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.

Nobody Passes

I know, I know, the end of the month approaches in a few days and the Pride marches and celebrations have almost all passed. Nonetheless, meandering through my consuming weeks here is this post, just in time*.

For this insert I considered Gloria Anzaldua, an excellent Chicana feminist lesbian writer, specifically an excerpt from her Borderlands/ La Frontera, "How To Tame a Wild Tongue", which can be found by clicking on the title. Yes, it is a good and relevant work but not exactly what I was aiming for this month. In regards to Making Gay History, I am still reading along, so far the years are progressing as the interviews branch out and cover the Civil Rights movements of the 60s.

Recently, I received a book of essays I had ordered last month, Nobody Passes: Rejecting the Rules of Gender and Conformity, curated, compiled and edited by Mattilda AKA Matt Bernstein Sycamore. I haven't yet read it in its' entirety but only a few of the essays, in total there are 27. What delightfully surprised me as I read the essays, is that the authors range from diverse backgrounds, sexes, genders and preferences, there is no clear-cut "typical" characterization within the stories. Instead, what I find in each of the authors is an account of not passing. In not passing I refer to the borderlands, beyond the established parameters, those of us that do not pass unto common grounds, the outsiders. Within this cornucopia of authors and stories I have found a few I'd like to briefly share.

First is "Friction Burn: A Nonfiction Admission" by Stacey May Fowles. The author of this piece opens with the description of the relationship with her mother, as she proceeds to reveal her unsuccessful relationships with men. A few paragraphs in, one begins to see why, how easy is it to find a complementing partner that will willingly participate in her sadomasochistic tastes? She speaks of her scars and of her difficulty in revealing herself to those around her, including her mother. She wavers on the line between sadomasochism being degrading towards her gender, and having a preference, liking SM.

I will steal this moment like I have stolen so many others, and I will turn it into a self-aggrandizzing piece on sadomasochism that will inevitably embarrass. 

The conclusion is choice, she demands her right to a choice and this right in itself negates sadomasochism being degrading to her.

I wanted a choice. I wanted to decide. I want him to beat me because I want to receive things asked for rather than to be surprised by a sudden fist. 

It's not easy to fit in and pass with these preferential demands but as many of us already know, one learns to cope, to deal and eventually one finds a niche and a comfort, wether it be small or large.

The second essay, "And Then You Cut Your Hair: Genderfucking on the Femme Side of the Spectrum" by Amy André and Sandy Chang, I found unique and revelatory. It's in interview format, a back and forth discussion on what it means to be woman, queer, cutting one's hair, blurring gender lines, the use of fashion within these contexts, the significance of being a "minority", of community and of identity. Sandy Chang is an Chinese American and Amy André a mixed-race African American Jew.

Enriching experiences sprinkle the conversation as the two divulge on the dichotomies inherent to the femme, genderqueer idiosyncrasy. There is a nascent urge for fluidity in sexuality, the denial of clear-cut parameters. As Amy states halfway through the conversation:

Gender is performance. 

The destruction of stereotypes is necessary and beneficial and that is what laces Amy and Sandy's interchange of experiences and ideas. Sandy ends:

I think we're moving toward a place where people have greater access to a range of gender expressions. [...] I would hope that there's more freedom for people to do that, without fear of judgement. That's the direction I hope we're heading in, one of more fluidity.  

I will end with these two for today, tomorrow will great the day with two or maybe even three more. I highly recommend Nobody Passes, so far it has been an unveiling treat to read.

June Pride

After a brief hiatus, in which I took a needed vacation in the City of New York, I am back home and it is June. I debated long and a bit hard on what my focus would be for this month and the conclusion was to take advantage of Pride. June is Pride month and in most parts of the world gatherings are held in celebration of LGBT pride. 

From a 70's Gay Liberation Front poster. Used on the jacket cover of: Duberman,  "Stonewall, 1993.
Source: http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/eresources/exhibitions/sw25/case1.html

And why June? Well, primordially because of an event that took place June 27, 1969 in New York City. The police raided a gay bar in Greenwich Village. After decades and decades of alienation, pain, stigmatization and abuse, the anger of the gay community reached the tipping point. This tipping point is known as the Stonewall Riots. In which the gay community decided to fight back against the system and demand equality and justice. A great article recounting the event in fuller detail is found here. With the knowledge of the events of June 27, 1969 and what proceeded from there, a better picture is formed on the purpose and the aim of the LGBT marches and gatherings. Now, this isn't to say that gay civil rights organizations haven't been around before this event, for there were organizations that preceded the Stonewall riots, such as the Scientific Humanitarian Committee founded in Germany towards the end of the nineteenth century. Unfortunately, this committee was thwarted by the Nazis. The LGBT community is one that, as evinced from history and recounting, has suffered greatly under the pall of prejudice and alienation. Therefore, this month I will join in adding a small grain to the recognition, the dissemination, and the civil rights movement for equality in regards to the LGBT community. 

The New York Times, June 29, 1969. Source:
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/eresources/exhibitions/sw25/case1.html

New York Post, June 28, 1969.  Source:
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/eresources/exhibitions/sw25/case1.html

*More clippings found here. 

While in New York City I purchased a used book entitled Making Gay History by Eric Marcus. So far, with all the excitement of the trip I've only read part one. The book is a personal oral account of people within the LGBT community. It contains an extensive list of interviewees. Part one precedes the incident of Stonewall and in it the reader meets six interviewees and their experiences in the community. The first one is Dr. Evelyn Hooker, a psychologist who taught at UCLA. She was one of the first to begin a study on gay men, aimed at clarifying whether being "gay" was a disease and shedding light on the community. From the following entries are narratives by people from the community, describing their experiences during a time when LGBT issues where obscure and hidden. 

The first magazine for "gay gals" started in June 1947 in Los Angeles, California by one woman called Vice Versa. 

Chuck Rowland, an excellent organizer who went on to form civil rights groups that included gays, blacks, jews, and women. 

From these two narratives, advanced more intimate accounts of what being gay and coming to terms with that realization meant to three young ladies during the early part of the century. 

The composition of the book makes it approachable and intimate allowing the reader to delve into the recount of the interviewees, making the topic much more accessible. And that is my aim, to delve this month into the LGBT community and expose the parts of history that, for many, have remained concealed.