Rural Faggot

A portion of the song can be listened to online here:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.indigogirls.com/media/images/discographyandlyrics/otherrecordings/250prom.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.indigogirls.com/discographyandlyrics/otherrecordings/prom.html&h=250&w=250&sz=43&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=K9TTYct1ZoNUQM:&tbnh=111&tbnw=111&prev=/images%3Fq%3Damy%2Bray%2Brural%2Bfaggot%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den-us%26sa%3DN


There are times in life when you hear a song and are instantly captivated, because it speaks to a part of your heart and soul, that's the way I instantly felt about Amy Ray's Rural Faggot which is included on her solo album "Prom." The song which describes the reality of living in a rural area and watching the coming of age of young gay men within the horrors of extreme homophobia speaks to me on many levels, most literally it reminds me of my own experiences of high school in semi-rural Oregon, and what it meant to be a dyke, and even more specifically what it meant for my gay male friends. Listening to this song takes me back to all those scary, dangerous, and haunting memories of a place, where gay bashing is seen as fun, and a game, but it takes me somewhere beautiful. There is something about the country that is truly captivating, and this song brings me back to that place and all the things I loved about it despite the danger and hate. Rural Faggot is a powerful mediated text because of the way it embodies the coming of age narratives of a young rural gay man, a story rarely told within the media which so frequently shapes queerness as a urban phenomenon.

Lyrics:
AMY RAY
Rural Faggot

You ride your John Deere down to the pond
Just to watch me struggle along.
You say you got your daddy's seed in you
And you think you're bored with anything there is to do with me.

You wipe your hands across your bare chest
And rub your fingers through your crew cut hair.
“Expelled from school,” you tell me with a grin,
“I copped a feel from an ex-girlfriend.”

I know you want to break the rules-
We were made by nature's fools.
And so you ride all day long, all by yourself,
‘Til you feel strong-

Strong enough to stay
Strong enough to be
Standing in the way
Of everything I see.

You wanna know why I had to go
Down to the baseball park to see you blow it.
All the balls just fall from your hands,
And your daddy asks me, When is he gonna be a man?”

I know you want to change the truth-
We were made by nature's fools.
So you ride all night long
With your boys in those muscle cars.
And you go down to the city
And laugh at the faggots
Until the girls look pretty and until you feel strong-

Strong enough to stay
Strong enough to be
Standing in the way
Of everything that you could see.

I'm just a magnet for the rural faggots.
They come and knock on my door
Just to find they're running out of time
To figure out what they come here for.

I know you want to know the truth
And I'm the dyke who will give it to you.
By this time next year
you'll know you're queer
It'll all be okay
It'll all be clear
And you'll run away from home
But not to be alone
And you'll go down to the city
Where the boys are pretty

And where you feel strong
Strong enough to stay
Strong enough to be
A country boy who's gay.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/02/in-election-08.html

Rarely does one see the news grapple with LGBTQ issues in a powerful and meaningful way, but this week a USA today opinion piece by Bruce Kluger titled " In Election '08 is there a place for gay rights?" grapples with some of the complex issues LGBTQ Americans face going into the 2008 election. I have no intention of getting into a candidate war on this blog about who I think would be the best candidate, after all I honestly think that of the democratic choices both are pretty similar in terms of how they will or won't protect LGBTQ folks (after all it isn't like either of the top candidates has been brave enough to support marriage equality). That said, at least Hillary hasn't gone out of her way to invite "ex-gay" leaders to campaign for her.

Kluger's post grapples with the very real needs of LGBTQ Americans, the discrimination we face on a legal level, and the silences, which exist around that. He speaks passionately about the needs of folks and the way our issues have been overlooked, and interjects popular culture references from the likes of the L word discussing the ways in which as a community we have in some ways fooled ourselves through these mediated representations, and loose sight of the fact that we lack fundamental rights. As he argues " this significant step forward carries with it a liability: As entertainment executives conscientiously work to bring the gay experience into the mainstream in a non-political way, they also run the risk of neglecting the real-life struggles gays continue to face."

A great read for anyone interested in politics and way LGBTQ folks will be impacted, as well as a look at the power of the media and it's relation to the way we conceptualize the LGBTQ movement and politics.

"The Axis of She-Vil"

The New York Post isn't known for it's positive coverage of queer issues, but even I was floored when I saw their article that ran yesterday titled "The Axis of She-Vil: Death to Gays but Free Ops for Irani Trannies" the poor taste of the cover is just the beginning of this tabloid sensationalistic piece which is in theory telling the stories of what it means to be transgender within Iran where the "crime" of "homosexuality" is punished by death, however trans issues are understood to be medical conditions where the government pays for people to have SRS.

While an interesting topic to explore, the Post did a horrific job of turning this into something to laugh about especially in regards to the article's title and they showed a complete lack of understanding and sensitivity to LGBTQ issues or people.

The full article can be found online here:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/02072008/news/worldnews/axis_of_she_vil_92617.htm

a big mistake

“Writer, musician, and bicycle advocate/planner with a tendancy towards big mistakes” (please note, the misspelling of tendency is not mine) reads the website of Darwin S. Ward (http://www.darwinward.com) the author of “Becoming Alec,” a newly self-published book through lulu.com. Without a doubt, “Becoming Alec” was one of those big mistakes.

This is by far one of the most poorly written, and misogynistic books I have read in quite some time. “Becoming Alec” is the story of a young transsexual man named Alec as he struggles to find his way through the intersections of life, love, career, family, and community. I had really high hopes for the book, but those hopes were swiftly dashed as in every chapter I was confronted with clunky backstory and dry poorly constructed dialogue.

Perhaps what alarmed me more than anything was the blatant misogyny, which ran rampant within the text. The transmen in Ward’s novel seem destined to prove their manhood and “normalness” (a frequently mentioned goal) through degrading women. Characters repeatedly referred to female characters as “chicks” and even took issue with women’s desire for sexual pleasure. As such, far from break new ground, this novel played directly into oppressive and patriarchal stereotypes of who men are and how they should behave. While I would like to expect that all men biological or otherwise in our supposedly enlightened society to refrain from blatant degradation of women, it’s particularly unexpected and unacceptable from those men who previously experienced sexism firsthand.

This Film is not yet Rated

A couple of weeks ago when the mailman delivered "this film is not yet rated" to our apartment (oh netflix how i love you) to be honest i was less than excited to see it. as we sat down with a big bowl of popcorn my partner and i both questioned why we had put it in our list of films to see, but then it started and for the remainder of the film i was completely captivated, and knew that I needed to talk about it here.

Despite being a complete media junkie, and having gotten a degree in media studies even i was shocked at some of the innerworkings of the motion picture association. i was especially interested in the queer aspects of the film, the ways in which sex is policed and particularly anything transgressive. these are the people that control who sees cinematic depictions of our lives, and really how our experiences are portrayed, and it's something that we all need to be paying serious attention to.

storytelling at its finest

Eli Clare’s poetry and prose rushed through my heart and soul with the same intensity as the mighty Oregon rivers which feature so prominently in his work. “The Marrow’s Telling: Words in Motion” is storytelling in its finest form. This book challenges readers to look beyond initial assumptions and expectations in order to intimately explore the intersections of race, ability, gender, and sexuality. Politically charged, this work forges an important trail through body memories linked to childhood sexual abuse, ritual abuse, gender transformation, the act of sex, and body acceptance. Through tantalizing poetry “The Marrow’s Telling” challenges us as readers to look more closely at the geography of our own lives.

"Everyone Deserves a Proud Parent"

This new ad campaign unveiled by the "Family Builders by Adoption" organization in California is one of the most incredible uses of media that I have seen in quite some time. The agency, recognizing the specific needs of LGBTQ youth who are less likely to be placed in loving homes, more likely to be abused, and extremely likely to be homeless (it is estimated that upwards of 40% of all homeless youth in the United States are LGBTQ identified).

The ad campaign which kicked off this week in San Francisco with advertisements in the subway system makes the clear and powerful argument that every kid deserves a home, and that queer kids have and continue to be considered difficult to adopt. Seamlessly appealing to the emotions of community members, this ad is a call to action for our community, as yet another way we can step forward to help some of our most vulnerable community members.

A wonderful article in the Bay Area Reporter about the new campaign can be found here: http://ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=2618