Showing posts tagged social justice

Anti-Semitism?

Things that are anti-Semitic:

- When swastikas were spray painted on my local synagogue.

- When the Westboro Baptist Church protested Rutgers Hillel.

- When Sarah Palin misuses the term “blood libel.”

- When young children like the girls from Prussian Blue are brainwashed and encouraged to sing Nazi songs. 

- When white nationalists attempt to rewrite history and pretend the Holocaust never happened.

Things that are the opposite of anti-Semitic:

- When BAKA, a progressive student organization that opposes all forms of social injustice, holds an event titled “Never Again for Anyone.” Among the speakers: two Holocaust survivors.

- Progressive Jews and gentiles who attended this event and respectfully supported these pro-Jewish, anti-Zionist speakers.

Things that just make no fucking sense:

- Hillel protesting said event, leaving a Holocaust refugee completely shaken.

Naomi Wolf and MP clash over naming of rape accusers

This is the video I referred to in my last post. A lot of posts on Twitter are making note of the problematic solution Naomi Wolf is presenting here, but completely ignoring the way Louise Bagshawe avoids Wolf’s overall point and fails to take into consideration the larger implications of this case. What’s her answer to the structural problem that’s keeping conviction rates so low? 

projectqueer: queerwatch: John Bickford: I suggest going to Target, filling up a cart with stuff you would normally buy there, then abandoning the cart with a sign taped to it that reads: “This is what I would have bought today, except that Target lost my business by contributing to a homophobic politician who wants to take my rights away.” View high resolution

projectqueer:

queerwatch:

John Bickford: I suggest going to Target, filling up a cart with stuff you would normally buy there, then abandoning the cart with a sign taped to it that reads: “This is what I would have bought today, except that Target lost my business by contributing to a homophobic politician who wants to take my rights away.”

(Reblogged from projectqueer)
(via femasculine) When’s the last time this organization actually did anything useful in terms of advancing the ethical treatment of animals? As far as I can tell all they do is contribute to the unethical treatment of women and other minorities. Between the exoticism, the misogyny, and the transphobia they embrace in their advertisements, I’m not sure how anyone can take them seriously. They demonize anyone and everyone who eats meat, consumes dairy, and/or wears fur because they are abusing animals’ bodies; meanwhile, their advertisements capitalize on the male gaze and the sexualization of (anonymous) female bodies in order to further their point—the point being, of course, that we should all go vegan so that we look more attractive to men. Maybe then we wouldn’t all be so fat and ugly and unappetizing. It’s okay to put women out there for popular consumption, just as long as people stop consuming animals. I’ve been a vegetarian for more than half my life, and I fully support the promotion of a vegetarian lifestyle, but really, we live in a fucked up world when animals’ bodies are considered more of a social concern than women’s bodies. WE ARE HUMAN BEINGS. View high resolution

(via femasculine)

When’s the last time this organization actually did anything useful in terms of advancing the ethical treatment of animals? As far as I can tell all they do is contribute to the unethical treatment of women and other minorities. Between the exoticism, the misogyny, and the transphobia they embrace in their advertisements, I’m not sure how anyone can take them seriously. They demonize anyone and everyone who eats meat, consumes dairy, and/or wears fur because they are abusing animals’ bodies; meanwhile, their advertisements capitalize on the male gaze and the sexualization of (anonymous) female bodies in order to further their point—the point being, of course, that we should all go vegan so that we look more attractive to men. Maybe then we wouldn’t all be so fat and ugly and unappetizing. It’s okay to put women out there for popular consumption, just as long as people stop consuming animals.

I’ve been a vegetarian for more than half my life, and I fully support the promotion of a vegetarian lifestyle, but really, we live in a fucked up world when animals’ bodies are considered more of a social concern than women’s bodies.

WE ARE HUMAN BEINGS.

(Reblogged from femasculine)

Food Justice and Race

I was reading Jennifer’s blog about Highland Park’s Farmers Market, which I also sometimes go to on Fridays, and was intrigued by some of the points she brought up about the social divide when it comes to healthy available foods. Aside from the Farmers Market, the divide is pretty obvious to anyone who has attempted to go grocery shopping in New Brunswick (where I go to school, at Rutgers). The only supermarket here is C-Town, which is basically a fly-infested shithole full of “food for savings,” which isn’t all that surprising given that the supermarket is geared towards low-income families. That’s a demographic that’s very easy for grocery stores to take advantage of… and they do.

Between weekly sales, manager specials, discounts for buying in bulk, and coupons that come out with each purchase using a store card, it’s actually a lot easier to save money by shopping at Stop & Shop, which is geared more towards its white, largely Jewish population, and therefore cleaner, healthier, and more vegetarian and Kosher-friendly than C-Town. However, it’s not always possible for New Brunswick families to shop there, either because they don’t have the transportation to get there or can’t afford to buy in bulk, regardless of the money it will save them in the long run.

As the Racialicious article I posted before mentions, Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation elaborates on the harmful effects of labor that particularly affects people of color, but makes no mention of race in relation to food justice... or the fact that most proponents of the food reform movement are wealthy white men.

(Be sure to visit Jennifer’s blog for more great posts about food and chai and other lovely things!)

I don’t care if Beatles fans are outraged; I’m in love with this woman.

(via questions-thoughts) I’ve been really interested in food justice ever since my sociology seminar on race, science, and medicine… more on this tomorrow, when I’m finished writing this godawful essay and finals are over. For now, here’s a helpful Racialicious post on food justice: Sustainable Food and Privilege

(via questions-thoughts)

I’ve been really interested in food justice ever since my sociology seminar on race, science, and medicine… more on this tomorrow, when I’m finished writing this godawful essay and finals are over. For now, here’s a helpful Racialicious post on food justice: Sustainable Food and Privilege

(Reblogged from questions-thoughts)
projectqueer: Caster Semenya officially cleared to compete! (ABOUT TIME!) The International Association for Athletics Federations officially cleared 19-year-old South African runner Caster Semenya for competition in the women’s division. After 11 months of “gender testing” the world champion runner’s clearance takes “immediate effect,” reports the Associated Press.  The test results will remain confidential and the matter of her gender will not be questioned again. She will begin her comeback in Europe before competing at the African championships in Kenya, which begin July 28. Source: http://www.365gay.com/uncategorized/wed-watercooler-gaga-ows-nyc-semenya-off-running/ It just pisses me off that she had to go through this to begin with. Many athletes before her have had their careers threatened if not ruined over this. Even if she passed the invasive tests, it is beyond me how someone can be considered “cheating” with their gender. Maybe the problem is our concept of gender and the limitations of a male/female binary rather than Semenya’s athleticism and ‘masculine’ qualities.

projectqueer:

Caster Semenya officially cleared to compete! (ABOUT TIME!)

The International Association for Athletics Federations officially cleared 19-year-old South African runner Caster Semenya for competition in the women’s division.

After 11 months of “gender testing” the world champion runner’s clearance takes “immediate effect,” reports the Associated Press. 

The test results will remain confidential and the matter of her gender will not be questioned again. She will begin her comeback in Europe before competing at the African championships in Kenya, which begin July 28.

Source: http://www.365gay.com/uncategorized/wed-watercooler-gaga-ows-nyc-semenya-off-running/

It just pisses me off that she had to go through this to begin with. Many athletes before her have had their careers threatened if not ruined over this. Even if she passed the invasive tests, it is beyond me how someone can be considered “cheating” with their gender. Maybe the problem is our concept of gender and the limitations of a male/female binary rather than Semenya’s athleticism and ‘masculine’ qualities.

(Reblogged from projectqueer)
This photo is from last week’s Pride parade in New York. Everyone is always pretty friendly in allowing me to take their photo at these events — it’s one of the only times people are that gracious about having a stranger stick a camera in their face, and it’s one of the things I love about NYC Pride. I also love that it’s one of the most racially diverse queer events you could ever participate in. Not every state is that lucky. What I hate about Pride, though, is that like any queer-related event, the focus is still on very homonormative goals and values. This year, there was a lot of focus on DADT and on marriage, as there was last year. Don’t get me wrong, when I decided to sneak into the march last year, I ended up walking with Marriage Equality NY - and they were lovely people! But the emphasis on “gay marriage” is problematic for a number of reasons: it ignores the fact that not everyone who wants a same-sex marriage is gay, and it also prioritizes marriage (something that mainly affects gays and lesbians) over issues that affect the other letters in our acronym, such as trans-inclusive hate crime legislation. Last year, I was at an LGBTQ conference with other colleges in the Northeast, and we were asked to state our opinions on a number of issues affecting our community by standing in various boxes ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. When marriage came up, 95% of students strongly disagreed with Prop 8. When HRC’s actions concerning ENDA came up, 95% of students stared blankly at the man asking us questions, as they had no clue what he was talking about. Let’s think about this for a minute: a bunch of students living on the east coast were up to date and very much concerned with a law in California concerning marriage, yet none of them knew about HRC lying to the trans community and pushing for a non-inclusive ENDA, an action that probably set our community back a good decade. They’ve since apologized, but it’s still troubling that this doesn’t quite register as a big concern within the LGBTQ community.I also saw a lot of “born gay” signs this year, a phrase that annoys me more and more every time I hear it. I think it’s one of the worst approaches to homophobia our community has ever created. Besides the fact that it (absurdly) singles sexual orientation down to this one so-called “gay gene,” it assumes gender by suggesting that biology predetermines our attraction to gender. If we understand gender to be biologically innate (rather than a social construct), the “born gay” standpoint further complicates the LGB relationship with the trans community, and we have enough tension there to begin with. “Born gay” is an easy comeback to the argument that homosexuality is unnatural as well as the religious argument, but it’s more problematic than anything else, and completely ignores the fluidity of sexuality.In addition to the born gay posters were signs that appropriated the language of the Civil Rights Movement. I believe I’ve posted about this before (one one of my blogs, at least), but I’m bothered by it so much more after Prop 8. As it is, offending the black community by equating our struggle with the Civil Rights Movement does nothing to help our relationship with people of color, but it’s especially offensive after we blamed black and Latino voters for the outcome of Prop 8. And that was only after opponents of Prop 8 did not go into communities of color to appeal for their vote in the first place…I still love Pride events, and I always enjoy myself in the craziness of it all. But we’re not immune to homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, or racism just because we are a fairly progressive community. As a community so focused on our own oppression, we should be more conscious of the prejudice within our own community and the voices we silence in favor of the ones more marketable to heteronormative society. (cross-posted on my main blog) View high resolution

This photo is from last week’s Pride parade in New York. Everyone is always pretty friendly in allowing me to take their photo at these events — it’s one of the only times people are that gracious about having a stranger stick a camera in their face, and it’s one of the things I love about NYC Pride. I also love that it’s one of the most racially diverse queer events you could ever participate in. Not every state is that lucky. What I hate about Pride, though, is that like any queer-related event, the focus is still on very homonormative goals and values.

This year, there was a lot of focus on DADT and on marriage, as there was last year. Don’t get me wrong, when I decided to sneak into the march last year, I ended up walking with Marriage Equality NY - and they were lovely people! But the emphasis on “gay marriage” is problematic for a number of reasons: it ignores the fact that not everyone who wants a same-sex marriage is gay, and it also prioritizes marriage (something that mainly affects gays and lesbians) over issues that affect the other letters in our acronym, such as trans-inclusive hate crime legislation. Last year, I was at an LGBTQ conference with other colleges in the Northeast, and we were asked to state our opinions on a number of issues affecting our community by standing in various boxes ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. When marriage came up, 95% of students strongly disagreed with Prop 8. When HRC’s actions concerning ENDA came up, 95% of students stared blankly at the man asking us questions, as they had no clue what he was talking about.

Let’s think about this for a minute: a bunch of students living on the east coast were up to date and very much concerned with a law in California concerning marriage, yet none of them knew about HRC lying to the trans community and pushing for a non-inclusive ENDA, an action that probably set our community back a good decade. They’ve since apologized, but it’s still troubling that this doesn’t quite register as a big concern within the LGBTQ community.

I also saw a lot of “born gay” signs this year, a phrase that annoys me more and more every time I hear it. I think it’s one of the worst approaches to homophobia our community has ever created. Besides the fact that it (absurdly) singles sexual orientation down to this one so-called “gay gene,” it assumes gender by suggesting that biology predetermines our attraction to gender. If we understand gender to be biologically innate (rather than a social construct), the “born gay” standpoint further complicates the LGB relationship with the trans community, and we have enough tension there to begin with. “Born gay” is an easy comeback to the argument that homosexuality is unnatural as well as the religious argument, but it’s more problematic than anything else, and completely ignores the fluidity of sexuality.

In addition to the born gay posters were signs that appropriated the language of the Civil Rights Movement. I believe I’ve posted about this before (one one of my blogs, at least), but I’m bothered by it so much more after Prop 8. As it is, offending the black community by equating our struggle with the Civil Rights Movement does nothing to help our relationship with people of color, but it’s especially offensive after we blamed black and Latino voters for the outcome of Prop 8. And that was only after opponents of Prop 8 did not go into communities of color to appeal for their vote in the first place…

I still love Pride events, and I always enjoy myself in the craziness of it all. But we’re not immune to homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, or racism just because we are a fairly progressive community. As a community so focused on our own oppression, we should be more conscious of the prejudice within our own community and the voices we silence in favor of the ones more marketable to heteronormative society.

(cross-posted on my main blog)

Antibullying Bill Passes N.Y. State Senate

The Dignity for All Students Act has passed in New York! This is an incredible win, as the bill includes gender identity and expression as opposed to limiting its protection of queer identities to sexual orientation only. Transgender rights are so easily passed over and forgotten by the LGBTQ community, but for once, this is great news.