If political humor and queer people of color consciousness had a baby...

If political humor and queer people of color consciousness had a baby, it would be the Beast Of Times. First off, I made the decision to not read any descriptions of the play not wanting to spoil anything. I only knew the genius herself, Adelina Anthony, wrote the play. Wanting everyone to get the same experience I did, I will not spoil major parts. The progressive play explored environmental and political issues through the characters of animal kingdom. There were times where I cried from laughter and times where the heart wrenching scenes would silence the audience.

Adelina’s character, an adorable kitten, speaks about the need of focusing on the “natural law of nature, instead of the arbitrary law of man.” I feel as though this quote really sums up the play and the meaning that Adelina and D’Lo want the audience to capture. I left the play feeling pain for those who have been victims to the arbitrary law of man as well as a newfound desire to promote and restore the natural law of nature.

During the Q&A, our very own Stephanie Zendejas asked about the amount of research Adelina must have done to portray such an honest depiction of issues regarding political, environmental, and ethnicity. Adelina replied that the process took about a year and everything she put into the play can be connected to an actual issue we have or are experiencing today.

Hurry! The last set of shows are this weekend! Your last chance to see it, don’t miss out!

-Katherine Batanero

About the Gilda Stories,

in reference to when 

we discussed the essence of "family" 

                                                          within their

'coven' (for lack

of knowing what they would rather be 

referred to/as...

perhaps "family")

An        e     way

We didn't get to discuss how "family"

is used in queer communities!

                                       i.e.         **studying at the library**    

                                  gay boi:"hey you know what? I've been really diggin that cute boi over there that                                                              works on the third floor, but

i just dont know if he's gay."

                              young lesbian: "oh that one dude? oh yea, he's family."

Two lesbians, mid-twenties, sitting at a cafe in Oakland on Piedmont Ave

"oh man, did you see that chick that just walked in? I'd be so down

to go ask for her number, but it be embarrassing if she wasn't family."

"nah man, look at that beanie! i say you go for it." 

I think its important to note

that the reference to family in both

the LGBT and Vampire communities 

is a queer reality!

as immortals, reproduction is imposible

for it takes a living heart beat to 

maintain 

                              the one 

growing 

                   inside

the womb.

And vampires just ain't got a heart beat.

Many LGBT (and all those in that very wide spectrum to which i don't know all the letters to) community members

decide not to have children

and so create a family of friendship

of trust

caranala/os from another mother

perhaps from my

 other mother

There is a very deep rooted ceremony 

in recognizing that 

both parties are searching for a place to belong

and so 

     

they/we give birth to one another 

through the gifts of love

that they/we bestow

upon each other

TeamGilda Consider why this cover is not the one circulating in Powell...

TeamGildaStories

In class on Thursday following our discussion on Gloria Anzadua’s Borderlands: La Frontera the New Metiza,  El Profe encouraged us to look at borders we cross as individuals. The border lands that I have experienced have helped shaped the woman that I am today.  I have lived between borderlands similar to Anzaldua, Moraga, and characters that live within the Chicana Lesbian Literature that we have been ananlyzing in class.   I have lived between the intersections of borders since the day I was created.  My father is of Mexican Descent and my mother carries blood from as far as Italy.  Not only do I cross racial borders, I cross class borders being that I work as a Professional Certified Nanny.  

This position allows me to cross class borders that I otherwise would have no business being in, literally.  Working as a Nanny brought me to California, crossing state borders.  I challenge the borders that society has lead to believe that I should  fufill such as marrying and having children.  Considering this class raises sexuality, I cross borders as I am dating a black man.  As an undergrad, I represent the first in my family to cross into higher education.  It is not until I stop to think about borders, that I realize we live in a world that constantly sets up borders.  It has been through my experience, that most often these borders are oppressing and are set up to give power to white, hetero males. Similar to Anzaldua,  I experience my journey towards a Mestiza Conciousness through various life stages, and it is through these hard times that give me the courage, the voice, and the skills to move through the journey.

My own borders

Gloria Anzaldúa writes much about borders, physical and social, and how some of us cross these borders on a daily basis. Reading Borderlands/La Frontera I started to wonder about my borders. The types of “borders” I cross on a day to day basis are more social than physical. The social borders I encounter focus primarily on me being a woman of color. My gender and race are aspects of my social location that cause social borders to arise in my daily life. As a student, I notice these borders in the education system, specifically at a University. At home, I am loved and respected as a woman of color, a Chicana. However, the moment I step onto campus I am crossing from a place of comfort to a place of stereotypical expectations. This is a place where I am forced to prove myself as an intellectual woman, an American citizen, and a person worthy of respect. These social borders define my struggles as a woman of color but they do not define me. Identifying these social borders is the first step I need to take to be able to overcome them.

What types of borders do you cross?

-Katherine Batanero

TeamGilda

I have internalized oppression I am discovering, and the fact  ist I have internalized forms of oppression in ways that I have no conscious of.   I have not even come to understand.  In other words, I have internalized oppression in so many ways that I have yet to discover the ways that I have internalized oppression.  With age, experience, and education I am now seeing, discovering the ways in which that I have internalized oppression gaining a new consciousness of oppression in regards to myself in terms of my race, gender, sexuality, able body, and various other attributes.  For example, I now have a sense of awareness on the fact that my father has experienced racism and thus how it has affected me, and shaped the woman that I am today.  A great example of this is how I do not speak Spanish fluently.  

I have internalized English as dominate thus “better” language and for  thirty years of my life ignoring the language of my people, my blood, and my spirit.  The fact that I grew up in the safe city of Portland, OR gave me advantages that comes with being white.  I grew into Amanda.  Failing to ignore Engracia.  The name given to me at birth, in honor of my grandmother who breaths the air o fMexico as I do sitting in Los Angeles.  Social location links me to the rest of the families that live further north of  border.  I have oppressed others by not even accepting my own culture.   Not knowing the history has denied the langua that gives power to these experiences in words that can be directly translated.

Living the life as a domestic worker is yet another way that I oppress by assimulating to the roles ascribed to Latinas in the US.  As my life continues down the path of higher education, I am excited to see how my life experiences have influenced me in more surprising ways!  Embrace the journey!

-Engracia Ayala

Thoughts on "Boi Hair"

Last week we had the great fortune of having Professor Alma Lopez guest lecture our class. Professor Lopez showed us her short digital video about the realities of queer women of color and the issues they face with their short "boi" hair. This short documentary was not only entertaining but also educational. Being in the queer community, I know a little about butch hair issues from my friends, but the documentary really gave me a whole new perspective on boi hair while also allowing me to relate to the women in the video. The women expressed a sense of freedom with having short hair, I can relate to this. I occasionally braid the left side of my head as a way of expressing myself. Despite the style not being "traditionally" feminine, just as the women in the video spoke about, I feel myself resisting societal norms when I braid my hair. Some people may think how can a haircut or style bring such strong emotions or effect a person's life. Well all I can say is, what we do to the outside, allows us to express what we feel on the inside. Disregarding what others want for you, and living true to yourself, even by just a simple haircut, is truly empowering and liberating.

-Katherine Batanero

Thoughts on my own internalized oppression

I have let these two questions linger in my mind and soul for the past week since Profe announced them in class. Reflecting on my younger years, specifically around high school, I feel the judgmental environment I was in caused me to internalize my own oppression. Going to a Catholic high school, I was forced to believe there were many things about myself that were wrong and would send me to “eternal damnation.” Having school officials and religious leaders tell me that I am wrong in loving who I love and being a lesbian is not God’s plan for me, had a traumatic effect on me. For several years I believed them and would only be “gay in my room,” as I called it back then. Never in public did I feel comfortable enough to be myself. This took a toll on my relationship with myself as well as with others. It took a few years of searching within myself to end my internal oppression and realize all of those people were wrong. I am meant to be exactly who I am and I am not wrong in loving who I love. Simultaneously, I was also oppressing others throughout this time in my life. When I would hear of fellow classmates being queer, I would immediately put the shame I had on myself on them. As I began to accept my identities and began to fully love myself, I was able to accept and love others who also shared my identities. Despite my unconditional love for myself, due to hatred spewed out by society and communities around me, there are still fleeting moments where I feel as I did as a young girl. However, I make sure to remind myself of all the lessons I’ve learned that make me the proud Chicana lesbian I am today.

-Katherine Batanero

Attention Team Gilda Stories

Hello fellow team members! Just wanted to remind everyone we will be meeting Wednesday around 1 at La Valle. Also, I found several interesting reviews on Gilda Stories. It really helped me see the novel from a different perspective. Warning: Spoiler Alert! Don't view the articles if you haven't started reading and don't want to be spoiled. See you next week!

http://www.examiner.com/review/experience-vampires-with-sophistication-read-the-gilda-stories-by-jewell-gomez

http://taliesinttlg.blogspot.com/2011/08/gilda-stories-review.html

- Katherine Batanero

Welcome to the Shadow Beast's Blog

This year we're going to try blogging on a real blogsite. Moodle, unfortunately, can't sustain these more creative ventures. So we're all going to use this blog for team posts and other postings related to the class that I might ask you to write.

Instructions: once you know what team you're going to be on, you should always LABEL your post according to your team's name. The labels must not have any spacing in them. For example, if you're in the Rubyfruit Jungle team, you would label your post TeamRubyfruitJungle. Or TeamZami or TeamGildaStories--all depending on which book you've chosen for your Midterm Report. Important: in order to earn Extra Credit points on your team's blog, you MUST label each team posting. You should also sign your full name to each post. The more material you add to your team post--such as photos of the author, a scan of the book cover, a book trailer or clips of the author reading from the book, and reviews of the book you're reading-- the more extra credit your team can earn. Exercise your creativity here.

You can also blog on this site just as an individual member of the class, which will have nothing to do with your team. Your Extra Credit work (an event or exhibition you attended, a play or movie you saw, which I've okayed as Extra Creidt) can be posted to the Blog. You should sign your name to each post, regardless of whether it's a team post or an individual post.

Graduate students, of course, may also post to this site, which you should label Grads. Guest speakers and others invited to view and comment on the blog should label their posts as Visitors.

Email me if you have any questions.

-- La Profe