Queer Chicano Culture And The Reclamation Of 'Maricón'

Queer Chicano Culture And The Reclamation Of 'Maricón'

Maricon Collective

Rudy Bleu, Carlos Morales, Manuel Paul and Michael Rodriguez: these four men are all from east of the L.A. River, are all in their 30s, all Latino, and all gay. They also all have a fondness for Chicano-inspired art and music, which drove them to create their art and DJ collective, Maricón Collective.

“Maricón”, for the unfamiliar, is the Spanish word for “faggot”, with all of the same hateful connotations. Rodriguez says, “Growing up, I never wanted to be [called maricón]; I didn’t want to relate to it. We grew up in very machismo families and it was always looked down upon.” 

The quartet named their group as a way to reclaim the term and turn it around to focus on something positive. Maricón Collective hosts dance parties, picnics and brunches throughout L.A. and provides a focus on queer Chicano art and music. Their first party last April was such a success that they wound up with booked weekends for virtually the entire summer, turning into throwbacks of the “Backyard Boogie” parties they knew while growing up, complete with a friendly and familial vibe.

LA Weekly has a thorough rundown of the group from where they’ve been to where they’re going, and you can follow Maricón Collective on their Facebook page and keep track of all of their latest activities.


Christian Walters

www.towleroad.com/2015/01/queer-chicano-culture-and-the-reclamation-of-maric%C3%B3n.html

Biblical Case for Inclusion

Biblical Case for Inclusion
The Idaho House this week approved introducing a piece of legislation to add the words “gender identity” and “sexual orientation” to the Human Rights Codes. This means we will, after 9 years, finally get a hearing. This will allow people to share stories with legislators about the vital need to include these protections in the Idaho Civil Rights Codes.

Yesterday, I had the privilege to meet with Representative Brent Crane from Nampa. He’s the Assistant Majority leader in the House and was the one “no” vote to print the legislation and send it to committee. It was a good meeting. He gave us well over an hour of his time, and I really appreciated hearing his viewpoint. I also felt listened to.

He has said (and reiterated in our meeting) that he will not vote to Add the Words. Partly because he told his voters he wouldn’t support it and for him integrity means not changing his mind. Partly because he supports “traditional marriage” and partly because, as a business owner, he doesn’t want to be sued for not wanting to employ someone who doesn’t line up with his values. (He said it nicer than that. Sort of).

I’ve been thinking of our conversation. And I recognized how sincere his “deeply held religious beliefs” were. But it left me wondering how a large section of American Christianity has put people like Rep. Crane in the untenable situation of being unable to vote for justice and equality for all Idahoans just because of their sexual orientation.

I recognize he and the conservative, evangelical, and fundamental branches of Christianity see same gender relationships as “sinful”. (I don’t agree with them, but that’s a post for a different day.)

How did we get to a place where it is THE sin? Why are they behaving as if it is the only ‘sinful’ behavior against which we need to stand?

They think a business owner should be free not to serve LGBTQ people if it is opposed to their “deeply held religious belief”. Wouldn’t a business owner with such strong convictions also refuse to serve people who have been divorced (Matt 19:1-12)?

Wouldn’t a “bible-believing” business owner also refuse to serve adulterers (Exodus 20:14)?

Wouldn’t a Christian business owner also refuse to serve people who have murdered, lied, cheated, stolen, given false testimony, withheld aid from the poor, and not honored the Sabbath?

Here’s the Biblical reason to Add the Words:

Jesus never excluded anyone from social interaction because they were gay or trans. Nor did he tell his followers to do so. He ate with tax collectors (Mark 2, Matthew 9). He touched the unclean (Matt 8, Mark 1, Luke 8). He welcomed sinners. He spoke to women, he even requested water from a woman who had had 5 husbands (John 4).

If people want to continue to believe that gender identity and sexual orientation are sinful, then it seems perfectly reasonable (if damaging to their LGBTQ loved ones) to continue to not take part in those behaviors they feel are sinful.

But there is no biblical mandate to deny LGBTQ Idahoans equality under the law. Adding the Words will not require religious organizations to change their theology or practice. It will prevent people from denying housing, employment, or services to people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Jesus also never “ranked” sins. He also never tolerated the religious leaders who tried to do so. The biblical witness is clear that God wants us to feed the poor, take care of widows and orphans love one another, and welcome people in his name.

It is time to Add the Words and to stop using the Bible as the excuse for why we can’t.

www.huffingtonpost.com/marci-auld-glass/biblical-case-for-inclusion_b_6492502.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

Rob Fusari's 'Cary NoKey' Opening For RuPaul's Drag Race's 'Battle Of The Seasons' 2015 Condragulations Tour: VIDEO

Rob Fusari's 'Cary NoKey' Opening For RuPaul's Drag Race's 'Battle Of The Seasons' 2015 Condragulations Tour: VIDEO

Screen Shot 2015-01-21 at 1.45.34 PM

Screen Shot 2015-01-21 at 1.46.30 PMRob Fusari, the award winning songwriter behind No. 1 hits with several artists including Destiny’s Child, Lady Gaga and Whitney Houston, is joining RuPaul’s Drag Race’s Battle of the Seasons 2015 Condragulations Tour as the show’s opening act. The show is hosted by Michelle Visage and features several notable drag queens including recent winner Bianca Del Rio, Sharon Needles, Courtney Act, Raja, Adore Delano, Manila Luzon, Detox, Pandora Boxx and Darienne Lake among several others. Fusari, who wrote hit songs like Paparazzi, Love That Man, and Beautiful, Dirty, Rich segued out of the music industry machine and decided to start writing songs for himself that led him to develop Cary NoKey.

Said Fusari:

“On the outside it seemed like I had everything but I was never able to understand or accept certain elements that existed within me.

“Cary NoKey was always there inside. I simply needed to embrace my glam American Dream.”

Cary NoKey’s opening setlist includes cover songs and eight original songs from Cary NoKey’s full-length debut album, Journal 8, set to release in early March. NoKey is set to debut his new single Do Ya? in the opening act and perform his recent single American Dream live. NoKey’s American Dream, which has a music video on YouTube featuring trans actresses Trace Lysette, Dina Marie, Victoria Beltran and Bailey Jay, details the fall of the American dream and how trans people are becoming the true face of the American dream in a recent press release.

Said Fusari:

Screen Shot 2015-01-21 at 2.48.50 PM“The Pollyanna ideas of work hard, follow the rules, pay your taxes and ask not what your country has done for you but what you can do for your country have fallen into the abyss.

“Today’s American Dream isn’t about achieving goals. It’s about doing what you got to do to get by. No one wants to earn anything anymore. We expect everything to be handed to us. The new American dream is a lottery ticket.

“Transsexuals (sic) represent the larger idea that the American dream is something within. Like when Glinda the Good Witch says to Dorothy after she clicks her ruby slippers, ‘You’ve always had the power’. Pre-transitional transsexuals (sic) know they have to fight to release the truth that hides beneath the uniform the world forces them to wear. The moment we each find our own personal ‘I have to’ is when life really begins.”

The Condragulations Tour officially starts in Las Vegas on Feb. 1, touring throughout North America and ending in Europe with its last show on April 16 in London. The lineup of participating drag queens varies by city and dates. You can watch Cary NoKey’s vision of the American Dream, in the music video for the single AFTER THE JUMP

 


Anthony Costello

www.towleroad.com/2015/01/rob-fusaris-cary-nokey-opening-for-rupauls-drag-races-battle-of-the-seasons-tour.html

While Waiting for a Leader Like Dr. King, I'm Learning to Use My Own Voice

While Waiting for a Leader Like Dr. King, I'm Learning to Use My Own Voice
It’s no mere coincidence that the U.S. Supreme Court decided to hear endgame freedom-to-marry cases on the eve of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. I take the synchronicity as a sign that hope for equality is alive and well in America. It bolsters my confidence that all people will soon have the freedom to marry whom they love. And secretly, it helps me believe we’re still getting help from the spirit of Dr. King to move us forward.

That may sound a little supernatural, but the truth is that I need Dr. King’s leadership in 2015. I long for his strength, his resolve, his command, and the safe harbor of his dream. Most of all, I long for his magnificent voice — a voice that people trusted when they were scared and a voice that transformed fear to inspire millions of people into civic action.

With a turn of phrase, elongation of a syllable, or elevation of tone that could scale mountains, King moved audiences to vote, protest in the streets, serve the poor, and love one another. His voice oriented a generation moving through a dark night of America’s soul. It’s not just his message that resonates more than 50 years later, it’s the southern preacher’s God-filled voice that echoes through time.

On Friday, after the Supreme Court announcement was made, I had an opportunity to offer my reaction to the local Nashville news. Rushing to the interview, my mind raced with all the things I wished to say. Even though I’ve been somewhat embarrassed that Tennessee is a domino yet to fall toward social justice, I wanted to express pride that my home state is now helping to accelerate marriage equality across the land. I wanted to discuss the many protections that legal marriage will offer lgbt families, especially those with children.

And I wanted to share my excitement that I, too, will finally have the option to marry. That’s a big deal considering that I had long written off the prospect of finding someone with whom to share my life. Recently, I’ve been dating a man who’s causing me to re-evaluate plans. Marriage equality’s not just theoretical for me anymore; it’s suddenly very personal.

Once the camera started rolling, though, my chest was jumbled full of words and emotion, and I couldn’t squeeze anything meaningful from my mouth. When the reporter asked a question, I stammered and lost my verve. After four takes, I was able to string along a few sentences, letting viewers know they were were witnessing “the beginning of the end of inequality in America.” That’s the sound byte that made it on air. Good enough.

I spent part of MLK Day reflecting on the experience and once again listened to Dr. King’s voice as a guide. I was reminded of these words he offered in a 1957 speech: “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.”

A leader of King’s caliber has yet to emerge and inspire lgbt people in this new era of civil rights battles. On Friday, in want of such a leader, I was asked to use my own voice. While it was as shaky as the leg of a newborn calf, I did it.

On behalf of lgbt youth and adults who feel they have no voice at all, I’m willing to keep stammering and crawling… until I fully find my own voice and learn how to fly.

Maybe I can learn to be the leader I’m longing for.

www.huffingtonpost.com/del-ray-zimmerman/while-waiting-for-a-leade_b_6505228.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

Five Reasons Why President Obama’s SOTU Last Night was the Most Pro-LGBT SOTU Address … Ever.

Five Reasons Why President Obama’s SOTU Last Night was the Most Pro-LGBT SOTU Address … Ever.

During last night’s State of the Union address, President Barack Obama reiterated his commitment to legal and social equality for LGBT Americans.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/five-reasons-why-president-obamas-sotu-last-night-was-the-most-pro-lgbt-sot?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed