. This is the essence of queerness: To be queer is to be judged, and to find community with others who have been judged similarly. This is less a matter of radical “inclusivity” and more a kind of qualifying criteria for entry.
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The Orlando Shooter Was Born into America's Culture of Violence
hat we do know is that America still has some unsavory attitudes toward the LGBTQ community, even from the state level, and that we live in a very violent society—more than 33,000 Americans were killed in 2013 by guns, and the US leads high-income countries in the world in total firearm death rate. I sat down with Beverly Tillery, the executive director of the New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP), to discuss how Mateen's acts fit into the broader pattern of anti-queer violence in America.
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Flatbush + Main Episode 03: Queering Brooklyn Spaces
In episode 03 of Brooklyn Historical Society’s podcast Flatbush + Main, Zaheer and I tackle the history of queer spaces in Brooklyn. We sit down with curator and writer Hugh Ryan, who helps us define “queer” as a historical construct and shares some amazing hidden queer histories that he has uncovered. We also visit Lesbian Herstory Archives in the neighborhood of Park Slope to talk with co-founder Deborah Edel, and listen to the reflections of one Brooklynite who shared his life and experiences in our oral history collections.
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Image by Joe Sinnott
'How do you measure a life?' Carrie Mae Weems and SVA Commencement 2016
The star commencement speaker of the morning was an artist who has spent her life doing exactly that, photographer and MacArthur Fellow Carrie Mae Weems. In introducing her, Walter Rivera, a member of the SVA Board of Directors, called Weems “truly exceptional” for her willingness to both “speak truth to power” and “teach others to find their voices as well.” Weems has been a dancer, photographer, folklorist, mother, union organizer and—throughout it all—a documenter of what it means (or can mean) to be a black woman artist in America today.
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It’s Time to Take Cisgender Seriously
In a very real and measurable way, cisgender identity is no longer unmarked, universal, or assumed. It is denoted, limited, and in conversation with trans identities—or at least we’re moving in that direction.
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We got rid of gender-specific bathrooms, and it’s been fine
Around the country, small-minded activists have made battlegrounds of what should be safe, quiet, clean places for people to do their private business quickly and easily. But pushing back against this prejudice can be as easy as changing a sign. In just a few minutes, you can make the world a little safer for some of our most vulnerable citizens.
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Social Media Frees Moroccan Gays
Last month, in the small city of Beni-Mellal in central Morocco, two men were dragged from a private home, beaten by a mob (on camera), and then arrested by the authorities for “homosexual acts.”
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At 83, Chita Rivera Would Still Beat You in a Dance-Off
At eighty-three, Chita Rivera has had the kind of career longevity that no one who started off as a dancer could possibly expect. Along the way, she's picked up the Presidential Medal of Freedom and two Tony Awards. Oh, and she's also the first Latin@ to receive the Kennedy Center Honors.
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