Responsibilty As A Blogging Community
A few things that I've seen around the black gay blogosphere has been bothering me lately. Aside from the usual certain people being downright ANNOYING and obnoxious, specific comments have rubbed me the wrong way (note: the "downright annoying and obnoxious" people are separate from the people mentioned who said "specific comments")
This is not a "disclaimer", because I "claim" everything I say. However, I do want to establish some things before I post this. The point of this post is not to "call people out" or "put people on blast" but rather to allow me a venue to vent and also to open public discussion of an issue I think needs addressing.
Homophobia Within Our Gay Community
When I first started my blog and started reading a lot of other gay black blogs, I was thoroughly impressed with all of the intelligence, creativity, and open-mindedness permeating everywhere. I was so sure I had found an ignorance free zone...until recently when I saw some of the comments left on Clay Cane's blog.
Yes, I am aware that was like two weeks ago. However, the comments have not left my mind and I still think about them now. Clay posted a funny story about two young transgendered people who had a public fight in a convenience store to show his view that gender roles are getting redefined and that isn't a bad thing. At least that's what I got out of it and I'm pretty sure that was his intent. His message is, as always, one of tolerance and understanding very much in the vein of MLK Jr.
Then I saw that Stone said:
"I just believe in man and woman nothing in between. That's just my view on it"
I immediately got an image of all the Christians protesting a gay event with signs saying things like "Adam and Eve! Not Adam and Steve!"
O
r an almost exact quote to describe gay marriage "I just believe God made a man and a woman."HOW MANY TIMES HAS THIS SAME LOGIC BEEN USED TO HURT US? How dare we turn it back around on others... This disturbs me because already the cycle of viciousness is perpetuating itself and this is early. The cycle I'm speaking of is how first white people oppressed blacks....then blacks oppressed gays...now gays oppressing transgendered people...but gays haven't even got their propers yet so we are a little early, people! Unfortunately, gay people have given transgendered people a hard time for a while now, with some taking issue with the "T" in the GBLT umbrella.
That issue reminds me of blood traitor Bernice King...but I digress!
Then I went back and noticed a previous comment by Professor Q that said:
"hmmmm...interesting but I never cared for transexxuals, cross-dressers, etc. "
Once again, put yourself in someone else's shoes. What if someone said "Haha nice blog, Clay, but I never really cared for black people, niggers, etc" LAWD! The bloggers would be in revolt! The person who said that would have their blog comment box filled with hate messages and they would be run off of blogger.
We all know it's true. So why would we not allow someone to diss black people (or gay people) but we can so easily glaze over and dismiss transphobic comments? I don't understand...and I think we all need to think about this.
I'm open to further discussion of this and I hope you are too.
I like to keep the debate public, so everyone can receive words of wisdom and enlightenment, however feel free to e-mail me at protozoa77@aol.com or IM me (screen name: protozoa77)
Exposing Gay Detriments
In other matters, Jamal K. Franklin just posted an anonymous conversation (and why in the name of Mandisa is the post named "Last Night...After American Idol" like Paula Adbul's drunk ass has anything to do with the serious issue addressed?) he just had with an HIV + blogger who has no qualms with infecting other bloggers. I hope for all of our sakes that interview is a fake, but we all know there are people really like that out there who do that self-hating shit. It's my personal opinion that Jamal should reveal who it is, because they just admitted to aiding in the MURDERS of our fellow bloggers...that is not something to play around with...its not a cute blog stunt...it's our beautiful blog family's LIVES!
AND BILL COSBY....SHUT THAT SHIT UP AND SELL SOME PUDDING TO YOUR RETHUGLICAN FRIENDS! I am so tired of him spouting his racist shit everywhere he goes...he should have used his stupid ass sitcom as a platform for some positive shit besides Rudy's next bowel movement and maybe he could have made a difference. Now he wants to run his old ass mouth in New Orleans.
TOO THROUGH!
posted by Charles X @ 5:59 PM
25 Comments:
Yo - what's up shawty. Sorry to say, the convo is most definitely real. Sorry to say that...but yea, I definitely understand your frustrations.
But, let me say this. One with such passions effectuates no change unless actions come next.
Coming Into Reality,
-Jamal
interesting post. transgenders do get hated on in the glbt community. however, i will say that i do think it is a bit different then a white person coming on my blog saying i hate niggers. the reason why is because white people are not part of the black community -- gays and transgenders are part of the same community. it is similar to intra-racial conflicts in the black community. therefore, i think posts like yours are important, but we do need to be a lil' forgiving of our own ignorance. we have a responsibility so it is okay to let someone know when they are WRONG and have them hear it. often times you can tell one of the dumb straights they are wrong, but they wont hear you. so hopefully who you are talking to will listen because we know what it means to be hated on. for the record - Stone did come back to my blog and apologize. good post!
JAMAL: I think that my post is me "taking action next" and thus making a step to "effectuate change".
THE CLAY: I understand what you mean when saying the situations aren't the same (white vs black, gay vs transgender). HOWEVER, I believe it is the same since a lot of gay people don't consider transgender people to be apart of the GAY community and think they should be separate (but equal). Sound familiar?
Also, there ARE a lot of white people in the black community (see: Kathi). White and black aren't separate entities all over the United States, I mean just look at my blog. You'll see pictures of me with all different races.
"Also Stone did come back and apologize"
He did? This is what Stone said:
"Okay okay I have my views on the matter. I just get the transgender thing. I have to support certain things and that is one for them. I have nothing against it but it’s just something I understand or support I think it’s just weird and extreme its body maturation to me. "
It's pretty incomprehensible, for one thing, but after deciphering it, I believe he is saying that he is sticking by his view that he DOESN'T support the transgender community and that it is unnatural. Hardly an apology, Clay!
amen brotha!
-lisa
Interesting post. I can see how transgendered people would be on the outskirts of the the glbt community. Is it because they're the most difficult to understand, or is it because their numbers are the lowest in the community?
miz jj, i think its both! with gay people, even though you see them with the same sex, you can still clearly see male or female characteristics, whereas with transgendered its "weird" because their looks can be on a whole different plane. its also easy to marginalize them b/c they are in the minority, just like every other minority is marginalized.
It's official GLBT community are the new black people. Our civil rights are infringed upon. People are attacking us at all angles because we are wrong for just being ourselves. Everything wrong is now suddenly our fault. The GLBT community tries to pass off as heterosexual just to get a better advantage and the list goes on. Now the GLBT community is now seperating and dividing themselves just like the black community. This shit really has to stop. Its basically Genociede but we are doing it to ourselves. It's just sad.
As far as the conversation goes that Jamal had with the other brotha...it's sad to hear about but we really can't blame him. In this day and age we can only blame the other kats for not protecting themselves. Everyone knows the risks that are involved in having sex they obviously didn't care. Now they have to deal with the consequences of their actions. If it were a female who just got pregnant from not protecting herself, everyone would call her stupid and say she should have known better. The same thing applies here.
my my my my my...
what can i say?
you know i'm with you on the transphobia thing. like stone, trans identity and the uniqueness of the challenges therein are unfamiliar to me. unlike stone, i don't allow that lack of familiarity to allow me to take up the same painfully flawed and shortsighted logic that's been used as a tool for my very own oppression.
stone knows i love him... so, i'm sure he understands this is not a personal attack. it's just the manifestation of my shock and dis-fucking-gust that u experience each time i have the misfortune of learning that the people i care the most about are taking up the master's tools. it just hurts.
it hurt when RodOnline and his readers spoke about the kids at the pier and on christopher street as if their lives did not matter. it hurt when jasmine cannick and professorGQ spoke about "illegals" as if their lives did not matter. it hurts every time i realize that folks who are the victims of systematic discrimination and oppression will gladly and willingly further the agendas of their opressors... at the expense of their brothers, sisters, lovers and children.
and why am i hurt so frequently? (note that all of the examples at hand come from the LAST TWO MONTHS IN THE BLOGSPHERE!)...
well, because until now, i was under the impression that folks from marginalized communities shared a politics... had some cohesion... supported one another... loved one another... understood the divide-and-conquer tactics of the white supremacist project and its attendant classism, patriarchy, heterosexism and assorted phobias.
but now i know better. i've been thoroughly disabused by the recent asinine antics of fellow bloggers that i formerly believed to be compatriots in the struggle.
to each his own, i guess. i know where i stand... and i'm comforted to know that you, charles, are standing with me.
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It’s a grave misconception that because someone is gay that they should support everything that is gay. I have my own personal opinions on the matter. I do believe basic equal rights of any human being whether gay or straight should be given. I do have a personal opinion about transsexuality. I believe we are born who we are I do not believe this trap in the wrong body stuff. I think its mental sickness. On that note I would not isolate or make these people feel unwanted. I respect everyone but I do not respect everyone’s choices then again it is their choice. Not everything that is a gay means that I am obligated to support them. So I stand by my comment, “I believe in a man and a woman nothing in between”. People need to just accept themselves and not try to change their body to fit something that is obviously a psychological problem. I make no apologies for my position and I respect the positions for my other blogging family.
I have to disagree with you again, Mr. Stone.
I've never witnessed this suppossed misconception that just because you're gay you have to support everything gay. So many of us, yourself included, have spoken up about problems that are NOT supported by the gay community ABOUT the gay community! So that in itself negates your first assertion.
" I believe we are born who we are I do not believe this trap in the wrong body stuff. I think its mental sickness"
Like Larry said earlier, it hurts me to see my supposed partners in the struggle succumb to these bigoted mentalities. What gives you the authority to deem someone mentally ill. RuPaul, an accomplished actor/singer/talk show host/writer/etc. is mentally ill? There are so many intelligent, insightful, and BEAUTIFUL transgender people, it really makes me ill to hear anyone, especially a GAY person, make such a statement.
" Not everything that is a gay means that I am obligated to support them."
Not all transgender people are gay.
". So I stand by my comment, “I believe in a man and a woman nothing in between”."
So, by that logic, when you fuck a man in the ass, you are confirming that you are a mentally ill individual. I just don't understand it.
"People need to just accept themselves and not try to change their body to fit something that is obviously a psychological problem."
So do you need to go through an ex-gay program and become a heterosexual? Lots of people think we have a psychological problem as well.
Who are we to say what people need to do with their bodies? Who are we to say what people should accept for themselves? YOU do not know what goes on in their minds, just like straight people oftentimes don't know what goes on in ours. The difference is whether we allow that natural ignorance hinder us and makes us bigots, or whether we use it as an opportunity to learn and love others.
So, no, I wholeheartedly disagree with your assertion that it is "obviously" a psychological problem.
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Look at that Vinatage Trent Jackson picture with his genderbender girlfriends!
it seems like a trend. that discarding other members of your group makes one feel good about himself. no one is forced to accept anything, but when the argument is an argument adapted from hate-groups and people who generally do not give a damn about you, it goes too far. Blacks are oppressed, now blacks oppress themselves. Gays are opressed, not gays opress themselves.
Homosexuality was in psychologoy books listed as a mental illness. No one believed, and still not many believe, that it is something someone is born as. Now, we turn the arrows at ourselves.
It won't end. Unless people begin to really think for themselves, and not just copy what everyone else is saying. the bottom line is love and respect for each other, and not pretending to have all the answers as to why people are the way they are
Me.
i usually stay far away from convos about this kinda thing...
but i wanna speak as a christian.
i disagree with "gay bashing" or even "homophobia. "i believe that Jesus loves ALL people...
The bible says that homosexuality is an abomination....
BUT it also speaks against juding others, hatered, lying, sex out side of marriage and so on...
where do a group of sinners get off condeming other sinners???
I just don't understand.I believe the Word of God. This is my perogative, but the FIRST commandment is to LOVE the Lord and all others...
We need to focus on love...
Cause even if you think someone oughta change...persecuting them, is DEFINITELY not the way to encourage it.
For the maintenance of and sustainability of the health and strength of the Black gay community this is a necessary discussion. It serves as a mark of where we are and where we must go. For many of us these conversations result in our hurt (Charles X and Lyons) but we must at all times seek solutions for getting over the hurt and moving toward our healing as a community. I think that most of our healing work falls somewhere in the arena of locating our strength so that we can obtain the power of definition. Once we can define much of the ethos in our community on our own terms – by way of throwing out all the “shit” that is unhealthy – we can chart an existence where all forms of expression (performance) of our sexuality have equal grounds to exist. There is always resistance to “difference” because the perception of normalcy is challenged. Often times we question and attack the difference without questioning and/or critiquing normalcy. Recently I’ve been engaging thoughts of sexuality as a manifestation of spiritual possession. I think that our spiritual needs direct us toward a particular aesthetic. Be it the female form or male. So in our taking heed to our spiritual inclinations we blur the lines of normalcy that have been taken uncritically for so long. So in performing gender the transsexual, the drag, the butch, the fem, etc. thus question the traditional gendered labels of masculine and feminine. For me it serves as the impetus to purge the Black LGBT community of the “shit” that contributes the unhealthy affairs among us. And the notion of what is or is not “natural” is irrelevant. I can go on and on . . . but . . . I’ll stop here . . . maybe I’ll continue my thoughts on this matter . . . on my blog . . . so . . . lets walk . . .
Wow. You're on fire today ... very thought provoking.
And by the way, what happenned with the audition?
Be blessed...
I do think you have some valid points in this write-up. I may have to re-read this. And, perhaps, explore the idea myself in a write-up. . . However, I think that transgenders get "hated on" even by the gay/lesbian community is because basically they fulfill a lot of the stereotypes that gay men have fought against for so long: effeminant, girlish, blah blah. As such, I'll back up my words till death, but I see transgender as different than gay/lesbian.
I keep seeing the word "Glbt community tossed around the responses on here. It's not a community--nor is it commune. Same as the "Black community".
Today, it's more about the individual, instead of the group. Or, perhaps I'm just being bougie.
Wow this is a biggie. I believe everyone is entitled to their opinion. Everyone will not agree with everyone. That is what makes the first amendment so wonderful.
I believe the Jamal is not responsible to out the "Burning Blogger." It is for the other person to take personal responsibility to protect themselves and not leave it up their partner.
It is curious that some of us continue to believe that man/women are objective categories rather than discursive regimes which produce their own truths/origins through the kind of normativities they advance and enforce. Instead of taking these categories for granted, as givens , Stone should ask, at what moments and locations do these categories emerge as limits? Why do they emerge when they emerge? And, when he says he believes in these categories, what is it that he believes in, invests in? What else will he believe next?...christ help us! More than anything Stone reminds us that the exclusion of the history, location and performance of transgenders is what is critical to the belief that men/women are normative and natural categories--categories without histories, without psychological problems. Hmmm.lol. Stone is intellectually lazy; and, he should know better.Keep up the ethically informed deconstructive work charles!i, too, along with larry and you lament the increase in suckas. peace
wassupny13 (4/19/2006 11:29:30 PM): I think transgendered people are mentally ill. They are living an illusion that they are of the opposite sex and try to live out that illusion daily. So, I guess the local schizo screaming "the aliens are coming to get me" really should have round the clock protection from extraterrestrial beings.
that is the most idiotic comment i have ever read! i should delete that idiocy from my blog! buddha have mercy on you.
This was a very good debate Charles. I don't have a whole lot to say on the subject other that I truly believe that all people are equal, no matter what!
Great post and great debate! You brought up some very good points.
Wow. Better late than never. I'm thrilled at how this went down.
As far as your "umbrellas" go...
I don't want to be under any umbrella except my very own because, as you can see, its hard to take responsibility for the thoughts and actions of so many people. I am willing to share my umbrella with others and I'm glad that I'm allowed to get under that GLBT umbrella(and many others) sometimes too.
I hope I made good use of your metaphor
I am strongly persuaded that those individuals that want to cross their gender from one to another have internal conflicts of acceptance and understanding. To a certain degree, I feel that is what we all go through in experiencing our own sexual orientation and coming into reality to what we are and what we created to do in the human life. Yes, people can be confused about these things and unable to figure them out. Unfortunately, we keep putting out the message that everything is OK. Being a homsexual is OK. Being a heterosexual is OK. Being a transgender is OK. There is too many variables here... and NOT everything is- OK!
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