Midwest GenderQueer, commonly known as JAC Stringer, is a transgenderqueer femme radical activist and performer from Cincinnati, Ohio. He is a blogger on several community blogs including his own, MidwestGenderQueer.com. JAC has lectured and performed genderfucking drag and spoken word across the USA and Canada. His work focuses on gender fluidity, identity legitimacy, and ability/accessibility issues. JAC worked with Advocates for Youth from 2008-2010 as member of the Ohio Advocates CAMI council for sex education policy reform and a Front Page Blogger on Amplify. He loves keeping up with the great work being done and loves being on Amplify!
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History is being made today for the lesbian, gay, bi, and respective non-heterosexual communities the US Military policy Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) officially is repealed. Everyone is celebrating, and I'm celebrating too, but I have to admit I'm more jaded than joyful. Today as the LGB military is coming out, trans* military is being left out.
As an activist rooted in the anti-war/anti-military movement, even I recognize the significance of the USA's largest employer (the federal government) removing a grossly discriminatory policy that theoretically places sexually queer people on equal footing with non-queer people. That's a big deal. And I think it is an even bigger deal that this momentously important event for the "LGBT" community completely leaves off the T. One would like to believe that if high schools can create gender identity and expression inclusive policies then congress can too, but apparently not. An early Department of Defense report on DADT, referenced by several blogs and articles, stated: “Transgender and transsexual individuals are not permitted to join the Military Services. The repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell has no effect on these policies.” After media attention the report was removed from the government's website. According to the US Military, trans* people are "unfit to serve" primarily (categorically) because of our good friend, Gender Identity Disorder. As mentally ill people, trans* communities are not medically fit to serve.
A common thought about DADT, or now in this case with trans* people in the military, is that the "military problem" isn't really a problem because it is better if our people don't join up - it's better to protect our precious queers. I can't help but think this sometimes... or most of the time... but I force myself to remember that there are people out there who actually like the military - (like a pre-teen Midwest GenderQueer who associated fighter pilots with a desirable yet (continually) unobtainable masculinity - thank you Top Gun). My freshman year of college I met a guy who was determined to have a military career; he said it was his calling. He was also gay. This was years before I came out but even a "straight girl" could see how problematic the situation was. I remember asking him why he wanted a job where he would have to hide who he was his entire life. He looked very sad, yet very determined and said "It's not ideal, but I can do it." Now he doesn't have to, but no such luck if it were me.
The recent legislative and funding threats to abortion rights, sexual assault, and sexual health (aka Planned Parenthood) have been described as an attack on women's health. I do not agree with this... at least not in full. I have been getting a surge of petition and action emails from the sexual health organizations I work with, and I've been working hard to get the word out. The problem is that in order for me to spread the word I have to change the word being spread - one word in particular, the word woman.
I am a survivor of sexual assault. I need health care specific to a female assigned sex. I am also not a woman. I can't help but find it frustrating when issues that affect me are, pretty much without exception, stated to be only for women. To be clear, I do not feel any discomfort being associated with women in any sense due to some masculine hang up or personal insecurity. Its just the simple reality that I am not a woman, and therefore I feel I should not be considered one in order to be included in legislation, or in this case, activist work. I wanted to re-blog an activist call from an inclusive femme blog about sexual health that, in theory, spoke to my experience. However I soon realized that the caption only discussed women. I felt really invalidated and as I replaced each "women" with "people" I felt even less included and more alone. Its like showing up to a rally for your rights only to be met a the door and told, "This doesn't involve you." No, I am not a woman, but these are my rights too and I'm willing to fight for them.
I am a proud person, but I have never really considered myself to be “proud” of being trans or genderqueer or queer or femme or disabled. However, I have always been proud of being an activist. I live in a conservative city where even the most “liberal” people are barely recognizable on any “coastal activist” scale. The general concept of community involvement is an HRC sticker on your car and getting drunk at Pride and terms like “privilege,” “ablism,” and “appropriation,” are barely in stock, and we just got them in last year. After 12 years on the activist block, I’m used to my comments about some problematic show or song being accompanied by friends’ groans and eye roles. What I’m not used to is being fed up with it.
Cincinnati Pride is approaching, and this year issues have gone beyond the usual problems with Pride. Pride is a clusterf*ck or issues, visibility, consumerism and corporatization, access, politics... but this I guess it was bored of the old problems and wanted something new. One issue vexing Cincinnati Pride this year is location. Pride has moved from its ‘gayborhood’ home to Cincinnati's downtown center, a change which has sparked some controversy. But there is another issue that is less obvious, and far more serious.
The project of Pride has been picked up by the Gay Chamber of Commerce, an organization focused on gay business success and representation in Cincinnati. “Doing pride fits right in our mission to promote the city and support our businesses." stated George Crawford, 45 year old local gay business owner, member of the Gay Chamber Commerce and the Chairman of Pride. Support our businesses? But what about our community? The queer community is not made up of businesses and their owners, its made up of everyday people. He confirmed that the Gay Chamber of Commerce was using a project called Equinox Cincinnati to run Pride. Equinox formed last year to host a party for the purpose of, in Crawford's words “to show the changing climate” of Cincinnati as a gay friendly city. (From where the rest of the community stood, it was a gay VIP rich folk only event.) I was surprised to learn Cincinnati had changed into an equality focused queer friendly city because as a visibly queer trans person working in the activist community, I figure I would have noticed if Cincinnati magically transformed into a mini-San Fran. When I asked about those who still did not feel safe, Crawford's thoughts were that it was the queer community’s fault that they didn’t feel safe in Cincinnati. "We have the chip on our shoulder and scars... we need our community to get on board..." Get on board for what? He made a decent point in saying "We can't continue to hide in a safe neighborhood like Northside [gayborhood]… we need to get out on the main streets.” I can’t help but agree with the on the streets part, but I'd like to know what I'm “getting on board” for, with who, and why. Crawford repeated words like “image,” “profit,” “income” and “reputation” - something very relevant to a business making money, but not very relevant to a community in need of resources.
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. 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.
That's right, in her new book Laura talks about how she not only thinks that queer people have every right to get married, but that abortion is a viable need for society, both for medical and "other reasons."
Just imagine if she had been more outspoken during the actual presidency of G.W.Bush. What would that have looked like? I seems like she didn't speak up out of some sort of respect for her husband, but what did it cost the nation? Imagine all those anti-choice, homophobia Bush supporters being shown that a lady like Laura, the wife of their favorite president, supported the issues they hated. It would of been an amazing educational opportunity, and they couldn't just write her off like they can now. "She isn't 1st lady anymore, who cares if she's gone off the deep end of SATAN!"
Still, I think it is great that she came out with it. I'll admit, I'm a little obsessed with this right now, I mean can you imagine the implications? This is significant because of her visibility. She never was quite as insane or evil as Sarah Palin, but back in my baby radical days, Laura was a force to be reckoned with. I hope that people will pay attention and see her as a model of where you can be a conservative, religious old white lady, and still not be crazy oppressive. Now I wanna know more about her politics... maybe we can make her a poster girl for our issues and throw her at our opposition, she speaks their language, she can be our interpreter.... or maybe I'm getting a little carried away. Laura, you probably won't be doing much else for us, but maybe you will.... I will keep an eye out.
xposted - MidwestGenderQueer.com
STV Productions analyzes a recent anti-choice campaign where race is used as a method of "proving" that abortion is a conspiracy set out to kill babies. Just a thought, if they wanted to inform the public of the racist plot on killing black babies, maybe they should of created an ad campaign that wasn't racist. Last time I checked, all humans are the SAME species. Black people are Homo Sapiens too, folks. FYI. Plus its just plain f****d up to talk about a child as if they were a tiger or a panda. Not that I don't give props to tigers and pandas, but WTF? Its playing directly off of the historical exoticism of people of color as animalistic and "primitive," which in sad reality does make it more likely for white people to take an interest. Its like the SPCA billboards for adopting cute, wide-eyed baby animals, except this time its baby humans...
xposted: MidwestGenderQueer.com
Paul Scott, republican candidate for Michigan secretary of state released his platform last week and was kind enough to include transfolks in his agenda. Among his desired changes of immigration restrictions and traceable RFID chips inside state IDs he has included a statement for us trans folks too:
" I will make it a priority to ensure transgender individuals will not be allowed to change the sex on their driver’s license in any circumstance."
-Official Paul Scott Weblog
Now, the average person doesn't know a thing about trans-related issues in any scope, let alone specific ID policies. So how can such an issue be of public interest? As with all discriminatory smears it is surely a scapegoat to screen the state's real problems. But out of the potpourri of things that conservative right-wingers hate, why pick on the genderqueers? Honestly, I think that Scott wanted to pick something that would shock people in a "look what the dirty liberal government did behind your back" kind of way. By bringing trans elements to the forefront he is gaining attention via a conservative fear mongering crusade. And with abortion being way overused and therefore unexciting, he had to find something that would appall people more than dead unborn fetuses. Enter transSEXuals, cause they aren't just out to get fetuses, they're out to get everyone.
Mini-documentary about your favorite pink haired femme boy, JAC Stringer!
by Hunter Stuart at Stuart Productions
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The Midwest is crawling with queers. Not because of any strong presence but in the more literal sense. Queers are crawling because we do not have the space to stand up. We do not have the resources that would enable us to live full, healthy lives. We, like so many others, are isolated in our homes, in our towns, controlled and confined by others, longing for life and being unable to live it.
I was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. When I came out as trans I didn’t know anyone who was like me and I had no way of finding them. The city‘s “gay“ scene was practically extinct and no trans or queer scene it had never existed in the first place. There was no space for me, so I decided to try and make one.
Apparently January is the 2nd annual National Drag History Month. A month-long event that “salutes the richness of drag culture and pays tribute to the courageous queens & kings who have fought for equality while inspiring, educating & entertaining us all.” Sounds cool right? But when you click the link you may feel the same disappointment I did in seeing that “drag history month” is nothing but a LOGO ploy for programming (also see excellent blog by Queerty). You may become depressed at the fact that the link itself has the word “franchise” in it. Or you may just be downright confused how there is not one mention of any female-bodied or gender transgressive/genderfuck performers. I guess National Drag History Month is for girls only… or is it for boys only because they are drag queens? Either way, WTF? Do drag kings have no history of doing anything? Not that LOGO would know either way because no actual history is ever talked about in the programming.
It is a common misconception that drag kings and genderf*ck performers don’t exist, but we actually do. It isn’t like we aren’t out and about. Now days its hard to hit up a lesbian bar without finding some trace of drag kings or go to a queer space without at least some knowledge somewhere of genderfuck performers. Female bodied gender performers have been gaining speed and spectrum, in the past ten years especially, but still we get thrown to the back of the bar. Why? I remember when I was first getting into drag and I told my sister about a drag king show. Her response, not knowing any better at the time, was “Drag king? But isn’t the point of drag being flashy with sequins and glitter? Boy clothes are boring.” I responded with a very humble, “Well… but… I wear sequins too…”
