Off for a Few Days
Sunday, July 31st, 2005I shall be off the blog for several days involved travelling to a funeral where I have been asked to participate in one of my least favorite masculine rituals, pallbearing. With lovingkindness to you all.
Archive for July, 2005
I shall be off the blog for several days involved travelling to a funeral where I have been asked to participate in one of my least favorite masculine rituals, pallbearing. With lovingkindness to you all.
Arts Funding in the US Sucks!
Friday, July 29th, 2005[1] Art funding in this country is horrible. From an arts advocacy organization I belong to:Congress has completed the final conference report for the FY 2006 Interior Appropriations bill, reconciling differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill. We are pleased to report that funding increases for both the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) are included in this bill. Prior to applying an across-the-board rescission of 0.476 percent to all programs within the Interior bill, both cultural agencies received increases of $5 million each for next year. [1] http://jaysennett.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/banner_artformore.gif
Publishing, Part 2
Thursday, July 28th, 2005Changed the title from self to just publishing. Right now I'm firming up publishing plans with my first author. Great guy. Exciting work. Keep checking back for more updates as I report on this very exciting writer. When I think of this guy I think of a quote I got today in my inbox: The Future is Transsexual.
The Mom We Wish We Had…
Wednesday, July 27th, 2005The Savvy Mom [1] is awesome. In Fighting the Good Fight [2] she writes [3]:I had this conversation with Shef during diaper-change this weekend:“Penis,” he said, groping his package, as usual. “Touch penis.”“Yes,” I replied, same as always, “that’s your penis,” and reached for a wipe. “Penis,” Shef said again.“Yes,” I said patiently. “All little boys have them.” And then I realized my mistake and edited hastily: “Except some transsexuals, and that’s okay, too.”And then I wondered, how much information is too much information for a one-year-old?How cool is that? In a comment to her post I responded that I did not think mentioning transsexuals was TMI for her one year old. Too abstract, yes. But I shared with her my mother's comments that at 20-24 months I said with conviction that I was a boy.... [1] http://kconstancew.modblog.com/?show=main [2] http://kconstancew.modblog.com/?show=blogview&blog_id=690579 [3] http://kconstancew.modblog.com/?show=mbinbound&blog_id=690579
Off Yesterday
Wednesday, July 27th, 2005Monday night I was cutting some oak trim and decided not to wear my safety goggles. About ten seconds later sawdust blew into my eye, where it stayed until an ER irrigated my eye late yesterday morning. "Typical male," or "Do you know how many guys do stupid things like that?" were two phrases I heard quite a bit. "Sometimes the only thing that works with guys is shaming them," the ER tech shared with the Divine Ms. H. They both laughed. Of course I was lying in a puddle of water that had run down my face and could not mount any significant defense. The rest of yesterday and last night I spent with my eyes closed and still grateful I have insurance and did not have any corneal scratches. I find it strange and delightful that my some of my behaviors get called "typically male." Delicious.
Self-Publishing, Part 1
Monday, July 25th, 2005After my post last week about publishing and marketing, I checked out Publish and Be Damned [1]'s blog and website. I poked around for awhile and then had that very funny, thrilling feeling in my stomach (the same one I got when I first gave serious consideration to kissing the Divine Ms. H.). "I'm going to be a self-publisher," was the thought that came up from the feeling. A publisher of books. FtM books. Trannyboi books. Boyz on hormones or not. Art books. Poetry. Nonfiction. Fiction. No more whining about how hard the publishing industry is or cruel or why they don't understand trannies. [1] http://www.pabd.com/
Wrong Bathroom
Saturday, July 23rd, 2005Wrong Bathroom looks like an excellent documentary by Shani Heckman aka Shane Star. Shani is also the founder of Shanestar Productions [1]. Ever thought you were in the Wrong Bathroom? You know, when the person exiting the stall before you, creates confusion as to which bathroom you entered? Maybe she was too tall, or he was too skinny, causing you to question the person's gender and your choice in bathrooms.Imagine a life where you, on a daily basis, must prove you are in the "right" bathroom. Wrong Bathroom blows the stink out of the stall on this civil rights issue. Using humor, interviews w/ local celebrities Lynne Breedlove, Melissa Lawton & Bryan Burgess and reenactments of bathroom harassment, Wrong Bathroom is a slick documentary that shows how bathrooms have long been a place of exclusion.More: P.I.S.S.R. [2] (People In Search of Safe Restrooms) is dedicated to creating more gender neutral toilets. Tribe 8 [3]'s lyrics to Wrong Bathroom from Snarkism [4]. "Excuse me, sir? Over by the stall / Wrong bathroom, The men's room's down the hall / So I pull up my shirt to show I'm the gender... What's your problem? I ain't got a member / Fine, I'll go into the boys' room / But it really fucking stinks / What's with your aim, boy, you trying to hit the tank?" [1] http://jaysennett.comwww.shanestar.org [2] http://www.pissr.org/ [3] http://www.tribe8.com [4] http://www.tribe8.com/discography.html
Iran executes gay teenagers - OutRage!
Friday, July 22nd, 2005Link: Iran executes gay teenagers - OutRage! [1]. Deplorable and reprehensible behavior...which will go unacknowledged by our Prez and most, if not all, of Congress, including the dems. [Update: Note to Self. Watch the entrenched homophobia that undergirds and supports U.S. society blossoms as these boys murders barely make a dent in the U.S. news. Make no mistake: America still hates gays just like it hates women. It isn't cool for us to execute teenage males for having sex anymore, but what we can say about what we truly, truly value in men and masculinity and our future - heck - in human life itself - as the majority of news outlets and people move through the next few days unaware of this crime. It isn't cool for America to execute gay teens, but we participate and enlarge this evil by doing nothing.] [1] http://outrage.nabumedia.com/pressrelease.asp?ID=302
Publishing Isn’t What We Think It Is
Friday, July 22nd, 2005I've been spending quite a bit of time thinking about publishing and marketing my-anthology-in-the-making, Self-Organizing Men. So I'm up at 2:30 this morning, out of bed at 4:00, sitting on the couch, with my cat Mr. Jack purring away on my lap, when I'm felled by an epiphany ~ getting published is easy. It's the marketing that's hard and costs the most money. So this get's me to thinking and thinking and thinking and then I'm reading my bloglines subs and I find that the incomparable Seth Godin [1] blogs about his advice [2] for authors wanting to publish their first non-fiction book. [1] http://www.sethgodin.typepad.com/ [2] http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2005/07/advise_for_auth.html#trackback
The Value of Dropping Trou
Friday, July 22nd, 2005This post [1] wowed me. Made my jaw drop.As a fan of genderfucking in most forms, I've become quite expert at spotting female-to-male transsexuals: most of the time they're short men and if they pass for male and are cute, they're easily mistaken for gay men. Or jockeys..... That's a compliment given the whole "too-cute-to-be-straight" assumptions we all make. And whenever I see an FTM who looks convincingly male, I want to shake his hand. Okay, I confess, it's more like, I want to throw myself at his feet. Which reminded me of an ex's step - mother who convinced herself I became a man because I'm 6'2. In her theory being this tall as a woman was too hard for me to bear, which provided the impetus to become a man. This ranks as one of the top three reasons why people tell me I've transitioned.What saddens me are those who think that taking testosterone supplements will instantly make them handsome. Ladies and gentlemen, if you are not attractive in one gender, switching to the other won't help. [1] http://thisisbullshit.blogs.friendster.com/titster/2005/07/beauty_tips_for.html
Peterson Toscano - Fashion Activist
Thursday, July 21st, 2005Peterson Toscano [1] practices what he preaches. Recently asked to perform his piece Talkin Trash in the Homo No Halfway House [2], Peterson defied the Grand Hotel [3]'s (the same hotel where Somewhere in Time [4] was filmed) satorial dictum of boys = pants and girls = skirts by wearing this scrumptious ensemble [5]. Fashion Activism [6] strikes a pose! As I shared with Peterson in an email, I think I'm being a fashion activist as I strive to dress well everyday, since I see so many rich, monied guys dressed like slobs. [1] http://www.a_musing.blogspot.com/ [2] http://homonomo.com/otherworks.html [3] http://www.grandhotel.com/ [4] http://www.somewhereintime.tv/ [5] http://www.flickr.com/photos/67159104@N00/26796702/ [6] http://a_musing.blogspot.com/2005/07/fashion-activism.html
Going Out on a Limb - A Bit of My Fiction
Wednesday, July 20th, 2005After receiving another grammatically incorrect rejection form letter, I decided to take the plunge and post some of my fiction here. I have decided to do this act periodically. Current publishing model promotes notions of scarcity: "we will only publish works that have never been published anywhere in the history of the world"; or "we do not accept simultaneous submissions, but it takes us at least six months to tell you if we accept you, and another eighteen months to publish it, if we do." In an effort to push out against my own fear and entrenched notions of what is the right way to get published, I offer up a short, short. Now, I want your feedback. Critique away, both good and bad. I don't care if you are FtM, transsexual, asexual, bisexual or not, if you read, then you are qualified to comment. Oh, and I'm looking for meaty comments. "That's interesting" does not help me. So please, my dear readers, bring your intelligence and thoughtfulness to my fiction. Please, please! ___________________________________________ Today Donatello Jackson slides the barrel into his mouth. His teeth clatter. A sweat droplet rolls down his index finger as he triggers himself off.
A Taste of FtM Drama
Tuesday, July 19th, 2005Buck Angel [1] writes on his blog about the controversy he has stirred up over at Nick's site, The Transitional Male [2] by being out and proud about his pussy on a Playboy's Sexcetera. Apparently more than a few of Nick's readers think Buck's open and honest discussion and depiction of his pussy represents FtMs in a bad [3] light. We've heard this one before, folks. That as the only out FtM in the porno industry (or television or publishing or whatever) Buck is obligated to represent the FtM community in a positive light. Good luck! [1] http://buckangel.blogspot.com/ [2] http://www.thetransitionalmale.com/ [3] http://www.thetransitionalmale.com/buck2#3
Femmes are Gender Transgressive
Monday, July 18th, 2005Meredith Streep gives Jennifer Vanasco [1] a good arse-whooping in her piece [2], Playing Our Parts in ‘Genderfuck.’ Skirts, heels, lipstick, slacks, ties and cropped hair are visible expressions of gender. But the aesthetics of gender are not the agents responsible for tiering femininity and masculinity into a dominant and sub class. The values assigned to the two genders are the real foundation for society’s gender ghetto, so they’re the most in need of dismantling. As Vanasco unintentionally but poignantly demonstrates, we equate vulnerability, weakness, inanity and reticence with femininity. Conversely, that which is masculine or butch is inherently strong, smart, “emotionally savvy” and competent. Brava! Brava! Brava! (And thanks to Maria at Daily Dose of Queer [3] [which all of you read everyday, right?] for this reference [4]). [1] http://jaysennett.typepad.com/jay_sennetts_blog/2005/06/since_when_is_f.html#more [2] http://www.sovo.com/2005/7-15/view/columns/playing.cfm [3] http://www.dailydoseofqueer.com/ [4] http://www.dailydoseofqueer.com/?p=356
And Now for Some Fun
Friday, July 15th, 2005[1]Check out montage-a-googl [2]e [3]. According to the website: Montage-a-google is a simple web-based app that uses Google's image search to generate a large gridded montage of images based on keywords (search terms) entered by the user. Not only an interesting way of browsing the net, it can also be used to create desktop pictures or even posters.So I entered ftm and transsexual into the search engine and got this lovely montage. [1] http://jaysennett.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/monage_a_google_1.jpg [2] http://grant.robinson.name/projects/montage-a-google/ [3] http://jaysennett.typepad.com/.shared/image.html?/photos/uncategorized/monage_a_google.jpg
