| The Employment Non-Discrimination Act would create a blanket federal statute regulating employment throughout the US. It should protect everyone, notably minorities (racial, sexual, religious) from being fired or not hired because of any employer's bias. ENDA has bounced around the halls of Congress this year, driven by a newly Democratic majority, only to stall amid recent retooling. When introduced in April the bill H.R. 2015 included "gender identity" among the roll of protected descriptors, via three passages. A different version, H.R. 3685, circulated in the past few weeks, dropping "gender identity" and amending some other passages to assure passage of the bill. (For some great analysis of H.R. 3685, please go here or here.) Many LGBTQ groups were outraged by the omission, and in response, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the bill would be delayed for further reworking. Most significantly, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass) released a public statement that in essence said pushing for transgender rights would hold back the rights of everyone else, because widespread discrimination against transgendered people guarantees the bill won't pass.
No matter. Barney Frank is an older white male, who easily makes several times more money than I do. From these and other comments, I believe he just doesn't get it. In all likelihood, none of Congress does. We don't have any openly transgender Congresspeople, and only Reps Barney Frank and Tammy Baldwin are openly gay. (I'll leave the digression about the closeted ones for another time.) Maybe you yourself don't get it either. Why should a small thing like gender identity be included if it holds back sexual orientation? Isn't incremental progress better than none at all?
The thing about gender identity is that it is universal. You (yes, you) transgress the boundaries of gender every day, with or without knowing. Anyone can, from assertive women to men who are deferential to others. Note: these aren't my notions of gender, they're in the public domain. Gender, as it is constructed, is highly subjective. In "Render Me, Gender Me," Kath Weston speaks about the distinctions between race and class in feminist movements. White and middle-class second-wave writers and activists like (but not limited to) Betty Friedan made assumptions about all women based on their own experience, not realizing that the oppressions they railed against weren't as important to women of color, or poor women, or nationals of other countries. Each of our lives proceeds in a manner unique to ourselves, and we interact with others whose visions of the world don't quite match our own. My notions of gender are certainly not those of say, President Bush. That's partly why a bill like ENDA needs to exist in the first place.
Think about the last time you questioned your own gender. If you haven't, think about the last time you questioned someone else's. It's not just about dress and hair length, it's about behavior, hell, even body-type, which we don't have that much control over. These things influence all our lives, not just those of us who are marginalized. Masculinities and femininities are plural, not singular as we're led to believe. Transpeople, whether genderqueer or fully passing, live with an extra burden each day, but it's not far from discrimination against them to discrimination against straight cisgendered people who aren't quite living up to some nebulous standard imposed on them. An all-inclusive ENDA is good for everyone, even you.
Maybe you're not convinced. After all, gender transgressions aren't noted until they're considerable, and the boundaries are constantly changing. ENDA, it's true, won't change things overnight, much in the same way Title VII (which the bill would amend) and Title IX didn't. In the struggle for equal rights under the law, change only happens incrementally, and within the structures of capital and power, it's hard to tell when it happens, if at all. People of non-conforming genders are not the only ones who face difficulty in the area of employment. There have also been gains, in court cases from Colorado to New York, but winning equality through the court system is patchy at best, and leaves people in other states, like Florida, exposed.
The fight over ENDA in the LGBT blog realm isn't about whether transpeople should be excluded from legal protections, at least one would hope not. What is most troubling to trans activists and allies is that the move toward ENDA now is calculated to drum up gay support for Democratic candidates in the upcoming elections, and the swiftness with which "gender identity" was abandoned is indicative of how the Democrats will behave in the future, as ENDA is sure to come up again. An editorial in the Washington Blade sums it up thusly:
"Voting on the gay-only version of ENDA now lets gay-friendly candidates pitch to gay voters (who greatly outnumber trans voters) that they tried to help them; avoid having to go on-the-record with supporting transgender workers (a stand even more likely to be used against them by Republican opponents); and still blame the mean old Republicans for the ultimate failure of the whole thing ... only in the highly unlikely chance that Congress could actually pass a gay-only ENDA this year, which President Bush would certainly veto."
My magic 8-ball says the outlook is murky, as far as a transgender-inclusive ENDA. Based on Pelosi's delay of the bill, it's unlikely to see the light of day during this legislative session. Who knows? maybe it will pass someday. I'm not holding my breath.
Sources: Wikipedia, Lambda Legal, National Center for Lesbian Rights, TG Crossroads, Shakesville, Pam's House Blend, Washington Blade | comments: Leave a comment   |
| is calling my house to leave neil diamond's "kentucky woman" on the answering machine?
twice in a week, people. twice. | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| In the year 2000, I was a freshman in college, the same year "But I'm a Cheerleader" was released. It became my own personal cult favorite, a pitch perfect satire of the ex-gay movement. "Cheerleader" was, in my mind, the summit of the millennial generation of queer filmmaking. A descendant of 80s and 90s new queer cinema with a direct link to John Waters (through Mink Stole), "Cheerleader" had everything going for it, most memorably a fantastic use of color that has yet to be surpassed in queer cinema and a great cast . The spirit of utter ridiculousness in "Cheerleader" is what first drew me into the film, which, I must confess, I watched on average three or more times a week in my first semester of college.
( IBTC REVIEW ) | | comments: Leave a comment |
| So the Roman Catholic Church has to pay over $600 million to victims of priestly sexual abuse from the LA Archdiocese. It serves them right, they've been covering abuse up for years, moving offenders from parish to parish. And by years I mean at least a thousand. This particular case's outcome means that the has paid over $2 billion in settlements. It hasn't bankrupted them, though. Half of the money in the LA settlement will come from insurance companies.
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| huh. brasil's air traffic control system is run by the military.
i did not know that. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| ... [W]hile Japan is one of the world's most earthquake-prone countries, executives at the [Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear] plant [that was damaged in Monday's quake] admitted they had not foreseen such a powerful temblor hitting the facility.
-From the Associated Press
Just after the 6.8 magnitude temblor that hit Northwestern Japan on Monday, killing 9 people and displacing over 10,000, images from the outside of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant showed a fire raging in a transformer. The fire lasted two hours, but the real damage was on the inside. First, the Tokyo Electric Company announced that radioactive water from the cooling system had leaked into the ocean, as well as the fire. Today, they admitted that there were a few more problems in addition to the ones they had already released. Oh, like broken pipes and radioactive waste leaks. Nothing to be scared of. More like fucking terrified.
The Kashiwazaki plant, the largest nuclear plant in the world, was apparently not designed with such a high-scale earthquake in mind. Construction began in the 1980s and continued until about 10 years ago. Some of the reactors were shut down at the time of the quake for inspection, so that only four of seven were in use. TEPCo wants to reopen Kashiwazaki, but the Government says that inspections must be made first.
Sources: FSRN, AP, Wikipedia
I know, i don't know anything about nuclear power. but it still gives me the heebee jeebees. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| "Al Qaida will wear t-shirts that say Al Qaida" - Sen. McCain
Oh snap! John McCain's pissed. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| i shit you not. i received this in an email, as an attachment, with nothing else, the same day i turned in a resume. this, of course, was after they claimed they couldn't find my resume. so thanks for nothing, stupid retail company i didn't really want to work for anyway. congratulations, you've just lowered my expectations of professionalism.
| | comments: 2 comments or Leave a comment |
| Embattled SF Supe Ed Jew received a $40K cash “donation” from a bubble tea business located in his district last year. Now, it seems, that may have been a gift from the FBI. Quickly, a tapioca tea chain, had some problems obtaining permits in the Sunset, Ed Jew’s district. According to them, Jew offered to help with the issue, and that they would have a much easier time if they passed along $40,000 to him. The money was given to Jew in May; he maintains half the money was a payment to a permits consultant he recommended, and that he refused to take possession of it. Either way, Ed Jew has far more worries on his mind than being stung. District Attorney Kamala Harris indicted him with perjury related to his election. Apparently his wife and daughter live in Burlingame, and neighbors of the house in San Francisco that he ran his campaign out of say they haven’t seen much of him around lately. The water for the Sunset house also hasn’t been on for months. Jew says he won’t resign, however, and given his record as somewhat of a political maverick, that seems likely. For now, he’s out on bail and fighting these charges. Sources: SF Chronicle, SF Examiner | | comments: Leave a comment |
| UC Santa Cruz just can’t catch a break. After scandals surrounding administration salaries and perks and the high-profile suicide of Chancellor Denise Denton, the university now has to contend with Alette Kendrick. Kendrick was arrested at a rally protesting the regents during a visit to the campus in October and charged with assault of an officer. Felony charges were later dropped and she plead no contest to two misdemeanors, but a three year university suspension still stood. Conflicting reports of the October 18th protest abound. After surrounding the Humanities building in which the Regents were meeting, protesters scuffled with campus police, who used force and pepper spray to break the line of students. According to Professor Angela Davis, who spoke at the rally May 24th, it was the first recorded use of pepper spray on student protesters at Santa Cruz. Alette Kendrick was accused of biting an officer and resisting arrest. In her personal narrative of the incident, however, she states: “…in wondering aloud my confusion, [I] caught the officers’ attention. I heard their call at me and next I knew, I was on the ground being forcefully dragged by the arms through the crowd”. Numerous campus organizations, including the ACLU Slugs, UCSC Democrats and Student Union Assembly, came to Kendrick’s defense, citing an obvious bias against the third-year student, who is African-American. They organized a week of action, culminating in a rally outside the Chancellor’s office May 24th. A week later the administration acquieced somewhat, reducing the three year suspension to two quarters, allowing Kendrick to come back to school next winter. Some other demands by the coalition have yet to be met. Sources: Indybay.org, SF Chronicle, Santa Cruz Sentinel, UC Activist Defense Committee | | comments: Leave a comment |
| The price of coffee on the open market has fallen sharply in the last ten years, driving farmers who used to be able to make a living growing beans into poverty. So an effort by one country’s government to help their farmers do better should be a very, very good thing, right? Not according to Starbucks, a corporation that makes a lot of money off of the commodity in question.
Ethiopia petitioned the US Government to trademark the names of three of its most famous coffee growing areas: Sidamo, Yirgacheffe and Harar. Opposing the claim is the National Coffee Association, who some claim was pressured by Starbucks into blocking Ethiopia’s bid. Not to mention Starbucks already had an application to trademark a phrase that included the word ‘sidamo’.
The coffee industry in Ethiopia could benefit as much as $88 million a year from the move, no small change in a country where the per capita GDP is $832 a year. Also, Starbucks is purported to be “coffee that cares” (their words, not mine). So why throw a wrench in the process? By trademarking these names, Ethiopia will have control over the marketing and be able to turn more of the profits from bean sales over to farmers, who as of now only receive 6-10 percent of the retail price. In other words, from coffee that retails for $13 per pound, a farmer will see $1 or less.
Oxfam is encouraging coffee lovers to support Ethiopia’s claim by contacting Starbucks HQ. They have a campaign website at http://www.oxfamamerica.org/whatwedo/campaigns/coffee/starbucks/
Sources: Spiegel International, Oxfam America, UK Guardian | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Thank you. And congratulations.
love, me
ps. this goes for spain, the netherlands, canada and belgium as well. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| So the election, right. it happened. and people voted (but not enough people).
I'm happy, yes, i'm happy. Nancy Pelosi is probably going to be the first woman speaker of the house ever. And the first from California. Bernie Sanders is the first socialist elected to the senate. Rick Santorum is out, so are George Allen and Ted Haggard (and Doogie Hauser!). No, that was mean. but i digress. Actually, about Ted Haggard: an evangelical minister lying to his congregation? NO, surely not, no. That's never happened before. EVER.
There's a lot to be joyful about. My sister turns twenty today (which really seems far too old to me). Britney Spears finally cut off her parasite of a husband. (Who is seeking sole custody of their children, by the way.) My family is healthy, the kittens still love us, though probably because we feed them. Regressive abortion propositions in South Dakota and California failed at the ballot box. Richard Pombo is gone. The minimum wage was raised in a number of places. Rummy is out. Dick Cheney went hunting and failed to shoot anyone else.
But i'm still uneasy. Rep. Pelosi is not very progressive, at least by "san francisco values", a phrase i found to be the funniest insult lobbed in the election. Unfunniest? Attack ads aimed at Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford that were blatantly racist and disturbing, that purportedly influenced his non-election to the Senate (Ford would have been the first black senator elected in the south since reconstruction). The governator was reinstated. Prop. 83 passed, because it's easy for everyone to hate sex offenders. Prop 90 almost passed, though i read an article in the San Francisco Guardian that made a pretty good case for taking away eminent domain powers from cities with gentrification on their minds.
So i have a variety of opinions, neither well-informed nor wise. It happens. I have to go now, many things to do. important i am. | | comments: 2 comments or Leave a comment |
| Body: IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?
So, here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
this is what my playlist was on my mp3 player
Opening Credits:
Pay for the Piano- the dismemberment plan
Waking Up:
Communist Daughter- Neutral Milk Hotel
First Day At School:
Hungarian No. 5- Brahms
Falling In Love:
long distance drunk- Modest Mouse
Fight Song:
Know Your Onion!- The shins
Breaking Up:
Margin Walker- Fugazi
Prom:
Track 1 - Forro Falamansa
Life's OK:
Blueprint- Fugazi
Mental Breakdown:
Por Que a Gente- Cazuza
Driving:
nirvana - Come as you are
Flashback:
Manta ray- The Pixies
Getting Back Together:
The Dancer- PJ Harvey
Wedding:
Track 2- La oreja de van gogh
Birth of Child:
Rebel Girl- Bikini Kill
Final Battle:
Kybernetcika Babicka Pt.1- Stereolab
Death Scene:
I want- The Sugarcubes
Funeral Song:
Love & Work- Songs: Ohia quite apropos, i think. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| | Current Music: | cell phone ring. | | Time: | 08:56 pm |
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| i'm hungry. the kittens are crazy. i'm also tired.
my computer is dead. long live my computer.
off to read sarah vowell. | | comments: 3 comments or Leave a comment |
| rain kept us inside most of the day. fall was the strangest thing this year. summer with all its heat tripped up and fell straight into winter without stopping. we ran out of things to do waiting for the rain to end. bored with playing cards and music, i decided to walk to the library. no one wanted to go, though i saw undisguised regret in meg’s eyes when she told me no. i told her we’d hang out later when she didn’t have so much work. i took my time walking in the rain. it’s always been one of my favorite things. closing my eyes to the sky enables me to forget myself. yeah, i’m more spiritual than i seem, but i’m not going to catch the hippie vibe that’s going around. no way. half the kids i know eschew showers saying they want to get closer to nature. i don’t think nature will let them get that close. don’t ask me if i’m kidding. i made it to the library before it rained again in earnest. there weren’t many people about which wasn’t surprising. i wandered the stacks for a while, just looking. i hadn’t eaten since breakfast and my stomach let me know. i got dizzy just thinking about it, stopping in the middle of a row, one hand on the nearest shelf. i looked at what my hand had fallen upon. it was a slim volume, thinner than most novels. the cover was unadorned; it didn’t even wear a library tag. my fingers tingled where they touched the spine. i shook my head to clear it and opened the book
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