Masculinity

Homophobia and Misogyny

Monday, April 30th, 2007

Terrance at the Republic of T. has by far one of the best essays about the shootings at Virginia Tech I have so far read. Homophobia played a key feature in the lives of several school shooters, who were bullied by their peers with fists and taunts of “faggot.”
We underestimate the role homophobia plays in […]

Problems With Contemporary American Masculinity

Tuesday, April 24th, 2007

You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video
From the Media Education Foundation,  Tough Guise: Violence, Media & The Crisis in Masculinity.
Some of the major problems in American society - especially those connected with violence - can be looked upon as problems with contemporary American masculinity.
One of the points Jackson Katz makes: […]

My Letter to La Quinta

Monday, April 16th, 2007

Here is the email I sent to La Quinta:
 Last night I saw your advertisement containing this verbiage: “Your wife is escorted off the plane.” This text was followed by “You get the window seat.”
Is La Quinta suggesting that their core customer is an idiot man who relishes in the fact that his wife has been […]

Random Thoughts on Forge Forward 2007

Tuesday, April 3rd, 2007

In no particular order, I’ve written down my thoughts and feelings about masculinity after attending the Forge Forward 2007 conference:

White privilege remains entrenched within white trans male space.
In the privilege workshop I attended, several white trans men expressed ambivalence about owning their privilege.
When they did own it, they apologized for it.
Male […]

A Poem from a Reader

Thursday, January 11th, 2007

Self-Organizing Men inspired Rich Tolman to write the following poem. He has graciously allowed me to reprint it in its entirety.
My voice is changing again…
I’m a Bar Mitzvah boy.
Two weeks shy of thirteen.
Performing for the first time
Before family, friends, a congregation of witnesses
Go ahead Bar Mitzvah Boy.
Read ancient script-with no vowels-from a sheepskin parchment
Sing ancient […]

Call for Submissions: Beyond Masculinity

Wednesday, January 10th, 2007

1. SEEKING ESSAY SUBMISSIONS BY QUEER MEN ON GENDER AND POLITICS
BEYOND MASCULINITY:
Essays by Queer Men on Gender and Politics
http://www.beyondmasculinity.com
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS:
Gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer men’s gender identities often exist
somewhere outside the traditional categories of “masculine” and
“feminine.” Sissies, drag queens, and leather daddies alike play with
gender in a way that cannot be accounted for in […]

Self-Organizing Men - “A Watershed Year for Trans Rights”

Saturday, December 30th, 2006

File this one under awe.some.
From The San Francisco Bay Times:
Following on the footsteps of a watershed year, 2006 saw increased visibility and political gains for the U.S. trans community. Here are some examples:
(Snip)
14. (Snip) Work by trans writers could also be found in numerous anthologies, including The Full Spectrum (edited by David Levithan and […]

Big Problem

Wednesday, December 20th, 2006

Eli VandenBerg writes about size and how transitioning has changed his perception of himself. The print above is found in Self-Organizing Men.
One of the human aspects of living that Eli V.’s work captures with extraordinary tenderness is the sometimes enormous gap between what we think of ourselves as opposed to what we see in the […]