June

By Connor Lassey. Source:
http://bosguy.com/2012/06/01/happy-pride-2/

Just a few minutes shy of July, I wanted to make a brief summation of June and it's theme. This month has flown by while reading Nobody Passes and Making Gay History, both books have offered different perspectives on Queer discussion. First, the trajectory traced in Making Gay History, offers a view of the LGBT movement in the US from its' commencement, when many lived their lives hidden. In total it covers the 20th century. The book mainly concentrates on the gay and lesbian aspect, transgender and bisexual doesn't enter much into the framework.

My aim for this month was precisely that, present recourses through which one can better glean the Homophile movement, given that it is Pride month. The clearer one understands the diversity inherent within the world we all reside, the higher the possibility for improvement. Given the in-depth point of view in Making Gay History I highly recommend the book, the pace is quick and there is an electric quality within the pace of the story, as the narrative progresses, that truly captures and transports the reader.

With Nobody Passes I wanted to stray further from normative gender expressions. For example, the second one by Nico Dacumos "All Mixed Up With No Place To Go: Inhabiting Mixed Consciousness On The Margins", centers on gender and mixed consciousness. Forget community and niche, the narrator endeavors to reveal to the reader the blurry lines of gender, fitting in and identity. Transgender, butch, bisexual, lesbian, Chicana, immigrant, all these categorizations and more are placed under the microscope and questioned. And what about a queer, black rapper? Ralowe T. Ampu AKA G-Minus speaks of his experience within the Homohop movement, his evolution as an artist. His experiences offer a colorful view of a community that is not widely disseminated; for example, I didn't know about Homohop. This book is replete with mixed angles that challenge normative society, lifting a veil that uncovers a race, the human race, that is proliferated with diversity.

Hence, it is evident that these two books offer good material and food for thought, not only for the Queer community but also for everyone that exists in and around the LGBT collective.