Though we may think of political leaders as being dry-witted and doggedly serious in their pursuit to effect change, trans activist Riki Wilchins demonstrates how humor can be just as important a tool for disseminating information and channeling energy on issues to other activists. Wilchins is an accomplished author, one of TIME magazine’s 100 civic innovators, and the founder and executive director of Gender Public Advocacy Coalition (GenderPAC), which works toward breaking others of looking at gender as a hard-coded binary structure.
Her One Trans Show, The MANgina Monologues, discusses her personal story of transition along with pop cultural and political swipes relating to the perception of the larger transgender community.
Thank you for your patience, loyal readers. We at Cul de sac are aware that posts have been showing up pretty sporadically recently, and there is a reason for it all. Actually, many reasons, which is why we have come to a decision: we will be cutting back to a Tuesday-Friday post schedule. On the rare occasion we feature a musical artists, we will reinstate Musician Mondays, but for now, we are going to stick to this schedule (and we mean it. For real.)
Thanks so much for being with us this past year (more on our anniversary plans to come at the end of the month), and we are excited to start a whole new year of fun, fabulosity and feroshery (as well as many more fantastic neologisms) with you!
Hijras, a transgender subgroup of Bangladesh, are MTF or intersex people who face discrimination on a daily basis. Although recently granted the right to vote, less than one year ago, Hijras are persecuted and have no real protection from the law. A documentary film titled Evergreen is currently seeking funding to begin film a feature that will provide their story to a world audience. Read more about the project here, or write to evergreenproject[dot]info[at]gmail[dot]com. And please watch the demo trailer below:
The Great Nationwide Kiss-In held this past Saturday, put on in Chicago by our Join the Impact chapter, lived up to its name as it became a success in over 55 cities. Led by organizers and bloggers David Badash and David Mailloux, the event allowed couples gay and straight to profess their love in public through the simple act of kissing. Join the Impact Chicago members gave impassioned speeches on the importance of events like these and the future of the LGBT rights movement.
Cul de sac Magazine attended (and made out!), and we would like to share some of what we witnessed at the Kiss-In (at least when we were taking a breath).
Beginning on August 26, Cul de sac Magazine will be featuring a Creative Writing Wednesdays series that will put short stories, excerpts from longer works and poetry at the forefront. You don’t have to be queer to submit; we just ask that your work relates to the LGBT experience. All subject matter and genres are given equal consideration.
Our guidelines are:
–under 1,000 words for prose, with consideration given for serializing longer pieces.
–2-3 poetry submissions at a time.
–use the Contact Us button at the top of the screen to send an inquiry; we will respond from the email address to send your submissions.
At this time, we cannot offer compensation, but we do provide a forum for your work that reaches over 500 readers a month. It is important to our mission to provide as many unique voices as possible that can touch the lives of queer folk all across the spectrum. We welcome your words and your talent and look forward to sharing them with our readers.
The degree to which television influences us has been studied in various ways–how does seeing violence affect human behavior? how much sexuality can be shown?–to varying opinions on how this plays out in the real world. One area that has been seen to be an effective role of television is to provide more acceptance of diverse people. GLAAD’s third annual Network Responsibility Index takes an in-depth look at how both network and cable channels are representing the LGBT population through their programming. HBO was lauded as the most inclusive cable channel, while ABC was the top network TV channel. The full report, which breaks down programming hours featuring LGBT characters, regular, recurring and guest stars, and even race and ethnicity of the LGBT characters depicted, can be read in PDF form here.
Our friends Split Pillow have teamed up with Marillac House, a social center located in Garfield Park that provides services to youth and adults in the area, to provide a MediaStart! program (video below) that teaches children how to make their own independent documentaries. This necessary program is supported by state funding, but recent budget cuts may force Marillac House to end their Early Childhood Education programs. This affects over 800 children and their families who are part of the youth programs at the nearly century-old center. We would be losing tools that help minority media thrive and allow the next generation to perpetuate their voices.
This problem directly affects Marillac House now, but will also be a significant hurdle for educators and students during the upcoming school year. You can help out by contacting Illinois state legislators and asking them to restore additional funding for education to the state budget. Get contact information either by clicking the link above or by calling (312) 814-6440. Additionally, ask at least five people you know to do the same. It could make a world of difference for Chicago youth.
When we think of boycotts, many of us may see images of Christian or family rights groups picketing outside movie theaters or banning the latest “trashy” book. Or we may see people supporting labor unions by refusing to buy products produced by companies that have unfair employment. This tactic has led to numerous changes because it strikes where organizations most depend: income. The cliche of voting with your dollar exists for a reason; the money we spend for items from food to entertainment eventually makes its way to the top authority who in turn uses that money to support political groups or politicians outright. If money we spend is going to someone or something we would never support, should we proceed with paying for an item or service, or can we find an alternative?
For clarification, let’s take the example of Urban Outfitters. Founder and President Richard Hayne, though purportedly not homophobic according to his openly gay CEO, donated $13,500 to virulently anti-gay former Senator Rick Santorum. Regardless of his personal views on homosexuality, he gave his largest political donation to one of the most conservative and controversial figures to the LGBT community. Hayne derives his money from sales at his stores, which also include Anthropologie and Free People, and because many of the products are aimed at socially conscious youth, a good proportion of that money comes from people who would not agree with Santorum’s positions and would not support him otherwise.
It is important to have an open dialogue about where our money goes and on what the founders of companies spend it. However, progress can be made through boycotting efforts. A recent scandal for energy drink Rockstar, which was tied to gay-bashing radio host Michael Savage as he is the father of Rockstar President Russel Weiner resulted in a show of support for the LGBT community. Rockstar disavowed affiliation with Savage and his views and pledged $100,000 in donations to LGBT rights groups, including $50,000 to a local LGBT Community Center in the company’s home state of Nevada and $25,000 each to GLSEN and The Trevor Project. An additional $12,500 was donated to the National LGBT Blogger Initiative to support online writers who were the main driving force of the boycott.
We all need to work together to make our companies more honest and keep our community aware of when our money is supporting something we are ideologically against. Please feel free to comment below to give us your take on boycotting or make us aware of other organizations that may be supporting hate.
Leading up to our fundraiser party on Saturday, we want to introduce you to the Fantastic Femmes, a trio of powerful ladies who are striving to take back Chicago from evil scum. Storm, Pink Power and S.T.D. (Super Tacky Diva) are three gals with special powers who combine grace, power and attitude to take on their opponents in a new web series. You can follow the Fantastic Femmes on YouTube as the series progresses and meet them in person at Cul de sac’s fundraiser where they will be premiering the second episode.
In the meantime, take a sneak peek at the trailer below and keep an eye out for these fabulous foxes known as the Fantastic Femmes.
Sometimes, the weight of a situation becomes so heavy that we all need to reflect on its seriousness. These posts from TransGriot and The Huffington Post really caught our eye, so we thought we’d share them with our readers today. Although one takes place on another continent, in the world of soccer–a sport many of us Americans simply disregard–combined with a disgustingly common perception that hits close to home, these become two all too common examples of the discrimination transgender and intersex people face every day. We’re going to continue to follow these issues and hope that our readers take the time to explore this often overlooked problem with us.
