posted by panda
Photo of Chinese baby girls, courtesy of Getty Images and the UK Telegraph.
I’m sure many of us remember our youth as a time primarily free of gender, where we ran around bare chested and barefoot in the glorious summer time, regardless of whether our baby bonnet was blue or pink. In fact, much of our early lives are blessedly free of the true pressures inherent in a rigidly gendered society, other than the occasional barbie doll falling into hands that really wanted a slingshot or vice versa.
However, there is some disturbing news on both sides of the planet for young girls this week. NPR reports that a new study conducted by researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital has found some disturbing puberty related trends are taking place among young girls in the United States. The study found that “10-percent of 7-year-old white girls were developing breasts”, and “for young black girls… 25-percent of 7-year-olds” were exhibiting early puberty and maturation.
Meanwhile, in the latest bout of milk powder related …
Click to continue reading girl, you’ll be a woman (too) soon?…
posted by zavi
This week’s links have an international focus, to illustrate how gender bending is indeed a worldwide phenomenon. Here are a few links that really caught my eye:
herbivore boys – men in Japan are rebelling against the typical ‘macho’ male stereotype.
queer China - in a Danwei tv interview, the organizers of Beijing’s Queer Film Festival discuss the fight for queer acceptance.
US gay marriage ban – here in the US, California’s ban on gay marriage is being challenged in the Supreme Court.
honor violence – gay Muslims are facing homelessness and other issues after being rejected by their families.
Keep it queer out there; queer visibility is a definite necessity in the fight for acceptance and …
Click to continue reading this week in gender bending: international happenings
posted by panda
"Obama Pride" campaign logo.
Wow, it’s been a little while. I’m really not sure where the time goes… But the fact that it’s November is just surreal. In any case, I thought I’d take this time to post a quick update about a few things. We are just a few days past the anniversary of the election of Barrack Obama, the United States’ first African American president. Obama ran on a campaign of “hope”, with a view to a new future for a struggling America. I’m sure we all remember how he openly courted the LGBTQ vote with promises of change.
One year later, what has changed for the LGBTQ population? On the same day that Obama won the election, residents of California voted on Proposition 8, a heavily religiously funded campaign to strip away the rights of lesbian and gay people to marry. Running on the old fallback campaign of “protecting the sanctity of marriage”, the measure passed. It left a bitter aftertaste in the mouths of many who had, only hours before, been filled with hope when Obama’s win was officially announced.
The American states where gay marriage is …
Click to continue reading tumultuous legal times for the american queer community
