Campari, "The Secret"

Thanks to Toby for the link to this *facinating* commercial.

Campari group, beverage company that is responsible for dozens of brands, including Skyy Vodka, hired "Radical Media" and the result was an awards winning advertizement that capitalizes on the excitement and titilation of "gender bending". Oh, if only all the coming out moments were like this.

Oh, and if you recognize the music, yep, it's from the orgy scenes in Eyes Wide Shut.

See the video

TSG highlights cross-dresser

It's hard to say much about this report. The Smoking Gun has posted a mug shot and police report for a person charged with public indecency for pleasuring himself at the local library. The reason that TSG finds the case notable is that this man was wearing a dress, heels, make-up and a wig.

It is the main story on the site today.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0320061lady1.html

"Conviction" ironically lacking in itself...

I think there are only three or four people actually watching the latest Law & Order spin off, Conviction, so this may not really be relevant. However, in the second episode, this week's that aired Friday night 3/10/06, had a classic transphobic joke in the first five minutes.

Jordan Bridges (pictured) plays a new ADA, Nick Potter, in New York City and this episode he got hazed by his fellow ADAs. The joksters' first prank involved convincing Nick that a line up was to take place that had to consist entirely of "trannies"--i.e. that one of these trannies was the perpetrator of some crime. Unfortunately, they were short one trannie, so the new guy is asked to "dress up" and put a wig on. As Nick emerges with a black dress on, of course, the entire office is there to greet him, laughing. Nick blushes, we cut to a commercial break, and all mention of trannies ends.

A major part of the episode involves a hate crime fag-bashing which is justified when we find out the gay dude was beaten for blackmailing a closeted athlete during their relationship, but I'll let GLAAD handle that shit.

Upon finally seeing RENT again, on video, ten years later

The reason child molesters are so successful in their perpetration is that they are, in addition to being sexually deviant, incredibly charming to a child. They’re nice and friendly and give you attention when maybe not too many people are. Growing up in insular, rural Midwest, RENT did just that for us in 1997. Years before it was even possible to see either the Angel or Benny touring company in Chicago, the original cast recording was making the rounds around the queer/outcast circles my sophomore year in high school. The popularity of the show exploded overnight—the show choir performed Seasons of Love, one of the lesbian couples on campus performed “Light My Candle” for one of the hall talent shows, the theater groups did improve games with some other shitty song. RENT touched us in bad places but no one else touched us at all.

I suppose I should explain that I went to kind of a different high school. IMSA was chock full of progressive-enough liberals, the overflow of cornfed academics trying to make a living in the tundra of Northern Illinois. Our entire sophomore class read “And The Band Played On” and Spectrum was founded years before other high schools even dreamed of GSAs. RENT was exactly the kind of romantic notion of queers, PWAs and Greenwich Village artists that the instructors found palatable, and Larson’s rock songs appealed to musical theater geeks AND their friends.

I was 15, and other than RENT, we had Go Fish, arguably less polished and accessible, Bar Girls (ick), My Own Private Idaho (don’t get me started), and a few other texts to keep us satiated. But basically, the soundtrack of my mid-high school experience was you-know-what. I only ever saw the show once—in Chicago. I don’t remember much of it, other than I was surprised there was a cohesive story line—I never knew anything that wasn’t on the recording, and even now, I have a hard time keeping the characters and plot lines straight. I was floored when I found out that Mr. Rapp played the one with the movie camera and not the guitar player. Ten years, folks.

Watching RENT, the movie, watching those morons dump flaming trash onto the street and show up to PWA meetings with a motion picture camera, I feel ashamed I ever fell for this stuff in the first place. I feel used, but I also am lucky for having figured it out in the end at all. Jonathan Larson, you can never make it up to me, what you have perpetrated on my body. I’d kill you a thousand times and wake you the fuck up and kill you again if I could. You make me feel dirty. “One Song Glory” still breaks my heart.

A Synopsis of Transamerica

There hasn't been a unified community response to Transamerica. I would guess that the reason is that transpeople don't bother to see movies about transpeople that are produced by people outside the community.

Here's a great summary of the film, whether you've seen the flik or not. Enjoy. http://charliegrrrl.livejournal.com/111707.html?view=694107

"Crash" wins for lack of transsexual jokes

Is it me or is it rare to see a film that doesn't dane to make one solitary transsexual joke? "Crash," this year's best picture, didn't bother to crack even one jibe at the transfolk. It did, however, remind us that black women are victims, white men are good (or not that bad) and the rest of us...well, just screw the rest of us.

For those of you interested in the film, I can't recommend highly enough the review posted on the blog blackademic.com which also links to some other good ones.

But really, good work, Crash producers, and thanks for leaving us the heck alone.

Gender policing on college campuses

"Hood College is reviewing its homecoming rules after a lesbian was crowned king, a college official says." If this isn't a fabulous opening sentence, I don't know what is.

I want to be careful not to conflate the very complex gender and sexuality identities being misunderstood and/or sensationalized by mainstream media, but I feel the need to post a link to this article, about a woman who was just voted homecoming king by her college.

This event is gender-threatening and rather than the fact that she is a lesbian (she wasn't voted in with a partner, for instance) this is an issue of a woman-in-a-man's-place at Hood College. I especially like the comment by one of the losers that a woman winning this competition "made it seem like a joke."

The full article

"She is not a man," said Singleton Newman, a 22-year-old senior who was among the queen candidates. "It is a gender issue, and she is a woman."

Santo Provenzano, 21, who competed for king, said Jones' selection made the event seem like a joke. "It discourages guys from wanting to take part in the future," he said.

Larry King Interviews

Larry King Transcript

When I can get a copy of that SNL skit about the transpeople that aired March 4, 2006 I'll put it up, but until then, take a gander at this--Larry's interview with T.J. (Jourian) and some other folks.

Larry King is obviously an idiot. Here's an exerpt, one of my favorite moments.

KING: T.J. Jourian, when did you start to have different feelings?

T.J. JOURIAN, TRANSMALE: Well that was pretty much early on. I knew I was a boy as young as three-years-old. But I didn't really start questioning my gender until I was in college and around the age of 20. So it's only been about four years now that I've really started identifying as a transmale.

KING: Transmale meaning you want to be a woman?

JOURIAN: No, transmale is another term for female to male, so transmale would be wanting to transition into a male identity. KING: Wait a minute. Are you a girl?

JOURIAN: I was born in a female body. I wish to transition to a male one.

KING: But you look like a male.

JOURIAN: Yes, because I guess I am one.

KING: But you look like a male and you sound like a male.

JOURIAN: Well, that term is actually called passing. I pass pretty well for someone who hasn't gone through the transition yet.

BOYLAN: The hard thing is keeping track of all the stuff. It's no wonder that people get confused. We don't have a good vocabulary for talking about this stuff. If you've never thought about this, it just seems like it comes from Mars.

KING: Should there be a different word for male-to-female than female-to-male.

BOYLAN: Well we say transwomen for people like me and transmen for people like our guest. But I think that it's very hard for people to understand.

KING: Isn't your surgery going to be a lot more difficult, T.J.?

JOURIAN: Well there is no point of reference because most people have not gone through both. But from what I understand, from the research that I've done, transmale surgery is a lot more complicated, but at the same token I don't speak of it as an expert because I've not gone through it.

KING: Do you feel totally like a man?

JOURIAN: Yes, completely, 100 percent.

We made it to the oscars!

Here's the clip of Jon Stewart making that transphobic joke, the first one of the 78th Academy Awards.

"Ladies, Gentlemen...Felicity"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-A986cc1Ps&search=jon%20stewart