Merf. Thinking is Hard.

kiriamaya:

fuckyeahqueerrevolt:

perlerorneq:

sixtyforty:

Or how a riot started by queers, drag queens, transgender people and sex workers became ruthlessly hijacked and monopolized by normatively attractive, affluent, masculine gay men who value assimilation and heteronormativity over universal healthcare - and who viciously spurn those magnificent queens who came before them - and gave it a universally accepted brand name (the GAY rights movement) that highlights its own exclusionary nature.

Weep weep

Queer rights and riots!!!

This is a sadly accurate description.

fromonesurvivortoanother:

Cis-feminists are quick to accuse trans people of supporting the binary, but they never question their own gender as supporting binary ideals. That’s because to them, their gender is something that is innate. It’s a fact of their being.

But for some reason, being trans means that your gender somehow isn’t innate. It’s up for question because you haven’t been the way you are for your entire life.

I think we can all see the problem here— it’s the same kind of stringent standards that the patriarchy places upon women being “real” women. You are only a woman if you do this. If you wear this. If you have certain biology. And so on.

Why not add to that, “you are only a woman if you’ve been a woman the entire span of your life?” It’s not that big of a stretch. It’s probably already implied in binary gender narratives.

But if your gender isn’t a problem, then why is mine? What makes yours so special?

Trans people can be whatever they want to be. Gender is no one’s business but that person’s.

miswritten:

(or: why does sw have to nitpick every damn thing?)

there’s this video making the rounds on facebook of a guy raised by two women in iowa — he’s speaking in court about how being raised by a same-gender couple had no effect on the content of his character.  he scored extremely well on the ACT, he’s an eagle scout, he’s well-adjusted, he’s happy, he runs a small business, he’s white, male, articulate, dressed in a suit, and pretty much all the things that would make a middle-class white couple proud.

people are passing around this video describing it as “beautiful” and “inspiring” and as proof that queer parents can raise children.  in this video, this young man goes on and on about how normal his family is; how there is nothing that really distinguishes it from a straight two-parent household.  it’s that fluffy, clean-cut, domesticated feelgood stuff that white liberal “no on prop 8” ads are made of.  so it’s not really a surprise to me that people are all over it..

what i want to know, though, is why self-identified radical and progressive people of color, queers and straights alike, suddenly forget every damn thing they’ve learned about race, class, and normativity when it comes to gay marriage or gay parents or gays in the military or whatever.

heads up, straight/ally people of color (i guess white allies too…………..lol):

you don’t have to suddenly forget that arguments that only aim to prove how white and middle-class a marginalized community can be is oppressive, racist, and classist.  queer and trans people of color who will never be normal enough to be in commercials or viral youtube videos advertising the normativity of the gay community still exist and matter.  completely abandoning your critical lens in order to “be an ally” is not actually being an ally.  it’s being too scared to think for yourself because you don’t want to mess up which isn’t always helpful.  this isn’t to say that straight/cis people shouldn’t check themselves, because they should.  always. 

but wholesale supporting everything the white gay mainstream throws at you doesn’t make me respect your ~*ally skillz*~.  it just makes me feel less confident in your ability to comprehend or truly support a queer/trans person of color who may not be middle-class.

if you want to repost nice feelgood white liberal gay videos on your fb/tumblr/twitter and say you support that, then that’s cool.  but instead of just adding commentary that says, “see?  queer people can be great parents (just like us)!,” maybe say a thing or two about how even those families who aren’t properly middle-class or “stable” or “just like yours” still deserve dignity, respect, and protection.

maybethings:

fuckyeahpoetry:

When the call comes, be calm.
Say to your wife, “My brother is dying. I have to fly
to California.”
try not to be shocked that he already looks like
a cadaver.
Say to the young man sitting by your brother’s side,
“I’m his brother.”
Try not to be shocked when the young man says,
“I’m his lover. Thanks for coming.”

Listen to the doctor with a steel face on.
Sign the necessary forms.
Tell the doctor you will take care of everything.
Wonder why doctors are so remote.

Watch the lover’s eyes as they stare into
your brother’s eyes as they stare into
space.
Wonder what they see there.
Remember the time he was jealous and
opened your eyebrow with a sharp stick.
Forgive him out loud
even if he can’t
understand you.
Realize the scar will be
all that’s left of him.

Over coffee in the hospital cafeteria
say to the lover, “You’re an extremely good-looking
young man.”
Hear him say,
“I never thought I was good enough looking to
deserve your brother.”

Watch the tears well up in his eyes. Say,
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what it means to be
the lover of another man.”
Hear him say,
“Its just like a wife, only the commitment is
deeper because the odds against you are so much
greater.”
Say nothing, but
take his hand like a brother’s.

Drive to Mexico for unproven drugs that might
help him live longer.
Explain what they are to the border guard.
Fill with rage when he informs you,
“You can’t bring those across.”
Begin to grow loud.
Feel the lover’s hand on your arm
restraining you. See in the guard’s eye
how much a man can hate another man.
Say to the lover, “How can you stand it?”
Hear him say, “You get used to it.”
Think of one of your children getting used to
another man’s hatred.

Call your wife on the telephone. Tell her,
“He hasn’t much time.
I’ll be home soon.” Before you hang up say,
“How could anyone’s commitment be deeper than
a husband and a wife?” Hear her say,
“Please. I don’t want to know all the details.”

When he slips into an irrevocable coma,
hold his lover in your arms while he sobs,
no longer strong. Wonder how much longer
you will be able to be strong.
Feel how it feels to hold a man in your arms
whose arms are used to holding men.
Offer God anything to bring your brother back.
Know you have nothing God could possibly want.
Curse God, but do not
abandon Him.

Stare at the face of the funeral director
when he tells you he will not
embalm the body for fear of
contamination. Let him see in your eyes
how much a man can hate another man.

Stand beside a casket covered in flowers,
white flowers. Say,
“thank you for coming,” to each of seven hundred men
who file past in tears, some of them
holding hands. Know that your brother’s life
was not what you imagined. Overhear two
mourners say, “I wonder who’ll be next?” and
“I don’t care anymore,
as long as it isn’t you.”

Arrange to take an early flight home.
His lover will drive you to the airport.
When your flight is announced say,
awkwardly, “If I can do anything, please
let me know.” Do not flinch when he says,
“Forgive yourself for not wanting to know him
after he told you. He did.”
Stop and let it soak in. Say,
“He forgave me, or he knew himself?”
“Both,” the lover will say, not knowing what else
to do. Hold him like a brother while he
kisses you on the cheek. Think that
you haven’t been kissed by a man since
your father died. Think,
“This is no moment to be strong.”

Fly first class and drink Scotch. Stroke
your split eyebrow with a finger and
think of your brother alive. Smile
at the memory and think
how your children will feel in your arms
warm and friendly and without challenge.

- Michael Lassell

Contamination, I’ll give you contamination you light-shunned little…

crossedwires:

Should a book about a white main character encountering diversity be part of a list of “diverse” titles? What if the encounter is life-changing for the white main character? And even more questions arise for me: Is this kind of book meant for white readers or for minority readers?

I’m sure that some (many?) minority readers are sick and tired of reading about white people learning about them. But what if this kind of book opens the eyes of a white reader and changes their perceptions about the world and people who are different from them?

—Malindo Lo, on Diversity in YA for the December new releases.

::facepalming:: how is this is even a question. No, it should not count. POC are not learning moments for white people ‘encountering diversity’ (what does that even mean).

If you have to count books with white protags to make a list, then maybe the issue is that not enough books by/about/for POC (and/or queer people? I think is part of their diversity statement) are being published/read, not that the definition of ‘diversity’ needs to include stories centered around people privileged in those aspects.

Oh, Malinda. There are so many books out there about life-changing experiences of white (and other kinds of privileged) people through their interaction with the marginalized. White people got so many opportunities to learn from them. But all they seem to learn is that they can become experts on POC lives without actually living them. That’s just called the fucking status quo. 

I would imagine that true diversity would actually fuck with the status quo. And you know what fucks with the status quo? Many more books which tell white people they ain’t the hot shit they think they are.