George, Meet James
Wow, this is depressing to read. It’s also not even a little surprising.
In light of all that, then, I shouldn’t have been surprised that using a male pseudonym had such a dramatic effect on Chartrand’s career. Death threats and sexually degrading commentary directed at women writers seem very 21st century — so modern! so fresh! — but being paid half as much for the same work? Landing fewer jobs? Receiving more criticism and less respect? That just sounds so old-fashioned. I learned about women posing as men to get work in elementary school history lessons, not when I went to grad school for writing. The thought that if I’d tried writing as, say, Kevin Harding, I might have earned far more money, opportunity and authority than I have, is almost as inconceivable as it is chilling. Since the Brontë days, says Chartrand, “we’ve had feminism. We have the right to vote, to own property, to be members of Parliament and Congress, to get a job, and to be the main breadwinner of the family. And yet apparently we haven’t gotten past those 19th century stigmas.”
Maybe I should have been George and not Helen after all.
Crossdressed Protest
It’s kind of amazing, the idea of Iranian men wearing traditional head scarves to show their allegiance to the insurgence, but that’s what they’re doing.
Thus the new protest also speaks to the societal aspect of Iranian women being forced to accept a dress code, according to Dabashi.
“Proud to wear my late mother’s rusari, the very rusari that was forced on my wife in Iran, the very rusari for which my sisters are humiliated if they choose to wear it in Europe, and the very rusari that the backward banality that now rules Iran thinks will humiliate Majid Tavakoli if it is put on him — He is dearer and nobler to us today than he ever was.”
In a speech before his arrest, Tavakoli played on the theme of the day’s historical significance in light of current anti-government protests.
“We Iranian men are late doing this,” Dabashi said. “If we did this when rusari was forced on those among our sisters who did not wish to wear it 30 years ago, we would have perhaps not been here today.”
(thanks to Jade Catherine for the tip)
Gov Paterson Announces New Trans Rights Policy
This Wednesday, December 16 at the LGBT Center in New York City, Governor David Paterson will announce a major policy affecting transgender civil rights in New York. The Pride Agenda has been working on this issue since Governor Spitzer was elected and has continued to work on it with Governor Paterson. Please join us for this important event if you are able.
What: Governor Paterson to announce major policy on transgender rights
Where: LGBT Community Center , 208 West 13th St. ( Manhattan )
When: This Wednesday, December 16 at 10:30 AM (doors open at 10:00 AM)
Having our community and our allies show up in large numbers for this significant moment is the best way we can thank Governor Paterson for his work moving LGBT equality forward. We hope to see you there! If you can join the Pride Agenda at this event, please RSVP to Matt Brunner at mbrunner@prideagenda.org or (212) 627-0305.
Breaking News: DC Makes Same Sex Marriage Legal
Ah, good news!
The Washington, D.C., City Council voted Tuesday to legalize gay marriage in the nation’s capital, handing supporters a victory after a string of recent defeats in Maine, New York and New Jersey.
Mayor Adrian Fenty has promised to sign the bill, which passed 11-2, and gay couples could begin marrying as early as March. Congress, which has final say over Washington’s laws, could reject it, but Democratic leaders have suggested they are reluctant to do so.
New MVA Policy Detrimental to Trans Marylanders
Equality Maryland is Maryland’s largest LGBT civil rights organization. They recently sent out this information about the proposed changes to the rules for changing gender on MD driver’s licenses.
The Maryland Vehicle Administration (MVA) is currently considering an update to their policy regarding changing the gender marker on a driver’s license. The new policy would go into effect on January 1, 2010.
The current policy allows for a change to the gender marker, so long as an applicant is able to provide a physician’s or psychologist’s report to confirm that the applicant is in active treatment. The MVA requires annual re-evaluations until the applicant meets requirements for permanent gender change. The primary criterion for a permanent change is for the person to have undergone SRS or sex reassignment surgery.
Continue reading “New MVA Policy Detrimental to Trans Marylanders”
Cold Case: Time to Hate
One of my all-time favorite Cold Case episodes, A Time to Hate, is on TNT right now.
If this show didn’t win a GLAAD award, it should have.
Two Tune Tuesday: Kinky
I discovered “The Headphonist” while watching one of my death shows, and it was an instant ‘need to know what that is’ feeling, having spent most of my life walking around cities and towns and well, everywhere, with headphones on & usually blasting.
I have a weakness for great rhythm, or a great weakness for any rhythm, so I went & poked around for other songs of theirs, and liked a lot of them. But it was when I was discovered they were a Mexican band that had covered Wall of Voodoo’s “Mexican Radio” that they made me laugh out loud: Gen X grows up & buys a clue, as it were.
Coupledom
I was chatting with a new friend the other day & we were talking about coupledom; specifically about how often it is that you don’t like both halves of a couple you meet. He suggested that if you meet the couple as a couple, it’s more likely, but I wasn’t sure. At least in my experience, I tend to warm to one person more than the other, or just have more of a simpatico with one. The likeliness of liking both people in a couple goes significantly down when you’ve known one of the people for a while & then your friend introduces you to their new special friend.
That said, I can think of exceptions, of course, to everything I’ve just stated. In one case, we were so pleasantly surprised by liking a friend’s new partner & so enthusiastic about saying so that my friend of many years felt neglected as a result. (We reassured her, of course, that we loved her just as much.) In another case, I had a much easier friendship with a friend’s partner, & continued to be friends with him long after they broke up.
I assume there are always going to be people who like Betty more than they like me, and people who like me more than they like Betty. We appeal to different people because we do — I assume that’s also why we appeal to each other. (What those differences are I won’t bother to go into.)
Egon Schiele
Courtesy Bilerico & Gloria Brame, a lovely YouTube slideshow of the erotic works of Egon Schiele. I’ve long been a fan.