Interesting arguments here and I’m definitely learning this the hard way as I navigate my way through the Bay Area this summer… with very little success.

Where the hell are all of these queer radical events being posted, I feel like I’ve looked everywhere? And if I just have to “know somebody” are they really open to all? Why does San Francisco, “gay capital of America”, seem so white and homonormative to me? 

I’m brand new here, so of course I could be judging too soon. Someone, for the love of Britney Spears, give me a good website please.

I have found some promise in craft nights at the Holdout though. I love crafting.

thecommonwoman:

This is a really interesting article about how white radical queers who have relocated to the Bay Area talk about it as if:

- everyone who lives in the Bay Area is from somewhere else and has the ability to move whenever they want

- everyone experiences the Bay Area as a queer paradise

- and more!

(By the way, before you tune out, non-Bay Area folk, this article is uber applicable to other “queer destination cities,” so read on.)

I don’t live in the Bay Area anymore, and I can’t claim to have grown up there. But I went to high school in the Bay Area and I lived there longer than I’ve lived anywhere else, so I guess it’s the closest to the traditional definition of “home” as I’ve got. And while I’ve certainly bought into the idea of SF/Oakland being The Queer Paradise, it’s weird to read some of the quoted comments in this article talking about “Bay Time” and “I just left my radical organizing group and now I”m going to my [some other radical queer group], ugh do I live in the Bay or what?” It reminds me of times visiting friends who have moved to Oakland who (unintentionally) make me feel dumb for not knowing about All the Queer Places in the place that I’m purportedly from.

I definitely wasn’t very aware of the nuances of this situation before reading this article, and I’m certainly guilty of fetishizing SF/Oakland, but the idea of this radical, white, queer, handkerchiefs-and-spandex identity being broadly attributed to the entire Bay Area is WEIRD. I can’t say that I’ve frequently experienced this happening myself because I haven’t really visited a whole lot since I left, but it’s WEIRD to hear about it being a thing. A lot of this is because I did not experience my part of the bay area to be a Big Queer Paradise, but mostly it’s because, Hello, Most of the Bay Area? Not white. Also, not gay.

Disclosure: I am a white uppermiddleclass highly educated cis currentlyablebodied queergirl who (for the purposes of brevity) grew up mostly in Silicon Valley and didn’t even realize she was queer until college. Silicon Valley (which is part of the Bay Area btw) was not a friendly place to be gay or pre-gay or even just politically nonconformist. My highschool now has LGBT-friendly stickers on the doors to all the classrooms, but it wasn’t friendly then and even now Silicon Valley does not feel (to me) like a place that is welcoming of queer people who aspire to politics that are any more radical than voting for whatever democrat is currently running. In fact, that is why I never went back after college and why I continue to live in St. Louis where I am constantly frustrated by the queer community and constantly asked “why are you HERE??” when people find out that I am (for the sake of brevity) from California.

Not to mention all the queer people of color and queer working class folk who are actually from the Bay Area who may also have experienced it as not very queer-friendly.

As the author points out, we radical white queers with privilege need to think about who gets marginalized, gentrified-out, and erased from our narratives of community when we essentialize cities, towns, neighborhoods as being Queertowns and Gayborhoods. We need to be accountable for our unearned privilege of being able to waltz into a city we’re not from, define Where The Gay Places Are, be as flamboyant as we want without having to worry about what our family/community thinks, and then be able to leave whenever we feel like it. We need to think about who isn’t feeling safe/welcomed/belonging to part of our community because they do not have the privilege of transience or because they experience their town fundamentally differently than we do.

gelopanda:

A thorough list of QPOC films/Documentaries that I need to watch. 

(via sparklingsodacans)

#gpoy

(via zombifuntime-deactivated2012072)

ihopericksantorum:

I hope Rick Santorum buys a 20 pc Chicken McNugget from McDonalds and has no one to share it with.

wow, who would dare wish such a terrible thing upon Rick Santorum???

mellamogerardo:

i feel like there’s a giant ball growing in my chest

like a ball made out of air

and, like, it’s filling me up

filling a giant void inside me

i feel happiness growing inside me

swelling the dark corners of my inner being

i’m so happy it hurts

Award-worthy poetry from my roomie and Qmate.

architizer:

Architecture LOLCATS from furrrocious forms.

YES PLEASE.

fuckyeahfluiddynamics:

A collaborative project on data visualization brings to life the wind velocity data across the United States.  The Wind Map is an interactive, nearly real-time indicator of wind conditions across the country, compiled on an hourly basis from the National Digital Forecast Database.  Be sure to click through to see the data in motion. Observing the variety in wind patterns over the scale of days brings to light the swirling motion of surface winds much the way Perpetual Ocean does for surface currents. Fluid dynamics are all around us. (via Gizmodo)

(via twitterpatedlyyours)

Columbia University’s ROOTEd (Respecting Ourselves and Others Through Education) is currently seeking a panelist to speak on the topic: “THE NEVERENDING STORY: CONTINUOUS ALLYSHIP.” We’ll be addressing the following questions: Why do people choose to ally themselves with specific communities? What motivates people in their allyship?

The event would be a sit-down dinner and panel where we are having community organizers and activists to come speak and share their experiences and stories as well as interact with the audience.

The event is taking place THIS SATURDAY, APRIL 7th from 5PM to 7PM at Barnard College’s Event Oval (118th and Broadway, take the 1 train to 116th St. — Columbia University station). Panelists receive a free catered dinner and we are willing to cover travel expenses as well as a small honorarium.

Send me a private message on tumblr (fuckyeahjoshlin.tumblr.com) or send us a message on our facebook page: https://www.tumblr.com/ROOTEdsAlliesSeries2012

sydneydiana:

get involved

www.now.org
www.rawa.org
www.womenslaw.org
www.amnestyusa.org
www.globalissues.org
www.globalfundforwomen.org

Hmmm going on a reblogging binge of politically provocative feminist graphic design… my favorite!

(via contempler)

dreamhampton1:

Fearless Political Poster Art by Favianna Rodriguez

One day, I hope to create art this beautiful.

(via radical-cunts)