Art in the service of gender-innovating is one of the most happy-making elements in my life right now. Here are some great ways you can contribute art, time, poetry, etc:
Gender Edge Collective http://genderedge.blogspot.com/ has wonderful events (see above!) and is always taking art and poetry for their beautiful zine! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gender-Edge-Collective/111183248966393
RAGE throws really great parties (and other actions) towards the cause of getting the Philly transportation system to stop using gender stickers on their bus/trolley passes: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=119024039464&ref=ts
Gender Reel is taking all kinds of art in celebration of gender variance: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gender-Reel/129639227100001?ref=ts&sk=wall
And the Philly Trans Health Conference is coming up—I’ll bet they still need volunteers! http://www.trans-health.org/
Last Saturday night, Amy and I attended a screening of The Gender Sticker Film Project. They have another event coming up this Friday. http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=212567582102307 You should totally go!
There was a dance party planned to follow the screening, so how could we not go? Walking into a room with that many cute strangers made me nervous at first, but by the time I sat down on the floor with my wife, my married friend’s boyfriend, and his boyfriend, to hear an adorable singer cover Kids! by MGMT! On! The! Ukelele! (Also! Violet! By! Hole!) a lovely grace settled over me. Surrounded by duos and triads and clumps of gorgeous people of all genders in cute outfits and special haircuts, I felt the you’re too much/not enough that follows me around in my head go quiet. I felt at home, which you know is my big quest, because last time I made a mix CD, it had four songs called Home on it.
Anyway, after the singer finished her set, they started the movie preview. The film is a work in progress being created by Wren Warner, and it chronicles the ways that gender stickers force tranfolks into all kinds of annoying conversations, puts them in danger of harassment, and costs them extra money whenever a bus driver happens to disagree with them about what their gender is. A few years ago, a lady sued over it, and the city was ordered to change the system, but they haven’t yet.
Like I said at the top of this post, there’s nothing as soul-soothing as revolutionary art. It gave me some much-needed perspective on my own worries and made me feel so, so lucky that I sometimes get to make that kind of art. Being in that room also made me thankful as heck for the couple of transguy crushes that put me on the path to being there. (Note to self: love as research is good for you.)
The dance floor was an absolute miracle. I lost self-consciousness in favor of joy to the point where it totally could’ve counted as church. Everyone was smiling and smiling and smiling at each other. Shaking my ass to My Chick Bad, I felt so grateful to be among people who are brilliantly redefining love and identity, who are doing their gorgeous best to influence the rest of us beyond our stupid, repressive inner voices, beyond limits, beyond fear. It’s so nice of them. Of us.
(It looked sooooooo much better than this video does.)
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