musings of a radical pinay

"What is the value of a life of a black man in America?"- No justice for Oscar Grant

2010-07-13T12:32:00.000-07:00

Oscar Grant mural in downtown Oakland

"What is the value of a life of a black man in America?"

It's clear-- NOT MUCH. Not fucking much at all. Rev. Keith Mohammed said these words this evening during the press conference after the verdict was released in the Oscar Grant trial.

Mehserle got involuntary manslaughter, y'all. INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER. That's what you get when you get into a car accident. According to ABC News, "Regarding the upcoming sentencing, Burris [Grant's family attorney] said, 'He should be going to jail for the rest of his life, but yet he very well may get a sentence that does not even require him to go to jail, which would be the ultimate insult and travesty that I can imagine.'"

A cop fatally shot an unarmed man and is basically getting away with it. That's not news. What's news at least for some of those who held a little bit of hope is that this completely racialized violence and police brutality is condoned by our justice system. As Rev. Mohammed asked, "what is the value of a life of a black man in America?" Depressingly, the message is clear. This ruling would be completely different if Mehserle or Grant was a different race. This is ALL about race, people. As Adam Serwer writes at the Prospect,

"Times change, but the radioactive fear of black people, black men in particular, has proven to have a longer half-life than any science could have discerned. This is not a fear white people possess of black people--it is a fear all Americans possess. It makes white cops kill black cops, it makes black cops kill black men, and it whispers in the ears of white and nonwhite jurors alike that fear of an unarmed black man lying face down in the ground is not 'unreasonable.' All of which is to say, while it infects all of us, a few of us bear the brunt of the suffering it causes."

He goes on to quote a 2007 ColorLines study demonstrating the little progress we've made since the Civil Rights era. The study found that "New York City consistently has the highest number of shooting deaths by police in the country, an average of 12 every year. The city also has substantially disproportionate killing of Black people, who make up 26 percent of the population but represented 66 percent of those killed by police." This verdict confirms this study: cops shoot and kill unarmed victims and get away with it, especially when the victim is black.

If I hear another mention of "post-racial" unless its a damnation of the phrase, I will explode.

At this moment in time we need to take care of ourselves. Not only are we healing from the pain that is the loss of innocent life, but now we have to deal with this twisting knife in our back. From someone we thought we could trust-- the justice system. But I guess Rev. Mohammed said it best. If we thought there would be justice served in this verdict, maybe we hoped for too much.

I am writing this from my home in the Bay and trying to hold back tears. What kind of world are we living in?

Links here:
Justice or Just Us? Beyond the Hype of the Mehserle Trial
Justice for Oscar Grant- Please spread widely!
Justice for Oscar Grant: Update on Fruitvale BART Protest
Understanding the Dialogue around Lovelle Mixon.
There is no justice for Aiyana

If you need some good resistance music, listen to Native Guns new single "Handcuffs." It's all about police brutality, particularly about Grant and others. Very touching song and appropriate for these times. And Bambu's (of Native Guns) video called "Bambu: Before The Verdict". More background on this case and support for people's right to be angry. Not hurt people.

Cross-posted at Feministing here.

Dark Skinned White Girls?

2010-05-06T08:19:00.000-07:00

"Now half and half mixed girls
I know what the battle be
Everytime you go out it's... whats your nationality?"
Everybody always wanna dig up in ya background
You don't look... now how does that sound?
I couldn't tell you were... oh is that right?
Do you take it as a compliment or start up a fight?
Venezuelan and Indian, Rican and Dominican
Japanese or Portuguese, Quarter of Brazilian
White and Korean, Black and Pinay
I can find out later
It don't matter, ya fly" - Murs

What does it mean to be a dark skinned white girl? And what is a dark skinned white girl?

I attended Families on the Fault Lines at UC Berkeley's Center for Race and Gender this past week and aside from opening up a million new lines of questioning surrounding issues of race, kinship and care, I was particularly moved by a talk called "Mongels vs. Hybrids: Colorful Families in Post-racial Space" by Mitzi Carter who blogs over at what she calls "a blog for progressive mamas of color in the SF Bay Area": Colorful Mamas. The idea of a "dark skinned white girl" has always been a really interesting topic for me and something that hits really close to home. I think it can be interpreted as specifically as bi-racial and as broadly as the confusion and ridicule a person of color might face when accused of being "white-washed" (as in, you don't fit into narrow prescriptions of what someone of your race should act or talk like). I think "dark skinned white girls" (or "light skinned black girls" or guys for that matter!) generally aims to bring light to the issue of someone of mixed heritage.

Mitzi Carter spoke about mixed race families and her experience as a bi-racial Okinawan/black woman and as raising what she calls her "Cublinawan" or "Cubanese" children (Adorable pics after the jump!). Oftentimes she is confused as her daughter's nanny. She was even questioned one time in a post office by a white woman (in a bougie part of Berkeley) about whether she should be "taking time off from work to do personal errands"!

This truly got me thinking about my own experience as a mixed race person and mixed race families in general. There is oftentimes much exoticism associated with (and, to be frank, fawning over) those whose phenotypes don't allow easy categorization into distinct racial categories. For Mitzi Carter, while she was pregnant with her first child she faced people who literally obsessed over the potentially exotic and hybrid characteristics of her baby ("ooh Asian eyes and an afro!"). To be mixed race has definitely been a source of strife and confusion for many-- even prompting hip-hop artist Murs' to write the above quoted song "Dark Skinned White Girls." (Love that he shouts out the pinays! Haaaay!)

It's something I've faced growing up too but have had a hard time articulating. It seems we don't talk a lot about it, but to be sure, there are distinct pains, complexities and privileges associated with mixed heritage people. And I'm realizing that these distinctions can be quite fruitful to discussions of race and gender. For I realized that mixed heritage families are a perfect example of "families on the fault lines." In other words, mixed families undergo a unique experience that may reflect and reify notions of privilege and hierarchy. At the same time, they hold vast potential to resist narratives of the normalized body.

Continue reading at here @ Feministing.

Immigration is MOST DEFINITELY a feminist issue

2010-05-02T13:59:00.000-07:00

Cross-posted at Feministing

Feministing and others have been covering the news this past week of Arizona officially putting racism on the books. If you haven't heard, new legislation was passed that allows racial profiling of what authorities consider "illegal immigrants" (aka brown folks). It is not a good time for immigrants and their families right now. (Seems like Saturday's May Day rallies comes at just the right time - Action Alert after the jump!)

What surprised me the most, however, was people's response to this. Many commenters on Feministing asked (and have asked before) why immigration is a feminist issue. Feminism is strictly gender, right? Equal pay, glass ceiling, abortion and all that?

Well, no, actually.

Feminism is a lot more than that. And for me, an Asian-American woman of color, feminism is centrally the intersection of gender and race. So when news of immigration "reform" is blasted all over the media, I'm instantly alerted.

You see, immigration is about my family. It's about my entire community and all other communities of color that are viewed by society as Other and as not rightfully belonging. "All-American" is a term I shudder at because it is almost always referenced as a Ralph Lauren, blonde cheerleaders and jocks type image. A picture as distant and unrelatable to me as the planet Mars.

Continue reading here.

Filipino Unity Statement on the May Day Rallies this Saturday!

2010-04-28T15:51:00.001-07:00

In light of Arizona's recent legislation of enforced racial profiling, I'd say this rally comes at just the right time!

Read the Filipino community's statement and demands here.

And check out your local May Day action alert here.

babae SF will be out in full force supporting this march in San Francisco. If you're free, hope you can make it out!

Adam Carolla hates Filipinos

2010-04-05T11:40:00.000-07:00

Don't think I wasn't gonna comment on this one. Adam Carolla, that 2-bit C-list "comedian" that I can't quite remember where I know him from, has just made his place in my blacklist of people who should just crawl in a cave and die.

On his recent radio show, he goes off on Manny Pacquiao and Filipinos. He basically calls us disgusting for being poor and Third World. If anything should have a big, fat IGNORANT stamp on its forehead, it's this guy. Read more and subject yourself to it here. It's really disgusting. Perez just commented on it today too.

I would write in length of how I felt about these remarks and what it means for the Filipino community, but BAYAN-USA already did that! Peep this brilliantly written statement. Seriously, peep it. It hits the nail on the head in every point. Now this is the real shit:

Perhaps the even bigger offense beyond Carolla’s words that should not go unchecked is the mainstream corporate media’s tolerance and allowance of such derogatory and racist comments to even air. That a white radio personality such as Adam Corolla can boldly make those remarks against a racial minority with seemingly no air of reservation for the social ramifications ultimately reveals that corporate media here in the US has barely progressed from the turn of the 20th century when, during the long-forgotten Philippine-American War, mainstream US newspapers blatantly depicted caricatures of Filipinos as “niggers”, monkeys, and dog-eating savages, all in the efforts to justify what was to be the US’s first colonial project abroad.

LOVE ME SOME BAYAN! (Hate me some A. Carolla.)

Performing Masculinity in Rihanna's "Rude Boy"

2010-03-24T13:52:00.000-07:00

Cross-posted at Feministing.

I've been holding out on writing a post about this song, but it's been playing like 5x a day on the radio lately (almost an incessant reminder "get to your computer, get to your computer")... So here I am.

Let me be blunt. I am horrified by the lyrics in Rihanna's newest song "Rude Boy." EVERYTHING about it seems to uphold very narrow and traditional standards of masculinity. According to this song, a desirable man is one who is "big enough" and can basically get it up on command. Almost every single hip-hop and R&B song on the radio alludes to this type of performance, particularly of this sexual nature. In this song, however, it's the main premise. My boyfriend, a hip-hop guru, always shares his thoughts with me on how this constructed sexuality is damaging for men. (If only he would do a guest-post!) First, if your shit isn't 9 inches long, then just don't even have sex. You're a disgrace. If you ARE packing, then you better make sure you last ALL night and give the woman 10 orgasms because you need to prove how much more manly you are then all the other men she's ever been with (Ew, this just gave me a flashback to John Mayer's disgusting Playboy interview *trigger warning on that link!*). Forget that these are oppressively unrealistic standards. Forget that sex is something intimate, a sacred act between two individuals. Forget all that. It's a performance! (At least, this is what these songs would have us believe.)

The part that makes me cringe the most though in Rihanna's song? The repetitive demand to "TAKE IT TAKE IT TAKE IT TAKE IT!"

Arggghhhhhh!! Honestly, what kind of world do we live in where we demand 1/2 of our population to "TAKE IT"?! The mere virtue of having a penis should NOT require you to endure violence and pain, should NOT require you to block and diminish any emotion you have-- the very essence of what makes us human. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'd put GOOD money on the idea that a world which fosters our humanity equally among the sexes is a world in which much less violence would occur. What makes me even more mad about this song is how she's basically saying "Fuck you" to all the men who have endured domestic violence, rape and sexual abuse. And this DOES happen. (The fact that I even have to qualify that says it all. People just assume that since a man is a man, he can't face abuse or violence from his partner. Bullshit.)

The one redeeming quality of this song? The sex-positivity in the last verse. I absolutely love these lyrics: "I like the way you touch me there/ I like the way you pull my hair/ Baby, if I don't feel it, I ain't faking no, no/ I like when you tell me kiss it here/ I like when you tell me move it there."

Now that's something we should be teaching our kids-- that to communicate our wants and desires is both healthy and sexy. That our bodies are sacred and deserve pleasure. And that means figuring out what feels good to you and feeling comfortable enough to directly tell your partner.

Too bad right after that she says: "So giddy up, time to get it up/ You say you a rude boy/ Show me what you got now."

Let the performance begin!

Sigh. Why oh why does sex-positivity for women have to come at the expense of liberating our men?!

It doesn't.

Rihanna, you just suck.

(Sidenote: Lyrics aside.... the video is OFF THE HOOK!!!! I'm totally loving the 80's, reggae island feel of it all! I mean, LOVE. The amazingness of the video is actually what made me notice the song-- too bad!)

Happy St. Patty's Day

2010-03-17T10:17:00.001-07:00

I realize I'm usually railing against pop culture and telling everybody how much I hate everything on this blog... so for funsies, and to put a smile on your face, I'ma share two favorite songs of mine right now: Usher's "Hey Daddy" and Mario's "Stuttering."

FOREAL y'all... these beats are sick. Whenever one of these songs come on, it's like my body disconnects from my mind and suddenly I am dancing like it's my last night on Earth.

Yeah, it's that serious.

And believe it or not, I'm part Irish. Haaaaaaay! ;)

feminista review: Up in the Air

2010-03-15T20:54:00.000-07:00

Much to my chagrin, my boyfriend insisted I watch "Up in the Air" starring George Clooney (you know, the one that got nominated for a million Oscars?). To me, the previews made the movie seem so boring and George Clooney just does not excite me. Anywhoo, I started watching it and even though I pouted for the first half hour (I'm such a difficult girlfriend!) I found some parts of the movie quite interesting and ripe for feminista analysis! Let's jump right into it. **spoilers below!**

The women. Oh how much potential this movie had to give complexity to its female characters! Keyword: potential. The movie failed. First, there's Vera Farmiga's character, Alex, who is George Clooney's love interest and as she calls herself, basically himself with a vagina. I felt uncomfortable from the very beginning because I knew what they were trying to do, but it felt wrong. This may be a contentious part of this post, but it felt like an integral part of empowerment was her total and utter sexual availability. And OF COURSE this can be an empowering representation. A woman who wants sex as often as the next guy is a truer reflection of reality, because, duh, women have sex drives too, contrary to what patriarchy would like us to believe. So at that point, I was willing to bite my tongue and wade through the rest of the movie before I gave it the official stamp of wannabe-empowerment. (It didn't help though that during the post-coital scenes, Vera's perfection of a body was put on display while Clooney's was hidden from view. It seems even in the "deep" and soul-hitting movies, women's bodies are being put on sale.)

Then there's Anna Kendrick's character, Natalie Keener. OH MAN was I excited by the introduction of her character!!! As she is introduced, it is clear that Natalie serves as a stark contrast and fierce competitor to the aging, "more traditional" George Clooney character. I remember even saying out loud, "Wooooow. This should be an interesting dynamic!" What a ripe set up to dismantle notions of not only gender, but age.

But eh. Even this falls flat. The fierce, ready-to-change-the-world Natalie eventually reveals herself to be a babbling, crying, obsessed with her boyfriend young womyn. Not saying that young womyn haven't gone through this (hell, not saying I haven't gone through this!) But once... just ONCE... I'd love to see a representation of a young womyn who isn't obsessed with her boyfriend and whose life goals include so much more than whether or not she gets married. We can officially file this under unoriginal, rom-com trope.

And around this point in the movie, I am brought back to my analysis of Alex, Clooney's would-be luvah. Of course, as should be predicted, Clooney's anti-social, non-committal persona begins to soften around the edges and invites Alex to his sister's wedding! She is mighty reluctant, but eventually agrees, and I find myself screaming PLEASE OH PLEASE DON'T END UP TOGETHER!!!!

And yes, I got what I wanted. They didn't end up together, but another twist ensured that my feminist fantasy of a movie was thoroughly smashed. In a moment of deep revelation, Clooney travels across the nation to profess his deep love for Alex. And it turns out..... SHE'S MARRIED WITH KIDS. Oh.. you won't even understand how disappointed I was with this. Of course, our "George Clooney with a vagina," strong, independent traveler with a healthy dose of sexual appetite... is actually married with kids. She reveals that the person on-the-go who Clooney fell so hard for is actually her "alter-ego" if you will. GOD FORBID a womyn actually BE these things without hiding it all behind a second, more acceptable reality filled with life-choices that make people smile and feel comfortable. She's essentially your "Sasha Fierce"-complex. A womyn can do anything she wants, say anything she wants... as long as it's JUST her weird, dark, alter-ego, right?! Sigh.

I'm sure folks might disagree with me and argue, hey, I interpreted it this or this way and it was actually really mind-opening. And to that I'd say... That's awesome! I'm glad you got that, because aside from my feminist analysis I felt the movie had a good potential as well to really change one's views on happiness, relationships, and security.

TOO BAD these kinds of deep conversations and relationships are reserved for whites only though! Cause yup. It was a severely white-washed movie. OH BUT WAIT WAIT! I forgot, my folks got a shout-out to our "efficiency" and "timeliness" in airport security. I'm so flattered!! Really progressive, Up in the Air folks! Because we went from awkward bystanders when that guy was falling in love with Summer, to cold and efficient robots in airport security.

Lest you write me off as a never-happy, too-serious feminist, I want you to know that like Snarky Machine I write these critiques because I reeeeeally do want to LIKE these movies. And part of me does! I feel they have the potential to radically depart from the other garbage we're fed. But I speak out in the hopes that my writing will one day ripple into the world and maybe, just maybe, the next movie will steer clear of these epic fails.

One thing I'll give Bingham though. I took a look at my big purse the next day and thought "Wow. I really DO need to empty my backpack!"

Trip to NY!

2010-03-03T11:48:00.000-08:00

So Feministing sent me to NY this weekend for the annual retreat and I couldn't have had a more amazing trip! I wanted to share a few of the highlights.

The ultimate Cali girl experienced her first snow storm!!!

Visited Empire State.

Made amazing memories with Feministing contributors. Most notably, breaking into and playing in a snow-filled playground. (:

Watched a Broadway show.

Filled up on a classic NY pizza! (White pizza w/ pepperoni at Lombardi's)

Filled up on a classic NY Jewish bagel at a famous mom-and-pop shop that's been around for over 100 years! (Russ and Daughters in East Village)

Visited Brooklyn and saw some dope graffiti.

And, of course, got to meet and work with the crew from my FAVORITE BLOG OF ALL TIME! I feel renewed, invigorated, and all of that good stuff. These women are a.m.a.z.i.n.g. Can't wait to work more w/ Feministing. I miss NY already!! Trying to convince S.O. to move there with me in the meantime ;)

Oh yeah, and our response to all them haterz who gon' hate!

Quick Hit: Amerian Idol

2010-02-24T21:19:00.000-08:00

HEADS UP TO AMERICAN IDOL JUDGES: Could it be you don't know where John Park "belongs" in the music industry because.... there ARE no asians there to begin with?!?? Ugh.

Post-racial, my ass!

2010-02-24T13:10:00.001-08:00

For all the folks who think racism is over... please refer to the "Compton Cookout" of UCSD. Excerpt of invitation here *trigger warning*:

February marks a very important month in American society. No, i'm not referring to Valentines day or Presidents day. I'm talking about Black History month. As a time to celebrate and in hopes of showing respect, the Regents community cordially invites you to its very first Compton Cookout. For guys: I expect all males to be rockin Jersey's, stuntin' up in ya White T (XXXL smallest size acceptable), anything FUBU, Ecko, Rockawear, High/low top Jordans or Dunks, Chains, Jorts, stunner shades, 59 50 hats, Tats, etc.

For girls: For those of you who are unfamiliar with ghetto chicks-Ghetto chicks usually have gold teeth, start fights and drama, and wear cheap clothes - they consider Baby Phat to be high class and expensive couture. They also have short, nappy hair, and usually wear cheap weave, usually in bad colors, such as purple or bright red. They look and act similar to Shenaynay, and speak very loudly, while rolling their neck, and waving their finger in your face. Ghetto chicks have a very limited vocabulary, and attempt to make up for it, by forming new words, such as "constipulated", or simply cursing persistently, or using other types of vulgarities, and making noises, such as "hmmg!", or smacking their lips, and making other angry noises,grunts, and faces. The objective is for all you lovely ladies to look, act, and essentially take on these "respectable" qualities throughout the day.

While never this blatant, I've actually seen similar events during my time in college as well. The students at my schools were smart enough to downplay their racism and stereotyped notions of brown folks, but they were still evident-- events featured "ghetto" themes, typically mocking African-American "hood" culture or Latin@ gangs (remember that "lean like a cholo" song? Yeah, that was used). And needless to say, these were all Greek events (although the Compton Cookout wasn't explicitly Greek, it is MIGHTY clear that it was an event put together by majority Pike folks).

And for those people even MORE ignorant and privileged to think Asian-Americans shouldn't fret about racism because, you know, we're like soooooo smart and exotic!, please read this moving letter by Dr. Blanco to the Pin@y community at UCSD. Excerpt:

As many of you who have taken my classes before may know, when the US conducted a near-genocidal war against the Philippines at the beginning of the twentieth century (which left between 500,000-1,000,000 dead, mostly civilians), both US soldiers and commanders often referred to Filipinos as “niggers.” In the 1920s and 30s, when Filipino Carlos Bulosan and his compatriots came to the US to escape the US-driven poverty in the Philippines, they were identified as “niggers,” and they were lynched, beaten, and murdered without any recourse to the law. To this day, the word retains the same popular meaning as it did at the turn of the century: to be a “nigger” means to be identified as an available target for extra-judicial violence and social exile, without right of appeal to an established or legitimate authority. This is what the word means, regardless of who uses it in what context. That is what makes it a dangerous word and concept. It is a word that attacks what it identifies, and paves the way for further violence.

He urges the Pilipin@ community of UCSD to remain vigilant and fight against this racism as hard as if it were directly aimed at them:

My second reason for asking for your committed involvement is that your African-American friends, collaborators, and co-sponsors need you. [...] We are all fighting to increase student recruitment and retention of historically underrepresented minorities at UCSD, whereas the groups that comprise the majorities at UCSD don’t need to do this. We are all faced with constant underfunding and are obliged to conduct recruitment and retention activities that are regularly performed by hired full-time staff in most other universities. We are all passionately invested in reproducing and reinventing the originality of our cultural heritage, its joys and sorrows, which help us understand how and why we remain separate from a greater cultural heritage that might be simply defined as “American.”

A-Fucking-Men!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Audre Lorde!!!!

2010-02-18T12:25:00.000-08:00

She was one of the first people I read in my women's studies courses. A pivotal writer, poet and activist, she taught us that "the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house." As in, we cannot use the same structures and patterns set up by those in power to create our new social order. We have to use creative mechanisms to establish a more just and equal world. She also fiercely criticized the feminist movement and feminist academia in particular for its white-centric views and demanded that folks not only recognize intersectionality and queerness in feminist analysis, but that people who identify as such come to the table.

More at her wikipedia here.

Throwback

2010-02-16T13:20:00.000-08:00

Alright, so I know this probably has nothing explicitly to do with growing up pinay in the Bay, but I heard this on the radio today and, foreal, it brought me baaaack, yo!

I know correlation doesn't equal causation or whatever, but 9/10 pin@ys probably know this song and love it (add in being raised in the bay and u definitely love it!). So I can't help but think that loving this song and this 90's genre in general is a prerequisite for being a down ass bay pin@y ;) There's something in the water....

Yellow Fever thrives stronger than ever!

2010-02-08T11:06:00.000-08:00

I've written about "yellow fever" or "Asiaphilia" a lot in my writing. It's something that I feel deeply affected by in my everyday life-- for as long as I can remember.

Growing up, I was referred to constantly as the "token Asian." There have been many-a-white guy try to hit on me by referencing something Asian or Filipino. My own boyfriend, god bless his soul, upon learning of my Filipino background, talked about his one Filipino friend who used to cook for him all the time (like I was supposed to care about this one random dude because we're both Filipino). That seems to be a common occurrence. Meet someone of blank ethnicity, mention some friend of yours who happens to be of that same ethnicity. Newsflash: I could care less about your one token ethnic friend. Just because we can trace our lineage to the Asian continent, doesn't mean we have anything in common. Just the other day, someone asked me if I knew Pacquiao. Yeah, he's my uncle, knucklehead. How about you, you know Tom Hanks?

Thea Lim writes a moving post for Racialicious in which she analyzes Asian fetishes and particularly Asian stereotypes. She quotes Vickie Chang who also wrote on this subject matter for the OC Weekly. I fully agree with Chang's sentiment on the dismissive nature of Asian stereotypes (cause, you know, they're so flattering!). She writes,

Asian fetishism has a long history of being brushed off as a compliment, rather than offensive or bigoted. I've been told I ought to be flattered that so many non-Asian men "prefer" Asians and Asian American women. But the coalescing of an ethnicity into a whole, whether exotic, erotic, oversexed or virginal, is a real issue, collectively and individually.

Lim expands on this, hitting it on the nail:

What a stereotype is at base, is something that is deeply dehumanising. One minute you are walking down the street, with full of awareness of how you are a human being with thoughts and feelings and dreams and a family and a life. The next minute, all someone has to say is something like “Asian women are well known throughout the world for their exotic beauty and sensitive nature” or “Black women are kinky freaks” and suddenly, you stop existing as a human. You only exist as part of someone else’s two-dimensional vision of you; a vision that really has nothing to do with who you are, or how you are human.

Often when I get into these types of debates, prejudiced notions of what is "beautiful" reveal themselves. Common ideas of Asian women are that they have light, smooth skin, small features and an overall delicate quality. So clearly, other types of women, who have dark skin and more prominent features are UGLY, right? Well, that speaks volumes for itself. (Forget the fact that Asian includes Southeast and South Asians, who are usually darker skinned.) And for those Asian women (such as myself) who don't fit exactly into the mold of what an ideal "Asian" should look like? Fuhgettabout it! Lim writes:

Yellow Fever is about rejecting non-Asian women’s sexualities, as much as it is about seeking embodiments of (ignorant) notions of Asian women’s sexualities. When it comes to desiring an Asian women to submit to you, the other side of the coin is that you are rejecting – for example – black women because of stereotypes that black women are shrill, demanding and pushy.

I wholly reject and disdain the idea of "Yellow Fever" not only because it stereotypes an entire heterogeneous race of people, but also because it perpetuates the historically militarized way of thinking in which Asian women serve as comfort women and sex slaves in their own country and abroad. Before you go writing an angry response to me, however, writing that just because you date Asian (or whatever-ethnicity women) doesn't mean you're a bad person, just know that I am not rejecting interracial relationships. I'm in one for god's sake! Even more, I am the PRODUCT of an interracial marriage! Love is blind, I get that. What I don't endorse is the wholesale purchase of Asians as one particular type of good. Cause that's what it is. Commodifying and exotifying an entire RACE of people. It means looking at me and seeing ASIAN instead of HUMAN.

Re-Definining Masculinity

2010-02-05T10:17:00.000-08:00

Feminism can only truly become a revolution when people realize that it's not JUST women being negatively affected by the patriarchy. I've written about this a number of times. Courtney at Feministing recently wrote a post on The Daily Show's segment addressing this so-called "Crisis of Dudes."

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Male Inequality

www.thedailyshow.com

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Health Care Crisis

Although I appreciate their mocking of many Men's Rights Activists who claim that feminism is destroying our world (gosh darn those women entering the workforce and asserting their human rights!), I didn't like certain tactics Samantha Bee used. When she talks about a supposed "emotional football player" she calls him a "pusswad." Invoking a woman's genitals discourages us from challenging narrow definitions of masculinity, and it demeans all women by defining us as less than. It's a tired and old trick so in this respect, The Daily Show wasn't progressive at all. And I'd put some serious cash on the idea that a world in which men are more in touch with their emotions and spirituality is a world in which violence happens much less frequently. I also question the whole hunting for deer part. I didn't see it's necessity at all and I'm not sure how many viewers took the view that Courtney did that she was representing the "un-evolved woman." Once again, I sort-of got that she was defining masculinity in a very VERY narrow framework (all upright men KILL their dinner!). And the end.. ugh. I don't know what that men's group is all about and I also doubt whether they are a truly progressive community committed to re-defining masculinity in a positive way ("my wife is in charge, ugh!), but screaming at men to "sack the fuck up" and threatening them with "you're turning me into a lesbian" seems to totally uphold the patriarchy. I don't know, maybe I just didn't get the satire in this. Or maybe... they just didn't do it well.

*On a sidenote: I encourage people to listen to Musiq Soulchild's song "Teach Me." I absolutely love these lyrics:

I was told the true definition of a man was to never cry. Work till you tired (yeah) got to provide (yeah) Always be the rock for my fam, protect them by all means (and give you the things that you need, baby) Our relationship is (suffering) trying to give you (what I never had) You say I don't know how to love you baby [...] I was always taught to be strong never let them think you care at all Let no one get close to me Before (you and me) I den' shared things wit chu girl about my past That I'd never tell to anyone else (no) Just keep it to myself, (yes) Now I know I lack affection and expressing my feelings It took me a minute to come and admit this but See I'm really try'na (change now) Wanna love you better, (show me how) I'm tryin desperately baby

Now THAT's some real talk. I'd holler at that ANY day.

Filipino OCW, Rape Victim to be Lashed 100 Times

2010-01-25T08:33:00.000-08:00

Yup. You read that right.

A Filipino woman in Saudi Arabia is scheduled to be lashed 100 times by the government as punishment for being raped. To add to the tragedy, the Filipino has been held in prison since September 2009. In December 2009, the woman — known only as “Camille” — miscarried. Now, she is facing a medieval crime — all because she was raped.

This shit happens WAY TOO OFTEN. Filipino OCW/ODW's (overseas contract workers, overseas domestic workers) remittances make up the majority of the Philippines GNP. Despite this integral role, they are left entirely vulnerable to overseas abuse and injustices. This leaves me feeling a number of emotions. I'm horrified, upset and depressed by this news. But sadly, I am not surprised.

It reminds me of an article I read a few months ago called The Dark Side of Dubai:

In a Burger King, a Filipino girl tells me it is "terrifying" for her to wander the malls in Dubai because Filipino maids or nannies always sneak away from the family they are with and beg her for help. "They say – 'Please, I am being held prisoner, they don't let me call home, they make me work every waking hour seven days a week.'

There are not enough jobs in the Philippines, forcing over a million people to contract overseas. They think it will be fair and they think they will be treated just. But, oftentimes, it's strikingly similar to indentured servitude and human trafficking.

Via Feministing's post.

I have no words.

2010-01-25T07:50:00.000-08:00

David Byrne and Fatboy Slim did a tribute album to IMELDA MARCOS, one of two in the corrupt Marcos couple.

Prometheus Brown (who holds it down for the infinitely talented Blue Scholars) describes it quite aptly in the above post. He writes:

When I first heard about this project a month ago, I thought to myself, either David Byrne and Fatboy Slim don’t know or don’t care that Imelda Marcos was essentially a co-dictator of a third world country who suffered greatly under her and her husband Ferdinand Marcos’ regime. That her tens of thousands of shoes, a symbol of audacious glamour and wealth to hipsters like them, is for us Filipinos (and most normal human beings) a symbol of the poverty and repression their wealth was built upon. [...] Maybe Byrne and Fatboy can donate some of that money to the people whose lives were ruined by the Marcos regime. Until that happens, I guess I’ll just look forward to more collaborations like this. Can’t wait to hear “Last Night In Santiago: A Tribute to Pinochet” or an all Richard Wagner-sampled record titled “Dancing With Hitler.”

Well-said, my friend.

Thanks to the homey Sam Sukaton for the heads up!

Also:
The weird world of Imelda Marcos
AIG and Imelda Marcos' shoes

Feminism in (500) Days of Summer

2010-01-20T21:20:00.000-08:00

**Spoilers included**

I finally got around to watching the new movie from that guy who starred in Angels in the Outfield. (Loved that, btw.) It was, for the most part, enjoyable. It had its witty moments and it had its cliches. But all in all, it was cute and I don't feel like my boyfriend wasted his $4 dollars.

The character who most interested me was the character of Summer (played by eccentric Zooey Deschanel). There was feminism all over the place with that one. First, she was uber-confident throughout the whole movie. In fact, with every move she made during the courtship period, my boyfriend kept saying "Wow, confident!" She approached him and kissed him. She demanded to know whether or not he really liked her. Dig.

Furthermore, the fact that she had no interest in love or relationships (a sharp departure from every other romantic comedy on the market) was definitely refreshing. And in the relationship, the gender role reversal was evident in that she had all the agency and control. She was inspiring in that she knew exactly what she wanted and never tried to front about it. From the beginning she told Roger (err, Tom) that she didn't want anything serious and true to her form she broke up with him after 500 days. (Hence the name of the movie.)

But... there's the ending. When it's all said and done, Summer ends up married. I couldn't help but think of the quote she said in the beginning of the movie. Something like "Is it impossible for a woman to be single and happy?" With the movie's conclusion, I'm left with the answer: Yes. It is impossible. The ultimate destination for all women is marriage. Forget heteronormativity. Forget the fact that American marriage law originated from British law which designated women as property. We couldn't just let the character of Summer revel in her revolutionary, feminist potential. Nope. She had to get married.

Another thing bugged me as well. The movie did a good job of setting up the idea that Summer was the most beautiful, most charismatic, most alluring woman alive! The "Summer Effect" they called it. God forbid a woman have no interest in relationships, despise love AND not be conventionally attractive! That just wouldn't work at all-- no way. Of course, the majority of women in Hollywood are conventionally beautiful anyway (the prerequisite for success in that industry), but the movie made it a major point to point out that Summer is basically Helen of Troy or the women of Aerosmith's "Crazy." (Such a classic!) In order to make a radical female character more palatable to a mass audience, Summer had to be the perennial beauty.

I guess I can't have my cake and eat it too.

Diam - The French Emcee

2010-01-11T15:23:00.000-08:00

"Since her 2007 album Dans ma Bulle (Inside My Bubble) debuted at the top of the charts by selling 50K copies in its first week, Diam's has become the hottest emcee in France. Not the hottest female emcee, but the hottest emcee in general. Diam's is known as a feminist rebel who spits rhymes about war, racism, poverty, and injustice--something that has placed the rapper in the line of French media fire." - Bitch Magazine's blog

Holler at that for sure.

I'm especially interested in this rapper's potential to disentangle ignorant views of Muslims so pervasive in the Islamophobic West. When will people get it? The veil does NOT automatically mean submission! I don't know about you or anything, but the necessity of women in our media to be perfectly packaged objects of sexuality hasn't been too liberating for me...

Via Feministing.

Baby are you down down down down down...

2010-01-10T22:14:00.000-08:00

Is it just me or is anyone else really happy that a South Asian brotha has penetrated our mainstream? Jay Sean's music is really catchy and whenever his songs come on, I smile just a little bit wider knowing that he's holding it down for the South Asian community.

We definitely need more of this representation in the mainstream. Putting Slumdog Millionaire aside (which was clearly a huge hit and a chance to break down some barriers, but alas, an exception and not the rule), if one were to do a cursory review of South Asians in mainstream media, we would be left with a romanticization of globalization practices and a mere aid in creepy Matthew McConaughey's quest to get laid. Ugh.

(Sidenote: I just read that Sean is from the same town in the U.K. as another talented South Asian, M.I.A., who is of Sri Lankan descent. What are the chances of that?! In any case, England is producing some great South Asian artists and it has me thinking about the transformation of identity occurring there. England's population is largely composed of the South Asian diaspora and unsurprisingly this demography alters the cultural makeup of the country. The national dish is Vindaloo for goodness sake! What can this mean when the forefather of modern imperialism is essentially absorbing the culture of the Other (or creating a hybrid)? So much analysis, so little time!)

Bah Humbug!

2010-01-06T23:50:00.000-08:00

I know the holidays are over (wahh!), but I love the Muppet Christmas Carol and Tami wrote a stirring piece on the Dickens tale's relevance today. In Are there no prisons? The value of little black girls or a modern Christmas carol, Tami hits it on the nail when she connects Scrooge's 19th century fascism to conservative views today.

Also, another moving piece by Renee at Love Isn't Enough, reawakening Pecola Breedlove of Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye (beware, you might cry):

If she happens to be dark skinned, the Blackest of Black, those around her might ridicule her, having internalized the blue-eyed standard of beauty. She will note how those with the lighter skin get more attention, are called beautiful, and are held up as the epitome of Black female beauty. She will watch as they toss their long, straight hair over their shoulders and wonder how her short nappy locks seem so unloved, no matter how painstakingly styled.

As for me, with the holidays over, I'll be looking forward to Valentine's Day-- only because bright colors and store displays make me feel warm and fuzzy inside (yes, I know this is the corporate purpose, but what can I say? I love it!)

Musings of a First-Generation Filipino-American

2010-01-06T21:17:00.000-08:00

As the first generation of offspring from people directly immigrating from another country, I find myself (and siblings and cousins) in a very unique situation. First, our parents come from a Third World country. The Philippines in particular has the unique position of being the only American colony. In that respect, the Philippines has a distinctive and somewhat disturbing love/reverence of all things American. This is true both culturally and politically (as leaders of the P.I. tend to align themselves with whatever U.S. goals are *ahem VFA*).

Within this cultural context (a longing eye for America, if you will), we find our parents. "There are no decent jobs in the Philippines" my mom has told me. This lack of opportunity is what motivates most immigrants to move to America. I write a lot about privilege and this first-generation immigration thing definitely lends itself to a lack of privilege. Unlike other people who have lived in this country for centuries, being a part of an immigrant family means you lack economic infrastructure to keep you afloat (of course amount of time in country isn't a universal benefit if you were dragged here in chains). First, you came here because you wanted a better life for yourself and clearly didn't have much money. You don't have family wealth to hold on to like property that's been passed down for generations since you moved here from across the ocean. You definitely don't have education (and even if you are coming with a degree from the Philippines, you still kinda lack education since even doctors find it nearly impossible to find jobs here.) Even more, you face immense linguistic barriers. And needless to say-- speech is a very powerful tool. All of these economic factors undoubtedly affect the next generation of Filipino-American children. The immigrant complex, at least in my family, meant my parents wanted my sisters and I to be as American as possible. That meant: NO TAGALOG! Although I understand the reasoning behind this (survival) I will forever resent this and will continually struggle to learn this language as an adult. Moreover, almost all of my childhood (and, shit, present day) memories are composed of struggling to make ends meet. Yes, we were middle class. But DEFINITELY lower middle-class. Exacerbating the economic situation for my family was domestic disunity. My mom raised three daughters, for the most part, all by herself. And especially with the crazy youngest daughter dreamin' her big dreams of going off to college and studying abroad to all these foreign countries, this was no easy feat. ;)

What's more, aside from the economic struggles, comes this bilateral identity. I have a diasporic consciousness. Yes, I was born and raised in America. My humor, my taste in music, movies, entertainment and the way I talk all stem from an American upbringing. I cannot escape that. But having a mother who is from a different country completely alters that. I am American, but at the same time I'm not. I'm Filipino. The food I eat, the way I think, my cultural values, my family gatherings, my family dynamic and the clothes my family wears are distinctively Filipino (tsinelas, anyone?)-- we are different. I'm an insider outsider. But unlike my mother, the Philippines is more abstract to me. It's more of a culture as opposed to a concrete place of origin. As confusing as being a Filipino-American may be, it's what I am. I was born a hyphenated baby. I yearn for a past that I never really had while resenting the place that made me who I am. (More specifically, I resent the politics of genocide & slavery that made room for America to be established and the subsequent economic policies that continue to make Third World countries dependent on American jobs and goods.) It's all messy and complicated, but I gotta just revel in it. And everyday I learn something more about what this first-generation hyphenation business is really all about.

It will be different for my children who will have a mother that was born and raised here. I'll have ALL the insider knowledge of how to get into college. I'll be able to speak the language to get my kids into whatever direction they want to go in. Whatever wealth is passed on from my parents, I will be able to pass onto them. And unlike my parents, I have a very conscious and relentless desire to instill in my children a knowledge of self. Yes, their mother is not fluent in Tagalog, but I will try so very hard to make sure they know a hell of a lot more than I do!

And on a somewhat related noted, I was just curious as to what happens to first-generation families when they expand! I am one of the youngest of the first-gen cousins, so a lot of my older cousins already have broods of their own. Right now, we all go to one of our auntie or uncle's houses (obviously, one of the OG immigrants) when the holidays come around. When we become bigger and bigger is that even going to be feasible anymore? Especially since American families are much smaller (2-3 kids the norm, while my mother has 7 siblings), is my family going to just go to my sister's houses from now on? I hope not!

- Forever Questioning
Anna Banana

And just for fun, holler at this good-lookin' group of folks! Maligayang Pasko everyone! ;)

New Moon & Domestic Violence in Native American Communities

2009-12-15T11:22:00.000-08:00

So I have A LOT of problems with the whole Twilight saga. The whole "I'm willing to end my life and say goodbye to my family and everyone I ever knew just so I can be with you forever" is clearly not very appealing for any self-determined woman. Not to mention Edward's incessant patronizing/control of Bella throughout the whole movie. And there's that whole race issue. It's cool they added one (maybe two? I'm not too sure about Angela) Asian to the movie (which was clearly not in the book, the book was a WHOLE LOT worse-- there was NO mention of other races in the book aside from the Quileutes). And oh yeah! The one token black vampire, Laurent. Yeah I'm sure ALL but ONE of the vampires from around the world come from Europe. Two people of color in the whole movie, wow! so progressive of you Twilight execs!

The portrayal of Native Americans in this movie(/series) was always troubling too. The vampire monsters (don't forget! minus Laurent, universally white) are monsters because they were unlucky and got bit. But the werewolf monsters are monsters because.... they're Native American and... it's in their genes? Hmmm. (Oh yeah, not to mention, the principal Native American in this movie is played by a white dude named Taylor Lautner [who I personally just find mad-douchey]. Ahhh, shall we save the whole tragedy of non-POC's playing POC's for another day?)

BUT... Ann over at Feministing just put up a great post about the portrayal of domestic violence in the movie. Namely, how it manifests inside the Quileute community.

It's more than a little problematic for New Moon to portray violence as an endemic trait among Native men. Yes, domestic violence is a very real problem in American Indian communities. According to Sacred Circle, Native women are more likely to experience violence than any other U.S. population... But to imply that this is a result of Native people's genes rather than related to other issues such as drug and alcohol abuse, or centuries of racism and marginalization, is inexcusable.

Sigh. Like Ann says at the end of her post, I went into the movie knowing this was going to be no empowering, political triumph. Nonetheless, I do enjoy my share of mind-numbing entertainment every now and then. This particular piece of mind-numbing entertainment is so disappointing though because it's SOOOOO f*cking widespread that everyone and their mom knows about/has seen Twilight. So many little girls LOVE it and will be affected in some way by its portrayal of love, relationships and, of course, race. (Oh yeah! Class too! The Cullens just HAD to be filthy rich on top of it all? I seriously just did not see the necessity of that anywhere.)

One last thing I have to share. I found some consolation while watching the movie and that was the CONSTANT laughing throughout the whole thing! Seriously. The apotheosis of Twilight has become so ridiculous that everytime Robby or Jacob said something, people just burst into laughter. And I was especially laughing in the cheesy parts like when Bella and Edward are magically running through the woods like fairies in Alice's premonition. LOL.

I know you're down... when you gonna get up?

2009-12-14T11:12:00.000-08:00

I was supposed to have a job interview today, but lucky me, it got rescheduled till tomorrow. Boo! Nervous jitters will resume again tomorrow morning! Till then.. enjoy these Happy Monday songs!

Our girl Amel Larrieux from Groove Theory. Whenever I hear this song, I imagine myself prancing around my kitchen, draped in a fluffy bathrobe (think Michael Caine, Muppet Christmas Carol sans Marley&Marley) on a gray, cloudy day, with coffee mug in tow. You?

Could not find a video for this one, but no video is necessary! Two of my favorite artists all on one track! (: Teedra Moses and Raphael Saadiq provide a sweet & soothing melody on this track... this could perhaps be Track 2 on my rainy day coffee parade.

Interracial Race Discussions 101

2009-12-14T06:25:00.000-08:00

This post is inspired by two blog posts-- one by LeToya of Racialicous and one by Tami of What Tami Said. When partaking in discussions on race, I often face the most difficulty when folks with no experience of racist discrimination insert themselves into the discussion. In my experience, this usually comes from white allies or potential white allies. Thus, when the conversation gets to that point (i.e. I've faced discrimination too, I don't look like the runway models either, etc.) I oftentimes get stuck. I would never deny someone's own experiences, but at the same time it always feels wrong and I feel like my point of view is dismissed. I end up walking away from such conversations feeling ineffective and defeated. I'm left to question these lines of reasoning on my own, resulting in ineffectual circles. (Call that successful derailing!)

Luckily, for me (and for you, hopefully!), LeToya and Tami address these issues in ways so eloquent that I just had to share them here. I will be posting particularly moving (and extensive) quotes of theirs here, but it would be an injustice to not read their entire post through the links I've provided above.

Most often "But That Happens to Me Too!" syndrome occurs when people are trying to be emphatic but are really performing what LeToya of Racialicous calls "one-upsmanship." She writes,

This kind of dynamic happens often on my blog. A person who is may not be of a the race/ethnicity being discussed shares a story about their experience. It is not the same as others stories. However, there are two very different ways people go about it.

One is when someone is trying to *affirm* an experience by relating it to their own lives. They talk about marginalization based on their sexuality, or based on their race gender combination. For example, many Asian American males and African American females find common ground in being portrayed as undesirable partners in the media. The experiences of an Asian American male and an African American female are not the same – however, there are enough notes of similarity where when we write a post, someone (of either group) wants to reach out and say, “hey, I feel you on this – you are not alone.”

The second is when someone is trying to *deny* your experience based on their limited reality. This is what I object to, because they are building what is a false parallel. So, comments like “As a white woman with kinky hair, I think it’s ridiculous that black women wouldn’t want to straighten their hair! I straighten my hair to look presentable and so should you!” (We actually received that comment on Racialicious, but it went on for paragraphs). It is frustrating when you are talking about a large, systemic issue and people try to make it about the individual. Saying “well, my barbie didn’t look like me either” or “women in ads don’t look like me” as a way of dismissing the systemic in favor of the personal actually stalls conversation.

I've heard instances of this "one-upsmanship" way too often-- "but as a white person who doesn't look like a Western European, I don't fit into the ideal image either" or "As a person with freckles and red hair, I oftentimes don't see myself reflected in Barbie's image either!" There is a difference between personal discrimination versus systemic discrimination though. In response to a white woman's comment regarding such personal discrimination, LeToya writes, "No one would deny that this pain [rejection, non-acknowledgement] is real. However, it’s quite different from the kind of pain that occurs when you realize it might be a good idea to change your name on your résumé. It’s one thing to have someone openly attack you based on your race. It’s another thing when society condones and encourages this type of behavior in ways that impact education, personal wealth, well being, and social mobility." That's when the differences between discrimination of people of color and white folks become clear.

What's more, she goes on to write about the privilege of partaking in race dialogue and being able to walk away from it, free of the issues discussed. We read,

However, we are also operating within a system that rewards this micro acts of prejudice. And I don’t see the point of engaging, endlessly, particularly if people don’t really have any need to change. I can call myself a gay ally until I am blue in the face, point to all the posts I’ve written or deeds I’ve done, but it would not change the fact that I, as a heterosexual, will never be the target of that specific brand of prejudice. And as such, maybe I should be careful of trying to insert my hetero-narrative into a context where it doesn’t fit.

At the end of the day, I can walk away from the conversation and go about my life. Others live it. So, in general, it is a good rule of thumb to tread lightly. For some people it is a thought exercise, for others, this is their lives. And while I value my opinions and perspective, it is important to remember that everything is not necessarily about how I see things.

You are correct in that we cannot judge the intent of others – this is why we say that the *effect* also needs to come under consideration. If you don’t intend to kill someone but do it anyway, the end result is a person is still dead. If you perpetuate racism unintentionally, the end result is still upholding a racist system

I absolutely love this quote. So often I've heard, "But I didn't mean to hurt you so please don't be mad!" Ugh. It doesn't matter if it was your intention or not, it still happened. Like my hero Lauryn Hill sings, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." Also, it's SUPER important to recognize the ways in which each of us are privileged. I've experienced a lot of -isms due to my specific politico-location in life, but at the same time, I'm not from the projects. I don't live in a Third World war zone. What people who do come from these specific realities have to say is immensely important and should be listened to-- without the insertion of my lower-middle-class American identity into the picture.

Nonetheless, with all that established, what kind of conversations should we be having? And who should be involved?

In a great post titled "It's not a valuable discussion on race until POC show up," Tami questions whether this very sentiment (no POC = no valuable discussion) is true. She writes,

I am not saying that all white people are inherently clueless when it comes to race. I have heard the voices of many eloquent and wise allies on and offline. But all that any of us can do, regardless of our race, is to speak from our lived experiences (our biases, strengths and weaknesses are all tied up in here). Yes, yes...we are (hopefully) impacted by learned experiences and empathy for others. But as much as I might seek to educate myself about what it is like to, say, be a Latino man, I cannot be that person. And I cannot tell that story like someone who has lived it. It would be presumptuous for me to try or extrapolate too much from what I presume to be shared experiences. The most valuable discussion about Latino males would be one with actual Latino males involved.

She concludes by saying that no, it cannot be a valuable discussion until POC are on the scene. But she also raises the question of whether it can be a valuable discussion if white folks are not around.

In my opinion, it all depends. In some spaces, we need to just be around our own communities. Safe spaces, if you will. So many people from our communities have internalized racism, homophobia or misogyny and we need to nurture this first and foremost. Be the change you want to see in this world, nahmean? ; )

BUT!! ... We definitely need to make sure we can articulate our beliefs and arguments to those outside our community. This involves making sure white folks *get it*. We can never create a movement to eradicate racism and all other -isms plaguing our society unless everyone involved, including those who may in fact benefit materially from a particular -ism, understand that it undoubtedly hurts everyone (including themselves) in a place much deeper than material gain.

Feminist Battles

2009-12-07T00:08:00.001-08:00

When it comes to being feminist, you face a lot of obstacles. Some of the hardest battles you have to wage though are the personal ones. For me, everyday is a battle between my feminist principles & the things I know are right versus the cultural indoctrination I've experienced since the very day I was born. One of these battlefields is weight. I know when it comes to weight, all that matters is health, happiness and confidence. Believing to my core the motto "the personal is political," I know that loving myself no matter what the number on the scale is is a truly radical and political endeavor. I want to rise up in all of that empowering glory and radiate that goodness to those around me (especially to family members who I know constantly struggle with weight issues too).

Despite all of that, I still succumb at times to the pressure of being skinny. It sucks.

What sucks more is the battles I face from those around me who inadvertently or not reify the necessity of being thin. Case in point. A friend I haven't seen in a long time came over the other day. The very first thing she said to me was "you gained weight." Of course, she followed with "and it looks so good, you were too skinny before" so clearly this was supposed to be a compliment I should thank her for. But it bothered me. Yes, the thinness indoctrination within me initially screamed... damn, that sucks! I better hit the gym! Then of course the higher voice that I should listen to screamed.... shut up, Anna. You look great. And then an even higher voice that I really should listen to said.... wow, with all this time you've just spent pondering your weight and how you look you could've accomplished a lot more. Do you know how many more important things there are in life for you to be spending 5 minutes debating whether you need to hit the gym or bask in your curvaceous glory?

So, so true, higher voice.

But here's the clincher: I've been battling a disease this past year. Who in their right mind, first of all, talks about a person's weight in their very first breath of seeing this person? And second, who the hell does this knowing this person has been battling a serious disease in the past year? If a person was emaciating because of a sickness, no one would ever say "you look so skinny and it looks great!" That would just be cruel and unusual. And it's the same thing for weight gain.

That's not even the part that bothers me the most. What bothers me is when women (& im sure men as well... but I've personally experienced this the most from women) feel they have the authority to comment on another's weight and are given permission to do so under the guise of a compliment. It's not a compliment. When you say someone looks great because they gained weight or lost weight, you are reinforcing the notion that their weight even fucking matters! This constant talk of weight in female circles is extremely problematic. The other day a family member cut me off mid-sentence and said "OMG, have you heard the news?! Your cousin so-and-so just lost a lot of weight! Isn't that great?" Uhhhh, no? She looked great before and she wasn't someone I would have ever called overweight to begin with. Why is this fucking automatic good news?

Anyways, so while my friend I'm sure had no bad intentions, her automatic commentary on my weight reinforced the idea that my weight even matters (and first & foremost!). Making it much worse, my weight took precedence over my recent health condition. Clearly, my sickness has in almost every way affected my appearance. It seems almost ludicrous now when I think about it that a person would even mention this and in this way.

I'm not saying don't ever talk about weight. If a loved one gained or lost a tremendous amount of weight (which you would have to define), you may want to inquire in a way sensitive to the situation how that person is doing. Extreme weight loss/gain can be a sign of serious depression, stress or whatever.

But that's not what happened to me.

So in the meantime, let me just tell you now so we can save myself from having to write another blog post. My weight is not some movie you have the authority to comment on or criticize. Even when you try to disguise it under the facade of a compliment, I can see right through it. My weight doesn't matter. Most likely you've convinced yourself that you're complimenting another person by commenting on their weight. So perhaps you should check your own indoctrinated patriarchy before you step into my domain.

Thx. ;)

Why Chris Rock needs to try harder

2009-12-04T16:42:00.000-08:00

Alright now this is definitely old news. I've wanted to write on this ever since he first started publicizing his new movie, Good Hair, but just never got to it. His appearance on Oprah has repeated though more than once this week and so I feel compelled to blog about it.

I must confess I have not seen the movie yet. But that's because reviews of it have been pretty bad so I refuse to watch it. It's hard for me to watch something that attempts to be enlightening and empowering, but fails in so many ways. How do I know the movie will fail despite the plethora of negative reviews? The way he promoted the movie. If you're gonna make a movie about an issue that has so much potential to be radical and change the way we perceive race, beauty and gender.... and you don't talk about history or politics at all... you have a problem. When Chris Rock appeared on Oprah there was a significant lack of serious discussion on WHY hair may be a huge thing in black women's lives (I also watched him on I believe Ellen and it was the same thing.) What Chris Rock stated was the main cause of black women's obsession with hair was that they cared too much what white people thought. Huh? How about trying to compete in a white-dominated society when everything black is deemed Other and undesirable? Renee of Womanist Musings writes,

Socially, despite how progressive we claim to be, whiteness is still held up as the ideal and in a world where much of feminine power derives from beauty. The ugly black woman meme is emotionally damaging. The black woman is considered the anti-woman, our femininity is continually denied.

It comes as no surprise that in many work environments, black hair worn natural is seen as unacceptable. Tami of What Tami Said writes,

The truth is that the largely European beauty standards of the Western world dictate that silky, straight hair is the crowning glory for ALL women. From our earliest days on American shores, women of African ancestry have been maligned for their hair, which tends to be thicker, kinkier and more coarse than that of white women. Once, black women were instructed to cover their kinky hair lest it offend white sensibilities. Today, our hair is regularly branded unprofessional, ugly and unfeminine by the mainstream. Employers ban natural hairstyles. And folks go wild when the daughter of the U.S. President appears in neat twists.

And even if there aren't specific bans on certain hairstyles, I'm sure there are black women who feel the need to wear their hair in a Eurocentric style in order to succeed in such a competitive environment. Clearly this imbalanced perception of beauty has historical roots dating back to slavery that continue to this day. There was no mention of that from Chris Rock's lips. Yeah he talks about white people and even has a white woman speak about her experience with hair (I've never even THOUGHT about black women's hair, thank you for this movie!! [Yeah, well maybe you SHOULD have given it some thought] And, heehee, my blonde is fake too!), but not in this way. Not in a way that forces people to really consider historically & politically why things are this way and how they are complicit.

Which brings me to my next point. What bothered me even more was the complete dismissal of white people's and men's roles in perpetuating these standards of beauty. The Skype with the white woman mentioned above displays this dismissal. She's never even THOUGHT of black women's hair! Yeah, hi, it's most likely because you've had the luxury of ignoring racial imbalances that contribute to black women (and lots of women of color for that matter) and the violent ways in which they try to achieve whiteness. (Side note: Did you know that there is a large and ever-growing market for Asian people, particularly Asian women, to undergo plastic surgery to achieve the double eyelid? Horrific.) Talk about the ways in which we mutilate ourselves to look like white people! To dismantle white privilege is to go out of your way to educate yourself on the inequalities in this world. It's hard, takes a lot of work and is far from easy, but absolutely necessary and worth it for you empower yourself in the process.

And what about men and their complicity in a system that not only values women solely on the basis of their looks but de-feminizes black women? Any talk about empowering ways men can alter their actions to stop contributing to this type of behavior? Instead of demonstrating black women's pettiness over obsessing over what white people think, perhaps ascribing some responsibility to others could help as well? Hmm, I don't know, just a thought!

There's more. Solange Knowles, Beyonce's younger sister who recently cut off all her hair, came on as a guest right after Chris. The inundation of "OMG, it's SOOOOOO pretty"s further reinforced the idea of "OK, OK, I'm pretty still? Alright, cool, now I can go on with life." Sure, loving oneself is immensely important and that does involve recognizing one's beauty-- especially for women of color who are constantly told that being white represents the ideal-- but at the same time women are valorized based on their beauty to a degree that no man is subject to and that's not okay. Yeah Solange cut off her hair and she looks great, but what about if she wasn't Beyonce's younger sister and didn't have the beautiful makeup and glamour to go with it? What if she didn't look "great"? Would that change things? What does that immediate slew of "See, and you're still beautiful!" approval mean for how far we still need to go?

Thank you, Chris Rock, for attempting to change the way we view hair in order for your little girls and little girls everywhere to feel confident about themselves. But you should have tried harder, dug deeper & explored truly radical & alternative visions of beauty and power because in the end you just perpetuated a paternalistic attitude towards black women and reinforced the idea of beauty as essential for all women.

Related: In the Name of Security Risks - Lil' Wayne's imprisonment and the rejection of his natural hair

And because I love her: I Am Not My Hair by India Arie

Et tu, Community? The Feminization of the Asian Male.

2009-12-04T07:23:00.000-08:00

Argh!! So I'm late on this. The episode I will be referring to I believe was a few weeks ago... the Halloween episode.

I've tried to like this show. I saw the previews and I was like AWESOME, a show on community college! We can finally stray from media portrayals of college purely as Ivy League. Plus, I get down with The Soup sometimes; Joel McHale has his moments. Nonetheless, on the Halloween episode this season on Community I was completely offended by a remark made by that Asian guy (Ken Jeong who I just imdb'd) who appears in all the Apatow (& Apatow-esque) movies (i.e. Hangover, Knocked Up, etc.)

McHale and Jeong are hanging out at a bar when McHale asks Jeong for some advice on picking up women. At some point in the conversation, Jeong says "C'mon, look at me. [opens jacket] I have the body of a 5th grader." Uh.... what? This is also not to mention in The Hangover, Jeong is tied up naked in the backseat of the Bradley Cooper group's car. Like the little pet that they captured. Wow, Jeong. I understand that Asian roles in Hollywood are SEVERELY lacking and I support any Asian person creating visibility for our community, but c'mon. Is it worth perpetuating emasculating views of our brethren Asian men already perpetuated in larger society???

Our society divides gender into a binary. There is the feminine and there is the masculine. Clearly we do not allow room for anything in between as is evident from the horrific violence against transgenders and the discrimination they experience (along with the rest of the LBTQI community). Masculinity is everything strong, assertive, bold & tough. Femininity is everything masculinity is not: dainty, small, emotional, timid (aka "knows her place"), etc. Unlike other men of color, Asian men are greatly feminized in pop culture and mainstream media. In fact, in Byron Hurt's "Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes" documentary (which I posted on before) in which he discusses violent masculinity in hip-hop, Asian men are completely left out. Around 4:04 in the video, the man says "The only way to be a black man, a Latino man, is to be hard you know what I'm sayin'? To denigrate women, denigrate homosexuals, denigrate each other, to kill each other." This definitely caught my ear. Do the violent depictions of masculinity in hip-hop not affect my Asian brothas? Apparently not.

This emasculation (or feminization) occurs outside the media as well. Here's some history for you. In the Vietnam War, the American military was so dumbfounded by the initial success of the Vietnamese Communist forces that they retaliated by raping Vietnamese women. This was a retaliation for them because they needed to emasculate the Vietnamese in order to feel better (& perhaps they thought it would help them win). (Clearly in their view, emasculation involved another man taking your women, who, HELLO!, clearly belongs to you. Ugh.) Just watch that horrible movie Full Metal Jacket and you'll have a better idea of the violence I'm talking about.

Back to Jeong. When he takes these roles that force him into a pet-like subjugation to his white counterparts or that represent him as a small, 5th grader, basically infantilizing him, it reinforces the notion of the Asian male as feminized. The idea of the Asian man as lacking masculinity is undoubtedly hurtful to the Asian community.

So yeah, I probably won't be watching any more Community if perpetuating boring stereotypes is the kind of humor they turn to. NEWSFLASH: it's been done before, it's not smart or creative. It's offensive to me and my intelligence and to the others whom it directly affects. Shame on you.

We need more Evan Lows in this world!

Feminist Masculinity?

2009-11-09T18:03:00.000-08:00

A must-read post by Courtney Martin of Feministing.com titled "What's the Alternative to Tucker Max?" (You know, the dude who wrote that vapid book-turned-movie "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell".) Once more men begin to recognize that sexism and misogyny is a detriment to their own well-being, we can partake in more constructive dialogue and drastically reduce violence in our communities.

Taylor Swift and "Real" Womanhood

2009-11-02T11:17:00.000-08:00

I know this song is old, but it still plays relentlessly on the radio so I thought I should finally write my thoughts on it. Taylor Swift's You Belong With Me irks the hell out of me. To save you the pain of listening to the whole thing, I'll give you the gist of its lyrics. Basically, Swift sets up a dichotomous view of young girlhood with the all-too-familiar framework of "Mean Girls" vs. loser freaks (with Swift as the more "deserving" loser freak). With Swift's current fame, she serves as a highly influential role model to so many young women today. She writes her own lyrics and plays the guitar which is refreshing when there are so many mindless Mileys out there. However, Swift should consider re-writing lyrics that don't rely on woman hating so she can instead empower young girls.

In her song, Swift plays the role of T-shirt wearing, "good" music listening, bleacher sitting young girl. This type of young girl is the one who deserves to win Prince Charming. The other girl? Ugh, no way. The other girl wears high heels, short skirts and is captain of the cheer squad-- clearly not a good match for our Prince Charming.

I get Taylor's naive intention, of course. Her attempts to glorify one type of girl over the "sexified" image of a girl we usually see as winning Prince Charming may empower some girls who relate to Taylor's image. However, the catfighting that comes through the song and music video is damaging for all young girls who already feel pressure from society to compete with other women.

When it's all said and done, at the end of Taylor's song, we get one woman validating (or invalidating) another's womanhood. This happens WAY too much today.

With Dove's recent "real" beauty campaign and countless others (including Lane Bryant stores), marketers try to appeal to certain women by stating their beauty is "real"-- implying that others' are not. Once again, I see the naive attempt to empower women who don't relate to the image of stick-thin models we normally see, but is it okay to do that at the expense of the other women who don't necessarily fit the new, "real" definition? Why does empowerment for some women come at the expense of others? When we criticize the fashion industry for only allowing stick-thin models on the runways and in print, it doesn't give us the all-mighty power to deign what "real" womanhood is.

Swift and other capitalist marketers in their attempts to empower "real" women are in effect woman-hating and perpetuating woman-on-woman antagonisms. Epic fail.

(Somewhat) Related Post:

German women's magazine to ban professional models

>> Update: Sexist Beatdown: Taylor Swift, Avril Lavigne, Jolene, and Music's "Other Women"
Taylor Swift: Pop princess, feminist villain?

Blackface once again!!

2009-11-01T12:12:00.001-08:00

I've written on the tradition of blackface before. And here, it continues.

"Here's a shot by Mario Sorrenti by the new V magazine. They can call it art, they can call it fashion. But they can't seem to call an actual black model, so let's call it bullshit."

- Dodai of Jezebel

Dig.

Hypermasculinity and Violence in Hip-Hop

2009-10-15T22:31:00.000-07:00

Everyone please watch this, if not just for the great content, but because the guy at the end is such a fool. It makes me laugh each time I watch it. LOL.

Via Feministing.

Revolution in America...

2009-10-15T08:58:00.001-07:00

I just got through reading Mumia Abu-Jamal's We Want Freedom and it has me thinking a lot about revolution in America. In his book, he speaks about the inherent failures of the Black Panther Party. In short, they didn't bring about transformative revolution in America. They didn't institutionalize socialism. However, he goes into detail about certain successes of the BPP as well. Many of its leaders are in positions of power with Ph.D's, J.D.'s, a few hold public office, etc. Many offshoots of the BPP were formed and are still in existence, albeit much smaller and a lot less recognized. Basically, he writes, revolution is still in the hearts and minds of many and that is the legacy of the BPP today.

I can't help but think-- goddamn. The pigs were successful in dismantling the BPP. Sure, there was internal strife as well, but I had no idea how extensive the COINTELPRO of the FBI (COunter INTELligence PROgram) was (actually, I didn't even know it existed!). Neither did the leaders. Will we ever be able to dissect how much of the internal strife was caused by external forces, by brownmail and snitches?

I think of all of the other struggles put down by government, by the power structure.

I think of Samahang Pilipino. Throughout my time in this student organization, there was constant talk of "the old ways" and how we weren't doing enough, how we were merely repeating traditions given us from the organization's more radical past. I think of all of the other student movements/organizations I was involved with and how it's ended. I've heard too often about student leaders losing radicalization or having to succumb to neutralization in order to pay the bills, in order to get a job upon graduation. I've heard people speak of how hard it is to find a like-minded community outside of college life. Moreover, after participating in a sit-in against the UC Regents raising our student fees, they still raised them. The next year they raised it even more.

I think of community organizations outside school. There are SO many organizations doing such great work. Most of these radical organizations constantly speak about dismantling all forms of oppression-- white, capitalist, hierarchical oppression. If they have these same interests, why is it so difficult to build a single revolution??? Why has there been nothing even close to what the Black Panthers built in our time? Even in college, abundant in its left-leaning activist students, building coalitions is immensely difficult. White anarchist students work very rarely with the student of color organizations. Many times organizations don't even know the other exists.

Why has it been nearly impossible to build a full revolution in America, unlike our Third World brothas and sistas? Is it because of America's unique history? Spelled out, is it because the indigenous people were almost fully extinguished making it impossible for them to work with other oppressed peoples in this country to take power away from the Europeans?

And what does revolution mean today when we are seeing more of our community's faces in positions of power? Not only in government are we seeing key leaders of color in the highest ranks, but in corporate America as well. And what shall we say about the people like Michael Steele, people who are just so fooled or ignorant about their own history?

It would be foolish, however, to ignore the fact that although we are seeing such changes, the vast majority of people with power-- both political and economic-- are white. However, how do these changes affect political discourse? Does this make things easier or harder for activists?

Ironically, however, at this specific moment in time, when our economy seems to be getting worse and worse, when people are losing more and more jobs, when the California education system is seriously on the brink of destruction and capitalism is being blamed in the mainstream for so many of our problems (yes, I would call Michael Moore mainstream), could there be a better time for revolution?

I don't have the answer to any of these questions. Although I'm hopeful about change, I have serious doubts about whether we will ever see truly transformative revolution in this lifetime. I think those who would benefit from tradition and the status quo have been too manipulative and too steadfast in their work to allow radical change.

But how much further will this continue until we do, indeed, "perish like Babylon"?

Typhoon Ondoy in the Philippines

2009-10-05T00:22:00.001-07:00

The situation is bleak. And the inept government doesn't help the situation either.

Please donate whatever you can. If you are like me though, you have no money to donate. Luckily, however, I just found out that LBC Cargo is sending FREE shipments to the Philippines for in-kind donations!!! So clothes, shoes, towels, blankets... any kind of goods you think people might need right now would help!!!

Disgust w/ Hollywood

2009-10-04T17:38:00.000-07:00

Penelope Cruz, Natalie Portman (I cant believe this one!), Daren Aronofsky, Martin Scorsese, Gael Garcia Bernal and Woody Allen. All names of people whose work I refuse to support from now on. They believe in the defense of a rapist all in the name of.... art? You disgust me and should be ashamed of yourself.

Take a cue from Chris Rock already. Rape is rape you insular sickos!!!!

Update: Watch this video from Jay Smooth. Intelligent work, once again.

The Inadequacies of Travel Channel & Food Network

2009-09-15T23:55:00.001-07:00

Since moving back home, I've had a lot of free time to be a couchpotato. Thus, I've been watching some of my favorite television shows on Travel Channel and Food Network. I'm a foodie and travel enthusiast so I am nonetheless addicted to such shows. However, one thing has been continually irking me while I watch these shows for hours on end: I'm only watching white people! (Not to mention my favorite travel shows are literally a dick competition-- just watch the commercials!).

The problem I have with this is not just aesthetic. Shows such as Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, Andrew Zimmern's Bizzare Foods and Man vs. Food reflect the same colonizing attitude we've seen time and time again. White man travel to foreign land. Tastes yummy food. Brown people are so cool!

Sure, these shows take on a "positive" approach with the hosts diving uninhibited into different types of cuisine, but they still reinforce the idea of different ethnicities as Other. Viewers can travel to exotic locales with the host and see what it's like to be Chinese, Filipino, Mexican, etc. As if it were an experience, or a flavor if you will, to be had. Very problematic.

My problem with my favorite (and I'm sure most popular) Food Network shows (Barefoot Contessa, Rachel Ray, Sandra Lee and Giada) is once again-- everyone is white! There are PLENTY of great chefs from different ethnicities and cultures. Is it just about these white women having access?

For once-- I'd like to see a person of color highlighting a culture from within. Whether it's by traveling or cooking, it would do these networks some good to ditch the universalizing of the global trotter or master chef as white.

Drop Dobbs!

2009-09-15T23:53:00.000-07:00

Via Echaton.

A Small Round-Up

2009-08-26T06:06:00.001-07:00

Rest well, Ted Kennedy! ) :

A great piece on rape jokes-- on why the inappropriateness of rape jokes does not center on the principle of whether jokes should be used to relieve tension but instead on why people who make rape jokes need to relieve tension in the first place: You Probably Know a Rapist

CEO of Whole Foods, John Mackey, rails against healthcare reform by invoking Margaret Thatcher in a recent opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal. Sigh.

First the Burka and Now the Burkini, C'est Viva La Difference dans France

I hate girls!!! I'm just sort of a guys-girl.

2009-08-06T19:12:00.000-07:00

How often have we heard this one?

To be sure, all types of people are capable of a similar statement (hatin' on their own community). But I find when women say it particularly problematic because it echoes the perspective of our larger society, thus reifying it through internalization. Like Michel Foucault is famous for writing about and what many scholars have recognized when it comes to formerly colonized communities, what better police for the disgusting natives or dirty "Others" than themselves?! What a revelation!

Think about it y'all.

This goes for a lot of things other than self-hating statements. The inordinate amount of time women (and other folks critically focused on their appearances) spend checking themselves in the mirror, the vast quantities spent on beauty products, etc..... we're doing nothing but self-policing ourselves and fattening the pockets of racist beauty corporations like L'oreal.

True, patriarchy (and those who perpetuate it) valorizes women based on their supposed "beauty" -- and provides a strict narrow definition of what this beauty is. But how revolutionary would it be if we just said "fuck it." How about if we caught ourselves before looking in that window and just said, "nahh, I don't give a shit"? And how about if we quit the demeaning statements like "god I don't wanna go to that club, it's Azn Persuazn tonight!"? Or "God I hate Asian girls, they scream in your ear when they're drunk"? Or just the all too ubiquitous "I hate girls! I'm just a guys-kind-of-girl" ::then smirks a smirk that screams of ironic self-flattery:: ?

Instead of self-policing ourselves and therefore lookin' a-fool, let's love ourselves. I'm 100% certain we'll gain THAT MUCH MORE respect from it.

And as the oh-so-empowering Lauryn Hill says it: "don't be a hard rock when you really are a gem. baby girl, respect is just a minimum"

Happy 4th of July!!

2009-07-04T11:52:00.000-07:00

In true honor of this day, let's acknowledge the injustices of this country, past and present.

"The blessings in which you this day rejoice are not enjoyed in common. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity, and independence bequeathed by your fathers is shared by you, not me. The sunlight that brought life and healing to you has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth of July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn." - Frederick Douglass, 4th of July Speech

How sad this still rings true...

Yellowface Continues...

2009-05-15T10:57:00.000-07:00

I knew that back in the day there was a phenomenon of white actors playing (highly stereotyped and offensive) black characters by painting themselves black in what was known as minstrel shows. Apparently there's a "Yellowface" parallel to this... and it still exists today!

M. Night Shymalan's current movie in the works, an adaptation of the popular Nickoloden animated show The Last Airbender, casts three white actors in roles clearly meant to be Asian. Read Julianne Henry's comprehensive piece on the choice here.

This has led me to ponder a bit more on the subject. I ran into another post over on straight.com entitled "Is white the new black?" on Angelina Jolie's casting as Mariane Pearl, a woman of color, in "A Mighty Heart." All-too-often seemingly well-intentioned white liberals actually entrench the inequalities they claim to be against by not critically questioning the issues at stake. Angelina Jole and Brad Pitt are good examples of this. Renee at Womanist Musings has some great posts about the implications of glorifying Angelina's motherhood and the idealizing of the United Colors of Benetton family her and Pitt have. All of this while Erykah Badu is denigrated for being a single mother, pregnant with third child from another father. Badu is black (and gasp! unmarried) and thus, her womanhood is pitiable. (Read the post and you will find Badu's response to the outrage and refutation of any notion that she is not suited to have another child.)

So this blog post meandered on down a different pathway from which it began, but it still highlights the pivotal role of the media in perpetuating a hierarchy of bodies.

The importance of voting Students First!

2009-05-01T14:03:00.000-07:00

So while this blog post may not be as interesting for those that are not attending UCLA, it is an important issue to me that I thought I'd share...

USAC (UCLA's undergraduate student government) elections begins Monday of next week. I am extremely passionate about voting Students First! (also known this year as QUALIFIED!- the partnership of Students First! and SERVE). As always, there is an infinite amount of perspectives that comprise the dialogue regarding USAC. Azadeh Ghafari, a recent alumni of UCLA, provides a very powerful piece regarding the two slates. Specifically, she targets the Bruins United (BU) re-appropriation of SF! tactics and mockery of communities of color. I am fearful for this year because BU has been doing a mighty good job in displaying pseudo-liberalism to UCLA's campus. This has the possibility of convincing UCLA's liberal student base that BU is the right slate to vote for.

I know this may appear trivial to some because it's just UCLA student government. However, I share the SF! belief that student government can be MORE than just spirit rallies and undie runs. Student government, especially at an institution like UCLA, has the possibility to create global change.

And under SF!, it has. They have contributed to divestment from South Africa during apartheid, re-organized racist statistics of UCLA students (the Count Me In! campaign), fought to establish ethnic studies on campus (as well as getting this inserted into the UCLA G.E. requirements) and so much more. The list can seriously go on.

Under BU... we get nothing. We get a group comprised of individuals that see USAC as an extension of their high school government, concerned with things such as planning prom. Without having a grander vision for student government, they end up with an inefficient and useless government. Seriously. Last year, the majority BU council didn't even achieve the most important aspect of their campaign platform, Concerts for Cash. This is among others on a long list of BU failures.

So, please.. If you're reading this and you go to UCLA, if you know someone at UCLA, or if you just want to spread the word... PLEASE... Vote Students First!

PS. Here's the website: Vote Students First!

The Idealizing of the White Woman

2009-04-08T20:18:00.000-07:00

Everyday I ride the Big Blue Bus to school and am forced to stare at the ridiculousness of the American media through obscene bus posters. The most recent poster they have plastered on the side of the Blue Buses is the one above. And this one drives me particularly up the wall. It plays into that old woman-as-conniving, catty, competitive and insecure beings myth. But even more so, it plays on the whole race dynamic with white woman as alluring, unattainable and with black woman eyeing menacingly in an attempt to keep her man. It completely ignores the historicity the white woman has played in people of color, and more specifically, African-American communities! Just think of Malcolm X and his friend Shorty. He was so in awe of dating a white woman that even as night fell, he would open his curtains so the moonlight could show her pale skin. White women are seen as the ultimate prize. As far back as imperialism goes, white equals ideal and this notion doesn't stop short of affecting who we desire as dating partners.

Urgh. It is so frustrating to know the immense impact Hollywood has on the American (and therefore global!) psyche and that this industry takes no responsibility for the deleterious messages it spreads.

Ahhh, nostalgia...

2009-03-29T16:46:00.002-07:00

Oh how I wish I could forever live in the 90's!!

I don't know if it's because I grew up on this music... but damn.

I'm seriously thinking about bringing this style back!!

Those baggy jackets and pants look mighty comfortable...

PS. I apologize if you're forced to wait through a WAMP-ass ad before the lovely Brandy can come singing her tunes through your computer

screen, but I could NOT find a version of this on youtube to save my

life!

Some thoughts on sustainability

2009-03-12T12:13:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking quite a bit about sustainability recently because, let's face it, sustainability also equals saving $$$!! So it feels good doing my part for the environment and saving money at the same time! I figured I'd share a few ways that I stay sustainable on a day-to-day basis and hopefully you can either get some ideas or share some with me!

1) Re-using ziploc bags. I often bring snacks to campus/work and this includes sandwiches, goldfish or cereal. Bringing sustenance from home in itself saves a grip of money, but I carry these things in ziplock bags that I re-use until they can't take it anymore. (Snacks like goldfish and cereal usually leave a bit of crumbs or remnants along the side of the bag, so you can figure out which bag you used for which food item! Honey bunches of oats mixed with goldfish would probably taste really funky.)
2) Re-using paper towels. I used to hate my mom for making me do this, but growing up she would always make me fold up and save paper towels if all I used it for was to dry off my just-washed hands. An even better idea is to have a kitchen towel hanging on your oven or whatnot, making sure you specify that that towel is JUST to dry off clean hands.
3) Returning daily newspapers. Since I've recently joined the Daily Bruin staff, I've become an avid reader of the publication and its newsmagazine affiliates. I try to make it a point to return the newspaper on the stand after I've read it so it could get multiple reads before heading to the trash!
4) Essentializing my wardrobe. Renee has a post-up from a while ago about being sustainable with your wardrobe. Here's a quote that really changed the way I think about things: "Not only do we collectively own a ridiculous amount of clothing, but we continually replace it with little or no regard to the cost of the environment. If you have two legs why do you 'need' 20 pairs of pants. We have one torso, why do we 'need' 20 shirts? The answer is we don't, but we have been so conditioned to consume that we give little thought to the excess of our consumption."As a woman with a guilty pleasure for fashion, this is probably one of the most important things for me to think about. Buying something new for a party or weekend extravaganza feels completely wasteful and I feel like I'm directly perpetuating corrupt capitalist practices. Thus, if I do feel the need for something new I opt to hit up a thrift store so I can give some more wears to an already loved piece of clothing or funkify clothes/accessories I already have! My closet is huge and I wear about an 1/8 of it regularly. I'm making it a personal project for me to snip and sew pieces I never wear and make it into something that fits my tastes now.

Okay so that's it for now. It's not much of a list, but it's a start! Maybe with some ideas from others, I will be able to expand my green lifestyle!

Justin Timberlake does NOT = Bone Thugs

2009-03-11T21:05:00.000-07:00

So that Dead and Gone song has been played out for a while now, but I've finally been able to place why the hell it's bugged me so much!! Justin and T.I. are trying to bring back the Bone Thugs n Harmony theme present in Crossroads!!

T.I., fine. But Justin?! The fact that a RICH white guy from Tennessee is trying to sing about redemption and harsh conditions in the community (which are usually found within low-income communities of color, i.e. poverty, crime, losing friends to drugs, gang-related deaths, etc.) just strikes me as wrong in every way. Not only does the song suck generally, but it's pretty effed up if you think about it philosophically. Just listening to it I get offended.

Plus, Crossroads is such an amazing song, I don't think any reprisal could do it adequate justice, nahmean?

Ahh, I'm feelin' nostalgic now! I'm about to make First of the Month my alarm clock ring tone! Haha!

My quick take on Slumdog

2009-03-01T21:58:00.000-08:00

I finally dragged my butt to see Slumdog (sort of by default since Coraline 3D has been made vastly obsolete by the 3D Jonas Experience! Urrghhh I hate those guys!). I agree with both the critiques I referenced in my last post on Slumdog, but I felt I should add one compelling thing I noticed about the movie.

There is an implicit message for men stating you can achieve anything you want in life as long as you maintain strength of character, persevere and dream big. For women it's a bit different. If you are the most beautiful woman in your community, then you will be rescued by a man who will sweep you off your feet and take care of you. Latika exhibited almost zero agency in the movie only to be saved time and time again by Jamal. I'm pretty sure if she did not look the way she did (aka GORGEOUS and near perfect), there would be no epic love story. And let's be honest, the actor who plays Jamal seems to have been picked because of his somewhat awkward/gangly demeanor. This in effect makes him even MORE lovable as it further entrenches his role as an underdog.

Yet another reinforcement of the fact that as women, our worth rests entirely upon our "beauty."

Other than that, I thought it was quite riveting albeit cheesy as hell and pretty damned predictable.

"He called you a monkey, because he's a troll!" re: The New York Post Cartoon

2009-02-24T15:45:00.001-08:00

Jay Smooth, ahhh, always so on point!

Aside from the hilarious quote I used in this title, I loved the part when he mentions what you did vs. what you meant to do. I find this to be something extremely valuable to keep in mind when dealing with situations of any sort. It helps when you are trying to explain to someone how their actions are being offensive or if you yourself did something with seemingly innocent intentions. It's important to recognize that although someone (or yourself!) did something that was meant to be harmless or even helpful, you still need to take responsibility for its implications.

PS. I tried to embed the video but neither the code from Smooth's website or youtube worked. If anyone knows how to get around this, please let me know! Thank you!

Slumdog Millionaire + The Oscars = Yet another example of Western Patriarchy

2009-02-24T15:33:00.001-08:00

Renee over at Womanist Musings has a great post up about how the media loves to pat itself on the back for being such do-gooders, yet does nothing substantial to actually help the plight of others.

Samhita at Feministing (a South Asian American woman herself) gives her critique on how Slumdog reinforces Third World stereotypes and homogenizes the experience of poverty.

I have yet to see the movie as I am typically averse to things so popularly revered. But, I'll watch it soon, no worries!

A shoutout to beautiful women!

2009-02-23T23:59:00.000-08:00

I felt the urge to give props to the full-figured women I've recently noticed in movies and on television. I don't watch TV often considering I don't even have cable, but I have been renting a few DVD's and have dragged my butt to the movie theaters over the past few weekends.

Two women in particular have caught my attention: Cobie Smulders from How I Met Your Mother and Scarlett Johanssen from He's Just Not That Into You. While these are still white ladies who don't exactly display the TRUE spectrum of beauty (and SIZES, for that matter) found in the real world, I find it very inspiring to see these women on TV. It's so refreshing to not see stick-thin, emaciating figures like Monica and Rachel on FRIENDS all the time. I've been known to try a few things here and there to make my body whittle down to such sizes as much as humanly possible... but let's face it. I got some currrrrrrrrves. I will never be healthy if I try to be that size for it would involve eating a cup of cottage cheese, half a bagel and a tiny cup of soup for my entire day's nutrition. Nothin' is right about that!!! Uh-Uh...

So here's to beautiful, full-bodied women! Get it, ladieeessssss!!

Finally... the Filipino Veterans

2009-02-23T23:40:00.001-08:00

My heart was truly warmed after reading this CNN article. Thanks to Sen. Inouye of Hawaii, a certain provision was written into Obama's stimulus bill that will allocate $198 million to the long-forgotten Filipino soldiers of WWII. As a Pinay who has organized around this issue, attended protests and had dinner with some of these amazing lolo's... it is truly an amazement that this has finally come to fruition. Although I believe that this is too little too late, I'm inspired and touched by the fact that Obama's administration would be the first to recognize Filipinos and their contributions during WWII. Despite any material accomplishments (which, by all means, is just as important as spiritual accomplishments when you're below the poverty line like most of these lolo's) that JFAV (Justice for Filipino American Veterans) obtained, I thoroughly appreciate what it did for the community. If you watch the short clip below, you'll see how this issue united Filipinos across generations and across geographic regions. For a group of people who are usually left out of political dialectics and who are usually subsumed under larger categories of "Asian" or "Pacific Islander," it is so meaningful for me to see (and be a part of!) Filipinos coming together to show unrelenting pride for their culture.

Peep this video from the JFAV campaign!!

Hellooooo, Daily Bruin!

2009-02-19T18:41:00.001-08:00

Interestingly enough, the Daily Bruin has allowed yours truly to have a bi-weekly column in our Op-Ed (Viewpoint) section!

It was quite the experience to get published. I have become so used to blogging and all of its freedoms, that it was sort of a shock to realize how much editing and political correctness I had to maintain in order to get published in a widespread newspaper such as the DB. The copy editors called me in order to change wording that they thought sounded awkward and other phrases they felt would be overly offensive. However, when it was published on Friday morning I noticed more had been changed without my permission. A missed call was found on my phone, so apparently copy editing called again the night before publication. Too bad I went to sleep early that night! (Tough week!) Nonetheless, I was completely unaware that editors had the liberty to change things without a writer's approval... and am still not completely sure if that's okay. Either way, I will make sure to not miss any more phone calls from them the week I have articles to be published!

Here is my article in the DB.

Below you will find my original article. The disparity between the two did not occur SOLELY unapproved by me. Yet I found MORE changes when I woke up on Friday. OH, another thing! I never okay'd the title or tagline that appeared with my article either!

Bleh. I guess this is journalism for ya??

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Interracial Relationships: Never an Easy Road to Travel

I'm a Filipina dating a white guy. Contrary to popular opinion, interracial relationships are still difficult endeavors to undertake. Relationships in general are tough, but I would argue that interracial dating requires a lot more effort for both parties.

Whenever I'm with his friends and family, I can't help but wonder if they're thinking "Ooh, big ups for baggin' the exotic brown chick!" This type of thinking is disgustingly perpetuated by the media. Remember Vince Vaughn's famous line from Wedding Crasher's when he talks about his first time with an Asian? Or what about in Lakeview Terrace when one of Chris's friends mentions at their housewarming party that he's SO lucky for snagging a black woman and that he was slowly working his way up the Pacific Rim? I’ve definitely been asked at a dinner party or two the ubiquitous question, “No really. What ARE you?” (as if I’m something other than human). Women of color are constantly being fetishized, commodified and exotified. We're seen as something Other than the white standard-- a daring new experience one step higher than the white woman. This was exemplified during colonization when the European masters wrote in diaries that the indigenous people had "monstrous sexuality." Furthermore, although my relationship is much more complex and dynamic than can be summarized by a racial binary, I'm made cognizant of the fact that when he and I walk down the street, the message one can take from such an image is "there goes another Asian woman going for a white man." Within communities of color, there is often disdain when women go for white men and when men go for white women. People who have internalized racism often exclusively date white people in order to make themselves feel superior. I definitely don't want this to be symbolized by my relationship, but I can't help it.

While many people may consider racist acts solely as the burning of crosses or the proliferation of horrific hate-based websites still flourishing on the Internet, racism still exists all around us. Looking at the billboards on the #1 Blue Bus on my way to school, images of perfect-looking, skinny white women scream to me that my brown, curvy body is something to be disdained. When I look around in any of my classes, I'm made acutely aware of how few (usually almost zero) African-Americans are in the classroom. Sure, outlandish and blatant racism is VERY untrendy in this day and age of adopting little black babies (Hi, Angelina Jolie and Madonna), but this United Colors of Benetton fashion statement only serves to make more invisible the concrete ways that white privilege continues to oppress people of color. It is this silent racism that holds a firm grasp over our spirit and mind. As a Filipino woman conscious of this ingrained racism, I'm constantly addressing these issues with my white boyfriend.

It would probably be a lot easier for me to date a Filipino. I can wake up in the morning craving spam, eggs and rice and probably be met with equal enthusiasm as opposed to judgment and disgust. Meetings with the family would probably be easier as well. Peter Abichaker, a fourth-year communications major, who is Middle Eastern American dating someone Vietnamese says, "Sometimes the language barrier creates miscommunication when interacting with the family." And it would probably be easier for my boyfriend to date a white girl who isn't constantly trying to teach him about the struggles of people of color, a Sex and the City-esque relationship devoid of any racial or class tensions.

Nonetheless, while sticking with people from your same background may be easier and more comfortable, the fact that people come from different backgrounds means there is so much to share. Tristan Schulhof, a product of an interracial marriage and a fourth-year political science major believes, "Growing up in a multi-cultural household has been great in many ways, in my case, learning about Japanese and Jewish cultures.” In my relationship, my boyfriend has taught me that sure, he's white and that it inevitably affords him numerous privileges and opportunities, but he comes from an Eastern European background which is markedly different than a more idealized Western European heritage. Apparently there's a hierarchy within white communities as well!

Despite my constant need to point out his white privilege, he is always willing to listen and learn. He takes my criticisms with an open heart and mind, like the time I told him his attempt to speak Spanish to every person working behind a counter can be seen as patronizing. While I sometimes feel agitated by the need for me to teach him about the struggles of people of color, in return he teaches me so much as well. For 22 years old, he is probably the most mature, well-grounded, responsible and confident person I have ever met (and I've had my fair share of infant-like men!). These positive qualities are all characteristics I hope he rubs off on me.

If there is one piece of vital information I can offer to people embarking upon an interracial relationship, it's that color doesn't define how much a person will care for you, respect you, motivate and inspire you. And it's these aspects more than anything else that really make a strong relationship.

The Orgasm Gap

2009-02-10T10:34:00.000-08:00

This article challenges ideas found in sexist research on the disproportionate rates of orgasm between men and women. We have to change our thinking when it comes to sex. The purpose of it isn't to achieve the male orgasm, y'all. Personally, I believe the focus of sex on orgasm in general can be problematic, but if we're going to focus on it... we better focus on BOTH people involved.

Just a heads up for those who MAY be unaware still at this point:

"Stimulation of the clitoris is what gives a woman an orgasm. It's the center of orgasmic function," says Dr. Lloyd. "The clitoris is the homologue of the penis-- they have the same tissue. In embryos, the same organ that turns into the penis, turns into the clitoris."

Word.

Via Feministing.

Why Michael Phelps SUCKS!!!

2009-02-05T23:35:00.000-08:00

Big ups to Campus Progress for always putting out dope shiiiet.

Check it out here.

I'm back!!

2008-12-21T22:46:00.000-08:00

Fall quarter is officially over and winter break has begun!!! What does this mean?... I can start blogging once again!

In the meantime, check out this video from EngenderHealth on The Global Gag Rule. I find it very telling that this was the FIRST piece of legislation President Bush passed upon assuming office. And while Obama's election this past November has seemed like the victory we've all been waiting for, we mustn't let ourselves fall into complacency. Obama's politics are far from liberal and he runs in the same old elite Washington circles. We can't just sit back and let his administration run amok for the next four years. Case in point: His recent selection of anti-gay, anti-choice Pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at the inauguration this January. For many GLBTQ and feminist organizers (and anyone that cares for that matter!) that worked to get him elected, this is a virtual slap in the face. Sure, Obama stood for change, but it was the people that truly brought change to the Oval Office.

Sign the petition here.

Katy Perry rears her ugly head ONCE again...

2008-11-16T18:06:00.000-08:00

I work at a coffee shop and normally I'd say its a pretty chill job. Last night, however, I got into a heated discussion with my shift supervisor (probably not the wisest choice) regarding the oh-so-infamous Katy Perry. He said he LOVED her new song (the one that sounds way too upbeat about being in a million different directions and body temperatures??) and the discussion somehow digressed into a political debate over her song "Ur So Gay." I thought the ridiculousness of that song was so obvious that I didn't need to explain myself. Guess I was wrong.

I told him that I found the song offensive and this got him craaaaazy. He replied that HE was offended by me being offended because in no way should I be asserting my opinions on a song or "piece of art." He dared to say that I have no legitimate voice on the matter since I am not gay. First of all, that is a blatantly ignorant comment in every way possible, but if we were to follow his faulty line of reasoning then ACTUALLY... as a woman, I AM directly affected by Perry's perpetuation of the strict gender binary. (He eventually retracted that statement, admitting he said it in a flustered state of mind... Hmm, I wonder what that indicates about the rest of his argument?) His argument was seriously all over the place, but I tried my best to listen wholeheartedly and pick up on points which I found baseless and worthy of debate. He was big on the notion that "art is art is art is art!" and that yes, sometimes it's controversial and a lot of the time not politically correct but that freedom is what makes it art. Placing any restrictions on expression would make it "unpure" or "untrue" and therefore not art. I'd be much more willing to sit down and talk about this as I don't think there's an easy answer or way of understanding this issue. However, he completely undercut this idea by flat out stating "Ur So Gay" is NOT homophobic and actually my accusing it of homophobia is itself reverse homophobism. He tried to back his argument by saying she wrote it when she was upset about a boyfriend and that many times we feel things that aren't always politically correct. He also said that artists are objective performers of their "songs" or whatever and that they don't define the person bringing the art to life. He further stated that I have no right to call her song offensive because Perry is an artist-- not a social revolutionary. I shouldn't hold unreal expectations or hold her accountable.

1. Sure, Perry may have been depressed over a breakup, but that doesn't justify her homophobism. Yeah, we're all capable of saying stupid shit when we're incoherent and depressed but if you don't address these things then.. YES, you are HOMOPHOBIC, probably racist and most likely sexist. It doesn't matter the state you were in when you said it or felt it. You still said it. (Plus.. not only did she say this in passing over a box of tissues and pint of ice cream, but she reified such thinking by selling it in the mainstream media!)
2. Not ALL artists view their work as seperate from themselves. Some may, but others may see their art as an expression and extension of self. (Again, this line of thinking delves into the notion of "art," leading to such questions as what it truly is, what it isn't and whether there should be any boundaries placed upon it. A topic worthy of a much deeper discussion.)
3. Of course she's not a social revolutionary and neither am I (though I'd very much like to think that I try!). The question that begs, then, is whether as human beings we have a social responsibility to eradicate injustice? I try to address all forms of privilege in my life and this is by no means an easy feat. However, should I hold such an expectation of ALL my fellow human beings? As one people inhabiting one earth, is it wrong for me to desire everyone be cognizant of their privilege, the concomitant injustice that results from such disparities and to do something about it? Sure, maybe that is a wild expectation-- people are just people, let them be. But still, something nags away at me that makes it really hard to believe that.

I do believe, however, that there is an imminent need to stop such ideas from infiltrating our communities. There are too many people suffering as a result of these ingrained normativities. "Ur So Gay" perpetuates gender norms that result in violence against women, queers and, hell, even men themselves. Not only is she stereotyping/stigmatizing the gay community by using superficial ideas of sexuality as defining characteristics of a person, but the act of elevating such absurd notions in the mainstream media makes it an active agent of violence. The violence I'm talking about is the kind that results from the strict binary categories of "male" and "female," both of which are social constructs. The idea that men are made men because of a natural "aggressiveness," "toughness," "protectiveness," etc. etc. is, I believe, one of the main causes for domestic violence and rape. Furthermore, women are disciplined by strict notions of femininity that force us to think:

1. Our entire worth is based on our physical appearance
2. That this physical appearance must be skinny and white.

This not only leads to self-inflicted violence such as bulimia, breast implantation, skin bleaching and eyelid surgery, but its immersion in a capitalistic society means that garment workers and other laborers remain exploited in the name of profit. The media and fashion industry are both colluders in a system that forces unsustainable living wages on brown or "Third World" bodies. I would even argue that men experience violence from such gender categories in that they are forced to minimize emotion and compassion in order to be taken seriously. To deny one's emotions is to deny one's humanity and is definitely a form of violence. And must we even mention the violence upon gays, lesbians, transsexuals and transgenders who don't fit neatly into these categories? Remember Matthew Shepard and Gwen Araujo?? (I hope so!)

"Schmiley" (code name for the supervisor) tried to close the argument by saying "Well, look at this great discussion her song has spawned! Obviously it did some good!"

Uhhhh.... please stop. There are plenty of constructive, alternative ways of raising discourse that don't resort to blatant ignorance.

And ... of course, I'm sure I'll be accused of having nooooo sense of humor, that I take life too seriously and need to just see things for what they are sometimes. Ok, sure, I see that. I'm not Nelson Mandela or Mother Theresa and I definitely listen to my fair share of misogynist hip-hop. But what happens if no one ever critiques what society deems "humorous"? What if no one ever looks past the surface of pop culture to see the deeper implications it has on the world around us?

Yeah, exactly.

So there you have it. Katy Perry sucks in every way. And YES, I find "I Kissed a Girl" extremely offensive as well. It commodifies and mocks a community that continues to be punished today, thus erasing the reality of society's heteronormative foundation. (Hmmm, sounds like politics! Always erasing the real issues at stake!)

And one last thing I must get off my chest before I get third-degree burn: the two involved in this discussion were both white men. In order to make a point, I kept having to raise my voice and interject (never a good way to go when engaging in these types of heated debates). My brown, female voice was dismissed in a prioritizing of their white, male voices. So here I am.. forced to blog about the way I feel because I was denied the outlet to express myself in the first place. Typical!

Questioning activism

2008-11-06T11:35:00.003-08:00

The minute I discovered community organizing on UCLA's campus, my life was forever changed. My time with Samahang Pilipino, Coalition for Peace, Take Hold! University and the like opened up an entire world of beauty, love and struggle like never before seen. A world of individuals working day in and day out to bring about change from the bottom up, working outside institutional boundaries to raise consciousness and build solidarity. The most dedicated group of people you'll ever meet in your life. (Young folks, y'all! Political apathy my ass!) I became completely engrossed in the struggle. I gave my entire being to it. I was convinced that community organizing was the type of work I wanted to commit my life to. I sacrificed my health, my family, my grades, everything-- because I felt like I was obligated to something much bigger than all that. Social justice was my religion.

And like religion, I followed it blindly.

Spring quarter last year, I broke down. My weight withered away and I had no desire to do things I normally enjoyed doing, like hang out with friends. I woke up unhappy and went to bed unhappy. I was extremely irritable and felt like crying any minute of the day. I found relationships with those I cared about in deep jeopardy. I couldn't relate to people anymore. If you weren't in this tiny niche of neck-deep community organizers, then you didn't understand and I wrote you off. If you were just a mere student, going to class and partying, and not concretely working in radical grassroots organizing, then you were a waste of life. I truly believed that. I felt deeply alienated from those who weren't radically politicized. I couldn't talk to my family and friends because they just didn't understand me anymore. I couldn't talk to them about the things I cared about. Dating was just as difficult. I almost feel bad for those that I've dated in this time period because I was overtly political in ways that were condescending and demeaning. I felt like I knew all the answers and I didn't want to hear others opinions. Anger was my defining characteristic-- I was literally angry at the world. It was so difficult to enjoy beauty because I could only see injustice. Injustice in the educational system, injustice in the corporations I had to buy everything from, injustice in the clothes I wore, injustice in the car I drove, injustice in the ads I couldn't escape, injustice in the ignorance of those around me, injustice in my silverware, injustice in EVERYTHING.

At the beginning of this quarter, I made the decision to resign from all leadership positions I held and took a step back from community organizing. I haven't attended a rally or protest in a really long time. This was one of the most difficult decisions I've ever made. Revolution had defined me. Without it and without my bougey ass leadership titles, I was afraid I'd lose purpose in life. Nonetheless, I took the risk and jumped into the undefined, black abyss of my future. I didn't know what it would hold, but I started recognizing that you can't possibly take care of your community if you are not taking care of yourself. My blind commitment to community organizing meant I placed full emphasis on external factors, completely ignoring my own needs. So I had to follow my heart and do what felt right.

What takes up my time now, you ask?

1. I'm working two jobs, attempting to get my finances on track. This was always a major source of contention for me and my mom. She took the brunt of my martyr-like, sacrificial lifestyle. I didn't "care" about money because I didn't need to. She did. Folks don't talk much about the dolla dolla bills and that's a shame. Of course money should never define a person, but whether we believe in dismantling or not, we need it to survive. It's the reality we live in. You're not a sell out if you care about staying on top of your shit. (Sounds like common sense, but foreal, I tried to erase all concerns about money from my mind because I felt money was evil.)
2. I'm taking my role as a student seriously. Like money, I dismissed educational concerns because I saw it as an oppressive institution. But the problem is... I LOVE learning. I can read books literally all day long. (I'm a total nerd, I'll admit it!) It's almost as if I was dismissing a fundamental aspect of who I am. And that's never a good thing. Immersion in the Academy doesn't necessarily equate with bad morals just because the oppressors created it. In fact, many times it was scholars and not feminists who really helped to smash socially constructed ideas of gender. Plus, as a Political Science, Women's Studies and Southeast Asian Studies major, I'm learning really cool shit. How often in life will you have designated space in your week to discuss revolutionary writers like Jose Rizal, Audre Lorde and Paolo Freire? In fact, the other day I was sitting in class and was rewarded with holiday candy for talking about how fucked up colonization was and how the sick glorification of the white body has led to mass amounts of self-inflicted violence on women of color (ie: eye surgery to obtain the double eyelid & skin bleaching that literally strips a layer of your skin off). That's not a common occurrence, yo.

3. I'm keeping art and spirituality (arguably one in the same) at the forefront of all that I do. Revolution, politics, literature.. all this remains useless unless one has love. And no, I'm not talking about the kind of love they rap or sing about. I'm talking about the love experienced when you sit down and actually listen to the person next to you, without thinking about your next haircut, why he hasn't called you back yet or what you're going to eat for dinner. The kind of love experienced when you write poetry and share that piece of your heart with the world. The kind of love experienced when you dance because it just feels good and not because you want to look good. Yes revolution is serious, but like Bitch PhD once said, "I'm not interested in a revolution where I can't dance."

But, wait. Is this all just poetic talk to cover up the fact that I'm a sell-out? I'm sure many may think so, but I stand firm in my belief that that isn't true. If anything, I have more time to devote to microactivism. Just because you may not find me with my fist in the air every day of the week, you can be assured that I'm not spending my paychecks to support retail industries exploiting their workers. Sure, I make the paypa from the man, but I'm not giving it back to him. And I've become more confident in myself to call people out as I see fit. Yeah, you'll probably think I'm just another "angry woman of color" and be tempted to write me off. But more often than not, people appreciate being called out. So I continue to do so. I have more time to think and reflect now. This assures that my political beliefs constantly evolve. What kind of revolution do I envision for our world? How would we get there? What kind of society would we build? How would we maintain it? Do I truly believe in a complete dismantling of the system? Wouldn't that mean anarchy? Wouldn't that mean reverting to indigenous ways of life? Wouldn't that mean I believe technological advancement is wrong? Are free markets and capitalism really the decline of community and virtue? (I still am pretty certain on that one, but I'm very open to your thoughts!) I'm critical of all that I see and hear-- even if it's from the Left.

Where I'm at now truly feels peaceful. My anger has subsided and made way for clarity and compassion. It's not me against the world anymore. I can relate to people now and, foreal, this feels wonderful. Gloria Anzaldua writes:

"When perpetual conflict erodes a sense of connectedness and wholeness la nepantlera calls on the 'connectionist' faculty to show the deep common ground and interwoven kinship among all things and people. This faculty, one of less- structured thoughts, less rigid categorizations, and thinner boundaries, allows us to picture-- via reverie, dreaming, and artistic creativity--similarities instead of solid divisons."

Once I learned to embrace that, it made all the difference. Yeah, I see activist friends I care deeply about markedly less. And yes, I feel left out of the activist community in general. Whenever I hear about protests and riots, I'm tempted to drop everything and join the masses because I miss the solidarity and camaraderie. But, I don't. And that's okay. I know they're doing their thang and I'm grateful for that. I'll continue to support grassroots efforts, I just won't be at the center of it. It's not that I've become moderate or that I see organizing as ineffective and irrelevant. It's just that I recognize I'm only 20 years old and there is so much this world has to offer me. I want to figure out what it is I'm truly passionate about and where my skills can best contribute to this world. This requires me to take a step back from it all to examine the bigger picture.

I hope you understand.

Please know I still love you and always will. But... there's no loving you without loving me for we are one in the same. And I forgot about that for a while.

Life needs music

2008-11-03T10:54:00.001-08:00

I implore you all to tune into the "Masta Ace" radio station on Pandora. Legit for moments of creativity and building-- both of the revolutionary and institutional type (I can actually write essays to this station!).

Too legit, too legit to quit!

Thank me later. ; )

It's tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-11-03T09:37:00.000-08:00

With election day so terrifyingly close, a Conservative speaks his mind on why Obama needs to be elected. A very moving piece on why this needs to happen for the sake of human civilization. No joke, yo.

While I remain skeptical of Andrew Sullivan and his economic viewpoints over at The Atlantic, he never fails to provide a rational and well-grounded perspective on politics. I keep this blog link at the top of my "religious reads" bookmark on Firefox. ( :

How long have you been Heterosexual? (It's nothing to be ashamed of!)

2008-10-29T11:32:00.000-07:00

Quiz

1. What caused your heterosexuality?
2. How and when did you first decide you were a heterosexual?
3. Is it possible your heterosexuality is just a phase you may grow out of?
4. Does your heterosexuality stem from a neurotic fear of others of your own sex?
5. Heterosexuals usually have histories of failed gay relationships. Do you think you may have turned to heterosexuality out of fear of rejection?
6. If you've never slept with a person of the same sex, how do you know you wouldn't prefer that?
7. Isn't it possible that all you need is a good gay lover?
8. To whom have you disclosed your heterosexuality?
9. Why do you insist on making a public spectacle of your heterosexuality?
10. If you nurture children, would you want them to be heterosexual, knowing the problems they will face?
11. Why do heterosexuals feel compelled to seduce others into heterosexual behavior?
12. Why are heterosexuals so promiscuous?
13. Heterosexuals are noted for assigning themselves and each other to narrow, restrictive, stereotyped sex roles. Why do you cling to such unhealthy role-playing?
14. Why do heterosexuals place so much emphasis on sex?
15. Despite all the support that marriage receives from society, the divorce rate is spiraling. Why are there so few stable relationships amongst heterosexuals?
16. The great majority of child molesters are heterosexual. Do you really consider it safe to expose children to heterosexual teachers?
17. Considering the menace of over-population, how could the human race survive if everyone was heterosexual?
18. How can you enjoy a fully satisfying sexual experience or deep emotional rapport with a person of the opposite sex when the obvious physical, biological, and temperamental differences between you are so vast? How can a man understand what pleases a woman sexually or vice-versa?
19. There seem to be very few happy heterosexuals. Techniques have been developed with which you might be able to change if you really want to change. Have you considered trying aversion therapy?
20. Why do you make a point of attributing heterosexualtiy to famous people? Is it to justify your own heterosexuality?

Ridiculous, right?

LGBTQ people get asked these questions all the time and it's interesting to actually put yourself (if heterosexual) in this position. This is a clear indicator of the ridiculousness of compulsory heterosexuality (the tendency to assume male-female sexual relations as the norm).

And please, if you hear someone asking absurd questions like these or if you find yourself asking these sort of questions, take a moment to put yourself on the receiving end... and do something about it.

Laugh of the day

2008-10-28T10:59:00.000-07:00

Okay, not really a laugh... but still. You gotta find humor in this fucked up world sometimes.

Atrios over at Eschaton highlights the hypocritical absurdities of the McCain campaign (specifically his proposed healthcare plan).

At least Obama's socialism makes sense. : P

Psuedo-buddhist-feminist song of the day!

2008-10-24T15:40:00.000-07:00

Kelis - Lil' Star

Yup. I said it. KELIS.

Chorus:
There is nothing special about me
I am just a little star
If you try to reach out and touch me
You'll see that I'm not really that far
Oh I may not be the brightest
nor am I the last one you'll see
But as long as you notice
That's just fine with me
Everything's just fine with me

Humility is the most alluring quality I find in another being. It's a clear indicator of one's self-awareness, spirituality (however one defines it) and grasp on the notion that we are all one in this infinite universe. The first lines of her chorus are on point with this concept. The song is a good reminder on the need for us to drop our false pretenses on love, dating, the perfect "type", etc. because every romance, every relationship, every friendship, every encounter is a life-changing experience that can allow us to grow and learn more about ourselves. Every person has something to bring to the table, even if to remind us exactly what we don't want (which I know I need every once in a while!). Even more, break ups are BRUTAL, arguably one of the most painful parts of life. Realizing that you will never have the person you care so deeply about in your life the way you want them to be and accepting that... it's tough and that's a horrible understatement. On the real though, once you meditate on the situation and are able to step out of your mind for one instant with all of its "what if's" and focus on the present... you can't escape from the fact that you're probably MUCH better off and, in fact, much more grounded than before that person entered your life. So, like Kelis says, when it comes to relationships it will never be perfect, you will go through millions of lovers who will break your heart and whose hearts you'll break (and hey, probably more that you'll just fool around with and bring you closer to understanding your body and sexuality)... and it's all a beautiful process.

Red flags

2008-10-23T14:35:00.000-07:00

When it comes to dating, when is a red flag legit and when are you being too picky? I've come to the conclusion that I will not use a political litmus test when I meet guys (although I would never date a right-wing Republican...c'mon now), but how far am I willing to go for an "un-conscious" brotha? While I would obviously get up and leave a date if an outlandish homophobic, racist, sexist or whatever type of comment was made... but what about subtle commentary?

Case in point: I was interested in a guy in one of my classes recently, but he kept making these subtle yet quite revealing comments. He must have thought he was being cute or something, but he found it necessary to comment on the way I talk. Several instances of "wow how many times can you say 'hella' in one sentence," "if i see one more y'all," (online conversation, of course) and "lib-RARY, you meant, right?" kept finding ways out of his mouth and off of his fingertips. While some of you may seem surprised that these comments are even questionable, when coupled with a cute smile and a little laugh they don't seem so blatantly wrong. Moreover, this guy is one of those well-intentioned "liberal"-leaning, non-profit do-gooders voting for Obama. Definitely not my political wet dream (not even close, actually), but hey, open mind open heart, right?

Nonetheless, his remarks kept rubbing me the wrong way and I had to say something. I pointed out that his remarks were annoying and actually quite disciplinary and that it wasn't cool. Basically, when one reads between his lines it reads: I am racist.

My everyday vernacular stems from my yay area Filipino upbringing. Thus, I use the word HELLA like it's nobody's business and basically...I like to keep my classroom speech exactly that. In the classroom. His efforts to flirt revealed his disdain for anything outside of the white (and therefore accepted) way of speaking.

After I pointed this out (I didn't tell him he was being racist, but I did tell him the other stuff), he vehemently apologized, pointing out that he didn't mean it and that the way I talk isn't weird at all.

Rolls eyes.

Yet the question remains: do I immediately write him off because of these comments? It definitely raises red flags for me, but should they serve as an immediate dismissal? I know that being picky to a degree is healthy, but it can go too far as well. Just not sure where on this spectrum I'm at yet.

Gender?

2008-10-19T20:01:00.000-07:00

I've been reading a lot on intersex cases (when babies are born with both sets of genitalia or ambiguous genitalia) and it has my mind spinnin' in all sorts of directions. Specifically, I would recommend reading a piece by Suzanne Kessler. Here's a few quotes just to give you a taste: "This approach (the approach doctors use when dealing with cases of intersexuality) suggests that for Money and his colleagues (the main guys specializing/studying/dealing with cases of intersexuality), chromosomes are less revelant in determining gender than penis size, and that, by implication, 'male' is defined not by the genetic condition of having one Y and one X chromosome or by the production of sperm but by the aesthetic condition of having an appropriately sized penis." She goes on to write, "There is a striking lack of attention to the size and shape requirements of the female genitals other than that the vagina be able to receive a penis." (Parantheticals are mine).

Wow. Very revealing.

As Kessler lays the groundwork for how endocrinologists, urologists and obstetricians manage intersex cases, it becomes clear that these doctors are using absurdly inaccurate and biased information (along with their obvious societal conditionings) as the foundation of their work. It's truly mind-boggling and, to be honest, infuriating. However, as much as liberation-minded folks like to say f*ck heterosexual oppression and the gender binary... that is really one aspect of identity I'm not quite sure how to approach. The more I read feminist theory by great minds such as Simone de Beauvoir and Shulamith Firestone, the more I question the idea of "woman." Feminist academia have tried to trace the origins of women's oppression and this difficult road often leads to the ultimate question: what is woman? It REALLY isn't as easy as one would like to think; one cannot quickly jump to the the simplistic "biology" argument as these intersex cases prove. There is nothing innately "male" or "female" in a body cell. Furthermore, medical advancements have allowed for constructions of any body part to full functionality.

When I ask myself what it means to be a woman I can't help but think... whatever it means, I love being a woman. I feel as if there is something innately feminine within me and I revel in this. However, when I stop and think specifically what it is about womanhood I love, I can't help but think of normativities that have been ingrained within me as an instruction of what is appropriately feminine. My questioning usually ends there as I become confused and exasperated trying to find the elusive answers to the ultimate question of *Being*.

Then, a thought occured to me as I read Kessler's piece: what would happen if my mom told me one day that I was born with an XY chromosome or that I had a body part removed because of its "abnormal" size?

I wouldn't want to know!

It would completely alter every notion of who I am! I am a woman and that instructs the way my mind works, the way I dress, the way I talk, the way I function, EVERYTHING! This is a clear indicator of society's full participation in the formation of my being! If gender is socially constructed, then (in the words of Descartes) I am... because they tell me I am???? It's so f*cking mind-boggling.

What's more, if one were to take questioning as far as possible... if gender construction is socially constructed and such concepts reinforce patriarchal oppression whether through institutions or everyday interactions, wouldn't it make sense to advocate for a gender free world to end gender oppression? One where parents don't buy their children blue or pink and where trucks and barbies aren't disseminated to the appropriate children. What would this look like? Would we even WANT this?

It gets to the point sometimes where I don't want to think about it anymore because its insanely incomprehensible and quite discomforting (well, discomforting as a heterosexual woman and the inherent privilege this entails, as I'm sure there are much worse discomforts that LGBTQ people must face as they are forced to answer these questions on a daily basis).

Ahhh... thoughts, anyone??

My political wet dream

2008-10-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

As I'm sitting here on a Saturday night, the room next to me filled with smoke, laughter, music, food and three papers due Monday gripping me to the desk in my bedroom like a mad hermit... I thought, why not write a new blog post?

I'm such a rational person.

Doorknockers has gotten me very inspired. After much contemplation, reading other community blogs and encouraged by fellow artist friends, I'm compelled to write more posts from the heart. That's right, folks-- Anna's gonna get personal!

(Err, well, somewhat. My mom does read this blog... Shoutout to my mama! Hi mom!)

Surprisingly enough, feminism and dating is not always the easiest combination. To actively challenge patriarchy creates mad dilemmas when I enter into the jungle of dating. Unless you live in some magical world where everyone around you shares your political beliefs and ideals (like a neverending cycle of hippie drum circles) then you can imagine what it's like adding radical politics into the slew of inappropriate men us single gals must weed out in our adolescence. I've tried the whole "they're not a REPUBLICAN, per se.. so maybe it won't be so bad" but foreal, these men are a HEADACHE. At first, they seem to be down to hear a woman speak her mind on politics and society as they've never heard before (I've heard the word "feisty" WAY too often.. it's really not cute, quite objectifying I might add), but that's just the beginning. I am easily tricked/fooled into believing they appreciate a girl who is "opinionated" and as their insecurities take over we quickly end up repeating traditional gender norms that they're used to and that I'm not okay with. No, I don't want to be your arm candy in the club, no I don't want to order a side salad so you feel comfortable eating more than me... just no, dude (and trust.. these are all TRUE stories!).

Needless to say, these relationships don't last. So then I think... I need to find a "conscious" brotha! No more of these moderate-minded "liberal" leaning wannabes. I need someone who knows exactly what I mean when I say f*ck the prison-industrial complex, when I say slavery still exists and when I say capitalism is the enemy. I don't want to walk baby steps with you, having our relationship serve as your free Politicization 101 course. I want YOU to challenge ME. But as Miss Kristia so aptly mentions, this political wet dream is a disaster in itself. I've tried dating a few "conscious" brothas, but I was quick to learn that... "progressives," "liberals," whatever convoluted term you fancy come in all different shapes and sizes. They're not exactly any easier to date than the wannabe-hood, hip-hop listening white boys I've dated. Sigh.

So what's a girl to do in this dating situation?

Do what I do best! Kick it with my girls (and boys!), take another jab at the innumerable amount of half-read books sitting on my bookshelf, work on a sketch or painting, write some poetry, listen to some Badu and let life take its course. Cause foreal, as much as I'd like to set up these strict parameters around what kind of guy I think will make me *truly* happy (as opposed to the many previous failed attempts), all I want is someone I can talk to. The person I want to be with is the person that I feel completely comfortable with sharing any thoughts that run through my mind, who will listen and who can challenge me (that is one parameter I must keep!). Perfect evening? Listening to some Tribe, sippin' on some urbal tea and having a delightful conversation. ( : Yafeel?

Doorknockers!

2008-10-18T20:20:00.000-07:00

So recently my homie Mark Marcelo over at FobbDeep introduced me to the amaaaaazing Doorknockers blogspot!! I've just added them to my link on the right so you won't ever have trouble finding them come some time in the future...

And on that note... these wonderful ladies just invited me to be an author on their blog! I am absolutely thrilled and appreciative that such down and intelligent women would allow me a space to voice my thoughts on a site like Doorknockers! Not only is their work something women of color (PINAY woman of color especially!) can go to as a source of inspiration and empowerment... but I never thought I'd find a community based around my favorite type of earrings (albeit mine are MUCH more worn down than this lovely, shiny pair)!

Stay posted, y'all!!

Women's "health"?!!?!?!

2008-10-16T18:53:00.000-07:00

OH MY F********CKING GOD!!! "Health"!?!??!!? In AIR QUOTES!?!?!? I absof*ckinglutely appalled and outraged by McCain's response... because the health of women is just a f*cking ploy and mere distraction by those crazy feminists to promote abortion!!! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHJHFAJKDHFKJSDHFKJSDHFKJSDHF

Is he SERIOUSLY running for president??!

White, lefty activists....

2008-10-09T13:48:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't blogged about much recently. It is not because I've been at a loss for words or opinions, but because I barely have time to sit down and write it all out here. ) :

Nonetheless, a quick thought that needs to release itself:

I am really really sick of white lefty activist men!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just have one thing to say to you: If you *really* want to make this world a better place like you say you do, then just take ONE moment to stop. reflect. and think about how your life is affected daily by being a white, heterosexual male. Your existence is normalized throughout the entire world. Your image is reflected in the media. YOU are the standard and acceptable form of human being. Your inclination to speak more loudly and more often than others is never shunned. Your presence when you walk into a room is never questioned. Your merits when you are accepted into institutions of higher learning are never doubted.

So just please... take one moment to think about the tiny, almost invisible (yet CONCRETE) ways in which your existence allows you various forms of privilege. I know this is a difficult thing to do as it truly means relinquishing certain forms of power... but it must be done. Not only will this pro-active stance make the world a better place for others, but you will become a fuller human being in the process.

(Need help? Take a cue from this white guy)

Malcolm X and my community

2008-09-17T18:55:00.000-07:00

I've been reading Malcolm X's biography and it truly has my mind reeling on an array of subjects. It's sort of a domino effect because I'll start thinking of one thing and soon it'll lead to something else and continues indefinitely. It's crazy to say, but sometimes I wish I could have lived during his time because of the blatant and inhumane discrimination that people of color faced. Now, let me explain myself. This may sound outlandish and quite stupid coming from my very privileged position. The only reason why I say this is because when shit is THAT bad, there really isn't much left to do but rebel. The difference with today's situation is that the state of our communities (POC's communities) may SEEM equal to white people because of the "diversity" we now see in the media, the ever-growing number of people of color who have been able to climb the socioeconomic ladder, and the plain fact that racism is just not cool anymore. Back in the 1930's, in Malcolm X's time.. let's be honest, being racist was the normative characteristic of most of society. If you were a white person and dared to believe in equality and in humanity, most people would have ostracized you. Now... you'd be out of your mind to speak openly and without censorship about your racial judgments because, hey, even the celebrities are adopting black babies! Nonetheless, we STILL have slavery. It's just much more invisible and underground. The increasing rate of globalization makes it seem as if diversity is truly accepted and easily accessible, when in reality our cultural differences are becoming mere commodities to be enjoyed and used by all. Almost everyone refuses to acknowledge this idea of white privilege that STILL exists today and enslaves the rest of the world.

In particular, being Filipino presents quite a dilemma. We are often lumped into the "Asian" checkbox on applications and surveys, eliminating our specific struggles and the current state of our community. This "model-minority" myth of Asian people [that we're ideal immigrants because we shutup (read: submissive) and work hard (read: nerdy, math/science-excelling students with no lives), therefore contributing to the economy] often includes Filipinos. Not only is this a MYTH (aka FALSE!), but it does even more injustice to the Filipino community. To begin with, we have the lowest percentage of enrollment in institutions of higher learning than any other Asian population. Second, the area with the highest population of Filipinos in the United States (which is in Los Angeles) is devastatingly poor. This is why projects and community organizations such as SPACE and PWC exist in the heart of this area. The youth is struggling to graduate let alone get into college. Our manongs (grandfathers) are STILL fighting to receive pension, let alone RECOGNITION for their service in the U.S. Armed Forces during WWII. Our parents and aunts and uncles are struggling to get by without citizenship status, constantly being exploited by our economic system through prostitution or labor in which they get paid less than minimum wage. It's fucked up shit.

Nonetheless, all you see are our people dancing away on America's Best Dance Crew on Kaba Modern or Jabbawockeez, erasing the reality of our situation. Sigh.

Of course, I benefit from this fucked up system. I am what they would call the "American Dream." Mother immigrated to this country from a very poor province in the Philippines called Taguig. Older sisters learned the hard way, both barely graduating high school, getting into really bad stuff with the wrong crowds. Young me saw how hard they struggled, realized early on that education was my only way out. I now go to UCLA and as most of us know, education is one of the highest privileges that anyone can have. It opens an infinite amount of doors. It's easy for me to sink back into this comfort and security and forget about the global situation, hell it's even easy to forget about the poor Filipino community down the street in Historic Filipinotown.

This brings me back to my original claim. Of course I don't wish to experience the level of pain and degradation that blacks felt back in the 1930's and 40's. I do, however, wish that sometimes it was less easy to forget that things are NOT okay and that we STILL have slavery. This type of forgetfulness leads to inertia, lethargy and a dangerously moderate understanding of our world.

McCain/Palin health care plan.. or lack thereof

2008-09-16T16:52:00.001-07:00

"As we can see in the credit crisis, the outcome of dismantling regulatory protections has not been good for consumers, nor conducted transparently, nor checked by government oversight. It is not a model one would naturally select for exportation. McCain is exporting it to heath care." - EzraKlein

I am absolutely appalled by the thought of this coming into place. It is almost so frightening, that I MUST tell myself "Obama will win, Obama will win" to deal with the paranoia that is likely to come over me. Basically, as a result of the McCain/Palin plan, twenty million plus Americans will be forced to lose their healthcare coverage and all to the benefit of the already-rich Pharma companies. SERIOUSLY PEOPLE... was the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac crisis NOT a strong enough indicator of these disastrous economic policies!??!! It pisses me off even more knowing that most Americans voting for McCain are consumed with thoughts of Obama's "tax-raising" and other media trivializations we all know too well such as "lipstick" and Obama's "terrorist leanings." These types of diversions only make our election process nothing more than celebrity voyeurism akin to L.Lo's latest rehab stints.

Katy Perry - Ur So Gay

2008-09-09T00:17:00.000-07:00

Absolutely no words.

The man from illdoctrine speaks on the outrageous GOP Convention

2008-09-08T21:05:00.000-07:00

Seriously amazing. Must watch.

Fuck YES.

Swoon, anyone?

Oh, Republicans, how you warm my heart

2008-09-08T20:36:00.001-07:00

HILARIOUS. Republicans (namely, Sarah Palin) have been centering their campaign on this absurd notion of "small town values" and how small town folks are the moral grounding of America.

Riiiiiiiiiiight.

Open letter to Sarah Palin

2008-09-07T18:56:00.001-07:00

You MUST read this open letter to the controversial Palin written by Lynn Paltrow at the National Advocates for Pregnant Women.

It clearly puts to light the very policies that Palin is against (such as women's right to choose) have benefitted her in almost every reproductive choice she has made in her life. And that, in fact, the policies she is pushing forward (ie: criminalizing abortion) would put her behind bars.

Ugh, people's ignorance is astounding.

Mind Sex, please

2008-09-07T18:49:00.000-07:00

Is anyone else sick of the hip-hop and R&B songs out there making women out to be mindless, brand-name obsessing consumers?? 'Cause I definitely am. Artists such as Trey Songz, Lil' Wayne, T-Pain, Rick Ross and COUNTLESS others constantly use lyrics such as "You're a Queen , you should be gettin' all that someone's got / You should be rockin the latest in purses / Bracelets and watches / You're worth much more than an occasional "I love you, I'm thinking of you." Or what about "I've got a couple dollars I can spend em on her / So she could be my lady she could be my lover."

Uh, riiiiiight. Because nothing says true love like a brand new Fendi purse. Personally, I'd much prefer some mind sex over meaningless commodities. Yadidamean??

Russia-Georgia Conflict

2008-08-12T12:41:00.001-07:00

I know I haven't blogged in forever, but things have been slowing down A LOT since Congress isn't in session right now. So I just wanted to share this informative article on the Russian-Georgian conflict occurring right now. It provides a much more thorough analysis of the conflict than what CNN or CNBC allows. Furthermore, it reveals the biases of such broadcast news media and the deliberate attempts to frame the conflict as a monstrously-aggressive, Cold War-channeling Russian empire invading "helpless little Georgia". Also VERY important to note is potential U.S. Commander-in-Chief's response to such a conflict. Ugh. No surprise there, really. (This article also provides a bit of history on the region.)

What upsets me most about this is that most people think of such a conflict in abstract, esoteric, power-balancing political terms while neglecting the fact that human lives are being uprooted and destroyed (and it's almost always those who hold the power to change things).

Book Recommendation

2008-07-06T21:21:00.000-07:00

I highly recommend the book Letters from Young Activists (feel free to borrow it from me!). It is a MUST READ for everyone who understands without explanation what the Movement is (and hey, maybe for those who don't as well). I know, for me at least, there are plenty of times when I feel completely alienated and alone when I am not sitting comfortably in my Progressive bubble, as I find that my beliefs are starkly opposed and misunderstood by the vast majority of the population. Nonetheless, this book affirms a sense of community among like-minded individuals dedicated to eradicating the intersecting institutions of oppression. Every time I felt cynical, alone and depressed about the state of our world, this book was like a good friend soothing away my doubts and fears. Not only is it inspirational but it is extremely informative and an educational tool delivered through the intimate form of letters. It educated me on a wide array of topics such as the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua, the Israeli occupation and the current War in Iraq. One of the things I found extremely unique and enlightening in the book is the critiques of the Movement itself. They outline things that I notice on a daily basis within my own involvements in the community, some of them quite prevalent yet not easily articulated. This book achieves that and is able to concretely bring to light these obstacles we need to get over if we are to truly be an effective Movement. Moreover, culture is a strongly highlighted theme within the book, included in this collection are two letters- one addressed to hip-hop and the other to punk rock- detailing their past affairs and their current inadequacies.

Borrow it from me already!

Campus Progress National Conference!!!

2008-06-10T17:13:00.000-07:00

So I'm stoked right now because I just got an email saying I got accepted to the 2008 Campus Progress National Conference in DC this summer!!! Senator John Edwards and actor Ryan Gosling (who is VERY sexy I might add) are but a few of the confirmed speakers at the event. You should apply too!

Yay for progressive networking!!

McCain's Clinic

2008-06-10T16:39:00.000-07:00

Brave New PAC and Planned Parenthood teamed up to create this video of what a McCain health clinic would look like. It's pretty hilarious. Hilarious, but very real and scary at the same time.

via Feministing.com

If you're in the bay this Friday.. go to this!

2008-06-03T13:32:00.001-07:00

Interview on UCLARadio News on student fee hikes/our arrest

2008-05-27T18:06:00.000-07:00

Check it out.

A little floetry fo ya mind...

2008-05-26T22:45:00.000-07:00

Immigration.

The movement of peoples across borders.

Man-made borders dividing an earth that belongs to neither you nor I.

Creating divisions of wealth designating

This land as first and center

That land as third, periphery

Where do I belong?

Floating in this limbo of diaspora

My reality is this purgatory

So deeply ingrained is this American way, almost imperceptible

Everything I am, encompassing my entire being

I walk your walk and talk your talk, I blend right in

My mind is not even my own, its processes dictated by the Western way

You applaud, falsely believing this country embraces diversity

But it’s clear that I don’t belong

On the surface, my skin informs me I’m inferior

And my language inaudible outside my community

But it goes beyond that.

My story, inextricable from global history

A greater story beyond myself

I am the 21^st century diaspora

Centuries of colonialism, capitalism, nationalism, neocolonialism, globalization

They all mean the same thing

The exploitation of peoples to benefit the privileged

What people?

My people

Coming here for that so-called “better life”

Once again, the ignorant applaud

never stopping to think about those deliberate attempts to create the “better life” here and shitty life there

How is this world any better

When its government forces the Philippines to export 3000 commodities daily

What commodities you ask?

People. Human bodies.

It’s the 21^st century

We’re past those damn agricultural exports

we’re exporting people now man! profit. Maximize profit.

We cant stop there though

Let’s not just export any type of person

We’ll capitalize on the most vulnerable, the most helpless, the powerless, the voiceless

Women, of course

Domestic workers, mail-order brides, your modern-day slave

Metal chains replaced with the invisible, yet ever-strong shackles of economic involuntary servitude

Any way you like

You’ll have them at your doorstep, at your disposal

But wait…They’re taking this away?

So let me get this straight

you bring them here so you can profit off cheap labor

And when you need to boost your hard-line image against terrorists

(who apparently, if yall didn’t know, is anyone not “indigenous” to white, middle class America)

You kick them out?

How can a government control so much of the human soul??

How can they decide who matters and who doesn’t

Who is worthy of citizenship and who needs to be deported

Rip me from my home, rob me of my identity, tell me everything I know is wrong

Take me back to a land as foreign to me as it is to you

But we wont stand for it

Makibaka huwag matakot

We’re not afraid and We wont take this lying down

Conditions deteriorate for the people of the Philippines

2008-05-19T10:48:00.000-07:00

The people of my country are suffering from one of the worst food crises in recent history -- a massive shortage of rice. Unlike other countries such as Thailand and Vietnam which have become self-sufficient in their domestic agriculture, the Philippines is the number one importer of rice... in the world.

The reason?

The government has invested more in importing rice from abroad instead of developing self-sustaining agriculture at home. Surprise surprise.

Watch the news coverage here, especially after 00:50.

Inspiring student activism against the evil Phyllis Schlafly

2008-05-19T10:44:00.000-07:00

Thousands of students, parents and faculty silently turned their backs on Phyllis Schlafly who was being awarded an honorary degree from Washington University in St. Louis on their graduation day. This is the same woman who was instrumental in defeating the Equal Rights Amendment and who claims married woman can't be raped.

Watch the CNN coverage.

I was arrested yesterday

2008-05-15T11:24:00.000-07:00

Peep the news coverage:

KTLA and ABC7

I was one of the "Sweet Sixteen" students arrested at the UC Regents meeting yesterday here at UCLA. Those fuckers voted to increase our student fees ONCE again. Starting in the fall, our fees will increase by 7.4%. Student fees have been on the rise for many years, reaching an 80% increase since 2002. This is an issue with much deeper implications than just numbers however. The Chancellors and UC Regents themselves experience exponential salary increases while UC service and patient care workers make 30% below market wages-- barely enough to eke out a living. Furthermore, these student fees affect low and middle-income students the hardest and is leading the UC institution, a public institution I may remind you, towards further privatization and corporatization. Not to mention, UC Regent Blum, who is married to our California Senator Dianne Feinstein, (among others) is using the UC and our government system to further the war in Iraq and his own pockets. He owns companies such as URS Corp that receive some of the highest amounts of US State Department contracts for business in Iraq. Thus, him and his wife (OUR senator) are using their connections and status for their own profit. Basically, they're profiting off of the millions of lives being lost in Iraq and are using the students (basically students of COLOR) to pay for it. Fucked up shit. I couldn't help but garner myself a misdemeanor. Getting arrested was not what we wanted and it wasn't our ideal route. After a near unanimous vote to increase our fees, however, it was the only thing left to do. Uproarious cries of rebellion inside the meeting space was the ONLY voice the system allowed for us. Therefore, we got arrested. Sorry mom.

Stay tuned for links to more footage/photos/articles.

Pregnant Man

2008-04-02T14:35:00.001-07:00

Thomas Beatie. Transgender Pregnant Man.

Wow. I find this incredibly moving and, at the same time, I'm left utterly speechless as to what this could mean for the future. This kind of thing flips gender norms and sexual identity all on its head in ways I could have never imagined.

No joke. Read about it. He was also on Oprah this week. Get the preview here.

My Idea to Improve Society

2008-03-08T03:54:00.000-08:00

Sorry I haven't blogged in forever, the quarter is wrapping up and you know what that means! Those 20-page papers that I haven't even started the research for are due!! Wooooo! Not. Anyways, one of my homework assignments recently was to think of an idea to improve society. With less than an hour left before class and with procrastination mode in full throttle-- it finally came to me.

We should abolish marriage as a governmentally-recognized legal institution once and for all!

Yup, you read that correctly. What's frightens me the most about this institution is how much people blindly accept it as normal, basing their entire lives around it without taking a moment to think about its deeper implications. No one takes the time to think about how marriage as a legal entity creates invisible, inescapable and downright oppressive forms of socialization. They never think about how strong a tool it is for the government to control us, how it's utilized as a site for the government to instruct us on who matters, who doesn't, who should be considered first-class and who should be relegated to second-class. It's all well and good if you want to be with one person for the rest of your life, but the way this institution is structured with its inherent heterosexism, subjugation of women and disregard for households who don't fit into the mold of the "nuclear family unit" (which are obviously the majority in this country) enrages me. I can go on and on about the ill consequences of this ridiculous institution... but the Cuban Missile Crisis calls. F*ck myself for procrastinating.

Join the movement. We'd all be so much happier with polyamory, anyways. ( : (I know I would!)

Clitoris

2008-02-21T18:58:00.001-08:00

So I found out something really funny in my WS10 class on Wednesday. Well, yeah, it was funny, but of course it was frustrating at the same time. The theme of Wednesday's lecture was sex. The readings for today touched upon how sex as an act is just as culturally constructed and produced as gender and the other kind of sex. One thing that was particularly interesting was in regards to the clitoris. Merriam-Webster defines clitoris as "a small erectile organ at the anterior or ventral part of the vulva homologous to the penis." What one should take notice here is the use of the word "homologous." Homologous means "having the same relation, relative position, or structure." Okay. Homology implies that the two are relational, as being paired together. Since the clitoris is a homologue of the penis, then it should be assumed that the penis would be mentioned as being homologous to the clitoris, right? Wrong. The definition of the penis is "a male organ of copulation that in male mammals including humans usually functions as the channel by which urine leaves the body." Hmmm. Sooo what I get from this is that our very understanding of our bodies is rooted in and based on their relation to men's bodies. This is VERY problematic because it keeps women from thinking their body is whole, perfect, complete and originary. Sigh.

Queer Pin@y Conference

2008-02-19T10:00:00.001-08:00

I absolutely loved this.. I just had to take a picture ( :

This past weekend, I attended the Queer Pin@y Conference (Queer Pinoy/Pinay Conference) at UCSD. Being in spaces like that and being around like-minded people is immensely invigorating. Whenever I read the news, I'm always angry or disheartened or just plain ole' depressed-- but being at QPC reaffirmed that there are people out there, just like me, who are actively making a difference, who are fighting with everything they have to make this world a better place. It truly is inspiring and gives me genuine hope.

Regarding queer issues in particular, I felt like such an elitist asshole at this conference. During my second workshop, Queer Feminist Organizing, we were asked to give three identities to describe ourselves. Everyone but me gave "queer" as one of their classifications. I've never been with a woman, so I feel like a phony calling myself queer, but I don't consider myself "straight" either with all the heteronormative elitism that the label entails. Furthermore, I can't identify with the whole "ally" title that marginalized groups give to supporters of their cause who don't necessarily identify themselves with that group. Being an ally implies that you are an outsider. I don't think I am an outsider to the queer community because in my mind there is NO such thing as gender. Yeah, GASP-- there goes Anna again and her radical notions of the world. But you know what, I think Y'ALL are the crazy f*ckers for thinking otherwise! I honestly believe that EVERYONE is queer and by that I mean their sexual and romantic relationships are blind to differences in sexual organs. However, societal demands and influences are SO fucking strong that heterosexual relations appear as if they're the norm. This is ludicrous in my mind. And for those who don't agree and are quick to jump on the whole essentialism/biological determinism argument that says well, hey, it's obvious that half the people in this world are born with one type of genitalia and the other half with another-- I challenge you to back that argument up with the case of intersex children who are born with indeterminate genitalia and with the plight of transgenders who are obviously born with the wrong genitalia. This argument can go on and on... but I must get back to my work. I'd love to discuss this with anyone in person. ( :

Fergie and HER HUMPS

2008-01-31T00:55:00.000-08:00

I love my Intro to Women's Studies class for many reasons. One reason is the fact that we get to view popular culture (ie: music videos) and critically analyze them from an academic perspective. Last week, we watched Fergie's "My Humps" and I became LIVID. (Wow, this is becoming a regular theme in my blog entries!) Certain people in my class were trying to argue that this video and song is empowering. REALLY!? Let me TELL YOU...

I completely agree that being able to own one's sexuality is vital in our society. Being able to wear whatever the fuck one wants to wear IS empowering. Shit, anyone that knows me knows I am far from being a conservative dresser. I abhor the strict societal expectations expected from not only women but of men as well. A case in point highlighting the detrimental consequences of these expectations is the pain that transgenders and queers go through as they obviously don't fit into this dichotomous view of gender and the appropriately deemed behavior and dress. It's NOT okay. I don't ignore the fact that a few decades ago women were expected to wear poodle skirts and only recently were women able to wear pants without being looked at in condemnation.

Here's where the problem lies: women in the media using SEXUALITY as the ONLY vehicle for self-empowerment. Women are told by all forces in society that their worth is tied to their sexuality (read: purity/virginity), yet if they are are not sexy enough (like the perfectly-shaped women portrayed in mainstream media) then they're worthless! Talk about a double bind. Now if people like Fergie and Nicole Scherzinger who claim to stand for women empowerment displayed OTHER forms of it besides prancing around in corsets, making young women everywhere feel like shit because of these unreal physical expectations, while propagating the "male gaze" voyeurism so pervasive in our society, then MAYBE I'd buy it. But they don't. And THAT's where I call bullshit.

The worst kind of Conservative

2008-01-29T17:40:00.001-08:00

So I'm sitting in my HC14 Interaction of Science and Society class, leading a discussion on the spread of AIDS... and this girl makes a very valid point. The emergence of AIDS was so visible among the sexually active gay communities in New York and San Francisco that the authorities viewed their "promiscuity" as over-indulgent and unnecessary. The fact that many continued with their sexual antics despite the medical warnings of leading scientists and politicians almost seemed self-effacing. In "The Coming Plague," author Laurie Garrett mentions that a prominent figure that was earlier thought of to have brought AIDS to North America (a Canadian flight attendant named Dugas) slept with as many as 500 people a year. In another case, she writes "'Promiscuous' was a special word for twenty-six-year-old Callen. By the logic of the day, if it was liberating to openly declare one's right to have sex with a man, 'it seemed to follow that more sex was more liberating.'" Thus, as that girl in my class mentioned, it must have been difficult to deal with these sexual forewarnings from those in power as it could easily have been interpreted as the new ploy to convince gays that they are sinful, dirty creatures.

What was mind-boggling came from the following response from a guy who I will leave anonymous. It was something along the lines of "well, I'm sure that they thought they were being sexually liberated, but C'MON NOW. 500 plus partners a year is just ridiculous!"

WOW! As the person leading the discussion, I'm somewhat obligated to remain neutral, but I was so pissed. The reason why I call that the worst kind of Conservative is because people like him DON'T REALIZE that their subjective, normative view of sexuality is exactly that. SUBJECTIVE. They are making a moral judgment formulated within their own framework and mindset of what they consider "normal." It's all well and good if you're monogamous, if you're abstinent, if you're not into having 10+ sexual encounters in one night or WHATEVER. That's fine-- as long as you realize that that's YOUR OPINION. If you think that your opinions are universally applicable, accepted among the rest of society and that everyone else's actions should reflect your view of normativity, that's when it gets fucking scary. THE WORST PART: A lot of the times, these unknowing individuals (read: ignorant) ACTUALLY think they're liberal (and open-minded). And THAT's why I think they're the worst kind of Conservative. Scary, right?

"Keep your mind open, but not so open that your brain falls out!"

2008-01-27T19:16:00.000-08:00

I went to the West Coast Youth Journalism Conference held on campus this Saturday where this lovely piece of advice was given! Thought that it was pretty funny!

Anyway, I left the conference with a newfound vigor to continue with this blog! As Roy Sekoff (founding editor of The Huffington Post) said "bloggers are going to take over the world!" HAHA. Okay, he was actually joking about that, but still! His enthusiasm inspired me to take this blog more seriously (as in, I want to write more often). Another really cool thing about the conference was being in such close proximity to Katrina Van Den Heuvel of The Nation! I absolutely revere The Nation. It's my main source of news, the place I go to when I want in-depth analysis on something I see on CNN or briefly read about on Feministing.com (the blog of which this blog was modeled after). I really trust that newspaper to give me news independent of corporate control or government influence. But anyways, YES... long live blogging!

I will renounce my citizenship if Huckabee wins

2008-01-16T16:27:00.000-08:00

Sooo.. I knew that Huckabee capitalized on his Christian faith to court the large evangelical community, but the situation is SO much worse than that.

I just found out that 1) He publicly visited a Crisis Pregnancy Center as part of his campaign trail and 2) He has plans to change the constitution to outlaw abortion for good (which he claims will reflect "God's will")

WOW. First of all, Crisis Pregnancy Centers are the most ludicrous and bizarre institutions in America. They lie to women, shame those considering abortions and, in fact, set up fake appointments to subvert them from getting abortions by cancelling at the last minute. Not only are these actions disastrous to the education and well-being of these women, but it can destroy their lives as well! Aside from that, according to CNN, Huckabee wants to outlaw abortion for good by amending our Constitution. Here's a telling quote. "I think we have allowed the pendulum to swing so far the other way in terms of an anti-life mind-set and culture. It's an issue that ultimately I think needs to be changed more in the hearts of people than in the laws of people. But certainly, I'm not going to be reticent about supporting laws that would help us to preserve human life." He goes beyond this, however. "During his Meet The Press appearance today, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee said that as President he would seek to 'find some way to sanction' doctors 'who took money to provide abortions to women if he succeeded in outlawing the procedure.'”

Nice rhetoric. People who support giving women the right to make their own decisions are anti-life. Basically, Huckabee wants to MANDATE his personal religious views onto the whole of this country! GRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!

The fact that he won Iowa's primary scares the SHIT out of me.

MEN DON'T CRY

2008-01-07T13:53:00.000-08:00

This is so frustrating. In response to Hilary Clinton's teary-eyed response to a woman in New Hampshire, Edwards states "I think what we need in a commander-in-chief is strength and resolve, and presidential campaigns are tough business, but being president of the United States is also a tough business."

Typical. Let's attack the woman who displays a sliver of emotion to show how weak she is. Really? Are his campaign managers really that ignorant and ape-like in their political savvy that they must resort to age-old stereotypes that propagate archaic gender roles?

Luckily, when Obama was asked to comment on this incident, he states, "I didn't see what happened. I know this process is a grind. So that's not something I care to comment on. "

Considering that he did just win the Iowa primary, it makes me feel just a tad bit better that the leader in this race didn't follow Edward's example.

Benazir Bhutto assassinated today

2007-12-27T12:57:00.000-08:00

Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan and leading contender for the January 8th elections, was killed by a suicide bomber today. The U.S. and UN have both spoken out against this, classifying it as an act of terrorism, perilous to our world's stability.

However, the public needs to assess what the authorities tell them and put it into context. If we blindly believe the things they tell us, such as who the heroes and villains are (*ahem, our "Allies" in the war against terrorism sound familiar?) then we completely miss the real complications and issues affecting the world today, making it nearly impossible to solve them.

Barbara Crossette of The Nation writes, "As the world mourns the loss of Benazir Bhutto, it would be myopic to focus only on Islamic-inspired violence and on Pakistan. This is a region with a turbulent post-independence political history. Our (Islamophobic?) preoccupation with Muslim terrorism in Pakistan and Afghanistan often blocks out a bigger picture."

Read more on how South Asian political bloodshed is so much more complicated than Bush would want you to think... and how completely ignorant it is to just point your figures at those "crazy Muslim extremists."

"The Other"

2007-11-15T14:10:00.000-08:00

My Asian American women class got me thinking about something today (finally!). Although it's a theme that has underscored almost all of our readings thus far, Gopinath's narrative "Out on Main Street" particularly ignited my thoughts...

Our world depends on fear. For people to feel safe, secure and comfortable, they rely on this notion of "The Other." Right now, it's Muslims and any Arab-looking person. It's always been gays. People of color. Chinese immigrants in the 19th century. The list can go on forever. Why must people create a hostile and exclusionary environment, filled with denigrating and isolating labels to make others feel "wrong" or abnormal? It's actually quite perplexing when you think about it. Every soul is infinitely complex, laden with contradicting forces which can inevitably be summed up in a universe that is one. ONE. We are all one soul, one spirit. Yet we create these individual identities for ourselves that build up an ego which is nothing but an obstacle to spiritual liberation.

Of course, these are difficult concepts to grasp-- even the diligent monk who has spent years in a monastery struggles. Nonetheless, maybe if we all incorporated a little more meditation in our life we can get a little closer to understanding? Shit, I know I can use some right now. Or.... let's just pick up the swazi. ( :

ASIAN FETISHES ARE GROSS, PERIOD!

2007-11-13T14:58:00.000-08:00

I have ALWAYS been grossed out by men with Asian fetishes (particularly white men-- hello, Wedding Crashers!). It's just disturbing. I have definitely experienced white men's bulging-eyes-of-awe when they notice/find out I'm asian and it's a disgusting turn-off. Despite the fact that it makes me feel objectified and a mere outer shell of a person, I've never been able to pinpoint what about the fetish that disturbs me so much. Finally, however, I found an article discussing this particular issue and its deeper implications on society. First of all, this fetish is rascist. My neighbor has a classic example of it and I've definitely given him my piece of mind. So many people, including him, merely reply with "You're just attracted to whoever you're attracted to!" I call bullshit. Saying you're attracted to this one type of look means you find other looks less desirable. He even blatantly mentioned he could never go for an Indian woman (obviously, he's never looked at a map of the world). It's the same as saying you're not attracted to people with darker skin-- and have you ever thought about WHY this is so????? Perhaps because "white" people (which is a completely ignorant term that I am only using for brevity's sake), aka the Western world, have conditioned you to think that way through their colonialism and complete erasure of indigenous culture. I understand that to some degree sexual attraction may be JUST sexual attraction-- but for the most part when it comes to the Asian fetish, I think not. It reinforces stereotypes while attempting to erase the inhumane conditions forced upon Asian women today (can anyone say sex trade?!) from our memories and political agendas, for those of us who want to change things. Ugh. So, please. Just think about it, if anything.

Read about it.

SO disgusting

2007-11-08T15:08:00.000-08:00

The epitome of our society gone wrong. Shudder.

Music discovery!

2007-11-07T10:50:00.000-08:00

Check it out. AWESOME source for music (especially when you're always bored as f*ck at work like I am!). I just typed in "Common" and... voile! Hella good music instantaneously at my fingertips!

Here.

Thanks to Sy for showing me this ( :

Even more reason to hate Republicans

2007-11-06T22:36:00.001-08:00

Republic candidates need to STOP trying to make Muslims the new Soviet Union! Anyone that reads (or just thinks, for that matter) can see through this bureaucratic attempt to create an enemy out of someone just so Americans can blindly join together behind a leader that has no idea what he is doing. It's ridiculous. The Islamo-Facism week events that took place at college campuses around the nation, including UCLA, was deeply unsettling and unbelievable at institutions that promote critical thinking. That week was the tip of the iceberg in falsely demonizing Muslims. Give us all a break! Christians have a much more violent history than Muslims, let's be scared of them! (Shit, if they're anything like Bush, I sure as hell am!) Sigh.

(FYI: The complacent Democrats are JUST as bad as these fearmongering Republicans)

Read ALL about this and prepare to have the truth disbanded (Gasp! God FORBID the public learn the FACTS!)