A Convergence for Queer Liberation in Columbus November 12th-14th
Queer in Flux: A Radical Queer Convergence
The Ohio State student group Queer in Flux will host a convergence highlighting racism, gender presentation, feminism within the context queer and trans identities through a series of workshops, music performances, spoken word poetry, and film. A multitude of themes will be covered ranging from prison abolition and sex work, to writing and music as revolutionary acts of expression.
If you’re in the Baltimore area come out for the many shows, workshops, and fabulousnesses of The International Drag King Extravaganza XXII, Gender Justice! If you’re looking for me, I’ll be the blur of pink and sparkles running around doing four shows, three workshops, and a ton of organizing stuff. Its gonna be a super hardcore blast and you should come!
Check out the interesting photography exhibit called The Other Men Project by photographer Ebba Schmid.
“[The Other Men Project] is to force viewers to look these men square in eye, and count them as human.”
JAC Stringer – Photo by Ebba Schmid – The Other Men Project
[image: close up black and white photo of JAC’s face showing only his right ear, right eye, nose and mouth. He is looking off to the side, smiling slightly.]
This picture reminds me of how I still have the exact same face as when I was a kid. It makes it even more curious that people tell me I “look so different” now or how old acquaintances, even old friends, don’t recognize me on the street. They just walk by like they never knew me at all… but I have the same face.
I tried working out some intro about my experiences as a performer to go along with this post, but I feel the performance speaks for itself. It is a commentary on my own experience fighting the Gender Identity Disorder system and trying to access autonomous transitional care through both medical and governmental systems. Unfortunately the video is a little bleached out, but there is another one coming soon hopefully!
One thing I didn’t expect from this number is the emotional toll it takes. I knew I was going to have to spew my emotional guts out on stage but what I didn’t think about was how I was going to get those guts out or how I was gonna push them back in when I was done. In order to get myself where I needed to be I had to think about all the things I have pushed down over the years in order to deal with life as a genderqueer trans person. All the things that we as a community have to ignore in order to function: oppression, isolation, pathologization, powerlessness, marginalization… The memories of screaming nights, crying loneliness and frustration on what I couldn’t change but wanted to – my identity, and wanted to change but couldn’t – my body… doctors telling me how I wasn’t normal, how I was wrong… Pain that I have dulled so much with work and righteousness that when I brought it up to the surface again it was like I had forgotten what my life felt like. And then still recognizing that things really aren’t much different now, I have just learned to cope better.
When the show was over I was a little in shock. All and all, the dressing room is a good a place as any for breakdowns and build ups, and with that I want to give a special shout out to my fellow troupe members in The Black Mondays for being so amazing and supportive. Amazingly enough, putting my self out on stage like that was not as terrifying as I thought it would be. I think the fabulous outfits helped, plus oh my god, my shoes, did you see the shoes?? So fucking fabulous.
