-
My 3 Favorite Articles of 2020
My favorite articles of 2020 all coalesce thematically around “freedom,” which I am currently writing about in book form. Threading through these articles, too, is my critique of “equality.” Two articles specifically address “freedom” in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: In March 2020, I wrote about how the rhetoric of “freedom” is weaponized by…
-
“Oh. THAT Lesbian.” — Notes on “Ammonite”
“Borrid.” That is, “boring meets torrid.” Credit for this magnificent term goes to USC’s Karen Tongson, who coined the word to describe the particular genre of lesbianish cinema, made for mainstream/straight consumption, which play out “long-simmering romances that are in many respects about repression and sidelong glances, the indirectness of desire.” Tongson’s commentary was directed…
-
A Note About Those Tweets
Hi Readers, I just wanted to send a quick note about some cherrypicked tweets that have been circulating across social media. After being attacked on Twitter by a certain businessman’s “gang,” I have experienced some trolling and blowback after members/bots affiliated with the gang cherrypicked tweets from early in the aughts. When cherrypicked and situated…
-
Happiest Season
Lesbians have been given a gift — a film by us, starring us, and for us. Clea DuVall’s Happiest Season feels so necessary at a time of intersecting crises. And, I cannot express the absolute joy I felt upon seeing Kristen Stewart play a lesbian in a lesbian movie — a lesbian Christmas movie! Seeing…
-
How Oppression Works
If the goal is liberation, “Who is Oppressed?” is not a particularly productive question, as even the most powerful of people can display that they, too, harbor some form of oppression, usually legible in acts of petulance. Righteous indignation, despite their power. Blistering red in the face, they yell “Victim!” repeatedly, any time accountability is…
-
Citation is a Feminist Act
A few years ago, I read a popular academic feminist book in which the popular feminist author said she was going to do something radical and not quote any white men. Which meant she plagiarized them, instead. She not only plagiarized white men, but she also plagiarized a certain lesbian feminist who was a mentor…
-
The Cost of Acceptance: Reflections
NBC Think asked me to write a short, 200-word reflection on my recent article on Ellen, George W. Bush, and the cost of acceptance. Below is the full version, which was condensed for the newsletter. Central to my analysis of Ellen Degeneres’ defense of her friendship with former US president George W. Bush is the…
-
Writing Revision
If reading was the most noble act, for Ellen, then writing was the most dangerous. This is why at the ripe age of 14, she decided to exchange tickling the ivories with writing in her journal. This is why she became a literature scholar. Teaching put both reading and writing into practice. Through teaching, she…
-
About That “Fire Tweet”
I’m tickled to have had a “fire tweet” on Buzzfeed’s AM/DM — a simple tweet calling out the sexist double standards of the presidential candidate coverage and public perception. The 52K+ people who have liked this tweet fully understand that the political arena — from media coverage to $$ — has not made the space…
-
Colonoscopy
Colonoscopy I am the opposite of someone who is crippled by anxiety. When I am anxious about something, I race toward it, sometimes heedlessly, sometimes without proper caution. The drive is one of impatience; positively, this trait could be perceived as bravery, but, realistically, I’ll admit to being impatient. Because I had two young,…