Posts Categorized: Uncategorized
I’m not excited about Asian representation at Coachella and here’s why
When Coachella’s lineup for this year went public, a lot of Asians went absolutely wild over the Asian representation amongst performers — especially since the 2020 lineup features the most Asian acts in the festival’s history. Kpop hall-of-famers Big Bang, artists from 88rising, Jai Wolf, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Raveena, and Epik High are amongst the various acts that will perform over the two weekends. While Asian representation is important, and I do appreciate the diversity in Asian representation we’re getting this year, let’s talk about why we must be critical about the kind of representation we get and on what platforms the representation exists. We must question and critically analyze these occurrences. Consider these two key questions: Who does this representation ultimately benefit? Who profits off of said representation? In… Read more »
What The Color Purple Taught Me About Sexual Freedom
Trigger warning: rape/incest Before I officially started writing for the Our Folks blog, I was asked to send in some answers to a few questions. One of those questions was: What is your favorite sex scene from a movie or a book? When answering, I listed off a few examples but the most prominent scene I wrote about was Celie and Shug Avery’s sex scene in The Color Purple. As I was thinking of pieces to write for this term, I revisited my answers and decided that this was the one I wanted to expand on. Not for you, the reader, to gain a deeper insight into my taste (although I’m okay with that too), but because I believe that discussions of sexual freedom are essential to reproductive justice and… Read more »
Let’s talk about environmental racism in Alabama
Environmental racism is an issue that has been spotlighted nationally, most prominently and recently in the cases of the state-sanctioned lead poisoning of Flint, Michigan’s citizens and the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline on reservation lands of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. As a quick refresher for readers who may not be familiar with the term, environmental racism can be defined as the disproportionate impact of environmental hazards* on people of color. *Environmental hazards are substances or events that potentially threaten the surrounding natural environment and subsequently adversely affect individual health. This term encompasses pollution, water contamination, and even natural disasters. BIPOC are more likely to live near environmental pollutants and be affected by environmental crises. Regardless of intent, BIPOC face an increased likelihood of being exposed to carcinogens,… Read more »
Let’s Leave Pussyhat Feminism in 2019
On January 21, 2017, the notorious women’s march on Washington happened. The day after the inauguration of current United States president, D*nald T*ump. And while it seemed as though there was a collective disappointment in the outcome of the U.S. 2016 election, there was still much division amongst the thousands of people that participated in the march and marches across the country, and the world. Behold, the pink pussyhat. What was once the token identifying mark of 21st-century feminists, quickly became the symbol of white “feminists”, trans-exclusionary radical “feminists” (TERFs), and sex worker-exclusionary radical “feminists” (SWERFs). Many organizers and intersectional feminists have spoken about why pussyhats are nothing more than a divisive tool that should not be brought into reproductive/civil/social justice spaces. While attending marches and rallies may be the… Read more »
Abusers Ruin Everything
Abusers ruin everything. When they’re on your team, they make it hard to work or play with others. When they’re in your family, they make it difficult to go home for the holidays. They fracture family structures. If they’re a workplace sexual harasser, they make it hard to go back to work. If they’re friends with your roommates, they make your living situation feel unsafe. When they’re an artist, they ruin their own art by making it hard to enjoy. After an artist commits harm, their fans have to reckon with whether it’s ok to enjoy their work anymore. Fans must figure out if and how they can separate the art from the artist. Abusers ruin everything. I feel it’s important to phrase it this way because at least in my experience,… Read more »
Achieving mindfulness in activism
There are a lot of articles and posts on the Internet about self-care. After the mainstream popularization of the concept of self-care—and lots of companies glamorizing and capitalizing on certain methods of self-care in response—it was only a matter of time before meditation, coloring books, and bath bombs dominated the market. However, self-care for many can often be grittier than the treat-yo-self mentality that tends to be passed off as the entirety of self-care. For example, self-care is a necessary way to recover for activists dealing with burnout. There are various articles written on this topic (including one written by the amazing Katerina, a fellow blogger for URGE). But I don’t want to rehash what plenty of others have covered. In this post, I want to explore how facets of… Read more »
Dismantiling Rape Culture via The Arts
Trigger Warning/Content Warning: Sexual Assault and R*pe Somehow, I think we are finally experiencing a culture shift with rape culture. I don’t know exactly what I was expecting this change to look like, but I knew it was going to be a slow process. Earlier this year I was involved with a movement that focused on shifting culture in our communities to combat the issue of rape culture. After conversations with others, various protests, and an entire conference, we were able to get our community to see how much rape culture is embedded in our everyday lives. With this insight, we can move forward and try to do better than past generations. Recently I realized how much art is contributing to the dismantling and destruction of rape culture. In her… Read more »
A Case for Not Forgiving
I’m a little late in talking about this but I’m sure most of you have heard about the court case where a white woman broke into a Black man’s house and shot him dead because she thought it was her own. The most striking part about the case was when it was all over, the victim’s brother hugged the murderer and said he wished she didn’t even have to go to jail. The judge in the case hugged her and gifted her a bible. On social media, many are applauding and critiquing the brother and the judge, mainly the brother for these acts of forgiveness. Now some major social critics online are responding to these critiques saying that he should be able the mourn the way he likes. My critique… Read more »
Queering the Family: Three policy areas to help achieve reproductive justice
Conservative politicians have been using “family values” to show opposition toward non-heterosexual relationships and sexual autonomy. The phrase has also been used to defend harmful laws and policies. Such as those that restrict abortion access and ban same-sex marriages. When I think of strong families and family values, I think of LGBTQ families. Queer folks have always redefined the definition of family. Those that don’t have blood families that accept and support their queerness, for example, often build relationships and find communities that affirm and celebrate them. Now, LGBTQ couples can legally marry in the U.S., but there are many policy barriers for LGBTQ couples to enjoy the family life they want and deserve. Here are three policy areas that need development: Access to equitable and affordable healthcare Research has… Read more »
Cancel Culture is Toxic
August 5th, 2019 was the day everything changed….that was the day…I was #cancelled. All jokes aside, I have recently seen a lot of conversations happening around the phenomenon of cancel culture. The entire premise behind this ideology is to #cancel/cut out/stop being friends with/stop working with people who allegedly have been perpetuating or engaging in problematic behaviors. At first glance, it kind of makes sense. We should hold people accountable, especially if they are repeat abusers of power and people. However, that is not what cancel culture has given us. Instead, we see people with personal vendettas come out and try to single out and ostracize one person due to personal issues that could have been resolved with simple and firm communication, or could have just been avoided if people… Read more »
