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Adorable Trans Teen Couple

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  • Post category:GLBT Issues

From the Daily Mail is this story on the cutest trans teen couple ever:

To the casual observer, this young couple look just like any other teenagers in love.

But pretty Katie Hill and her boyfriend Arin Andrews share a unique bond – they were both born as the opposite sex.

Katie, 18, spent the first 15 years of her life as Luke, son of a Marine colonel, while Arin, 16, was born a girl called Emerald who excelled at ballet dancing and won beauty contests.

Both struggled with their sexuality all through their childhoods and were teased and bullied but their lives were changed when they both began hormone therapy and later met at a trans support group in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and instantly fell in love.

Unfortunately the headline and some of the text is phrased in really problematic ways because the Daily Mail is a pretty big insensitive rag of a media outlet, but their story is the cutest thing and very much worth reading.

Katie Hill and Arin Andrews

Arin Andrews and Katie Hill

Also check out the video with the story.

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Only on afterellen.com would lesbian stalkers be a feel good story

Only on that site would no one question a story like this:

The 8 Craziest Pop Culture Lesbian Stalkers

When you hear the term “lesbian stalker,” it’s usually referencing someone you or your friend broke up with that you just can’t get away from. Well I’m sorry to say but lesbian communities are oh-so-small, my friends, and we’re all someone’s crazy ex. But sometimes there are legitimate stalkers who send Ellen Page creepy letters or sit outside Kerry Katona’s house. I’d like to think these people aren’t truly lesbian but just women who are weirdly obsessed with celebrities. But that doesn’t mean true lesbian stalkers don’t exist in the wonderful world of film and TV tropes! In fact, the obsessive gay woman that is willing to go to any length to have what she wants is quite popular. And because it’s that time of year when you like to cuddle up with your closest ladyfriend and watch a scary story, how about one of these true nuts?

Given that the “Predatory Lesbian” trope is even called out as a massive anti-gay stereotype on TV Tropes.com, which actually takes the time to note that much of the time, heterosexual people wrote these stories to scare women back into the closet and to justify homophobic behavior towards lesbians, one would think that a list like this from After Ellen would, I dunno… maybe include why this trope is problematic in it’s portrayal of lesbian characters?

But of course After Ellen would never ever question whether pop-culture’s portrayals of gay women are problematic, because they’re owned and managed by a pop-culture producer themselves, and giving actual critique of a semi-political nature wouldn’t be good for their bottom-line.

Sigh. I don’t know why I read this site anymore, really.

Continue ReadingOnly on afterellen.com would lesbian stalkers be a feel good story

Lesbian Avengers

Via Lesbian Avengers, the awesome lesbian direct action group that was active in the 1980s and 1990s.

On June 28, 1992 six activist dykes threw down the gauntlet: “LESBIANS! DYKES! GAY WOMEN!… We’re wasting our lives being careful. Imagine what your life could be. Aren’t you ready to make it happen?”

By 1994, a multitude had responded. Twenty thousand dykes marched on Washington. More than sixty chapters sprang up worldwide. The Lesbian Avengers also took “out” gay activism where it had never been before — into the heart of heartland politics where they successfully beat back anti-gay legislation in rural Idaho.

Two decades later, are they ancient history? Or a springboard to the future? It’s up to you.

Lesbian Avengers: We Recruit
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Evolutionary Psychology and its Top Ten Failures

This is worth reading… Via Dr. Beetle: Evolutionary Psychology and its Top Ten Failures.

The dreadful pseudo science of evolutionary psychology is founded upon concepts such as survival of the fittest, selfish genes, inherited instincts and mind modules. It has shot to prominence in science and societies’ thinking, and found many a willing ear.

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‘Actor’ Geena Davis in Denver: ‘Gender inequalities are deeply entrenched’

Denver Business Journal: ‘Actor’ Geena Davis in Denver: ‘Gender inequalities are deeply entrenched’.

“We had, ‘I Dream of Jeannie,’ and ‘Bewitched,’” she said, noting that the bulk of those shows was spent on the men trying to stop the women from using their magical powers.

“This happened in several of my marriages,” Davis said wryly.

Continue Reading‘Actor’ Geena Davis in Denver: ‘Gender inequalities are deeply entrenched’

Pop Culture Memes for Old People: Gangnam Style

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  • Post category:Memes

Q. What is it? A. A pop song and video from a South Korean group called PSY.

Q. Why? A. Kids these days. It’s been played on the radio, parodied in various forms and has recently appeared on Saturday Night Live.

Do I give a crap? A. Probably not, but in case you want to know what the youngsters are talking about, this is it.

Continue ReadingPop Culture Memes for Old People: Gangnam Style

A Different Kind of Economic “Bubble”

A Different Kind of Economic “Bubble” by Sheila Kennedy.

Some interesting points Sheila makes in her class, based on the book “The Price of Inequality: How Today’s Divided Society Endangers Our Future” by Joseph Stiglitz on how the 1% rig the economic system to continuously give themselves an advantage:

According to Stiglitz, the vaunted American market is broken. It has been overwhelmed by politically engineered market advantages—special deals that economists call “rent-seeking.” The term refers to politically-achieved “exemptions” from the market that allow certain individuals to reap economic returns above normal market levels– profits derived from favorable political treatment rather than competitive success.

And another point – business and the wealthy shuffle off the cost of their business production onto the commons, making taxpayers bear the cost:

Stiglitz also argues that much of the rent-seeking that plagues our economy takes a more subtle form. In many cases, the production of a product produces what economists call “negative externalities.” These are costs that are incurred during the manufacturing or development process that end up being imposed on society rather than paid for by the producer and included in the price of the goods or services involved. The most commonly cited example would be a manufacturer who discharges his waste into a nearby waterway rather than properly disposing of it, shifting the costs of cleanup and disposal to others. Society pays for the pollution, and that cost is not included in the market price of the manufactured goods.

Sounds like an interesting book and an interesting course.

1 percent map illustration
1 percent map illustration
Continue ReadingA Different Kind of Economic “Bubble”

» The Revolution Will Not Be Polite: The Issue of Nice versus Good

While we’re reading the Social Justice League site, this article was interesting too…

Social justice is about destroying systematic marginalisation and privilege. Wishing to live in a more just, more equal world is simply not the same thing as wishing to live in a “nicer” world. I am not suggesting niceness is bad or that we should not behave in a nice way towards others if we want to! I also do not equate niceness with cooperation or collaboration with others. Here’s all I am saying: the conflation of ethical or just conduct (goodness), and polite conduct (niceness) is a big problem.

via » The Revolution Will Not Be Polite: The Issue of Nice versus Good – Social Justice League.

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How to be a fan of problematic things

Cool article: “How to be a fan of problematic things” by Social Justice League.

Liking problematic things doesn’t make you an asshole. In fact, you can like really problematic things and still be not only a good person, but a good social justice activist (TM)! After all, most texts have some problematic elements in them, because they’re produced by humans, who are well-known to be imperfect. But it can be surprisingly difficult to own up to the problematic things in the media you like, particularly when you feel strongly about it, as many fans do. We need to find a way to enjoy the media we like without hurting other people and marginalised groups. So with that in mind, here are my suggestions for things we should try our darnedest to do as self-confessed fans of problematic stuff.

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