Seriously...What Am I Doing Here? The Adventures of a Wondering and Wandering Gay Jew Never having been on an adventure, Ken Schneck finds himself stumbling twice into rural Uganda; signing up for a 425-mile bike ride; stirring up drama at a Californian hippie, healing retreat; and somehow standing up straight with a colossal backpack strapped to his shoulders deep in the backwoods of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. This occasionally heartbreaking, often insightful, and reliably witty travelogue has at its core our never-ending search for meaning, our desperate need to grasp that elusive sense of place and community, and how we often fail to succeed (sometimes hilariously so!) but keep right on trying. Paperback: 230 pages Publisher: 1984 Publishing (May 23, 2017) Language: English ISBN-10: 0997813822 ISBN-13: 978-0997813821 TRANS/gressive: How Transgender Activists Took on Gay Rights, Feminism, the Media & Congress...and Won! In the early 1990s, no one talked about transgender people, and no one knew one. We were not on TV or in movies. What formed the visible part of the trans community – overwhelmingly white, urban, and middle class – was also overwhelmingly focused on conferences, surgery or hormones and cisgender acceptance. This was still a determinedly non-political population, often in defensive crouch because it was also constantly under attack by the media, police, local legislatures, feminists and even LGB-but-never-T advocates. We were a group that still thought of ourselves as a collection of separate individuals, not a movement. Without realizing or intending it, the community was reaching critical mass. Even in those pre-Internet, pre-cellphone days, enough trans people were running into one another often enough to begin realizing we could be a force, that we didn’t really need cisgender acceptance. What we needed was our civil rights. This is the inside story of how in just a few years, a handful of trans activists would come together in the face of enormous difficulties and opposition to launch from the very margins of society what would grow into the modern political movement for gender rights. Paperback: 218 pages Publisher: Riverdale Avenue Books Language: English ISBN-10: 1626013683 ISBN-13: 978-1626013681 The Life and Death of ACT UP/LA: Anti-AIDS Activism in Los Angeles from the 1980s to the 2000s The Life and Death of ACT UP/LA explores the history of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, Los Angeles, part of the militant anti-AIDS movement of the 1980s and 1990s. ACT UP/LA battled government, medical, and institutional neglect of the AIDS epidemic, engaging in multi-targeted protest in Los Angeles and nationally. The book shows how appealing the direct action anti-AIDS activism was for people across the United States; as well as arguing the need to understand how the politics of place affect organizing, and how the particular features of the Los Angeles cityscape shaped possibilities for activists. A feminist lens is used, seeing social inequalities as mutually reinforcing and interdependent, to examine the interaction of activists and the outcomes of their actions. Their struggle against AIDS and homophobia, and to have a voice in their healthcare, presaged the progressive, multi-issue, anti-corporate, confrontational organizing of the late twentieth century, and deserves to be part of that history. Paperback: 260 pages Publisher: Cambridge University Press (May 18, 2017) Language: English ISBN-10: 1107514177 ISBN-13: 978-1107514171
0 Comments
TheWEED (Wellness Energy Earth Dispensary) announced today its collaboration with L.A. based pop artist and LGBTQ+ advocate, Nina Palomba, to bring an artisanal gallery experience to its customers. Palomba’s installation entitled “Love and Light,” will showcase all-original artwork and be on display from June 4th until July 15th.
TheWEED prides itself on offering customers of diverse backgrounds a shopping experience that blends cannabis with culture. In addition to being a high-end dispensary, theWEED is also an art gallery showcasing the work of international artists and features street art, graffiti and pop art. Some of the artists regularly displayed include Shepard Fairey, Alec Monopoly, SX Doom and King Saladeen. TheWEED’s art collection is part of what draws people from all over California to the shop. “We’re always looking for opportunities to support the arts community and take great pride in the fact that our customers don’t feel rushed to get in and out,” says Stewart Stinson, General Manager and Owner of theWEED. “We’re honored to have Nina’s work at the shop, just in time for one of LA’s most lively weekends!” Renowned for her playful illustrated narratives and uplifting murals, Palomba’s work has taken her across the globe leaving her mark all over the world. As an LGBTQ+ advocate, Palomba devotes her time to supporting the community by painting uplifting murals across the country. She travels teaching workshops to students about being a queer artist in today’s world while spreading positivity through art, encouraging others to “Shine On!” Palomba plans to illustrate notions of whimsical love stories through noir revival in her painted installation. “Overlapping LA Pride, visitors can expect nothing less than artwork that brings a smile to your face, fills your heart with romance and leaves a mark on your day in the best way!” says Palomba. For more information on Nina Palomba, please visit ninapalomba.com and follow her on Instagram @theninapalomba. Jesse Saint John has been songwriter to the stars for five years now, but only this year did he begin his endeavors as a solo artist. Today, the queer pop artist premiered a one-take music video for his debut single, ‘Move’. This track could easily be on the soundtrack of a teen cult film, so it’s no surprise that some of saint john’s influences for this track were 90s flicks like GO, Doom Generation, Nowhere and Cruel Intentions, so it’s quite fitting that this lyric visualizer was filmed in the same garage as the 1999 crime comedy, GO. Saint John told Out Magazine that he chose to lead with ‘Move’ because “it just felt like a great marriage of intense energy and hooky melody—and [he] knew it’ll be so fun to do live.” Though we are currently only witnessing the dawn of his solo efforts, he has already been widely recognized as a queer musician and consequently was invited to play at this year’s LA Pride Festival alongside musical sensations such as Tove Lo, Kehlani, and Icona Pop on June 9th. The band, Hella Bella, is unique in their own right. With a drag queen lead singer, Bella Gigante, taking the lead of this ultimate party band, you will not be disappointed when you take in one of their shows. How did this band become a reality? Bella Gigante: My goal was to always have a band. Along the road, I began to meet different musicians who wanted to be a part and shared similar visions. Three years later it finally happened”Hella Bella was born. Who are your musical influences?/ Where does the inspiration for your music come from? B: Our musical influences vary from Blonde to Rocky Horror Picture show. We are attracted the most by music that people can connect with. We love to make you dance, laugh and feel. We are inspired the most by the people in the crowd. What do you feel you are offering the music scene that isn’t been seen now? B: There is nothing greater for us than to take the entire crowd with us on our journey. There are many amazing bands out there today what sets us apart is that our lead singer is a giant drag queen with a set of pipes and a band full of wonderful characters. In addition, our band has Sarah Meadows on bass, Linda Strauss on cello, Joe Buffalo on lead guitar and our newest member Clark Libby on drums. I love this band and am very proud of them. What are your upcoming gigs? B: You can check us out at Santa Fe pride on the plaza June 30th. For all other gigs please follow us on Facebook, Hella Bella or Bella Gigante. By Bunnie Cruse, Chairwoman, Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico
Our queer community is filled with more than just LGBT. We are super diverse. There is no “one way” to be queer. There is no rulebook. Queer people of color and gender variant people’s do not have to fit in the toxic white patriarchal heteronormative structure of society that is pervasive in the QUEER community. PRIDE is a civil rights movement that is not just one weekend a year. It is constant community building. AIDS Education, feeding and sheltering our at-risk LGBT, political activism and so much more! The parade is fun and the club scenes afterward are LIT. But that’s just the celebration! Us queers are celebrating another year of work and another year of surviving in a world that wants to ELIMINATE US! No matter how you celebrate PRIDE please do it responsibly, plan ahead, do not drive drunk and use sexual protection! HAPPY PRIDE! CELEBRATE! ....and that is the FINAL WORD! View photo gallery from DragCon at
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2206322382711554.1073741848.180313148645831&type=1&l=61b8efec9f Emmy Award winner RuPaul and World of Wonder (“RuPaul’s Drag Race,” “Million Dollar Listing,” “Out Of Iraq”) hosted more than 50,000 attendees during the fourth annual “RuPaul’s DragCon LA” at the Los Angeles Convention Center this past weekend. The massively successful convention, which welcomed the largest ever gathering of the world’s top Drag Queens in one place, has experienced explosive growth since its debut in 2015 - increasing total attendance by 500% in just four years. Created by RuPaul and World of Wonder Productions, RuPaul’s DragCon is a family-friendly event welcoming attendees - of all ages and background - to kiki with all of their favorite drag queens and stars in a creative, friendly and accessible environment. The three day event included extensively curated panels and live runway performances, talent signings, more than 30 Instagrammable moments on the floor, including the actual Werkroom from “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” and over 350 exhibitor booths offering attendees some of the most sickening shopping around. “In this time of chaos and lies, for three days tens of thousands of big-hearted, super-creative, and sensitive souls peacefully gathered to celebrate their truth at RuPaul’s DragCon,” says RuPaul. “Seeing all the young people and families and queens has filled my heart with gratitude and hope. The future is going to be fierce.” "The overwhelming success of this year's DragCon is a testament to the talent and creative vision of the hundreds of drag artists who attended the convention," says World of Wonder co-founder Randy Barbato. "Drag has become a cultural force that is here to stay.” "As we wrap up another DragCon on Mother's Day, it is especially exciting to see all the families that come to share the experience," says World of Wonder co-founder Fenton Bailey. "DragCon is about life, love, laughter and inclusion. It’s about tearing down walls, not building them." The convention featured top talent for performances, meet and greets, panels and more, including: RuPaul, Michelle Visage, Bianca Del Rio, Trixie Mattel, Billy Eichner, Alaska 5000, Jinkx Monsoon, Alyssa Edwards, Aquaria, Asia O’Hara, Blair St. Clair, Dusty Ray Bottoms, Eureka, Kalorie Karbdashian Williams, Kameron Michaels, Mayhem Miller, Miz Cracker, Monét X Change, Bebe Zahara Benet, Raja, Sharon Needles, Violet Chachki, Sasha Velour, Chad Michaels, Ross Mathews, Yeardley Smith (“The Simpsons”), Tokyo Stylez, Hannah Hart, and World of Wonder co-founders & DragCon creators Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey. Tickets for the second annual RuPaul’s DragCon NYC, taking place September 28-30, 2018, go on sale May 14th. Visit http://rupaulsdragcon.com/ Mara Wilson Joins Roald Dahl's Imaginormous Challenge Writing Contest as Member of Judging Panel4/30/2018 Writer and actor Mara Wilson, known to many for playing Matilda Wormwood in the beloved film Matilda, will be helping Willy Wonka with his search as one of the judges in thisyear’s Roald Dahl’s Imaginormous Challenge and will be helping to read the entries and pick the winners. Mara announced her involvement on Twitter earlier this week, noting that she is "thrilled to be helping to pick a winner!"
This year, the Roald Dahl Story Company, Penguin Young Readers, and Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, in conjunction with Langley Park Productions and Neal Street Productions, kicked off Roald Dahl’s Imaginormous Challenge starring Willy Wonka himself. This imagination contest asks kids and their teachers not to imagine small, but to imaginormous as Willy Wonka embarks on a new hunt for inventive story ideas from smart, imaginative and creative children from across the United States. Five new Golden Ticket Winners must be found and will be rewarded beyond their wildest imaginations. Roald Dahl’s Imaginormous Challenge is all about inspiring imaginative story ideas in children 5 to 12 years of age and marks a major investment from the Roald Dahl Story Company in the future of children’s imaginations here in the U.S. Recurring annually, the challenge aims tocapture a million story ideas from children across America by 2020. The challenge is sponsoredby Penguin Young Readers. There are also special Wonka-approved teaching resources aligned with the U.S. curriculum that will help spark ideas in class which can be downloaded at www.imaginormouschallenge.com/teachers. Teachers will also have the chance to win a Roald Dahl library for their schools! For more information about the contest, please visit: www.imaginormouschallenge.com www.roalddahl.com Janelle Monáe's new album, Dirty Computer, is a thank you letter to self and the LGBTQ community, sharing truth, insecurities, sexuality, and letting the world know that we are made the way we are and it's okay. Monáe, who recently told the world that she is pansexual, feels freed from the box that the public put her in and is expressing her true self in her new album. The album is accompanied by an the "emotion picture" self-titled Dirty Computer. "I want young girls, young boys, nonbinary, gay, straight, queer people who are having a hard time dealing with their sexuality, dealing with feeling ostracized or bullied for just being their unique selves, to know that I see you - this album is for you. Be proud." See the Dirty Computer emotion picture below and pick up her new album on Amazon and ITunes. Were you aware the FDA classifies male condoms as a more favorable health device than internal condoms, traditionally known as “female condoms?” While women continue to overcome systemic barriers society set, another area where challenges remain is healthcare – especially concerning tools available to empower women.
After years of advocates lobbying, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is now considering a rule change on how the “female” condom is classified by the FDA. The National Female Condom Coalition (NFCC) is advocating that it be changed from a Class 3 medical device to a Class 2, the same class as the male condom, which requires less research, testing, and development. The current classification is crippling the female condom industry, but a reclassification provides opportunity for the research and implementation of new and developing products to enter the U.S. that are already recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and on the market in other countries (such as Africa, Brazil, and throughout Europe). NFCC is also aiming for the device to be renamed as the “internal condom.” The hope is that by changing its name, the indication of the device’s use would be broadened to include anal sex, automatically expanding how it can be used by different populations – a huge win in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Now that there’s some movement for the rule to be adapted, the FDA’s Subcommittee on Medical Devises is accepting public comment until Feb. 2, which will be considered during their deliberation. Advocates are asking the public to submit their own comments, which can come from individuals, organizations, healthcare professionals, advocates, women’s health/family planning experts, the general public, or anyone interested in the discussion. Specific ways individuals can help are outlined here: nationalfccoalition.org/fda-campaign Gay History Serial Podcast Debuts
Mattachine, a ten-episode serialized show available free on iTunes January 4, 2018, follows the true story of the secret Mattachine organization that catalyzed the American LGBTQ rights movement in 1950. From a spark of inspiration in 1920s Chicago, through secret speakeasy-style meetings that brought together anonymous homosexuals, the program will open FBI case files to journey through McCarthy-era paranoia and the witch hunt that pulled the communist queer activists apart, scattering the seeds of the movement. Produced and hosted by Devlyn Camp with editorial advising from Paul Di Ciccio and Chicago theatre critic Albert Williams, Mattachine aims to entertain and educate an audience about our vast history and the strength of our community during a time of new political resistance. Listeners may hear the first episode and subscribe now on iTunes or other podcast-playing apps. New episodes are released every Thursday. Political and social history have been intertwined with queer history, though our stories are overlooked by all history classes in public schools. With the assistance of voice actors and interviews with Mattachine founder Harry Hay courtesy of the ONE Archives at the University of Southern California Library, Mattachine brings the stories of these activists back to life in order to uncover nuanced issues the LGBTQ community still struggles with today: internalized homophobia, misogyny, political pressure, anonymity, and assimilation. Listeners may find that the study of history is preparation for the work ahead. Devlyn Camp is a television writing and production graduate of Columbia College Chicago. They have studied under Albert Williams, whose guidance and stories as a longtime activist in the gay community inspired Camp’s passion for queer theory and history. Williams also advises on this project. Follow the show on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @mattachinefiles, and explore resources and other details at mattachinepod.com. Minor Details
By Bob Minor White Evangelicals are the largest demographic group voting for and sticking with Donald Trump no matter what he does. Trump won 81% of their votes and 72% still aren’t ashamed to say that they support him. Trump’s “Religious Advisory Council,” made up mostly of leaders of this same demographic, has held firm even while members of other councils abandoned ship. So the question many keep asking is: with Evangelicals’ constant insistence on sexual purity for others and their so-called “family values” trope, why do these Evangelicals cling to Trump when he blatantly embodies almost everything that a person could say and do that flaunts those values? On top of that, he displays a clear ignorance of, and past hostility to, Evangelical beliefs themselves. Those Evangelicals respond with denial and ignorance and remain willing to be used for whatever Trump’s con is. Meanwhile, liberals act astonished at what seems to be the hypocrisy of these Evangelicals for what they usually say about character, sexuality, and ethics when they act with such fidelity to Trump and his Party. More progressive believers read calls for quite different responses to this president and his party in this Bible that Evangelicals flaunt as their authority. It’s as if those Evangelical claims that they’re just following the Bible as it is don’t hold up unless you’re viewing the Bible through a certain, specific lens that Evangelicals use. And that’s a clue to what’s really going on. Different people down through history came to that old book with different assumptions – Martin Luther King Jr., vs. Pat Robertson, for example - and they therefore find in the Bible (as well as “tradition”) what supports those assumptions. No one takes the smorgasbord that is the Bible “literally.” Everyone interprets. They take literally what works for them and employ some interpretive scheme for taking other passages that would disagree (“seemingly”) in other ways. In Evangelical circles there are numerous theories of interpretation even though they’ll insist that they “believe the Bible from cover to cover, and even believe the covers.” Denying that they interpret is part of their use of the Bible in the manner of a religion addiction. It’s not the Bible and any literalism that decides why they support Trump or come out against “sexual impurity” for other people. It’s other deeply ingrained interpretive assumptions that they’ve internalized from the culture in which they’ve grown up. Threats to these internalized assumptions feel like persecution and provocations to battle. They see these assumptions and themselves (as people who’ve built their self-definitions on these assumptions), then, as victims of a changing culture around them and feel cornered like rats who must fight “Culture Wars.” These six assumptions aren’t exclusive to these Evangelicals, but their combination is crucial to their worldview, the lens they use to see reality and their scriptures. These assumptions are the key to understanding what they see in life and the Bible when they claim that they’re righteously following God and the Bible: (1) Nationalism. America is an exceptional nation with a Divine mission. From the words of the earliest Christians in America, this country’s religious leaders characterized it as “a city on a hill.” It was called the New Israel and the location of the New Covenant community. Many leaders and presidents from then on embraced American exceptionalism. But it’s a basic, often quite explicit, unquestionable tenet for these Evangelicals. Many so equate American exceptionalism and Biblical teachings that their churches must have an American flag standing near the pulpit. They’ll worry about saving America from threats both internally and externally. America must always be first and foremost among the nations. Talk of being a “world citizen” is a threat unless it starts with America saving the world. They might struggle creatively to find America in the Bible itself, but, at the very least, nothing in the Bible can be seen to be anti-America as an essential ideal. That means, of course, that their American Christianity is the version that finally gets it right again and is supposed to be uniquely true. Historically, all religions adapt to their cultures and adopt dominant cultural symbols and assumptions. European Christianity is not like American – hence American Evangelicals are convinced that Europe needs American Christian missionaries to help them see the true version. (2) Patriarchy. The Bible must teach “traditional” American gender roles. As American culture began to accept equality for women through women’s suffrage and various waves of feminism, these Evangelicals became convinced that they must protect patriarchy and male privilege. Even conservative churches that had women ministers were criticized. Before the latest waves of feminism scared them even further, a leading Evangelical leader in 1941, John R. Rice, for example, wrote of threats to Biblical Christianity in his Bobbed Hair, Bossy Wives, and Women Preachers: Significant Questions for Honest Christian Women Settled by the Word of God. Again and again, Evangelists and leading right-wing preachers shamed churches for being effeminate. “Muscular Christianity” came to the United States as a movement pushed by popular evangelist Dwight L. Moody as early as the end of the nineteenth century to masculinize the church. The idea of a “biblical chain of command” with the man of the house just below God and in charge of everyone below him swept up Evangelicals in the 1960s with home-school advocate Bill Gothard touring the country. In 1991 the “Promise Keepers” emerged to pack football stadiums by advising Evangelical men to take back the authority they were losing in their own homes. In fact, the threat of LGBTQ equality and the Evangelical fight against marriage equality were premised on how this would destroy the traditional patriarchal (“straight”) gender roles. And “traditional family values” rhetoric was built on the man being in charge of his very White Evangelical family. Next month: Part Two, with two more of the six key elements of the lens that explains their support for religious and political leaders even if they’re hypocrites |
P&E - After PrintHere are some of the latest articles and topics in the GLBT community. Archives
June 2023
Categories |