Imagine being teased and harassed by your peers--“You’re gay!” “You’re girlie!” “You’re a fag!”—because you don’t conform to their expectations of you based on your gender.
Imagine that this happens every day at school.
Imagine that you are 11 years old.
What if every week your mother pleaded with the officials at your school to do something to put an end to the taunting--to no avail?
And what if one day you just couldn’t take it anymore?
"The average age of entry into prostitution today in the Untied States is 13 years old." The stories of some of the girls whose lives bear out this disturbing statistic are told in Very Young Girls, one of three documentaries in recent years that examine the lives of black girls and women.
During the '08 campaign season, I cringed at comments made about former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s “hotness” and at the idea of the porno “Nailin’ Sarah Palin”--even though Palin's politics, her demeanor, and pretty much everything about her, made me throw up in my mouth a little. And to be sure, if Palin had become vice president, continued objectification of her and ongoing commentary about her of sexual nature would have bugged me to no end--even as I packed up and headed to Canada. And yet...
When people talk about Madonna as a symbol of female empowerment, I have to ask, "Empowering to whom?" Certainly not to the black and brown people populating her Sex book, her videos, or her film Truth or Dare. It is through this lens of Madonna's messy racial and sexual politics that I viewed her adoption of a child from Malawi three years ago, and her recent, thus-far-unsuccessful effort to adopt a second child there.
Social Commentary
A black Muslim, a priest, and an Episcopalian walk into a bar…
*wait for it*
In Memoriam
Imagine being teased and harassed by your peers--“You’re gay!” “You’re girlie!” “You’re a fag!”—because you don’t conform to their expectations of you based on your gender.
Imagine that this happens every day at school.
Imagine that you are 11 years old.
What if every week your mother pleaded with the officials at your school to do something to put an end to the taunting--to no avail?
And what if one day you just couldn’t take it anymore?
Art + Domestic Violence Redux
This comes on the heels of my previous post about art and domestic violence.
John Waters' pop art portrayal of the relationship between Ike and Tina Turner is all-too-accurate.
The Souls (and Hair) of Black Girls
"The average age of entry into prostitution today in the Untied States is 13 years old." The stories of some of the girls whose lives bear out this disturbing statistic are told in Very Young Girls, one of three documentaries in recent years that examine the lives of black girls and women.
Say It Loud: "Obama is sexy!"
During the '08 campaign season, I cringed at comments made about former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s “hotness” and at the idea of the porno “Nailin’ Sarah Palin”--even though Palin's politics, her demeanor, and pretty much everything about her, made me throw up in my mouth a little. And to be sure, if Palin had become vice president, continued objectification of her and ongoing commentary about her of sexual nature would have bugged me to no end--even as I packed up and headed to Canada. And yet...
I think President Barack Obama is smokin' hot.
"Like a Rejection": Madonna Denied
When people talk about Madonna as a symbol of female empowerment, I have to ask, "Empowering to whom?" Certainly not to the black and brown people populating her Sex book, her videos, or her film Truth or Dare. It is through this lens of Madonna's messy racial and sexual politics that I viewed her adoption of a child from Malawi three years ago, and her recent, thus-far-unsuccessful effort to adopt a second child there.
Update to Problematic Cartoon: NY Post Apologizes...Sort Of
A Writing Prompt
Update on Mother of Fourteen: Nadya Suleman
The Swimsuit Issue: 2009
So the latest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue just hit my mailbox today. And as usual, I'm not really sure what I think about it.
Audio Smut