Issuu

UCLA'S QUEER NEWSMAGAZINE

FEMINISM & THE QUEER COMMUNITY

DANIEL RADCLIFFE'S PENETRATION QUEER RUSSIA

FALL 2013

TABLE

CONTENTS

3 Letter From the Editor news / po l i t i c s 4 ENDA's Game 5 From Russia With Hate

queer spac e s

Isn't that Bisexual?

feature

8 The Feminist Mystake

OutWrite is an alternative multi-platform media outlet that deals with the issues that matter to young, engaged Queer or LGBT-identified individuals, both at UCLA and beyond. By illuminating topics that are not covered by the mainstream media, and by doing so with a distinctive, frank, passionate and progressive voice, we strive to engage our community and serve their needs through dialogue and active expression. The UCLA Communications Board has a media grievance procedure for resolving grievances against any of its media. For a copy of the complete procedure, contact UCLA Student Media at 310. 825. 2787. Copyright 2011 ASUCLA Communications Board

letter from the editor

oming into my position as Editor-inChief, my mission became to continue

the work of past years, to educate our readers about our community and to give a voice to those without one.

As a niche magazine,

OutWrite has the privilege of possessing a voice with which to publicly speak on behalf of those misunderstood and oppressed. As the leader of this magazine, of this voice, I plan to utilize it to break down misunderstandings, educate

those

who

misunderstand

and

empower the misunderstood. This issue continues these important traditions of education and empowerment. In Russia, the government and its new anti-queer “propaganda” law effectively steals Queer folks’ public voice. Speaking positively about our community and about Russian Queer folk themselves has become a crime, which subtly endorses the violence against Queer folk. My staff and I have used

opinion

the privilege of our country’s freedom of speech to tell the stories of those who have lost their voice

Regulation Hotties

to their oppressors. We will propagandize their lack of basic human rights and the need for change

12 13

on behalf of the Russian people. Yet this issue does not stop at giving a voice to those unrightfully without one. We have taken

business

11 Shop Queer, Not There

OutWrite is UCLA’s queer and ally newsmagazine. OutWrite, formerly called TenPercent, was established in 1979 and was the first LGBT collegiate newsmagazine in the nation.

on the misunderstandings of pansexual identity, one which few non-identifying individuals fully understand. I hope that after reading the article, our readers can understand the complexities of others’ sexuality, and how misunderstandings of these complexities affect our fellow Queer folk. Use this knowledge to treat others, especially those you do not fully understand, with respect.

a&e

Learn from the experiences of the misunderstood and open yourself up to the unknown.

Alo-HOMO-ra Queertoons

out

LgAy

about

quiz

Multiple Choice

In our feature article, my Managing Editor, Kayla, questions the role of gender empowerment and feminism in the Queer community. While oftentimes the struggles of women and Queer folk

www.outwritenewsmag.org facebook.com/outwritenewsmag @outwritenewsmag

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Bryan Platz MANAGING EDITOR Kayla Vernon Clark WRITERS Kayla Vernon Clark Gabriel Hongsdusit Evan Moffitt Jill Parker Alejandra Rodriguez Lauren Wilbur DESIGNER Gabriel Hongsdusit ILLUSTRATOR Gabriel Hongsdusit COPY EDITOR Kayla Vernon Clark COVER MODEL Jawhara Tariq PHOTOGRAPHER Vince Goh PRINTED BY International Daily News Interested in contributing to the Queer community at UCLA? OUTWrite is looking for writers, designers, illustrators, and photographers to join our staff ! Contact us for more info.

coincide, issues within the social structure of the Queer and feminist communities can sometimes clash, causing the oppression of members within both communities. Despite these two communities’ aims to break down patriarchy and heteronormitivity, we can oftentimes take on these narrow views of patriarchy and heteronormitivity our inter-community relationships. But, through the knowledge of these structures and faults, we can learn and better ourselves to overcome our own

This magazine was made possible with the support of Campus Progress, a project of the Center for American Progress, online at CampusProgress.org

role as oppressors among the aff licted members of the Queer and feminist communities. So please, turn the page, learn from the experiences and beliefs of our staff members and those to whom they have passed the privilege of their voice. But, more importantly, I urge you to engage and discuss these topics, either with us through Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr, or simply with your friends, fellow students and those beyond our campus. Enjoy!

news / p o litics

news / politics "Out in the Office"

ENDA'S GAME

FROM RUSSIA WITH HATE BY GABRIEL HONGSDUSIT | STAFF WRITER | GABEHONG@GMAIL.COM

BY EVAN MOFFITT | STAFF WRITER | EPMOFFITT@GMAIL.COM

ongress is reviewing legislation to ensure Orrin Hatch (R-UT) voted for the bill. the job security of Queer Americans. In the past, Senator Hatch has been a vocal On Thursday, November 7th, opponent of gay rights legislation and marriage the United States Senate voted to approve the equality, stating his belief that “homosexuality is Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), contrary to the Bible.” In 2000, he voted against an a landmark civil rights bill that would make amendment to hate crimes legislation that would discrimination in the workplace on the basis of extend protections to victims who were attacked sexual orientation or gender identity illegal. The because of their sexual orientation. bill expands existing legal protections against Senator Jeff Flake previously expressed discrimination on the basis of race, religion, uneasiness about gender identity protections, and gender, national origin, age, and disability. did not give his approval for the bill until this year’s The final Senate vote was 64-32. 10 vote. However, he made a strong public statement Republicans, including cosponsors Susan Collins of support for ENDA following a yea vote. (R-ME) and Mark Kirk (R“While I had concerns about IL), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), John Twenty-nine states expanding protections beyond McCain (R-AZ), and Lisa currently do not protect [past House provisions], Murkowsi (R-AK) joined gays, lesbians or bisexuals after consideration, I believe Senate Democrats in passing from employment supporting this bill is the right the bill. This is the first discrimination, and 33 thing to do. I am hopeful that time in history that ENDA states offer no protection to the bill moves forward in a way has passed the Senate, that works for employers as transgendered people. after many earlier versions, well as employees,” said Flake. introduced in 1994 and 1999, failed in committee Joining the Democratic senators who voted or floor votes. in favor of ENDA was Cory Booker, the former Twenty-nine states currently do not protect mayor of Newark, who was sworn in to the Senate gays, lesbians or bisexuals from employment on Thursday, October 31st. Throughout his discrimination, and 33 states offer no protection political career, Booker has been an outspoken to transgendered people. supporter of Queer rights. The senator, who is 44 Eighty-eight percent of Fortune 500 companies and unmarried, recently embraced the Washington have policies that ban discrimination on the basis of Post’s speculation about his sexuality. “People sexual orientation, while 57% ban discrimination who think I’m gay, part of me thinks that it’s on the basis of gender identity. Comprehensive wonderful, because I want to challenge people on employment non-discrimination laws are on the their homophobia,” said Booker. books in many of America’s most populous states, In June 2012, the first ever transgender witness including California, Pennsylvania, and New York. spoke before a Senate committee. Kylar Broadus, a The form of ENDA approved by the Senate on lawyer and professor at Lincoln University, testified November 7th, S. 815, is inclusive to both sexual before members of Congress about harassment he and gender identity. H.R. 1397, a parallel proposal faced from employers as a black transgendered in the House of Representatives, must be passed man. “Personally, it was difficult to navigate before ENDA can be sent to President Obama employment, where I had to have documents that for final approval. House Speaker John Boehner matched my physical appearance. When I used opposes the measure, and it seems unlikely ENDA female restrooms, police would accost me, and I will even be taken up for debate in his chamber. would have to strip,” Broadus said to the senators Yet, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is present. optimistic about the bill’s passage in the House. Despite the support from elected officials, The 64 votes garnered in the Senate, including 10 conservative lobby groups endorse Boehner in Republicans, constitute more bipartisan support his opposition. The Family Research Council, a than ENDA has ever received. Republican Senator “family values” lobby group fighting ENDA, calls

the bill “a danger to religious businesses” and “the end of religious freedom in America.” According to the petition on the group’s webpage, “the choice to engage in homosexual conduct and the choice to adopt a ‘transgender’ identity (sex change or crossdressing) are not equivalent to the established (and immutable) protected categories of one’s race and biological sex.” While conflating transgendered people with cross-dressers and post-operative individuals, the site presents no proof that sexual orientation and gender identity are a choice. The Family Research Council also argued that the bill’s religious exemption is not strong enough. “ [ENDA] prepares the way for a form of reverse discrimination against anyone who expresses approval of homosexual behavior. The more open homosexuals become, the more people with traditional values will be forced into the closet,” the groups website stated. It offered no proof that religious Americans have had or will have their jobs threatened because of their beliefs, and invalidated the struggles of Queer employees forced to perform heteronormativity by discriminatory employers. ENDA’s religious exemption extends to all houses of worship, parochial religious schools, missions, and organizations involved in the teaching or spreading of religion or religious governance. The bill also includes a clause allowing religious organizations to require their employees to conform to a set of religious tenets, which could disqualify Queer folk from employment. Although ENDA has passed the Senate, it must still be approved by the majority- Republican House, which seems increasingly influenced by its ultra-right wing Tea Party members. However, growing support for the bill in Congress represents true progress in the fight for civil rights and gives Queer Americans hope that a twenty-year struggle for inclusive labor laws may be nearly over

n the film V for Vendetta, a lesbian, named Valerie Paige, recalls her arrest and imprisonment by the totalitarian government for her sexuality. The scene plays out with the resigned Paige sitting in the dark, as men in full SWAT gear raid and arrest. While this dark scene exists as a fictionalized future, for Queer folk in Russia, it may soon become a reality. Earlier this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill banning what the law states as “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations to minors.” Generally, this “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations” includes the public promotion of homosexuality, sodomy, lesbianism, bisexuality, and trans* identities. Yet one of the greatest problems with this bill is the ambiguity in the language of the law. It fails to legally define propaganda or nontraditional sexual relations, providing authorities with the liberty to infer these terms. The law states that propaganda is the sharing of information accessible to minors that 1) aims at creating nontraditional sexual attitudes, 2) makes nontraditional sexual relations attractive, 3) equates the value of traditional and nontraditional sexual relations or 4) creates an interest in nontraditional sexual relations. Yet the law lacks proper definitions for what constitutes sharing information, such as media or demonstrations. Could everyday conversation in public fulfill the sharing of information accessible to minors? As a testament to its unlawfulness, the antipropaganda law effectively contradicts multiple laws already in place in the country. Russia’s criminal code disallows the criminalization of propaganda of non-criminal behavior. As the country legalized homosexuality in 1993, the law criminalizes a behavior defined as legal by the stat. Recently, the Queer rights campaign has erupted in violence. On October 12, around 200 conservative activists confronted LGBT rights protestors observing National Coming Out Day. Fights occurred between the two groups, as the conservative activists blocked the demonstration from entering a park with a war memorial. Police eventually arrived on the scene, detaining 67 protestors from both groups. The violence against Russia’s Queer community goes beyond the clashing of protest groups. In their mission to protect children from sexual abuse, Occupy Pedophilia produced videos of members harassing and beating gay men, until they confessed their homosexuality. Occupy Pedophilia often posts these

graphic and violent videos on VKontakte, Russia’s “I don't care if it means I go to prison…in some version of Facebook. The members of Occupy respects I hope I do because then the prime minister Pedophilia often bait these men by posing as gay men and my country would have to get involved and that looking for sexual encounters. would add to the embarrassment for Russia,” said On October 20, 2013, the Russian parliament Pearson to the Daily Mail. shelved a bill, which would allow for children to be Bode Miller, an American five time Olympic removed from their Queer parents. The bill would medalist, conveyed his displeasure of the anti-queer have effectively equated homosexuality to alcoholism, laws and oppression for the upcoming games. abuse and violence. Representative Alexei Zhuravlyov "I think it is absolutely embarrassing there are withdrew the bill for further revisions because, as it countries and people who are that intolerant or that happens, the bill would have ignorant…it’s not the first time. been placed on the Parliament "I think it is absolutely We have been dealing with human agenda as soon as February embarrassing there are rights issues since there were 2014, coinciding with the countries and people who humans. My main emotion when Winter Olypmics in Sochi. are that intolerant or that I hear and deal with situations like The withdrawal of the bill only ignorant…" — Bode Miller that is embarrassment. As a human occured due to the controversy being, I think it is embarrassing," of Russia’s anti-queer attitude, and the desire to lessen said Miller at the U.S. Olympic media summit on criticism during this important time for the Russian September 30, 2013. economy. Since the establishment of Russia’s antiThe sentiments of embarrassment exist within queer laws, many have spoken against the country, former citizens of Russia, including dancer and actor and have even called for a boycott of the Sochi games. Mikhail Baryshnikov, who sums up the issue up quiet Yet, despite this call for a boycott, no participating plainly: or aspiring athlete has refused to attend the upcoming "My life has been immensely enriched by gay games. In line with this lack of athlete boycotts, the mentors, colleagues and friends and any discrimination newly developed oppressive climate in Russia casts and persecution of gay people is unacceptable… doubt on the success of the Winter Olympics in 2014. Equal treatment of people is a basic right and it is sad Many Queer athletes and spectators are now fearful that we still have to even speak about this in [the] 21st of their involvement in the games, as they could easily century," said Baryshnikov to The Advocate. become victims of discrimination or even unfair detainment. Without strong activism against this climate, not enough attention will be brought to this issue of the games for change to occur. Unfortunately, members of the International Olympic Committee Coordinating Commission failed to view these new laws as violating Olypmic non-discrimination policies. "The Olympic Charter states that all segregation is completely prohibited, whether it be on the grounds of race, religion, color, or other, on the Olympic territory," said JeanClaude Killy, chairman of the IOC Coordination Commission, at a press conference in Sochi on September 26, 2013, according to the Associated Press. As the laws do not enforce segregation, the IOC remains satisfied with the climate of the games. While athletes have not refused to attend the games, some have decided to take an active role in confronting these laws. Lee Pearson, a ten time gold medalist in the Paralympic equestrian events, plans to speak out against these anti-queer laws:

q u eer spaces

ISN'T THAT BISEXUAL? W

e really just don’t give a flying Even when explained to them, they often fuck about what’s between your continue to make false assumptions and thighs, we just wanna cuddle with ignorant comments about pansexuality. One you and fuck you,” proclaimed theblutomato, anonymous pansexual-identified individual a self-identified pansexual on Pansexual explaineds their frustration on the comments Confessions tumblr. or questions they’ve received: A person who identifies as pansexual “Am I the only one when I come out is someone who has the ability to be attracted to people, they always ask me the question, to others regardless of their gender identity ‘well does that mean if you find a dog with a or biological sex. It is an identity used to nice personality you’ll go for it?’ Sseriously, express the openness and fluidity to people [it happens] all the fuckin’ time.” of all genders. Although they are capable of It is evident that pansexuals do not attraction to lovinge with someone regardless appreciate the fact that people think that of his or her their gender, this characteristic simply because they’re open to all identities does not mean they like everyone. they will experience attraction to everyone As a result, pansexuality is commonly and even everything. That is why it’s mistaken for bisexuality. important to know “When people don’t However, as these these differences. p a n s e x u a l - i d e n t i f i e d understand what I Elizabeth individuals stressed again mean by Pansexual, I (Lisa) Thorne, a and again, they are not the just tell them to think of teacher assistant same thing. The prefix of for LGBTS M114 me as bisexual to save bisexuality implies sexual, who identifies emotional, and physical my breath.” as gender-queer attraction to two sexes [male pansexual spoke or female], suggesting perhaps the existence about this struggle: “I don’t come out to of two “opposite” genders. However, there people as pansexual as much just because are plenty who identify as bisexual who are bisexuality is already something people don’t not committed to the perpetuation of this understand and explaining pansexuality gender binary and would not eliminate other would just be more difficult to for people to genders from the range of their attraction. understand.” Minimally, then, bisexuality suggests In fact, it is quite common for pansexuals attraction to at least two genders, whereas to identify as bisexual simply because pansexuality stresses attraction regardless of bisexuality is more commonly known gender, purposefully disrupting notions of a and understood. Panfuckingsexualpanda male/female dichotomy. confesses, “It’s sad to know that our sexual Pansexuals often face frustration when orientation is just one out of many that coming out to other people because many people never pay attention to or even know do not understand what pansexuality means. anything about.”

BY ALEJANDRA RODRIGUEZ STAFF WRITER | ALIRA0115@YAHOO.COM

An anonymous user added, “When people don’t understand what I mean by Pansexual, I just tell them to think of me as bisexual to save my breath.” Because so many people are so unfamiliar with pansexuality, many are forced to identify as bisexual, which at least makes coming out to family and friends a bit more intelligible. In some ways, it’s like being forced to “dumb down” their sexual identity for the purpose of minimizing confusion and ignorance. After all, educatingon others about pansexuality and about minority sexualities in general can be a very exhausting process, especially when this burden is placed solely upon the shoulders of the one whose identity is in question. This results in the forcible erasure of their identity and its replacement with upon which is placed an identity that is more universally understood or known. Another struggle that many pansexuals face is coming out to people and being faced with judgment or perceived as a “straight” person trying to pass as queer. Lyn-zmywife shared, “It really upsets me that even some people in the LGBT community think pansexuality is just a product of special snowflake syndrome and that it’s really just a ‘cooler name fore being bi’. I mean shouldn’t they understand what it’s like to have a misunderstood and degraded sexuality and want to help other people going through the same thing? I think tearing each other down in this crucial time in the fight for equality is the last thing we should be doing.” Furthermore, Thorne mentioned that it is possible that some people see identification with pansexuality as someone straight “trying to be queer,” especially if they are women

who have dated cis-gendered men. Because ignorance simply to stand. Even in the face this constitutes a heterosexual couple, some of uncertainty, polite questions are always are members of the queer community feel like as always better than uniformed assumptions. if they’re taking advantage of heterosexual As Thorne remarks, “I do sympathize privilege while still asserting a queer identity. because I know there are just so many terms As Thorne said, “It feels like it’s almost like and I know it’s hard to learn them all. I you have to be dating or in a relationship with personally have had omnisexual explained only someone of the same sex in order to be to me in so many different ways and I feel accepted into that queer space, kind of like like I still don’t really know what it means. you’re not gay enough when identifying as And also you have to think about the fact that pansexual.” many people have different interpretations of Others feel unimportant because parents, those terms; what pansexuality means to me friends, or may not be what it means to even strangers “It’s sad to know that someone else.” don’t accept or In other words, not every our sexual orientation acknowledge person will have in depth is just one out of many pansexua l it y; knowledge regarding every they simply that people never pay sexual and gender identity assume the attention to or even that exists, but keeping an individual open mind and steering away know anything about” is sexually from ignorant assumptions is confused. An certainly a good start. When anonymous pansexual confessed, “When I there is mutual trust, respectful questions tell or hint to my friends that I’m pansexual, may be an important method to expand they dismiss it like they don’t even really knowledge. care. They are really accepting and don’t As [username] said, “When I got the make a big deal out of [me identifying as chance to explain pansexuality to someone pansexual], and I should be really grateful who was genuinely interested in it and wanted but for some reason it hurts that they won’t to expand their knowledge so they can pass even acknowledge it.” Another anonymous it on, it was the most liberating, freeing, and pansexual disclosed, “Sometimes I feel really exciting moment I’ve had in years. Someone left out because I’m pan. I don’t know. I just who didn’t tell me I made it up, joke that I don’t feel as important.” fuck pans, or ask if it included animals, I Especially within the queer community, couldn’t stop smiling.” which purports to offer safe spaces to those As it turns out, being a human with under its umbrella, it is crucial to recognize the feelings approaching another human with importance of all identities. To bet met with feelings may actually pave the way toward discrimination and confusion in heterosexual understanding and mutual respect. And communities and then to turn to queer spaces violently questioning the legitimacy of a only to experience this same confusion and someone’s identity falls decidedly short. erasure can feel a lot like belonging nowhere. The burden of education should never be forcibly or violently pressed upon those who identify with the sexuality in question. In the age of Google, there is less of a reason than ever to make ignorant, offensive claims about anyone’s identification, and all the more reason to be educated and allow no one’s

"The Contemporary Pansexual"

f e ature

/ opinio n

THE FEMINIST MYSTAKE BY KAYLA VERNON-CLARK MANAGING EDITOR| KAYLAVC@GMAIL.COM

ut the true feminist deals out of a lesbian consciousness whether or not she ever sleeps with women,” proclaimed Audre Lorde, in one statement shifting and reimagining lesbianism and feminism and binding them inextricably. In one way or another, feminism and queer rights have often been bound up in one another. Feminism and the queer community have shared many historical spaces, located perhaps as much in the imaginary as in genuine physical spaces. Feminism has often been subject to intense and violent dismissal, slandered for its supposed prejudice against men. When people think of imagine feminism, it is often in this tradition of “manhating, bra-burning lesbians,” an image that continues to carry cultural weight to this day. Just as the lesbian identification is

irrelevant to any supposed hatred of men, the same too can be said of feminism: the focus is not men. That is exactly the point. What is important is that feminism and the queer rights movement both challenge important features of the patriarchy: that men are the dominant force, and that much of this dominance is maintained through female submission, frequently rendered sexual. Each of these movements carries the potential to reconstruct this reality. Gender studies often and increasingly takes queer studies and a focus on queer rights into account, for heterosexism and sexism are implicitly bound up together, inextricable in a culture where the white, heterosexual, middleclass cisgender (someone who identifies as the gender they were assigned at birth) man is the institutionalized version of what it means

to be "human" and everyone else is measured against him. As Catharine Mackinnon writes in Difference and Dominance: On Sex Discrimination, "Men’s…needs define auto and health insurance coverage…their perspectives and concerns define quality in scholarship, their experiences and obsessions define merit, their objectification of life defines art, their military service defines citizenship, their presence defines family, their inability to get along with each other—their wars and rulerships— defines history, their image defines god, and their genitalstials define sex.” In other words, the white, cisgender male figure stands at the center of what is considered to be human, and both the feminist and queer rights movement have the potential to disrupt that.

It is important to note, however, that feminism has not always been so welcoming to the queer community, and has had a particularly embroiled relationship with the trans* community. At various events established for women, at spaces constructed as women's spaces, trans* individuals have been met frequently with scrutiny, suspicion, and often outright rejection from these spaces. By coding genitalia as the central tenant for entrance into female spaces, some feminists have sought to forcibly erase trans women’s identities. Furthermore, cis women would often question trans women's experiences involving sexism because they had not been "raised women," and thus had been born into some notion of privilege. Of course, that critique refuses to take into account both the legitimacy of the intense discrimination faced by trans women (and trans* individuals at large) but also refuses to examine the ways in which sexism polices female bodies well into adulthood. As Jan Morris said regarding her transition in the second half of the twentieth century, “The very tone in which I was now addressed, the very posture of the person next in the queue, the very feel in the air when I entered a room or sat at a restaurant table, constantly emphasized my change of status. And if other’s responses shifted, so did my own…. Men treated me more and more as junior,…and so, addressed every day of my life as an inferior, involuntarily, month by month, I accepted the condition." In fact, trans women who choose to make this public transition in identification may be more equipped to comment on the damage of sexism. To a mainstream audience, the struggle for queer rights can sometimes be perceived as the "women's rights movement of today's generation." It seems fitting, then, to assume the queer community would have already adopted feminist ideology, and would simply be making the next step, as if climbing to the next rung on the ladder required the first to be steady and , supportive. But that is not always the case. Sometimes, that first rung e first is unstable, wobbly, and rotting at the corners. Of course, to imply a completed rung ladder is ultimately to imply that feminism has reached its destination—which is only the case of, which seems unlikely in the face of continued discrimination and patriarchal control are satisfying outcomes of this continual resistance. Yet the queer community, despite for all of its own resistances, does sometimes reflect the society at large—in terms of representation

alone, gay men have certainly garnered more of it than gay womeneven simply in terms of representation, gay men have appeared in the media more often than gay women.. The mainstream LGBT organizations communities like Human Rights Campaign have devoted enormous energy, time, and resources in pursuit of marriage equality. Marriage has often been positioned as, if not the final frontier for equality, at least a crucial step forward. Marriage is where, many mainstream organizations have deemed, the possibility ….of? of acceptance, of a better tomorrow. Mainstream LGBT organizations communities have gathered aroundfocused on heternormative institutions not in order to

place pressure upon their importancethem, or to dismantle them, but to be allowed access to them. Frequently these heteronormative spaces are patriarchal in nature, drawn from a society with deeply deeply entrenched in institutionalized misogyny.; Sstruggling for equal footing in suchthese spaces, written asaddressed as equality “equality,” meansis begging entrance to an already-broken system, —at least for those who fall outside of the very narrow strict racial, gender, and class boundaries. Cries forof equality in the mainstream movement have taken the form of such demands as marital access, suburban access, career access, and couple adoption. “We’re just like you,” mainstream activists have cried, implying the goals remain the same: a suburban home with a picket fence, two children and a dog, all tied together with a wedding band. This approachIt does not encourage addressing the problematic nature of marriage, or the societal ideals of the “nuclear family.” All it wants is a part of the patriarchyal piece. Even the way in which identity is referred to frequently by way of genitalia within the queer community, as attraction to and repulsion

by genitalia coded either “male” or “female,” suggests an unwillingness to address the fact that gender is a verb, that gender is a learned behavior and not merely a binary fact. Perhaps it is no surprise, then, that trans* individuals receive such little representation and space not only in the world, but also within the queer community. — Tthe stagnancy of the wa essentialized perception of gender y much of thewithin queer community seems to perceive gender makes trans* identity a destabilizing force. Not to mention that by Ccentering the queer rights platform on marriage equality also marginalizes activists with agendas outside of patriarchal privilege. This remains a world where queer (and particularly trans*) individuals are overrepresented in homeless communities. This remains a world where lawyers are still able to claim “manslaughter” for clients who brutally murder a trans* person by claiming the victim “deceived” their client with his or her gender performance, justifying the defendant’s violencerendering his violence understandable. Where cis, white, middle-class men find marriage equality the most crucial step forward for queer rights, the struggle for trans* rights, for queer and undocumented rights, for healthcare and spaces for the queer and underprivileged, are central to the everyday, lived experiences of people often subjected to the margins of the queer community. Perhaps helping to legitimize a system built around patriarchy and ownership is not the ideal centerpiece for someone who has spent months searching fruitlessly for someone to hire them just to survive the next day. Devoid of feminist theory, the queer community is less likely to examine institutions like marriage as the historical subordination of women. For all the thousands of benefits that have been rightfully referenced in the campaign marriage equality, feminist theory reminds us that these legal benefits incentivize very particular types of unions. To merely include same-sex marriage adds only one other acceptable kind of family, still monogamous and still romantic. To keep feminism in mind is to accept more than heterornormative, patriarchal institutions as they are. “We’re just like you” is not the motto of a movement working to dismantle a very problematic system. “We’re just like you” is a plea for inclusion. “We’re just like you” is a prayer, a promise to keep quiet and fall precisely into step. Let’s be honest: we can do better.

opi n i o n

REGULATION HOTTIES

SHOP QUEER, NOT THERE BY BRYAN PLATZ | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | BPLATZ@MEDIA.UCLA.EDU

Hypocrisy in UCLA's Lesbian community BY JILL PARKER | STAFF WRITER | JCPARKER@UCLA.EDU

LEVI'S

STARBUCKS

AMAZON Not only does Amazon present a cheaper alternative to textbook buying, but it is an

It was in 1992 when Levi’s decided to pull funding for the Boy Scouts of America due to its gay exclusionary policy, marking its history as one of the most queer-friendly businesses around. They have not only expressed support for marriage equality but have also produced gay-friendly advertisements and even a Gay History Month campaign in conjunction with Logo.

Starbucks both offers full benefits for

alternative that can be chosen with equal rights

the same-sex partners of employees and

in mind. In 2012, they made a $2.5 million

announced in 2012 its support for marriage

dollar donation to the Washington United for

equality. The NOW boycott that followed

Marriage in order to maintain the legality of

this announcement, producing lower-than-

equal marriage in the state of Washington.

expected revenue, did not deter Starbucks

Additionally, at the beginning of this year,

from its queer friendly policies. If nothing

Amazon created a gay-friendly advertisement

else, it’s comforting to know that turning down

for Kindle Paperwhite, concluding with a man

almost any corner in the United States will

referencing his husband.

lead to an LGBT-friendly business.

wouldn’t put their encouragement behind burning

LGBT discrimination policies.

it’s time to support nonprofit organizations that

finds the company refusing to establish anti-

If helping other people is important to you, maybe

policies to be quickly discarded—and 2013

that maintains the punishment should be death.

same-sex partners, the merger caused these

multiple turns, including the support of a passage

case. Though in 1999 Mobil offered benefits to

Doctrine), homosexuality is referenced as a sin at

successful businesses where this is not the

(Salvation Story: Salvationist Handbook of

business in Fortune magazine’s top 10 most

in the manual they provide to their employees

detriment to business, Exxon/Mobil is the only

perspective on queer rights is jarring at best:

discrimination policies have become a

and promote generosity, the Salvation Army’s

Although for the most part obvious queer

EXXON/MOBIL © CC 2010 Ben Schumin "Exxon gas station sign"

For an organization created to provide charity

SALVATION ARMY © CC 2007 Ryan MacFarland "Salvation Army"

purpose of anti-queer support. whose earnings are then equally available for the brands like Anthropologie and Free People, seem to find. UO is the parent company to other “controversy” it generated, which no one could Same-Sex Marriage” was pulled for the supposed following prop 8, a T-shirt proclaiming “I Support Santorum’s 2008 presidential campaign. In 2008, they support as well as donated to Rick support to anti-LGBT Senators and the policies It is no secret that Hayne, its CEO, has given

URBAN OUTFITTERS © CC 2005 Elvert Barnes " 04.Night.7thStreet.NW.WDC.26July2013"

at UCLA. Students at UCLA have been decisive in concluding that there is a double standard epidemic within the Queer community. “I definitely don’t believe treating a chick like shit depends on your gender, it depends on your attitude towards women,” said Patricia St. Peter. Within college party culture, drawing the definitive line between objectification and freedom of sexual expression can be surprisingly tricky. We are all guilty of experiencing impersonal physical attraction to strangers from time to time. However, as Queer women who talk the talk of consciousness, we should be sure to walk the walk. “Here at UCLA, I constantly hear remarks such as, ‘she’s hot,’ ‘damn, she has such a nice body,’ or most recently, ‘I hooked up with some girl at the club. Her face was okay, but she had a really nice ass.’ A lot of girls in our community talk about one another in such a way that makes them seem interchangeable like objects,” said an anonymous student. While commenting on attractive qualities makes us sexual beings, the manner of their comments leads to the objectification. Both the “slut” and the “player” are being promiscuous, so what’s the difference? Simple. The slut is shamed while the player is praised. As Queer folk and as women, we are aware that we are fighting against subjugation under the powers of patriarchy. Assuming or accepting the roles of

humans at the stake.

ust as the junior girls in the gymnasium of Mean Girls all raised a hand in response to being asked “Who here has ever been called a slut?”, the queer college students resoundingly replied “yes” to having felt objectified by women within the community. Acceptance and sexual freedom are all ideals promoted by the Queer female community at UCLA. But according to student opinion we may not be living up to the standards we preach. Even at a socially progressive institute like UCLA, Queer students are guilty of the demeaning attitude that we so passionately scorn and criticize within mainstream heteronormative society. With the exception of one subject, all of the women I interviewed felt that they had objectified a woman before. Looks like there has been some “girl-ongirl” crime indeed. Female objectification has, unfortunately, permeated the social behaviors of a progressive group of young, Queer feminists. Objectification theory postulates that females in our culture are socialized to predominantly perceive their bodies through a spectator’s perspective. In other words, women are expected to be conscious of an observer’s perception before their own perception of self. The prevalent conception of women as objects to be judged has proved to be occurred on multiple levels for the Queer female population

player and slut completely contradicts our resolve to put an end to the objectification of women. By adopting these attitudes of extreme judgment upon women, we are actually just reinforcing the structures that oppress us. Clubbing culture is often counterproductive to feminism, yet objectification seems to have taken many forms among the Queer female community. Aside from approaching “regulation hotties” as objects, many students in the community voiced the appearance of a stark dichotomy that has developed between the roles of the female “player” and the female “slut”. The idea of the female player within the community is contradictory to feminism, and women are just as much objects of that role as they are when men do it. The idea of the female slut is likewise contradictory to feminism because it connotes judgment upon sexual liberation. “Slut-shaming is a tool for reclaiming power, it is identifying yourself as the conqueror so in turn you yourself cannot be the conquered,” said Cristal Alba, a fourth year student. This relationship of conqueror and conquered dehumanizes both the “player” and “slut,” as it devalues those participating. By thinking of sex and relationships in terms of subjectivity and not in terms of power, we can begin to move away from these roles. The surveyed students were candid when addressing the gap between awareness and actual practice of values within the Queer community. Alba commented, “That’s the reason why I do not associate myself with UCLA LGBT orgs. Half the people in there preaching to the rest of campus don’t even practice what they preach.” Gabby Juarez, a third year student said, “I wouldn’t date someone at UCLA; everyone objectifies everyone because they all know everyone and put their preconceived notions on them.” Next time you catch yourself thinking, “boo, you whore,” think twice. As long as women are judging themselves and each other, progress towards true equality between the sexes will be stagnated. Consciousness goes beyond knowledge and must be applied to our own actions and behaviors in order to make any kind of progress.

a&e

ALO-HOMO-RA From Hogwarts Hottie to Beat Bard, Daniel Radcliffe engages in gay penatrative sex on screen BY LAUREN WILBUR| STAFF WRITER | LAUREN.RENEE@UCLA.EDU

inny Weasley may no no longer want to hold out hope for a reunion with Harry; it seems lately his snogging partners have developed an altogether manlier character. Daniel Radcliffe’s gay debut as a 1950s Harry Potter look-a-like has the former Hogwarts student stripped of cloaks, wands and wizardry in a role far from fiction. Radcliffe overcomes his type-casted child star image in his stellar personification of Queer Beat legend Allen Ginsburg in Kill Your Darlings. The 2013 American biographical drama, Kill Your Darlings, has critics raving over Daniel Radcliffe’s portrait of the legendary Beat poet, Allen Ginsburg. The film is set in 1944, the year that Ginsburg establishes his extraordinary talents in writing, falls in love with his friendly classmate, Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan), and discovers his sexuality. Based on true events, the film compiles murder, mystery and violence as it follows a group of literary screwballs in their freshman year at Columbia University experimenting with drugs, poetry and sexuality. As Radcliffe plays the fledging Allen

Ginsburg’s entrance into a literary movement, the of Allen Ginsberg in the movie,” John explained to former Harry Potter star exits Hogwarts and becomes The Upcoming. a more multi-acclaimed actor. “He drops out of school and he really goes The raw sincerity of his portrait in likely the most against what the world expected of him, and shows graphic gay sex scene ever to appear in mainstream the audience and the characters in the film that he’s film has only magnified this talent. Shared with his own person and that there is much more to him Dane DeHaan’s Lucien Carr, this love scene depicts than anyone initially thought…I had a feeling Dan Ginsburg losing his virginity in full-on penetrative would be able to identify with this.” sex, filled with nudity and passion. Radcliffe admits In anthe October 20thth interview with “The in the current issue of Flaunt magazine: Daily Beast”, Radcliffe’s co-star Dane DeHaan “I was talked through it by the director [ John spokeeaks about on the off-screen relationship Krokidas], he would be telling me what I would be between himself and Radcliffe, stating: feeling in each take. Basically, gay sex, especially for “Dan is probably the best friend I’ve made the first time, is really fucking painful. making films. Making a film And he said that he had never seen that "Basically, gay sex, can be a very fleeting experience portrayed accurately on film before. He especially for the in terms of the relationships wanted it to look like an authentic loss of first time, is really you make, but Dan is one of virginity.” fucking painful…" the only people I’ve met where This scene may be the most jarring the relationship has stuck, and feature of this film for devout Harry Potter fans, who we’ve become great friends. So in that way it wasn’t will watch as Radcliffe lays back and lifts his legs into hard to create chemistry.” the aiear, nervous for his first lover to join him, with The interviewee then asks the unavoidable no sign of Ginny at all. question that all Radcliffe fans are presumably "I think it only is shocking by anticipating: “Is he a good kisser?” virtue of I've done [Harry] Potter in “Um, sure, yeah,” Dane admits. “I mean listen, in the past, but actually, like, for me, that moment it’s about finally getting to kiss someone inherent to longevity in a career, that not only you deeply love but also who you haven’t you have to have diversity, you can't been comfortable ever expressing your love for, and be doing one thing all the time," you get to do it in a big way. It was a big moment for said Radcliffe on the October 22nd Lucien and yeah…He didn’t disappoint.” episode of “The View.” Even though the love interest doesn’t go beyond Radcliffe is among dozens of the roles that the two actors played, their talent in straight actors who have taken on recreating the passion between Allen and Lucien is a gay role to break out of their on- undeniable and feels indisputably realistic. screen reputation, but the role found Krokidas’ determination to exact an accurate, him a little differently. According genuine portrait of queer sex, to raise free it from it to John Krokidas, the director of out of out thethe shadows of shame and censorship, Kill Your Darlings, Daniel was in a brings weight both to the film and to Radcliffe’s similar stage in his artistic career as portrayal. It may well be that, upon leaving this film, the young Allen Ginsberg when he the audience will understand it as more than Harry accepted the role. Potter being penetrated by another manHarry Potter’s “Dan was an idea that I had one penetration by another man. night. I was writing down a list of all the young actors I admired, and when I wrote down his name, I really thought to myself that perhaps Daniel Radcliffe could relate to the character

QUEERTOONS BY BRYAN PLATZ | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | BPLATZ@MEDIA.UCLA.EDU

ost people begin their morning by taking in the stimulating scent of freshly brewed coffee, but at Cartoon Network, some rouse themselves by sniffing, huffing and rubbing their face in the old T-shirt of a subtle lover. While I stand firmly in the belief of my queerness at birth, if anything external were to shape this identity, it could only be one thing: Sponge Bob Squarepants. The revered cartoon character from my youth can only be described as Queer, and at such a young and impressionable age it wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine its influence on my behavior. His flamboyancy, cheeriness and affinity for rainbow-tinted bubbles are all reminiscent of a campy gay man. Yet, despite his stereotypical characteristics, no allusion or hints towards Queer relations were ever divulged. But as acceptance of the Queer community has increased, cartoon shows are exercising more liberty developing relationships beyond the heterosexist norms. Adventure Time, a television series on Cartoon Network, follows Finn, a human boy, and his adoptive brother Jake, a magical shapeshifting dog, in the post-apocalyptic Land of Ooo. The series’ ability to entertain both child and adult audiences alike has created a cult following out of the latter. Princess Bubblegum, a pink, genius princess, ruling over the Candy Kingdom, harbors more than platonic feelings for Marceline, a punk rock vampire, who lives off the color red, rather than blood. Their contemptuous interactions

Cartoon Network Adventure Time

demonstrate the romantic tensions between the female stars. This tension coupled with the significant plot contributions of the narrative indicates a deeper relationship. While not often shown together in the series, the few episodes they have shared hint strongly at intense romantic feelings for one another. In the 2011 episode “What Was Missing,” Marceline accompanies Finn, Jake and Princess Bubblegum on a quest to take back stolen objects from a thief. During the quest, Marceline sings a rock ballad, one clearly about a failed, romantic endeavors, to open a magical gate. The song includes the lyrics “I want to drink the red from your pretty pink face,” an obvious reference to Princess Bubblegum, whose reaction to the song leads to Marceline’s premature finale. The episode concludes with the heroes reclaiming their stolen possessions from the thief, except for Marceline, who did not have anything stolen to begin with. Her uncharacteristic selflessness first hints at Marceline’s affection for Princess Bubblegum, which Princess Bubblegum then unintentionally reciprocates by way of her own stolen object: an old T-shirt Marceline gave her. Marceline then blushes in shock by Princess Bubblegum’s keepsake. In last season’s “Sky Witch,” the relationship between the two becomes apparent and even a little dirty. The episode begins with Princess Bubblegum waking up in Marceline’s shirt. What follows is some strange behavior on the part of the princess, as she begins to intensely huff the shirt like some magical, warm cake or pastry. As she proceeds to dress herself, Princess Bubblegum

reveals a picture of her and Marceline tapped to the door of her closet, like some puppy love-infested middle school student. Marceline then requests Princess Bubblegum’s assistance in a vague mission against the Maja, Sky Witch, which Princess Bubblegum accepts. Interesting, Marceline asks Princess Bubblegum, rather than the series’ protagonists Finn and Jake, thereby demonstrating the significance of their relationship, both in terms of canon and possibly the writers’ intent. While traveling to the Sky Witch’s lair, Princess Bubblegum discovers their mission: to recover Marceline’s prized teddy bear, Hambo. Let’s fast forward to the end of the episode, where the Sky Witch reveals that her theft of Hambo is due to her penchant for collecting sentimental affection in an owner’s object. Upon hearing this, Princess Bubblegum decides to trade her own priced possession: Marceline’s shirt, for the return of Hambo. Princess Bubblegum thus willingly trades the very shirt that had been shown so vital in her life for Marceline’s happiness The Sky Witch ends the episode, by ripping off a sleeve, dropping it into a boiling cauldron, and lighting the room up in flames with Princess Bubblegum’s passion for Marceline. Marceline and Princess Bubblegum’s less than implicit relationship illustrates an important shift from the stereotyped Queerness of Sponge Bob. Their relationship is not built upon personality stereotypes, but rather the selflessness and sacrifice of their affections for one another between a high school style frenemy dance. While, perhaps Sponge Bob’s flamboyance allowed for others to accept the deviances of gender norms, Princess Bubblegum and Marceline are showing their child audiences its okay for a girl to blush because of another girl and to sacrifice your happiness for her own. With great examples such as Marceline and Princess Bubblegum, the child audience will grow up not only accepting and laughing at feminine ostentation, but also coming to understand that love is beyond the limitations of man and woman.

Cartoon Network Adventure Time

L gAy

out

about

ONE ARCHIVES GALLERY & MUSEUM

BY EVAN MOFFITT STAFF WRITER | EPMOFFITT@GMAIL.COM

626 North Robertson Boulevard West Hollywood, CA 90069 The West Hollywood venue of ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives at USC, the largest collection of Queer materials in the world, hosts exhibitions of Queer art and culture. Open during Thursday evenings and Friday through Sunday afternoons, this space exists as the sole Queer museum in Los Angeles. Current exhibitions include Art & Physique Circa Bob & Tom, an exploration of erotic art and physique photography during the 1940s, 50s and 60s, and an ongoing mural creation by Molly Larkey.

13713 Oxnard St Van Nuys, CA 91401 Travel up to the Valley for one of the few all-week lesbian bars in the greater Los Angeles area. The dive bar is full of friendly, fun clientele and warm, pleasant bar staff. This fun atmosphere is further enhanced by karaoke on Thursday nights. The Oxwood Inn is also special for its transgendered nights on Wednesday and Saturday, a rare treat in L.A.

THE RENBERG THEATRE

17700 Pacific Coast Highway (Temescal Canyon Road) Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 Queer beach goers love this clean and non-crowded beach in Malibu, a great place for sunbathing and relaxing. Travel to the Southern area of the beach, affectionately known as Ginger Rogers Beach, for a festive, Queer atmosphere, full of volleyball courts and beach side cafes.

HOW MANY GENDERS/SEXES ARE YOU ATTRACTED TO?

What you think when you are physically attracted to another person? A. That’s a nice chest, ass, legs ect.

The L.A. Gay & Lesbian center runs this beautiful intimate theater. Known for its comfortable, red velvet seating and beautiful arched sealing, the theater possess wounderful acoustics for high quality performances. These include performances ranging from comedy shows to dramas to live music, including an upcoming comedy performance by Leslie Jordan.

CAVERN CLUB South Los Angeles

Casita Del Campo Restaurant 1920 Hyperion Ave SIlverlake, CA 9002 In the basement of Casita Del Campo exists one of Los Angeles’ premier drag theatres. Eat a delicious, authentic Mexican meal before going downstairs to watch alternative, Queer, drag guerilla theatre performances. The intimate design of the small basement space allows for sassy and campy performers alike to fully captivate and charm their audience. So take a seat on their comfy padded chairs and enjoy. L.A.

THE MINESHAFT N

MULTIPLE CHOICE:

L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center 1157 N McCadden Pl, Los Angeles, CA 90038

Santa Monica

WILL ROGERS BEACH

OXWOOD INN

West Hollywood

quiz

1720 E Broadway Long Beach, CA 90802 Located in the heart of the Broadway scene in Long Beach, the Mineshaft is known for its intimate atmosphere and welcoming staff. Bar hoppers enjoy the good and late happy hour deals, digital jukebox and staple entertainments such as pool and darts. While formerly a leather bar and sometimes referred to as a daddy bar, the Mineshaft hosts a wide variety of friendly patrons.

2 3

What do you order at your favorite restaurant? A. I get my favorite meal every time

B. I don’t really feel strong physical attractions

B. I don’t have a favorite, so I order whatever seems interesting

C. Wow, what an amazing body

C. I usually switch between a few of the options

D. What a unique physique!

D. I like to order a variety of different items

How would you react to walking in on someone naked? A. I might stare, if they are someone that I’m into

How do you look for others at the bar? A. I look through the crowd, searching for someone special

B. I would calmly walk out

B. I usually try to find someone who seems to be having fun

C. I would probably give a quick look over

C. I look until I find someone who meets my mood of the night

D. I might stare at them in…shock

D. I look at the entire crowd before discovering someone special

What’s your go-to pick-up line? A. My date and I would have nightcaps and move into the bedroom B. My date and I would cuddle watching Netflix C. My date and I would maybe get adventurous and… invite someone else home

When filling out a Secret Santa interest card, how do you respond? A. I write down exactly what you want B. I’m not into gift exchange, so I write down ‘something nice’ C. I write down a list of things I would want D. I tell them I’ll enjoy anything they give me

D. I would be open to all of the above

IF YOU CHOSE MOSTLY

, YOU IDENTIFY AS:

MONOSEXUAL

ASEXUAL

BISEXUAL

PANSEXUAL

You are only sexually or emotionally attracted to one gender, and are most likely homosexual or heterosexual. But, you may also possess attractions to other genders and identities. It is clear that you know what you like .

You are not sexually attracted to others, but may or may not feel emotional attractions to others. These romantic attractions can come in a variety of forms, such as being romantically attracted to one sex or gender or many. With these romantic attractions, you are more interested in their personality, than their physical being.

You are sexually and emotionally attracted to at least two sexes and or genders, if not more. While you do not limit yourself to only one gender or sex, you do have specific partners in mind.

You are sexually and emotionally attracted to any and all genders. You are open to all other individuals and do not limit yourself in your attractions. Oftentimes, your attractions are more dependent on the personality or unique attraction of your partner.

BY OUTWRITE STAFF 1. Bronski Beat SMALLTOWN BOY

13. Scissor Sisters LET’S HAVE A KIKI

About a boy who escapes homophobic bullying and familial rejection for life in the big city.

This song makes the list for inventing new gay lexicon.

2. Missy Higgins SECRET

12. Huggy Bear AQUA GIRL STAR

Openly bisexual Missy Higgins records a song of simple, repeating chords and a haunting vocal-lyrical combination about the secret relationship she had with another girl.

In this Riot Grrl classic, the singer yearns to dance with a beautiful woman.

11. Lou Reed CONEY ISLAND BABY

3. Pansy Division HOMO CHRISTMAS

The Velvet Underground frontman sings about his crush on his high school football coach.

A great choice for the upcoming holidays, because who doesn’t want to be that special gift?

4. Sick of Sara BITTERSWEET

10. House of LaDosha BANJEE GURL REALNESS

A band composed largely of openly Queer-identified women, merges indie rock and power pop to create this aching song about the triumph and horror of love.

Empower yourself and who you are through this Queer Rap beauty.

9. Hercules & Love Affair MY HOUSE

5. Lou Reed WALK ON THE WILD SIDE Lou Reed, who recently passed away, takes us on a genderbending cross-country adventure.

6. Tegan and Sara HOW COME YOU DON’T WANT ME? What’s a playlist without a song about lost love?

For that throwdown drag show you’ve always wanted to host.

7. Cold War Kids EVERY MAN I FALL FOR Straight frontman Nathan Willett croons about loving a tough guy who “works the graveyard shift/love and hate are tattooed on his knuckles and/ he takes my place in bed.”

8. The Third Sex DEFINITION This song makes the list for The Third Sex’s role in spreading Queercore across the country.