tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43646148597477516232024-02-01T21:28:35.170-08:00I May Be Invisible...But You're TransparentJust another blog from a thirtysomething sociology, comic book and video game nerd. Make yourself comfortable under my corner of sky. Minority culture to Zombie Apocalypses- its all game here.g_whizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15239758875167277254noreply@blogger.comBlogger122125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364614859747751623.post-89556727296334674892011-12-01T07:36:00.000-08:002011-12-01T07:38:06.653-08:00Hatred Can Be a Useful Learning Tool Too.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ3RMKKihtGC7ky3O79UPqXL5KJ4UAEUf9BBBwWgZrjbAQ-t11A" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ3RMKKihtGC7ky3O79UPqXL5KJ4UAEUf9BBBwWgZrjbAQ-t11A" /></a></div><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>"I think it’s time for us to occupy. Not going down and setting up tents out in front of city hall, but it’s time for us to be gainfully involved in boldly proclaiming truth and not backing down in the face of intimidation, whether it be from a school principal, kids if you’re listening obviously talk with your parents first, and parents, don’t be intimidated by school officials, don’t be intimidated by the ACLU. [snip]<br />
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"Should we be angry? No. But we should understand that it is the truth that sets people free and those in the homosexual community that are looking for fulfillment, that are looking for the approval that they are trying to get by forcing society to embrace homosexuality, they will never get it that way. They’ll only get it when they come to grips with the truth, that they are created in the image of God and God has a plan for their lives, and it’s not the destructive path that they’re on." - Hate group leader and KKK affiliate <a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/perkins-gays-and-lesbians-will-never-have-fulfillment-until-they-leave-destructive-path-they">Tony Perkins</a>, speaking on his radio show.</i></blockquote><br />
<a href="http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2011/12/tony-perkins-christians-need-to-work.html">via Joemygod.</a><br />
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I find this line of thinking to be one of the largest detractors to a free and egalitarian society. The forthright assumption that any citizen's "acceptance" requires being vetted by their particular religion to be free and equal is a leap I'd love to see supported by say...the very documents and ideologies that make this republic unique in the first place.<br />
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On a more personal level, this line of arch-hubris is one of the reasons I stopped consorting with fine and compassionate Christians. I could never in my heart and head reconcile this willful cruelty, this "love my religion and adopt my worldview or else" way of doing religion.In a way, I should thank the likes of Perkins for his "truth". As a teenager, the more I saw this sort of santimonious bile that passsed for "Christian Compassion" the less it made me believe in this God or any other being real and provable.His smug, taciturn "truth" convinced me that the proverbial cake was a lie. His calloused stance on this, and his politicisized version of Christianity defies my upbringing in Herculean ways, and offends my sensibilities as a believer in equality...and yet, these men, the Tony Perkins and Bryan Fischers and Michelle Bachmann's of the nation are the face of modern Christianity. I should thank Perkins for reminding me why this (compassionate, loving, humane) God of his is a myth.g_whizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15239758875167277254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364614859747751623.post-88845630719745468162011-11-29T10:53:00.000-08:002011-11-29T10:54:27.688-08:00Addressing the numerous misconceptions about "Freedom of Speech"Its been a while, I know. Pending anymore keyboard mishaps I fully apologize for being a.w.o.l from this bloggy experiment for longer than intended.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRPRCXLKPQvt6UUO7bqVnFHIOToDiTxDnnUqx5ev7TsMUMpexwD" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRPRCXLKPQvt6UUO7bqVnFHIOToDiTxDnnUqx5ev7TsMUMpexwD" width="320" /></a></div>A good deal has been going on in my absence of course, I'll use this post to get us back in the swing of things with more topical issues of late.<br />
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Lets address the continued and<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/26/rapper-ti-tells-vibe-people-gay-without-shut-down_n_1114095.html?ref=fb&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009&src=sp&comm_ref=false#undefined"> bonheaded misconception that "Freedom of Speech" somehow equals silence of opposition.</a><br />
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Every day I see people butcher the real purpose of "Freedom of Speech". Its not a say stupid things & have no social consequences card. This would violate the freedoms of others. Its purpose is to ensure the government alone cant retaliate for something volitile a given citizen has said. <br />
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Other citizens can happily tell them how stupid/awful/wrong they are. Its a falacy I see repeated often and its jarring to see how often people wish it to mean "Sit down and let me say whatever I want without sanction!" No free society would be able to function this way, as some peoples speech would therefore be better and more important than others. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">It never seems to stop stupid people from defendin</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 14px;">g other stupid people erroneously, mind.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;">For a little much needed upbeat music fix? I'm all about M83 lately. Killer killer track. </span></span><br />
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<a href="http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2011/11/architect-of-anti-gay-state-amendments.html">Much has been said this weekend about OUT magazine's "Out 100" list </a>...and here where<a href="http://gawker.com/5856577/dont-forgive-gay-traitor-ken-mehlman">Gawker's Brian Moylan makes a brilliant case</a> for why OUT's decision is both jarringly ill placed and wrongheaded..and rightly effing so.<br />
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Having read the write up that accompanied the article on Melhman I nearly spit coffee. "As someone who came out later in life I can say It gets better" he says. Please, its better for him because he's wealthy, conservative and most importantly DOESNT live in a state that hurled anti-gay policy around like grenades to make sure he can't EVER get married in them. He lives comfortably in one of the few states where it is better...but refuses to own up to the fact that its significantly less so in other parts of the nation because of his role as RNC chair. It hasn't gotten better for gay couples in the 11 states where they adopted the RNC's gay (southern) strategy and enshrined their state constitutions in bigotry to make sure gay people couldn't share their lives in any meaningful way.<br />
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I find the drum and strang on Melhman irksome because there have been very few conversations about him post coming out that even attempt to directly speak to his culpability as head of the party that made and continues to make being rabidly anti-gay a tentpole. Instead he's being lionized by OUT and more than a few apologists because he's out of the closet well after the damage has been done on the national scale and it is no longer politically expedient for him personally. There is in fact nothing heroic about being overwhelmingly opportunistic...and yet, here we are attempting to make excuses for those that haven't admitted wrongdoing. There's something so snide and disappointing in this narrative it makes me genuinely question the collective memory (and sanity) of the group he's profited off of maligning.g_whizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15239758875167277254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364614859747751623.post-40345980884549474792011-11-03T21:07:00.000-07:002011-11-03T21:07:48.357-07:00Please Pretend You're Straight Until College- A Texan Mom Blogger's Solution to Gay Bullying.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQSzWOu38tACn4vaHdeu4TxXFuQVCaBebGQtU6nJT175T3VZ6nL" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQSzWOu38tACn4vaHdeu4TxXFuQVCaBebGQtU6nJT175T3VZ6nL" /></a></div><br />
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Where to start? Gawker's ingenious in many ways because it often turns its readership onto the blatant stupid that gets published in other parts of the bloggosphere. <a href="http://gawker.com/5856253/houston-chronicle-blogger-mom-says-gay-teens-should-stay-in-closet-to-avoid-suicide">I offer this link in a catastrophically sad case in point. </a><a href="http://blog.chron.com/texassparkle/2011/11/are-adults-also-to-blame-for-gay-teen-suicides-yes/?replytocom=24562#respond">TexasSparkle </a>is mad as H-E double toothpicks about gay teen suicides...and she's got the following advice: Stay in the closet, because kids can be mean and it'd be easier to just not talk about it. Because, obviously you can't know who you're attracted to because you're just a kid.<br />
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The above blogger misses the point by a country mile at best, when she decides that the answer to bullying is not say....the bullying and the social punishment that comes with the stigmas associated with being gay... and instead about kids who don't know anything being deciding to label themselves "gay" prematurely. Which is just stupidity personified. (Especially if one knows anything about "fag shaming"- one doesn't have to be out to be shamed or bullied for "unmasculine" behavior)<br />
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Its wrongheaded beyond comprehension to blame the victim and suggest "Gosh, if only you didn't stand out so much, you'd feel better and everyone would like you more!" Not only is it sadly cynical to say there's nothing that can be done to change the culture, so keep your head down and deny yourself to make it easier. Its lazy and takes the onus of responsibility fully away from parents and educators and the overarching community to try to improve the culture that is crushing these children, and instead imply that its better to have to hide. Because obviously we can't expect (younger) people to be treated equally and held accountable for their conduct.<br />
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There's so much wrong with the commentary here it almost pains me to dissect it further. How she pretends to be well intentioned while taking about the least thoughtful view on sexual orientation I've seen since Jerry Fallwell. Sure, she's not an outright homophobe, but the very idea that even discussing the idea that gay teenagers exist perpetuates the problem is empty and false. The problem, much the way abstinence only education policy have<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2010-01-26-1Ateenpregnancy26_ST_N.htm"> unfortunate effect</a>s, is that NOT discussing them serves the larger group and leaves an already victimized group further isolated. So yes, the "It Gets Better" campaign is far superior to suggesting that gay kids would be better off if they just didn't think about dating while all their heterosexual counterparts suffer no penalty.<br />
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The simplest point is that her idea that being gay is "all about sex" is so outdated (and insulting) its practically primordial. The purest, most innocent connections to attraction (be it emotional or sexual) associated with dating and relationships begin when we're moving into adolescence. The blogger in question feels perfectly fine with perpetuating the notion that its fine for straight kids to have functional normal relationships with intimacy and crushes but for the love of god keep your head down if you're "conflicted" about your sexuality before being an adult. If she can't comprehend how alienating and lonely that prospect might be, and how little that serves to address the problem, I'm at a loss how to clue her into this novel concept called empathy.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/MIq6nKm-c4I?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>g_whizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15239758875167277254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364614859747751623.post-21770495687414428182011-11-03T07:41:00.000-07:002011-11-03T07:44:38.328-07:00Feral Children- The Power of Socialization<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSDfQPupU4SXQr3vmVASZKTbZ07f4rszEQe98Q9soqglNy3PoL3HA" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSDfQPupU4SXQr3vmVASZKTbZ07f4rszEQe98Q9soqglNy3PoL3HA" /></a></div>Feral Children are an odd and disturbing social phenomenon. Nothing anywhere near as glamorous as Mowgli from the Jungle Book hanging around with noble, anthropomorphic wolves, or as theatrical as Nell, here are children so devoid of socialization, so cut off from social interaction that they have been deprived of the ability to function in the conventional social world.<br />
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One of the more prominent cases, of "Genie" , I've found on Youtube and plan to show in class as an example of the power and importance of socialization. We're not born with the culture and context of "appropriate" social behavior in us, and not having the primary socialization skills can be so detrimental to our long term growth that... well you can see the results here. Despite the age of the documentary, it still has a lot of validity.<br />
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Part 1 of "Secret of the Wild Children" here:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/dEnkY2iaKis?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>g_whizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15239758875167277254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364614859747751623.post-44857117836416919952011-10-31T21:54:00.000-07:002011-10-31T22:05:54.464-07:00NC Senator Forrester Dead at 74<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcStHNRFPee4zprNSTljXoZA6GBUSpLfLHXetUtuPih3kG9HvsqqTg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcStHNRFPee4zprNSTljXoZA6GBUSpLfLHXetUtuPih3kG9HvsqqTg" /></a></div>Breaking news- Staunch conservative North Carolina senator Jim Forrester <a href="http://projects.newsobserver.com/under_the_dome/state_sen_forrester_on_life_support">has passed away at the age of 74.</a><br />
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While it would be unkind to speak ill of the dead, it bears noting that Forrester's handiwork seems poised to do some very real damage to <a href="http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2011/10/28/unc-law-professor-vague-wording-of-anti-gay-amendment-has-many-pitfalls-audio/">domestic partnerships of both heterosexual and same sex couples</a> due to (vague wording of the amendment) well after his passing. A legacy tarnished by the looming prospect of enshrining hate legislation into the North Carolina constitution. I don't think Forrester is a bigot of the same caliber as Jesse Helms...but there are grave discriminatory implications to the bill he rammed through the house that make it harder to look favorably upon his body of work as a whole.<br />
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The damage he's done to the state's image and its credibility as a progressive place to live will likely outlive him by quite a bit. Especially so as the vote for the state constitutional amendment goes forward in May. Stay tuned.<br />
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Speaking of loss, Six Feet Under's series finale still manages to trump any other as one of the most memorable and sweetly satisfying in television history. It makes death and dying seem somehow less crushing.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/eNwARV9tPUw?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>g_whizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15239758875167277254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364614859747751623.post-26311578812991277322011-10-26T14:37:00.000-07:002011-10-26T14:39:01.573-07:00Multi-Purpose Nerdiness- Wolverine and His Amazing Friends. (In Which We Eat Crow)<a href="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.comicsalliance.com/media/2011/10/wolverineandthexmen1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.comicsalliance.com/media/2011/10/wolverineandthexmen1.jpg" width="210" /></a>Okay okay. Honest nerd moment: Despite how little I care for Wolverine and his "I'm the best at what I do and what I do is show up in every single Marvel book there is" level of overexposure, I fully and totally love the "Mutant Hogwarts...on crack" tone new<a href="http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/10/26/wolverine-and-the-x-men-jason-aaron-interview/"> writer Jason Arron </a> has taken with a book I was frankly planning on skipping altogether. But <a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=4065">the early reviews were so good</a> it was hard not to reconsider, and am I glad I did.<br />
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Why Wolverine and the X-Men #1 worked:<br />
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<ol><li> The titular character actually comes off a bit out of his depth in his sudden role as Headmaster, which might be a first.</li>
<li> The staff (Yay for underused characters like Husk getting a glossy new coat of paint) and the students are getting fleshed out, as well as the nature of the school in a way that is both organic and...thanks to Chris Bachelo, rather adorable. Also (poor, sweet, disturbing) Idie is so layered and complex she manages to creep out and endear all at once ...and Rockslide in a school uniform with shortpants is just too cute to miss. </li>
<li> The snappy, archly biting dialogue of the members of the school board and their thinly veiled contempt just comes off so amusingly snide I almost hope they stick around in some capacity. </li>
<li>The tone and feel of the book, with the creative team churning out some incredibly fresh and innovative work, comes off as new and full of the Hogwarts for Mutants weirdness a school housing young mutants should be. </li>
</ol><div>What doesn't: </div><div><ol><li>Professor Xavier being out of play during the X-Men:Schism event and being blithely okay with it (making a few admittedly fun one liners and giving the thumbs up and dottering off again) all of it seems an oversight. </li>
<li>Kade Kilgore was ...interesting in Schism, and yes, the idea that the methaphorical mustash twirling supervillian is a 11 year old meglomaniac is fascinating. He's the flipside to the coin, self interested and utterly unconcerned with Wolverine's newfound "save the children" mandate. Mutant hatred = his business model, so he's going to make sure it thrives. Bachelo's rendition of him made him seem much older than the artists in Schism and it took a bit to figure out who he was in the story (especially with so many other teenagers in suits and pithy comments around)</li>
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</div></div><div>So what we have is a new number one in a series that could have easily been a pass for me if not for the incredible treatment. While I'm not always over the moon about Wolverine, and find his involvement in X-Force counter to his sudden humanitarianism as a headmaster and educator... this is a great introduction to what might actually be an even greater series. I'm...begrudgingly going to keep an eye on this one.</div><div><br />
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Honorable Mention goes out to Jason Asmus on his one-shot Astonishing X-Men issue. Danger and Emma Frost was a team up so random I didn't even know I wanted it. Having read through the issue I have to say a.) Emma when written well is always a joy read snark from, but her developing bonds with other characters seems somehow rare inbetween crisises. Her place in the X-Men is often dominated by her relationship with Scott, so it seems pretty interesting to watch her actually connect to others. b.) I'm looking forward to Asmus' run on Generation Hope given this interview. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Pretty great comic book day between the two issues. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Here's some new comic book day nerdy music to accompany your reading.</div><div><br />
Ladies and nerds, the effervescent Toro Y Moi "Still Sound" </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/0Gqh4e1S6j0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div><br />
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</div>g_whizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15239758875167277254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364614859747751623.post-35925739969554300732011-10-25T11:12:00.000-07:002011-10-25T11:52:26.408-07:00How Not to Be a Douchebag (Part II): Some Things To Avoid When Trick or Treating.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRJyxQtaj7UrRU7lDotyG1acCxqDOwvj1Wzn9PKuMs9ZElvVAYe" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRJyxQtaj7UrRU7lDotyG1acCxqDOwvj1Wzn9PKuMs9ZElvVAYe" width="261" /></a></div>Its that time of year again kiddies; the few weekends of the year we're culturally encouraged to party like its 1999, dress inappropriately and make general nusinces of ourselves, parrot our favorite obscure pop culture references and turn them into costumes...or at the very least (if you're female) get your tits out and call it ironic.<br />
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And yes, I've made some ado about the stripperific problem with costumes for women once before...but it bares repeating. When "Sexy superheroine" costumes are quite simply struggling into high boots and a frilly skirt whist arching your back and popping through a boob window...it says way more about what we expect when it comes to women and sex appeal than it does about anything heroic. <a href="http://www.yandy.com/Supergirl-Corset-Costume.php?utm_source=googleps&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=googleps">Good luck fighting crime in this, Supergirl</a>, least of all without some serious wardrobe malfunctions.<br />
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If I'm interpeting Halloween properly, its supposed to be fun, mirthful and campy. Does it speak to deeper problems when you're costume channels "Sexy Squaw" (which according to <a href="http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2542/is-squaw-an-obscene-insult">some sources</a>, is a slur against native women in the first place), constitutes <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/05/blackface-northwestern-un_n_347745.html">dressing up in blackface</a> or fetishizes Asian women to the point of chariciture? Not always, but if you don't want to come off as a blithely unaware, unenlightened clod at your next Halloween mixer while in the "Ghetto Baby Mama" costume, you might want to parse this very helpful <a href="http://gawker.com/5672914/is-your-halloween-costume-racist/gallery/1">checklist Gawker has comprised</a> to help you not make an ass of yourself. Here to help, avoid being <a href="http://www.examiner.com/african-american-entertainment-in-national/dallas-cowboy-cheerleader-dons-blackface-dresses-as-lil-wayne-photos">"that guy"</a>.<br />
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<b>Update</b>: <a href="http://lissawriting.wordpress.com/2011/10/23/racism-think/">A friend pointed out a really impressive psa about cultural parodying in costumes, and it really resonates</a>. On the response the blogger has gotten, its something I've seen a lot when it comes to racism, sexism (the Catwoman post for example) and homophobia and why we can't seem to have rational conversations in public about them. Primarily because those outside of the "dominant cultural" perspective aren't impacted or moved by it and feel that its somehow trivial or unimportant to have to be made to care. Its disgusting how common this reaction is...but whenever anyone tries to point out that an ethnic or cultural minority might have a valid perspective outside of "sexy squaw"...well, then you're a party pooper that nobody wants to hear from or wants to be shouted down to the point of silence. All indications that these cultural issues are inherently linked to power, and the ability for the group that benefits from the trivialization being able to not be called out, or held accountable for doing so are typical and breathtakingly sad. Willful obliviousness always is.<br />
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Now hear this from the Mates of State- "Unless I'm Led"g_whizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15239758875167277254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364614859747751623.post-87752069694350081352011-10-23T14:36:00.000-07:002011-10-24T22:35:50.793-07:00Old Habits Die Hard- Alabama and Institutionalized Discrimination<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT1GBzAUpla9bv2R1tyeQJBw09pyxnp6HV75vuILqYUQC6KjUub" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT1GBzAUpla9bv2R1tyeQJBw09pyxnp6HV75vuILqYUQC6KjUub" width="400" /></a></div><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_262542364"><br />
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<h1 style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #6d398c; line-height: 1.15em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: initial; outline-width: 0px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;"><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2011/10/23/350915/alabama-hispanic-schoolchildren-bullying/">"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgba(109, 57, 140, 0.746094);">Hispanic Alabama Schoolchildren Face Bullying In The Wake Of Anti-Immigrant Law</span>"</a></span></h1><div style="font-family: Calibri, 'Trebuchet MS', 'Lucida Sans', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><br />
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This should come as little surprise. When a society creates law and policy that reinforce underlying prejudices we often very quickly see this reflected in more open hostility towards people perceived as part of the group. <br />
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Of course its a shame that anti-imigrant sentiment has driven politicians of the state of Alabama to do, perhaps, what seems normal in their circles, and create laws that make treating other people like equals impossible or criminal. What generally follows, when one institutionalizes cruelty, is that people become cruel and discriminating towards anything aproximate to the blighted group in question. We're certainly seeing this here.Human decency and fairness take a backseat to policing the overt cultural biases. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 14px;"><br />
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UPDATE: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/20/opinion/its-what-they-asked-for.html?src=tp&smid=fb-share">Excellent op-ed in the NY Times on the subject here</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/tFOxribt3kA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>And now for some daytripping music. Killer track from Chromatics, "In the City".g_whizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15239758875167277254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364614859747751623.post-21118703261402209252011-10-21T09:46:00.000-07:002011-10-21T12:12:54.936-07:00"Just Words" - Catwoman and Arkham City's "Bitchin" Problem<a href="http://www.comicsalliance.com/">Comicsalliance </a>has quickly become one of my favorite places to go for alternative takes on comic book news. It not only has some gorgeous art by indie artists, and clever re-interpretations of some of the more mindbogglingly dense comic book continuities.<br />
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<a href="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSzSw8XXSxmqkaymsdvVXjgVOy88V9fzmZOgAKzoAikPEaUV7KsyQ" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSzSw8XXSxmqkaymsdvVXjgVOy88V9fzmZOgAKzoAikPEaUV7KsyQ" /></a> Lately, a writer (Laura Hudson, whom Ive developed a lot of respect for) has been raising the occasional question about gender/sexism and the comic book industry. Valid questions about whether the depiction of female characters in popular culture as written by, drawn by, and consumed (presumably) men can come off as objects instead of characters...and proceeds to shed light on a lot of evidence why this might be.<br />
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An earlier commentary on Catwoman, who is often described as a woman who is "sex positive" and a "femme fatale"(<a href="http://imaybeinvisiblebutyouretransparent.blogspot.com/2011/10/superhero-sausage-fests-gender-bias-and.html">I reference it here</a>), debuted in a new DC comic where she spent numerous pages walking around in a bra being oggled by the p.o.v of the reader before we even see her face. Compartmentalization and framed by her "t&a" before we get to finding out who we're talking about. Thats just one of the more popularized points of evidence indicating <i>recent </i>sexism in comics that've come out of the dialog.<br />
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Fast forward to October 20th, where <a href="http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/10/20/catwoman-arkham-city/">CA posted an article referencing popular game blog Kotaku's noting that playing the new Batman game as Catwoman involved a whole new "game mechanic"</a>. And while it might not be as overt as some as the other above references, it speaks to some glaring problems with the way we deal with "slut shaming" and casual reinforcement of the status quo.<br />
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The (what I believe to be initial) Kotaku post by Kirk Hamilton on "<a href="http://kotaku.com/5851358/batman-arkham-citys-weird-bitch-fixation">Arkham City's Weird Bitch Fixation</a>"-does a good job providing a few asides that indicate there could be something a bit off. Nothing more. Comics Alliance took this and added a few thoughts, reposted and joined <a href="http://filmcrithulk.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/goddammit-video-games-the-first-few-hours-of-arkham-city-is-lots-of-fun-but-super-duper-sexist/">another commentary from another blog that had noticed something similar</a>.<br />
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All three articles/commentaries reference the fact that they think Batman-Arkham City is one of the best games of its kind and the writers really enjoy it, but that the number of times the gossipy thugs you can almost always overhear as you move around Gotham tend to lapse into dialog about Catwoman, Harley Quinn (but less so Poison Ivy) while commenting on how they're "bitches". Bordering on excessiveness. They note it as a minor quibble and pose the question to the readers if they'd noticed it too.<br />
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Simple, benign statement of an observation by a few writers that expound slightly on the situation and likely go back to playing the game. Except that the responses to "Hey, maybe the female lead of the game is getting called a bitch an awful lot. There might be something of a tonal problem to that." on the Comics Alliance thread have taken on a bizarre and infuriating position of "slut shaming is okay in the following contexts" and... allow me to point out a few of the hollow justifications put forth in order to silence the merest suggestion that the game they like can't possibly have negative implications!!! Here are a few of the larger "rebuttals" I've seen (<i>Fair warning, empty, hollow justifications and point missing ensue</i>):<br />
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<b>1.) Its a Batman game where all the main characters are prison inmates and psychopaths. Its in character for characters like that to have no respect for society or women.</b> <b>Its "In Context", so stop complaining!</b><br />
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And yes, while it is true it is in character for lowlife thugs to be misogynistic, it does not follow that a woman merely discussing how this might make a game less enjoyable or might be something to consider, as swinging around the city as a butt kicking, sexy cat burglar and being called a "bitch" dozens of times does say something is wrong or controversial. But so many of the comments in the CA thread seem aimed at shutting down the discussion, based on "Oh man, you're whining about characters in a prison." Some made a hamfisted analogy of it being similar to whining about Schlinders list having Nazis being anti-semetic...but this "in context" argument proves an interesting point. Because its in context means that these guys aren't interested in even hearing the discussion of how the word "bitch" is used to disempower. They're not interested in having the dialog about how Schlinders List has Nazis that systematically conducted genocide and why that <b>might be worth discussing</b>. They're intellectually lazy and so invested in shutting down the rather neutral question raised that they'll casually reinforce that being called a bitch shouldn't be as big a "problem" as its being made into... under some contexts.<br />
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2.) <b>"I (or Some women) don't have a problem with the word in question so this is pointless and a waste of time. Its just a word. Get over it." </b><br />
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Perhaps one of the most intellectually vapid responses to the impact of language and the meaning of slurs, is that suggesting that the connotation of words designed to stigmatize and dis-empower a marginalized group is the responsibility of the group that is demeaned to manage. "Its just a word. Its your responsibility not to be bothered by it." takes the onus of responsibility off the speaker to manage what he or she says in public and puts the responsibility of "making a big deal" out of social issues like race and gender and sexual orientation that are in fact considered big deals.<br />
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Its such a mean spirited ruse to use words like the N-bomb as a way to indicate cultural disdain for a group of people by way of the definition of the word...then say that some people of the group are "okay with" and use it, so now you have to too. My grandparents and parents spent their lifetimes trying to distance themselves from what the word meant when bigoted people used it to cut them down to size and indicate how little they thought of them, and because some 19 year old kid throws it around in a song on BET, thats all invalid? There's more than one black person and more than one perspective on how to feel about a centuries old word that has a negative connotation. Because some woman internalizes the word "bitch" differently than the writer does not mean that anyone else has to simply "Get over it." Its an interesting indication that people who are not affected by such words will forever attempt to try to control how you feel about them. "I don't care about this, so I don't want to hear about why you do." , is perhaps the most cynical and despicable line of logic ever generated.<br />
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It speaks to privilege in ways that is so arrogant and so flippant and dismissive that its galling to consider too carefully. (We are taught to see racism, sexism and homophobia as "individual acts of meanness" and not socially embedded aspects of the overall culture.) The lengths those in the comments sections on all of the threads go to to defend calling a sexualized woman anti-hero a "bitch" , the lengths the comments sections go to stopping the conversation from even happening ("This again? Really?") and resenting a woman for bringing it up speaks volumes for how much privilege male comic book readers and gamers seem to have when it comes to discussing sexism. Its not an issue,<i> for them</i>, and they resent you making it one. Its making people who are impacted negatively by minority status seem hysterically blind for voicing concerns about how that status is treated by others, and there's no cheaper, more repugnant trick.<br />
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3.) "<b>Its not the worst thing you can call a woman so you should be thankful</b>!"<br />
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Seriously. I'm head/desking so hard right now, the stupid ...it hurts...<br />
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The problem is that instead of having a conversation about how the few women in a game tend to be referred to disparagingly (yes, by low class criminals) has real world implications. As does all media and literature and fiction...its quickly devolved into a creepy justification of all the reasons why people believe sexism is okay, or what contexts its okay in, or why people who talk about it are not okay. If the majority of the arguments for why Catwoman being called a bitch didn't have to do with her being a woman with a checkered past (i.e- slut shaming) , or the guys being jerks and that being okay in a game (for some reason), we'd have convincing arguments to make about the nature of sexism and why this discussion even happened in the first place...instead, lets justify it and try to make it go away. Because we're stupid like that and getting past social problems is only for people who think/care. Do we really want to be people that say "it really doesnt matter to me...so I'm annoyed that it matters to you?"g_whizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15239758875167277254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364614859747751623.post-21606539344853005832011-10-20T07:48:00.000-07:002011-10-20T08:26:43.021-07:00How Not to be a Douchebag- Ideal Types and Covert "Isms"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTY2w2yEniT5hzZJ85yDitOvpPNjl6hLCXgABvFU_OzPvUTwhkJ" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTY2w2yEniT5hzZJ85yDitOvpPNjl6hLCXgABvFU_OzPvUTwhkJ" /></a></div>Now there's a relief. I was beginning to wonder if it was just me... One of the most persistent experiences I've had with online "meet up" sites, and hipster havens like OkCupid is overt and covert racism, biases and disdain generally being wrapped up with a tiny bow and conflated with "preference".<br />
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An <a href="http://www.fabmagazine.com/story/not-just-a-preference?pg=3#commentsBox">article from Canadian magazine "Fab</a>" expresses this bizarre little phenomenon very well:<br />
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<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The negative language so prevalent on Craigslist and Grindr seems to signal that the culture of sexual liberation has been replaced by sexual segregation.<br />
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Gay sexual oppression is catalogued painfully on the Douchebags of Grindr blog, which sorts prejudiced profiles based on everything from racism and sexism to self-hating homophobia. But even though we see it everywhere, most people are as willing to admit to the exclusionary aspects of their desires as Lindsay Lohan is to submit to drug testing — statements are qualified by “Sorry, that’s just what I’m into” or “No hard feelings, it’s just my preference.”</span></blockquote><br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> Sycamore says that while people have the right to say what they’re attracted to, they have a responsibility to watch how they say it. “On the one hand, people are stating their preference, but on the other, these are not neutral terms. If we were living in a culture where everything was the same, it wouldn’t be a problem. But when sexual preference reinforces dominant systems of power in an unquestioning way, that’s when it becomes problematic.”</span></blockquote><br />
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Sociologically, there's so much to unpack with these articles and the trends on sites such as these that it'll take more than these few posts criticizing them to do it justice. People (as the comments section in the article suggest) are very quick to defend their preferences and biases, and in this case very quick to feel defensive about having them called out on the proverbial carpet, or scrutinized in any way. Its one of the most glaring aspects of simply accepting the cultural status quo. We take for granted the big <b>why </b>behind gender conformity and racial realities and class inequalities and just accept them as the "way things are" without any critical thinking applied whatsoever.<br />
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The easiest way to consider/quantify what we're witnessing here is though the frame of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominant_culture">dominant culture</a> and ideal types.<br />
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Generations of barbie dolls and commercials have programmed the general public of the Western world to conform to a very specific understanding of what is desirable. Luckily there is a fair amount of variation, and what is considered attractive varies over time , but it does little to speak to the caustic ways our culture exports these expectations of ideal types without connecting to why they're there in the first place.<br />
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Looking at this from an individual perspective, to suggest that while you're generally a very nice person, you feel AWFUL that you don't find a person attractive isn't as objectionable. To conflate that with all other persons that may ever share physical characteristics like them ("NO ASIANS EVER!!!") is in fact racist, offensive and makes you look not only like a colossal douchebag, but like someone who finds that position so normal that its odd anyone would judge you for...judging others otherwise known as" preferring what you do".<br />
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At no point was the above article even suggesting that people cannot have preferences, its normal, and human to be attracted to qualities and characteristics. To assume that this is all biologically determined and racialized without considering the possibility that we as a culture prefer our ideal types for a reason is both false and intellectually lazy beyond reason. The groundbreaking research by<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_and_Mamie_Clark"> Kenneth and Mamie Clark</a> about racial preferences and ideal types in the "Doll Studies" that helped change conventional wisdom on "separate but equal" schooling and segregation underscores how our culture socializes us to prefer certain types of people to others, and make easy, casual generalizations about the entire groups they represent. This effect is so powerfully embedded within the dominant culture that when replicated today, <a href="http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/17/ac360-series-doll-study-research/">the study has similar results</a> (Ahhh that Anderson Cooper).<br />
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I could regale you with numerous personal experiences of how racial status has implied or dictated my lack of visibility and how often the typical "Oh sorry, I'm not into black guys" is more stinging and alienating than someone rejecting you for something that actually has something to do with you. Taking something as personal as attraction and making it purely about racial characteristics is in fact both mind numbingly biased and obliviously (willfully) disconnected from the reasons why.<br />
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No one is trying to dictate your "preferences", but the social fallout associated with having the posturing of borderline-racist (occasionally self loathing homophobic) profile declarations might put you on a website that points out<a href="http://www.douchebagsofgrindr.com/"> the existence of such lousy human beings</a>. Just don't be surprised that people might think less of you for it, when all you're putting out there is the equivalent of signs that belonged on water fountains in the Jim Crow south and expecting to be pandered to. Perhaps someday the social concepts that came along with it will stay there too.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://1.gvt0.com/vi/OCcUXEC5_eU/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/OCcUXEC5_eU&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/OCcUXEC5_eU&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div> Now hear this: The insanely dance-able "Punching in a Dream" by the insanely impressive Naked and Famous. Dig in.g_whizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15239758875167277254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364614859747751623.post-6529746387675822382011-10-17T17:05:00.000-07:002011-10-17T17:13:44.896-07:00Its Officially a Trend- Still More Suicides.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://aw2.armylive.dodlive.mil/files/2009/09/suicide_speak_reach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://aw2.armylive.dodlive.mil/files/2009/09/suicide_speak_reach.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The introductory chapter of the text I'm using this semester deals with the <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=3882520&page=1">Megan Meier case</a> and yes, I usually have to explain what Myspace is by know. It rather craftily explains the gravity of understanding social problems. Given the decidedly morbid topic, i've spent days tying this into the recent spike in teen suicides (and blogged about it a few times <a href="http://imaybeinvisiblebutyouretransparent.blogspot.com/2011/07/teen-suicide-factory.html">here</a>) ...and have, as of this moment hit the wall. <a href="http://unicornbooty.com/blog/2011/10/17/15-year-old-gay-teen-commits-suicide-after-month-of-blogging-about-wanting-to/">Still ANOTHER dead gay kid</a>.<br />
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I believe we're officially way beyond individual issue and way into social problem territory.<br />
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My heart aches for anyone who feels <a href="http://catchmeblondy.tumblr.com/post/11445868359/im-a-casualty-of-love">this alienated, this cut off from </a>everyone and everything. I don't have the stomach to look into this more right now. My deepest sympathies to the boy's friends and family. My deepest disdain for a culture that ultimately failed him.<br />
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He was adorable and the world will be dimmer for his passing.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/KoN2IvLlK8w?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>g_whizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15239758875167277254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364614859747751623.post-77321440559869283162011-10-13T09:05:00.000-07:002011-10-13T09:05:18.800-07:00Human Costs- Marital Equality and the Long Time PartnerA quick post before scurrying off to campus. This footage from the <a href="http://southernequality.org/">Campaign for Southern Equality</a> is jarringly effective in its simplicity. Long term partners in NC very earnestly, very tactfully reminding us of the human costs to denying same sex marriage on the state level. (I recommend grabbing a box of tissues)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/gP61wDGAmXA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>g_whizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15239758875167277254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364614859747751623.post-42776984894731208342011-10-11T16:37:00.000-07:002011-10-11T16:48:04.722-07:00Herman Cain- Great White Hope.I'm going to attempt to find the words for how much I resent Herman Cain's established role black conservative translator/striker for the Republican party. He uses race as an issue when it suits his campaign; <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/11/herman-cain-obama-never-p_n_1005424.html?ir=Politics&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009">"Obama has never been part of the black experience"</a>, at the same time insisting that racism is <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/earl-ofari-hutchinson/herman-cain-racism_b_1003776.html">by and large a thing of the past</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTwrcHTm2M658JmfUZQxdGnieXKVC12zp9CfgIzcRtTd1DJIEC1HQ" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTwrcHTm2M658JmfUZQxdGnieXKVC12zp9CfgIzcRtTd1DJIEC1HQ" /></a></div>Several aspects of this unique position Cain puts himself in are problematic. Cain in numerous cases has decried <a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/28/cain-black-community-brainwashed-into-voting-for-dems/">the African American voting public as "brainwashed"</a> for both voting Obama in the last election to leaning Democratic in general. He's reasserted time and time again that the<a href="http://www.theliberalcurmudgeon.com/2010/07/no-evidence-of-tea-party-racism-heres_15.html"> Tea Party isn't racist</a>, but he's falling into the same trap they do when discussing or criticizing the President- instead of valid criticisms of his policy or his direct actions...scrutinize his ancestry. Obviously the Republican base has an axe to grind about liberal policy, but yet we scarcely hear these criticisms over the din of commentary about BHO's racial component. When a number of Republican campaign tactics are steeped in <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jun/17/opinion/la-ed-alabama-20110617">xenophobia </a>(sharia law?! Oh noes!) , <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedge_issue">wedge issues</a> and general purpose animus towards the out group, it seems particularly wrongheaded to assert that is not a component of the party that thrived upon<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_strategy"> the Southern Strategy</a>.<br />
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Unsurprisingly, this has endeared him to the base, which has long held suspicions that black people were whining about racism, and generally lazy and feckless. Cain stands out as the great exception to this rule, and the fact that he can make this claim confirms these beliefs and lets the overwhelmingly white audience off the hook for holding them. For this, following the Obama/McCain election, the Republican party will embrace Cain, while still comfortably thumbing their noses at the minority group he claims only to differentiate himself from the rest. His role as the buffer against scrutiny regarding racism makes him invaluable. So much so, they'll gladly hold up affluent conservative black people while reviling affluent liberal blacks all the while. The cognitive dissonance is so massive its staggering, and yet the complexities of race and American culture are such that its business as usual.g_whizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15239758875167277254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364614859747751623.post-29580812708417702872011-10-09T13:22:00.000-07:002011-10-09T15:48:23.342-07:00Santorum, the "Google Problem", and the analogues of Jim Crow and DADT politics.<a href="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSk3VDLAIBcdQJktYhchQaaC6tX1GI7p_0qv29IqR6VK7W4NHg1" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSk3VDLAIBcdQJktYhchQaaC6tX1GI7p_0qv29IqR6VK7W4NHg1" width="274" /></a>Say what you will about Rick Santorum (and his "google problem")...<a href="http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2011/10/frothy-gay-rights-are-not-civil-rights.html">but the man has a real gift for sticking his foot in his mouth</a>.<br />
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Egg on face moment #2,132 is so bad that the Fox News interview in the link almost equals "gotcha" journalism. The commentator gives him a quote from a general against a policy Santorum <i>assumes </i>is DADT for the same biases referenced tirelessly about "military cohesion" and fairly quickly indicates that animus towards people based on immutable characteristics is the driving theme here.<br />
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When compared, the mentality of the military on integration was equally opposed when polled as it seemed to be to DADT. <a href="http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/military_history.html">A fascinating historical account of both can be found here</a>. Some of the most telling similarities follow:<br />
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Most civilians and military personnel opposed racial integration. One month before President Truman's Executive Order, a Gallup poll showed that 63% of American adults endorsed the separation of Blacks and Whites in the military; only 26% supported integration. A 1949 survey of white Army personnel revealed that 32% completely opposed racial integration in any form, and 61% opposed integration if it meant that Whites and Blacks would share sleeping quarters and mess halls. However, 68% of white soldiers were willing to have Blacks and Whites work together, provided they didn't share barracks or mess facilities.<br />
As the 1993 RAND report noted,<br />
"<i>Many white Americans (especially Southerners) responded with visceral revulsion to the idea of close physical contact with blacks. Many also perceived racial integration as a profound affront to their sense of social order. Blacks, for their part, often harbored deep mistrust of whites and great sensitivity to any language or actions that might be construed as racial discrimination</i>" (National Defense Research Institute, 1993, p. 160).</blockquote>Bigotry is not a justifiable excuse for differential treatment in the eyes of the law in this case or others, but it without a doubt seems to fuel our ability to justify imposing our worldviews on others. To further <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/19/the-strange-history-of-dont-ask-dont-tell-documentary_n_970143.html">the fabrication that "military cohesion" </a> is damaged by having integrated units is false and glaringly suspect when the two eras of the American military are compared. To claim that DADT is anything other than McCarthy era witchhunt code in modern guise is an increasingly tiring leap in logic, that Santorum's former employers are pressing this case makes it an interesting move away from the staunchly homophobic party line.g_whizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15239758875167277254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364614859747751623.post-78482936818536803122011-10-08T10:07:00.000-07:002011-10-08T16:23:12.002-07:00Bitter Harvests<a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/65405.html">Ala.: Inmates can replace Hispanic farmhands - Mackenzie Weinger - POLITICO.com</a>:<br />
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In other words "They'll have their barely paid, possibly coerced labor system one way or another, damnit!!!" Be it chattel slavery, illegal immigration or this proposal of forcing prison inmates to work the fields...the imagery and the similarities overall seems entirely the norm for the deep south.<br />
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</div><div>The latent functions and social fallout from this legislation seems to be having more sweeping real world implications than the mavericks in Georgia and Alabama intended (not that any of <i>that </i>is surprising in and of itself). <br />
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</div><div>What does it say about the local economies of areas like this that they cannot function without exploiting or compelling its workforce to do so for either pennies on the dollar and the threat of deportation or as a contingency of their punishment? Either way, they seem insistent on making sure brown people (<a href="http://www.gibbsmagazine.com/blacks_in_prisons.htm">especially given the sky high incarceration rates for black men in these states</a>) line their fields one way or the other...<br />
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</div></div>g_whizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15239758875167277254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364614859747751623.post-42546613074809452712011-10-08T09:30:00.000-07:002011-10-09T02:03:33.204-07:00Wellsprings of Venom- The AFA and "Family Values"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTLhefSN-dhiqYS5QDeIp2E5EamXM2Dh-vV01w8v8SIp6oOMS5v" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTLhefSN-dhiqYS5QDeIp2E5EamXM2Dh-vV01w8v8SIp6oOMS5v" /></a></div><a href="http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2011/10/star-parker-gay-people-make-us-sick.html">Joe. My. God.: Star Parker: Gay People Make Us Sick</a>: <br />
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The only political event that I've ever heard that approaches this sort of language is this "Family Values Summit", which frankly seems to have more in common with an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oi!">Oi band performance </a>than it does with the more...cautious rhetoric of a nonpartisan function. This is the AFA when it thinks its preaching to the chior. This is what they think and believe. Full stop. Its been unadultrated hatred and undistilled bigotry...but its been very informative... ahhh the internet. It really does have uses outside of pornography. Seeing the coded "family values" misdirect for what it is? May actually be something to thank them for. At the very least, the pretense of civility has at least evaporated in a spate of hate speech and righteous indignation. The Summit has proven to be a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/08/us/politics/prominent-pastor-calls-romneys-church-a-cult.html?_r=1">wellspring of such</a>.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Its a fascinating notion that the Southern Poverty Law Center has <a href="http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/ideology/anti-gay">categorized the American Family Association a hate group</a> (explanation from the link), solely on the fact that it uses consistent disproven rhetoric and hate speech to further its anti-gay agenda, is so in line with right wing ideology that numerous GOP candidates for the presidency of the United States have shown up currying favor.The soundbites from its figurehead<a href="http://www.rightwingwatch.org/category/individuals/tony-perkins"> Tony Perkins</a> (Right Wing Watch has compiled quite a list of inflammatory statements from the guy) are far from partisan and...only rarely deviate from the idea that <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayRVxvpAqW4">gay people are going to destroy the world</a>. How he's not advocating gas chambers yet speaks to <i>incredible </i>self control. These orginizations are not as benign as they position themselves to be. The National Orginization for Marriage may have once claimed that its merely interested in preserving marriage, the AFA may suggest its just about "family values", but more and more when one pays attention to the tone, language and frequency of anti-gay hostility in the interests of what they perceive "family interests" to be...their pretense that they're not homophobic and purely interested in politically advancing that marriage is between a man and a woman (tm) evaporates. </div><div><br />
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</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://2.gvt0.com/vi/4_yskRDrmqI/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4_yskRDrmqI&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4_yskRDrmqI&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div>And now for some theme music. The National- Afraid of Everyone. Apt, no?<br />
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<a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;">'via Blog this'</a></div>g_whizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15239758875167277254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364614859747751623.post-74589514115355745962011-10-05T08:20:00.000-07:002011-10-05T15:44:08.494-07:00Twinkie Defenses- Blaming the Victim Never Goes Out of Style.<a href="http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2011/10/jurors-discuss-lawrence-king-trial.html">Joe. My. God.: Jurors Discuss Lawrence King Trial</a>: <br />
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</div><div>This is pretty difficult to watch. There are so many mixed messages in society but the one here is pretty clear. Nobody misses another kid who "experiments with sexuality". I think of the hatchet job <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2008/07/18/young-gay-and-murdered.html">Ramin Setoodeh Newsweek</a> piece and the defense attorney's "gay panic" defense and am blown away by how often we tolerate it when kids who are or seem gay get stabbed or shot to death in our country because they made some straight person who can't control themselves uncomfortable. </div><div><br />
</div><div>The twinkie defense is alive and well. Its exasperating how ideologically speaking our culture can clamor for "personal responsibility" ...unless someone you encounter deviates from prescribed gender roles (or dresses too provocatively). Then its "Look what you <i>made </i>me do!" The number of slap on the wrist convictions and mistrials indicate that much of society seems comfortable looking the other way, because regardless of how a 14 year old who "experiments with sexuality" makes us feel, there ought to be a million more tolerable ways to deal with this than justifying his being shot twice execution style and then blaming him for being too provocative.<br />
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(EDITED TO ADD) Something to think about; there seems to be an enormous amount of blaming the victim surrounding this case, and its been a consistent theme of the trial from its inception. I've long read and heard comments that mirror, "If only poor Larry could have gotten the help he needed he wouldn't have been such a target." I was thinking about Emmitt Till and how there's some correlation here when it comes to blaming the victim for violating perceived social norms.<br />
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"If only Emmitt Till had known better than to allegedlywhistle at or imply a white woman was attractive in the deep south...then he wouldn't have been responsible for his own brutalization and wound up chained to the bottom of a lake!" <br />
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It took <i>decades </i>for the Emmitt Till case to be tried effectively, why? Because a jury of "peers" in the area where the murder was comitted? They didn't have too much of a problem with keeping black boys in line with a little...forceful social control. Not dissimilar here, young Mr. King "experimented with his sexuality" made the wrong people uncomfortable annnnd we're going to look the other way as a society. It speaks to biases and inequality but worst of all injustices that might not ever be corrected. <br />
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The insult to injury is just staggeringly inhumane.</div><div><div><br />
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<a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;">'via Blog this'</a></div></div>g_whizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15239758875167277254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364614859747751623.post-20547180298241005592011-10-05T00:06:00.000-07:002011-10-05T00:06:49.523-07:00The Best Interview You'll Never See on Fox News.<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yrT-0Xbrn4&feature=player_embedded">New York Observer: Exclusive "Occupy Wall Street" Unaired Fox Footage - YouTube</a>:<br />
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</div><div>Its late, but I want to bring this clip to your attention. This. Is how you keep conservative media on point. The entire clip is pretty much worthy of being quoted verbatim, but a few points stand out; "We find that we can't get conversations about the ongoing investigation about Newscorporation in which you are an employee, but we can certianly ask questions about why we're 'engaging in class warfare'." </div><div><br />
</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/IroRe9hALf8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>I want to have this gentleman's ideological puppies. No more blithely allowing the talking points to be dictated by those with vested interests in maintaining control. The clarity with which he eviscerates the interviewer is quite important here. There've been very few people who have held anyone to task for the misdirects and partisan fabrications on "birthers" and "death panels" and "special rights demanding gays" , when these claims have yet to be proven legitimately. They're distractions that have been allowed to keep the public from dealing with the realities of outsourcing, golden parachutes ,economic freefall and deregulation for too long. The time for polite conversations may be passing us by...but then its not as though the Koch brothers and the other 1% consider us "people" in the first place...</div>g_whizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15239758875167277254noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364614859747751623.post-958715283268740242011-10-04T16:32:00.000-07:002011-10-04T16:32:17.559-07:00That Which Stays With You- Bon Iver<a href="http://motherjones.com/mixed-media/2011/09/bon-iver-justin-vernon-tour">Bon Iver Takes It to the Greek | Mother Jones</a>: "<br />
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</div><div>"You know when you're a kid, and you're shooting hoops in your driveway, and you imagine what it would be like to hear the sound of people cheering for you? Well, this is what that sounds like," he told the cheering crowd."--Justin Vernon </div><div><br />
</div><div>Bon Iver came to my awareness in a round about way, crammed in part of a indie music download stream. I remember hearing Lump Sum, and in a fit of compulsion that often reminds me of my father, found myself playing it over and over and over. Bon Iver's recent follow up has been an equally vulnerable, thought provoking and sentimental journey. So much so that its a difficult, if not Herculean task to pick out the proverbial best in show from the lot. </div><div><br />
</div><div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/TWcyIpul8OE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe>I'm pleased others have been giving Bon Iver's unique, layered and hearty sound the love it deserves. Can't say enough good about their work thus far. Its a nice feeling to see people and things you like celebrated for the right reasons.</div><div><br />
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<a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;">'via Blog this'</a></div>g_whizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15239758875167277254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364614859747751623.post-29680042740891247512011-10-04T11:53:00.000-07:002011-10-05T05:44:21.352-07:00Superhero Sausage Fests- Gender Bias and the Comic Book Media<a href="http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2011/09/comics-a-m-should-feminists-give-up-on-superhero-comics/">Comics A.M. | Should feminists give up on superhero comics? | Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources – Covering Comic Book News and Entertainment</a>:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCv0eFvBHGarEfi9tNDdGtMRguXs-pgObU-K0zSqrVFTs_wit-FxhfHZk6jkie05aR4KwxglR24l_GGb3oIOdlIK-Cepj1AT9bcM8nJhOIu8n5sLfJqVlcnfQm880xN9WHAKMFVeO9xqk/s1600/Babs_Batgirl_Tear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCv0eFvBHGarEfi9tNDdGtMRguXs-pgObU-K0zSqrVFTs_wit-FxhfHZk6jkie05aR4KwxglR24l_GGb3oIOdlIK-Cepj1AT9bcM8nJhOIu8n5sLfJqVlcnfQm880xN9WHAKMFVeO9xqk/s400/Babs_Batgirl_Tear.jpg" width="258" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div>It appears that the burning question in all of mainstream comicdom has (thankfully) become "are comic books sexist?". Granted asking this question is incredibly valid, as all <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MostWritersAreMale">male dominated and male geared industries</a> need to honestly evaluate such questions...but I wonder if this self-consciousness is a bit late in the day.<br />
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One doesn't have to do much digging to find evidence of how women are depicted in comics, especially in the 90s (otherwise known as t<a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks">he dark age of comic books</a>). This was the age of the super heroine "bad girl", oversexed, little in the way of characterization, even less in the way of clothing. Believe me when I tell you the costumes get more and more <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks">stripperific</a>. Use cases in point like Witchblade, Lady Death, Psylocke and well...you can see the point. Why would a woman or girl find exhibit A heroic in the slightest? Many a new reader looking at superhero comics assumes that <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MostCommonSuperPower">all women have the most common superpower</a>.<br />
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Predating the 90s, heroines were very rarely heroic in their own rights. Often female analouges of male heroes- Batgirl, Spider Woman, Ms. Marvel, She-Hulk and Super Girl are all heroines that act as understudies to a male lead, or had origins that were caused by or due to the fact that their male counterparts got involved. ( I go into more detail on this in relation to the women of the X-Men comic and how they differ from this trend in an earlier post. )<br />
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Recent revamps of older heroines have at best revived the debate over sexism in comic book media. The sex forward depiction of Catwoman in her new ongoing has raised<a href="http://freethoughtblogs.com/camelswithhammers/2011/09/28/batman-and-catwoman-depicted-having-sex-is-it-sexist/"> some <i>legitimate </i>concern</a>. Judd Winnick is usually surrounded by some controversy or other, and typically I find him to be a likable writer. Where this fails the sexism test is not in that the female lead is depicted as weak or incompetent or inferior. Its how she's depicted that creates the problem. Panel after panel display confident cat buglar Selina Kyle half dressed showing off her torso. Its the amount of time we watch women who are supposed to be powerful parade around half naked, (even the critically acclaimed Batwoman title is guilty of this) we're being told about their capabilities while we get a cheap thrill out of the eye candy. Men are very very rarely displayed this way in any visual media.<br />
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I've read the justification that men are just as idealized in body type in comic books, and while this argument works initially, if men were to be depicted as sexual and not powerful at the same time we'd have true equality in objectification (which I'd like to point out is something that no feminist is arguing for).<br />
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<a href="http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/09/22/starfire-catwoman-sex-superheroine">Laura Hudson of the kick ass Comics Alliance</a> tackles this multifaceted problem of comic book sexism perfectly. There is a very real difference between being sexually empowered and being sexualized. The bulk of what Hudson claims is valid, expressly because at the end of the day it isn't about the character. Its about the audience, writer and the artist and what they want, and expect the woman in question to be doing (appealing to them as heterosexual men).Its female characters pandering to male expectations and the "<a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MaleGaze">male gaze" </a> , as the writing and illustration is aimed squarely at women from a decidedly male perspective. Objectifying and yes, sexist as its all said and done.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.comicsalliance.com/media/2011/09/starfire-red-hood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.comicsalliance.com/media/2011/09/starfire-red-hood.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>As for the Starfire in the Red Hood and the Outlaws story..... its just plain embarrassing. Starfire's earliest characterization was as an alien who found Earth customs and hangups about sexuality and sex quaint and regressive. Fastforward to the DC New 52 reboot and Starfire might look similar...but its clear that looks are pretty much all we're getting here. Whats more interesting is that the criticism is being treated as some sort of <a href="http://www.comicsalliance.com/2011/09/28/dc-comics-on-starfire-controversy-pay-attention-to-the-ratings/">ratings success by DC comics</a>...which indicates some marketing disconnect about what we're really talking about here. Its not that sex, or more aptly depicting women as sexual objects, does not sell because clearly that a tale as old as time.<br />
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Depicting formerly fleshed out characters as nymphos who are interested solely in sex does nothing to further the story or explain any aspect of the character. Its fanservice.Showing "powerful" women bouncing about while men comment and basically benefit/get off on it is hardly powerful.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 10px;"></span> Its a rare thing to have super-heroines exist as self made women, and a newer trend to actually have female readerships/writers and editors be considered and counted. The claim that comic books are the quintessential boys club, as it is a genre that at one point was aimed predominantly at young boys and adolescents is an unfortunately valid one. The fact that the comic book community is beginning to ask these questions and study the depictions of women (and gays and other minorities) is a very curious and <i>hopefully </i>positive step.<br />
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For those of you interested in a woman's perspective on the comic book industry, Newsarama has been doing a great job with the PRO-GIRLS features on female characters and writers. the 4th installment deals with <a href="http://www.newsarama.com/comics/pro-girls-4-female-characters-genres-111003.html">"Superheroes and Sexism"</a> and is worthy of your consideration. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/a7FqUNlEdwA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div> Here, some women doing awesome things : Blonde Redhead "23".<br />
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</div>g_whizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15239758875167277254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364614859747751623.post-51018534069611799032011-10-01T13:25:00.000-07:002011-10-01T13:30:34.667-07:00Here's Hoping the Majority Actually Votes.<a href="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQYTV9rd1rX929N6wwnTCfDz7hdGw7e-jj1UKzTl1DDkyEvWqL8" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQYTV9rd1rX929N6wwnTCfDz7hdGw7e-jj1UKzTl1DDkyEvWqL8" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Positive news for those of us who don't like our state constitutions to be enshrined in discriminatory policy. Recent polls put the notion of putting the ban of same-sex marriage in NC's constitution in a similar light according to<a href="http://www.wral.com/news/state/nccapitol/story/10206010/"> WRAL and Elon University's</a> recent data.</span><br />
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<blockquote style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><span class="dateline" style="font-weight: bold; text-transform: uppercase;"> </span>Fifty-six percent of North Carolina residents oppose a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would ban same-sex marriages, according to a poll released Friday.<br />
The Elon University Poll, which surveyed 594 adults statewide between Sunday and Thursday, found support for recognizing gay marriages growing in North Carolina. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points</blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"> Its important to note that this legislation is simply putting the ban in the constitution to further ensure that same sex marriage will be a long term impossibility for the state. Its an abstraction to think that same sex marriages are legal or possible in North Carolina otherwise. This measure is a misdirect and a waste of resources that will serve to divide the state further and marginalize a group that already has little chance of what the ballot initiative seeks to prevent. Salt in wounds, and wedge issue politics that would make Ken Melhman proud. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;">Still, its refreshing that the public isn't as gullible as Forrester seems to think we are. If the majority in the sample is representitive of the rest of the state, and that majority goes to the polls, we'll be in good shape. (Or at least not taking steps backwards on civil rights based on bias and poorly articulated conjecture)</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px;"> "It must be in the air here..."</span></span><br />
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</div>g_whizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15239758875167277254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364614859747751623.post-58845771405404625562011-09-29T19:54:00.000-07:002011-09-29T20:08:52.250-07:00Speaking of Senator. Forrester...<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQd8-XKJz7x1YYWWUEW4QCB6Mpq3QCGetxPWIIswAyOlTFU9cFO9Q" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQd8-XKJz7x1YYWWUEW4QCB6Mpq3QCGetxPWIIswAyOlTFU9cFO9Q" /></a></div>Speaking on the originator of the impending anti-gay legislation in our fine state<a href="http://www.jimforrester.net/"> Sen.. Forrester</a> , there's been an interesting development relating to his credentials*. </div><div><br />
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Senator Forrester claims to be a "a Fellow with the esteemed American College of Preventive Medicine". According to the ACPM itself (in a response to an inquiry by Scott Rose) has ...politely...claimed that he not now, nor never was a member of their association, and by far never a fellow (which they made sure to inform was their highest distinction). The link below explores the<a href="http://pamshouseblend.firedoglake.com/2011/09/29/breaking-anti-gay-n-c-senator-forrester-falsifies-credentials-and-an-open-letter-to-the-lawmaker/"> list of inquires that bares this truth out</a>. It makes for an interesting read. More as it develops?<br />
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<i>*By "interesting" I mean amusing with more egg on face. </i><br />
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</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2011/09/north-carolina-anti-gay-state-sen-james.html">Joe. My. God.: NORTH CAROLINA: Anti-Gay State Sen. James Forrester BUSTED On Credentials</a>:</span><br />
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<a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">'via Blog this'</span></a>g_whizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15239758875167277254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364614859747751623.post-12294191767661523182011-09-28T11:47:00.000-07:002011-09-30T21:27:56.891-07:00Proving It.- Talking Race and all the other Isms<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSN4meD0sv5jpCeI-Djnsq7pgRgkDl4Ls2XJYqi_wYLBwNsHkCB" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSN4meD0sv5jpCeI-Djnsq7pgRgkDl4Ls2XJYqi_wYLBwNsHkCB" /></a></div>A casual glance around the interweb over the past few days has evidinced a <i>staggering </i>ammount of oblivious privlidge regarding race, gender, sexual orientation and all the lovely ways people who happen to have the outsider status (or "less desirable" status) are told these statuses REALLY matter in that society is structured to treat you differently based on it. Except when it makes the dominant culture feel or look bad... then the onus of responsibilty for all them "differences"? They're all a fabrication of reality you'll have to provide evidence for. <br />
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</div><div>In making this case, First I just have to speak on the terribly impressive Dr. Melissa Herris Parry's article the <a href="http://www.thenation.com/blog/163629/epistemology-race-talk">Epistemology of Race</a>, which savages the (often ill considered) fallacies involved with the duality of race and the dominant culture. Herris-Perry indicates that there tends to be <i>three </i>strategies employed yo discourage or merely deflect genuine conversations about race in our society, the first of which I find I've had to do for a perplexing portion of my adult life, "Proving it".</div><div><br />
</div><div>When it comes to race, and racism those with the luxury of being able to simply not "see" other perspectives or experiences that lie outside of your position in the social strata very simply do not have to, and therefore rarely do see race as a genuine system of inequality. I'm reminded of the infamous <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAD-PipXGwA">Dr. Laura Slessinger</a> story that acts as a perfect explanation of how "proving it" works as a defense/derail of conversation on race.</div><div><br />
</div><div>"Some people are hypersensitive- so give me an example of racist comments." (warning- clicking the link will direct you to one of the most annoyingly condescending diatribes you'll ever hear) Here, Dr. Laura puts the woman who is black and asking what she felt was a genuine question about etiquette on the defensive. Surely she was mistaken, being "hyper-sensitive" about these things that clearly are untrue about most good people. So instead of having a meaningful conversation about the topic, the caller was made to justify her position that something could in fact be bothersome or offensive about her husband's friends bringing up "what black people do" to her continually. </div><div><br />
</div><div>It speaks to the often referenced article by feminist Peggy McIntosh "White Privilege-Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack", which you can read in<a href="http://www.nymbp.org/reference/WhitePrivilege.pdf"> its entirety here</a>. There are dozens if not hundreds of ways my position as a male in a patriarchal society grants me rights and privileges I may in fact be unaware of. I seldom have to guard my drinks at a house party, or be concerned about going places by myself, or be explicitly judged by strangers for my physical attractiveness alone. </div><div><br />
</div><div>This perspective ties succinctly into other types of inequality, be it race or sexual orientation, and it typically serves as a unique reminder that often one can be wholly oblivious to the ways a particular status they hold can enable them and disable others. Jim crow, for instance was a cultural and legal system so powerful that it reinforced racial biases and division in numerous ways. It follows that many of those cultural assumptions and unexplored perspectives still carry over today, where we still here comments that echo that the entrenched differences that buffered separate but equal cultures in our country based on race a generation ago are all but evaporated since the codified structures that have held them in check are mostly gone.</div><div><br />
</div><div>This does not hold primarily because of cultural lag. Many of the ideas that power and justify the codification of segregation and differences are not likely to dissipate a generation and a half after the fact. People still harbor biases regardless of whether or not a policy is enacted. Hence, the way culture can use both subtle and direct sanctions to reinforce the status quo. We can orient our world around justifications, both moral and religious about any number of differences and shape our worlds to imply that its always been so, for who could think of doing anything differently?</div><div><br />
</div><div>One of the largest problems with the "proving it" argument, is that its both intellectually lazy, and patently disinterested in moving beyond the dialog of race. This is problematic in part because this argument comes from some that claim to be "color blind". It may be easier and more honest a descriptor to claim to be "blandly uninterested in race as it doesn't effect me"... but I suspect it doesn't have quite the same ability to deflect the conversation on intellectual grounds. </div><div><br />
</div><div>The onus of responsibility about defining race, and gender, and sexuality are seldom on the less powerful group- as they very rarely construct the categories and concepts that come to represent them. In truth, that power is only something that comes of being of the dominant culture. </div><div><br />
</div><div>To name a thing, to define the terms in which business is done, is to put it in a controllable, quantifiable box. Those genuinely interested in dialogues about inequality should never approach these topics as though they know each and every complexity that might frame the ways one group is privileged and another disadvantaged. To have an exchange, a true teachable moment involves first listening and understanding that your perspective is merely one of many that might not have the fullness you assume. If we're to be serious about doing the work of equality, it requires open ears and open minds. It is a difficult, but not impossible thing to see the layers within layers that comprise complex society. Cultures and subcultures and countercultures and movements all working with in tandem and contrast. To understand is to see behind the curtain, and there's something of a loss of power involved in suggesting racism isn't a fabrication in and of itself...but then that may be one of the other tricks the Devil <i>allegedly </i>pulled. </div><div><br />
</div><div>In the meantime, there's logic, there's feeling, and there're genuine attempts to breach the gulf that divides us all. Important work, if the majority of us are up for it. </div><div><br />
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</div><div>And now, Jill Scott- "Hate on Me" <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Qw3Z8Oa7E3Y" width="420"></iframe></div><div><div><br />
</div></div>g_whizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15239758875167277254noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4364614859747751623.post-45394482335895505062011-09-28T08:57:00.000-07:002011-09-30T08:20:23.084-07:00Trip Ups- North Carolina Politics and the Thinly Veiled Biases That Drive Anti-Gay Legislation<a 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" 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<a href="http://www.signorile.com/2011/09/nc-senator-youre-trying-to-set-me-up.html">The Gist: NC Senator: "You're trying to trip me up"</a>:<br />
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<a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/pengoopmcjnbflcjbmoeodbmoflcgjlk" style="font-size: 13px;">'via Blog this'</a><br />
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</div><div>Two things come to mind when watching the above...utterly infuriating clip: 1.) Signorile doesn't have to TRY very hard to "trip up" Senator Forrester at all, 2.) The misconceptions and loaded rhetoric behind his reasons- "gay as unhealthy lifestyle", "the preservation of marriage" arguments just don't hold up over the <i>slightest </i>scrutiny. <br />
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</div><div>Its pretty sickening how a person can pass sweeping legislation without having to prove a whit of it. Fun with policy and stereotypes. I can play this game too- I read in some book somewhere that Mexicans are coming to "steal our jobs", and Asians are "good at math" and that Social Conservatives are "raging bigots" ...should that be the grounds for writing refferendums that alter these people's lives (or <i>worse</i>, punish them outright for belonging to this particular status group)? Nevermind whether we should ban people being married because of unhealthy "lifestyle choices". Let's disallow people who smoke-obviously a choice that without question limits one's life expectancy- to get married. But wait, that'll never happen because marrige is a "right" some people get to have regardless of who they are and what they do, while others are considered vile interlopers for having the audacity to want to engage in a meaningful social contract with the person they love. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Watching how little logical rigor it requires to absolutely obliterate the fallacies this Senator in my less great state is equal parts invigorating and depressing. The fact that THIS argument, unsubstantiated (to be putting it kindly), was all it took to push a referendum that will in essence rub salt in the wound of people who can't marry in the state anyway is too absurd for words. At the very least, I can't decide if listening to a Senator get so easily panned on issues he found "gravely compelling" enough to push through in a secret session a few weeks prior is a amusing, or more disconcerting than this catastrophe is in the first place.</div>g_whizhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15239758875167277254noreply@blogger.com0