Kicking Them While They are Down

In the past couple of years there has been multiple high profile cases in which white people in authoritative positions have abused their power to the detriment of the black community. The most prominent case being the Michael Brown incident in Ferguson, Missouri, where a white, male, police officer shot an unarmed young black man. If that was not already enough, the grand jury’s decision was against indict Daren Wilson for shooting Michael Brown and for obvious reasons, many people had issues with this case. As an example, the St. Louis Rams, of the NFL, had five prominent black players make their entrance holding their hands up, a symbolic gesture to show support for the Michael Brown protestors. The St. Louis police asked for a formal apologies from the players and organization, and went further by saying that all the players be disciplined (And as sarcastic remark of personal frustration, sorry St. Louis Police Department, Jim Crow laws have been abolished, but as part of the governmental sphere it is openly oppressive to demand that five people get fined for holding you accountable for shooting an armed person). Throughout all the protests it has become noticeable the United Sates has a racism problem. The black community has been marginalized, dehumanized, and have become victims of othering, exceptionalism. The intersectioning of the previously mentioned forms of oppression and an Us versus Them mentality has created a rift in the United States. The recent Martese Johnson incident in Charlottesville, Virginia, is another case that is thought to be racially influenced. “According to court records Mr. Johnson was charged with obstruction of justice without force, and public swearing or intoxication.” (BBC, 2015). “Bryan Beaubrun, a University of Virginia (UVA) student who photographed the arrest, said police acted with unnecessary force.” (BBC, 2015). The actions that the fellow University of Virginia student described as unnecessary left Martese Johnson with a bloody gash on his head. Of course this probable accident than loses validity since the arresting officers are white. To take a step back, and watch all the agents at play is quite a disturbing picture for myself. From where I am sitting, it seems like a white created system is used to supress the black community. This structure starts with the “old, white, men” situated throughout the government. As it is this the group of people that passes all the laws that the police department enforces. Ultimately, creating a very real structure that promotes the growth of white privileges and to oppress, marginalize others. The outlier in the Martese Johnson story is that the Governor Teddy McAuliffe, a white man, called an inquiry into if the force used was appropriate. This remains a rare occasion among white cop and black perpetrator incidents. A more normal or usual outcome is that the cop abuses his power leading to a black man being physically assaulted with judicial problems or medical bills and the white man gets strapped to a desk. This typical outcome is the direct product of political and judicial structures. This is a very efficient system. Eric Garner is a prime example. The video shows that there was four cops holding down this larger black man that is saying he cannot breathe and will not resist arrest. These actions resulted in a dead Eric Garner, and Officer Justin Damico striped of his gun only to be working a desk position.
The outcome from all these cases show the effect of othering in the United States. In almost every scenario I can think of in an altercation between two people, and one of them has a gun, the individual with the gun is the with all the power. The tone of someone’s skin is not something that showed frighten anybody enough to take a life. Martese Johnson’s case also shows the effects of othering. The two Alcohol Beverage Control Officers had to resort to using a force strong enough to have Martese Johnson’s shirt soaked with blood in the back of the cop car. With two officers they should be well enough trained to be able to restrain an individual who is extremely intoxicated without getting him some stiches and hospital bills.

-Wilheim

Gender Inequality: Why Does it Still Exist

At a high school in Utah, three girls organized a bake sale in which girls had to pay 0.77¢ for a cookie while boys had to pay 1.00$. The message that these girls were trying to send is that women earn 0.77¢ to every dollar that a man earns for the same amount of work. Their approach to tackling this issue head on was very creative and clearly got their message across for it to garner this much attention from the media. The gender wage gap is one of today’s most pressing issues because it promotes inequality and allows for women to continue to be oppressed. This is a positive step towards attaining equal pay rights for women in the workforce.

Although I think that these girls did an excellent job of delivering their message, in that it was very much to the point, there were a couple of problematic aspects with their delivery. A male student wanted to engage in a discussion relating to the issue that these girls believe so strongly in and their response to him was “go away” (Carlisle, 2015). The fact that these girls did not take this opportunity to fight for their stance on equal pay, and describe their reasoning is very surprising to me. It is also very interesting to note that the young man who seems to have an issue with these girls’ message is a white male. He is undoubtedly the most privileged demographic of our population, and also the oppressor. This can be interpreted as him trying to take back the power that he already has from these girls who are trying to prove a point through the use of this gender equality bake sale. It is almost as though he is not okay with this reversal of gender roles, and did not want to experience how the other half lives.

There are many contributing factors to the gender wage gap, one of which being women needing or choosing to leave, and then re-enter the workforce due to care-giving responsibilities (Pay Equity Commission, 2014). This is in reference to instances such as women having to take maternal leave and then coming back and losing their seniority, as well as advancement opportunities. This is essentially punishing women for needing to care for their children. This all boils down to gender discrimination, and a lack of equality within the workforce. There is no logical reason for why women are continuously discriminated against in terms of wages.

Another thing that I found to be alarming was the short sightedness of these three girls in that they were only appealing to one racial aspect of this issue, which was the pay gap between white men and white women. There are racial and ethnic barriers for women of different backgrounds within the context of the gender pay gap, and there was no mention of this throughout the article or the interview. Black women fall far below the 0.77¢ mark that white women do, earning 0.64¢ while Hispanic women earn even less with 54¢ (Wallace, 2014). Many black women of colour are paid significantly less than white women even when they have the same educational background (Wallace, 2014). This is extremely indicative of the fact that qualifications are not the whole story behind wage gaps, and that the only possible explanation is discrimination. A look at how intersectionality comes into play when discussing the gender pay gap would have really strengthened their argument. Looking at this issue from various angles reveals that there are many intersectional disadvantages to this topic. In failing to acknowledge the experience of black, Hispanic, or Asian women, they are unknowingly allowing for discrimination to occur.

Although I can appreciate the point of gender equality that these three girls were trying to get across with this bake sale, I think that including the statistics pertaining to the experience of other races would have made for a well-rounded delivery of their message. Women are more than deserving of equal pay rights, considering that in this day and age women are just as qualified as their male counterparts. This kind of discrimination needs to stop because it is purely on the basis of gender, and has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of the work.

-Angel15

Words: 709

References

Carlisle, Randall. “Gender Equality Bake Sale Causes Stir at Utah High School.” Good4Utah. 17 Mar. 2015. Web. 6 Apr. 2015. <http://www.good4utah.com/story/d/story/gender-equality-bake-sale-causes-stir-at-utah-high/10246/0gE6cCkPA0mvNkLZEjyO4Q&gt;.

“Gender Wage Gap.” Pay Equity Commission. 12 Sept. 2012. Web. 7 Apr. 2015. <http://www.payequity.gov.on.ca/en/about/pubs/genderwage/wagegap.php&gt;.

Wallace, Rachel. “By the Numbers: A Look at the Gender Pay Gap.” AAUW Empowering Women Since 1881 By the Numbers A Look at the Gender Pay Gap. 18 Sept. 2014. Web. 6 Apr. 2015. <http://www.aauw.org/2014/09/18/gender-pay-gap/&gt;.

Gender Discrimination

Picture of a poster of prices from a gender and race equality bake sale

In March of 2015, three girls held a gender-conscious bake sale to spread awareness of gender discrimination. Their marketing scheme was to sell each cookie for what they were worth, based on the buyer’s gender. Women earn 77 cents to every dollar a man makes, and these girls used this to spread awareness of this discrimination. After reading this article, I have a clearer sense of what women might go through with finding a great paying job and I of course believe that women should have equal pay, but I do not see the point in having to degrade men in order to achieve it.

I feel like this is a very effective way of spreading the awareness of wages and gender discrimination. Many of the students agreed with the girls’ cause saying that they “really think that women should be paid equally” and that “a lot of women out there are just as good as men out there” (Carlisle, 2015). This act of spreading awareness also indirectly spreads the awareness of gender polarization by their promotion of equality in gender. It also spreads awareness of gender socialization. By breaking the social construct that women are “not deserving of better pay”, the beliefs young girls have about the tolerability of lower rates of pay is wrong and is being helped to be removed with this bake sale. This bake sale is also trying to break the idea of hegemony, the idea that men are socially predominant over women.

Even though it was an effective way to get the word out, I feel like they could have handled the situation in a more applicable way. Instead of replying to students who questioned their motives and intensions by telling them to “go away”, these girls could have dealt with these inquiries by giving them more information, and by having the students leave the sale with a clearer sense of what these girls’ were striving to spread awareness for (Carlisle, 2015). This sale also has room for the perception of binary thinking. Student and faculty could have seen this bake sale as a way of saying; either you support the equality of women, or you support male domination. I feel like this has a high likelihood of happening and the girls should have made clear prior to selling, that they a solely trying to promote the statistics and the equality of women.

Black women who work in mainly male industries also have experiences of discrimination, like the blatant disregard for names. Kianta Key a black woman receives questions like “Do you have a nickname?”, “Is that African?”, and “That’s an exotic name!” on a daily basis (Key, 2013). This shows the unwillingness and minor acts of racism that she gets from her white male coworkers.

There are also instances of women, as well as men, of different ethnicities who received even worse paying jobs that women in an everyday basis do. These men and women not only receive discrimination against their gender, but they also receive discrimination against their race because bosses want to hire men with the “whitest names” (Key, 2013). Studies have shown that people of different ethnicities receive 44 cents less than the average white male (The Canadian Press, 2014). The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives recount that “salaries are higher in the public sector precisely for those groups of people who experience the greatest discrimination in the private sector, because the public sector goes further in correcting those discriminatory practices” (CCPA, 2014).

Gender equality is obviously an important issue that has been passed along through history. Even though women should have been given the equal rights as men since the Stone Age, we still have to fight for what we believe in and what we see is worth putting in effort and heart in. These girls did that, and although I believe that this is a small stepping-stone to the future of the equality of both women and men, we need to have a multitude of stepping-stones to get to where we want the world to become.

-Blue Booty                                                                                                           Words: 771

Works Cited:

Carlisle, Randall. “Gender Equality Bake Sale Causes Stir at Utah High School.” Good4utah. 17 Mar. 2015. Web. 4 Apr. 2015. <http://www.good4utah.com/story/d/story/gender-equality-bake-sale-causes-stir-at-utah-high/10246/0gE6cCkPA0mvNkLZEjyO4Q&gt;.

The Canadian Press. “Report: Women, Minorities Earn Far Less In Private Sector Than Public.” The Huffington Post. 24 Oct. 2014. Web. 4 Apr. 2015. <http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/10/29/women-minority-wages-canada-ccpa_n_6065988.html&gt;.

CCPA. “Less Wage Discrimination for Women, Aboriginals, and Visible Minorities in Public Sector, Not Higher Salaries Overall: Study.” Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. 29 Oct. 2014. Web. 4 Apr. 2015. <https://www.policyalternatives.ca/newsroom/news-releases/less-wage-discrimination-women-aboriginals-and-visible-minorities-public&gt;.

Key, Kianta. “The Other Pay Gap: Why Minorities Are Still Behind.” Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 20 Mar. 2013. Web. 4 Apr. 2015. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/dailymuse/2013/03/20/the-other-pay-gap-why-minorities-are-still-behind/&gt;.

Black Transphobic Intersectionality

Laverne Cox

Laverne Cox delivers a touching and extremely informative speech in reference to the continuous struggles that transgender women have to endure, as well as her own specific intersectional experience of oppression as a black transgender woman. Intersectionality can be defined as a certain kind of experience in which an individual faces oppression as a result of a combination of aspects such as race, gender, sexual identity, gender expression, class and many more. As a cisgender woman of colour, I face a certain kind of oppression because of my race and gender, however this defers greatly from Laverne’s experience because in addition to being a woman of colour, she is an MtF (male to female) transgender woman, which completely alters her experience from my own. I am more privileged than Laverne is because I identify with the sex assigned to me at birth while she, as an MtF trans black woman does not, however, Laverne was born with more privilege than me in that she was assigned a male. This exemplifies the various intersectional possibilities within society. During Laverne Cox’s speech focusing on the oppression and degradation that trans woman of colour, she explores themes of oppression, transphobia, and the historical significance of the reason why black trans women are viewed as a disgrace to black people. All of these factors as well as the unique intersection of being a trans woman of colour render these women vulnerable to vicious hate crimes, which often result in death.

During Laverne’s talk, she tells a story of how she was harassed on the street by two men, one of whom thought that she was an attractive woman while the other thought that she was a man. The men proceeded to engage in a misogynistic debate regarding whether or not Laverne is an “n word” or a “bitch”. This choice of language is so problematic because it signifies a situation in which transphobia intersects with racism which intersects with oppression. The racial aspect of this harassment is interesting in that white trans women do not experience as much street harassment as trans women of colour because of their racial privilege. Interactions such as these, according to Laverne are far from uncommon, and they occur simply because trans women do not conform to the socially constructed gender binary that is expected of them. Gender binaries are all around us, and examples of this span from public bathrooms that lack neutrality, to the manner in which products that are marketed towards men often result in the objectification of women. There are no other options, nor is there an in between which leaves no room for gender expression and plenty of room for oppression.

Trans women are always in danger because of their gender expression, and receive a significant amount of transphobic hate because of this. Trans women of colour are “the most targeted victims of violence within the LGBTQIA+ community”. Trans women are 72% of anti-LGBTQIA+ homicide victims, and 89% are women of colour. Statistics such as these, which are indicative of an immense injustice, cannot be swept off to the side. This overwhelming number of hate driven deaths needs to be addressed head on for the complex and multi-layered issue that it is, which is exactly what Laverne is trying to accomplish in her speech.

It is clear that race has a significant role to play in Laverne’s intersectional transphobic experience, specifically pertaining to the fact that most of the harassment that she has experienced comes from other black people. Laverne attributes the transphobic hate that she receives from black people to a collective trauma that black people have experienced dating back to slavery. During slavery in America, Back male bodies were often lynched, and their genitalia were cut off and either pickled or sold. There is a historic fear associated with black male bodies, and when black people look at a black trans woman’s body such as Cox’s, they feel as though it is the embodiment of this historic, racist emasculation. It is interesting to note that although black people are oppressing trans black women thus inflicting pain, the oppressors themselves are in pain because of their painful historical past.

Laverne offers a solution to this problem and says, “Love is the answer”. Although this idea is very beautiful, it is much too idealistic. I am no expert and lack the experience that Laverne has regarding this topic, however, creating safe spaces for trans women like Laverne mentioned in her speech, as well as educating those who have problematic and untrue beliefs about trans women is a huge part of the solution. Love is definitely a priority, but safety and awareness need to be established in order to ensure a better future.

-Angel15

(Words:831)

References

“Laverne Cox Explains the Intersection of Transphobia, Racism, and Misogyny (And What to Do About It).”Everyday Feminism. 7 Dec. 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. <http://everydayfeminism.com/2014/12/laverne-cox-intersection-what-to-do/&gt;.

McConnell, Fred. “Understanding Gender Diversity: Sex and Gender Are Not the Same Thing.” The Guardian. 7 Feb. 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. <http://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2014/feb/07/mind-your-language-transgender&gt;.

Beware the Hand that Feeds You

The Fox 2 news story on a baby, with two mothers, be refused care by a doctor should be repulsive. In my opinion, no medical professional should reject a patient due to their caregivers’ sexual orientation. This is a prime example on how little common thought on the gay and lesbian community has changed from the openly oppressive culture that use to be prominent. The doctor in this scenario would be an educated individual with a high social standing due to her position. I feel that it is safe to assume that Dr. Roi made this decision based off her situated knowledge. This knowledge being directly impacted by social construction. In Roi’s letter to the mothers, Krista and Jami Contreras, she says, “After much prayer following your prenatal, I felt that I would not be able to develop the personal patient-doctor relationships that I normally do with my patients.” This statement shows what social structure are oppressive in this situation. The key words prayer, and patient-doctor relationships, make the agents of oppression obvious. These agents being her religion and the healthcare system. This religion is the one that Roi identifies with, so the use of the word religion pertains to the religion that influence Roi’s decision. Knowing that Roi’s actions are a product of her positionality, the assumption that her religion justifies homophobic tendencies, hegemonic masculinity, hegemonic femininity, or compulsory heterosexuality. All of these thoughts contradict everything the LGBT community stands for. Of course the possibility of this behaviour not being adopted from her religion’s tenets is high but, it is inexcusable for any institution to tolerate oppressive behaviour which this religious institution does. If it did not oppress LGBT community, a religious figure or doctrine would have been accessible.
When Dr. Roi made the decision to leave her patient, it makes a statement that the American healthcare system neglects minority communities. If this situation was in Canada I would hope the doctor would be prosecuted. In society, doctors are the individuals that have devoted their life to the serve for the wellbeing of other. In Canada, someone with medical training must aid those in a case of life or death. For a doctor to reject a patient because of the caregivers’ sexual orientation is horrific. A major difference in the Canadian healthcare and American healthcare is the funding. To my knowledge culturally Canada, and the United States of America, are very similar and the social role doctors play fall into one of these similarities. If the LGBT community cannot escape oppression in hospitals, where can they find refuge? According to Dana Nessel, not in Michigan. The article states that in Michigan, “there are no laws that protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families from discrimination. ‘We already don’t have laws to protect these sort of families,’ attorney Dana Nessel said. ‘And worse, we are considering passing laws that allow further discrimination.’.” The LGBT community faces an obvious form of intersectionality. To recognize this interaction of social structures and human agency manifesting itself as oppression.
On a more macro level the intersectionality present in the situation reaches both the political and secular states. In the past, the LGBT community was prosecuted for their sexual preferences. At that time, political and secular states found it acceptable to oppress the LGBT community. Through gay rights movements, people have had to fight for the right to be open with their sexuality. The Catholic Church just recently accept being homosexual as alright. The assumption that Dr. Roi was raised in an era where the LGBT community was prosecuted is most likely true. These two social structure have created a mentality in this particular human agent. Her particular situated knowledge from the influences of these two oppressive structures, make it seem like her choice to refuse treatment as her own. An example of this oblivious behaviour, “I should have spoken with you directly that day,” and “please know that I believe that God gives us free choice and I would never judge anyone based on what they do with that free choice.”
I would love to say that we live in a world that can openly accept any individual, but that is not true. It is not even true in “developed” nations. No community deserves to live in oppression.

-Wilhiem

Heteronormativity and Discrimination Within Society

Photo of Krista, Jami and Bay Contreras

After reading the article “Doctor refuses treatment of same-sex couple’s baby”, I believe that doctors should refuse treatment based on their abilities as doctors, and not on other criteria like gender, race, sexual orientation or beliefs. Bay Contreras, daughter of lesbian couple Krista and Jami Contreras, was denied treatment by Dr. Vesna Roi due to her beliefs as a Christian. When Krista and Jami Contreras came in for their 6-day old baby’s check up appointment, they encountered discrimination from Dr. Roi, who they previously respected and felt comfortable around, based on the fact that they are lesbians. They came into the office expecting to be greeted by Dr. Roi, but instead was greeted by another doctor telling them that based on Dr. Roi’s beliefs, she would not be able to be the doctor of baby Bay. Sadly this is not the only time in which people are being discriminated against based on another’s beliefs. I was stunned when I read this article because to me, Dr. Roi’s response was not justified. She says that she would “not be able to develop the personal patient-doctor relationship that [she] normally [does] with [her] patients”, but she then contradicts herself by saying how she “would never judge anyone based on what they do with [their] free choice” (myFoxDetroit, 2015).

Dr. Roi is an example of queercripping and displays heteronormativity. This relates to a broader spectrum in society in which people discriminate because they believe that heterosexuality is the only sexual orientation and is the social norm. But unfortunately in this case it is Krista and Jami’s baby, who in their eyes has “no sexual orientation” as of now, who is getting discriminated against because of her mothers’ sexual orientation (myFOXDetroit, 2015). Bay is the patient in this situation, not Krista and Jami, yet she is still getting the short end of the stick. Even though Dr. Roi is legally allowed to refuse treatment based on her religious beliefs, there is a law in place that makes doctors unable to refuse treatment based on sexual orientation. As Cohen states, laws around same-sex marriage “aren’t about sex, they’re about sexual orientation” (Cohen, 2014). This is ironic because the LGBT community has fought for their right to marry, but now there are laws that have loopholes for doctors to say they have the right to refuse treatment on the LGBT community because of their personal religious beliefs.

Of course there is this whole stigma around how gay men contracted and spread around AIDS, and in the medical world there is a continued association in some members eyes, especially in older generations, of how the LGBT community is still the cause of said stigma. Even though it is men who supposedly spread AIDS, lesbians are also “subject to… intermediate level of scrutiny” (Somin, 2014).

This article also applies to anti-blackness remarks. Doctors, as well as employers and people of high authority, have history of refusing help, guidance and jobs to people based on the fact that they are of a different ethnicity. In comparison, people of white-privilege are thoroughly given more opportunities and help because of the constantly shifting boundary separating those who are entitled to have certain privileges from those whose exploitation and vulnerability to violence is justified by their not being white.

After reading this article and comparing it to other forms of discrimination, like anti-blackness, queercripping, heteronormativity and white-privilege, I still believe that doctors should not be given the opportunity to refuse treatment based of gender, race, sexual orientation, or beliefs. It is unfortunate that this situation occurred and I believe that like Jami Contreras said “If they’re discriminating against anyone, I would want to know because I wouldn’t want to support that doctor, dentist or whoever’s doing it” (myFOXDetroit, 2015). It shocks me that situations like what Krista and Jami Contreras experienced still occur, and even though I know there is discrimination against the LGBT community, I would not expect discrimination to occur within the walls of a doctors office.

-Blue Booty                                                                                                        (Words: 727)

Sources:

Somin, Ilya. “A cross-ideological amicus brief on sex discrimination and same-sex marriage”. The Washington Post. The Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2015. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2015/03/10/a-cross-ideological-amicus-brief-on-sex-discrimination-and-same-sex-marriage/

Cohen, David S. “Same-sex marriage bans: A form of sex discrimination”. Slate. Slate, 17 Jan. 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2014/01/same_sex_marriage_bans_courts_should_strike_them_down_as_sex_discrimination.html

myFOXDetroit.com Staff. “Doctor refuses treatment of same-sex couple’s baby”. myFOXDetroit. myFOXDetroit, 18 Feb. 2015. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/28142401/doctor-refuses-treatment-of-same-sex-couples-baby

Stuck In a Glass Box

No different than any good film, The Way He Looks, is layered to show the levels of intersectionality in a blind and homosexual individual. Leonardo, the individual that was just alluded to, is first portrayed to be a blind kid with as regular of a life that he could have. Leo has a best friend, Giovanna that is madly in love with him. At school, he has friends and occasionally deals with bullies. When the new kid, Gabriel, joins the class the dynamic begins to change. Leo and Gabriel become very close friends, constantly spending more time together. As their friendship grows more intimate, the relationship between Leo and Giovanna dissolves. This is when Leo and Gabriel’ relationship moves to the next level. Once this happens Leo becomes liberated by his true love, giving the movie a happy ending. In this touching story, the protagonist struggles with the obstacles that confine him.
A scene that is very memorable was when Leo was kissing the glass panel while showering. Previously, we learn that Leo wants a sexual relationship. The scene creates sympathy from the viewer that is now on this emotional journey with Leo. This is where our situated knowledge starts playing with us. We assume he feels by his lonesome, wanting to be loved. We do not want to leave him to be left alone in the dark. There comes a point when the realization of how much his blindness is restricting him. Without the use of body language it is that much harder for Leo to find his someone special. Now, with a keen eye on his relationships, it becomes pretty clear that gender socialization is present in his relationships with Giovanna and his mom. At home, his mother is over-protective and controlling, while at school Giovanna is consistently taking care of him. With everything focus on Leonardo’s personal wellbeing. Both of the most prominent females in his life are both motherly in nature, and more outwardly emotional than the males in the film.
Giovanna’s relationship with Leo is different. She is his undoubtedly best friend but, she does not know he is gay. Giovanna is the first person to know that Leo wants to experience an educational exchange. Multiple times throughout the film she talks about cute girls that Leo would be interested in. This is a strong example of socialization, she just assumes that Leonardo is heterosexual. Due to her neglect of his sexuality, there is a sense of mystery when comes to who he will fall in love with. As a critic of Giovanna’s character there is an assumption that social construction could be the reason she is oblivious. This is because of media’s influence on Giovanna’s perspective or on Leo.
I have grown up in Kingston all of my life, and I have never heard of the Reelout Film Festival until this class. It was nice to such a strong and proud LGBT community in Kingston. The Screening Room was a wonderful location for the event and I had a great time.

– Wilhiem

Gender and Racial Intersectionality

Stills of Richard and Kai in ‘Lilting’

When I learned that part of the gender studies curriculum was to attend the Reelout film festival, I was extremely excited. The reason for which I was so happy was because I thought it was so interesting that issues pertaining to gender, sexuality, and race would be examined through the use of film. Amongst the Trailers that were shown to us during lecture, the one that most stood out to me was “Lilting” by Hong Khaou. The film takes place in London and is about Richard, a man mourning the loss of his partner Kai while trying to connect with Kai’s mother, Junn who is also mourning and unaware that her son was gay before his death. For all of those years, Junn thought that Richard and Kai were nothing more than heterosexual roommates. Making a difficult situation even more challenging, Junn does not speak any English, as she is Chinese-Cambodian, which creates yet another other barrier between her and Christopher. To try and mend this barrier, Richard hires a translator.

I walked into the film thinking that it would have a queer focus in relation to Richard trying to inform Junn of the true nature of him and Kai’s homosexual relationship, however, this was not the fact. The difficult themes that the film dealt with in terms of homosexuality as well as racial and ethnic barriers were slightly derailed by scenes that included Alan, who is Junn’s romantic interest throughout the film as well as minimal scenes including Kai and Richard’s life together. I felt as though these scenes subtracted from the dramatic and multi-layered complexity of the racial, cultural and gender-based plot line of this film.

There is a particular scene that sparked my interest in which Richard experiences a flashback of him and Kai having a conversation in bed regarding Junn. In this scene, Richard suggests to Kai that they invite his mother over for dim sum and that he will cook to which Kai seems skeptical. Richard goes on to say “I can impress her with my Chinese cooking” to which Kai responds “She won’t like your cooking”. This scene depicts Richard’s desire to connect with Kai’s cultural background because of the tremendous racial and cultural gap that they have. I think that it is interesting to note the intersectionality within Kai’s life because not only is he gay but he is also a minority when taking into account the fact that he is a Chinese man and the son of two immigrants in a predominantly white society. Although Kai is a man, which earns him a certain level of privilege, his race and sexual orientation give him a unique experience of oppression. Informing his mother of his relationship with Richard is obviously a sensitive topic for Kai because in a separate scene, Richard is explaining to him that they have to come out all the time to people, and doing the same with his mother is no different, however, Kai is again reluctant. I feel as though scenes such as these should have been more present throughout the film because they are representative of the struggles and difficult decisions that come with being gay. As I was watching the scenes in which Junn and Richard were speaking to one another, I was going crazy because Richard would not just come out and tell her that Kai was gay and that they were in a relationship. I then thought of my mother, as she and I are both immigrants and how she might have reacted, and understood why Kai never told his mother the truth. Being gay goes against the traditional and religious upbringing in which my mother was raised and I would imagine that this reality would be similar for Kai. Scenes including Kai are almost brushed off to the side and I did not understand why as I was interested in more of a focus on the gay experience which was not really explored as in depth as I would like to have seen, however, Khaou makes up for this with the racial and intersectional depth of the film.

Before attending the Reelout festival, I felt a little bit nervous and unsure because I had never been in such an environment before. I did not know what to expect, but upon arrival, the nerves began to fade and I enjoyed myself. I was rather disappointed with how little gender sensitivity and neutrality went into the planning of this queer festival, specifically the bathrooms. It was extremely shocking to me that at a queer film festival, there were male and female washrooms as opposed to the washrooms being gender-neutral. Although I had no issue with using the female washroom, I thought it was insensitive on the part of the festival not to account for those who do not necessarily identify with one or the other.

I really enjoyed the film as well as the concepts and themes pertaining to race and homosexuality and plan on recommending it to my friends and family. Apart from the issues regarding gender-neutrality or lack thereof at the festival, I enjoyed my experience.

-angel15

References:

“Intersectionality: A Tool for Gender and Economic Justice.” Association for Women’s Rights in Development, 9 Aug. 2004. Web. 7 Feb. 2015. <http://web.uvic.ca/~kreed/ws205/intersectionality_awid.pdf&gt;.

Blackbird Film Review

Film: Blackbird

Release Date: 16 February 2014

Director: Patrik-Ian Polk

Starring: Julian Walker, Mo’Nique Imes-Jackson Kevin Allesee

Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

On February 3, 2015, I went to Reelout Queer Film and Video Fest at Kingston’s Public Library. I watched Patrik-Ian Polk’s film Blackbird. Blackbird is a film that follows the struggle of Randy Rousseau, a young African American teenage boy, who struggles with accepting both his faith and his sexuality, while dealing with the aftermath of his sister’s disappearance six years ago (Polk, Blackbird).

Some things I enjoyed about the film were the soundtrack, the relationship between Randy and his friends, and the relationship between Randy and his boyfriend Marshall. I enjoyed the expressions of faith throughout film; it highlighted elements of the Bible without being to self-righteous. Another thing I liked about Blackbird is that it deals with hegemonic masculinity and homosexuality in the black community. I feel that homosexuality is not really talked about in the black community and this movie should have been used as a platform to discuss that. The movie does not touch the subject of intersectionality. They could have talked about how being both a black and a gay male makes Randy’s situation harder. Another concept they should have tackled is binary scripts in relation to both Randy’s race and his sexuality. Randy being a cisgendered male was expected to fit into a category of manliness and heterosexuality, and therefore his homosexuality became a source of tension that remained prevalent throughout the film.

One thing I did not like about the film Blackbird was Julian Walker’s (Randy) interpretation of the character. I felt as though Julian Walker did not deliver the role well and I felt his portrayal of Randy was unbelievable; his emotions seemed forced. I also believe there are many plot holes in the film. Randy refrained from acting out his desires because he felt that he would be sinning against God. But throughout the film he commits other acts that are considered sins and thinks nothing of it. Some of the other sins he committed were: lying about his sexuality and engaging premarital sex (both heterosexual and homosexual). His homophobic mother committed sin by showing hatred towards Randy and Marshall. The film should have seen all sin as equal, instead of focusing only on one sin.

One scene in particular that really caught my attention was when Randy’s friend Leslie Crandall committed suicide. Throughout the film, he had premonitions about the future. He had visions of Leslie looking like a dead person, saw visions of blood when he was around her, and sensed that she would get an abortion. I do not understand how the premonitions were related to his struggle. The movie never really talked about the reasons for his premonitions and it just complicated the plot line.

Going to the Reelout Film Festival, I was very underwhelmed. A lot of people came early and I thought we would interact with one another. I thought we would discuss what we expected from the movie and how they feel about the Reelout festival. But it felt like I was at a movie theatre; people walked in and just sat there. There was a brief introduction about the movie, and after the movie was over people just left. I thought the coordinators of Reelout would open up a discussion for people to share their thoughts about the film and share any experiences they may have had with accepting themselves for who they are. I just thought there would be more of a sense of community.

In conclusion I think Blackbird had a good concept. When I watched the trailer I thought they would explore intersectionality and its effects on Randy’s life. I expected the film to look at the roots of the clash between Christianity and homosexuality. Blackbird is a film with a great foundation and story line, but it needs to be developed further. I feel like too many different elements were crammed into one plot line. The film had great potential but I feel like it only scratched the surface of the issues surrounding homosexuality and Christianity.

Works Citied

Blackbird. Perf. Julian Walker, Mo’Nique Imes-Jackson, Kevin Allesee. KBiz Entertainment, Tall Skinny Black Boy Productions, 2014. Film.

Homosexuality and Racial Differences

Stills of key scenes in ‘Lilting’

Upon hearing that our first blog post was to be based on viewing a film at the Reelout Film Festival, I promptly went on their website and browsed through the films being shown. I immediately was drawn to the film “Lilting”, directed by Hong Khaou, because it seemed to focus on the issues between homosexuality and different races.

Throughout the movie, there seemed to be a general stereotype that elder Asians do not understand or accept the topic of homosexuality. The storyline of “Lilting” focuses on the relationship between an older Cambodian-Chinese woman named Junn, and her late-son Kai’s unknown boyfriend Richard. Junn for all these years, believing that Kai and Richard were just heterosexual roommates, receives help from Richard after Kai’s untimely death. There were consistent flashbacks during the movie to when Kai was debating on coming out to his mother, however Kai does not have the courage to come out to her. Right from the start of the movie I already could tell that there was going to be a great deal of ageism from Richard. He hires a translator and treats Junn like she’s a brittle lady, when in fact she was taught to be a strong and independent woman. Considering there is a great language barrier between them and she has lost both her husband and recently her son, she begins to open up to the idea of new things.

Right from the beginning I was internally screaming at Richard to just get it over with and tell Junn that Kai was gay. The scene that sparked my attention to critically analyze was when Richard brings Junn to his house for tea and to remember Kai. This is when Richard decides to reveal his and Kai’s secret. After telling Junn that Kai was gay and how they were in a devoted relationship, we finally see Junn start to develop as a character by not only accepting, but by also appreciating their homosexual relationship. She then recounts all the time she and Kai have spent together and truly breaks the barrier of race and homophobia.

I can strongly relate to this subject because I expected my father who is a first generation immigrant from Japan, to not be open to the idea of me being gay. I spent years, similar to Kai, knowing my feelings and my sexual identity, but simply just not knowing how my father would react and when to tell him. Seeing this scene jogged my memory and really made me understand why Kai had not told his mother and why he had kept his secret for so long.

My experience at the queer film festival was not very special. I was expecting to walk in and see rainbow flags hanging all over the walls and stereotypical flamboyant gay men ushering me to my seat. It honestly felt like just a regular film festival. As I sat down for the seat I kept thinking to my self, “wow this is such a sketch theatre”. Continuing to adjust to the environment, the film was about to start and the director of the festival started to talk about the whole persona of the festival. Since it was Superbowl Sunday there were maybe 15 people in the theatre, so he made all of the guests feel very connected and ready for the sad movie to come. During the movie I needed to escort myself out because I had too much water that day and expected to see gender-neutral bathrooms but instead saw a male bathroom and a female bathroom. I was not expecting that using a male bathroom to be weird, but I kept thinking how it was weird that a queer film festival did not adjust the bathrooms to be gender-neutral.

After leaving the theatre, my friend and I recounted the film and the whole experience of the festival and overall we both thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and quite frankly will definitely suggest my friends and family to see it.

-Blue Booty