And these are the people in our government?

Ashley here.

Michigan's Attorney General, Andrew Shirvell, has been harassing a gay student assembly president at University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Chris Armstrong. Shirvell has created a blog entitled "Chris Armstrong Watch", that downright attacks not only Armstrong, but his fellow supporters. Shirvell claims that he isn't against homosexuals, just their "radical agendas", i.e. gay rights. This is a man who is supposed to be one of the most educated people in our government, what with 4 years of undergraduate study, 3 years of law school and then many, many years of formal experience and training, yet he is just as ignorant as some of the uneducated, racist and bigot people I come in contact here in the South. How can Michigan's State Department continue to support an employee who is attacking a citizen, in addition to picketing outside of his house?Armstrong and his supporters and members of the student assembly claim that they have been victims of homophobia and that's the main reason for their attempts to advance gay rights. Seems completely legitimate and brave if you ask me. Shirvell's response? Armstrong's statements are "fairy tales and outright lies".

These are the type of people that exist in our government and who are administering justice to citizens. How scary is that? If we have government officials that can openly harass another human being without any consequences whatsoever, what's to say that justice to victims of homophobic attacks won't be administered unfairly, if at all? LGTBQ people can have a hard time accepting who they are to begin with (Thanks Jess and Victoria for recommending "For the Bible Tells Me So"..just finished it last night!) and then have to face their families and friends, who oftentimes are not very understanding. If these people can't get relief or acceptance anywhere, then they may turn to drugs or attempted or completed suicide, that they probably would not have been so inclined to do if they had a strong support system. Shirvell's statements just increase the homophobia that already exists and instills those negative thoughts into citizens who may look up to government officials.

It's absolutely disgusting the things that people can say and get away with only because it's about LGBTQs. Our generation should start showing that we don't support these negative views and let's get out there and vote for and support the people who understand that these people are normal people with the same feelings, thoughts, likes and dislikes that they had before you knew they were gay. Everyone has a right to feel safe and just this month alone 4 gay teens have committed suicide because of bullying. Stronger anti-bullying campaigns need to be put in place to protect these teens and provide support groups consisting of people who love and understand them. "Gay-bashing" should NEVER be supported by anyone, no matter what their views..what if someone came up and beat the heck out of you just because you were: a woman, colored, wore the wrong clothes, etc? It wouldn't be okay in that sense, so it's definitely not okay to do it to someone just because he or she is gay or lesbian.

I've included a ton of links here for more information:

These first 4 are about the 4 gay teen suicides this month (Thanks Andrew):

http://abcnews.go.com/US/victim-secret-dorm-sex-tape-commits-suicide/story?id=11758716

http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2010/09/another-suicide-houston-teen-victim-of-anti-gay-bullying-shoots-himself/

http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2010/09/indiana-teens-suicide-thought-to-be-result-of-anti-gay-bullying/

http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2010/09/gay-teen-dies-after-10-days-on-life-support-following-suicide-attempt-over-anti-gay-bullying/

Shirvell's interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper:

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/09/29/michigan-ag-gay-student/

Shirvell's terrible blog attacking Chris Armstrong:

http://chris-armstrong-watch.blogspot.com/

United we stand?

Hey guys, Cheyenne here.

So today I want to talk about a topic that I've been following for months in fact even years, yet, for some reason I haven't covered it. It has often been a topic that I loose way too much sleep over.

Unfortunately the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (DADT) failed in the Senate today. The votes, as you may or may not know, were 56-43 the senate democrats fell short of the 60 vote requirement by four people. The Republican party didn't fail to show how much disdain they have for the LGBTQ community today.

The republican's filibuster makes me ever so worried about the discrimination that is far too prevalent in our society. Why is it that people think that they can tell someone that they're inferior to the rest of society, and therefor deserve lesser rights, than the rest of the population just based on something as insignificant as who that person lies next to at the end of the day?

We're all people right?

Apparently not.

In blocking this bill the senate republicans also blocked legislation that would have raised our defense spending by $726 billion that would also raise our soldiers pay....good job guys. What a way to let our soldiers know we care!

The absolute disregard for human decency doesn't fail to shock me. Instead of encouraging the men and women of out Nation to fight and serve in the military, and then bring their respective partners to annual military ball. We, as a society, are forcing these couragious and admirable people to be closeted and are in turn contributing to the harassment, and all too often the deaths, that LGBTQ men and women face in the military.

It's a sad day when you feel like the entire nation has failed to recognize the worth of an entire group of its citizens...and today was that day.

You would think that with the repeal of Proposition 8, that we would be on our way to being a more tolerant and accepting country..but as today proved the backwards notion that "all gays and lesbians are bad" is holding us back from accepting that all people are beautiful, and should be created equal.

Don't get me wrong, I know that discrimination comes in more forms than homophobia. However the notion that anyone who doesn't fit into what the hetero-normative society tells us we should be is looked down upon and stripped of their rights is disgusting.


Come on, have some decency people!

Lady Gaga performed in Raleigh last night and I was lucky enough to be able to go. I've followed her for about a year and a half now and love her music in addition to everything that she stands for. Right before the concert, I was told by my mother than my aunt was disappointed in the show, so to just be apprehensive about how excited I got. Gaga opened with my favorite song "Dance in the Dark" and continued to play almost her entire album in addition to a new song she had just finished. In between sets and songs, Lady Gaga spoke very openly about her support for the LGBTQ community, which I LOVED. I thought it was so amazing that someone so wonderful and powerful also had such amazing political views. At one point, I have to admit, I even teared up because her words were so moving and I couldn't help but think of the LGBTQs that were there that, maybe for the first time, felt free to be whoever it is they wanted to be.

After the first act, The Semi Precious Weapons, and before Lady Gaga came on stage, there was a commercial thing that discussed the charity Lady Gaga supports, called Re*Generation. This charity helps homeless youth, 1 out of 5 who identify as LGBTQ, find homes and stable environments. I know this charity is nothing new, but I couldn't help but get upset to know that 1 out of 5 homeless youth were kicked out of their homes due to their sexual orientation. I have been asking myself all day why the majority of the population doesn't see these wonderful people as just that, wonderful people? How could someone think that just because a person isn't in a "typical" heterosexual relationship that they have any less value or are any less of a person? The LGBTQ community still lives in some sort of fear of being attacked, whether verbally or physically, which is infuriating. These people are still people, and more than that, they are some of the most wonderful people that I have ever met. These people know exactly who they are and are so brave to be able to come out about it, which is way more than most people my age can say. Most of us are still trying to find ourselves and discover what we want to be, etc. so if anything we should be SUPPORTING the LGBTQ community because of their bravery! They make it possible for other people to accept who they are, and there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, I think it's wonderful.

Back to my mother saying that my aunt was disappointed about the show, though. I called her and asked her how on earth my aunt could have been disappointed? Lady Gaga played just about every song she's written, had amazing costumes and insane sets! I should have known. My aunt was disappointed because of Lady Gaga's political views. It's so aggravating for me to hear stuff like that. I know there are so many people who have gotten the bravery to come out because of Gaga's support and messages and I think it's wonderful that she toured all over the world to preach the same message: Those who identify as LGBTQ are amazing people with hearts and feelings just like the rest of us. In fact, Lady Gaga is matching fans' donations to Re*Generation up to $25,000 and proceeds from every show she performed this summer went to this charity.

I truly hope that we can begin to accept people for who they are. Just because someone has different views or sexual orientations than you doesn't mean they're any less of a person. We're all human and we all have feelings. Let's start being more supportive of those who are doing such brave things by coming out. Let's begin to embrace these people for who they are, because their sexual orientations don't make them any different than who they were BEFORE you knew their sexual orientation. Let's all try to do something in our community to help these youth (and adults too!!) who are struggling to tell their loved ones who they are. Everyone should be allowed to express themselves and be who they want to be, no matter what it is. We can volunteer at our local violence center, we can donate to Re*Generation (www.ladyvirgin.com)..even $5 would make a difference, and let's start being supportive of those around us who may have "weird" orientations. If we don't start to do something now, these wonderful and amazing people will continue to live in fear that they'll be abused or disowned, and no one should have to be afraid of who they truly are.

*Ashley

The Not-So-Silent Protagonist

[A man is] an idiot online, [he gets] called a fucking idiot. [A woman is] an idiot online, she gets called a stupid whore.

Abbie Heppe from G4tv.com recently reviewed Metroid: Other M, and a not-so-surprising thing happened: there was backlash. The review was largely negative, when other reviews were generally average or higher. The review concerns itself with calling out the disparity between the female protagonist's prior actions throughout the series and the way the character is presented in this iteration. As an internet denizen, I am not in the least caught off-guard by this. When a highly anticipated game from a well-known publisher (Nintendo) and developer (Team Ninja) comes out, reviews are scrutinized, debated, ripped to shreds as individuals attempt to cling to their preconceived notions that were largely borne from marketing. When an outlier appears, it is usually lambasted as "unfair" or having missed the point. This is not new, and it will happen with nearly every major game release.

What was surprising was the nature of the backlash. While G4 removed most of the comments from the review (which can be found here), many a blog post has been made about their largely misogynist contents. Such gems as "Silly feminist and their emotions getting in the way of professionalism," and "Who are videogames like Metroid made for? Boys! (This isn't Cookin' Mama)".

For those unaware, Samus Aran, the hero of the Metroid series, is a bounty hunter in space. Her first appearance was in Metroid on the NES in 1986. Throughout the game, Samus' gender is never revealed. Upon completing the game, however, Samus removes the helmet of her suit and lets loose flowing green hair. This was revolutionary at the time, given that most (if not all) protagonists in video games were either male or had no gender.

Without getting into too much detail, Abbie's point is this: by this point in her life, Samus has nearly eradicated an entire species of dangerous creatures, infiltrated several dangerous space pirate facilities, blown up the majority of them, destroyed a handful of planets, and killed a flying space dragon four times.

However, in Metroid: Other M, the sight of the same flying space dragon elicits tears and flashbacks of a childhood event.

This clear disparity upsets Abbie, rightfully so, I believe. In an entertainment medium largely devoid of non-over-sexualized female representation, to Abbie the apparent degradation of a strong woman is jarring. To many, Samus was the Ellen Ripley of video games. I think it speaks to the current "boys club" nature of the current video game industry.

Avoiding the argument of whether games journalism should involve actual criticism or whether they are a consumer service ("What does it mean?" versus "Should you buy it?") is impossible in a situation like this. Veracity of some of her claims aside, namely her assertion that Samus was previously a silent protagonist, Abbie's arguments against the goodness of Metroid: Other M are largely opinion and reflect that some things are very important to her -- things which Other M disrespected.

To stoop to the level of name-calling and making sexist comments is a disservice to both women and video games (and the people who play them) as a whole. The question I have, though, is this a disproportionate response to something with which someone disagrees? Or is it indicative of an underlying sexist nature of video gamers?

Just a short note...

Ever since I started reading Jessica Valenti (Thanks Cheyenne!), I've wanted to get involved with Women's Rights organizations. I did a lot of research on the different ones in the Raleigh area and while browsing NOW's (National Organization for Women) website, I stumbled upon this awesome new graduate program that the University of Colorado offers. It's a Master's in Public Administration with a concentration in Domestic Violence! It's the only one in the country and if any of you are interested in working with victims, this would be a wonderful program to look into. I've also included some feminist links that I find informative and interesting as well. It's been a busy week but I'll try to post more this weekend. OH and Tray will be writing a blog/commentary on an article dealing with feminism on here soon!

http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/SPA/Academics/graduatecertificates/DomesticViolenceCertificate/Pages/MPARequ.aspx

http://www.feministing.com/

http://shelbyknox.com/

http://www.now.org/

Feminism may not be dead, but it wasn't born yesterday

Hey guys, Cheyenne here.
I'm the second part of this collaborative blog.

I'm currently living in New York, and I see a lot of injustices every day just walking around Manhattan, none the less in other boroughs. While I could go on for hours about myself, I'm not here today to talk about me...I do that enough every day ;)

I do, however, want to talk about a woman that is very near and dear to my heart. In my opinion she was at the forefront of feminism. She helped raise me, and taught me some of the most important life lessons. Who is this person you might ask. Her name is Marjorie Lockhart, my and Ashley's grandmother, she was one of the most amazing women I have ever met.

Marjorie Lockart, or grandma as I liked to call her, was an extraordinary woman for many reasons. However I want to focus on only a few. My grandma overcame a great deal of obsticals in her life. When she was young as well as when she grew to have a family and became a mother, grandmother, and great grandmother.

Born on Valentines day in 1926 in the middle of a blizzard, she didn't have the easiest start in life. She was born and raised in, not kidding here, Farmland IN. Sounds like fun right?

Born to a minister and raised in the church, she was no stranger to the societal constraints and restrictions that were put on women during that time. Well when she graduated from high school, she ended up in Chicago IL where she met and married her husband. In her prime she started working, which was a rarity to see at all in the mid-century 1900's. She held several jobs including working for the school board. She went to families of children who were stricken by poverty and helped them get the resources needed to go to school, among other things. She was head of the school board, and worked to help support her family.

While she was working a truly tough work schedule filled with long days and nights, she was still raising five beautiful children. But, one day a tragedy struck her family. Her son was in an accident rendering him helplessly trapped in a coma for months on end. For all of those months she would stay at the hospital with him and pray for his recovery, while still working and raising her other children. When the youngest of the five children, my mother, graduated high school and was old enough to mover out of the house, my grandfather was offered a job in Saudi Arabia.

So what does my grandma do?
She packs up, and moves across the world of course! They headed east, and didn't look back. While she was overseas she didn't just stick to the country where her husband worked, no, she went to Thailand, France, England, and Germany (just to name a few). When all of the social norms were telling her to stay home and cook dinner she went out and explored the world. She genuinely made the most of life, and jumped in feet first.

When she returned to the states she eventually (when her husband passed away) moved to TN, bought a house, and made every attempt to live her life to the fullest. She went on cruises and vacations with friends, and family.

She looked after her grandchildren, and traveled around the country to spent time with the one's she loved.

Then I came into the picture. Some of my fondest memories are of being at her house, stealing her slimfast, and just spending time with her. When I was young, my grandma moved from Tennessee to South Carolina to help my mom take care of my brother, sister, and me. She watched us after school and tried, unsuccessfully might I add, to teach us her hobbies. I vividly remember her teaching me how to cross stitch, paint, and play scrabble. She would read me poetry by William Blake and Shakespeare...too bad my lack of attention made her efforts futile.

In 2004 my grandmother had a horrible stroke that damaged the section of her brain that controlled her motor skills and landed her in the hospital for about two months, followed by rehabilitation to strengthen her motor skills. When she was finally released she moved in with my family, and spent the next and final years of her life inadvertently teaching me some of the most important lessons in life.

Marjorie Lockhart was a woman that faced the world head on and said f-you to the typical standards that women were held to. She went out into thew world to provide for her family when it wasn't the "thing to do". She truly was an incredible woman, and she instilled the idea of independence in me, if not all of her children and grandchildren.

Why are women still keeping us down?

I truly don't understand why women still feel this way. We have worked so hard to gain the same respect as men everywhere we go, especially in the workplace, and women like this chisel away at all we have accomplished so far. While I am not against stay at home moms, I feel that women should not be focused on graduating high school so they can hurry up and get married. It's empowering for us to go to college and have a career and despite what people may think, it is possible for us to have a career AND a husband. Why do people still feel that these are mutually exclusive? Men can go to school and have a family, so there's no good reason out there that women can't do the same. It's also bizarre to me that shopping and painting one's nails are the biggest concerns in a 19 year old's life. Why are we not taking the SAT and applying for college? Why can't we take the SAT, apply for (and go to!) college AND still want to go shopping and paint our nails? I know I have done, and am doing, all of these things...and I'm no one special. Women need to stop keeping other women down and stop demeaning the prospect of college AND a family...it can be and IS done!