Angry Black-White Girl

NEW BLOG

2010-12-15T21:13:00.000-08:00

Time for a change.
http://decolonizeeverything.blogspot.com/

this too.

2010-12-12T01:19:00.000-08:00

nehru jackets

more from heems

2010-12-12T01:15:00.000-08:00

excerpt from “Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself” | nehru jackets

nehru jackets

2010-12-12T00:33:00.000-08:00

nehru jackets
this is my new favorite blog. i have become obsessed with Das Racist.

More Colbert

2009-11-06T01:01:00.000-08:00

Whackness.

Privatizing Death Row?

2009-11-06T00:57:00.000-08:00

This is terrifying.

Colbert Report>>The Word: The Green Mile
on prison privatization.

Pro-equality clergy greatly outnumber the anti-gay variety in Washington, D.C.

2009-10-30T18:38:00.000-07:00

Pam's House Blend:: Pro-equality clergy greatly outnumber the anti-gay variety in Washington, D.C.

Hat tip to Ahimsa.

Top 10 Reasons Not To Wear A Culturally Appropriating Halloween Costume - Please Repost

2009-10-21T10:37:00.001-07:00

reposted from Facebook (Thanks, Wolfie)

Top 10 Reasons Not To Wear A Culturally Appropriating Halloween Costume

10. That shit is tired and you’re more creative than that. You can be anything.

9. You don’t wanna be “that guy” at the party.

8. You won’t be endorsing a history of domination, colonization, and genocide through your flippant, cartoonish, or stereotypical portrayal of cultures other than your own.

7. People of color won’t have their night ruined by your costume.

6. No one will have their night ruined by your costume, (well… unless you’re like me in fourth grade and your home made zombie make-up gets all over some girls princess dress. Sorry Christy Godwin!)

5. People who you’ve never met won’t take one look at you and decide to avoid the ignorant person who would wear THAT.

4. Your odds of getting laid will be dramatically increased because you won’t have offended half of the people at the party.

3. You aren’t an unfeeling jerk who likes to insult and hurt people.

2. You won’t be asked to leave Fruitcake’s All Homo’s Eve party because you are a white person dressed in black face or as a “native,” a Nazi*, Indian, gypsy, geisha, sheik, or hula dancer, etc.

1. You are an awesome, deep, conscientious individual who understands the importance of respecting the life, experiences, culture and ethnicity of people different from yourself.

*Yeah, I know it’s not technically “appropriating” but please, not okay.

Here is how wikipedia defines cultural appropriation: Cultural Appropriation is the adoption of some specific elements of one culture by a different cultural group. It denotes acculturation or assimilation, but often connotes a negative view towards acculturation from a minority culture by a dominant culture. It can include the introduction of forms of dress or personal adornment, music and art, religion, language, or social behavior. These elements, once removed from their indigenous cultural contexts, may take on meanings that are significantly divergent from, or merely less nuanced than, those they originally held.

Obviously, there are many ways to create an offensive costume that may not be pointed out above or fall into the cultural appropriating category. If you’re wondering whether your costume will offend someone than it probably will. If you’re still thinking about wearing it, ask your more thoughtful friends to weigh in on it. I realize this is a multi-faceted topic deserving more attention than once a year on Halloween, but this is as good a time as any to bring it up.
I believe it’s healthy for people to want to transform themselves, and Halloween encourages that. It gives people a sense of possibility. It’s a creative outlet in a culture of full rules about who can make legitimate “art.” It’s the extra nudge one may need to let go and be someone else. Even if it’s just for a laugh. It’s an opportunity that I wouldn’t want to deny anyone. What I do want is a Halloween where one persons liberating costume is not another persons insult to their life, experiences, culture, or race.

Please give it some thought and don’t be “that guy” on Halloween.

Thanks,

Freddie Fagula

This shit is nuts.

2009-10-12T00:23:00.000-07:00

YouTube - Sarah Kruzan: Sentenced to Life Without Parole at Age 16

Hospital Forces Lesbian to Die Alone; Judge Gives Stamp of Approval | Asterisk

2009-10-07T23:44:00.000-07:00

Hospital Forces Lesbian to Die Alone; Judge Gives Stamp of Approval | Asterisk

latino=mestizo & poc does not necessarily = black � Thisway/thatway

2009-09-16T17:48:00.000-07:00

latino=mestizo & poc does not necessarily = black � Thisway/thatway

is it wrong that i’m not super pressed about skip gates getting arrested…? � Thisway/thatway

2009-09-16T17:46:00.000-07:00

is it wrong that i’m not super pressed about skip gates getting arrested…? � Thisway/thatway

If you hate on Raekwon...

2009-09-04T01:42:00.000-07:00

There's a payoff if you watch till the end, I promise.

YouTube - Drake - Best I Ever Had (Cover) - J.R.A. [Drake Series]

2009-08-29T22:42:00.000-07:00

YouTube - Drake - Best I Ever Had (Cover) - J.R.A. [Drake Series]

Bay Area Slang Top 100 (The Grinch song)

2009-08-19T23:44:00.000-07:00

YouTube - Rafael Casal - Bay Area Slang Top 100 (The Grinch song)
(Thanks, Alexa.)

More Angry Brown Humor

2009-08-17T18:47:00.000-07:00

YouTube - Hari Kondabolu- Cocoa Butter

Just cuz.

2009-08-16T01:31:00.000-07:00

YouTube - Yelle - A Cause Des Gar�ons (TEPR Remix)

2009-08-13T22:52:00.000-07:00

Arab Jews, we exist.

2009-08-10T19:32:00.000-07:00

YouTube - The Other Arabs -- Part II

Cop Shoots East Oakland Man

2009-08-04T13:04:00.000-07:00

East Bay Express | Blogs | Cop Shoots East Oakland Man

Fuck.

Rift Between Obama and (Former) Supporters in Pro-Immigration Camp Out in the Open � Feet In 2 Worlds, Immigration News

2009-08-04T12:59:00.000-07:00

News Analysis: Rift Between Obama and (Former) Supporters in Pro-Immigration Camp Out in the Open � Feet In 2 Worlds, Immigration News

: /

My Private Casbah: Storekeeper Proves Actions Speak Louder Than Words

2009-08-03T14:01:00.000-07:00

My Private Casbah: Storekeeper Proves Actions Speak Louder Than Words

hunh.

Beirut, the Provincetown of the Middle East - NYTimes.com

2009-08-02T19:23:00.000-07:00

Beirut, the Provincetown of the Middle East - NYTimes.com

Missy Elliot interviewed on Dutch MTV

2009-07-31T20:49:00.000-07:00

MTV Player

The actual interview is in English, just the intro is in Dutch.

Interviewer: "You lost a lot of weight. Why did you do that? I thought you were one of those cool chicks who didn't give a fuck."

YouTube - Rangersss Get Superr Duperr JERK.

2009-07-31T18:10:00.000-07:00

YouTube - Rangersss Get Superr Duperr JERK.

When I'm not ranting about the atrocities of racism in America, I am usually watching videos of people dancing on YouTube. (Dancing starts at 1:08.)

Missy Elliott 'Ching-A-Ling' Step Up 2: The Streets

2009-07-30T08:57:00.000-07:00

Missy Elliott 'Ching-A-Ling' Step Up 2: The Streets

Holy shit. This video is amazing.

Hip-hop interlude

2009-07-30T06:14:00.000-07:00

GMA You're a Jerk! video followed by the official music video for the song. (Pretty sweet.)

2009-07-29T06:55:00.000-07:00

"Growing up my mom told me, 'Don't talk to white people, not because they're bad people, but because they don't like you." -Roger, who randomly struck up a conversation with me yesterday in Harvard Square

Femme Shark Manifesto

2009-07-26T22:13:00.000-07:00

How can I talk about tough-as-shit femmes without mentioning the Femme Sharks as inspiration?

Femme Shark Manifesto

FEMME SHARKS DON’T EAT OUR OWN.

FEMME SHARKS LIKE TO EAT THOUGH

FEMME SHARKS RECOGNIZE THAT FEMMES COME IN ALL KINDS OF SIZES AND EACH KIND IS LUSCIOUS.

WE WORK TOWARDS LOVING OUR CURVY, FAT, SKINNY, SUPERSIZE, THICK, DISABLED, BLACK AND BROWN FINE-ASS BODIES EVERY DAY.

WE REALIZE THAT LOVING OURSELVES IN A RACIST/SEXIST/HOMO/TRANSPHOBIC/ABLIST/CLASSIST SYSTEM IS AN EVERY DAY ACT OF WAR AGAINST THAT SYSTEM.

FEMME SHARKS DON’T THINK ANOREXIA IS CUTE. WE THINK EATING A BIG-ASS MEAL IS SEXY.

WE SAY SCREW “HEIGHT WEIGHT PROPORTIONATE PLEASE” IN CRAIGSLIST WOMEN SEEKING WOMEN ADS AND IN LIFE.

WE HAVE BIG MOUTHS AND WE KNOW HOW TO USE THEM.
DON’T FUCK WITH US!

ASK US IF WE WANT TO FUCK THOUGH !

FEMME SHARKS WILL RECLAIM THE POWER AND DIGNITY OF FEMALENESS BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY WE’RE GIRLS BLOWN UP, TURNED INSIDE OUT AND REMIXED.

FEMME SHARKS ARE OVER WHITE QUEERS OBLIVIOUSNESS TO QUEER OF COLOR, TWO SPIRIT AND TRANS OF COLOR LIVES.

WE KNOW THAT WE ARE A CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE

WE’RE OVER WHITE FEMMES AND BUTCHES WHO THINK THAT FEMME ONLY COMES IN THE COLOR OF BARBIE.

WE’RE OVER BUTCHES AND BOYS AND OTHER FEMMES TELLING US WHAT WE NEED TO DO, WEAR OR BE IN ORDER TO BE “REALLY FEMME.”

FEMME SHARKS RECOGNIZE THAT FEMMES, BUTCHES, GENDERQUEER AND TRANS PEOPLE HAVE BEEN IN COMMUNITIES OF COLOR SINCE FOREVER.

THAT BEFORE COLONIZATION WE WERE SEEN AS SACRED AND WE WERE SOME OF THE FIRST FOLKS MOST VIOLENTLY ATTACKED WHEN OUR LANDS WERE INVADED AND COLONIZED.

FEMME SHARKS WON’T REST UNTIL WE RECLAIM OUR POSITIONS AS BELOVED FAMILY WITHIN OUR COMMUNITIES.

FEMME SHARKS AREN’T JUST DIME PIECES AND TROPHY WIVES. FUCK THAT!

WE MIGHT BE YOUR GIRL, BUT WE’RE OUR OWN FEMMES.

WE RECOGNIZE THAT FEMMES ARE LEADERS OF OUR COMMUNITIES.

WE HOLD IT DOWN, CALM YOUR TEARS, ORGANIZE THE RALLY, VISIT YOU IN JAIL, GET CHILDCARE HOOKED UP, LOAN YOU TWENTY DOLLARS.

FEMMES ARE WELDERS, AFTER SCHOOL TEACHERS, ABORTION CLINIC WORKERS, STRIPPERS, WRITERS, FACTORY WORKERS, MOMS, REVOLUTIONARIES DEDICATED TO TAKING THE SYSTEM THE HELL DOWN SO WE CAN BE FREE!

FEMMES ARE LEADERS IN TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS/ DEFENDING OUR QUEER AND TRANS OF COLOR COMMUNITIES.

WE USED OUR STILETTOS AS WEAPONS AT STONEWALL

WE WERE THE TRANSWOMEN WHO FOUGHT BACK AT THE COMPTON CAFETERIA

WE’RE THE GIRLS WHO STARE DOWN ASSHOLES STARING AT OUR LOVERS AND FRIENDS ON THE SUBWAY.

WE WALK EACH OTHER HOME

ACT CRAZY ON THE BUS TO GET ASSHOLES TO MOVE AWAY AND KNOW HOW TO BREAK SOMEONE’S LEGS

WE SHARE WHAT WE KNOW.

FEMME SHARKS STAND UP FOR THE NEW JERSEY FOUR AND EVERY OTHER QUEER AND TRANS PERSON OF COLOR IN THE PRISON INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX FOR DEFENDING OUR LIVES.

WE BELIEVE IN SELF-DEFENSE AND SELF-DETERMINATION.

WE BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE A RIGHT TO DEFEND OURSELVES AND OUR COMMUNITIES AGAINST ANY KIND OF ATTACK-FROM ASSHOLES ON THE STREET TO RACIST WHITE CLUB OWNERS WHO WANT THREE PIECES OF ID TO FOLKS WHO INSIST THAT WE’RE STRAIGHT, TO PEOPLE WHO TAKE OUR LAND.

WE REMEMBER OUR DEAD- SAKIA GUNN, GWEN ARAUJO, AND MANY OTHER QUEER AND TRANS POC WHO DIED BECAUSE OF RACIST, HOMO/TRANSPHOBIC VIOLENCE. NOT AS A POLITICAL STATEMENT BUT AS WOMEN WE LOVED IN REAL LIFE WOMEN WHO COULD’VE BEEN US OR OUR LOVES.

WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE LEFT OUT OF “THE STRUGGLE” NOT THIS TIME

WE’RE NOT JUST A PRETTY FACE.

FEMMES GODDAMN WELL KNOW HOW TO STRAP IT ON, CHANGE THE OIL IN THE CAR AND PUT UP SHELVES.

WE CAN DO ANY GODDAMN THING WE WANT!

THAT’S WHY WE’RE FEMME SHARKS!

FEMME IS NOT THE SAME THING AS BEING OUR MOMS

FEMMES ARE BEAUTIFUL AND STRONG WHEN WE BOTTOM AND WE’RE HOT AS HELL WHEN WE TOP OUR BOTTOMING AND TOPPING ARE BOTH GIFTS TO BE MET WITH RESPECT.

WHEN WE TAKE OUR LOVERS FIST ALL THE WAY INSIDE; ASK FOR WHAT WE WANT; BE THE BEST DIRTY GIRL; OR MAKE OUR LOVERS FLIP; WE’RE A FUCKING MIRACLE.

IN THE WORDS OF JILL SCOTT, “YOU GOTTA DO RIGHT BY ME. IT’S MANDATORY, BABY.”

FEMME SHARKS SHOP AT ROSS, FOXY LADY, VALUE VILLAGE, THE H&M $5 RACK, TORRID AND THE DOLLAR STORE , AND KNOW HOW TO SHOPLIFT

WE CONCOCT BRILLIANT STRATEGIES TO LOOK FINE ON TEN DOLLARS OR LESS.

*WE’RE ONLY “INVISIBLE” IF YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO LOOK FOR US.

WE TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER RECOGNIZE THAT FEMMES ARE EACH OTHERS’ WEALTH

HOS BEFORE BROS, ALWAYS!

*FEMME SOLIDARITY AND LOVE FOR EACH OTHER IS A REVOLUTIONARY FORCE

WE BELIEVE IN GIRLS LOVING GIRLS, RESPECTING EACH OTHER’S BRILLIANCE

NOT FIGHTING OVER BOIS OR BUTCHES

NOT TRYING TO BE THE ALPHA FEMME

WE’RE ANTI-DRAMA

BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF COMMUNITIES THAT HEAL HURT, APOLOGIZE, LISTEN TO EACH OTHER AND MAKE THINGS RIGHT.

WE BELIEVE IN BUILDING OUR QTPOC COMMUNITIES
STRONG FEMME SHARKS WERE THERE WHEN FRIDA KAHLO HOOKED UP WITH HER GIRLFRIENDS

WHEN JOAN NESTLE, CHRYSTOS, JEWELLE GOMEZ, ALEXIS DE VEUX, SYLVIA RIVERA, DOROTHY ALLISON, MINNIE BRUCE PRATT AND AMBER HOLLIBAUGH MADE QUEER FEMME HISTORY; WHEN ZAPATISTA WOMEN HOOKED UP; WHEN AFRICAN QUEERS RESIST EVERY DAY; WHEN OUR GRANDMAS AND QUEER AUNTIES SNUCK OUT AT NIGHT DIDN’T GET MARRIED TIL LATE- OR AT ALL HAS A BEST GIRLFRIEND AND STOOD UP FOR HER FEMME SHARKS WERE THERE

FEMME SHARKS ARE IN THE BODIES OF COUNTLESS SEX WORKERS, NEIGHBORS AND LADIES WAITING FOR THE BUS AND IN THE LINEUP AT CENTURY 21.

AT RIIS BEACH, FUNKASIA, LOVERGIRL NYC, BUTTA, MANGO, MANHATTAN’S, DESILICIOUS.

FEMME SHARKS LIVE ON THE REZ, IN CAPETOWN, NEWARK, OAKLAND!!!!!, THE SOUTH SIDE, NEW ORLEANS, COLOMBO, JUAREZ AND BROOKLYN SUBURBIA, THE FARM, AND LITTLE SMALL TOWNS.

WE’RE IN FOSTER CARE, THE PSYCH WARD, JUVIE, AND ABOUT TO BE EVICTED.

WE ARE SURVIVORS WHO ARE MORE THAN WHAT WE SURVIVED.

WE ARE FIGURING OUT HOW TO HEAL AND HOW TO MAKE IT SO THAT NO ONE WILL HAVE TO SURVIVE SEXUAL VIOLENCE EVER AGAIN.

WE BELIEVE IN THE TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF THE SYSTEM AS WE KNOW IT TO MAKE SOMETHING MUCH MO BETTA AND WE BELIEVE IN MAKING OUR OWN WAYS TO FIGHT AND RESIST ON THE DAILY.

A FEMME SHARK IS ANY GIRL WHO IS TOUGH, HUNGRY, FIGHTS FOR HERSELF AND HER FAM AND IS WORKING ON BECOMING THE KIND OF GIRL WHO FINDS GOD IN HERSELF AND LOVES HER FIERCELY

WE’RE YOUR BEST GIRLFRIEND AND YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE

LOVE AND RAGE
THE FEMME SHARKS

*****
FEMME SHARKS ARE ON PATROL!
JOIN THE MOVEMENT!
SHARK SHARK IT UP!
FOR MORE INFORMATION, EMAIL: THEFEMMESHARKS@GMAIL.COM

Written by Founding Femme Shark Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

The Femme Sharks are an idea that was dreamed up by SBBFFF (Slutty Brown Best Femme Friends Forever) Zuleikha Mahmood and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha in March of 2008, Oakland, CA.

This work is shared under a Creative Commons license- feel free to share if you give credit where cred is due.

Reclaiming Femininity

2009-07-26T18:34:00.000-07:00

Transition to femme.

I had never seen those three words together in that order until a few days ago, but when I did they seemed to make so much sense.

Usually when I come across the word "transition" in a queer context, it is referring to changing one's gender from male to female (MTF,) female to male (FTM) or either male or female to something else entirely. I'd never seen anyone use the word transition to refer to changing from one way of being a woman in the world to another, unless referring to the process of starting hormones or having sex reassignment surgery. However, when I came across this phrase at SublimeFemme's blog, she was referring to women transitioning from butch (presenting as masculine) to femme (presenting as feminine.)

I've been a pretty masculine woman for a pretty long time. Starting in early in high school I adopted an androgynous appearance which cultivated for next several years. If you asked me at the time why I presented myself (or hid myself?) in such a way, I would probably tell you it felt like a genuine form of self-expression (if I didn't first tell you to fuck off.) However, looking back, it's not hard to identify a number of other factors which may have contributed to my androgyny.

The first was protection. I was approaching an age where I was ready to explore the world (get out of the suburbs) on my own, but I received a lot of messages about how unsafe that was, "especially for a woman." I thought that if I could disguise my feminine attributes, I was more likely to be able to travel through the world unmolested, a freedom I valued deeply. In order to convince myself that the androgynous-to-masculine gendered ways I moved through the world kept me safe, I had to construct feminine women as "other," as an inferior other who were more susceptible to attack because they wore tight clingy clothes and impractical shoes, difficult to run and fight in. Running and fighting were big on my priority list back then. [TRIGGER WARNING. Skip to next paragraph?] This was in part because I was scarred by the news when one of the students at my school was raped by two other students one night while she was passed out. Though I never consciously blamed the victim, for my own sake, I had to believe I could protect myself from what happened to her, though surely it could have happened to anyone. By constructing her as the feminine "other," I could convince myself that I was better, safer, tougher, and protected from the male gaze (and thus sexual violence) by layers of baggy clothing.

And of course, I didn't have to look far to find affirmation that a masculine way of moving through the world was better than a feminine way, it's confirmed by dominant American culture at every turn. True, women are often taught that our value lies in our feminine wiles and our ability to gain and hold the sexual attention of men (who we learn, are only attracted to feminine women, and skinny, hairless ones at that,) but those weren't really my priorities at the time.

Back in middle school, I had tried very hard to perform femininity the way I thought I was supposed to in order to be valued as a human being and an object of desire. (Do women get to be human if undesirable?) However, I never felt like I succeeded. I never got to feel like I was doing femininity above a B- level (cause I was too fat, too ugly, too ethnic, not sexy/confident enough) even though as a woman, femininity was "supposed" to come naturally. Eventually, I stopped trying.

Ironically, the most militant phase of my feminism may have driven the biggest wedge between myself and other women. Though on a theoretical level, solidarity between women was my biggest, most core belief, my continuing to shun feminine trappings such as makeup, form-fitting clothes and now shaving, alienated me from other women. I imagined that they (and everyone else) was judging me for rebelling against the expectations of my gender, and again had to convince myself that I was better, more evolved, in order to feel OK about my failure to meet these expectations. I wanted to be around other women that didn't make me feel inadequate by performing femininity better than me (which were few and far between,) and lived and isolated existence on the ideological high ground.

I'm not a belligerent 17 year old anarcha-feminist anymore. (Hallelujah.) I read Whipping Girl. I realized I grew up in a culture that reviles femininity, and came to understand the root and fuckedup-edness of my masculinism (as Julia Serano calls the prizing or masculinity over femininity.) Over time I have gradually become more comfortable expressing my femininity. (There are a million different ways to be feminine, the following examples are not intended to be an exhaustive list.) About 2 years ago, I started shaving my legs again, and wearing dresses. This was serious event in my life because it marked a new level/era of comfort with my body. I hated my legs for the longest time, (one of the other reasons I wore exclusively baggy clothes for years) so for my legs to be seeing daylight was a BFD. I guess, for me, I had to learn to love, or at least like my body before I could embrace femininity, so the two are closely linked in my mind, having happened around the same time. (I feel guilty for acknowledging publicly that I love my body. How fucked up is that?)

The last few years, I have been generally feeling more feminine in summer and more masculine in winter, but this past winter I bought some flattering, form-fitting winter clothes, including (:drum roll, please:) three pairs of skinny jeans. One of the brand names is Behold, and every time I look at the label, I think, "As in behold how good my ass looks in these jeans!" (Ok, so maybe I don't feel that guilty. I think it is a revolutionary act for any woman to learn to love her body, one which deserves to be celebrated.)

Only a few months ago, I started painting my nails, something I hadn't done since I was like 13. (I'm 22 now.) I also bought my first pair of high heels. It took me about 2 weeks to learn to walk in them well. (The heels are only about 2 inches.) It took me another 2 weeks or so to learn how to dance in them. Since then I've been collecting bigger and bigger ones. The higher the heel, the closer to God, I say. (Can you sense a shift here?)

I think the transition has been happening slowly enough not to freak my friends out too bad. They are mostly all pretty supportive. One of my best friends patiently shone her phone light on my feet as I struggled to buckle my stilettos while sitting on the curb outside the club on my birthday, so I could make an appropriately grand entrance, even though we were already running late. (Thanks, boo.) My immediate family has probably been the most freaked out by it. I only see them a few times a year, so the transition has seemed more sudden to them. But they're handling it well, despite their occasional "Who are you?" moments. My little sister is tutoring me in femininity. This week's lesson in accessorizing. I need a lot of help. Apparently, you are not supposed to wear all of your jewelry at once?

Anyway, femininity feels good (and fun) now that I'm doing it on my own terms, rather than out of some sense of how I am "supposed" to be. High femme is something I can add to my toolbox rather than something that feels off-limits because I "fell short" when attempting femininity some time ago, or because my inherent sense of who I am doesn't include it. A friend once referred to my femininity as drag, and I'm still not sure how I feel about it. On one hand, it's hard for me to take my femininity seriously (although I expect other people to.) It still feels like playing dress up. On the other hand, referring to it as "drag" stirs up past feelings of being an adequate woman by being insufficiently or inauthentically feminine. But all gender is performance, conscious or not, so does whether it's drag really matter?

I'm still not a full-time femme, but what I used to consider my high femme "alter ego" seems to be becoming less and less "alter" all the time.

And I haven't lost my preoccupation with toughness, with the importance of being able to hold one's own and throw down if necessary. I just finally realized I didn't have to be butch to be tough. I knew it all along, on a theoretical level, but I didn't have models of what tough femininity looked like until more recently. I think a big part of what facilitated my transition was living in a working class Black and Chicano neighborhood, where models of femininity were markedly different from the predominantly white middle-class suburb I grew up in. The white ideals of femininity I grew up with were waif-like and passive. Living on Denver's East Side, for the first time I remember seeing very feminine women and thinking, "She could probably beat the shit out of me." It was a kind of femininity I could relate to and appreciate.

I'm not trying to say that all white women are passive and malnourished, or that working class women of color are aggressive or animalistic. I just know that moving away from white standards of femininity allowed me to feel like I femininity didn't mean having to be skinny or quiet or passive, but that I could be femme, and tough, and proud.

___
I hope you find something here to respond in the comments about. Feel free to ask any clarifying questions. For some reason I have a hard time not getting theoretical when I talk about gender and I hate for that to alienate anybody, because I think the concepts are important.

So true.

2009-07-24T07:36:00.001-07:00

Jay Smooth, my man, recently got props over at ColorLines.

Why "Bruno" is bad for the gays | Salon Arts & Entertainment

2009-07-24T07:22:00.000-07:00

Why "Bruno" is bad for the gays | Salon Arts & Entertainment

This person uses "gay-face," like "black-face." Can't decide if it's funny or just stupid. Gay face sounds like it should mean something much cooler. (Suggestions?)

Also, I gotta ask. Were your expectation for this movie really that high? And if so, why? Do you even remember Borat? My dad tried to make the same argument, that Baron Cohen's intent behind the first movie was political. But there was nothing political about that never-ending nude wrestling scene, let's be real. He was after money, laughs and the power to make us squirm in our chairs. It's a legit enough thing to do, even though I don't agree with all the ways he does it, but let's not make him out to be some hero of the people.

High (femme) definition

2009-07-24T06:40:00.000-07:00

High Femme— Lesbian or queer gender marked marked by a highly stylized and aestheticized form of femme gender expression or identity. Uses exaggeration, artifice, and/or theatricality to denaturalize femininity. When combined with parody or irony, the effect achieved is akin to drag: femininity in quotes. No particular style of dress or external signifiers; may or may or may not wear dresses, heels, and/or makeup. May or may not be a “bottom” or a “top” in a sexual situation; may or may not partner with butches, studs, or stone butches. No particular personality traits. May be passive and demure or aggressive, independent, strong, etc. Not equivalent to a lipstick lesbian or stone femme. *

"For all of these reasons, I call myself a high femme. Nowdays, when butch is still the gold standard, genderqueer is cool, and bois are hot, I think it’s important for high femme to be recognized as a valid gender identity and expression that sparkles brightly in this queer gender galaxy we call home."

Source: http://sublimefemme.wordpress.com/

I'm hella feelin' this blog right now. The only remark I will make on the above quote is that the problem is not that genderqueer is cool and bois are hot, but that certain gender expressions are sometimes prized OVER others in queer communities. (Julia Serano coins this kind of prizing "subverism," the prizing of "subversive genders" over genders that are seen as normative or upholding the gender binary, in her book "Whipping Girl." Highly recommended.

OMG! I want it!

2009-07-24T03:02:00.000-07:00

"Hard femme" mug.

I've been on a serious consumerist bent lately. This kind of sums it up... (plus some.)

Never mind the haters.

2009-07-24T02:18:00.001-07:00

How could I forget? You need to be thick-skinned to talk about race, especially on the internet, where it's hard to hold folks accountable for the things they say. I guess it shows that I been out of the blogging game for a while, cuz I just read the comments at SWPD on my post "An Episode in White Privilege," and now I am furious. Fortunately, I am having the presence of mind to take a step back instead of getting into a flame war. (Yah, I thought about it.) I'll just say that it amazes me how people have taken time and energy away from their lives to construct elaborate justifications for why what this woman did MIGHT not have been fucked up. Sigh.

Anyway, let's not bury the lead here. I JUST GOT BACK FROM TWO WEEKS IN AFRICA, just in time for the SWPD post on white people traveling to exotic locations. (Haven't read it yet, but I'm sure I'll have thoughts on it when I do.) I'm still all jet-lagged and shit, but in the meantime, here are just a few pics.

And since I was looking for and excuse to post this any way: Here's a good anthem for "never minding the haters."

Hide No More: Dutch Ad Campaign Targets Discrimination Against Hijabis � Muslimah Media Watch

2009-07-08T17:22:00.000-07:00

Hide No More: Dutch Ad Campaign Targets Discrimination Against Hijabis � Muslimah Media Watch

The Onion: US-Mexico Border Wall

2009-07-08T17:20:00.000-07:00

Mexico Builds Border Wall To Keep Out US Assholes

We have a winner.

2009-07-08T00:11:00.000-07:00

Steven Colbert: "Let me ask you something, is there a leader of the gay rights movement? ... Is there one guy...or girl?"
Jim Fouratt: "In truth, we are such a diverse community... that we have leaders all over this country, that stand up in individual communties and say I am gay, I am lesbian, and I am out. And even today, that is a very brave and leadership position. So look in your hometown, today, and find that person that you were looking some place else for."
Finally, a white dude and "leader in the gay rights movements" says something that a.) is true, and b.) makes me feel good. Thanks, guy. (If he'd have said Dan Savage or Joe Solomnese, I'd have shit my pants.) Watch the rest of the interview at the end of this episode.

The Word: Stonewalling

2009-07-07T23:51:00.001-07:00

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

The Word - Stonewalling

www.colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

Jeff Goldblum

An episode in white privilege

2009-07-05T21:46:00.000-07:00

Lately, few events in my life have merited an internet ranting sesh. However, today provided an exception.

I was waiting for a commuter rail to take me from Boston back to suburbs, with a number of drunken Red Sox fans. My people. One girl, who I read as white and about my age, had taken a broom from the janitor's closet and was using it to sweep the platform. Her friends and family appeared to be egging her on as she got up in waiting passengers' space to sweep by our feet. Eventually the janitor came to collect his broom, but she refused to give it back. In a turn of events that struck me as bizarre, two separate groups of people, one which appeared to be related to her and one that didn't, came to her defense, claiming that the broom was hers, when they knew otherwise. "She's doing a good job," they said," why don't you just let her sweep?"

That's where things started to get ugly. "I work for my money," she said, still sweeping. Then, loud enough for him to hear, "I take care of my kids", thus implying that he, a working class man of color, did not take care of his kids. In front of a platform of spectators she had stolen his supplies, refused to give them back and humiliated him. I can't explain how I know that this situation would not have been allowed to carry on for so long if she had not been white and he had not been a man of color, but I know that is why he could not simply take the broom back from her, but stood outside her circle of friends of family and patiently gestured that he needed his broom back. When his polite attempts failed, he went upstairs to get his boss, a white man, who came down and said little more than, "Jose needs his broom back," and then gently took it out of her hands, meeting little resistance from her or the crowd that had come to her defense.

On the train home, she started ranting about how that job should belong to an "American" anyway (as if she could have known whether he was a citizen or not,) and that the janitor should be deported. At this point, I moved to another car in the interest of her safety.

Ecstasy Takes On a New Identity: Thizz

2009-07-05T21:07:00.000-07:00

From the YouTube comments:

"'we're not seeing hugs from a majority of the people who are using ecstacy here in oakland.'

thats cuz its fuckin oakland nigga get used to it hahaha"

YouTube - Ecstasy Takes On A New Identity: "Thizz"

2009-06-14T20:04:00.000-07:00

YouTube - Ecstasy Takes On A New Identity: "Thizz":

This video is ridiculous for so many reasons.
Read the comments.

The diffence between these videos is like day n nite.

2009-06-11T10:51:00.000-07:00

Original

Remix

In conclusion, hot girls ruin everything.

Prolly made more sense on Wolfie's blog, but still, I heart it.

2009-05-30T22:50:00.000-07:00

Butch-Femme.Com -- TERMS

2009-05-20T18:55:00.000-07:00

Butch-Femme.Com -- TERMS:
"(As always, our language has it's limits...so mileage may vary!)"

Urban Dictionary: hard femme

2009-05-20T11:16:00.000-07:00

Urban Dictionary: hard femme

1.	hard femme
	Not to be mistaken with the typical femme, the "hard femme" describes herself as "queer", is political, looks more feminine than masculine, and if prompted, can kick some serious ass. She doesn't need to "wear the pants" in a relationship- the hard femme rules with a dress. She not only despises the gender binary, she works to dismantle it. Misogynist Butch: "There she is! It's that femme I told you about that tried to wear one with me!" (Not necessarily misogynist) Butch #2: You should've known better. That girl's got "hard femme" written all over her.

texts from last night

2009-05-19T22:02:00.000-07:00

texts from last night:
"(914): im gay
(203): i know
(914): yea but for you."

Asher Roth and the Racial Crossroads

2009-05-19T16:06:00.000-07:00

Asher Roth and the Racial Crossroads

I don't give a shit about Asher Roth, but I do love Jay Smooth's use of the phrase "most Black people-lovingest dude on campus."

Also, did he just say post-hip hop??? I don't even want to think about that.

Ode to a White Rapper - Page 2 - The Daily Beast

2009-05-19T15:31:00.000-07:00

Ode to a White Rapper

"They feel so inoculated from racism—and feel so little of the white guilt that would shame them away from even toying with such tropes—that they feel comfortable using this word."

texts from last night

2009-05-12T23:33:00.000-07:00

My new favorite website: texts from last night

"(617): M and I are hungry and we are making your pizza in the fridge. But you're having sex and we're not so we dont feel bad."

That's my area code!

Other faves:

(678): why did i wake up with a kid named Raphael in my bed this morning?
(770): I dont know but you did call last night to tell me you found the last ninja turtle

(360): Let's get naked and see who's stronger.

(202): He's so far in the closet he's in Narnia

(434): why are there goldfish crackers all over my bed?
(540): you decided you wanted to name them & keep them as pets.

(410): I'm dying. Please wear something slutty to my funeral.

Yah, Baltimore!

Good Stuff.

2009-05-11T23:08:00.001-07:00

In defense of ego

2009-05-11T01:47:00.000-07:00

I love Kanye's ego, (weighted with his ability not to take himself TOO seriously, as evidenced by his appearance in his skit.) Of course, it's way over the top and obnoxious sometimes, but I choose to believe it to be over the top in a way that is inspiring, the way that hearing Muhammad Ali say "I am the greatest" inspired my father's generation. I believe a little ego can go a long way (in a positive direction,) depending on how you use it and how seriously you take yourself. I've definitely been able to cultivate my self-confidence in the proximity of friends who have (or at least show) no doubt as to how awesome they are. I think the problem lies not in one's love of themselves, but in propping themselves up by putting others down.

"Thugs, Feminists and Boom Bap": Asher Roth and Why Rappers Need "Nappy Headed Ho's"

2009-05-04T01:25:00.000-07:00

Model Minority "Thugs, Feminists and Boom Bap": Asher Roth and Why Rappers Need "Nappy Headed Ho's"

Hat tip to Lily.

Beyond Beats and Rhymes

2009-05-04T00:23:00.000-07:00

I have been told to/meaning to see this film for a long time. Hat tip to Lily for finally getting me to watch it.

Beyond Beats and Rhymes

"Sparking dialogue on hip-hop and its declarations on gender, HIP-HOP: Beyond Beats and Rhymes provides thoughtful insight from intelligent, divergent voices including rap artists, industry executives, rap fans and social critics from inside and outside the hip-hop generation. The film includes interviews with famous rappers such as Mos Def, Fat Joe, Chuck D and Jadakiss and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons; along with commentary from Michael Eric Dyson, Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Kevin Powell and Sarah Jones and interviews with young women at Spelman College, a historically black school and one of the nation’s leading liberal arts institutions."

I'm about halfway through now. So far Michael Eric Dyson: 1. Russell Simmons: 0. And his quote at 25:45 is a great example of what Jay Smooth is talking about here.

Overall, I really enjoyed the film. I wish they had spoken to more women, and not accused them of participating in their own oppression. Also, fun fact: though one of the interviewees in the film blames BET for creating a monolithic and problematic image of Black masculinity in hip-hop, BET originally wanted nothing to do with hip-hop. Originally, BET was all about R&B, and wanted to peddle "respectable music" to the Black middle class. Only after "Yo, MTV Raps," the first mainstream hip-hop video show, was on the air for a year, and did phenomenally, did BET realize how much money they were missing out on, and started playing rap videos. We all know how the story goes from there.

More of my responses to the film soon. What are yours?

Featured blog: Saving Sri Lanka

2009-05-03T21:46:00.000-07:00

Saving Sri Lanka

This blog provides some really helpful primer-type information on the situation/civil war in Sri Lanka. Learn yourself something. Hat tip to Leah Lakshmi.

On Marriage

2009-05-02T23:13:00.000-07:00

queerradical.com � I Love Weddings and Find Couples Hot; but Damn Do I Hate the State!

This week's all gold, folks!

I'm queer, and I like dudes. Deal with it.

2009-05-02T04:06:00.000-07:00

I'm really tired of bi-phobia.

For those of you that don't know, bisexuals take a lot of shit, from both gays and straights. People are often convinced that we're either really gay, but unwilling to admit it/let go of straight privilege, or really straight, and if we're women, that we only pretend to be into other women because guys get off on it. Clearly, we are unable to determine our own identities/attractions and need someone else to decide for us. Cleary, we are just confused and this is just a phase, because the idea of being attracted to more than one gender is just too hard for some people to understand. Whereas in some cultures what you do (sexually) is not seen as a definitive marker of who you are, in dominant US culture someone who sleeps with "the opposite" sex/gender is straight, someone who sleeps with the same sex/gender is gay and someone who does both is either gay or straight depending on who they are sleeping with at any given time because as a culture we are married to our binaries (gay/straight, black/white, man/woman.)

When I first came out to my mom, I came out as bi. She vascillates back and forth now between thinking I'm all-gay and just not ready to admit it and thinking/hoping I am actually just into men, which is confusing and disappointing all at the same time. Coming out as bi was my first experience of coming out as queer, and I guess technically my only one. However, because I used the more general term "queer," people may have assumed I meant "lesbian" and was just trying to be post-modern about it. I often refrain from talking specifically about who my partners have been and the range of who I am attracted to because queer community is crucial to me and being openly bi is something that seemed to threaten that. A lot of queers (let's be real) don't see bisexuals as "real" queers. Especially, being in college, there is a lot of wariness towards those who are expected to "straighten out" after graduation. I think I realized tonight, after being a passive part in one too many conversations about how disappointing it is when known homos take to making out with people who are not of their gender, that I actually feel kind of oppressed by not being able to talk about who I am into because I am worried about being judged by other queers. (OMG, is she going there? Is she really about to claim some "reverse-homophobia" type shit?) Sigh.

I don't know. I'm not going to say that I feel oppressed by society at large for being attracted to men (although when I'm looking butch/boyish I always wonder if checking guys out is gonna get my ass kicked.) I am going to say that I feel there is a lot of hostility toward bisexuals in queer (and straight) communities and take a stand against it and in solidarity. If we're going to pride ourselves on open-mindedness, acceptance and "sex-positivity," we're lagging badly in practicing what we preach. Bisexuals: We're here, and we're queer too! Deal with it.

P.S. The one legit qualm I have with the term bisexual for myself is that I am attracted to transfolks as well as non-trans men and women, and "bi" implies only two genders. But I'm feeling more like I want to reclaim the term, as a way to challenge my own biphobia and also because I don't think "I'm bisexual," has to mean "I only believe there are two genders" or "I'm only into people who aren't trans." Maybe it never did.

Femme Shark and INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence contingent in Oakland immigrant rights march

2009-05-02T02:36:00.000-07:00

"Let's be queer/trans, brown, fierce, angry, loving, remembering our dead and those lost through border violence and fierce about our dignity and right to exit." -Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarsinha

Happy May Day.

Good stuff.

2009-04-28T22:16:00.000-07:00

I guess it's sex week (or day) at Angry Black-White Blog. By which I mean the week where I refer you to QueerRadical.

queerradical.com � Wanna Talk Dirty? Turning Obligatory Questions Into Hot Slutty Talk

BDSM, Fetishism & Fat @ QueerRadical

2009-04-28T20:15:00.000-07:00

queerradical.com � Spanking a Fat-Ally Chub-Chaser:
"Fantasy and desire are not always compatible with solidarity. You prove that well. Now that that’s cleared up, let me try to answer your question."

You just broke my WTF-o-meter,

2009-04-27T00:47:00.000-07:00

BecksClay1.jpg (image)

I still love CopyRanter.

Lil Wayne says "Use a condom."

2009-04-26T14:12:00.000-07:00

"Safe sex is great sex,
better wear a latex,
cause you don't want that late text,
that 'I think I'm late' text."

This is the clever-est rhyme I have heard in a while, (it's way better is you actually listen to it,) from a remix of Lil Wayne's Lollipop. Way better than "I pack heat like an oven door," (looking at you Jay-Z.) What's the cleverest rhyme you heard lately? Holla back in the comments.

The Friend of My Friend is... (On Transphobia)

2009-04-23T13:56:00.000-07:00

Boiling Point Blog: Toon: The Friend of My Friend is... (On Transphobia)

Kelly Costello - Queer Radical Superstar

2009-04-18T23:17:00.000-07:00

queerradical.com � Kelly Costello - Queer Radical Superstar

Coupé-Décalé- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2009-04-16T23:58:00.000-07:00

Coupé-Décalé- Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
"While Coupé-Décalé is known as Cote d'Ivoire's definitive pop music, it actually began in Paris, created by a group of Ivorian DJs at the Atlantis, an African nightclub in northeast Paris. These DJs, known as the 'Jet Set' became popular for their flamboyant style, often showing up at the club with large amounts of cash which they would hand out to audiences on the dance floor. Their aesthetic defined the early sounds of Coupé Décalé, apparent in the genre's name. In Nouchi (Ivorian slang) Couper means to cheat and decaler means to run away, so Coupé-Décalé basically means to cheat somebody and run away. The 'somebody' cheated is generally interpreted to mean France or the West/Europe, finding parallels to the idea of 'The Man' in American culture. Especially in the beginning, the songs often celebrated those who had used guile to 'make it' abroad."

A Letter to Young Queers After the Death of Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover

2009-04-13T23:59:00.000-07:00

queerradical.com � A Letter to Young Queers After the Death of Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover

Amazon censoring queer lit?!?

2009-04-12T19:31:00.000-07:00

Minal Hajratwala � Blog Archive � Amazon and Invisibility

Cuties in the News

2009-04-08T00:51:00.000-07:00

reappropriate � Blog Archive � Kal Penn Joins Obama Administration

2009-04-01T17:40:00.000-07:00

"At the heart of the issue was the age old African-American question: Shall we fight for the nation or build our own? Shall we save America ourselves? [Or let the motherfucker burn?]"

-Jeff Chang, Can't Stop, Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation

Featured Blog

2009-03-29T22:29:00.000-07:00

QueerRadical.com

MRR

2009-03-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

I was recently interviewed for the upcoming issue of Maximum Rock'n'Roll. It's kind of a big deal.

I wonder how late I am to FMyLife.com.

2009-03-19T01:05:00.000-07:00

"Today, I was leaving to go over to a friend's and my parents suddenly ask if I'm gay. I reply that no, I'm bisexual. My mom then asks if I've ever made out with someone of the same sex and I say yes. She turns to my dad and says 'I told you so. You owe me $20'. My parents bet on my sexuality. FML"

American Boy

2009-03-18T00:23:00.000-07:00

Estelle is mind-numbingly beautiful, but not even her radiant smile can accommodate for the lack of choreography, color and action in this video. Lotta hotties though.

The devil talks some sense

2009-03-15T22:39:00.000-07:00

OMG. Reposted from Post Pomo Nuyorican Homo.
Please watch it till the very end.

Stud Muffin

2009-03-15T22:14:00.000-07:00

I never heard the term "Stud" (used for masculine women/butch dykes, more commonly in communities of color to describe queer/lesbian women of color) until I came to the West Coast. Well, I heard it used in "The Aggressives," but I never actually heard anyone use it until I got to California. I like it. There are a bunch of really awful definitions at UrbanDictionary.com. Number 5 is my (least) favorite. Jeez.

Relationship Riddles

2009-03-14T03:33:00.000-07:00

So I starting "dating" recently, which might sound weird, but I have never really done the casual dating thing before. Joking about some relationship structures that seem pretty unique to the Bay, a friend once posed the question:

"What is it called when five people are all dating each other, with two of them being primary partners to two others who are not dating but are going on dates and talking 3 out of 7 days a week, two others being fb's and one being a friend with benefits?"

I would say that in many areas of my life, probably most of them, ambiguity is something I celebrate. A lot of people would consider my race, sexual orientation and gender identity/presentation pretty ambiguous. Put when it comes to relationships (dating or otherwise) I need to know where I stand with people.

Lately, in "relationships" (lowercase 'r',) I've been in, ambiguity has reigned. So I have devised a few relationship riddles, (based on what were serious questions, until I mostly stopped caring about the answers) based on the ways I've been involved with people recently that I don't know how to name. (The ways, not the names of the people, I remember those.)

Alright, here goes:

We made out at a party.
I got your number.
Asked you on what I thought was a date, but then all your friends were there.
We had maybe 5 minutes of alone time
on BART.
Not romantic.

You said you would call,
but didn't,
but invited me to your birthday party via Facebook.
And maybe we're going to make out again,
but are we ever going to go on an actual date?
Cause I actually kind of like you.
What are we?

Feel free to contribute your own in the comments, the truer the better. Nothing creepy, please. Bonus points if you make them haikus. Oh yah, and if you are reading this post, the above scenarios are NOT about you, I promise.

If looks could kill, you would be an UZI.

2009-03-11T23:27:00.000-07:00

I would argue that SnP are so straight, it's kind of campy.

QZAP-The Queer Zine Archive Project | VivirLatino

2009-03-11T20:39:00.000-07:00

VivirLatino gives me props. Wicked sweet.

QZAP-The Queer Zine Archive Project | VivirLatino

History of Spike Lee's Shit-Stirring @ Wikipedia

2009-03-10T01:22:00.000-07:00

Here.

Zine News

2009-03-04T21:51:00.000-08:00

Apparently the author of Shotgun Seamstress wants to interview me. EXCITING!

Ablacknophobia

2009-03-03T22:32:00.001-08:00

The post I had before under this title had the wrong video embedded. The right one is here.

Ten Little Indians

2009-03-01T13:12:00.000-08:00

I am reading Ten Little Indians by Sherman Alexie. It's really good. Here are a couple passages I really liked/that really resonated with me.

"Even though my poems were just my imagination," he said, "just my dreams and my ideas about what it would've been like to grow up Indian, these white people, they thought my poems were real. They thought I was the Indian I was pretending to be. After a while, I started believing it, too. How could I not? They wanted me to be a certain kind of Indian, and when I acted like that Indian, like the Indian in my poems, those white people loved me."

She didn't like young men all that much. Or old men, either. She was no virgin. She'd slept with three boys and heavily petted a dozen more, but she'd also gone to bed with one woman and French-kissed the holy-moly out of another, and hey, maybe that was the way to go. Maybe I'm not exactly a lesbian, Corliss thought, but I might be an inexact lesbian.

TransGriot: Japan's Transgender Community

2009-02-25T22:26:00.000-08:00

TransGriot: Japan's Transgender Community

Dear White Folks-

2009-02-22T21:16:00.000-08:00

When you meet me at a party, and I introduce myself as "Nia," (because that's my name,) please stop asking, "like the Blackalicious album?"
Tell your friends. K, thanks, bye.

-Nia, aka Angry Black-White Girl

I owe you nothing,

2009-02-21T10:00:00.001-08:00

and yet I still feel the need to apologize for the posting slow-down and lack of political content lately. Spring semester is full effect and I'm trying to balance my studies with two work-study jobs, having some semblance of a social life, self-care and even dating. What all that means is that I haven't had so much time to blog, and have been too overwhelmed (and sometimes depressed) to read the news, repost and respond to things here. Apparently there has been a salmonella outbreak and a peanut recall? The school caf has started selling PB&J sandwiches that are really just J sandwiches. I think it's un-American quite frankly. Someone better remedy this soon so I can promptly return to my all-Thai-food-smothered-in-peanut-sauce diet. Yummm.

Yes, yes, y'all!

2009-02-19T22:05:00.000-08:00

Official Angry Black Woman merchandise: Home: Zazzle.com Gallery

I think I'm in love.

2009-02-17T20:49:00.000-08:00

BOOMBOX from Ely Kim on Vimeo.
53 is for you, Dee!
Hat tip to Lily!

Too Legit

2009-02-16T20:05:00.001-08:00

Judges Plead Guilty in Scheme to Jail Youths for Profit - NYTimes.com

2009-02-15T23:59:00.000-08:00

Judges Plead Guilty in Scheme to Jail Youths for Profit - NYTimes.com

Beyond Rihanna and Chris Brown @ Ill Doctrine

2009-02-15T12:59:00.000-08:00

My only question is: is the #1 cause of death among women ages 15-45 different for non-Black women?

"You can't take away from the real."

2009-02-13T01:26:00.000-08:00

post pomo nuyorican homo: Kanye on Gay Rumors

I think I just gained some more respect for Kanye. I like his music but have never been a fan of his personality. (Ok, I guess he gets points for "George Bush doesn't care about Black people... and loses points for calling mixed girls "mutts.") But this video makes me smile. (The top one.)

Damn it feels good to be a QPOC.

2009-02-11T22:55:00.000-08:00

Not that I can take credit for this... (Thanks, Lily!)

The Big Idea: J-Setting Beyond Beyonc� : VIBE.com:

"He was not alone in his adoration of the Prancing J-Settes. “The young men would be on the sideline during practice watching and learning,” recalls Anthony Hardaway, a gay activist and historian from Memphis who was a student at JSU from 1990 to ’94. “My friends would be on the side doing the dance alongside the girls.” However, their imi-tation was not seen by all as flattery. “Teachers and coaches would run the gay boys away,” Hardaway says with a laugh, “because when it was time for the games, the gay boys would be in the stands doing the routine and outperforming the girls on the field.”"

When Xenophobia Meets Homophobia at Racialicious - the intersection of race and pop culture

2009-02-09T22:05:00.000-08:00

When Xenophobia Meets Homophobia at Racialicious - the intersection of race and pop culture

I am so into the fact that his blog is called Post Pomo Nuyorican Homo.

Quoted: Jaemin Kim on Stereotypes, Asian Women, and Hate Crimes at Racialicious - the intersection of race and pop culture

2009-02-09T22:04:00.000-08:00

Quoted: Jaemin Kim on Stereotypes, Asian Women, and Hate Crimes at Racialicious - the intersection of race and pop culture

Trigger warning: contains fairly graphic references to sexual assault.

"Can't wear skinny jeans..."

2009-02-09T22:00:00.001-08:00

MIA is beautiful, it doesn't even matter what she wears, (and she has worn way uglier shit than this, do a Google search.) I actually really like it, especially the shoes.

Once in a while, I find indulging in celebrity gossip preferable to dealing in the real world. File under self-care. BTW, can you believe she performed 9 months pregnant last night? Bad-asssss.

Why, Chris Brown, why???

2009-02-09T21:27:00.000-08:00

It looks like Chris Brown assaulted his girlfriend, Rihanna

This is a sound of a disappointed fan. :Sighhhhhh:

Breaking Up With Straight People � Nouveau Butch

2009-02-09T21:03:00.000-08:00

Breaking Up With Straight People � Nouveau Butch

Slick Ridiculous

2009-02-08T19:05:00.001-08:00

Slick Rick foreshadowed and epitomized the pimpster attitude of many rappers during the late '80s and early '90s, with gold chains, his trademark eye-patch, and recordings that were no less misogynistic -- "Treat Her Like a Prostitute," for example, became an underground hit in 1988, though it was justly criticized for its view of women. His 1989 album, The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, was a certified-platinum classic, but before he could record a follow-up, Slick Rick was arrested for attempted murder. Out on bail thanks to Def Jam Records' label head Russell Simmons, Rick recorded The Ruler's Back in three weeks and released the album in 1991. After his release from prison two years later, he recorded Behind Bars for a 1994 release.

Born to Jamaican parents in South Wimbledon, London, on January 14, 1965, Ricky Walters was blinded by broken glass as an infant and took to wearing an eyepatch from an early age. He emigrated with his family to the Bronx in the late '70s and attended the La Guardia High School of Music & Art, where he became friends with future rapper Dana Dane. The two formed the Kangol Crew, and began performing in hip-hop battles around the city. At one 1984 battle in the Bronx, Rick met Doug E. Fresh, and began playing with his Get Fresh Crew (which also included Chill Will and Barry Bee). Fresh's number four R&B hit, "The Show," exploded just one year later, and MC Ricky D. -- as Rick was then known -- leaped to a solo contract two years later, after an acquaintance with Russell Simmons led to his signing to Def Jam Records, the biggest label in hip-hop at the time.

Slick Rick recorded his debut record, The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, and released the album in 1988. "Treat Her like a Prostitute" became a sensation on the streets but R&B radio stations were understandably reluctant to play the track; instead, they pushed his duet with Al B. Sure!, "If I'm Not Your Lover," and it made number two in 1989. "Children's Story" hit the R&B Top Five that same year, but early in 1990, Slick Rick was arrested after shooting at his cousin -- who allegedly harassed Rick's mother -- and leading police on a high-speed cruise. Before his sentencing, 21 songs were recorded and hastily released as The Ruler's Back. The album failed to move at all, though Rick's confession track "I Shouldn't Have Done It" scraped the R&B charts later in 1991. Featured in the rap documentary The Show (released in 1995) -- in a segment where Russell Simmons actually visits the prison -- Slick Rick was released on a work program in 1996, although his Behind Bars album appeared in 1994. Art of Storytelling was issued in 1999, an artistically successful comeback that paired him with MC's like Outkast and Snoop Dogg but did more the emphasize his talents as a solo artist.

While performing live on a Florida cruise ship in the summer of 2002, INS officials seized the rapper and brought him to a prison. Although the organization had unsuccessfully been trying to deport Rick since 1991, they finally appealed enough times to get the Board of Immigration Appeals to make a ruling in favor of sending him back to England. Although his wife, children, and parents are all American citizens, the fact that Rick was born in England is enough of a technicality to warrant his deportation. The situation was even more frustrating because of the INS's insistance on deporting the rapper, spending more than ten years trying to send him back despite the ridiculous circumstances surrounding the situation. His parents had lived in London because of their job situation, and moved him back to the United States at the age of 11. He had never bothered to change his citizenship because of the young age at which he had been relocated. Held in prison through the end of the year, famous friends like Russell Simmons and Will Smith attempted to help his cause but he was continually refused bail. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
-from Pandora Radio

I went to this Hip-Hop for Change conference yesterday, which was really inspiring and made me want to become a more conscious hip-hop consumer (like I used to be,) but I still have a soft spot for a lot of music I should be offended by. Sigh. More on the inspiring aspects of the conference later.

Integration Fail.

2009-02-07T19:44:00.000-08:00

see more pwn and owned pictures

Oakland speaks.

2009-02-07T19:17:00.000-08:00

I watched this, and then had that feeling of wanting to crawl into bed and hide because it's really depressing. But I think it's important too. (And instead of crawling into bed, I crawled over to Failblog.org for help.)

Also, the Oakland Police are now trying to institute a CURFEW for people under 18 so that they can't be on the streets after 11 PM on weekends and 10 PM on weekdays. WTF? It's amazing the shit the cops/State can get away with in poor and working class communities of color. You'd think we were not in the "free" "First World."

There is a protest at

Date:	Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Time:	5:30pm - 8:30pm
Location:	City Hall, Hearing Rm 1
Street:	1 Frank Ogawa Plaza (Btwn 14th & 15th @ Broadway)
City/Town:	Oakland, CA

if you happen to be in the area.