Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Sexual Identity and Other People

Well, there was a question about sexual identity in class and I didn't feel like spouting off then, but I rather do now.
Warning: This gets a bit rant-like.



I do think there is definitely a component of other people in how we self-identify and I, personally, am a prime example. Honestly, any problems with my sexuality are other people's. I have known to whom I am attracted since I was in elementary school and though the accepted term of identification would be bisexual, I never, ever, ever, EVER, self-identify as such.

I am not ashamed, I am not attempting to hide, but I will not accept all the connotations which are automatically conferred upon me when that term is used. For some reason, I cannot fathom, the same baggage and avaricious glee does not show up if I say that I am 1)somewhere in the middle, 2) a solid 3 on the Kinsey scale, 3) like people and not genitalia, et cetera.

And, to be honest, it shakes out to the same bloody thing, but I tend to deal less with (and seriously, if I missed a condescending assumption, please feel free to add...):
  1. "Oh you just can't make up your mind."
  2. "Don't worry--you'll meet a nice boy and get over this phase."
  3. "I guess that is a good choice. At least you can get laid on a Saturday night."
  4. "You are really a lesbian who's too scared to come out!"
  5. Always from straight guys, "Can I watch?"
and whatever other way someone can tell you that you are a fence-sitter, a coward, stupid, incapable of making a decision, or that your sexuality boils down to being performative to titillate straight men.

I might be a little less combative if it were only straight people who tended to belittle, but that, in my experience at least, is not true. I understand fighting so hard to be recognized and developing a bit of tunnel vision. I don't understand doing so and then turning around a saying to another person, "Oh, but you don't count."

I agree with the young man in Word is Out about one thing. We sometimes get so caught in how we label ourselves that we forget that we are more than just one soul in a movement.

Monday, October 27, 2008

no on prop 8 rally in irvine, ca

Here are some pics from a No On Prop 8 rally that was organized last Saturday, 10.18.08, in Irvine in Orange County. For those of you who aren't too familiar with the area, it is a very conservative city. We got a surprising amount of support from passerbyers, but were also met with some opposition and animosity. I took these with 35mm film so that's why i'm so late on posting them (kept forgetting to get the developed).







^ that's my mom!

you can find the facebook album for this event here.

my entire family (mom, dad, brother, sister-in-law) and i participated in a no on props 4 and 8 rally this past sunday, and provided that they're good once theyre developed, i will also post them.

it's winding down! phone bank, participate in rallies, have conversations with people, and make an informed vote!

k bye!


Friday, October 24, 2008

Here is the link to the Kenneth Anger talk at the Red Cat on November 17.



I just bought Outlaw Representation: Censorship and Homosexuality in Twentieth-Century American Art. It's been an interesting read so far, anyone else read it (or heard of it)?? Did anyone go to any of Richard Meyer's seminars at the Queer conference?

Thursday, October 23, 2008

bomgay

here is an article about the making of bomgay!

Monday, October 20, 2008

If You Can Read, You Can Make an Educated Vote!

Come one, Come all!

The strange and fascinating link to the truth!!!

The Tome.

When you feel like youre not sure EXACTLY if what you've been told or have heard in TV ads or in print in regards to what you're voting for, take solace in the fact that if you have some patience you can take it upon YOURSELF to find out what the upcoming Propositions will do WITHOUT ANY BIAS WHATSOEVER. So take a look, i've even linked you to ease your transition.

So heres the deal folks, Prop 8, if passed, will amend our State Constitution to consider ONLY MARRIAGE BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN AS VALID, in other words I know there was some confusion in class today but if you WERE MARRIED before the election AND OF THE SAME SEX it will NOT BE HONORED in this state.
=(

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Gay museum to open in West Hollywood



Photo by: Anne Cusack/ Los Angeles Times

Joseph Hawkins in the new museum, which is located in a former storage garage donated by West Hollywood. In discussing an exhibit on magazine articles about gay marriage from the 1950s and ’60s, he says, “They show that we’ve been having this fight for a very long time, longer than most people think.”



ONE Archives Gallery and Museum's first exhibit will highlight the annual Christopher Street West gay pride parade.
By David Ng, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
October 14, 2008

They read like dispatches from the controversy over Proposition 8, the current ballot initiative that would ban marriage between same-sex couples in California.

"Homosexual Marriage?" asks one magazine headline in large white type. Another takes a more aggressive approach: "Let's Push Homophile Marriage," accompanied by an illustration of muscled men in amorous poses.



Gay pride parade

Historic placards
But a closer look at these magazine covers reveals something rather unexpected. They were published in 1953 and 1963, respectively -- decades before same-sex marriage became a national lightning rod, let alone a rallying point for gay rights activists.

Copies of these yellowing periodicals were scheduled to go on display Saturday at the ONE Archives Gallery and Museum, a new space in West Hollywood that appears to be the first museum in Southern California solely dedicated to gay history.

The museum -- really a micro-museum at 600 square feet -- has set a macro goal for itself: to bring little-known aspects of gay history out of the library closet and into the public sphere. The museum is an offshoot of the ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, which is affiliated with USC. The old magazine covers dedicated to gay marriage come from ONE magazine, the first gay publication in the country.

"They show that we've been having this fight for a very long time, longer than most people think," said Joseph Hawkins, president of ONE. "It was an act of defiance to publish stuff like that in the '50s and '60s. I'm surprised that alone didn't get the magazine shut down."

Hawkins, a professor of anthropology and gender studies at USC, serves as curator of the museum. Because the archives are a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, the museum by extension cannot directly support political causes, including the effort to defeat Proposition 8. "Let's just say we have to be extremely careful," Hawkins said.

The city of West Hollywood donated the space -- a former storage garage off Robertson Boulevard -- to the museum and is helping with some of the costs. The rest of the funding comes from the ONE Archives.

For the opening, the museum plans an exhibit that covers the history of the Christopher Street West parade -- the gay pride celebration that makes its way down Santa Monica Boulevard each year.

Among the parade-related documents on view are several newspaper articles, including stories from the Los Angeles Times.

Robert Nuñez, a board member of ONE, views the museum as "an espresso shot of the gay community's history. Gay pride has come to mean parades and carnivals. This is a different approach."

He said his favorite artifact in the museum is a 1975 letter from Los Angeles Police Chief Ed Davis declining an invitation to participate in the gay pride march.

The letter reads: "I would much rather celebrate Gay Conversion Week, which I will gladly sponsor when the medical practitioners in this country find a way to convert gays to heterosexuals."

(Later, as a Republican state senator, Davis denounced the religious wing of his party and voted for a gay-protection bill.)

Future exhibitions for the museum are in the planning phase, but they will draw almost exclusively from the ONE Archives. Potential shows will spotlight the organization's legal activities. In 1950, ONE helped argue a case involving William Dale Jennings, who was arrested by the LAPD in Griffith Park for indecent behavior.

In the 1950s, the LAPD would hire B-movie actors to pose as gay men cruising public restrooms and arrest anyone who responded. ONE helped argue Jennings' case against entrapment and won. (Jennings would go on to co-found ONE magazine.)

Interest in gay history isn't limited just to the gay community.

According to Paul Bone- berg, executive director of the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco, heterosexuals make up a growing number of tourists to gay cultural venues.

"Gay and lesbian history is more appreciated by the larger American culture than ever before," Boneberg said.

Striking a balance between the mainstream and the more risque, sexually charged exhibits will prove challenging for museums.

West Hollywood's ONE Archives Galley and Museum will attempt to attract young gay visitors by mixing history and sex, with upcoming shows such as "Lesbian Pulp Fiction" and "Male Nudes and the Bodybuilder in Los Angeles."

It also plans to rotate the three-month historical exhibitions with contemporary art shows.

"We've always been a bookish institution," Hawkins said. "This is our effort to become sexier and to attract visitors who wouldn't normally be interested in visiting a historical institution."

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Film is Great! But Theatre is not so shabby either!

Hey All,

I haven't formally introduced myself yet, but I assure you, that is coming soon. My apologies for the delay. Anyhow, I LOVE our film class, but I am also always interested in checking out new things at the theatre as well. Here is something for tonight and tomorrow -- and more dates as well -- that sounds intriguing and is rather cheap! Check it out if you can!

A Crime of Passion: Porcelain at the Celebration Theatre
Celebration Theatre (West Hollywood, CA)
Thursday, Oct. 16 @ 8:00pm
Friday, Oct. 17 @ 8:00pm
and 17 more dates.
Full Price: $20.00
Rating: No rating yet

Porcelain is an examination of a young man's crime of passion. Triply scorned — as an Asian, a gay man and now a murderer — 19-year-old John Lee has confessed to shooting his lover in a public lavatory in London. Winner of the London Fringe Award for Best Play, Porcelain dissects the crime through a prism of conflicting voices: newscasts, flashbacks and John's own recollections to a prison psychiatrist.

You can learn more about the play here (and subscribe to get discounted tix on all sorts of events and shows!)

http://www.goldstar.com/events/west-hollywood-ca/porcelain.html?id=23178;ref=sub567224;mar=news5695

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

EVENT#EVENT#EVENT#EVENT



1500 PUBLIC AFFAIRS ~ BOX 957222

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90095-7222

TEL: (310) 825-0590

EMAIL: csw@women.ucla.edu


Kathryn Stockton

“Oedipus Raced, or the Child Queered by Color

Wednesday, December 3, 4:00 pm

193 Humanities

Kathryn Bond Stockton is Professor of English and Director of Gender Studies at the University of Utah. Drawn from her forthcoming book, The Queer Child, or Growing Sideways in the Twentieth Century, this talk theorizes how the category of the child is queer, in broad and narrow senses, both racially and sexually, even up through the 1990s. Specifically, the lecture offers a crossing: the point at which the ghostliness of the “gay” child lends certain meanings to the child queered by color.

For more information, please visit our website: http://www.csw.ucla.edu/


the children's hour

what has eight fingers and two heads...!?

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Hi-

Hey, I'm Julie. I'm a 3rd year Art Major.
I apologize for the very, very late intro; I'm really looking forward to meeting you all and watching some great films for this class. I love watching good films but I don't know a whole lot about Queer Cinema so I'm really looking forward to learning more about it.

Currently my life consists mostly of art-making, show-going and Music Directin for UCLA's very own radio station which seems to take up all of my spare time. I'm always down to go to an art opening, go to a show or catch a film; or hit me up just to talk about music or art or wutever. Also, if you're into biking, we should totally ride together. You can find me on Facebook. Also, my email address is juliehwang@ucla.edu and if you like to lurk on AIM like I do, my sn is julieokla. I also only recently started a blog, it's still in the works and will mostly be used alongside my radio show (shameless plug here) Stolen from KLA, Mondays 6-8 on UCLAradio.com. You should listen, or just come hang out with me at the station.

See you in class!

FINALLY I'M ONLINE/ STEVEN WILLIAMS

WASSUP

Call me Mr. Tibbs, no my name is Steven I am probably the youngest salt and pepper moustache man in the class, but don’t I look Fantabulouslol. I decided four years to go back to school and finally transferred to UCLA as a junior. My major is Sociology and I guess I wanna help folk who have lots of money…LOL. No, I really want to use my experience and education to encourage our youth to continue their higher education. With staggering drop out rates above 45% it is important to me to challenge the youth of today and tomorrow. I started a non profit several years ago that targets troubled youth. I have assembled celebrity and professional panels that go into the inner city schools and speak to teens. I have been blessed to have participants like Edward J. Olmos, Regina King, Tichina Arnold, Ray Santiago, Tiny Lestor and executive director of the California African American Museum, Charmaine Jefferson to speak on diverse panels.I am a movie buff and enjoy all types of cinema and especially a dramatic piece. I try to support the independence film festivals like Out fest and the African American Film Festival. Last year I had the responsibility of promoting American Gangster for Universal Pictures at NABJ (National Association for Black Journalist). I am looking forward to learning more about Queer cinema.
October 5, 2008 11:37 PM

Monday, October 13, 2008

biodome




The animal kingdom keeps it real! When it comes to sustainability, all politicians should vote gay.

The Closet

While we are posting YouTube links, I thought I would share this as an example of how much story can be evoked in less than five minutes.


DARE

Oh bad acting how I love thee.

You can't get to Heaven in your Sunday Best!

Hi Everyone,

Sorry it took me so long to post about me but here I go. My name is Jeremiah Garcia and I am a fifth year Studio Art Major, LGBT Studies Minor. I am also Part of USAC, aka Student Government. I am currently applying for a public policy internship for when I graduate and am also looking at doing a masters in the peace core program in environmental engineering. I work over at Covel Commons doing Safety and Security stuff for Hospitality and Housing Services. As for a life, right now I don't have much of one since work, class and extra-cirriculars consume my being :( In my off time I like to relax, wathc TV and movies and chill with friends. Right now I am obssessed with taudry shows like Sordid Lives on Logo and Skins on BBC America. I am currently in the midst of quiting smoking cigarettes but it with my stress level it has proven a little more difficult than it was during summer. I commute to school fomr Fairfax and Adams off the 10 freeway Traffic is a pain but the cost of rent and having my own room in a house make it totally worth it.

I love queer represntaiton in the media nad my roommates sometimes get mad at me cause I pretty much only watch Logo or shows with Queer Content. I have been involved with the Queer Community at UCLA since my second year, I get kinda sad because there is a large population of LGBTQ students on campus but very few are invovled on/off campus in making making change locally, nationally and globally for the bettering of people... but I think it is on the up and up and people are slowly and stadily getting involved and giving back.

Well..... I look forward to meeting everyone and having a fun class. Woot.

This took far too long

Hello-

I've been trying to get onto this blog for quite some time now, and I finally figured out a way to get around this silly error message that was always coming up. Anywho, I'm Stephen, a second-year political science major and LGBT Studies minor. I hail from the San Francisco Bay Area and am very liberal. I self-identify as gay and as an activist. I was recently hired to Equality for All's No on Prop 8 campaign. I got into this class because it seemed like a very interesting way to fill take the classes I need to fulfill my minor. Also, I have a great interest in still photography and a good chunk of that interest can bleed into interest for the motion picture - especially in great old films like Gilda and Wild Party in which one can really see the elements of composition at work in each frame.

What's really important right now is the campaign for no on 8. We have phone banks at UCLA on Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings, so if you can join us there, please let me know and I can get you set up to be there. It's a great experience and with only 22 days left until election day, the work we're doing right now calling undecided voters is the most important thing we can be doing to win in November.

I hope to talk to all of you more soon!
Stephen

Sunday, October 12, 2008

link

here is a good resource on lesbian films!

The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)

Me and Rich Yap had watched the film and started talking about interesting topics for the class facilliation. The film was based on Oscar Wilde's novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray" in 1891, the director was Albert Lewin and here is the list of the primary cast/production crew.

George Sanders as Lord Henry
Hurd Hatfield as Dorian Gray
Donna Reed as Gladus Hallward
Angela Lansbury as Sibyl Vane
Peter Lawford as David Stone
Lowell Gilmore as Basil Hallward.

Producer: Pandro S. Berman
screenplay/directed by: Albert Lewin
Musical Score: Herbert Stothart
Director of Photography: Harry Stradling
Painting of Dorian gray by Ivan Le Lorraine Albright
Painting of young Dorian Gray by Henrique Medina and Gordon Wiles
Recording director: Douglas Shearer
Art Direction: Cedric Gibbons, Hans Peters
Set Decorations: Edwin B. Willis
Associates: Hugh Hunt, John Bonar
make up: Jack Dawn
Film Editor: Ferris Webster

The release date was on the 3rd of March 1945 in the United States and the film won the best black and White Cinematography, and a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for Angela Lansbury.

with that information aside, we can discuss possible homosexual reading in the film.
The intense homosocial environment of Lord Henry, Basil and Dorian blurred the lines between the homosocial and homosexual relations. At times, Basil and Lord Henry would fight over Dorian where Henry wanted to meet Dorian but basil refused. Both men seemed to be infactuated with Dorian like a high school girl crush. Lord Henry wanted to be Dorian's friend based on his looks which also poses possible homosexual attraction. Lord Henry flirts with Dorian numerous times saying things like "time is jealous of you Mr. Gray," which are things a heterosexual man would say to women, never to another man. Dorian also seemed to be very influenced by lord Henry where Dorian played games with sybil and hurted her feelings just because Henry said so. The men are also off an aristocratic class where they seem effeminate in their attire and mannerisms.

The men also seemed disinterested in women. Lord Henry said "Faithfulness is laziness" and "a life of deception is necessary is both parties when it comes to marriage." Lord Henry is also incredibly sexist and seemed dislike women. He loves spending time with Dorian but rarely with his wife which she often complained, he seemed to have his own secret life in which women is not included. Dorian seemed to love himself more than any women and treated sybil like a toy, she was just like that canary trapped in a cage. Dorian would make her sing, kiss her then throw her away only to ask her back to marry him, in the end he destroyed her psychologically leading to her tragic suicide. Dorian seemes unaffected by her death as well which makes us question whether he really loved her. Dorian's second lover was gladys who actually proposed to him which he first declined, not a convention marriage where the man is the one who was supposed to propose. Both women, Sybil and Gladys gets a sad ending by being involved with Dorian.

The painting of Dorian may act as a metaphor for a gay man's closet. The painting contained who he really is, his soul which he refused to share with anyone. It is his secret which he is hiding like one's sexuality. He bring in new servants so that no one will know his secret and those who are close to him like Basil is killed for it. Dorian's love of his image and looks is also central to the body culture and youth-obsessed lifestyles of gay men, even though this may be a generalistion, his concern with his appearance is a possibly homo-sexual reading which is still central to modern gay culture today.

Also another interesting fact was that Oscar Wilde was a renowned homosexual who himself had many sexual encounters with working class males known as rent boys so we must ask whether the Wilde projected his experiences through Dorian. Wilde was born into a very rich social setting and Dorian's character is of nobillity but still likes hanging around dark corners, "rough spots" at pubs at night, possibly cruising? The places Dorian goes to is a shady place full of dark corners.

Another interesting fact was that Angela Lansbury was a gay icon herself whom her first husband was bisexual.

The first half of the film was more homo-sexually charged where the men's intense relationship created many eye brow-raising moments but the film had to pass the code so it seemed that they threw in the women to keep this film from being a gay one. I thought the film could have been the same without any women in the story. The second half of the film was boring and fizzled into a hetrosexual ending.

anyway, see everyone at class on monday!

one of my favorites

i love michael lucid's work!

encouraging you all to have a look see at his PRETTYTHINGSSS youtube offerings.
very smart!

Samwell -

what what

Cheap Blacky (excerpt#5)

some of you were interested in seeing the whole thing!

Saturday, October 11, 2008

queer black new wave cinema

what did you think?
Hi Classmates! So let me just say I am not adjusted to my Mac yet, hence why it has taken me so long to contribute to the blog. I'm Kim and am a junior transfer student from SMC. I'm a global studies major and possibly looking into a minor in urban planning, but we'll see how this first year goes. As of interest and that sort of thing, I love concerts, live shows, the beach, hiking, eating (that may be more of a habit..haha), and yoga. If anyone's ever interested...let me know. (as a transfer student living alone it's been hard keeping myself busy!) Until now, I haven't really been to involved in the lbgt scene, except for an insane addiction for the Lword and briefly living by the Castro district in San Francisco. However I am finding lots of enjoyment in the films and topics that are being brought up in this class, as well as in the elections and politics (Prop 8?) in this very modern time. Now that I've figured out the posting-thing, I'm excited to see what everyone else is saying on the blog as well am feeling very cool about writing on my first blog. (see, totally not internet-savvy). Great reading everything about my classmates! Oh, I'm on facebook too, under Kim Brounstein... See everyone on Monday or at Outfest!

Friday, October 10, 2008

2008 Queer Studies Conference: A Multitude of Panels

It is frustrating to look at the synopses of various panels and want to go to all of them. There seem to be two to four panels for each time period.

I was wondering if anyone else would like to comment on the panels they have attended so those of us who did not get to attend that specific one could get a brief overview of the material.

For example, Friday afternoon at 2:45 to 3:45, I attended the Queer Art and Visual Culture panel by Catherine Lord and Richard Meyer. The panel was based on the book the two co-authored that will be released as a coffee table book, I believe by Phaidon. Lord focused on early lesbian artists she labeled "The Scribblers" whose writings tended to overshadow their artworks, but still contributed to a new queer art history. Some of these artists were Djuna Barnes, Bertha Harris, and Valentine Penrose.

Meyer focused on the specific pieces of art including "Sex-Terms Mobile" and "Friend of Dorothy 1943" which was created in the mid 1980's. To this end, he spoke of conscious backdating artwork as an act of embracing nostalgia and the dichotomy of embraced and disavowed history. He also spoke of the artwork that was produced as a reaction to a series of defacements and slashings of gay themed books in the San Francisco Public Library. Instead of destroying the mutilated texts, artists took the remains and transformed them.

I also went to the 4:00-5:30 panel about Queering US History. All three speakers were candid that the subjects on which they were speaking were relatively new avenues of inquiry for them. For example, Kyla Schuller focused on the first generation of female doctors in the United States who were overwhelming single and in living arrangements with other women, but stated that it was a new subject within the context of her dissertation about sympathetic medicine and its effect on the proto-eugenics movements. She also pointed to the proliferation of "Boston marriages" and the fact that this generation of female doctors changed the assumption of what a woman's place in the public sphere could be. She focused specifically on the Blackwell sisters, Emily and Elizabeth--particularly their opinions on what femininity should become in a Lamarkian framework in which it was believed that any traits improved in a parent could pass to the offspring.

L. Chase Smith spoke of the San Diego’s Panama-California Exposition (1915-1916). Smith focused on this specific exposition, but did argue that expositions, world's fairs, and amusement parks helped create a mass market of cultural, racial, and sexual mores. This particular exposition is a great example of the dual action of embracing virtue and condemning licenciousness and vice while allowing for profiteering from the titillation of the public. Smith spoke of the daytrips planned to Tijuana and the rise of the vice industry there coupled with the clean-up of the vice districts in San Diego in anticipation of the fair. The two given examples were the Underground Chinatown and the Hawaiian Village pavilions. The Chinese exhibit was the only exhibit with wax figures rather than human beings. This coupled with the opium den atmosphere re-enforced predominant notions of Chinese immigrant centers being dens of iniquity. This exhibit allowed for a supposedly sanitized "slumming" trip for fair goers. Meanwhile, the Hawaiian Village had live female dancers who could represent the furthest edge of western expansionism and U.S. imperialism.

I found the last speaker, Jennifer Worley, the most interesting. Her subject matter was the streets as public space and the issues affecting specifically youth sex-workers on them. Worley's focus was on Vanguard, a group of gay and trans hustlers, that grew out of a radical church out reach program in San Francisco in the mid-1960's. Vanguard members took part in the Compton's Cafeteria Riot which pre-dated Stonewall and grew out of outrage over discrimination against drag queens and gay youths at the cafeteria. The group also organized a performance protest in which they swept the streets of the Tenderloin and thus literalized the Street Sweeps of the San Francisco police, but also called out those businessmen who hired them at night, but excoriated them by day. Worley also spoke of the magazine published by Vanguard which served as a unifying factor. The magazine featured the art and poetry of the members, but also asked for information from readers about the harassment they received from various establishments in the area. This allowed individual experiences to be tied into an institutional homophobia, but also helped coalesce a sense of self and group.
The Center for the Study of Genders and Sexualities at California State University Los Angeles

and

The Center for Sex and Gender Research
at California State University Northridge

PRESENT

Town Hall on Trans Activism, Empirical Research and Theory


What relationships between trans empirical research and theory are helpful for trans activism? When does trans empirical research and theory get in the way of trans activism? What is the current state of trans activism, empirical research and theory about trans sex work and HIV positivity and risk prevention?

Come join us as a distinguished panel discusses these questions. Our visiting guest panelist is Dr. Viviane Namaste, author of Sex Change, Social Change and Invisible Lives, Associate Professor and Chair of the Simone de Beauvoir Institute, Concordia University, Montreal

Our local panelists are Rosalyne Blumenstein, Masen Davis, Vivianna Hernandez, and Valerie Spencer

Co-moderators: Talia Bettcher and Jacob Hale

Monday, October 13, 6:00-10:00 p.m.
The Village at Ed Gould Plaza
1125 N. McCadden Place
Los Angeles, CA 90036
1 block east of Highland Ave., 1/2 block north of Santa Monica Blvd.

Schedule for the Evening:
6:00-7:15 p.m.: reception with non-alcoholic beverages and snacks
7:15-8:15 p.m.: panel discussion
8:15-9:00 p.m.: audience discussion

Co-sponsored by Bienestar, Community Clinics Campaign, FTM Alliance of Los Angeles, Gay and Lesbian Center of Los Angeles, LOTUS (League of Trans-Unified Sisters), Transcend Empowerment Institute, Transgender Law Center, and Transgender Service Provider Network

This town hall meeting is free and open to the public.

For more information about the Center for the Study of Genders and Sexualities at Cal State Los Angeles, please visit: http://www.calstatela.edu/centers/csgs/

For more information about the Center for Sex and Gender Research at Cal State Northridge, please visit: http://www.csun.edu/sexandgenderresearch

Very Late Intro...

Hi you guys! My name is Sophia and sorry this posting is definitely the latest intro, but I just signed up for this class 3 days ago. A little about my self...
I am a third year Women's Studies major, with a minor in Chicano/a Studies. I love, love, looooove my major but found out a little too late I'm not all that into Chicano/a studies, but oh well. The good thing is, I am done with it after this quarter.
I live in the Mar Vista area (off Palms and Sawtelle), and I commute to school or take the bus...and I work for Sproul residential hall in the dorms, which I don't recommend because working here sucks butt. You have to work 12AM-6AM once a week, and it's hard to do.
My sexual orientation is Bisexual, although I've only recently come out to a few people! I want to tell my mom so bad but i know she'd be hurt. It's funny tho bc i take all these LGBTQ courses and I always ask her if she'd be mad if i told her i was gay....and she still doesn't have a clue! or maybe it's denial lol
Anyway, this is my first film class so i feel way out of my league...so all of you please help me along the way hehe!
Sophia
p.s. my email is: sdelafuente2010@ucla.edu

Thursday, October 9, 2008

lagging..

I am probably the last person to post an introductory post, and I feel like my post is going to mess up the flow of things on this board... but oh well! My name is Cindy Mai and I'm a political science major (concentration on theory), LGBTS minor. I actually attended a screening of Professor Dunye's Watermelon Woman at Outfest a year or two ago and when I saw that she was teaching a class at UCLA, I absolutely had to take it (and admittedly, it also fulfills an LGBTS requirement).

I was (am) a bit intimidated about this class because I feel relatively green when it comes to my exposure to and knowledge of queer films. The only ones that I'm familiar with are ones that I watched while in a funk after a terrible breakup (Fingersmith, Saving Face, Fucking Amal...).

Ok! Well, I look forward to the class very much.

Queen Christina (1933) kiss

the kiss!!!!

CHRISTINA

FYI

For those of you having trouble finding the film:

the film is QUEEN CHRISTINA, 1933

My source lists spells it Christine but ....oh well

enjoy and see you all this weekend





Cute little girls so very confused

Queer Politics

Hey guys!

So what I want to talk about today isn't really related to film, but it is important because it does concern those of us who are queer/friends of queers. I was browsing through other queer blogs and the hot topic right now is Prop 8. Well, thats pretty much been the hot topic anywhere as of late, but with Nov. 4th coming up so soon, things are starting to get very tight and ugly. Apparently, the campaign for Yes on 8 is in the lead right now. A lot of the money being donated to the campaign is coming from out of state religious groups. And have you guys seen the ads for Yes on 8? They're pretty scary:





Also, via JMG, I found out that Californians Against Hate has compiled a list called the Dishonor Roll. This is a list of the top monetary supporters of Yes on 8. You can find the complete list here.

Frightening to see how much people are willing to put in to bar rights from us. This is why its important to vote this November. And tell your friends and family to register to vote and VOTE NO ON PROP 8. The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 20th, so there is still some time left, but not much. Oh, and there's going to be a No On Prop 8 rally at Myerhoff Park (that little grassy area in front of Kerckhoff) on Friday from 12-1. Go and see how else you guys can help with the cause.

See you guys at the Queer Conference and in class on Monday!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Intro

Oh my.... I'm a little late to this blog "party", but better late than never right??
So, my name's Doug and this is my first quarter at UCLA. I just transferred here after spending two years at Santa Barbara City College. I'm originally from Pennsylvania, about 45 minutes south of Philadelphia. I'm really enjoying it out here in CA and am definitely glad that I moved here!
I'm still technically a Political Science major, but I'm switching to International Development Studies. It's been a little bit of a frustrating switch, since I need to have 6 quarters worth of a foreign language before I can official become an IDS major... So, now I'm just waiting for the results of my French placement exam and crossing my fingers that I retained at least SOME of the French that I learned in high school.... (I don't have too high hopes for that)

I'm excited for this class.. I don't really know much about queer cinema, so I am definitely ready to learn and watch some great films! Furthermore, since I only came out about a year ago, it's about time that I start learning more about queer culture. So, I thought what better place to start than queer cinema?

Oh, and you can find me on facebook through my email address - dougie9989@yahoo.com .

Good

Well I'm a junior transfer from ASU/Mt. SAC. It has been a life long dream of mine to attend U.C.L.A. and I can't believe I'm here. The campus is beautiful, Royce Hall is to gawk at. I'm majoring in Geography and Environmental Science, hoping to pursue something of literary merit. Whatever that means. I am currently reading "Bitch" by Elizabeth Wurtzel and "South of No North" by Bukowski. Both are fun reads. I like UCLAs tag of shame on facebook. No shame. I am 20 years old. I have been in 2 ish relationships...with gals. They were life changing and hilarious. I consider myself ""bi"", I've yet to rule out the male species. I've only seen three queer films;; My Summer of Love, Waterlilies, and Pink Flamingos. If you like electronic music and synchronized swimming, c Waterlilies. The endings are perturbing! I live in an apartment off campus, and park my beat-up truck on Wyton. I love the outdoors: sequoias and waterfalls. I am taking this class because I want to watch queer people doing queer things. I'm from Upland, there is little queer action in that backwards suburbs. I live in Mar Vista with my girlfriend. She has the sweetest dog. I think love is understanding. I am excited to get involved on campus and meet new faces. :)

Monday, October 6, 2008

The Archive

I must say I thoroughly appreciated the overview of the archive. I always knew it was there, but I think it kind of intimidated me.

Well, this afternoon I decided to try it out. Everyone was helpful and I finally got to see Pandora's Box--which I have wanted to see since I was about eleven.

Louise Brooks was absolutely incandescent.

Hey Everyone!

So it's already week 2 of 10 weeks this fall quarter! Isn't it amazing how quickly time passes by? We all just have to sit tight for another 8 weeks 3 days 12 hours 52 minutes 32 seconds and counting... until winter break! Oh, pardon me. I forgot to introduce myself. Hi, I'm Tony...the arrogant looking guy =) who usually sits in the first seat of the third row in class...that is, when i'm not running late. Otherwise, I'd be sitting at the back of the class with feelings of utter disgrace and shame. I have a thing for odd numbers. I don't know why, but I just do. Anyway, this is my first quarter as a junior level transfer student from Pasadena City College to the oh-so-wonderful, not to mention prestigious UCLA! I'm so thrilled :/ !
I am one of a few male students (sadly) majoring in psychology with a minor in public health and a prospective pharmacy student sometime in the near future. I was born in the serene Pacific Northwest, but raised in the beautiful, traffic-ridden state of (Southern) California for as long as I can remember. Thus, I consider myself to be more of a Californian than an Oregonian. Currently, I am employed as a part-time stylist and a visuals assistant for a subsidiary of Polo Ralph Lauren.
Hmmm...why am I taking LGBTS 187? Good question. I don't know. Maybe it's because I'm an avid surveyor of gay cinema. With respect to my favorite gay films, it would probably have to be Eternal Summer (Taiwan), No Regret (Korea), and Come Undone (France). Actually, I enjoy watching movies of various genres to be honest, though I do tend to watch foriegn and independent films more favoribly. I guess that's why I'm taking this course...to explore the theory and messages behind queer cinema.
Nothwithstanding, I look forward to a successful transition to UCLA, and I hope to meet all of you guys and gals formally in class. Study Hard! Oh yea, should you need to contact me to discuss about the course, my email is clubmonacotk@yahoo.com

Rich---The one who likes Jack Skellington. A lot...

Hello fellow classmates =).

Sorry it took me a while to get on this thing. I went home for the weekend and seeing as how I don't have a laptop, I didn't have private access to a computer at home. Oh, so before I go any further, I guess I should introduce myself. 

My name is Rich (most people like to call me "Richie Rich," "Richie," or "Rich B*tch". I also respond of "hey") and I'm a 3rd year transfer student. So this is my first quarter---yay! Anyhoo, I'm an Asian American Studies major, and as for a minor, I'm somewhat torn between LGBT Studies and Film. Hopefully I'll figure it out by the end of the quarter. 

Anyhoo...

I'm first generation Chinese-Malaysian-American. I'm the oldest of three (one sister, 18, and one brother, 17). I'm also the only one I know in my whole family that is gay. My parents don't know about me though. Pretty much, no one in what I call the "older generation" knows. I plan to tell my parents someday though. Maybe when I'm financially independent and moved out of the house... Other than that, I guess that's me in a nutshell. I'm not really a big fan of revealing all about me on a blog or a social networking site---I prefer that people get to know me in person. However, feel free to add me on facebook. Just look up my name, "Rich Yap" and I'm the one in the UCLA '10 and Mt. SAC '08 network. Also, I keep my own blog on the side which you can find here. I'm anonymous on that blog, so if you want to comment on it, please don't use my name. Thanks =D

So I guess that's all for now. I'll see you all at 10 am today in class! And it was great reading up on all of you here. Can't wait to put the faces with the names and stories. =)

Oh and feel free to contact me:

email: richyap@ucla.edu
AIM: CutSleeveBoy

Sunday, October 5, 2008

hello

hi my name is patrick. this is my first quarter at ucla as an art major. i just transferred from citrus community college in glendora but i am originally from claremont, which i am starting to realize is a place not too many people are familiar with because no one seems to know where it is other than the fact that it's east of pasadena.
i've always been into queer film but i started getting really into it when i had a netflix account. it allowed me to explore the many subgenres of queer film from the french to spanish to documentaries to indies, etc.(best year of my life! i swear) my favorties have been the foreign/independent ones, like bad education, before night falls, come undone, shortbus, etc. etc. and the list goes on. (and if you haven't seen any of those i highly recommend that you do!) i am excited to take this class because american queer film isn't something that ive had a chance to really explore and i think that this class will help me do so. queer film has always played an important role in my life because i like watching films where i can relate to the characters, even though the their experience may not necessarily resemble my own.
anyways,
you can check my facebook out if you like: pdarole@ucla.edu
or you can visit my myspace at: www.myspace.com/191431
or you can say visit me at my work (american apparel) right in westwood village.

Well Hello there Stranger,

Kamran here, a Jr transfer and my what fascinating courses I finally had the pleasure of choosing from my first quarter at UCLA including this rather Queer film class.
I am not a film major but deeply have always been deeply in love with the art and see any time spent watching the films as an opportunity to take in something great that I would probably otherwise never be exposed to... a crime. Im really fond of the discussions as well, having your cake and eating it too so to speak. In other words, you can put a face to this blog in class when notice the guy that has something to say about almost everything.
I am in the process of professionalizing / legitimizing my myspace and so will have a link up to share soon my email is KPayman@ucla.edu. say hello!

Bye!

I HOPE IM DOING THIS RIGHT?

HI EVERYONE,

MY NAME IS HUGO A. MARTINEZ I'M A 5TH YEAR CHICANA/O STUDIES AND EDUCATION, I GREW UP IN GARDENA SINCE I WAS 8 BUT I HAVE LIVED ALL OVER CALIRFORNIA, FARE NORTH AS MERCED TO DOWN SOUTH AS SAN DIEGO. THE PLACE WHERE I HAVE LIVED THE LONGEST IS GARDENA OFF THE 110 SOUTH FREEWAY. I AM 23 YEARS OLD, SINGLE FOR THE LONGEDST BUT IM COO LIKE THAT. I LOVE THE OUTDOORS MORE THAT THE CITY. I LIKE TO FISH CAMP AND THE RAIN.I LOVE FOOD MEXICAN FOOD ON TOP BUT I LOVE ALL TYPES OF FOOD. THIS IS MY LAST QUARTER AT UCLA I AM APLYING TO UCLA's MSW PROGRAM I HOPEEEEEEEEEEEEE I GET IN. I WANT TO WORK HELPING KIDS AT FOSTER Center's I HAS A FOSTER KID MYSELF SO I WANT TO HELP OTHER KIDS JUST LIKE I WAS HELPED.... IM TALING THIS CLASS BECAUSE I THINKS ITS IMPORTANT TO BE A WELL ROUNDED EDUCATED PERSON IS BETTER THAN TO BE SUBJECT TO THE NORM WHAT I MEAN IS THAT I WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT ALL RACES, SEXUALITY ETC. I HOPE TO REALY HAVE FUN IN THIS COURSE AND TO GET TO MEET EVERYONE IN CLASS. IF YOU ALL SEE ME IM THE ONLY CHICANO IN THE CLASS I THINK SO HIT ME UP ANYTIME...

SEE YOU ALL IN CLASS

HAVE A GOOD ONE.......

“Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within.”- James Baldwin

Defining queer is just as difficult and as much as an abstraction as defining love. Love in it's purest essence is rather queer both physically and metaphorically. And being queer is all about love's decisive fluidity. It is because of these vague metaphysical alchemy between love, body and spirit that I always knew I was "queer".

When I asked my mother at four what I should be when I grew up she literally told me, "a lounge singer or an erotic novelist." Of course, I didn't understand the appeal and the romanticism of these professions but now at the age of 26 I profess I think my mother was right. And although she wasn't right about a lot of things, she was also right about another thing--I have been bisexual since the day I was born.  She would tell everyone that I liked both boys and girls . I have had crushes on both boys and girls since earlier than a child usually remembers. In preschool, I had both a girlfriend and a boyfriend and we walked around kissing each other. When I learned to read at an early age, I did so by reading my mother's trashy harlequin romance novels, so my sexuality was never daunting to me. It was something completely normal. When I first discovered poetry it was at 10 years old when one of the nun's at my Catholic school gave me Sappho. And of course the list goes on. Art and sexuality have always been intrinsically tied for me. 

I am now a senior at UCLA. I came to UCLA with ideas of becoming a sex and relationship therapist, but realized that my "ideas" were dissimilar to my "dreams" of becoming a writer and an educator. Now I am an English major and women's studies/ LGBT minor. I came into realizing my "dreams" later in life because from 16-24 I worked full-time in the music industry, sang in a rock band in England, had a career, and then woke up one day feeling completely dissatisfied with the way I was using my intellectual capacities or how I was filtering my artistic yearnings. My "dreams" now are to go to grad school and study metaphysics in sexual dissidence in romantic and bohemian literature and to one day....teach a class to students such as yourselves! 

My facebook can be found from my e-mail address : thesnakecharmer@gmail.com
And my myspace is http://www.myspace.com/jurassique
My AIM is DontFreeWinona

Oh! And I live in Silverlake right near Video Journeys where they have an AMAZING LGBT film selection if you are looking for something and you need me to pick it up for you. Or if you want to discover the mountainous beauty, urban culture, and artistic integrity of the Eastside, come over yourself and I'll show you why the Westside sucks. ;) Yes, I am an Eastside elitist and PROUD!

"Love and other inside sports",

Nadia
My name is Ashley. I am 25 years-old and a senior majoring in Political Science. I had to take some time away from school, so I am just getting back into the swing of all of this. My sexual orientation is somewhere in the happy middle (I can get into a long argument about the connotations attached to the term bisexual, but...)

I grew up Southern Baptist in a state where the Klan still has rallies. When I was a kid, all of us who were too weird to fit in--for whatever reason--tended to band together. Queer films were a big part of that. We all tended to live in the subtext. I grew up queering the text of films, though I would never have known to call it that. I almost feel, strange as it is, that this course is going back to my roots. (Please insert embarrassed laugh.)

Well--Hi!

My e-mail is alstratton@verizon.net.

Heyyyyyyy

Hey, my name's Angelica. I'm a transfer student from San Francisco, so this is my first quarter at UCLA, and my major's Anthropology. So far, I really like the classes at UCLA. All of my classes are really interesting. I decided to take this queer cinema class because it sounded really fun and interesting, and also because I've never taken a class like this before, so I thought it would be a good experience. I'm from San Francisco which has a pretty large gay community, so I'm very liberal and I always keep an open mind. If you type in my e-mail address (angelicaalyssa@ucla.edu) in the search box of facebook you can find me. Unfortunately, I just got it so it's completely empty, but I plan to fix it up soon!

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Hola!

Hello everyone
My name is Gunther, I'm an exchange student here at UCLA. Im majoring in Business Econ and minoring in Media/Communication at my university back in Chile.
I've enjoyed the 2 weeks I've been here very much, and a big part of it has had to do with this class and UCLA in general. I feel like I'm at a "real" university where diversity is valued and different fields of study are respected (correct me if I'm wrong, but that's my impression so far...) I can't imagine my university in Chile having this kind of classes (not even Women Studies), it's a catholic university. Don't get me wrong, it's a great school academically speaking but it lacks of the openness to diversity that I expect, so looking for that I decided to study abroad for a semester (2 quarters here).
I think this class is a great opportunity for me to learn more about queer culture and about myself. I have a friend in Chile that came to UCLA a year or so ago and she took a class in lgbt studies and she loved it and recommended me to take one as well.
I really love the entertainment industry and mass media and I also love men, so why not mix it all together and attend Queer Film and Tv Historyexperience in this field? not really... or not that I can remember :)
Im looking forward to having a great time with all of you, contribute to the class and learn as much as I can about film, history and people.
I'm always on facebook so that's the best way to reach me, look me up under gkaempfe@ucla.edu






hello yall!

my name is panpan. I am a 3rd year international art student at ucla. Most of my art involves a strong gay sensabillity where I used my experiences to fuel my artistic pratices. My concentration is drawing and sculpture. if anyone is interested they can see my work on facebook albums under artness!

Im currently working on a ceramics piece that deals with gay sexuality and culture and would love to put it on facebook once it is done.

i am also on facebook under Pan pan Narkprasert, long last name because im thai and half taiwanese. my email is panpan@ucla.edu

I recently watched Paris is Burning and thought the idea of having the ball as a place for an escape from the real world was beautiful yet sad at the same time that they are limited to express themselves only at a specific place and not just anywhere. It reminded me alot of America's Next Top Model, the way the they worked it!

I also loveed the musical wicked and saw it twice in the last 2 months, both times i was lucky and got the lottery ticket. my favorite queer film is beautiful thing 1995 by hettie macdonald, the film was so impactful and relatable to my own gayhood, coming out and all.

i took lgbt137 and women studies 136 and loved it so i wanted to further my interest in queer studies by taking this class. overall, i am quite new to queer films besides from mainstream queer films and so i am excited to expeirience more films of this genre.

haha

I almost forgot also...

www.myspace.com/c_tizzle
celeste_torres06@hotmail.com (facebook & msn messenger)

celeste :)

Hi guys! My name is Celeste. I am a 21 year old Mexican American. I am a junior transfer here at UCLA. My major is philosophy. I love school! :) My sexual orientation is straight and I am currently engaged to a wonderful man named Jake. We are currently enduring a long distance relationship so that I could fulfill my dream in coming to UCLA with an opportunity to better our lives together. We're very happy and have a dog named Lennon (as in John). I work at Chilis in Westwood as a server, come say HI! I love watching football, playing soccer (I played soccer for my junior college), and going snowboarding. I do not have an exact reason why I am interested in queer cinema, I just find it really interesting. I very much support queers and I'd like to learn more about queer life. I am very excited about this class, I really look forward to this quarter, as well as getting to know all of you!
-peace&love, Celeste
oops i almost forgot...

-email: jkang4@ucla.edu
-i am on facebook

Hello!

Hello! Here are some boring facts about me.

-Name: Julie
-Grade: 17th grade (5th yr)
-Major: Asian American Studies Major w/ Minor in Film & Television
-started out as a Jazz Vocal Major (2years), then changed to English (1 year), then finally to my current major
-Sexual Orientation: straight
-I have a big interest and love for the queer community because i attended an arts high school called LACHSA (LA county H.S. for the Arts) and i would have to say that a large percentage of the people at my H.S. were gay/lesbian. In fact, all the guys i had a crush on freshman year came out of the closet by senior year. The straights were a minority at this school.
- i was in a Josh Groban music video my junior year of H.S. or maybe it was senior year... i cant remember.
-Favorite Bands/Artists: there are many but right now i'm currently most infatuated with Jenny Lewis, Rilo Kiley, Sigur Ros, Tegan & Sara, Conor Oberst, and the musical "Wicked".
-i have this strange love for the film "Gattica". i have no clue why. i dont like sci-fi but i love this film. it might be because of Jude Law.

i guess thats about it.
Good bye!

Friday, October 3, 2008

queer film blog fall 2008

Hey Everyone!
Welcome to the course blog

Participation is mandatory
and the sky is the limit more or less about what you post.
nothing pornographic or overtly offensive, ok .

let's start with boring stuff like who you are?
include your name, contact info and links to your blogs, myspace, facebook pages, whatever.
Also include something about your interest in queer films, you queer eye, and your boring or not so boring "backstory."

SHARE WITH US!

peace

cheryl