By a somewhat unusual series of events, I’m going to be teaching a Women’s & Gender Studies class this fall at Merrimack College in N. Andover… Massachusetts. I wasn’t expecting to, which is why I won’t be moving there, which means instead about a six hour commute – that’s one way! – in order to do so. But I couldn’t turn it down, since it would give me the chance to work with the very cool Gordene Mackenzie, of Nancy & Gordene from GenderTalk, as she runs the program there. Since I’m writing again, I’m always pleased to have good writing time – both on the train & during the time I’ll be on campus. I’m very much looking forward to it, and hopefully I’ll get to see some of my friends who live in the Boston area while I’m there.
Abstinence Fails Again
Yet another report has come out that abstinence-only education fails our kids; in this case, abstinence-only education has been shown not to prevent HIV infection.
So what I want to know is when we go on the offensive, and start accusing people & agencies who back this bullshit why they want to kill children. Granted, people don’t die of HIV the way they used to, but goddamn, if we can avoid having a kid get a serious, life-long compromised immune system, surely that should be enough reason to get some real sex ed taught, no?
Non-Trans Woman in Men’s Prison
Okay, I’ll admit it: I was entirely astonished to read the story of Virginia Grace Soto over on Autumn Sandeen’s blog. Ms. Sota was born and raised female, but due to her androgynous appearance, was housed with men, in the men’s jail, in DC. Again, Ms. Sota is NOT TRANS. From the DC-area MetroWeekly (where you can see a photo of Ms. Soto as well):
Despite being strip searched and having female genitalia, Soto’s androgynous appearance led to assumptions that placed the 47-year-old in a male facility where she had to shower with four other men. Her pleas to be moved to a female facility were repeatedly ignored.
There is no mention as to whether Soto is straight or gay, though I’m going to guess that the guards acted out of homophobia (on the assumption that all gender variant people are homosexual, which of course isn’t true at all). The good thing is that three of them will be fired over their misconduct, at least.
But the underlying issue of course is that we have no standards in place for people who are not obviously gendered male or female, or whose male appearance doesn’t correspond to their female genitalia, or vice versa. Sandeen quotes local trans activist Ruby Corado:
“It’s the perfect example of how not having a plan on how to deal with individuals that do not fit in the binary gender of this society, of being male or female, creates [problems],†she says.
Exactly. Solutions? If anyone has any resources links of people who are working on prison issues concerning gender, please post them in the comments section.
Not So Little Disturbance
Grace Paley, author, activist, and feminist, died Wednesday night, August 22nd, 2207, in her home, after a long struggle with breast cancer. Her writing credits are astounding; the most famous of her books is the short story collection The Little Disturbances of Man which are spare and stunning glimpses into love and relationships, a gem of a collection. She was the first official writer of New York State.
But beyond that, Paley was an activist & a feminist:
However, Paley was known as much for her political activism on behalf of peace and women’s rights as her literary accomplishments. Paley was jailed several times for her opposition to the Vietnam War, and traveled to Hanoi on a peace mission to negotiate for the release of American prisoners in 1969. She helped found the Women’s Pentagon Action and the Greenwich Village Peace Center. She was one of the “White House Eleven†arrested in 1978 for placing an anti-nuclear banner on the White House lawn. Most recently, she actively opposed the war in Iraq.
Julia Serano Guest Blogging on Feministing
Julia Serano, about Bailey, on Feministing today:
The fact is that when a self-appointed “expert†like Bailey claims that transsexual women transition for purely sexual reasons, and that they are lying if they state otherwise, people will believe him because of his academic/scientist status. The NY Times may try to frame the controversy surrounding Bailey’s book as an example of political correctness run amok, but the truth of the matter is that Bailey himself did exponentially more damage to the field of academic research when he misrepresented anecdotes and innuendos as though they were science.
Dieting Cat
A little late, but not too late as it’s still Friday, here’s Aeneas, looking pissed off because I seem serious about getting them to lose some weight. He hasn’t quite a adjusted to us cutting out the 5PM feeding, so tends to start waiting for the 8PM feeding at about 5:05PM.
Up Close & Personal
Today we’ll be interviewed by host Bonnie Graham on WGBB AM (Long Island), on the show Up Close & Personal, at 6PM, for about a half hour.
You can listen online, too, by clicking the ‘Listen Live’ button in the upper right hand corner of the WGBB website.
Pfc. LaVena Johnson
In light of the recent case brought against Cassandra Hernandez, I wish I didn’t think that the family of LaVena Johnson has a right to be concerned that the Army is sweeping something under the rug, but in this case, it’s not just rape, but murder.
The mother of Pat Tillman once put the matter in stark and honest terms: “This is how they treat a family of a high-profile individual,” she said. “How are they treating others?”
Now we know. Sign the petition to get Johnson’s case re-opened.
Partner’s Take
I got this today from Ana in Brazil (the girl from Ipanema, you could say):
One last thing: regarding your mixed feelings about Betty’s transformation, one of the best metaphors for it was depicted in the “Beauty and the Beast” episode of Shelley Duvall’s Faerie Tale Theatre, directed by Roger Vadin. You know the plot: the beautiful Susan Sarandon is forced to live with the Beast, until the spell is broken, by the power or her sincere love, and — plim! — the beast becomes a Prince Charming (Klaus Kinski) so proud of his just-found looks. But she is unimpressed. “Why?” he aks “don’t you prefer me handsome?”
She replies: “I was in love with the Beast, I don’t know who you are.”
“Stuff I Supposed After Meeting Some People in a Gay Bar”*
* quote by Mara Keisling, when providing an alternative description of what Bailey’s book could be described as instead of as “science.”
This NPR show out of the Bay Area about the whole Bailey controversy is good listening. Joan Roughgarden (author of Evolution’s Rainbow), Mara Keisling (executive director of NCTE), Alice Dreger (author of Hermaphrodites & The Medical Invention of Sex) & Bailey himself.
& A challenging phone call from Ben Barres, who I love & who does not let Bailey not answer a direct question (with textual backup from Roughgarden), specifically, whether or not Bailey feels trans people are suited to prostitution.
The only thing that no-one said that someone should have said is that Bailey now has a history & a record of turning (at best) weak science into “controversy,” such as with the bisexuality studies that came out a couple of years ago.
I’m upset by the idea of how or if Dreger’s status as a woman – not just as an academic or intersex educator – is coming into play here. That is, is a man not sexist because a woman says he isn’t? (I don’t think so, but I think that’s coloring her defense of Bailey.)