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Author Archives: ruxi
semi-sweet
despre persecutia comunitatii lgbt
din articolul “Elita gay din Romania, in puscariile comuniste”:
Aproximativ 20 de persoane au fost inculpate pentru orientare homosexuala in 1959 si condamnate la ani grei de inchisoare. Cotidianul, cu ajutorul unuia dintre supravietuitori, reconstituie procesul si destinele citorva dintre homosexualii implicati.
informatiile sint foarte interesante si bine de stiut, iar articolul este excelent realizat, in afara de un punct important exprimat in comentariul de “hiddencop” pe site-ul cotidianul.ro:
Sincere aprecieri pentru articol, pentru decenta si “raceala” cu care a fost scris: o fasie de istorie dureroasa, pe care nu o poate intelege decat un gay care s-a ascuns si a fost terorizat de gandul ca va fi pedepsit pentru ca viata lui privata, intima nu este identica cu a majoritatii. Sau, desigur, un heterosexual apropiat de ceea ce inseamna a fi gay. Mai bine zis “a fi fost gay in vremuri de teroare”. Pentru ca astazi lucururile stau cu totul altfel.
Ce mi-ar placea sa stie si sa afle cititorii Cotidianului este ca inchisoare pentru orientarea homosexuala au facut multi altii, nu neaparat oameni ilustri precum cei amintiti in articol. Ca membru al comunitatii LGBT, am cunoscut un respectabil domn care prin anii 80 a ajuns in puscarie pentru simplul fapt ca numele lui era inscris in agenda unui alt gay: maniera aceasta in sine este inspaimantatoare, dealtfel, daca ne gandim cum se facea “vanatoarea de homosexuali”.
Asadar, sper sa citesc in curand un articol SI despre suferinta gay-ilor care nu au fost persoane publice (desi inteleg foarte bine ca, pe cat de picant este subiectul pentru pesoanele straight, pe atat de putin probabil este ca el sa fie reluat atata vreme cat nu povesteste despre “VIP”-urile de altadata sau din ziua de azi…)
si ar mai trebui adaugat, la “gay care nu au fost persoane publice”, gay care nu au fost barbati. se zice “lgbt”, nu doar g(bt), pentru un motiv. sint multe de aflat inca si despre femei care au fost inchise sau persecutate pentru orientarea sexuala…
pe wikipedia, la “Drepturi LGBT in Romania” sau “LGBT rights in Romania” nu exista nici o informatie despre persecutia persoanelor lgbt in perioada comunista. “Legislatia romaneasca privind relatiile homosexuale” ofera citeva detalii si repere istorice.
baieti, fete si eu
postul “Avril Lavigne is a whiny brat” (@ feministe) si comentariile de-acolo mi-au amintit de o formulare excelenta pentru felul in care de multe ori fetele se simt nevoite sa reactioneze la misoginia de peste tot din jurul nostru. ca sa te impui, ai doua optiuni: daca nu alegi feminismul (o alegere pe care mainstream-ul patriarhal iti spune s-o ocolesti cu orice pret), poti alege in schimb sa denunti celelalte femei si feminitatea in general amagindu-te ca ar exista de fapt “trei sexe: barbati, femei si tu” (cu alte cuvinte, imbratisind misoginia si declarindu-te pe tine ca exceptie de la regula). am scris mai mult despre expresia respectiva aici. dupa parerea mea, formularea asta pune in evidenta foarte bine problema cu alegerea din urma, care in mod firesc merge mina in mina cu o pozitie “post-feminista” sau pur “anti-feminista”; problema e ca aceasta alegere e o amagire si nu “functioneaza” deloc: regulile sistemului patriarhal, care prin definitie te dezavantajeaza pentru ca esti de sex feminin, nu se schimba pentru ca tu alegi sa le sustii si sa denunti si desconsideri genul de care societatea a decis ca apartii. dimpotriva! asa cum zice si andreea in textul ei din primul numar al zinei lf-ro, problema cu denuntul e foarte greu de constientizat si adresat tocmai pentru ca pina la un anumit punct misoginia si tot ce inseamna sustinerea ierarhiei de valori patriarhale iti ofera un refugiu, speranta de acces la un statut privilegiat (adica masculin), chiar daca esti fata. insa asta doar pina la un anumit punct, si mai ales doar cu victime colaterale, printre care te numeri si tu. in ultima instanta, ca fata, cu denuntul anti-feminin nu ajungi decit exact de unde pleaca feminismul (desigur, mai depinde si de ce fel de feminism e vorba, ca si ca “feminista” poti merge pe aceleasi principii individualiste si incerca sa determini “how can i use feminism to my advantage?” – heheh).
festivalul underground timisoara
lf-ro va fi la ugtm cu biblioteca ambulanta! check it.
din pacate, dintr-un motiv necunoscut (mie cel putin) site-ul ugtm listeaza la link-uri minunatele cit si underground-urile stiletto.ro si menreport.ro.
freight train
elizabeth cotten (with pete seeger as fan) – watch the whole thing:
and more songs and stories here and here. and here.
… Cotten was born in Carrboro, North Carolina to a musical family; her parents were George Nevills and Louise Price Nevills. Elizabeth was the youngest of five children. She began writing music while toying around with her older siblings’ instruments, sometimes having to sneak into her older brother’s room to lay the hidden guitar across her lap and play. After more tinkering with these instruments she began playing the guitar upside down, since she was left-handed. This position required her to play the bass lines with her fingers, and the melody with her thumb. Her signature, alternating bass style is known as “Cotten Picking”. By age 8 she was playing songs, and after scraping together some money she bought her own guitar, which she named “Stella”.
She possessed the remarkable ability to play a song exactly after hearing it only once. By her early teens she was writing her own songs, one of which, “Freight Train”, would go on to be one of her most recognized. …
thanks to catalin for the heads up
protest against the selling of “rapist doll”
Amazon.com and other stores are currently selling a “toy” called “The Rapist No. 1 Doll,” modeled after a character in the new Tarantino/Rodriguez film Grindhouse, which is a torture porn film that shows graphic male sexual violence and sexualised torture against women. [more on the rising popularity of “gornos” here]
For details on how to send protests to the companies, see this post; as mentioned there:
The availability of the so-called toy Rapist Number One … demonstrates so clearly the links between the prevalence of rape and sexually violent films and pornography. The purchaser of the toy will not necessarily commit rape, but his acquisition legitimates rape. His action, and the availability of this toy, sustains a culture in which rape and sexual violence are not taken seriously; in which sexual violence is normalised and legitimated. We may not have the empirical evidence which clearly shows that watching violent porn makes someone commit rape, but the fact that this film has spawned this sort of merchandise, sold as a “toy”, should tell us all we need to know about the harmful nature of this sort of material.
Rape Crisis England and Wales
Rape Crisis Network Europe
RAINN
update: Amazon.com and youbuynow.com are no longer selling the doll.
When told that I will cancel my account because after their initial response to my complaint (response which was all along the lines of “our goal is to provide customers with the broadest selection possible so they can find, discover, and buy any item they might be seeking”), I
*don’t* feel like my concern has been addressed and I don’t agree that Amazon needs to ‘represent a wide spectrum of opinions on a variety of topics’ when that ‘topic’ is normalizing rape. It’s not a freedom of expression matter, rape is a crime and material that promotes it discriminates against people, like material that promoted pedophilia would, for instance – and you wouldn’t invoke the same excuse for selling pedophilia promoting items, would you?
Amazon.com says they’re “very sorry if offering the Grind House Rapist doll offended you in any way, shape, or form. Let me assure you that Amazon.com does not support or promote hatred or criminal acts and customer feedback provides us an opportunity for improvement. … we are no longer offering this product for sale in our catalog”; however, Amazon.co.uk still lists the doll – they have renamed it but you can still search for it under “rapist.”
And You buy now expresses the “hope that our apology for any rudeness [from customer service representatives who reacted inappropriately to complaints, suggesting rape isn’t a “real problem with actual, quantifiable effects on society”] and the removal of the action figure will satisfy those that we offended” but makes sure to stress the fact that the intent of the doll was misinterpreted by those who felt it was promoting rape.
As we know, “Whatever you do, don’t figure out that it’s systematic.”
petition against honor killings
SIGN the International Campaign against killings and stoning of women in Kurdistan petition:
To: Kurdistan Regional Government
Condemn the brutal stoning to death of Doa – a young girl whose only crime was to fall in love
Doa was stoned to death in the centre of the town of Bashiqa in front of hundreds of people and the authorities did not prevent this crime from happening. On the contrary, they were present and paving the way for this horrific crime to be carried out. [moreover, onlookers captured it on video; and the Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organization site has more on how Islamist groups are trying to capitalize on the murder]
Doa was a 17 year old girl from a family of Yazidi faith; she was snatched from her house by some Yazidi men who discovered that she was in love with a Muslim Arab man and had visited him. They stoned her to death in public on 7th April 2007 in the town of Bashiqa.
It is known that women in Kurdistan and Iraq are oppressed. The few rights they do have are very limited and in most cases they are treated as sub-humans.
Killings, suicide, and violence against women are an every day occurrence in this region. Although a crime of this nature is very new to Kurdistan, this is an indication that such crimes against women are now tolerated. Doa’s killers are still free.
The government’s failure to protect women, and enforce laws against criminals, has created a situation where thousands of women become victims of so called “honour killings”. Violence has risen as result of patriarchal and religious traditions.
We strongly condemn this barbaric act, and call upon all human rights and women’s rights organisations, political parties, and activists in Kurdistan and globally to condemn this crime.
Continue reading
blasts from pasts
the selecter, “three minute hero” (too much pressure, 1980)
joan jett, “bad reputation” (bad reputation, 1981)
phranc, “bloodbath” (i enjoy being a girl, 1989)
l7, “mr. integrity” (bricks are heavy, 1992)
bratmobile, “cool schmool” (pottymouth, 1993)
cibo matto, “sugar water” (viva! la woman, 1996)
ani difranco, “in or out” (living in clip, 1997)
call for photos from feminist org
Fawcett (UK) needs YOU!
Stand up for feminism by sending in a photo of yourself wearing a “This is what a feminist looks like” t-shirt.
We want to show that feminists come in all shapes, sizes, races, ages and sexes. What we have in common is a commitment to real equality between women and men.
There’s a prize for the best picture and at a special event on 12 September there will be an exhibition of all the photos of supporters and celebrities. You could find yourself on the wall next to Patrick Stewart or Shami Chakrabarti – check out our online gallery now.
Take pictures with your friends, family and colleagues, the more unusual the photograph the better. So far we have received pictures from Nepal, Canada, Italy and Cambodia !