Queer
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Now that the " It Gets Better " (IGB) DIY viral videos production has quelled a bit, perhaps this is the time to take stock of the recent spate of " queer youth suicides" and the consequences of the media coverage. Initially prompted by gay journalist Dan Savage's response to Tyler Clementi's and other suicides of young gay men, IGB became a veritable campaign. But in the weeks since the suicides were aggregated as a problem, specifically one of "bullying gay youth", many have been asking what is being forgotten in the push to imagine "gay youth" as exceptionally susceptible to bullying and suicide. As noted early on by cultural critic Tavia Nyong'o , Savage's IGB video is a mandate to fold into urban, neoliberal gay enclaves, a form of liberal handholding and upward-mobility that echoes the now discredited "pull yourself up from the bootstraps" immigrant motto. Savage embodies the spirit of a coming-of-age success story.
In the wake of It Gets Better | Jasbir Puar | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk
There are many things worse than discrimination. Being hit by a mortar blast, losing a limb, living with post-traumatic stress disorder or killing another human all come to mind. These are just a few of the deadly realities queers will face if Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is ultimately repealed. The one upside to a Republican-controlled House is that we may be able to maintain the protections of DADT indefinitely. However, if the pro-military faction of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender political movement succeeds in repealing DADT, closeted soldiers will lose the opportunity to easily escape the horrors of war.
Don’t Enlist, Don’t Serve « Bully Bloggers
Quand je suis arrivé aux Pays-Bas pour la première fois il y a plus de quinze ans, je n’avais jamais vu autant de gens tatoués. Et encore, j’arrivais de Strasbourg où j’avais étudié et où le monde de la nuit était influencé par l’Allemagne toute proche, et on voyait des piercings vraiment incroyables, avec des chaînes reliant le nez et l’oreille, les tétons, tout ça. J’ai fini par associer tatouages et monde germanique et me dire que le monde latin était épargné. Quand je suis revenu légèrement tatoué et piercé de Hollande, les autres étudiants étaient sincèrement choqués. Pourtant, il y a quelques mois quand je suis rentré dans ma banlieue d’origine, j’ai été très choqué de voir des femmes tatouées partout, de la tête au pieds, à moitié déshabillées et promenant leur mouflet dans sa poussette. Sur le coup je m’étais dit que, vraiment, la France a changé et est devenue tolérante.
Marquons ces corps vierges
Photographed by Amos Mac This is an essay to inform you on the most sensitive, respectful ways to approach the continuing evolution of your friend, neighbor, family member, collaborator or subject, Mx Justin Vivian Bond as I begin a new era in my life’s adventures. Many years ago while I was sitting at Cafe Flore in San Francisco, one of my favorite places on earth. I was approached by a transexual woman who engaged me in conversation and during our chat she said to me, “Justin, sooner or later you’re going to have to come down off the fence.” I was quite taken aback by this statement as I hadn’t really thought of myself as being on a fence. But after some thought I realized what she was saying.
Justin Bond Is Living » Blog Archive » Mx Justin Vivian Bond: A User’s Guide
Good News, Everyone!!! QZAP got new buttons! Head over to the QZAP store (to your left) to order one.