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  Best Pride 2010 backup crew! Photo by Diana Edwards So many (tiny) dogs. FryBrickLineFight v.s So-So-Burger line. What will you wear? Why do dykes on bikes always wear black? When is the Dyke March (Hint: either at 5pm or 6pm, depending on who you ask.) Official Weather. UnderU for Men sale. Why it’s not OK to be sexist, racist, or aggressive during Pride. Lovetribe snuggle tent skepticism. Splendora Gabor’s candyfloss hair. It’s not over until the drag queen sings. And: If you find a bar that does dollar mimosas (like the fabulous Invasion did a few years ago!) you tell us by tweeting something @qpdx.
Some random musings on the nature of Portland Pride. All you need to know will be revealed, but don’t quote me. I said don’t.
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  What are some sex positive words for women? (I couldn't think of any either) How do you feel about the term slut? Don’t like it? (why?) Whore? Bitch? Ho? Loose woman, even? When was the last time you heard the statement “he had it coming” or “she was dressed like a slut” in response to another person getting raped? When was the last time you considered a man who was sexually assaulted less of a victim because he’s not a woman?
SlutWalk is a loud and proud FUCK YOU to all of those who support pro-shame, anti-healthy-sex, pro-rape. And we need you. You’re monogamous, in a long term relationship? You have a couple of lovers? You do sex work? You’re male-indentified? You’;re shy? You’re a gay man who doesn’t interact much with women? Doesn’t matter. If you believe sex is fun and pleasure is good for you, and that rape won’t end until rapists stop raping, you need to come to SlutWalk. July 31st. 1pm. Park Blocks. Be there.
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  play/start celebrates the release of their new album 'The Alibi' Saturday at Saratoga Thursday
Don’t forget about PSU Pride. You can also prepare yourself for the weekend by making sure everyone’s safe at the Q Patrol training. And of course don’t forget the weekly Portland Idol and Drop Shop afterword (which I think is still happening?)
Friday
Q Center’s “Senior” Prom -Think pink and shake off the gray at this gay and lesbian community center re-imagining of that special adolescent night. Kickoff to the GG expo features dancing, entertainment and lite snacks for the 50+ set.
Feminist Film Society presents Temple Grandin – Claire Danes in sensible shoes in this early exploration of autism.
Twinks show premier party – RapidFire Productions premiers the show they’ve been filming at Scandals for the past month, but because it has the worst website implementation I’ve really ever seen, so I can’t tell you much about it.
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 Feminism? Not sure... but satisfying? Definitely. Warning! This movie depicts ax murders! Warning? More like Welcome! Why stay satisfied with Faye Dunaway’s impersonation, “Christina, bring me the ax!” Instead, you can watch a movie where the actual Joan Crawford swings one around. It’s Joan playing a woman named Lucy, and Diane Baker as her daughter. Also, Lee Majors makes his first on screen performance as her murdered husband. Lee went on to become very famous, for among other things, starring in “The Six Million Dollar Man”.
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  Bell Hooks Today I have had this “Less Hate More Love” crap shoved down my throat. Now that I have your attention- let me tell you- I think the world does need a lot of love. Our society causes many of us to be broken, traumatized, fragmented, and isolated. Good politics and good practices should help us heal, bring us closer, and should inspire us to love openly. However; the idea that we should approach all of our interactions and root our analysis only in love is not only simplistic- it is anti-feminist, silencing, and counters much of what we value throughout history.
Most of my feminist upbringing and socialization is directly related to the works of bell hooks. I love bell hooks and her contributions to race, class, and gender politics are invaluable. However; in the past couple of years she has turned her attention away from political struggle to more of an individual and spiritual look of oppression. She has also not pushed herself to engage with queer/gender/sex positive theories and practices. I recall some of her analysis of BDSM and feminism to be downright sex negative. However; for a long while as a youth I took nearly everything she said as gospel and still hold her near and dear in my heart. Even some of the spiritual woo-ness that she espouses has sort of a place in revolutionary political struggle. However; that place is not in the foreground. Her most recent article Building a Community of Love upsets me for many reasons. Her revisions radical history, her conclusions of radical work, and the simplistic nature that she posits valid political struggle get to my point of why it is positing our world in a love vs. hate is damaging and ineffective.
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 There were a lot of covers to choose from, but this is the one. All of the children are in the evil-soaked womb of the grandmother! IF your mother ever says, “Listen, we don’t have anywhere else to go. I just need you all to stay locked in this attic of this mansion a little while longer,” think about it carefully. Actually, don’t think about it. Grab an ornamental object, knock her out, and run away!
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  Everyone knows that Apple is pretty picky when it comes to allowing apps in their tightly controlled marketplace. But though you won’t be able to see any racy gay sightseeing recommendations you can be cured of “the gay.” This has some folks hopping mad, including Truth Wins Out founder Wayne Besen, who recently wrote a piece for the Huffington Post condemning the app.
Exodus International, the notorious “ex-gay” organization, recently released an iPhone app that, according to its website, is “designed to be a useful resource for men, women, parents, students, and ministry leaders.” The Exodus website further boasts that its app received a 4+ rating from Apple, meaning that it contains “no objectionable content.”
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  The original Bash Back protest November 2008 in front of Mt Hope Church in in Delta Township, Mich. (Photo courtesy of Bash back! Lansing) I don’t know too much about this story but will expound as more details are revealed. In the meantime, this press release, which I accessed through Facebook, does a pretty good job of explaining the basics:
Portland, OR– On Wednesday, March 16th, Google will be forced to hand over the email accounts of two queer activists from Portland, Oliver Hayes and Kat Enyeart, to the evangelical Mt. Hope Church in Lansing, MI. This subpoena is a part of a civil suit against the queer organization Bash Back stemming from a non-violent protest and political theater action that disrupted a church service at Mt. Hope Church several years ago. Both Portlanders are subpoenaed because of their alleged ties to the organization. However no factual evidence has been produced to support such a relationship [emphasis mine] existing and both deny membership in the organization.
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  Homomentum performs Friday as part of the Lewis & Clark Gender Symposium For the pop-academia lovers among us this week presents one of the better college conferences on gender and sexuality. Beginning tomorrow Lewis and Clark will kick off the 30th annual Gender Studies Symposium titled New Directions: Gender in the Future. Organized by a committee of students, with support from faculty and staff, the Gender Studies Symposium brings together representatives from academia, activism, and the arts for three days of workshops, roundtable discussions, lectures, film screenings, readings, performances, academic panels, and other intellectual and creative explorations.
This year doesn’t have as big of names as have some past years (i.e. Dorothy Allison, Leslie Feinberg or Angela Davis) but it has a great program nonetheless.
Julia Serano’s Compulsory Genderqueerness: Transsexuality, Feminism and the “End of Gender” on Thursday afternoon should be particularly fascinating. Author of Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity Serano is an artist, wordsmith, slat poet, and Ph.D. holding science geek.
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  Last weekend local trans-identified community member Nik Rapier attended one of our most popular queer nights, Gaycation. While there he had an unfortunate incident of transphobia which he initially recounted on the global web project to combat street harrassment Hollaback. He has also agreed to share his story with qPDX readers below.
We were standing outside Holocene, cooling down from that overheated dance floor, when you reeled out the door, steps unsteady and eyes full of malice. After looking our little group over, you apparently decided that we didn’t pass your definition of acceptable gender presentations, because you stopped right in front of us and let fly some of the more transphobic comments I’ve heard in a drunken slur.
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Love and Rage: A guest editorial from Katey Pants
Bell Hooks
Today I have had this “Less Hate More Love” crap shoved down my throat. Now that I have your attention- let me tell you- I think the world does need a lot of love. Our society causes many of us to be broken, traumatized, fragmented, and isolated. Good politics and good practices should help us heal, bring us closer, and should inspire us to love openly. However; the idea that we should approach all of our interactions and root our analysis only in love is not only simplistic- it is anti-feminist, silencing, and counters much of what we value throughout history.
Most of my feminist upbringing and socialization is directly related to the works of bell hooks. I love bell hooks and her contributions to race, class, and gender politics are invaluable. However; in the past couple of years she has turned her attention away from political struggle to more of an individual and spiritual look of oppression. She has also not pushed herself to engage with queer/gender/sex positive theories and practices. I recall some of her analysis of BDSM and feminism to be downright sex negative. However; for a long while as a youth I took nearly everything she said as gospel and still hold her near and dear in my heart. Even some of the spiritual woo-ness that she espouses has sort of a place in revolutionary political struggle. However; that place is not in the foreground. Her most recent article Building a Community of Love upsets me for many reasons. Her revisions radical history, her conclusions of radical work, and the simplistic nature that she posits valid political struggle get to my point of why it is positing our world in a love vs. hate is damaging and ineffective.
Continue reading »