Sexile/Sexilo

I learned about this awesome graphic novel in my Gender and Culture in Latin America class last night. SEXILE/SEXILIO is available on-line in both Spanish and English. It is a graphic novel that presents HIV prevention messages through a witty narrative style and intimate personal storytelling. The novel focuses on the life of one transgendered woman's journey from Cuba to the USA.

The novel is available for download here.

Useful Resource -- Change.org

Hi folks,

I became aware of a promising web resource in a class recently. You can click the link above.

This site enables you to browse through different issues and then become involved through various options:

• joining a community,
  
• donating, or
  
• taking action

I've found it really helpful to be able to quickly see what initiatives for change are out there, under "actions" on specific issues. And I'm looking forward to utilizing this with students by bringing it up in programming conversations and potentially utilizing it in educational judicial sanctions.

Controversial Religious Endorsements

Yesterday, Republican Presidential nominee John McCain denounced the endorsements of two preachers, stating that their inflammatory teachings and statements were “deeply offensive and indefensible.”

Texas preacher John Hagee, whose February endorsement McCain courted for some time, has now been repudiated after an audio recording surfaced in which the preacher said God sent Adolf Hitler to help the Jews reach the Promised Land: “Then God sent a hunter. A hunter is someone with a gun, and he forces you. Hitler was a hunter…How did it happen? Because God allowed it to happen. Why did it happen? Because God said, ‘My top priority for the Jewish people is to get them to come back to the land of Israel.’” Hagee has also stated that Hurricane Katrina was God’s retribution for homosexual sin.

Ohio preacher Rod Parsley speaks strongly against Islam, claiming it is an “anti-Christ religion” and the Muslim prophet Muhammad is “the mouthpiece of a conspiracy of spiritual evil.” McCain says “there is no place for that kind of dialogue in America.”

McCain received some criticism after accepting both preachers’ endorsements, and has previously tried to distance himself from the preachers’ views, though only now, after his nomination is in the bag, has he actually denounced them. In April, McCain told ABC that he was “glad to have [Hagee’s] endorsement. I condemn remarks that are, in any way, viewed as anti-anything.”

McCain, who now faces comparison with Senator Obama and his relationship with controversial Rev. Wright, claims that his situation is different. McCain has made it clear that neither Hagee nor Parsley has ever been his pastor, nor has he ever attended their churches or had a relationship with them outside of receiving their endorsements. Senator Obama actually seems to be defending McCain, stating that in national politics it’s easy to find people who have said or done offensive things and that he doesn’t “attribute those statements to John McCain. Nobody thinks McCain believes that stuff.” One might wonder if Senator Obama is also trying to defend himself with these remarks.

Are Senator McCain’s denunciations too little too late? Should candidates be held responsible for the beliefs and statements of their political endorsers? What role does the idea of separation between church and state play here, if any?

Byrd in the hand

I was beginning to feel the burn of fear creeping up against me when I viewed some footage of randomly sampled West Virginians who expressed their extreme discomfort with electing a black man into the presidency. The sick part is that I wasn't surprised at all.

View the cringe-worthy footage here:
http://www.livesteez.com/videos/watch/nvYkHm9

Today, I remembered why I believe in the continued importance of resistance and endurance in the face of adversity. When I read that former segregationist and Ku Klux Klan member Senator Byrd (D-West Virginia) endorsed Obama I felt validated in my belief that we have to push through the fear and work to transform this country one day at a time, one heart at a time, one vote at a time. The fruits of the struggle do come, even if they don't always appear immediately.

We're already in the middle of a transformation within our country's racial discourse and even though it is painful at times, it is beautiful to behold.

Click here to read more about Byrd's endorsement: http://www.newsweek.com/id/137769

White valedictorian at an HBC

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/05/16/white.valedictorian/index.html

i recently had a conversation in which they were upset about this happening. I saw it more along the lines of having many positive outcomes both for those reading this short article, but also for those who were at this institution with many of the questions that come from thinking about it. I just wanted to share.

Beyond Marriage

In light of the new developments in California, I feel compelled to invite us to think critically about the institution of marriage and what it means... It is important for us to consider the implications of certain rights.

Beyondmarriage.org is an amazing statement signed by some of the greatest contemporary thinkers and other community members about how we should reframe the debate on same-sex marriage and move it away from a heteronormative framework that reinforces a right wing "family values" agenda and move toward an all inclusive rubric that allows equality for all relationships, family structures, and lifestyles.

I support this visionary statement because it is more socially justice focused. Rights are important yes, but we must think about access. It is not about restricting the right to same sex marriage (which of course I wholeheartedly support). It is about looking beyond specific pieces of legislation, looking at the implications for other movements within and surrounding them, and working together to acheive goals that move all of us forward instead of leaving some of us behind.
I submitted my name to sign on in solidarity. Check it out

California Supreme Court Overturns Gay Marriage Ban

The California Supreme Court overturned a voter-approved ban on gay marriage today in a 4-3 ruling that stated that domestic partnerships are not a good enough substitute for marriage. Check out the full article from AP.

To help work against the constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage mentioned in the article, check out the HRC's California Marriage PAC here.

Enough already.

I am writing a paper about identity politics and digital culture right now, focusing on the advent of blogs like stuffwhitepeoplelike.com and exploring their meaning in relationship to the political economy. As a result, I am noticing everything on the internet and attempting to deconstruct what is behind specific forms of visual representation... When I woke up this morning I checked out my MySpace inbox and saw a banner advertising www.sugardaddie.com "for rich guys and gorgeous girls". I imagine that I could have a field day writing a critical paper on race, gender, consumption and exploitation on that site alone. Vomit-worthy.

It blows my mind how our public sphere is wrought with misogynist messaging and imaging that no one really cares about or protests. The strength of the silence surrounding this is even more maddening when you think of misogynist messaging and the current political contest. For this reason, I am sharing Marie Cocco's article Misogyny I Won't Miss, an article that highlights have corporations and the media have capitalized off of the current political race to promote sexist (and racist) messages and ideologies. Even though I voted for Barack Obama and I support his campaign wholeheartedly, I cringe when I hear blatant sexist attacks against Hillary. I am sickened by the fact that our culture is so extremely threatened by strong women leaders. It is our duty to stand up and let the media and businesses who are permeating our public space with these messages know that enough is enough.

NYU Exposed.

ever wondered how much our top administration is making? pay disparities / tenure by gender? what it means when NYU refers to money....

i guess none of these things really crossed my mind, but recently i found this site, NYU Exposed, when google searching for my professor's email address (to mail in my final paper). it's pretty interesting and gives another insight into the university's inner-workings.

It also makes me think of the question of how we decide what someone's work is worth...

(through that seemingly complicated equation of degree(s), plus experience, plus years, plus __________________...? Some jobs that "no one" (in power) wants to do get paid really well in recognition of the fact that few people are willing to do ________. However, there are some other jobs that "no one" wants to do but get paid really badly. ...

Fighting Gossip With Graphics.

This article, Fighting Gossip With Graphics, was posted on the Inside Higher Ed website about a month ago.... not sure if you all saw it, but just got around to reading it today. While this deals mostly with anonymity on the web/ juicy campus, it also is something to think about in terms of free speech rights and also how these particular students chose to promote community standards.


...i think the flyer is nicely designed :)

A case of the Mondays.

It's always fascinating to stop and think about why we choose to automatically do certain things a certain way or how words become (mis)appropriated as the slang of a community. Often times current folks do what they do, heavily based on the fact that "that's the way it has always been." Whereas the origins may have been rooted in something much different and more specific. I suppose that's the power of how we present (or omit) history...

I like it when those epiphanies occur in life where something about yourself / life becomes much clearer as a result--(ie: for me, when I read this book in high school called Sophie's World or anytime I realize that I am actually doing something, or want something, based on a larger social construct of control and then can resist). I'm not sure if that really makes sense, but it's Monday so give me a break. At any rate, I've posted this link to Tolerance.Org's Power of Words curriculum. To be honest, I haven't really looked through it in detail, but upon initial glance, it seems like it might be useful with your staffs or at least an adapted version, to start the conversation around language use.

Guide to NYC Women's and Social Justice Organizations

I did a google search for "nyc social justice" and one of the first things that came up was the Guide to NYC Women's and Social Justice Organizations, a resource put together by the Barnard Center for Research on Women. It looks like a useful and in-depth listing, and I really appreciate that it is organized by category as well as alphabetically.

Check it out if you have a minute. You might find an organization you'd like to engage with personally/professionally. I hope everyone is doing great...

Any other helpful resources out there regarding nyc social justice organizations or events? thanks!

What color is love?

Mrs. Mildred Loving who along with her late husband Richard Loving challenged and overturned the US'anti-miscegenation law (Loving v. Virginia) passed away yesterday. In her memory, I encourage you to support The Loving Day Project. The Loving Day project is an amazing organization that promotes equality and justice for all. I encourage you to participate in some of their events and utilize their resources. They recently co-sponsored a panel at NYU about the role of race in the 2008 election as well as supported the Kip Fulbeck art installation here on campus.

Loving Day would be a great organization for us to consider an ally relationship with for programming and training possibilities. Mildred Loving was also a supporter of marriage equality for same-sex couples. Read her powerful statement here.

Dirty Tricks

Back when I worked at Planned Parenthood I developed a special sort of disdain for the tactics the National Right To Life Committee employed to push their agenda. When my friend informed me that NBC and The Huffington Post reported on their recent robo-call campaign on behalf of Senator Clinton, I was disgusted but not surprised. It blows my mind that an organization that is so deeply involved with promoting a far-right agenda through their advocacy and fundraising is attempting to mess with the minds of undeclared superdelegates in a party whose platform they oppose. This sort of manipulation is centered around conversations about electability.

NRTL stands as one of the most aggressive conservative machines in the country. I hope the people they are reaching out to can see through their shifty motives and realize that they are only campaigning for Senator Clinton because of dirty political motives and sexism. This organization has long served to undermine her efforts and work, and now they are working to manipulate the primary elections so that she wins over Obama. Their reasoning is that they think that their candidate McCain (who is on record as a staunch anti-choice neo-con wolf in sheeps clothing) will throttle Senator Clinton in the general.

Former "Pro-life" Congressman Tim Roemer (D) released the following statement this evening in response to the automated calls that Indiana residents received from National Right to Life:

"As a pro-life Catholic Democrat, one of the main reasons I endorsed Barack Obama is because he approaches issues from a non-ideological standpoint, and on issues like abortion, he deeply respects the views of folks on the other side of the argument. He believes that if we focus on what unites us, we can accomplish more than we ever will by retreating into our corners and shouting each other.

"National Right to Life is running these calls because they know that Senator Clinton will be the easier Democrat to run against in the general election--and this is their way of giving her a helping hand in this tough primary battle.

"Senator Obama and Senator Clinton have virtually identical records on the abortion issue. I want Hoosiers to be absolutely clear: These calls we're getting are nothing more than a ploy. Folks who are going to vote in the Democratic primary tomorrow know that we need real change in Washington."


The dirty tricks never seem to cease.

The NYPD 'Weeds' Out Blacks and Latinos

I stumbled upon this article in the Voice... I was surprised and disappointed to understand this instance of racial injustice in nyc.

"The marijuana-arrest rate for black New Yorkers is five times higher than whites; for Latinos, it's three times higher—despite the fact, as previously noted, that a higher percentage of whites smoke pot, both nationally and in New York."

All Look The Same (?)

I am having difficulty coming up with recent articles and whatnot since my friends don't talk about these things like they used to and I've been bad about reading new things, so I again regress back a few years for my Monday post--->I came upon this site years ago (maybe freshman year of college?)--it's a quiz. I remember it sparking some discussion.... thoughts?

All Look The Same

Take the quiz (Exam #1-faces) and post your score in the comments section :) ....Read the creator's philosophy here: It's interesting.

ps. I scored 8 out of 18.... I remember scoring better the first time I took this :(

Working My Nerves

Every once in a while a little rain on our parade does a world of good to remind us of how much work we need to do to make this world a better place. A few things have been working my nerves this week:

1. I read a review of this ridiculous book titled Save The Males in a magazine marketed toward young professional women. I am repulsed by the content in the book because it plays into this trite idea that young professional (read: heterosexual) women must "settle" in order to find a man (of course it is our sole reason for being).

As if finding one who is subpar is better than nothing in order to make ourselves "complete". I am still reeling from that outrageous sexist article Marry Him in the Atlantic a while back. I am sick of so-called feminist imposters masking their retrograde rants as pieces contributing to some sort of post-feminist movement progress.

Vomit-worthy.I am sick of this promotion of cultural panic because those who hold hegemony aren't maintaining as firm a grasp as they did before. The bottom line is that patriarchy and imbalanced heirarchies still exist. The proof is in the pudding when patriarchal women are writing articles promoting the idea that feminism is harmful. Moreover, I'm upset with these women who have benefited from movements for equality now who are fighting against it because they naively think they have "arrived".

Why is there this panic resulting from the fact that traditional kinship structures have changed, providing more women with the agency to raise and provide for their children without depending on a man. Why panic because more women are going to college? I am not suggesting that we privilege women's rights and interests over men. I am merely pointing out that I am not really losing any sleep over the idea that men in our society need "saving" from "feminism, girl coddling, and male bashing" as argued in Katleen Parker's book. The fact is that "feminism, girl coddling, and male bashing" is not systemically embedded into every piece of our culture and institutions like gender inequality is in our country. The only people who need to be saved are these writers who need a wake up call from what I perceive to be their delusional fever dream.

2. Another situation that i'm fired up about this week is the outrageous outing case in Memphis. High School Principal Daphne Beasley made an announcement over the PA system mandating that teachers provide her with the names of all “hetero and homo” student couples on campus. After she collected the names, Principal Beasley then publicly posted the list in her office. As a result, two young men Nicholas and Andrew – suddenly found that the whole school was buzzing about their relationship. Making matters worse, Principal Beasley called Nicholas’ mom to inform her that her son was gay. Ms. Beasley also informed his mother that she did not approve of homosexuality and refuses to tolerate it in her school. Fortunately, the ACLU is working on seeking justice in this case. I am also happy to report that there is a national letter writing campaign to force the Memphis school board to take action against Beasley and harrassment in area schools.

If God Is Dead, Who Gets His House?

New York Magazine, on April 21st, published an article entitled If God Is Dead, Who Gets His House?

According to the article, "The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life released the results of its “Religious Landscape” survey in February and found that 16 percent of Americans have no religious affiliation. The number is even greater among young people: 25 percent of 18- to 29-year-olds now identify with no religion, up from 11 percent in a similar survey in 1986. For most of its modern history, atheism has existed as a kind of civil-rights movement. Groups like American Atheists have functioned primarily as litigants in the fight for church-state separation, not as atheist social clubs. "

There is now discussion happening amongst some of the most well-known and/or active Atheists in the US as to what, if any, type of spaces need to be created for the community. The article references such places as “human-centered quasi-religious organizations.” An example of such a community space is the New York Society for Ethical Culture. Don’t be fooled though, not all Atheists have celebrated the idea of organizing.

Finally, there is even debate as to how the community should be referred to since atheism is a term that was coined as a derogatory, or at least negative, epithet by those opposed to the atheist opinions and views.

The conversation goes much deeper in the article, and there is a quite a bit more history which helps further explain some of the current debates. It is a pretty quick read with some very interesting arguments.