Tag: Travel

‘Oh Canada’ for Queers

Posted on by JAC

Just returned from a fantastic journey to Canada for Toronto Pride. I was invited by the awesome troupe the Royal Renegades of Columbus to perform with them and our friends Ceci My Playmate and Her Dollies the  at the festival. It was a ton of fun. I was the EMCEE for the majority of the show which was a special treat. There were so many young people in the audience, it was adorable. That is the best thing about Pride, seeing all the kids and young folks come out, all excited and beaming – before they get bitter and jaded like the rest of us. lol


With the Renegades before the show.

I’ve never been one to go nuts over rainbows and Pride, but I have to admit the way Toronto handles it is an experience. It wasn’t the size alone (with was staggering) that was amazing, but more so the way the city responded to Pride. In Toronto, Pride is treated like any other holiday. Stores in the main shopping drag of the city hung rainbow flags and ‘gay’ themed store displays. Now, I realize that its all corporate consumerism, but even with that it was strange to be so… normalized.  There’s little chance of any mall in Cincinnati having store after store with queer themes. People wouldn’t go to them out of protest, but in Toronto people don’t think twice. The Pride parade was also televised live in full as well as evening coverage; it was even on the weather.

Clothing store near Easton Center, downtown Toronto — Pride on Toronto’s weather

Granted, Canada is arguably one of the most liberal, queer-friendly countries in the world and Toronto is its largest, (and most liberal) city, so talking about how queer friendly it is may seem redundant. Even so, its not something this Midwestern boy is used to. I wonder if it is like San Francisco Pride,or New York, or D.C., but even there I don’t know if Pride is on the weather. I can’t even put my finger on the feelings surrounding it because its something I’ve never experienced on this scale.

I was hoping to see tons of transfolk at Pride, but sadly I didn’t. I missed the Trans March by a day, I guess after the march all the trans folk didn’t want to come out (maybe they were too tired, ba dum ching!) I saw a couple older women, but I couldn’t even spot any folks that could be either lesbians or transguys but you can’t tell. It was surprising and disappointing… I asked around, but to no avail. I’m curious as to what the trans community is like there now. All I could find out was that the guys and gals were pretty separated, and most transmasculine folks seemed to be younger and have ‘different interests’ from the women. Sound familiar? Eh, well, guess I’ll have to go back and look some more.

The visibility and normalization, if you will, of Toronto Pride left me thinking about my own recent experiences with Cincinnati Pride and the controversy of accessibility and inclusion. Toronto seemed to do a good job with family-friendly and youth-specific spaces, as well as safe spaces for various parts of our community including the disabled, trans and gqs, and POCs. There was also a pretty prominent international presence in the parade which was awesome. I am certain that all Prides have their issues, but as a literal foreigner I wasn’t savvy to them. It made me think about the attempts of sanitizing Cincy Pride, and further reiterated my feelings on the issue. From what I could tell from being present in the festival, working with volunteers, and attending events, Toronto’s way of managing Pride was very community run and community focused. There was a surprising lack of corporate ads etc with a plethora of community groups and locally run industry (even the city transportation services were in the parade). Maybe a good idea for Midwest communities would be to have community marches. The Toronto Dyke March grossed 200,000 – which I learned from the news coverage about it. Of course, a big place like Toronto has the resources and people power for such a thing which stresses how a city with low community resources can raise all the money it wants for pride, but without a supported people all you’ll end up with is a shell of a festival with low representation and even lower involvement.

As for an update on Cincinnati Pride workings, there isn’t much of one. After a brief period of motion and success the opposition seems to be stonewalling us, so we must push on and keep up the work until some sort of resolution and be accomplished. Maybe one day Cincy pride can manage something like Toronto (to scale) but we haven’t gotten there yet.

Pride; A Dissection

Posted on by JAC

Columbus Pride was this past weekend- one of the largest prides in the Midwest. To start out the weekend I semi-butched it up with the troupe at the Royal Renegades’ annual pride drag show at Wall Street.

With fellow Black Mondays performing at the Royal Renegades Pride show, Columbus, Ohio

[image: four drag king performers looking at the camera, all dressed in white shirts with black coats, looking cool]

The show was a fantastic time, but it reminded me how different Pride – and its spaces, scenes, and people are compared to every other time of year. Maybe folks think of Pride as a way to give a dose of gayness to the rest of the world, to remind them we are here. But out of sight, out of mind. Maybe its just me airing my activist baggage, but I can’t help but get angry during Pride. I look around and see people so excited to be queer, having all this “pride” but try to get a thousand volunteers for something in October, or get people out for an event in February, good-fucking-luck. Its like Queer Pride is seasonal or as needed. What good is a parade to promote community visibility if afterward the majority of the community disappears again, back to their homes to hibernate until next year when its again time to wear rainbows and get drunk in public?

Pride is great because it is like we own the world for a day, all the communities that make up the mass that is greater queer community out and about. But it doesn’t last. The next day and I went in search of brunch (naturally, queers love brunch), but I was afraid to go anywhere. Once again I was thrust back into being aware of my outcast standing. As things are now, pride is the one opportunity I have to be in my own state, my own local community, and not stick out like a nail waiting to get hit. I like pride for that reason, its an opportunity to relax and feel like I’m in a visible community that understands me… but I’m still not. Just like every year, I met several people who didn’t know what I was and when I told them I was a transguy they didn’t know what the hell I was talking about. Its hard to feel included when people still don’t think I even exist. I don’t bother explaining because I think that of all days, I should not have to be an educator at Pride. I just want to have fun too. When I express my impatience, I’m seen as hateful or irrational. I’m supposed to support organizations that are taking their time on trans education. I’m supposed to be proud of a queer community that still doesn’t recognize me. I’m supposed to think its great that our parade is reduced to corporate shills and advertisements instead of education and action.

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Ableism, Access, and Gender Identity Disorder

Posted on by JAC

This past weekend I was invited to be a speaker on the Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference’s plenary panel “Five on Five: Winning The Removal of GID from the DSM-5.”

[image description  – panelists standing in a line smiling] Panel: Kylar Broadus Esq, Jamie Grant, Dr. Becky Allison, Rabbi Levi Alter, Dr. Moonhawk River Stone , JAC Stringer

The panel was interesting, but with the conversations I could guess where the Q & A was gonna go. One topic was, deservedly, a focus: Trans vs. Crazy. Possibly the most common argument against Gender Identity Disorder (GID) is that trans people aren’t “crazy” so we shouldn’t be listed with mental health conditions. Its a simple enough statement but there is a huge underlying message here. When people say “Trans people are happy, successful people. We aren’t crazy.” they often don’t realize that what they are actually saying by default is “We are just like normal (aka good) people. We aren’t like those crazy (aka bad) people.”

I like to think I’m a pretty happy, well adjusted person who is also reasonably successful. And in addition to that I am bipolar, I have a panic condition with phobias, psychosis, depersonalization, OCD, PTSD, learning disabilities, self-harm, and suicide. I am what people consider to be crazy (and I have listed each condition specifically to fight my own hesitations about talking about it), and yet I’m a functional person who works hard to contribute to society along with millions of others who are “crazy.” Mental conditions and success – or even sanity – are not mutually exclusive. Yes, it can be hard to deal with this shit, and as a result I often don’t mention it. I don’t want people to make assumptions about me. Similarly, sometimes I don’t come out as trans because I don’t want assumptions put on me. But being trans is not a mental health condition, it is one of many points on the spectrum of human existence. With that you may ask “isn’t that also true about mental health conditions?” I would say yes. I can only speak from my own experience. A mental condition may alter my functions or feelings, and it may or may not be a bonus factor in my life, but does not make me any less of a person, or make any “normal” person better or more competant. And while I can’t honestly say this is a great way to be, I can’t say it is a horrible way to be either. Trans identity can correlate to that as well. My mental condition is not a weakness, it is a part of my humanity. My gender is not a disorder, it is a part of my identity.

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Bad Parenting: Effects of an Noninclusive Movement on Queer Kids

Posted on by JAC

This past weekend I had a fantastic romp to the University of Toledo.  I met some stellar students working their asses off to support their community, and ecstatically networked and made friends with who I consider to be one of the most significant drag performance groups in history, The Kinsey Sicks.

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With the Kinsey Sicks and UT student organizers Elizabeth and David.

This visit was my first official “keynote” slot, which like most titles, makes me sound cool and significantly more important than I actually am. I presented a new talk that I’m still experimenting with “How to wake up society in 500 calories or more – a sweet tooth’s guide to sex, gender, and the illusion of normalcy.” The topic turned out to be more relevant to my own thought processes throughout the weekend than I had anticipated. UT’s queer community reminded me very much of the community I was in, or more so on the edge of, during my undergrad at the University of Cincinnati. Now, both UC and UT are large state schools smack in the middle of very racially and economically segregated, (initially) industry based Midwestern cities so maybe one would expect similarities. But even without location, population, or environment, I think there is a bigger influence in play here.  Queer communities -campuses included-  don’t live in a vacuum. We are all exposed to the same oppressive systems, whether it is anti-queer discrimination and hate or “GLBT” propaganda.

Sometimes I can’t decided which is worse. Having one million monsters outside the door, or one hundred inside the house. Everyday queers are not only dealing with the oppressions of heteronormativity, but homonormativity as well. There is a division in the house of non-hetero politic, but I feel the familiar saying of “a house divided cannot stand” doesn’t apply. I think a house divided can stand, but that’s about all it can do. If G.L. Homeowner can only afford to give minimal upkeep to the house, naturally they will take care of the rooms they use most. If given enough attention, the chosen rooms can get to be pretty swank, maybe accent it with some nice furniture… but the over-all value of the house will be the same. It will never improve, it will be just good enough. And you sure as hell can’t let your family get any bigger than what the nice rooms can accommodate- to break the metaphor, better not let any of those gender non-conformers or people of color in. Surely they’re better off where they are out back. They’re probably happy there, and they’re used to it.

Normative conceptualization of queer communities is not accidentally spread.  National marginalization of under-represented, often non-normative groups feeds our marginalization in smaller communities, like college campuses. Smaller communities will naturally have less resources and need to reach out to larger ones, creating a cycle of stagnation with no new exchanges of information. Perfect example: Most people have HRC stickers not because they even actually know what the hell HRC is, its because that was all they could find.All they know is the equal sign means good and means gay. What more is there? Race? Class? Identity? Not relevant. We’re all one homogeneous community, aren’t we? We are starving our youth of information, and they are paying the price for the community’s oversight. If young people are struggling for resources and isolating each other out of fear or ignorance it is because the greater community has not given them access to the information they need to develop their own autonomous understanding of the complex diversity of the queer community. The lucky ones figure it out for themselves, only to be stuck swimming against the current, isolated and alone.

How much can we really accomplish if our resources are close to inclusive, but not actually inclusive? Is this neglect any different from heteronomative society not teaching us  about queerness? We are promoting the same practice of oppression, we’re just excusing it because its in house.  “We’ll come back for you when we have more to go around” too easily turns into “We forgot about you” which might as well be “We never gave a shit about you in the first place, cause if we did, we would have brought you along in the first place.”

Lounge Lizards and Ladies

Posted on by JAC

Highlights from the last Dangrous Productions show in Columbus before they hit the road for their travelin’ tour of tasty…trag… aka drag. Dangerous Productions is the baby-babes of Gavin Danger, who if you didn’t already know, is kinda a big deal and an amazing mentor. He knows his shit. We are all sad to lose him and his partner to the rest of the country, but we all warned him he’d be back, cause that’s how the Midwest rolls. You always come back!

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Gavin Danger and I after the show

[image: Gavin Danger in a suit, bow tie, top hat, and handle bar mustache with JAC -pink hair and brown eyes – both smiling at the camera]

The show, Lounge Lizards and Ladies, was hosted by the fabulous Miss Tamale and Goldie Peacock and featured performers from Ohio (including the Black Mondays and yours truly), Chicago, NYC, D.C., and probably a bunch of other places I can’t remember. I was thrilled to see Goldie because we haven’t hung out since IDKE back in October, so that was a fun. And Tamale and I, who are usually rushed from each other at show’s end, had a fabulous ice cream date the following day. I was psyched to be back with my troupe, no duh, I love them. I also worked out a new number for this show which I am super pleased with and it is the best outfit I have made to date. FAB-U-LOUS. I did full sewing on the petticoat skirt but the top is actually a dress I like too much to alter, so I safety pinned the hell out of it, as is my trademark in drag costuming.

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[image: JAC, pink hair, lipstick and blue eye make-up in a teal short dress and a long fuschia poofy skirt that is the same color as JAC’s hair. With one hand he is holding skirt back to show legs and teal underwear with sparkly light pink tennis shoes and with the other hand holding a teal high heel with a bow on the toe and kissing it.]

Tamale has decided when she gets rich from her burlesque career (which I anticipate to be around when my activist career starts to cut the big checks) I will become her personal dresser / safety pin tailor. I did a beastly job on this dress, if I do say so myself.

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[image: Tamale in a green formal dress, leg up being held by JAC who is wearing a teal short dress with fuschia sequins]

And yes, I ran around in that little outfit pretty much all night, which actually surprised me. The petticoat comes off in the number so I was pants-less all evening… and in girls underwear for the 1st time in I have no idea how long. I was actually really comfortable, maybe because I knew my outfit was supper cute! My shoes (the heels) were actually where the outfit came from, and Tucson (during IDKE XI)  is where the shoes came from. When I got the shoes all I could think was I needed ruffly butt underwear to match. So I got some, and they were a big hit.

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[image: JAC in teal outfit, bending over looking shocked, showing ruffle butt teal underwear. His butt is grabbed and bitten by some attractive Black Mondays performers]

The End

 

 

 

Tranny to Texas and Back

Posted on by JAC

Back from Creating Change in Dallas! The conference was pretty small this year, maybe 2500 people. There were less young people than last year, but other than that there was a good representation of the community. I am actually pretty satisfied with the Task Force’s work in creating an inclusive, intersectional community- a rarity to come from a national organization. They have been increasingly good about having lots of stuff for trans folk, both from an accessibility and an activity standpoint and this year they added multi-lingual events and interpreters to the slew of accessibility options, which is most excellent.

I was very surprised at the number of radically minded folks this year. Often there is a surplus of pro-marriage, HRC humping agenda pushers but as the years go on they are appearing less and less at Creating Change. I overheard several conversations about the faults of the marriage movement and even dialogue about the Task Force’s name. (full name Gay and Lesbian Task Force). Mark, from QueerToday.com made an excellent post talking about the conference here. I actually don’t even recall very many cases of being called the wrong pronoun. It was a surprisingly safe space. In fact, for a trip to Texas, I made out surprisingly unscathed.  Short of some awkward conversations with taxi drivers about illegal aliens and what I am “activating” about as an activist, plus multiple run-ins with airport security, I made out ok. The city was surprisingly empty, and in many places reminded me of pre-2000s East Berlin -in a bad way. Guess I expected Texas to be immune from the recession. There were also a surprisingly large number of independent businesses on the outskirts of the city. Inside the city, aside from the art museums, it was more difficult to find much independent Dallas culture. I wasn’t able to visit with my sister, who lives in Denton, which was a downer and I had several health issues that made me miss a chunk of the conference. On the whole though, I got to do a lot of great stuff while I was there. Saw some wonderful o’l friends I don’t usually get to see, always good. And I did some great networking, which again is always good. I am feeling optimistic about the work to be done in the next year. This is a crucial time for a lot for trans stuff, and its important we keep working.

Also, make sure you are keeping up with ENDA and fighting the good fight!  We are coming down to the wire, March is almost here!

And now for some photos!

you knew there had to be a cowboy hat picture

[image: JAC smiling, wearing a cowboy hat]

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Ohio “Gay” Pride

Posted on by JAC

Pride season has come, and gone. All queers going busily berserk for 30 days altogether: Always interesting.

I gave a speech for Cincinnati’s pride, skillfully skipping the middle chunk of it by losing my place on my homemade flashcards. Awesome. I am not real big on pride as an event, I’m actually bitter about it. I wish people would come out more than just one weekend a year. A handful of us are in the streets working our asses off to create space, always overworked and alone. Then, one day a year, the queers and allies come out to do what? Party and pretend nothing needs to change.  I said as much in my speech, but in a much nicer way. I tried to highlight Pride’s beginning as a activist movement. The twelve sober people listening seemed really into it.

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Blurrily speaking at Cincinnati Pride rally

Cincy pride always looks so tiny in comparison to Columbus. Our dinky little get together isn’t anything to wow about, but people try. Columbus pride is massive and intense with thousands of people. Makes me wonder why, if there are so many of us, we have so little going for us .

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Performing at Wall Street for Columbus Pride Royal Renegades show