If there’s one thing I Love more than finding a good movie or great music, it’s sharing the feeling with other people. I can never get over the power of art to be able to tell a story, to speak volumes about a situation or a feeling, and to allow an understanding and appreciation of life in a way that nothing else can. Which is why I think some sharing is in order.

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I recently became unemployed. The story is long and ridiculous, but I’ll save it for another day.  Right now, I want to talk about an interview I had.

Though I found the ad on a prominent resume site, the interview turned out to be for a coveted position on the bottom level of a pyramid scheme. 

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Our dear Rachel is out sick, and she asked someone to post some quickies for her. Ask and you shall receive, friend (though it may be, like 6 hours late). Hope you get well soon, Rachel.

Marriage Equality News:

• Proposition 8, which banned marriage equality in California, found to be unconstitutional by 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The case will likely head to Supreme Court. Yessenia points out an epic quote from the ruling: “Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples.”
• Washington State headed quickly towards passing marriage equality. The bill passed the Senate last week, and will be voted on this afternoon by the House. Governor Chris Gregorie, who requested the measure be brought up for a vote, says she will sign the law when passed.

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One of the things that we cultural anthropologists are interested in is people’s everyday lived experiences. By spending a lot of time with people, watching them, participating with them in their daily lives, and asking them questions that we are able to gain insights into their society and culture.

I am interested in getting to know our readers better. I’m curious what the demographics of our readership is like, but I am more interested in how your everyday lives shape your interests. So, I want to know more about who you are and what your life is like.

What is a typical day in your life like? How does a typical day in your life reflect your personality and your interests?

The Afternoon Inqueery (or AI) is a question posed to you, the Queereka community. Look for it to appear Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 3pm ET.

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Recently, a graphic called The Genderbread Person was introduced to the world by Sam Killermann of It’s Pronounced Metrosexual. The graphic and blog post that discussed it were being passed around all over the internet. But does The Genderbread Person (GP) accurately address the complexities of sex, gender, and sexuality?

Let me preface this post by saying that I appreciate Mr. Killermann’s work as a queer ally. I think the GP is a great conversation starter–especially for people who have not thought much about sex, gender, and sexuality. I used the graphic in one of my graduate classes last week to spur conversation about these categorizations. I also plan to use it in an upcoming sex/gender lecture to introduce the idea of sex, gender, and sexuality as more than binary oppositions to a class full of young introduction to anthropology students. It can be a great introduction to these complex ideas.

That being said, I have a few issues with the graphic and with his blog post explaining the graphic.

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There’s an extensive, sad article in Rolling Stone about anti-gay bigotry, school bullying, and culture war politics in Anoka, Minnesota, called One Town’s War on Gay Teens.

Here is a satirical video called Women for Santorum that mocks Santorum’s recent comments that becoming pregnant after a rape means God is trying to give you a gift.

In the week since the Komen foundation announced they would no longer provide grant money to Planned Parenthood to screen for breast cancer (a noted departure from their previous anti-cancer stance), Planned Parenthood has not only raised enough money to completely replace all their annual grant funding; they’ve raised three million dollars!  Don’t mess with Planned Parenthood!

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This week’s Grey’s Anatomy episode showed us a glimpse of what a Seattle Grace with an alive and unaffected by Alzheimer’s Ellis Grey would be. The exact same characters, the exact same personalities, the exact same issues, only guided by a far more extraordinary, dominant, pushy personality, and yet the proportions to which this single person affected their lives are significantly big.

Just as everything regarding alternate timelines (yes, I’m talking about Community’s best episode ever), this one got me thinking about all the different ways people’s lives and actions, however distant from us, may affect a group of people both individually and as a whole, and it seems like a good exercise to give merit and credit to those responsible for changing our worlds.

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I’m polyamorous and bisexual. I’m in two serious relationships right now, one with a woman in the early stages of MTF transition, one with a man who has recently discovered that he is a transvestic fetishist.

I also feel guilty about the attraction in general; am I “othering” or “exoticising” non-gender-conforming people? That’s bad, right? –Gender Guilt

Okay, Gender Guilt, I have a question for you: what are your three favorite things about each of your partners? That is, what would you say are the primary reasons you are in relationships with these people?

I’m guessing that “Their gender nonconformity makes me happy in the pantsal region!” is not on either of those lists.

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The Chief Justice of Kenya now explains that  ”gay rights are human rights” in a video on YouTube. Originally recorded in September, it predates a similar statement by Hilary Clinton by two months.

A Canadian airport screening rule passed in July gets a close read this week, as it appears to prohibit trans people from boarding planes. Although no incidents have been reported where the provision has been cited, it prompted the re-introduction of a bill preventing discrimination against transgender people.

Feministe puts together a great list of “facts and lies” about the relationship between Susan G. Komen and Planned Parenthood, as the grant cutoff continues to make headlines. The Atlantic also has a great summary of the initial decision. Meanwhile, Planned Parenthood has raised between $400,000 – $650,000 in the last three days, with matching grants from Michael Bloomberg and the Amy and Lee Fikes Foundation. Komen contributed approximately $680,000 to breast cancer screenings a year.

In other great news, Washington state is almost certain to pass a bill allowing same-sex marriage.

Image from Planned Parenthood Rally in New York City, by WeNews.

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So the good news is I’m getting divorced! The bad news: I have my exhusband’s last name. You see, I decided to change my name when I got married due to pressure from him and his super traditional family. The argument my exhusband made at the time was that I should change my name so that we’ll be identifiable as a family. Like the Smiths or the Joneses. And of course, our son has his last name.

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