“Just as the late David Bowie influenced gender-questioning and queer kids during the height of his career, so did Prince, especially for brown kids who relished being different.” RIP Prince <3
“Yes, I have been upset with white supremacy and trans-misogyny and classism within the poetry community too. How I choose to deal with it is by creating space for badass writers of color.” — Christopher Soto AKA Loma
“As Asian-American women, we do not take up enough space in history or culture. And the opportunities for awards for when we do make waves in mainstream culture are far and few between. So we must keep writing our lives into existence. Awards or not.”–Kristina Wong being my hero
“Including women is not the same as hearing women. As the Princeton and Brigham Young study noted, ‘having a seat at the table is very different than having a voice.’ Women at the table will attest to finding themselves talked over, cut off, interrupted or forced to politely listen to reams of lengthy speeches.”–Julia Baird on “mansplaining”
“It’s really what I thought it would be. All harassment. It’s not about sex. It’s about power. It’s about these guys wanting to exert that control. These guys, they get off knowing that they forced some girl to see it. They know that girl is not going to turn around and say, ‘Let’s go on a date.’ It’s not a pick up. It’s like screaming at a woman from a car. You’re just doing this because you can, and because the world has taught you that that’s OK.”–Whitney Bell on the psychology of unsolicited dick pics
“He was but one of a generation of artists, activists and athletes wiped out by Aids. Why don’t we speak about this anymore? Is it ancient history? Not for me, as it propelled a politics of queer solidarity arising from horrific circumstances.” — Suzanne Moore on a new film about Robert Mapplethorpe
Eileen Myles shares her 10 favorite books.
“In a scene in Winterson’s The Stone Gods, an unnamed character on a subway train finds the novel The Stone Gods and reads about themselves reading about themselves reading about themselves. What the canon needs is not just beauty, or craftsmanship, or simply content that mirrors marginalized lives. The canon needs aesthetics that can call someone back from a cornfield in a voice they want to answer. Winterson’s work offered me a safe house in my war with my own body.”–SJ Sindu says, “Jeanette Winterson Saved My Life”
“A woman, a leader, and a freedom fighter,” Hillary Clinton tweeted. “I can’t think of a better choice for the $20 bill than Harriet Tubman.”
“Merriam-Webster Officially Adds Cisgender And Genderqueer To Its Unabridged Dictionary” which is “hopefully a sign of our progress, even if lawmakers insist on passing bills to undermine that.”
“Lesbians often talk about two families: family of origin and family of choice. This is particularly true of our generation who came out before there was social recognition, let alone acceptance. There are different kinds of trenches, and the bonds forged between us were like what soldiers describe in wartime. Our lives, if not literally, depended on having each other’s back.”–Nancy Toder on Remembering Jeanne Cordova
If you’re in Brooklyn tonight, check out Weird Sister contributor Matt L. Roar‘s music project Golden West Service’s tour kick-off with Ben Robey, Howardian, Faces of Weed, & more!
What did we miss this week? Let us know in the comments! <3
