I've never liked a musician more without ever really listening to their music than Lady Gaga. The Advocate quoted her saying "I love the rumor I have a penis. I’m fascinated by it. In fact, it makes me love my fans even more that this rumor is in the world because 17,000 of them come to an arena every night and they don’t care if I’m a man, a woman, a hermaphrodite, gay, straight, transgendered, or transsexual. They don’t care! They are there for the music and the freedom. This has been the greatest accomplishment of my life — to get young people to throw away what society has taught them is wrong. Gay culture is at the very essence of who I am and I will fight for women and for the gay community until I die.”
So eloquently stated and articulate. I love her for her nonchalance about the speculation that she has a penis rumors and her embracing attitude. This can not be said enough- Lady Gaga is awesome. But of course there is another side to the coin. It's sad but true. The other side is that just because her fans arrive for a show doesn't mean they are all on the same terms when it comes to gay rights. In comparison to the reaction the Dixie Chicks received from their fans after saying certain things about Bush not being their president, Gaga's fans seem...less affected. But The Dixie Chicks birthed their fan base from a certain locale, a specific type of group that might be a little bit more conservative. But Lady Gaga came out swinging to a different tune from day one. So I'm not surprised that people didn't stopped coming to her shows because she might have a penis or she might be gay or bisexual. Expectations are wide when you're thinking about buying tickets from a musician that puts soda cans in her hair as curlers.
And then there is the notion of pop culture being an almost all inclusive easy to access tradition. Pop is everywhere and is hard to say no to or boycott.
Another big thing, is that Lady Gaga (as far as I know) has yet to say yes or no to the question. If she gives a yes, what would the reaction be?
5.22.2010
Flash Mob Protest
For those who feel like tapping their toes to a brassy beat and want to learn about protests and hotel boycotts happening in San Fransisco and how you can get involved watch this video of a Flash Mob Protest to Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" song.
For more info go to this website www.sleepwiththerightpeople.org
For more info go to this website www.sleepwiththerightpeople.org
PBS, BP and Thumbs Down to Rand Paul
Lots of things happening. Rand Paul won Kentucky, and not 48 hours after celebrating, he made some comments about the 1964 act to help end discrimination that could be taken as racist. BP is not taking full responsibility for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and I can't believe that BP is still existing. 5,000 barrels of oil a day! They initially released the spill as 1,000 barrels a day. Going back to the wonderful National Tea Party politician Rand Paul, he stated that he thinks Obama and the US government have been too harsh on BP and that "sometimes accidents happen". Yes, sometimes milk spills but someone still did the spilling. And BP was warned repeatedly that their pipelines needed to be fixed. The history of BP is that they would rather pay up fines than to fix problems. And Rand Paul wants LESS government intervention? So I will announce that Rand Paul is the next George W. Bush. Looking on the bright side, my inner anger has been lonely since Obama was elected so it will be happy to have some company in the near future.
So I thought I would relax and try to tune out of the horrible events going on by enjoying my local PBS channels. Lucky for me they were doing their Festival 2010 pulling and tugging at viewers to donate. And then I thought about how PBS is socialism. Similar to our parks, our US Postal Service, our public schools and our public libraries. Or maybe like a media outlet on welfare. And needless to say, PBS is awesome. Lovely programs that make me feel smart in a way my lazy self can really appreciate. And there are no commercials only "brought to you by" interspersed so I don't loose interest. Seriously. PBS is where it's at, and Rand Paul...is not.
So I thought I would relax and try to tune out of the horrible events going on by enjoying my local PBS channels. Lucky for me they were doing their Festival 2010 pulling and tugging at viewers to donate. And then I thought about how PBS is socialism. Similar to our parks, our US Postal Service, our public schools and our public libraries. Or maybe like a media outlet on welfare. And needless to say, PBS is awesome. Lovely programs that make me feel smart in a way my lazy self can really appreciate. And there are no commercials only "brought to you by" interspersed so I don't loose interest. Seriously. PBS is where it's at, and Rand Paul...is not.
5.14.2010
4.28.2010
A Letter to Louise
I found this after I finished my post on the "god hates fags" church. In which I state that the main purpose for their campaign is that unlike race and sex, people choose their sexuality. "A Letter to Louise" was written by Bruce W. Lowe who wrote the letter to a good friend who told him that her "brother hates God, because God made him gay". He didn't know how to reply to this statement, so immersed himself in the physcological, theological, and social research pertaining to homosexuality. I read parts of the letter, and I now have a great admiration for Bruce W. Lowe. He was one who once thought of gays and lesbians and sexual deviants, but found that he had no foundation to these ideas. Anyone as annoyed with the "god hates fags" church as I am, should read his letter. It is insightful and refreshing to read a man of religious beliefs able and willing to understand our community. It really made my day.
We Hate Your Hate
Being obsessed with Constance McMillen, I read any article with her name mentioned in the headline. The latest one stated that the "god hates fags" campaign headed by the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas is going to be picketing McMillen's graduation. So I browsed their lovely website dedicated to hate and I was stunned in shock and horror. I have run into some "god hates fags" followers on the sidewalk downtown a few years ago, but I had no idea how committed they were. I mean they actually have a picketing schedule! Mostly of Jewish events...
Their logo is of an upside down American Flag which really demystifies some notions I have of fundamental Christians. From their website it's not easy to really find out what they actually believe in, besides hating the LGBTQ community. Apparently, the WBC during the 1960's fought for civil rights and used god to combat racism and segregation. So they have a sense of equality there. They believe though, that race and sex are factors of a person's character that they can not change, while sexual preference(s) are a choice...and according to them anything non-heterosexual is the wrong choice. Ugh. That's all I can really muster as a response. I'm too tired having the nature vs. nurture argument.
But what I am most offended by that I was expecting to be offended by is that the WBC refers to the bible in the feminine pronoun. I might be treading on thin lines when I say this but I don't think of the bible as preaching violence and I don't think as the feminine force as violent. If anything I think that the feminine has been oppressed and obliterated by violence and that violence has often been justified by the bible. Maybe that's the WBC's way of being progressive, or maybe that's the WBC's way of hiding behind the fact that Phelps is a man preaching violence. Whenever there is a debate on religion, I always just think to myself "the bible says a lot doesn't?" People make it say, whatever they need it to say. I can't help but think of a Broken Social Scene t-shirt they were selling at one of their concerts that read "we hate your hate". That's what I feel, but I don't think I'm breaking even on this one.
Their logo is of an upside down American Flag which really demystifies some notions I have of fundamental Christians. From their website it's not easy to really find out what they actually believe in, besides hating the LGBTQ community. Apparently, the WBC during the 1960's fought for civil rights and used god to combat racism and segregation. So they have a sense of equality there. They believe though, that race and sex are factors of a person's character that they can not change, while sexual preference(s) are a choice...and according to them anything non-heterosexual is the wrong choice. Ugh. That's all I can really muster as a response. I'm too tired having the nature vs. nurture argument.
But what I am most offended by that I was expecting to be offended by is that the WBC refers to the bible in the feminine pronoun. I might be treading on thin lines when I say this but I don't think of the bible as preaching violence and I don't think as the feminine force as violent. If anything I think that the feminine has been oppressed and obliterated by violence and that violence has often been justified by the bible. Maybe that's the WBC's way of being progressive, or maybe that's the WBC's way of hiding behind the fact that Phelps is a man preaching violence. Whenever there is a debate on religion, I always just think to myself "the bible says a lot doesn't?" People make it say, whatever they need it to say. I can't help but think of a Broken Social Scene t-shirt they were selling at one of their concerts that read "we hate your hate". That's what I feel, but I don't think I'm breaking even on this one.
Selling Biscuits and Gender
This is not breaking news, but every once in awhile when I'm watching T.V., a commercial just grabs my attention a.k.a. rubs me the wrong way. Last night it was the "'Nascar' Hardee's Biscuit" commercial.
It doesn't take a lot to see the sexism in the commercial but analyzing helps me cope with the blatant gender stereotypes. The big claim Hardee's makes is that "men don't bake" so men need to buy their biscuits from Hardee's. Of course, this is related to the idea that men don't cook because women do it for them. Which is...sexist. More and more I find that flexibility and fluidity are major advantages to any functioning relationship. I recently heard on the morning news that a large percentage of married couples find that chores are very important in their relationship and many couples split because of bickering over chores. I can see how gender stereotypes and gender binaries seem to simplify this matter. Women are constrained to the inside domestic, while men are in charge of outdoor public matters. There is a line that is drawn so that fights are minimized. But what about non-heterosexual relationships. And isn't it naive to think that relationships are always 50-50? Sometimes it's 75-25. When we confine our ideas to gender stereotypes in the 'modern' age, women often have "double shifts". Meaning they go to work in the morning, but they come home having to do their domestic chores.
Men do bake, they need to bake. And this is the interconnectedness of women's rights and gender.
Commercials like the Hardee's commercial sell gender just as much as they are selling biscuits. According to Hardee's, real men lounge in an untidy living room watching Nascar...and buy their food rather than making it themselves.
It doesn't take a lot to see the sexism in the commercial but analyzing helps me cope with the blatant gender stereotypes. The big claim Hardee's makes is that "men don't bake" so men need to buy their biscuits from Hardee's. Of course, this is related to the idea that men don't cook because women do it for them. Which is...sexist. More and more I find that flexibility and fluidity are major advantages to any functioning relationship. I recently heard on the morning news that a large percentage of married couples find that chores are very important in their relationship and many couples split because of bickering over chores. I can see how gender stereotypes and gender binaries seem to simplify this matter. Women are constrained to the inside domestic, while men are in charge of outdoor public matters. There is a line that is drawn so that fights are minimized. But what about non-heterosexual relationships. And isn't it naive to think that relationships are always 50-50? Sometimes it's 75-25. When we confine our ideas to gender stereotypes in the 'modern' age, women often have "double shifts". Meaning they go to work in the morning, but they come home having to do their domestic chores.
Men do bake, they need to bake. And this is the interconnectedness of women's rights and gender.
Commercials like the Hardee's commercial sell gender just as much as they are selling biscuits. According to Hardee's, real men lounge in an untidy living room watching Nascar...and buy their food rather than making it themselves.
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