activism

Over the weekend, The Bilerico Project published a fascinating interview with Ellyn Ruthstrom, a seasoned bi activist who became the first and only paid staff member at the Bisexual Resource Center in 2011. Unfortunately, BRC’s current lack of funding prevents Ruthstrom from continuing to earn a salary, but she is still deeply involved in the organization and bi activism in general. In the interview, she explains the challenges bi organizations have faced as they’ve worked to strengthen the movement.

The crux of my confusion lies in the way that people who agree on the basic premise that social inequality exists and needs to be addressed sometimes fracture themselves by fighting about how to accomplish this goal, while the seeming majority blithely naturalizes inequalities, perpetuates systemic prejudices, and authorizes the erasure of difference—all while throwing out phrases like "that's gay" with impunity. As an activist, I’m not really sure where I fit into all this, or what my purpose is.

Anyone else have perspectives on these tensions? I have so many more questions than answers.

I'm an affectionate person, almost everyone I've dated or been friends with commenting on that. But whenever I am out in public with my fiancée, I become self-consciously affectionate. Not because I'm concerned about what nasty thoughts people might think about seeing such queerness, but because of what they fail to think.

This post is about what I consider to be one way of being the change I want to see. I think of it as a small public education intervention that I do almost every day.

So I was watching Glee the other night, waiting desperately to see if Brittany and Santana would show some sign that they were still together. As I tried to peer into the minds of Glee’s creators and discover their subversive intent in having the lesbian character Santana dance to a song with romantic lyrics about boy/girl love with the gay-in-real-life Ricky Martin, it hit me: TV is not activism. I mean, critiquing TV can be activism, but TV programming itself exists, by and large, in the service of profit, not activism. In recognition of TV’s persuasive powers over “impressionable youth,” there is a long history of the “after school special” and the “very special episode” of family sitcoms. But the structural inequalities and relations of rule responsible for the most urgent cultural problems of our time run way deeper than the politics of media representation.

Fighting for social justice doesn’t need to stop when you give birth. In fact, in my opinion, we should fight even harder if we have to raise a kid or two in this world. Also, by continuing our activism postpartum, we’ll set kick-ass examples for our children. It’s win-win all around.

No, not that kind of craftivism (although my fingers are crossed for that vulva necklace this Hanukkah). This week I'm all about Etsy's growing community of world-saving vendors; whether they're sustainable in their work practices, donate money from each sale to charitable organizations, or print their politics right on their products, these crafters make activism an art.

Prison-rights activist and black feminist Angela Davis was arrested forty years ago this month for accomplice to conspiracy, kidnapping, and homicide. Celebrate this iconic woman who has never stopped or been silenced by checking out a new documentary featuring her alongside fellow activist Yuri Kochiyama and a full-length segment on Democracy Now! More after the jump.

Although she always claimed her birthday was May 1st--International Worker's Day, Mary Harris "Mother" Jones was born on August 1st, 1837 (although she also claimed to be born years earlier, in part to maintain her grandmotherly public persona).

Another Bitch podcast ready for your aural consumption! Like the Action issue, this podcast speaks broadly to the theme: Annie Leonard on the big deal with cap and trade, what Lady Gaga has to do with labor unions, and one feminist film buff who loves action movies (and thinks that Judi Dench should be in more of them!) Plus, music by Brooklyn duo Buke and Gass, whose debut full-length album Riposte is due out September 14th from Brassland records. Stream it below, subscribe on iTunes or RSS, or download it! Podcast script and links after the jump!



Transcript (PDF)

Want to know the story behind the Story of Stuff? In this interview, Annie Leonard talks about how the original Story of Stuff came about, how she got into activism, the backlash she got for covering cap and trade from within the environmental movement, and why its important for celebrity activists to push the envelope. Check out The Story of Stuff website on the truth about cap and trade, bottled water, and cosmetics. Transcript