On Thursday, July 16, CNN posted a commentary titled “Gay is not the new black” by Mr. LZ Granderson, an ESPN columnist.  Of course, the title caught my eye, but after reading the article, it had all of us here at shesquared.com in an uproar.  Here is our response.

While Mr. Granderson’s article appears to be well thought out and even GRAND it simply is not. He so conviently glosses over so many concepts that it shows the very reasons that the QUEER and Black community has problems.

Let’s take examine a few of his points a little further…

I use the term QUEER above because that is what lies at the root of the problem. Our community, as a whole, tends to segregate itself into these divided groups instead of standing behind a unified front. The term QUEER gathers everyone together into one word with out gender or race and takes power back for that word.

As an organizer of many queer events, I have never known blacks to be treated any differently than any one else at these events. I have faced these accusations of exclusion before and when asked for examples of such, nothing specific could be provided. I was always told that it was just a feeling to which I respond – Get Over It!

I do not know of the bar in Chicago called the Prop House, but I am familiar with Bulldogs in Atlanta. The author is too young to remember, but in the day, Bulldogs was a mixed bar for people of ALL colors of the rainbow. There was also a bar next door that catered specifically to black and white men together. When rumor got out that the adjacent bar was closing there was and an influx of patron coming to Bulldogs. By the time the bar closed and was torn down, Bulldogs had been taken over and the black clientele mad it very evident that the old patron were not welcome anymore.

This was never challenged because it simply wasn’t done back then. It was always better to not draw attention to things back then. I do not mean to imply that this was the correct thing to do – but it was the norm for back then.

Now let us touch on the history part and I will try and make this brief. Queer people and Slaves, (of all colors); have been around since the beginning of creation. They have both been repressed and held prisoner against their will.

While whites did in some cases go over and entrap people of color in slavery, there are just as many times that fellow black countrymen sold entire villages that had been beaten in war and captured. This does not make it right and is not an excuse, I simply state the facts.

December 1, 1955 an incredible lady named Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus and the civil rights movement was born. Thirteen and a half years later on June 28, 1969, gay people took that example and rose up for their rights at Stonewall. They TOOK A STAND.

Black people as well as ALL people should be proud that Obama was elected, but even six months into office, there is nothing wrong with people taking a stand and saying…
We have waited for too long silently and we are here to put you on alert that we are going to make you keep your promises.

The problem and solution with all this is that we should learn from our history and not dwell in it.  So I challenge Mr.Granderson to take my hand along with everyone else and TAKE A STAND moving past our history into our future.

Here’s a link to the article.  Please post a comment below, we’d love to know what you think.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/07/16/granderson.obama.gays/

At 51, Actress Kelly McGillis has finally come out publicly as a lesbian.  It must quite a weight off her shoulders, as the actress has been plagued by rumors that she was gay for years now. In fact, many say it’s the worst kept secret in Hollywood.

Best known as the sultry co-star of the insanely popular movie Top Gun, the actress has been married twice, and has two teenage children. In an interview with rocker Jennifer Corday at Girl Rock in Key West,  McGillis finally set herself free and exclaimed, “I’m done with the man thing”, and went on to say that her next desired partner is definately a woman!  Yes, ladies — this means she is on the market! ( See the entire interview at shewired.com)

The actress claimed to have battled with her sexuality for more than 40 years, and at times thought ’she was being punished by God’ for being gay. “I had a lot of things happen that convinced me God was punishing me because I was gay, she said. That was a hard process.”

McGillis has known she was a lesbian since she was about 12. Unfortunately, it seems to have taken her 39 years to accept it. “Life is a freaking journey about coming to terms with who and what you are and loving who and what you are”, she says.  And those of us at SheSquared.com couldn’t agree with her more.

Congratulations Kelly! You’re beautiful, smart and sexy. Enjoy your life out in the open, and have big fun playing catch up with all those hot lesbian women.

Imagine a couple of lesbsians jumping up and down with a single piece of paper in their hand. “We did it”, I yelled. “We finally did it.”   Dogs barked, floors creaked, lots and lots of movement. It could have appeared a bit disturbing by an outsider peaking through the windows.  But we couldn’t help ourselves. Just like in The Field of Dreams, we built it….and somebody came!

Just one week after going live, and before our official grand opening campaign, SheSquared.com sold its first product directly from the website. WooH00.. I’ve never been happier to sell a hat in all my life.

You go Patti from Florida.  Wear that She2 hat with pride, and don’t forget to send everyone to www.shesquared.com.

Congratualtions to Pam, the winner of our SheSquared.com Ipod drawing from South Florida Pridefest.  It took us a few days to track her down, but a groovy new Ipod and adorable fuzzy blue monkey are headed her way.

Thanks to Pam and all the ladies (and a few guys) who signed up for our shesquared mailing list in South Florida.  At the end of the Pridefest, we reached right into our handy raffle jar and drew out Pam’s name from a hundred or so entries.

Here’s what Pam had to say when we contacted her:    You’ve made my day! Of course I want the adorable blue monkey…and would love to have you send him to me with the cool IPOD shuffle – will he/she listen to it en route?   Take care and thanks very much!!!! Shesquared rocks.
Pam
Adorable Blue Monkey Hugger

Enjoy it Pam, and thanks for stopping by our SheSquared booth!

For those of you who signed up for the list, look for news and product announcements from our new shesquared.com online store.  We are committed to providing fun clothing and accessories that appeal to the lesbian community.  Never ones to discriminate, however, we think you might find some cute stuff for trendy straight girls as well.  It’s just time that us gay women got into the game, and stopped looking for our latest fashion finds in the men’s department of Old Navy.  Of course, even as the appointed chief shesquared lesbian fashion evangelist… I don’t think I can ever stop that particular shopping practice, but hopefully we’ll be able to provide you with even cuter items, designed to fit the beatiful curves of a woman’s body.

See you soon, and don’t forget to send all the girls, gay, straight, bisexual or whatever to www.shesquared.com

The SheSquared girls had a blast last weekend launching the new SheSquared brand for women at the South Florida Pridefest event in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.  Cute girls, cold drinks and lots of interest in our new online store left us all feeling excited and optimistic. Maybe this SheSquared thing was a good idea after all! 

While the first day proved miserable with torrential rains, Sunday let the sun shine through, and turned into a great day filled with great fun.  We met lots of cool people, saw lots of beautiful women, and even enjoyed some evil funnel cake.  All while selling our tshirts, tanks, jewelry and accessories chosen specifically for women who love women….who could ask for a better day?

We’re busy planning out the events for the rest of the year, so if there’s someplace you think we ought to be, be sure to drop us a line.  Either visit our online store at www.shesquared.com, or send us an email at she2@shesquared.com.

Welcome to the blog for SheSquared.com, the web’s newest online store dedicated to providing great looking clothing and accessories to women who love women.

We were tired of searching high and low for clothes that felt as unique as we were, so we decided to take the bull by the horns and create our own store.  Whether you identify as a gay woman, straight woman, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, baby dyke, dyke  or something in-between, we’ve got items that are sure to match your fashion tastes.

Check back here real soon for updates on the store, festival locations where you can meet us live, and other tidbits of info that are relevant to you.

We’ll see ya real soon, and until then…Happy Shopping!