Hollywood

I’m a little upset that they (Lifetime, and Sony Pictures) have chosen a male actor for the role of Gwen Araujo. I just don’t get the point of it – why not have a girl play her? Gwen did not experience 20 years of testosterone, and she never lived as a man at all. Maybe as a boy, but even that – very briefly. Shoot, she didn’t get to live long at all, much less as either gender.
Not only does it make me sad but it frustrates me, too. I just think, after all she went through, we might have given her that. But of course, not everyone agrees with me.
The guy they cast may do a good job, but still.
Years ago I wrote a paper about how I was tired of books about women where the heroine of the story died at the end. I think I’d just read Chopin’s The Awakening, but it could have been lots of others. When do strong women get to live? was the final line of the paper, and now, (ahem) years later, I find myself asking the same thing about transpeople in movies.

Five Questions With… Josey Vogels

Josey Vogels is the author of the nationally syndicated relationships column My Messy Bedroom and the dating advice column Dating Girl. She has published five books on sex and relationships – the most recent is entitled Bedside Manners: Sex Etiquette Made Easy. Her fourth book, The Secret Language of Girls, has been published in several languages and was made into a documentary. Her website – www.joseyvogels.com — is visited by thousands monthly and she is a popular speaking guest at universities and colleges across Canada.
josey vogels
1) I was a little amazed at the ‘revelation’ of She Comes First – considering women have been basically saying the same thing as Ian Kerner (the author of She Comes First) did, for years. Why do you think it took a guy to say it before anyone seemed to listen?
It’s funny, I felt exactly the same way. In fact, this is what I wrote in a column I did about the book: “That Kerner comes off as the Neil Armstrong of oral sex is a little insulting when you consider how many women (several of whom he refers to throughout the book) have been saying for years that intercourse alone doesn’t cut it for the ladies when it comes to orgasm. But the fact that Kerner is on a mission to turn men into enthusiastic cunning linguists like himself is a welcome one. Because, clearly, they aren’t listening to us.”
I think sadly, the fact that it was a man made the mainstream media take notice. It was truly a bizarre thing. I thought it was interesting how though also how Kerner’s language in the book was very “male” which again, might have made it more palatable for a media that likes that kind of male authoritative approach to things.
As I wrote at the time:

She Comes First may have indeed changed the focus from intercourse to oral sex but it’s still all about male performance. Kerner’s just shifted the pressure from the penis to the tongue. He even describes the tongue as the best “tool” for the job.
In fact, at times, with all the references to hoods and shafts and some rather creepy technical illustrations, She Comes First, reads more like a car manual than a guide to becoming a good lover. So while Kerner now describes himself as “happily married and able to make love successfully” (wonder what a good cunnilinguist pulls in these days?), being a “successful” lover isn’t just about having a skillful tongue — though that is, of course, welcome. It’s about knowing how to stimulate a woman’s mind, to make her feel amazing and sexy in bed and out. I’m all for improving your technique. But like a good mechanic, a good lover doesn’t just know how to operate the machinery, he knows how to make it purr.”

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Oops, They Did It Again…

More than a year ago now, SAMHSA asked a few therapists – including Reid Vanderbergh – to change the terminology of a workshop title – to a title that left off the LGBT altogether.
This year – as if to celebrate the anniversary of that fiasco – they’ve magically removed information geared toward LGBT people.
You can write Rep. Tammy Baldwin(D-Wis.), who has called for an investigation into the matter, to give her more reasons the LGBT information should be returned to the website. (Please don’t do so by coming off like a crazed loon, however.)
Received via Reid, via Smart Brief:

The federal government has removed information geared toward the LGBT population from its Substance Abuse & Mental Services Administration Web site. The move follows a letter to the government protesting the presence of that information, but the government says the information was scheduled to be removed anyway; Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., is calling for an investigation into the matter.

Ruined

There are times I wonder – if Betty and I ever did split up – if I could ever date regular guys again. I’m not sure I could take it, but I’m not sure what would be the hardest to deal with: the male privelege, or fitting myself into the ‘girlfriend’ box again, or just being with someone with only one gender.
But if I didn’t date guys I don’t know who I would date; it’s at times like this it’d be useful to be bisexual. I honestly don’t think I could ever date a crossdresser again because of the slippery slope. I wouldn’t have the first clue how to date women raised female-type women.
Ultimately it’s a damn good thing there is no break-up on our horizon, eh? I’ve been ruined for dating. I used to joke about being Betty-sexual but apparently that was one truth initially said in jest.

Memoirs

I’m reading Joan Didion’s remarkable The Year of Magical Thinking right now, because the book got such outstanding reviews (and a National Book Award), but also because I’m writing a memoir-ish book that will also go into more abstract issues – like gender, & marriage, & things such as that. I want to see how Didion did it; I like to learn from the best. (Actually, the best writing advice I ever got was to read good books.)
I was wondering if anyone else has recommendations for other good memoirs I might check out – obviously, ones on the serious side.