Ibrahim El-Beltagy, a Brotherhood MP, described the incident during dawn prayers after police had stormed the site, as a "massacre".
About 500 people were also reportedly injured.
A doctor told Al Jazeera that "the majority of injured had gunshot wounds to the head".
The Brotherhood said the dead and the injured have been taken to a makeshift hospital in Nasr City, a neighbourhood in the Egyptian capital.
It is certainly still a struggle here, 237 years on.
