Its Officially a Trend- Still More Suicides.

The introductory chapter of the text I'm using this semester deals with the Megan Meier case 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 here) ...and have, as of this moment hit the wall. Still ANOTHER dead gay kid.

I believe we're officially way beyond individual issue and way into social problem territory.

 My heart aches for anyone who feels this alienated, this cut off from 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.

He was adorable and the world will be dimmer for his passing.

States of Misgiving (NC Marriage Ban Update)

N.C. considers putting amendment to ban same-sex marriage on ballot – This Just In - CNN.com Blogs:

'via Blog this'

Suffice it to say, things aren't looking so forward thinking in North Carolina surrounding this impending (probable) ban on even the mention of gay marriage in the State of NC. Longstanding evangelical hate group leader Tony Perkins showed up in full force to display their animus. Rallies are being put together for today and tomorrow to demonstrate just how regressive and pointless such a move would be, (primarily because its not legal in the state as is), but it looks as though the vote was rushed and not passed through the proper channels for a reason. More as this develops.

As for my feelings on the prospect, it doesn't exactly make for a very welcoming environment to spent a decade or two, does it? A state that is so concerned about a given couple's inability to marry that it legislates it three ways from sunday. All the while, how about that unemployment rate? Way to keep our eye on the proverbial ball, guys.

In more active news, please check out the Equality NC facebook page , and consider attending the Marriage Equality Rally on the 13th. (click the link for more information). Its going to be interesting around here over the next few days, and by interesting I mean potentially volatile. I can only hope the legislators see sense at the last minute.

EDITED TO ADD: Facebook co-founder and former NC resident Chris Hughes has written an open letter to the State assembly expressing strong aversion to the bill, citing that its bad for business and alienating to potential residents. Well worth the read.

And now for some subversive singer/songwriter action: Rufus Wainwright's "Going to a Town" showcases a little of how I'm feeling right now, and does so as eloquently as ever.

Teen Suicide Factory

The Teen Suicide Epidemic in Michele Bachmann's District | Mother Jones:

At this point it is safe to say Anoka-Hennepin school district is developing something of an image problem. The district has had a high teen suicide rate the past two years, and amid the spat of homophobia fueled suicides in 2010, began to come up as part of the dialog on volatile issue.

Its interesting to note that the school has, within the past two school years, had 6 suicides that have been linked to sexual orientation and subsequent bullying. Additionally, the school's policy on bullying when it pertains to real or imagined glbt issues is decidedly lackluster:

The Ankoa-Hennepin school district “neutrality” policy has been in place since 1995 and restricts teachers from speaking about lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) persons in the classroom. Local teachers have also come forward to speak out against the “neutrality” policy because they say it restricts discussions and enforcement of bullying and harassment polices and does not create a safe school environment often leaving them unable to to help.

The school's policy on neutrality essentially ties the hands of teachers and health professionals in the district and dissuades intervention or any affirmation of those perceived as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender while...not addressing the causal factors of said bullying whatsoever. One of the results? A suicide rate that is quickly becoming one of the highest in the nation, and an apparent apathy about modifying policy enough to counteract it. The policy itself hangs frozen in a strange sort of ideological limbo in which it must attempt impartiality while not actively affirming what could be seen as an endorsement of the "homosexual agenda"(tm). The area's educational professionals expressed some justifiable confusion as to how to proceed, leaving the socio-environmental conditions perpetuating the toxicity of bullying unchecked.

The Justice Department, the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, The Southern Poverty Law Center and National Center for Lesbian Rights have all been investigating Anoka-Hennepin since 2010, with the SPLC and NCLR both recently filing suit against the district over the detrimental policy and the hostile social climate of the school district.

The Mother Jones' article by Stephanie Mencimer notes a tactic put to use by area churches looking to counter what they feared were "pro-gay" messages, in which they passed out "Day of Truth" tees and encouraged christian teens to "preach to" those they perceived as gay.

Another volley in the so-called culture wars, but ones with very real, very awful implications for those with the misfortune of being labeled as "other". If we entitle children and justify those that want to enforce school sanctioned repression through bullying, we further perpetuate the meme that some viewpoints and lives are more important than others, which by extension is nowhere near neutrality in my mind.

Above, is a clip from series 5 of the ever trendsetting series Skins. Franky's a troubled, ostracized androgynous teen who has yet to find her place. She makes for some compelling storytelling.

Gender Bombs: Sissy Boys and Security Threats

Box Turtle Bulletin » What Are Little Boys Made Of?

Above is some of the most impressive blog journalism I've ever seen related to a given piece.

Anderson Cooper has of late been making the rounds with a story, which by all accounts is a gripping, soul searing testament of how completely the idea of gender and its slightly murkier links to perceived sexual orientation can belabor and ruin the already arduous process that is coming of age. The Cooper story was broken initially by Box Turtle Bulletin, and in tandem both prove to be some amazing, damning evidence against homosexual "deprogramming" touted among the Christian Conservative set.

Every semester to date, when discussing the gender and sexuality chapters of Intro to Sociology, the topic without question veers to the very dicey topic of gender expression. "My four year old nephew likes the color pink...should I be worried?" "I once saw my son playing with his sister's doll, does that mean anything?" It feels as though every month or so we have a histrionic "gay panic" about some parent somewhere "making their 5 year old gay" by "allowing" their child to paint their toenails pink or play dress up, or wear a costume for Halloween.

What follows is usually a fairly profound unpacking of our societal misconceptions about gender and how it relates (or does not) to sexual orientation, and more importantly how socially constructed a given cultures ideas of masculinity and femininity are.

We live in a culture, post cold war conformity, that is still suffering from the hangovers of rigid gender expectation. All boys should like color X (or else something MAY be wrong with them), all girls should like the color Y (or something might be wrong with them). That something, post-McCarthyism was always the idea that gender non-conformity of any sort, the slightest "deviation" meant that your son might be a "sissy boy", much the way homosexuality was linked to such extreme deviance during the period that it was considered a national security risk to have any real or presumed homosexuals employed in a federal capacity. Being gay or even considered gay was so subversive that it was considered a danger to the very American way of life. Those ideas were popularized roughly a generation ago during a time of extreme social conformity, so it should come as no surprise that the original gay panic defense still has lingering implications as many years later.

What is problematic about this misconception is that one's sexuality, even when we're in our most formative years, learning the very socialized aspects of gender expectation- girls have long hair, wear dresses, pet kitties and play with dollies. Boys are "snakes and snails and puppy dogs tails", yadda yadda yadda. And what that fails to indicate, or even adequately express is the idea that sexuality and attraction are phenomena that exist outside of our gender identity/socialization.

As per the experiment referenced in both the Anderson Cooper and Box Turtle Bulletin links, there are several boys who conform to "appropriate" gender roles and still have same sex attractions, plenty of rugged military personnel that just so happen to like dudes. Sexuality does not perfectly dovetail with gender role behavior. If anything, what is evidenced by the extremely horrific results of the "sissy boy experiment" the infamous "ex-gay" reparative therapy guru George Reukers is that when we attach such caustic controls and expectations (i.e- conflating sexual orientation to gender behavior of a five year old) more damage can be done than good. Its utterly heartwrenching, the sort of hurt and trauma this experiment has caused the family the articles and expose touch on. And utterly criminal how people like the junk psychologist/therapist interviewed therein are allowed to further the falsehood that same sex attractions are something that can or should be essentially reprogrammed at God(tm)'s say so. The damage this does to the psyches of young people, living in fear of rejection and shunning based on whether or not their presentation of a given role is "convincing" (and not necessarily on their actual sexualities) is exponential in magnitude.

EDIT: Having just found this rather succinct meme from the APA on NARTH and the Focus on the Family fundies that perpetuate the ex-gay myth, I think the defense can rest safely enough.

This is Rapture. (Video Games and Objectivism)

The affairs of men: Politics in games- Destructoid

An interesting piece from Destructoid on the role of political movements in video games. I clicked the link hoping they'd cover the use of objectivist political ideology in Bioshock and happily was not disappointed.

The author criticisizes the fact that Rapture is, upon the player's arrival, a dystopia. Where all the lassies-faire capitalism and self interest ultimately led to the fall of one of the most prosperous utopias in "existence". Rapture fell because corporate greed and personal interest in genetic splicing without checks and regulations so changed the otherwise brilliant population of thinkers, enterpeneurs and artists that they morphed gradually into homicidal maniacs. All of this socio-political intrigue painted against a backdrop of an undersea metropolis comprised of lavish art-deco stylings and steampunk trappings and made for a truly troubling, effecting atmosphere in which to explore the game's world.

Whether or not the story so artfully told in Bioshock's narritive is meant to be a cautionary tale, its narrative is one that is unique for both a first person shooter (which are so dime a dozen with their gritted teeth and space marines its slipped well past cliche) and a modern console game in that it creates a game atmosphere so steeped in story and so lavishly detailed that it is difficult to disconnect from it and "just shoot stuff" the way one would a Halo game. Rapture is a crumbling, yet fascinating world I found myself wondering about even while anxiously exploring its nooks and crannies, peopled with a majority of mad citizens its difficult not to pity as they shout incoherent jibberish and try to take your life. Very few of the characters encountered are even remotely sane by the time you stumble upon Rapture, very little of the city salvageable. And so many of the more fascinating characters display their ability to navigate the moral ambiguity of the world they've come to for profit and prestige.

Brigid Tennenbaum is one of the more (rare/sane) morally centered characters in the game. Contrast with the idea as a child in WWII concentration camps, she was introduced to genetics/science and found her calling (even if it was at the expense of others in the camps). Tenenbaum found a profitiable procedure that could allow for genetic augmentation, which came at a cost. And Rapture's children were ultimltely turned into soulless scavengers in the pursiut of ADAM, the genetic fuel which drove such augmentation. Her guilt and revulsion over what her research had done to otherwise innocent girls drove Dr. Tenenbaum to redeem herself by liberating the girls of their condition. It is here where the player gets confronted with one of many moral delimmas in the game. Liberate the innocent at a cost, or profit and become powerful and end the girls lives. Depending on how one internalizes objectivism, the player can just as easily exploit and benefit the way the figurehead who created Rapture envisioned. Saving the Little Sisters earns you their gratitude and the occasional assistance, but the game is notably more difficult sans the additional ADAM not sparing the children affords.

It of course speaks to my touchy feely politics that I could never bring myself to harvest the Little Sisters and was hobbled (somewhat) by it. Bioshock is successful because it connects the player to this ethical delimma- profit or protect but at a horrible cost. It dances with the idea that one can be a powerful self made man, on the backs of or at the expense of others, and dovetails some of the more unfortunate implications of this philosophy.

Many would in reality break with the idea of profit if it meant literally ending the life of an innocent child, but in the altered states of video gaming its a murkier and easier thought exercise to navigate. One Bioshock crafts exceedingly well. Sure, the people of Rapture are deranged, and the once gleaming city beneath the sea has become a tarnished fantasy, a failed scheme that the entirety of their culture has had to pay for with their sanity and lives- but its an incredibly thought provoking and meaningful game. The likes of which we rarely see amid all the plasma grenade launching gratuity of roided out Space Marines.

Below is just about the most hauntingly somber scores I've ever heard in a game. I used to choke up whenever it played during my first play through. Aptly named "Empty Houses" after the gorgeous ruined homes the increasingly mad abandoned.

The Case of the Vanishing Secretary of State

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/09/hillary-clinton-der-tzitung-removed-situation-room_n_859254.html?icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl2|sec1_lnk3|61653

It says an incredible lot about where certain sub-sets of society are regarding gender and equality that they'd go to such great lengths to distort and misrepresent a photo just to validate their misogynistic worldview.

A Brooklyn-based Hasidic newspaper removed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and another woman from the now-iconic photo of the Obama national security team watching the raid that killed Osama bin Laden from the White House Situation Room.

The original photo, taken as the raid was occurring, famously shows Clinton in the center of the room, with her hand over her mouth. But the newspaper Der Tzitung, described by the Jewish Week as "ultra-Orthodox," has a policy of never printing photos of women in its pages because it thinks they could be sexually suggestive. Thus, Clinton and counterterrorism director Audrey Tomason, who was seen standing at the back of the room, were removed from the picture.

The blogger Failed Messiah was the first to notice the Photoshopping.

Are some groups so challenged by the idea of women in key power positions in the West that they have to go to such great lengths to not offend their delicate sensibilities? It indicates some problematic variations in where some of us stand regarding women and power.

And in a nod in the opposite direction, the actual displaying of powerful women kicking ass, we get some Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the killer track "Zero"

Persecutory Complexes At Their Finest.

Another great post from good old JoeMyGod, http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2011/05/world-net-daily-poll-christians-are.html See, here's the problem with their argument: They believe that anyone rejecting the idea that their right to discriminate based on religion is "discriminating" against their religion. Which is just plain false. The level of entilement required to push this argument forward is epic in its scope. Beyond the reality that a religious statistical majority cannot be at the same time a put upon persecuted minority, there are a few other logical snags with this sort of assertion. The problem here is that the equation works out that a.) Christians may not be inherently homophobic but homophobia tends to be an inherent part of the interpretation of the Old Testament, b.) Because of this, Christians tend to be opposed to both the "evils" of homosexuality and any equality granted to what it considers "sin" based on this interpretation, c.) when the state and the constitution acts in ways that is counter to this wish, and society does not back in masse this "hate the sin/sinner" brief, they take it to be an affront not only to their position, but an attack on their ability to practice their religion. In other words, to discriminate is in this view a cornerstone of their religion, and not being allowed to do so based on either the idea that being disallowed the right to marry is unconstitutional or the idea that Western cultures are relaxing their views on issues regarding sexual orientation is seen as a cause of anxiety. All cultural change regarding stigmatized minority groups tends to take this shape. As the minority group moves from internalizing the social expectations and condemnation of the dominant culture (the minstrel phase), they gain a sense of normalcy that comparatively serves to express to those in the dominant culture that the differences between the two groups are fewer than previously believed. All this comes at the cost of those in the dominant culture who seek to cling to the power that comes with being able to apply the label of deviant to the groups it wishes to minimize or control. Those in the religious set see their losing of the ability to stigmatize homosexuals and rigidly control the expectations of marriage as an extreme loss of power. Catholicism and its various offshoots and iterations have insinuated itself into numerous aspects of society, and as people become less religious and less dependent on that authority the traction of the church as an agent of social control wanes. On a personal note, I had a row with a man at a bar over this issue the other day. He kept resubmitting the statement that he was "concerned" about the idea of same sex marriage as a Catholic who feared that "those people" would force his church to marry them despite their objections. Its an argument I hear from the more progressive of the Xtianists, so its one I'm willing to entertain. I told him that while his concern might have some far flung possibility to it, I don't know many rational people that would seek out social institutions for one of the most important days of their lives that have made it glaringly obvious they're not welcome there. By nature of the exclusion the Catholic church (and many others) make policy as it pertains to its would be homosexual membership, its basically ensured that many a gay person of faith has rejected Christianity out of the vilification and rejection it insists upon. And any self respecting person I can think of isn't going to give money or invest emotionally in an institution STILL actively interested in discriminating against them.Further, if you approach this from a civil rights model, it becomes even more difficult to justify the position. Even IF various religions will still have the right to discriminate based on same sex marriage, and people who want to marry honor that without a fuss...is it even something that is comparable legally? Do churches get to dismiss the wishes of interracial or interfaith couples if it flies in the face of their belief system? Legally I could forsee this becoming a tad wonky, but again, I submit that when gay people are allowed to marry the lionshare will gladly do so in environments that have been welcoming and supportive to them- not ones that have been tooth and nail fighting their ability to do so. Its telling that the tenor of the argument for anti-gay institutions and groups here has become such that a lot of the forthrightness and moral certainty of late seems to be waining. What I find interesting about how religion intersects with the argument, those actively going about the work of dis-empowering and enshrining institutional discrimination are those framing the argument in a way where they are in fact the victims. And now for something outstanding from Ra Ra Riot (again...they've been getting a ton of play on my ipod)