Ok, so this is old news. The Foo Fighters counter-protested the
Westboro Baptist Church (who were protesting their concert in Kansas
City) in September, but the other day I was thinking about how great it
was that they did that so I thought I would post this video of the
protest. I’ve always appreciated their sense of humor.
In case you want to see the music video — and the asses of most of the Foo Fighters — here’s that as well. Keep it clean!
The Colbert Report takes on Rick Perry’s Pro-Christmas, Anti-Gay ad, and the result is delightful.
i was excited today when i saw an article on the daily beast proclaiming a new era where homophobia will no longer go unquestioned in hip-hop.
i’ve always found it difficult, and i know i’m not the only one, to
reconcile my love of hip-hop with the myriad hateful lyrics that make my
stomach turn.
a quote i found particularly interesting was from one of this year’s favorites, a$ap rocky:
“i used to be homophobic, but that’s fucked up,” a$ap rocky told
the influential music site pitchfork in october. “i had to look in
the mirror and say, ‘all the designers i’m wearing are gay.’”
i had never previously considered that the importance of
fashion within hip-hop and the subsequent merging of those two
industries might eventually lead a reduction in homophobia, but i
suppose it makes sense. it also makes me sad that social progress would
come out of materialism and narcissism, but i guess you have to take the
bad with the good.
chris lee also points out a couple examples of gender bending within
the genre, including lil wayne wearing women’s jeggings at the mtv vmas
this year. but not surprisingly, there exists a much more interesting
example than lil wayne:
texas rapper daryll “d phill
good” phillips II has taken things even further. in stark contrast to
hip-hop’s default fashion setting for much of the ’90s and early
’00s—baggy pants with the waistline sagging precipitously below belt
level—he has grabbed headlines by wearing lipstick and flowery tights as
well as spearheading something called the xy movement: a grassroots
effort aimed at undercutting established gender constructions by urging
straight men to wear women’s clothing.
here is
a great interview with dphill spanglish on youtube. in it, he says,
“the only obstacles are in your mind. that’s the way i feel. you
know, i had to break down those barriers in my mind to the point where i
was confident enough to just do it.” i am looking forward to checking
out his music and following the progress of the xy movement
my favorite part of the entire article was probably the very matter-of-fact, and i thought heartfelt, quote from fat joe:
hardcore new york rapper fat joe, who is straight, summed up the attitude thaw succinctly in a recent interview with vlad tv.
“in 2011 you gotta hide that you gay?” he asked. “be real! ‘yo, I’m
gay. what the fuck!’ if you gay, you gay. that’s your preference. fuck
it if the people don’t like it.”
i ‘m positive this quote will be music to my sister’s ears,
as i happen to know that the year it came out, alison listened to fat
joe’s (featuring ashanti) what’s luv almost daily. what’s luv, fat joe? i think you just showed us all.
People have been posting some pretty compelling video in favor of
gay marriage lately. Here’s three different perspectives on the topic
that are all awesome in their own way.
This college kid with two moms is so earnest in speaking out on
behalf of his family, doing so at an age where many dudes wouldn’t be
caught dead talking about their moms.
This next video is a little like a jewelry commercial, the pro-gay marriage version of that.
This last video is a little older. It shows my favorite Minnesota
Republican, Representative John Kriesel, speaking out against the
decision to vote for the constitutional amendment in Minnesota. It’s an
awesome speech!
this is our 101st post. it’s hard to believe it’s been a
year. here’s to making it to two, with more profanity and queer
feminist outrage than ever before (at least on my part).
i’d like to thank anyone who’s taken the time to read this blog. i’d
like to give a special shout-out to those who have commented and added
to the dialogue. while i love writing for its own sake, i also
miss the discussions that came from all my glorious gender, women, and sexuality studies classes. so if you have something to add, you know, don’t be shy and shit.
i’d like to thank my sister, alison, for being an incredible human
being and amazing sister. i’m so glad we have a pet project
together.
i’d like to thank eliza schwartz for being generally awesome and for
joining up with us to make our blog stronger with her fantastic
contributions.
i’d like to thank my secret lover, the internet, for filling my days and nights and making self-publishing possible.
