Butch Femme Planet  

Go Back   Butch Femme Planet > RELATIONSHIPS, COMMUNITY, GROUPS > LGBT Activism, Allies, ETC.

View Poll Results: Do you wish people a Happy Pride and if you do is it like:
wishing them a Happy New Year? 53 61.63%
greeting Norm at Cheers? 15 17.44%
a way to increase your visibility? 12 13.95%
a way to increase their visibility? 9 10.47%
a political statement? 14 16.28%
a threat? (like you better have a happy pride or I'll send drag queens to your house) 13 15.12%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 86. You may not vote on this poll

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 07-10-2012, 03:35 PM   #21
EnderD_503
Member

How Do You Identify?:
Queer, trans guy, butch
Preferred Pronoun?:
Male pronouns
Relationship Status:
Relationship
 
EnderD_503's Avatar
 

Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Canada
Posts: 1,329
Thanks: 4,090
Thanked 3,907 Times in 1,032 Posts
Rep Power: 21474851
EnderD_503 Has the BEST ReputationEnderD_503 Has the BEST ReputationEnderD_503 Has the BEST ReputationEnderD_503 Has the BEST ReputationEnderD_503 Has the BEST ReputationEnderD_503 Has the BEST ReputationEnderD_503 Has the BEST ReputationEnderD_503 Has the BEST ReputationEnderD_503 Has the BEST ReputationEnderD_503 Has the BEST ReputationEnderD_503 Has the BEST Reputation
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by LeftWriteFemme View Post
I'm not sure why I'm posting this here other than gay men's Pride and culture seems to me to track alongside Butch femme Pride and culture, so here it goes


http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/22/op...e.html?_r=1&hp
Quote:
why so many people, straight and gay, are so overeager to declare its death. And we will never understand the most essential thing about it: how gay culture continues to perform a sly and profound critique of what passes for normal.
There definitely always does seem to be this need to talk about the supposed "identity-less" queer youth in the same way that many claim gay male culture is "dead." Or the "post-gay" culture of well moneyed, well careered, well privileged young gay men who don't see a need for queer community anymore. I think in those cases, it's once more important to go beyond the most mainstream and media-visible people within the queer population, because those are frequently the ones who are completely out of touch with the struggles of many other queer youths (or many other queer folks for that matter). They think that because they are "successful" (in the mainstream sense of the word) that everyone must be in the same way, that their reality frames all realities, that everyone has the same equality they have. The see equality as the right to get married and be a good capitalist.

As Halperin points out, that isn't the case at all as far as the "death" of gay culture among young gay men (or young queers in general, for that matter).

Quote:
Instead of worrying that the feminine associations of diva worship, interior decorating or the performing arts may make gay male psychology look diseased, the real question we should ask about gay style is what its refusal of canonical masculinity achieves and what it enables its practitioners, straight or gay, to do.
Again, same can be said for all queer culture, although these days it seems that gay male challenges to standards of masculinity seem more successful (as far as straight-identified society beginning to view certain aspects of "femininity" as "acceptable" for men) than the challenges to the norm by queer women or genderqueer folks. Where in the past, women challenging gender norms were slightly more acceptable than challenges to the standard of masculinity, today that seems to have changed. Probably helped along by the images portrayed by shows like The Real Housewives of XYZ that promotes that idea that women shouldn't try to be independent and self-sufficient in order to be "empowered." In its own way its promoting a hyperfeminine standard of dependence on men as somehow empowering, under the feigned assumption that women have already achieved "equality" and so can go back to "chic" dependency that seems more unbreakable within the mainstream today than it was in the 90s.

So yes, it is important, I think, to look at what queer culture's challenges to masculine/feminine standards enables people to do. And that may be precisely why so many people want to declare certain aspects of queer culture (or queer community, queer politics and queer youth) as "dead," or the culture of young queers as non-challenging, normative and apolitical when there is much evidence pointing to the contrary. These challenges that still continue to exist do enable many to do many things that mainstream straight-identified culture does not. To gain access to freedoms that are restricted elsewhere. They claim that our culture is "dead" simply because it continues to be a threat to normative culture and its oppressive standards.
EnderD_503 is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to EnderD_503 For This Useful Post:
Old 07-29-2012, 09:55 AM   #22
alexri
Member

How Do You Identify?:
-
 
alexri's Avatar
 

Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: -
Posts: 549
Thanks: 1,209
Thanked 2,799 Times in 468 Posts
Rep Power: 21474848
alexri Has the BEST Reputationalexri Has the BEST Reputationalexri Has the BEST Reputationalexri Has the BEST Reputationalexri Has the BEST Reputationalexri Has the BEST Reputationalexri Has the BEST Reputationalexri Has the BEST Reputationalexri Has the BEST Reputationalexri Has the BEST Reputationalexri Has the BEST Reputation
Default

One of the things I've noticed in the past 10 years is how corporate pride has become.

Ten years ago, we had small tables with flyers in front of the state capitol. We marched, we protested, we knew the issues. We were prepared to call the police if we got jumped by the anti-glbt protesters.

Now, it was pride sponsored by Bud Light, with booths from Subaru, Shaw's grocery stores, Blue Cross Blue Shield, some other large corporations, and six booths selling rainbow everything that was made in China. Instead of walking home with an armful of pamphlets and voter info, I could walk home with a shopping bag full of promotional freebies.

I kid you not-- on my way to pride this year, I passed a chain restaurant by the Providence Place Mall. Their staff was trying to figure out how to hang up a rainbow flag, and were actually asking each other which way the flag was supposed to hang (red on top? horizontal or vertical)? Yes it is nice that they were hanging the pride flag for pride. But it was to attract business.

I still think the events are relevant because there is still so much work to do and I know they do help people connect. I see pride events popping up in new communities all over the nation, especially in the south, and I am grateful for that. Pride is often a time for people who have no connection to the community to come out and get the visual reinforcement that no, you are not alone, and yes, there are a lot more of us that people think. I just wish for a little more "here's a list of all the candidates who are voting against gay marriage" versus "here's a commemorative rainbow (insert product here)."

And don't get me started on the news media that choose to focus on nothing but the more fringe members of the community.
alexri is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-29-2012, 10:15 AM   #23
Martina
Senior Member

How Do You Identify?:
***
 
Martina's Avatar
 

Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: ***
Posts: 4,999
Thanks: 13,409
Thanked 18,367 Times in 4,170 Posts
Rep Power: 21474854
Martina Has the BEST ReputationMartina Has the BEST ReputationMartina Has the BEST ReputationMartina Has the BEST ReputationMartina Has the BEST ReputationMartina Has the BEST ReputationMartina Has the BEST ReputationMartina Has the BEST ReputationMartina Has the BEST ReputationMartina Has the BEST ReputationMartina Has the BEST Reputation
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by alexri View Post
Their staff was trying to figure out how to hang up a rainbow flag, and were actually asking each other which way the flag was supposed to hang (red on top? horizontal or vertical)?
I had an upside down rainbow flag bumper sticker for years. Till I sold the car.
Martina is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
celebrations, june, opinion, pride, salutations

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 08:23 AM.


ButchFemmePlanet.com
All information copyright of BFP 2018