From the front lines of the global fight for equality...

Evening, all! I promise you I've not completely fallen off the face of the earth. As fate would have it, SEU Feminist's only male blogger is also its least prolific poster. *Cue the wailing, ashes, and sackcloth of repentence* Seriously, though, I'll be better about that in the future.

Anyhow, just wanted to share this beautiful ad from Ireland that's sure to render some conservatives speechless. Slainte!

"My time will come": Another milestone in the global struggle for political equality

Yesterday, former Icelandic Minister of Social Affairs and Social Security Johanna Sigurdardottir became her nation's first female prime minister and the world's first openly gay head of government. This comes after months of widespread malaise in the country, and many look to her as a sign of better times to come.

She entered politics in 1978. Since then, she has held several prominent positions in Iceland's government. Much has been made of her former occupation as a flight attendant, perhaps not without cause: her rise to power is all the more inspirational considering where she began. In 1995, she ran for her current position without success. "My time will come," she famously remarked.

Along with the inauguration of President Barack Obama, her election has made January one of the most groundbreaking months in the history of the fight for human equality.

For more information, there's a great article at TIME.com on the subject.

"The facts were these": the empowerment of women (and men) in Pushing Daisies

When you think of portrayals of women on television, what comes to mind? I'd bet you picture scantily-clad, shockingly promiscuous, terribly cast vixens. Sex sells, and nobody knows this better than film and TV industry fat cats. Put a piece of flesh in front of America, and you'll have 'em banging down your door.

But there's at least one show that treats women as more than the sum of their parts: Pushing Daisies. The series, created by the visionary Bryan Fuller, is now in its second season. It depicts its female characters as strong, compassionate, independent, and good-natured. And now ABC has decided to cancel it.

For the uninitiated, here's the very least you need to know: In this romantic comedy/fantasy/detective drama, Ned, a shy, kindhearted pie maker (played by the amazingly talented Lee Pace) has a gift. He can bring the dead back to life with a single touch of his hand. But there are two catches. If he touches that formerly deceased person a second time, they will return to their posthumous state forever. If he should leave a person alive for more than a minute, however, someone else will die in their place. Enter private investigator Emerson Cod (played by the very entertaining Chi McBride). He discovers Ned's ability, and employs him to revive murder victims in order to find their killers and collect the reward money. One such victim turns out to be lonely tourist Charlotte "Chuck" Charles (played by the gorgeous, skillful British actress Anna Friel). She was Ned's childhood friend and first kiss, and hasn't seen him since. Upon waking her, Ned realizes that he has feelings for her, and so keeps her alive indefinitely. The two fall in love, becoming the sweetest, most charming fictitious couple to hit the small screen in decades. This turn of events takes place much to the chagrin of Ned's co-worker and secret admirer, Olive Snook (the delightful Kristin Chenoweth of Wicked fame), who is made to believe that Chuck faked her own death. Of course, despite their increasingly intense love for each other, Ned and Chuck can never touch. Every episode follows a different whimsical, often themed, murder mystery case, while simultaneously developing the characters' relationships with each other and expanding on their personal stories.

Aside from this show's many other admirable qualities, it is one of the most groundbreaking programs in years, in terms of gender issues. Our heroine, Chuck, is not a desperate housewife, nor a desperate anything for that matter. She is independent, smart, courageous, inquisitive, and vibrant, refreshingly far from the traditional wilting violet of yesteryear, yet maintaining the elegance of the classic ingenue. As evidence of her liberated womanhood, she has absolutely no qualms about bearing a traditionally male nickname. And, yes, she can be all of these things while still maintaining her role as hopeless romantic, and without stooping to promiscuity or indecency. Olive's character also breaks traditional gender stereotypes. She is determined, vivacious, and eager. She was a jockey for several years, entering into a sport generally considered an "old boy's club" and "the sport of kings". And without being even the slightest bit risqué, she is not afraid to assert her sexuality and sensuality. Her love for Ned, one could argue, may possibly be even deeper than Chuck's, and yet, she gracefully steps aside. She can also belt out a song when the mood strikes her, and there's nothing more liberating than that.

The fellas (such as yours truly) can also look to this show for good examples of authentic masculinity defying antique boundaries. Ned, our protagonist, is sweet, gentle, kind, caring, sensitive, and (dare I say it?) adorable. He's secure enough in his "maleness" to be himself, which includes making pies. Yes, contrary to popular belief, anyone can enjoy the wonders of pie.  None of this impedes his debonair abilities to sweep his lady love off her feet. Equally notable is Emerson Cod's case. He presents himself as a strong, no-nonsense crime-fighter, but privately loves to knit and has unresolved issues with his long-lost daughter. Guys in America need to be reminded that masculinity, just like femininity, is not found in mere conformity to an arbitrary set of social norms. And this show attempts, through the efforts of its amazing creator, to do just that.

Any discussion of gender roles and Pushing Daisies would be tragically incomplete without at least a brief mention of Chuck's aunts Vivian and Lily (played by those great and venerable stars of stage and screen, Ellen Greene and Swoosie Kurtz, respectively). They are former synchronized swimmers, who once formed a duo known as The Darling Mermaid Darlings. The share a love for fine cheese, and a sadness for their niece's presumed passing. Lily in particular refuses to be bogged down by stereotypes; she tends to enjoy shooting trespassers and other shady characters with her trusty rifle, for example. Both aunts are strong women, though crippled by a social disorder, who accept that they cannot be what society wants them to be, but only who they truly are. 

We can all take lessons from this brilliant show. Though our genders are a significant part of who we are, we shouldn't let artificial constructs and stereotypes prevent us from living our lives as we see fit and being the people we truly must be.

With all that in mind, I think ABC's decision is outrageously stupid. And that's all I have to say about that.

Indulge your obsession (or cultivate a new one, so that you too can join in the sadness of PD's cancellation):

Watch episodes for free at ABC.com

Watch the first season on iTunes

Watch the second season on iTunes

Buy the first season DVD from Amazon

One Catholic's perspective on Prop 8

He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone...

I am a devout, practicing, traditional Catholic, and I am against Proposition 8.

This might seem like a paradox, and may not be conservative enough or liberal enough depending on your views, but bear with me. The Roman Catholic faith, to which I am a fervent adherent, maintains the following official position on the matter of same-sex relations:

"Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that 'homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.' They... close the sexual act to the gift of life...Under no circumstances can they be approved...This inclination [however]...constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided."

- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2357-2358

The Catechism goes on to state that LGBT people are "called to chastity". This is the case because the Catholic Church teaches that sexual activity must be both an expression of eternal love and an act open to procreation. Since same-sex relations cannot be procreative, practicing Catholics are bound not to engage in them. Some Catholic theorists go so far as to say that romantic love cannot exist between two people of the same sex.

I can't disagree with the Church on the point that practicing Catholics cannot engage in homosexual acts without committing a sin. And I believe that any form of sexual activity in which a child cannot be created is also sinful (including masturbatory, oral, anal, or "safe" sex between people of any gender). However, I strongly disagree with the latter point: I have seen many same-sex couples who are more loving than a substantial number of their heterosexual counterparts. While I believe that the Church cannot permit her members to be joined in same-sex marriages, American civil law is, or should be, a completely different ball game.

First of all, what ever happened to separation of Church and state? At the end of the day, I'm glad I live in a nation where not everyone agrees with me. Freedom is what makes this country great. Secondly, since when does a government have a right to declare who its citizens can and can't marry? If John Doe can marry Suzy Smith, why can't Jane Doe marry her? In a democracy, the citizens are supposed to have true sovereignty over their government. So how can we let our political leaders tell us who to love, to honor, and to cherish 'til death do us part? I've always felt that part of the American dream was being able to love whomever you love, without apology. No matter what anyone says, I will never be convinced that love is a choice.

I encourage people to be true to their beliefs, whatever they are, and I especially urge all Catholics to follow the Church's teachings. That said, the matter of your sexuality is very personal. Share it with your partner, your friends, your family, trusted members of the community, your confessor, anyone, everyone, or no one at all if you don't want to. Whomever. But who you love is none of Uncle Sam's gosh darn business.

Some relevant links...

Courage, a Church-approved ministry to LGBT and questioning Catholics

The Trevor Project, a non-religious, non-profit resource for LGBTQ youth

Prop 8 Protest in Austin!

This is a long picture post, so I'm sorry if it loads slowly.

Here are a few of the photos I took at the proposition 8 protest yesterday at City Hall here in Austin. We had a much bigger crowd than I expected-- about 2,000 people!


These guys offered me some "homo-made" pumpkin bread.

People lined up along the curb outside City Hall after the speeches were done.



After the rallying outside City Hall for a while, we marched up to the Capitol and around downtown.

Favorite picture of the day.

Passing by Oilcan Harry's, a gay bar downtown.

I missed Wednesday's Sex Fact... so how about a Saturday Song?

"Woman Is the Nigger of the World" by John Lennon

"We make her paint her face and dance

If she won't be a slave, we say that she don't love us

If she's real, we say she's trying to be a man

While putting her down we pretend that she is above us"

He's best known as a Beatle and a peace activist, but I think of John Lennon as more of an individual that deeply cared about all social issues, including feminism! I love how he gives Yoko credit at the beginning of the song. :)

Majority female state senate in New Hampshire!

Funny Feminist Friday: Ellen!

In light of all the same-sex marriage bans passing on Tuesday-- prop 8 in California, prop 2 in Florida, and prop 102 in Arizona-- I thought I'd share a few clips of one of my favorite queer comediennes, the fabulous Ellen DeGeneres. In this clip from her 2000 show, The Beginning, Ellen shares an interpretive dance about her coming out experience.



Maybe Ellen should start a campaign to protest prop 8 through interpretive dance?
This next clip is sad in light of recent events, but here you can watch her totally trump John McCain on the subject of gay marriage:



And to cheer you up, here's a clip of Ellen dancing with President-Elect (!!!) Barack Obama:

WomEMPOWERment meeting recap: 11/5 (and some thoughts on the election)

What a fantastic day this has been. I woke up an hour before my alarm went off (which never happens unless I'm excited or in love) and I felt like it was christmas morning. And actually, I am in love. I'm in love with an America that can move beyond centuries of prejudice and elect the best person for the job, regardless of race. I'm in love with a country that has seen past the slander and the lies about our future president and has recognized that he is an intelligent, passionate person who wants to help rebuild this country, unite us, and make us the best we can be. I'm in love with the feeling of optimism that surrounds us both from the knowledge that Bush's reign will soon end and from the hope that with the breaking down of this giant barrier to equality, that hundreds of smaller barriers will soon be broken-- for people of color, for women, for immigrants, for queers. To paraphrase Neil Armstrong: one small large step for Obama, one giant leap for equality in this country.

What was this post about again? Oh yeah, the meeting. We had our second meeting of WomEMPOWERment on this glorious night. We met outside the main building, where the weather was perfect and the view was gorgeous. Today we concentrated nearly all of our discussion on the AAUW grant proposal, which is due Friday. We also talked a little about future events for our group, most of which were carried over from last week's discussion. (Yoga? Movie and discussion night in Jones? Sex Ed carnival? "My vag is going green" info sessions to promote alternative menstrual products? Watching The Itty Bitty Titty Committee and drinking margaritas for an end-of-semester party? A big fat YES WE CAN to all!) I'll let y'all know more about the grant and about next week's meeting as soon as I know.

I freaking love America. See you all next week.