Stripperiffic.

T-minus two days until costume party hijinks are to ensue...and I find myself still having persistent costume anxiety. I made the case for the angst that the lack of african-american superheroes and video game characters has caused my meager options...but after looking around the interweb and some costume shops at sexed up costumes the average woman is supposed to wear, I'm going to stop complaining.


http://www.comicsalliance.com/2010/10/21/sexy-superhero-costumes-halloween/

In a world where most legitimate female superheroes are gender analogues of pre-existing male characters (which makes an interesting statement about the patriarchy in itself), and with the exception of Wonder Woman, many of the heroines of the X-Men, and the Invisible Woman (formerly the passive Invisible Girl whose power was to ...literally and metaphorically turn invisible) its only slightly annoying that so many costumes for women and girls are simply those male costumes in a mini-skirt and their tits out. Case in point: I've always been slightly amused at the sudden existence and popularity of jailbait Wolverine clone (literally) X-23. You know why X-23's so popular? Because it gives all the het-dudes who have jones for wolverine an underage, fetish gear wearing female to project that onto.

There are points where playing up sex appeal is entirely appropriate, but simply slashing parts of a costume, slapping on a skirt and high boots and glitter isn't as much about the costume as it is about the sexualization of the woman wearing it.


A lot of my friends who are women enjoy the gore of Halloween more than my male friends. Dressing up as puss oozing zombie people, sans-sexualization, is often their angle during Halloween, but when every other woman is a "sassy nun", or a "sexy bee" or... Sarah Palin, its conspicuous to be the woman in the giant furry costume, or the flesh eating zombie dripping blood. You can glance through a costume catalogue and glean a lot about gender expectations in our society. Male costumes paying homage to a particular character or person are a straight interpretation of said character whereas the female costume is not as much a feminization as it is a sexualization of the same costume.

One of the best aspects of Halloween (from someone who has always been somewhat leery of the holiday) is the irreverence, the subversion of "normal" societal expectations, and the ability-for just a night or a weekend- to turn convention on its ear. This assumption of mine seems to fail when we look at the staunch differences in presentation and expectation about gender in Halloween costumes. Whats the message when your 15 year old niece has being a "sexy bee" to look forward to, while her brother gets to actually BE a bumblebee. I'm dubious about whether or not focusing on the sexed up aspects of womanhood for even the most benign costumes is justified or even relevant. If a person wants to parade about in a corset for Halloween for the sake of it, it seems the spirit of the time...but to have the dearth of costumes aimed at women be these hypersexualized deviations of male costumes sends a very different, and not altogether encouraging message about gender differences when it comes to presentation. And as much as I like Sesame Street..."Sassy Elmo" makes me want to bang my head against the nearest wall repeatedly...


And now? Super sweet clips from my new favorite band Geographer, a lovely, lilting "Original Sin", and a poppy-yet melancholy number from Prozakk below. Dig it.

Professionalism is the new Persecution?

http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2010/10/slaggie-gilamonster-gay-marriage-will.html

The above, and you'll forgive me being frank, is a ridiculous argument. When a professional organization denies membership to someone it deems outside the ideological viewpoint of the profession its not out of line to reject them. Case in point; Matt Hale, the founder of the Church of the Creator failed to pass the Bar for these reasons alone. His missives about racial superiority were (shockingly) opposed to those of the law board. And now he's doing time for trying to murder a federal judge... yes, its a shame he's not a big and powerful lawyer who had viewpoints would have debased the profession (further) as its against his "freedoms" for the professional body to reject people that don't adhere to their standards professionally. The idea that religious intolerance is somehow put on the line when a profession sets ideological standards for its patently ridiculous. Ethical and ideological standards are an important part of professions like law, medicine and science in order to maintain a level of quality and ensure uniformity amongst the profession. It in fact does harm to both the profession and persons they’ll potentially come into contact with to have, say, a therapist who goes against the school of organized thought regarding treatment regarding sexual orientation, or doctors who ignore standard procedure regarding common medical practice. None of this would work for the greater good.

Nevermind that the entirety of Galligher’s argument is based on conjecture and, thus cannot be empirically proven. Fearmongering and pear clutching at its most histrionic. Professional standards ensure the fair and ethical treatment of organizations providing important services to the public. If one cannot actually BE professional and apply their religious beliefs in their personal lives alone, then perhaps they’re being discouraged from these positions for exactly the right reasons.

Said the Professor to the Perky (possibly doomed) Student

Odd timing. Last night I was mulling over the prospect of dusting off my wide-eyed motivated graduate school persona and starting to apply to Phd Programs. Its a cause of much anxiety for me in this fugue state I (barely) exist in now. Teaching on a collegiate level is quite a lot fulfilling and a much of it, the application of my knowledge base towards broadening the horizons of the uninitiated, I find far more gratifying than I'd expected when this began. However, as the Professor above drones, managers at Costco make more...and get actual benefits. Also? Grad school was an interesting experience, but I always got the sense that my professors felt the similar soul crushing realities as the Monotone Professor above, and it was enough to give me something of a pause. "A life of the mind" is noble but at this date its sure as hell not paying the bills. The next question becomes, do I move towards more debt, possibly obscure locations, and scores of reading, analysis and hoop-jumping in order to possibly raise my pay scale... or continue bumbling through the tepid waters of the job market? Ah the joy of toss ups.

The Moral of the Story is: Online Dating is for Smucks.

http://blog.okcupid.com/index.php/the-real-stuff-white-people-like/

Back when I was devoted to OKCupid as something of a high minded “these are supposed to be my people” (nerdy atheist hipsters) social experiment on Internet dating I was really disenchanted by the data they presented on race and biases. It was a stark reminder of all the ways in which having all the commonalities in the world wouldn’t get you past the oh-so-enjoyable kneejerk that is casual racism. It was somewhat devastating at the time, because I was operating under the naive misconception that the people who frequented OKCupid were sexually unrepressed, progressives on the whole. And yes, I’ve recently been informed about a “bridge in Brooklyn”. I’m talking to my people about it...

This bit of data is more interesting…or at least more amusingly presented. But otherwise, it seems to show me how consistently socialization seems to program us to be very similar little lemmings. I’m choosing to attempt to defy that paradigm. (And I despise diet coke and generic “soul food”. And sushi).

(Not a) SuperJihad.

Another great post from ComicsAlliance underscoring the appauling trend of indignation about the inherent dangers of reading about the muslim faith (or characters who are possibly muslim or from middle eastern countries in this case)--->children converting to Islam----> America under sharia law!!! The terror! The panic! The McCarthy era scare tactic!

Its not the best leap of logic in the universe to object to the use of characters from a geographic region of the world loosely associated with a religion that is not uniformly associated with deplorable acts of terrorism (extremism occurs in any religion and culture). Its an even bigger facepalm when reactionary right wing media pundits are doing so BEFORE knowing anything about the actual stories, characters or plot of said story.

From what I can tell, the 99 is a comic story about a group of super heroes that come from the Islamic cultures and vary broadly (as a lot of world cultures are influenced by Islam in some way) that intends to add nuance to a largely hegemonic comic book genre. Interchangeably bland silver age characters your thing? Stick with with the great American boyscout-Superman (though his is the ultimate immigration story, with the boy from another world being adopted and acculturated to "Truth, Justice and the American way"). The mere fact that stories about characters who are Muslim are accessible does not mean that anyone is forcing a particular culture on anyone. Should someone read it, and by proxy glean some residual understanding of cultures outside your own (arguably), all the better, but is a safe bet that learning about something or someone different from their own culture in a comic book or cartoon is not going to automatically make your children run off to join the Taliban. Is it troubling to anyone else that certain segments of society are treating information, awareness and diversity as though its some sort of contagious disease? The fearmongering and kneejerk angry mobbing this perhaps skewed idea of Islam is even more problematic when we stop to think that there are large numbers of Muslim Americans in this country who a.) do not practice Sharia Law and have no desire to and b.) moved to or live in the US of A for a REASON, and despite having a faith that differs in some ways from Christianity, are just as thankful for the freedoms bestowed on the American citizenry as any flag waving conservative. Its more likely that governments that enforce and codify sharia law are problematic, not the entirety of Islam itself. Any suggestion otherwise seems tone deaf and blithely oblivious to the world around us comics like this are attempting to diversify. Its entirely possible this is going to be a shoddy comic (as I'm not sure about the art or script so far) but its heart is 100% in the right place. While people from the Midwest travel to Manhattan to protest against "them terrorists" and "protect" a city they feel are decadent, sinful and elitist any other time, I think more knowledge and awareness is just what we need. And fast.

In other news: Wednesday =New Comic Book Day! Marvel Solicits for January 2011 are out. Some story lines like "the Age of X" are in the works that at the moment look pretty vague. Oliver Coipel is mentioned, so vague, but damn pretty. What's looking sweet?

UNCANNY X-MEN #532
Written by MATT FRACTION & KIERON GILLEN
Pencils & Cover by GREG LAND
“QUARANTINE”
When your very body is betraying you, and you see life leaking out of your friends drop by drop, what would you give up for the cure? Cyclops discovers what the Sublime Corporation wants. Can he afford to pay it? Meanwhile, Emma Frost and Sebastian Shaw reminisce over old times VIA THE STRONG LANGUAGE OF PUGILISM. Part 3 (of 5)
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99



Emma. Sodding. Frost. and hell, any comic solicit that uses the word "pugilism" gets some love from me.

How to Fight the Tide of the Sea of Douche (otherwise known as Xbox Live)

Xbox Live has a very odd subscription demographic and a particularly large problem (especially when compared to the skewed older Ps3). Granted, playing a challenging round of Hard Rain on Left 4 Dead 2 with a good group is nothing short of rewarding, and playing a good death match of the latest Halo iteration? Fun! But the added costs, not so much. Its almost impossible to log on Xbox Live and play 5 minutes of a multi player match without being called a N***** , a "Fag" or any number of juvenile slurs.

There are several factors to consider when it comes to what seems like an entire community of young(ish) "anonymous" gamers w/ voice mics shouting venom out into the openness of net-space, but the ones I'm most curious about is a.) the demographics b.) the administrative policy and c.) how to fight the tide of the sea of douche.




A.) The Age Demographics of Xbox Live:

A cursory google search qued up the following from Gamer.Blorge:

Microsoft Xbox 360

The Xbox 360, currently sitting in a very
comfortable second place in terms of sales, appeals mainly to males aged between
12 and 17, and females aged between 25 and 34. This seems like a bizarre mix but
the younger age range for boys could explain the level of petty whining and
douchebaggery on display over Xbox Live

.

Now, this shouldn't come as much of a shock. Anyone who's played Xbox Live with their mics on for any reasonable period of time has been forced to endure the blatant perviness, over the top racism (often unprovoked nor topical), gay bating, cheating, and general purpose douchebagginess. Its an epidemic. Initially, I'd thought it was an isolated incident when goofing around with Halo, or Gears of War but conferring with a number of fellow gamers has proven that Xbox Live runs rampant with ignorant, vile little monsters.

What drives these trends? Well, the easiest one to put one's finger on is anonymity. Log onto any local newspaper's websites and you can see the power of the internet at work. People find it a lot easier to espouse their teabaggy rants about how Jews are secretly in control of the universe and how black people are all maundering thugs when hiding behind a computer screen. One can join a social environment where borderline antisocial behavior is neither kept in check nor discouraged. Its language lobbed as carelessly as a plasma grenade in Halo 3, and in minor doses arguably excusable, but what you have in large game matches with dozens kids trying to get attention by throwing out whatever words they've learned will spark the most fires, emboldened by their relative anonymity it becomes a really noxious environment. One it seems less and less fun and rational to operate in, let alone pay $8.99 per month to be a part of.

B.) The Administrative Policy- As per Xbox.com website, the company policy is

"Publish, distribute, or disseminate any content, topic, name, material, file,
or information that incites, advocates, promotes, depicts, constitutes, or
expresses child pornography, profanity, hatred, bigotry, racism, illegal drug
use, gratuitous or graphic violence, or criminal or fraudulent activity;
Create a Gamertag , avatar or use text in other profile fields that may
offend other members. This includes comments that look, sound like, stand for,
hint at, abbreviate, or insinuate or relate to any of the following: profane
words/phrases, topics or content of a sexual nature, hate speech (including but
not limited to racial, ethnic, or religious slurs), illegal drugs/controlled
substances, or illegal activities"

Now, this seems straightforward enough. I've seen users banned for having namertags that are somewhat suggestive, or racially insensitive (One called "Jewkiller" was inexplicably untouched however) , and seen a gamer from Ft. Gay, West Virginia in some trouble over this putting this information in his profile. I've seen people who use modded systems (cheating/piracy) banned for life. But what I haven't been seeing is any direct recourse for the constant orgy of hate rants and its unfortunate. I know I'm not the only one questioning my sanity for paying for a product I have to endure this level of stupidity to "enjoy". If it is impossible to prevent this sea of douchey behavior, if its "just the nature of the beast that is the interweb" to be crude, bigoted and mean spirited then perhaps its best that I take my football and go home. From what I gather from discussing this issue with others, I'm not the only gamer in the universe who got rid of his Gold account because it was too distracting/aggravating to play online when 80% of the other players are on par with Leeroy Jenkins. But then, what can Xbox Moderators do when the majority of the problem is guys using psychological warfare (try listening to a 15 year old sing off key with his voice autotuned to sound like a robot in a really high pitch for a few minutes.), are throwing around slurs at the top of their lungs because they're a collective of sociopaths intent on conveying such, and individuals who mistake the above for what it is to be "cool". Add groupthink mix well and that about sums up the general vibe of an Xbox Live experience.

C.) Combating the Douche-tide. As offputting as coexist amid the din of pre-pubescent rants and general purpose douchiness, the idea of Xbox Live, of banding together with friends and strangers to team up and chat about the games we play in real time,stlll looks better on paper than it is in practice. Many of my friends only play exclusively with/against people they know and vouch for, or discontinue their accounts due to the absolutely irksome experience that Xbox Live has become. Its masochistic to pay to exist in hostile, unpleasant, belligerent environments and I wonder if in the next generation of Microsoft game products this could be more handily resolved. The easiest way to cut down on the blind item screeds on the online newspaper cites I referenced? Compell the individuals to register their names before posting. When it comes to online avatars and realtime dialouge, it becomes a harder thing to discern who's saying what when, but some game programs have indicaters that flash when a person is talking. When many persons are spewing incendiary speech concurrently, it becomes a more difficult thing to monitor, but seriously, NOT adressing the problem in some decisive way just makes the Xbox Live experience even less inviting to both new users and well...non-dicks. Its a bad business plan and it ruins the experience for those of us who like to play online with children not shouting obsenities at us. I'd love to get some feedback from Xbox Live moderators on this one.And now, some mood music. :)

Great Effing Pumpkin.

Its that time of year again. Summer gives us the big kiss off and I gladly find myself dusting off my favorite blazers and unpacking sweaters. I've been really growing to enjoy the drive into the Poconos every afternoon as the slopes and mountains become dotted with more vibrant hues each day. Granted, there's little in life that is perfect, but I find its near impossible to angst when kicking through a pile of newly fallen leaves and the wind picks up.

Halloween is coming, and I've always been crap at this holiday. I love Autumn and just about everything that comes with it, but my slightly rigid religious upbringing hand waved anything to do with All Hallows Eve. (Wickedness, idle greed you get the drift. ) My birthday is coming up and I had wanted to attempt this year to have some grand video-game and comic book themed costume party at a tiny venue a few blocks from here, but I'm not sure how well that'll work out. I'm spazzing too much about what to do for a costume to focus on that right now. I'm not even fully sure I want to go to to any big lengths. In years past I'd throw on a jacket, pick out my once and former Afro and wander around costume parties and keggers with friends, only to be interrupted by the occasional passerby and asked "Are you supposed to be Lenny Kravits?" I'd shrug briefly, roll my eyes and say, "Yeah, sure, go with that." At other times I'd just say I was a "Jaded Northerner" and call it a day. I feel like I should make a go at doing the dorky costumery angle properly...but I'm not sure where to start. Its not like video games as a genre has a lot of African-American characters that aren't in sports or some glaring cliche (thanks Japan). And Comic books? I'm not sure if I want to be Luke Cage this year. The options?

• I've been playing a lot of Valve's zombielicious co-op FPS Left 4 Dead, and really have come to love the original cast's straight laced token Louis. Pros- It would be an insanely easy costume to make. All I'd have to do is shave my head put on a tie and buy lots of fake blood and an submachine gun.
• The other video game option I think might rock, is the surprisingly cool "team dad" of Final Fantasy XIII (despite being a slightly stereotypical royal ham in the game initially) Sazh. Loved the look, but I wonder how hard it'll be to reproduce the costume so late in the day. The jury's definitely still out here....a little help?

Speaking of zombie goodness, clever readers will have already heard of the horror comic the Walking Dead. AMC bought the rights a while back, and the impending series? Looking like gory gory goodness. Seriously, I'm looking forward.

It looks like its going to be another great day. I think I'm going to try to avoid the public house once I get back from class. The weekend was manic (went on a brilliant historic Halloween walking tour of Easton and much fun was had by all). I could stand to recover a bit. So check out this awesome song. Bloc Party. Nuff said. Later days.

High School Loners, Pop-n-lockathons, and Unfortunate Implications.

If I were a betting man, I'd put money on it turning out to be a gorgeous day. I'm jamming out to Pandora (a freaking lush electropop and nerdcore station inspired by "Toro y Moi" , which I've posted a song to earlier) working on some copy editing, and smiling absently. I thought I'd take the liberty of sharing some of the "cooler" pop-culture trends (music, video games, comic books) I've snuck upon this week in this post:

• Comicon. Nothing says nerdy like a comic book convention, and unsuprisingly I've always wanted to go (and if not for that abject poverty...). Comic book character cosplay, consorting with the creators, artist and writers of your favorite books, getting insider info on upcoming games and plots... yeah, there's nothing more nerd chic than NYC's Comicon. There's a lot of odd ball fun that goes on at these conventions. Just when you think there's nothing better than watching a drunk cosplay Thor vomit in a potted plant...you've got an X-Men Pop and Lock-athon. (Who knew Iceman was such a bitchin dancer?) The spectacle needs to be seen to be believed.

• Comics Alliance puts out some laugh out loud funny and clever articles on comic book media and culture, one of my faves is the periodical that lampoons and explains the more asbsurd backstories of some of the older characters. And you'd think having the name Ant Man would be the worst possible thing...
  
  
  

I admit with some trepidation that I've been watching Glee for some time, and am continually impressed with the level of irepressible spirit and unquestionable talent Ryan Murphy has managed to assemble in the telling of his absurd yet winning musical theatre dramaedy. Other nods? Its easily one of the most diverse television shows on network television, what with hispanic snarky head cheerleaders, out and over the top fabulous soprano gays, orientationally ambiguous jock comic fans, multi-racial primadonnas and asian goths. This weeks episode was both brilliant (Every single number was fantastic, the New Guy is really likeable, Other Asian actually has lines!) and subtextually frustrating.

What I found grating about the epsidoe after the fact revolves around interpetation of homophobia. Finn, our masculine ideal, basically insists that Kurt- the lone gay should "back off" any percieved interest in new kid Sam because "two guys singing a duet together would be social suicide", despite the fact that Sam is not at all bothered by the idea (and also comments about his insistance that Sam should see this as icky as homophobic). Instead Kurt backs off out of self-sacrificing guilt and sulkily decides he's destined for solitude. What drives me nuts is that the only reason he's being isolated is because his so called friend has gone out of his way to make this happen. If the moral of the story is suck it up queer boys because expressing interest in anyone who isn't openly gay is predatory, I'm going to go ahead and call unfortunate implications there. And I'll say it. Finn is a jerkass. And this show is full of mixed messages and mised opportunities...but its always fun to watch.

• I've been having a great week with new music. I've already yammered about my current anthem Toro y Moi's "Low Shoulder", give a listen to Xiu Xiu's "Grey Death", Foals "This Orient" (outstanding track) , and a new find of mine Javelin "Moscow 1980". Later Days!

Xiu Xiu- Grey Death

Foals- This Orient.

Superbad.

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.12565/title.ne-yo-comic-pioneer-stan-lee-appear-together-at-comic-con/

Yeahhh. Cant be 100 percent positive, but...I'm pretty sure this is a clear sign of the apocalypse. Stan "the Man" Lee teaming up with Ne-Yo? Unlike comic book team ups of yore...I'm somewhat hoping this doesn't start with opposing super heroes having a foolish disagreement that turns into a property damage causing fight. (Because Stan would win)

Home > News > Ne-Yo & Comic Pioneer Stan Lee Appear Together At Comic Con
Ne-Yo & Comic Pioneer Stan Lee Appear Together At Comic Con
by Allen Jacobs

posted October 12, 2010 at 1:47PM EDT 0 comments

"The Libra Scale" will have a corresponding comic book and video series, as POW! Entertainment teams with the Def Jam star, and they unveil the plot.

On Saturday October 9, Def Jam singer Ne-Yo and former President and Chairman of Marvel Comics appeared together at New York's Comic Con. Lee, now head of POW! Entertainment, has worked with Ne-Yo on his upcoming album, The Libra Scale, which will feature a companion comic book.

The two appeared in a panel, moderated by journalist, blogger and HOT 97 radio personality Miss Info. Ne-Yo revealed that Libra Scale's first three singles, "Champagne Life," "Beautiful Monster" and "One In A Million" will have videos that feature the corresponding comic in live action.

The Libra Scale character, "Jerome," has vowed to never fall in love in exchange for super-powers. When he meets the character of "Pretti Sinclair," that temptation is tested.

Also, having just read that, I threw up in my mouth a little.


And now for some (admittedly goofy) mood music:

Neither Fair Nor Balanced.

Its interesting that the Washington Post is willing to provide the "balanced" viewpoint of the esteemed Tony Perkins (head of the dubiously named Family "Research" Council) in the wake of the epidemic of gay suicides. Sure, yes, further indotrinate the idea that gay people are degenerates and see how much that helps. Something I think its interesting about how gay issues are handeld in the media is that when a gay rights issue comes up, there's point and counterpoint; most of the time provided of someone from Perkins' rolodex. The last word is given to that of the "family value" set, and the news organization calls it a day. Its troubling though how so few dialouges about anti-semitism or racism are presented with counterpoint from Matt Hale from the Church of the Creator... is it ethical or even logical to provide platforms for gay issues to institutions that will adhere to their blind, dehumanizing biases regardless of the reprocussions?

The impressivley documented blog Good As You does an amazing job debunking Perkins editorial barbs:

So yea, in short: FRC's body of work is made up of some enormously jaw-dropping
charges, the likes of which unabashedly dehumanize LGBT people and their allies.
Charges that have all gone down under Tony's watch/embrace. Yet despite the
record, Tony is constantly afforded the opportunity to throw on a suit, fire up
the talking point machine, and take to one of our nation's esteemed mainstream
media outlets, identified as little more than a "from the right" voice of
political dissent. On "Face The Nation." On CNN. And now in The Washington
Post's "On Faith" column, where Tony has been granted a forum to peddle his
views about homosexuality itself being the reason why so many gay kids suffer,
and that "change" through Jesus is the best remedy for bullying/suicide/crimes
of bias.

My only pressing question would be what would compell the Post to publish a tirade from Perkins and not one from David Duke (as their biases against particular groups have both made their careers)? What do you make of this, friends and neighbors(s)?

Scared Straight.

Today is National Coming Out Day. I was having a conversation with a conservative frenimey of mine about how blandly unimportant being out should be, and was struck with how important it is after reading this article.

Undoubtedly, Homophobia is inherent in our culture. Its fostered from childhood on in conjunction with gender socialization and internalized by young men and women who are coming to grips with their sexual identities as they move into adulthood. Often, these men and women are met with an openly hostile world before coming out. Gay people are perverts, or deviants, weak, psychologically unsound, sick and sinful among other things. The message beamed across the airwaves and taught in families, passed around in peer groups and shouted down from pulpits is one that most members of our society get loud and clear. That its strongly discouraged if not aggressively opposed, That ridicule, intimidation and the full brunt of social stigma are tools of the dominant culture in ensuring that homosexual behavior remain as removed as possible from their perception of reality.



Homophobia is such a longstanding component of our culture (the Cold War and McCarthyism fanned the fears of the Lavender Scare to a fever pitch) that it can be argued that it permeates nearly every aspect of it, and often the spectre of it was and is enough to keep people clinging to the status quo. People including parents, teachers and other gatekeepers to our culture.



It is an easy thing to rail against the monsters and the perverts out in the world doing what one is certain is true evil. Its an entirely harder matter to be forced to condemn your friends, children, and co-workers out of hand. That is why I'm convinced that coming out is important because it shatters the illusion that gay men and women are some invisible minority that are conveniently exorcised upon discovery. That Issac Katz comes out in the wake of his father's rather virulent screeds on homophobia may not cure Johnothan Katz of his biases, but it does serve to inform him that homosexuality isn't some vile infection that visits perfect and dispicable strangers. It is about sons and daughters, family and the idea that people are more than who they fall in love with and share their lives with; more than who they're attracted to.

Coming out is about courage and integrity in the face of misinformation and rancorous cruelty. It sends the message to both the apathetic and the vulnerable that there are more people in this world of ours that can summarily be written off as sinful- That we are more than a collection of trite stereotypes. It is about elevation and transparency, about confronting the outdated ideas of a dwindling age. It is about reaching out and destroying more hegemonic paradigms enforced from the myopic positions of our forebears, and decentering the hatred and bias misconceptions perpetuate...

But more importantly, its about him, and him and also him and countless other kids who've been devalued and intimidated and informed they're somehow less than by peers and parents alike. Its about informing gay teens with fragile self images that it gets better, and that they've got it wrong.