The Bilerico Project

The Obama Doctrine = Tea Parties

bruce@bilerico.com (Bruce Parker) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 10:00:00 -0500

I was elated when President-elect Obama named Hillary Clinton as his nominee for Secretary of State. I have made no secret of my deep affection, respect and obsession for all things Hillary Clinton related. She is brilliant, a savvy politician, charismatic, tough, and has enough name recognition to be extremely effective.

I become convinced that she would be an ardent support of Obama's administration during her passionate speech at the Democratic National Convention. It became clear beyond a shadow of a doubt that despite her personal disappointment she was happy to get to see the first black President of the United States be elected in her lifetime. I believe that she will work diligently to further American interests across the globe during the Obama administration.

I have grown increasingly convinced that Obama is sexist in potentially dangerous ways. He seemed genuinely unaware of the misogynist overtones of some of his statements during the primary such as referring to Hillary being overemotional or her "claws coming out." In a really peculiar way his selection of her as Secretary of State only confirmed my conviction that sexism played a substantial role in the campaign.

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Hillary, Sarah, and Feminism?

bruce@bilerico.com (Bruce Parker) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:00:00 -0500

In the first class of the advanced seminar in Feminist Theories that I am taking this term, the Professor asked students in the course to introduce themselves by offering their definition of feminism. I was amazed as the eleven people in the room defined feminism either entirely without mentioning women or diluting that mention with the environment, more general human rights, and pop culture watered down notions of accepting diversity. While I was pleased with my definition that included mentions of both academia and activism as well as gender identity and expression, I also did not specifically mention women.

The class is evenly split between male and female students and the only notable difference in the responses as broken down by sex was that two of the men refused to offer a definition saying, "They had no idea."

After following Hillary so closely since she became first lady and watching the coverage of Sarah Palin so closely for the past week, I am left wondering what sorts of feminism each of them represent. Are they both feminists? Is one more in touch with current understandings of feminism than the other? Who speaks more directly to the experiences of American women?

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Like I Never Left!

bruce@bilerico.com (Bruce Parker) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:00:00 -0500

Wow! Whitney Houston kinda lost her shit. I wasn't sure she would ever get it back together. I have a special spot for women and gay men (like Mariah Carey and Bil Browning) who come undone and then rise from the ashes like a phoenix.

My mom loved and continues to play old school 80's Whitney. There was no limit to how many times her and I could dance around our living room to "I want to dance." The first drag queen I dated captured my heart thanks to a moving rendition of "It's not right, but it's okay." He had me at "take care of my own babies." I played that song and that album for years as I was getting ready to go gay clubbing.

In anticipation of her first post-Bobby album, the single "Like I Never Left" has been leaked to the internet and is available after the jump. By the way, it features Akon.

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It will take more than criticism...

bruce@bilerico.com (Bruce Parker) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 07:30:00 -0500

"Power is scary. With it comes responsibility. As with leadership, if you don't acknowledge that power is necessary then you won't do anything about re-imagining it. I think leftists have gotten very comfortable being critics of power. Criticism on the road to power may be useful, but criticism by itself, in our day and age, is actually an attendant to dominant power.

'Look,' the powers that be argue, 'we have critics, that means you have freedom and democracy, right?' Criticism, by itself, is just self-serving politics: it makes the critic feel better about their non-compliance but changes nothing. Therefore I'm interested in moving past criticism and really thinking about what is necessary to win power. For without power you can't change things. And I'm in this game to change the world, not just comment about how bad it all is."

-- Stephen Duncombe, Associate Professor at New York University

A Few Random Gender Related Stories

bruce@bilerico.com (Bruce Parker) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 09:00:00 -0500

I clearly haven't been blogging much lately, but have been collecting a few things that I keep meaning to share with my Bilerico family. Below are a few gender related things that have been in my "blog ideas" folder for a while.

A collection of online essays called Beyond Masculinity: Essays by Queer Men on Gender and Politics is up and available online. It is a great collection and one of the contributors was my fellow Antioch College Student (Solis). Check out this collection and be sure to spread the word.
A great online essay about abortion and anti-choice women's relationship with what they claim to detest and protest.
A Virginia groom passes as a bride and could face charges for it. This one has it all -- some gender issues and same-sex marriage all wrapped into one.

Let me know what you think about the stories in the comments. I am particularly interested in hearing people's thoughts about the essay collection.

TRANScending Identities - A Resource for Transgender Literature

bruce@bilerico.com (Bruce Parker) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:00:00 -0500

I have recently been working on a research project and publication that combines my work with TransYouth Family Allies and my Ph.D. studies in education. The study addresses portrayals of gender variant and transgender characters in young adult literature. A professor of education and I have been looking at the possible ways for high school teachers to engage in professional development activities geared towards promoting understanding.

We choose to focus on a book group that read young adult literature. I may write more about the process, texts we used, and some of the things we found soon. Today, I wanted to take a moment to steer people toward a wonderful online resource called TRANScending Identities through the San Francisco Public Library.

Check out the resource and let me know what ya'll think in the comments.

Songs for Sunday - The Depressed Boy Edition

bruce@bilerico.com (Bruce Parker) — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 10:30:00 -0500

Anyone who knows me at all won't be surprised that my music tastes change a lot, but are always marked by an obsession with a certain artist, band, song, or type of music that can last for as long as a year or just a few days. The last month or so I have been listening to a mix on my iTunes and my iPhone, I titled Emo Boy Mix. I was recently told that I was misusing the word Emo, but didn't really care. So below is my list of the ten best depressed boy songs that are dominating my iMusic world.

Anna Begins - The Counting Crows
9 Crimes - Damien Rice
The Scientist - Coldplay
Strange and Beautiful (I'll Put a Spell On You) - Aqualung
Sleeping In - The Postal Service
What Sarah Said - Death Cab For Cutie
Boy with a Coin - Iron and Wine
Grapevine Fires - Death Cab For Cutie
Love and Some Verses - Iron and Wine
Talking Bird - Death Cab For Cutie

These bands particularly Aqualung, The Postal Service, Death Cab For Cutie and Iron and Wine are new to me so I can't get enough of them right now.

Take a minute and share with Projectors some music that you like that is a bit out of character or doesn't reflect the majority of your music taste. What is the last few songs you have listened to and liked that no one would guess?

Some Birthday Reflections

bruce@bilerico.com (Bruce Parker) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 19:00:00 -0500

I don't like my birthday. I have never enjoyed them much and probably never will. My family birthday's when I was younger were never very fun and celebrations and holidays were always hard times for my mother and I. As often as not, we found ourselves alone. So as I have aged I have strived to make as little of an event as possible out of June 5.

I am glad I was born in June, as being a Gemini seems to fit me very well. I have a little Gemini pride.

I usually take the day to reflect on the past year. I pick through the accomplishments and failures, good choices and bad in the hopes of visioning a clearer picture of what I want for my future. Two significant things have happened this year that are worth talking about a little with any readers who are interested.

I finished my first year of my Ph.D. program & I decided to go on mood stabilizing medication for bipolar disorder. If you are in the mood for some personal reflection and birthday introspection read on. If you came here today looking for current events, I am sure that Bil or Alex has something intelligent and engaging to say.

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A Thank You Note to Senator Hillary Clinton

bruce@bilerico.com (Bruce Parker) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 11:30:00 -0500

Hillary,

When I was twelve, I spent a lot of time telling anyone who would listen that you were ranked as one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America before even marrying Bill. You had a career before becoming Bill's wife, and if for any reason you ever decide not to still be his wife, you will continue to be successful.

Your work on the Nixon impeachment, children's rights, and public interest law continues to inspire me. Your early and continued commitment to civil rights and social change is inspiring. You reinforce to me that a commitment to a better world is sustainable and makes a difference. Thank you for that.

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So Much For My Happy Ending

bruce@bilerico.com (Bruce Parker) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 08:30:00 -0500

Like every other queer man for miles and miles, I was tingling with anticipation for the release of the Sex and the City movie. I missed opening weekend because I was in Philadelphia for the Transgender Health Conference, but after my plane landed on Sunday I rushed to the theater with my friend Sybil. The movie didn't disappoint. It was like three episodes back to back.

What did disappoint me was the ending for Samantha. Having never been super pious myself, I always identified with her. So at the end of the series when she ended up with happy with a hot piece of man-candy like Smith, I was thrilled. It seemed like the whore with the heart of gold got her happy ending.

I understand that in order to have a plot in the movie we needed new events in the lives of the girls. But I am not the least bit pleased with the turn that Samantha's love life took. Be warned my general musings on the movie and my grief stricken thoughts on Samantha are after the jump. It contains spoilers.

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Too Little, Too Late

bruce@bilerico.com (Bruce Parker) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 17:48:16 -0500

My mother called me last night in an incredibly upbeat mood. She had just finished watching clips of Reverend Jeremiah Wright's latest statements. In a joking way she asked me if Hillary and Bill had paid Reverend Wright to get him to make the statements that he made.

We talked a little bit about the coverage and I tried to explain to my mother how frustrating all of this was for me. The complexities of the campaign regarding race, social class, and gender have left me feeling discouraged lately. As desperately as I support Hillary Clinton, I don't want her to win based on racism and xenophobia alone. But, that isn't what this post is about. After we got off the phone I let the conversation go and went back to writing about Butlerian approaches to autobiographical theory within education.

Today, sitting at Highland Coffee (my favorite local coffee shop in Baton Rouge) taking a break from the same paper described above, I saw the Huffington Post's coverage of Barack Obama distancing himself aggressively from Reverend Wright and his comments. Ladies and gentlemen, clearly Barack Obama has put on his "big-girl panties" and is ready to be a politician.

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F*CK Albert Einstein - Mariah Gets The Formula Right!

bruce@bilerico.com (Bruce Parker) — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 22:17:55 -0500

Those of you who know me might have picked up on the signs that I tend a little toward the obsessive side. If you have been reading the blog for a while you have probably seen evidence of my obsessions with Kelly Clarkson and Hillary Clinton on your monitor. Even though I don't talk about it a lot, I have been in love with Britney Spears since the sophomore year of my undergraduate degree when she was in that sexy, intense Pepsi commercial. I even bought her new album.

Well, as the first year of my Ph.D. program comes to an end, my 2008 summer obsession is setting in. I am ashamed to admit that Mariah Carey is all I can think about both night and day. My affinity for crazy people draws me to her, and in my warped head I can connect her with two of my best friends (Rhonda and Bil) who are both what I would affectionately call "crazy" and have gone on to become successful.

Mariah Carey has more Billboard #1 songs than Elvis Presley and is quickly encroaching on The Beatles' position at the top. She is now tied with Madonna and Janet Jackson for second most number one albums for a female artist, right behind Barbra Streisand. Her eleventh studio album, E=MC2, may be the best recording of her career so far.

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An Open Letter to Ally Organizations

bruce@bilerico.com (Bruce Parker) — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 15:00:00 -0500

This week's issue of the Advocate leads with a cover story about Lawrence King and asks who is to blame for his death? Please review the excerpt available online and join us in our effort to refocus this conversation on the important work we are all doing to change the climate for GLBT kids in their schools and communities.

For those who are interested in the complete article we are discouraging the purchase of this issue and suggest you stop by your local book store or newstand to read it. It is not available on line at this time.

If you would like to be a published signatory of the following letter simply e-mail including your organizational name as you would like it to appear. The letter will be posted to our website and updated several times a day. On Friday morning, March 28th we will send the completed letter to the Advocate with a request that they take the time to feature the good works of our organizations rather than writing articles which imply that perhaps our GLBT youth are safer in the closet.

Respectfully,

TransYouth Family Allies Board of Directors
Kim Pearson, Shannon Garcia, Amy G., "Just Evelyn", Bruce Parker, Jamison Green, and Andrea James

Letter to the Advocate after the jump.

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Be a Trans Ally

bruce@bilerico.com (Bruce Parker) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 13:15:00 -0500

In the Out Magazine April 2008 Transgender Issue, hidden at the bottom of page 25 is a really strong list of five ways to be a trans ally, by Dean Spade. Dean is a Harvard Law teaching fellow and founder of the Sylvia Rivera Law Project. Below is his list of ways to be a trans ally.

1. Work with transpeople to push your city's homeless shelter system to place residents according to their gender identity and safety, rather than birth gender.

An important component of this point is that it emphasizes working with transpeople. Oftentimes, as lesbian or gay folks try to work on transgender-related issues, they forget to include transgender people in the conversations and actions. This ends up being damaging, and reflects a paternalistic approach to being an ally that I experienced a lot while working with Indiana's lesbian and gay communities.

The other four ways and my thoughts are after the jump.

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Response to "Gender: The Final Frontier"

bruce@bilerico.com (Bruce Parker) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 14:45:00 -0500

My response to "Gender: The Final Frontier" by Josh Kilmber-Purcell is a part of my weeklong obsessive dissection of Out magazine's transgender issue. When, from time to time, I do pick up Out, I always enjoy Kilmer-Purcell's column. He is engaging, witty and often I agree with his analysis. This month really isn't all that different.

I, of course, was a little skeptical when he opened by declaring himself "post-gender" and still think it was a regrettable way to start out his otherwise astute column. After declaring himself post-gender he says,

From this day forward I'm not going to use the words masculine, feminine, or any of their derivations. They're meaningless, useless, and far too often meant as weapons rather than compliments.

To hear more about Kilmer-Purcell being post-gender and some of the really cool things he says in his column, follow me after the jump. Please?

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