I'm going to shamelessly plug an event. Hope you don't mind :)
___________________________________________
Hey everyone!!! We're trying to fly out some awesomely queer bands from San Francisco for a "Queer Control Records" showcase on October 3rd. (www.queercontrol.com).
We need to raise $2000 in order to fly them out so we're having a fundraiser this Saturday night at Al's bar featuring some awesome music by the tense kids and the indulgents, and a holding a raffle of some pretty sweet items.
If we raise the money to fly out the bands not only will Lexington have a chance to experience music that normally doesn't come to our neck of the woods, BUT, all the money we raise on at the showcase on Oct. 3rd will be donated to AVOL (AIDS volunteers).
Raffle items include (but are not limited to):
1. Gift certificate to CD central
2. massage from a Lexington Healing arts academy graduate
3. $70 gift certificate to charmed life tattoo
4. gift certificate to the Morris Book shop
AND MUCH MORE!!
So please join us this Saturday, Aug. 22nd at Al's bar on the corner of 6th and Limestone. Cover is $5 and it is ALL AGES. Music will start around 8ish, with the raffle happening between bands (Around 10:30pm)
Check out the facebook group page for more info on the event:
http://www.facebook.com/editpicture.php?success=1#/event.php?eid=121291823496&ref=ts
If you're interested in making a donation to bring these bands to Lexington, but you're unable to attend the fundraiser on Saturday, then send an email to jackcoferguitar@gmail.com and we'll work something out!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Local Food Potluck and Gathering
Check out this post on Transform Lexington about a local food potluck and gathering that happens the first Thursday of every month. Tres cool.
Video killed the *gender* star
I think that I would like to do "video logs" on here. Suggestions for easily usable computer cams? Would people like to hear me (and others) talking about gender in lexington? Let me know. Spread the word about the blog too. I am always open to contributors.
I am not known for my cool taste in music. I know that and embrace it. I like to booty dance, and usually like music that helps me to do that. I love music in genderal and it has gotten me through tough times.
A few years ago I stumbled upon a video by Ciara called "Like a Boy". If there was an argument for the social construction of gender, I think this would be it. Ciara does a good job of questioning the gendered issues in dating, and then representing two genders in her video. I look at it as pretty feminist and progressive. It is also pretty damn sexy to me. I like when people blend genders. Anyway.
Contrast that with this video called "Crazy, Sex, Magic". The song and video are more recent (2009) and with Justin Timberlake in the video it has more star power. It has very little of Ciara's amazing dancing ability, and Ciara has a chain around her neck that Justin plays with during the song. I was made aware of this by Racialicious.com when they commented on the imagery. It was striking to me too. Here is the post .
They also mentioned that Janet Jackson's image suffered the most when the wardrobe malfunction happened at the superbowl, and Justin Timberlake seemed to emerge unscathed. Wasn't he the one that actually ripped the costume off? Does this have to do with the fact that he is a man?
I wonder if Ciara would do "Like a Boy" now, since she is becoming more popular? In both videos she is dancing around a man, would she have been able to put Justin Timberlake as the man she was singing to in "Like a Boy"? Does this have to do more with gender roles or celebrity? God-des has a song about the idea that record labels wouldn't sign her because she didn't look feminine. She mentions that female rappers "sold out" and became more feminine to sell their image and become financially independent. Does anyone think that Ciara did that?
Sometimes in Lexington, I feel a lack of interplay between consumer and commerce. It may be because people feel that they won't be heard. Or maybe because they don't care. I listen to pop music because it has a good beat and isn't as heavy as my grad school textbooks. I also try and support the local music scene when I can (with a little help from some good friends). I want and wish that people in Lexington had more of a conversation going on around them, especially when it comes to identities and how they affect all of us. Sex sells. Sexual attraction is based on gender. Gender issues are everywhere and taken for granted.
I'll leave you with a God-des and She video. They are now signed, thankfully, but it leaves me to wonder how many other bands aren't being signed because of their gender non-conformity?
I am not known for my cool taste in music. I know that and embrace it. I like to booty dance, and usually like music that helps me to do that. I love music in genderal and it has gotten me through tough times.
A few years ago I stumbled upon a video by Ciara called "Like a Boy". If there was an argument for the social construction of gender, I think this would be it. Ciara does a good job of questioning the gendered issues in dating, and then representing two genders in her video. I look at it as pretty feminist and progressive. It is also pretty damn sexy to me. I like when people blend genders. Anyway.
Contrast that with this video called "Crazy, Sex, Magic". The song and video are more recent (2009) and with Justin Timberlake in the video it has more star power. It has very little of Ciara's amazing dancing ability, and Ciara has a chain around her neck that Justin plays with during the song. I was made aware of this by Racialicious.com when they commented on the imagery. It was striking to me too. Here is the post .
They also mentioned that Janet Jackson's image suffered the most when the wardrobe malfunction happened at the superbowl, and Justin Timberlake seemed to emerge unscathed. Wasn't he the one that actually ripped the costume off? Does this have to do with the fact that he is a man?
I wonder if Ciara would do "Like a Boy" now, since she is becoming more popular? In both videos she is dancing around a man, would she have been able to put Justin Timberlake as the man she was singing to in "Like a Boy"? Does this have to do more with gender roles or celebrity? God-des has a song about the idea that record labels wouldn't sign her because she didn't look feminine. She mentions that female rappers "sold out" and became more feminine to sell their image and become financially independent. Does anyone think that Ciara did that?
Sometimes in Lexington, I feel a lack of interplay between consumer and commerce. It may be because people feel that they won't be heard. Or maybe because they don't care. I listen to pop music because it has a good beat and isn't as heavy as my grad school textbooks. I also try and support the local music scene when I can (with a little help from some good friends). I want and wish that people in Lexington had more of a conversation going on around them, especially when it comes to identities and how they affect all of us. Sex sells. Sexual attraction is based on gender. Gender issues are everywhere and taken for granted.
I'll leave you with a God-des and She video. They are now signed, thankfully, but it leaves me to wonder how many other bands aren't being signed because of their gender non-conformity?
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Gender specific restrooms
I recently read an article about a group of activists at a California school who were taking on bathrooms. That's right, bathrooms. They're goal was to create awareness around the fact that gender specific bathrooms often become places of anxiety and fear and unfortunately sometimes violence for trans and gender queer individuals. They've also banded together with students with disabilities to address accessibility issues in public restrooms.
As someone who is woman identified and rarely mistaken for the opposite sex, I don't find myself hesitating before I go into the bathroom, wondering if I'm going to get shit from the people inside. But I know that a lot of folks do and that just fucking sucks.
In order to help people feel safer a group of people have created a website called safe2pee where people can list gender neutral bathroom locations across North America. I took this description from the site:
The goal of the project is to create a resource where people who do not feel comfortable with traditional public restrooms can find safe alternatives, and to support advocacy and research to further the cause of gender free, inclusive bathrooms.
I looked up Lexington KY and the only listing for non-gender specific bathrooms was at the good foods co op on Southland Dr. I KNOW there are more of them around town, so I would like to challenge all of you to add them. The instructions for adding a bathroom are super simple and on the first page of the website.
xo,
de las ondas
As someone who is woman identified and rarely mistaken for the opposite sex, I don't find myself hesitating before I go into the bathroom, wondering if I'm going to get shit from the people inside. But I know that a lot of folks do and that just fucking sucks.
In order to help people feel safer a group of people have created a website called safe2pee where people can list gender neutral bathroom locations across North America. I took this description from the site:
The goal of the project is to create a resource where people who do not feel comfortable with traditional public restrooms can find safe alternatives, and to support advocacy and research to further the cause of gender free, inclusive bathrooms.
I looked up Lexington KY and the only listing for non-gender specific bathrooms was at the good foods co op on Southland Dr. I KNOW there are more of them around town, so I would like to challenge all of you to add them. The instructions for adding a bathroom are super simple and on the first page of the website.
xo,
de las ondas
Friday, July 24, 2009
OMG you're not a lesbian?!?!
Before I begin, I want to thank Mervin Sue for opening up the posting to multiple authors. I think this blog presents a real opportunity to create a meaningful discussion about gender and sexuality in Lexington and I'm eager to hear what other folks think. If you're interested in sharing you experiences/stories/reflections, whatever - say something so that you can be added to the author list.
Moving on.
I was a pretty lucky kid in that my parents were always very socially and politically aware. They encouraged us to read a great deal and to think for ourselves. We spent many family dinners discussing the importance of healthcare, what is class and why it's important to think about, or world history. Now don't get me wrong, my life wasn't all a bunch of roses - far from it, but this is something I am particularly grateful for.
However, I think because of this experience I developed a blanket notion of "progressive people" and I thought that everyone who is oppressed should, could, and would understand and, empathize with other oppressed people. Then, as I started to explore my sexuality, I naively thought that all queer people must be socially liberal and think about the world the same way that I do.
Can anyone hear that buzzer that goes off in a game show when you get the question wrong?
Now I can see how incredibly freakin' naive that was. And while I get that more and more all of the time, I still have moments where I'm like, wtf? How could you think that??
So fast forward to the last year in Lexington, and my partner coming out as transgendered. Prior to that he was pretty well known around town as a lesbian folk musician. When news started to travel down the pipeline about his new identification I had several lesbian friends pull me aside and ask me if I was ok. I also heard that a couple of them, behind our backs, refused to use male pronouns unless he specifically asked them to.
I know it shouldn't shock me, but it kind of did. And more than just shock me, it pissed me off. I know that people care about me and want to be sure that I'm alright but I also feel like they were making a ton of assumptions about my own sexuality and I felt a little bit like we might get kicked out of an exclusive social club.
It was around that time that I realized first of all that people thought I was a lesbian. I guess I'd never talked with my friends about how I identify as queer. I suppose I got lumped into the lesbian category because that's who my friends were. Since then I've been more vocal and assertive about my sexual identity and I feel good about that. But I'm also finding that it's confusing for a lot of people. I don't always feel like getting in depth either about the way I define queer and what that means for me, and frankly I can tell most people don't want to hear all that anyway. I guess I need some sort of succinct and quippy way to define my sexuality to them. One that won't waste anyones time.
I don't beleive that lesbians being shocked when one of their "own" "bites the dust," or that people getting screw faced over the word queer is unique to Lexington, but this is where I live so I have to think about it.
Does anyone else have a story like this?
xo
De Las Ondas
Moving on.
I was a pretty lucky kid in that my parents were always very socially and politically aware. They encouraged us to read a great deal and to think for ourselves. We spent many family dinners discussing the importance of healthcare, what is class and why it's important to think about, or world history. Now don't get me wrong, my life wasn't all a bunch of roses - far from it, but this is something I am particularly grateful for.
However, I think because of this experience I developed a blanket notion of "progressive people" and I thought that everyone who is oppressed should, could, and would understand and, empathize with other oppressed people. Then, as I started to explore my sexuality, I naively thought that all queer people must be socially liberal and think about the world the same way that I do.
Can anyone hear that buzzer that goes off in a game show when you get the question wrong?
Now I can see how incredibly freakin' naive that was. And while I get that more and more all of the time, I still have moments where I'm like, wtf? How could you think that??
So fast forward to the last year in Lexington, and my partner coming out as transgendered. Prior to that he was pretty well known around town as a lesbian folk musician. When news started to travel down the pipeline about his new identification I had several lesbian friends pull me aside and ask me if I was ok. I also heard that a couple of them, behind our backs, refused to use male pronouns unless he specifically asked them to.
I know it shouldn't shock me, but it kind of did. And more than just shock me, it pissed me off. I know that people care about me and want to be sure that I'm alright but I also feel like they were making a ton of assumptions about my own sexuality and I felt a little bit like we might get kicked out of an exclusive social club.
It was around that time that I realized first of all that people thought I was a lesbian. I guess I'd never talked with my friends about how I identify as queer. I suppose I got lumped into the lesbian category because that's who my friends were. Since then I've been more vocal and assertive about my sexual identity and I feel good about that. But I'm also finding that it's confusing for a lot of people. I don't always feel like getting in depth either about the way I define queer and what that means for me, and frankly I can tell most people don't want to hear all that anyway. I guess I need some sort of succinct and quippy way to define my sexuality to them. One that won't waste anyones time.
I don't beleive that lesbians being shocked when one of their "own" "bites the dust," or that people getting screw faced over the word queer is unique to Lexington, but this is where I live so I have to think about it.
Does anyone else have a story like this?
xo
De Las Ondas
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