I have had this blog for months now and I suppose I am quite happy with what I’ve been able to write. When I first started, I read a few articles on how to blog, and how to blog if you’re thinking of one day going in to journalism/the media.

Everything seemed to suggest that I should write my blog in a certain “niche”. So, as you can see, I chose to write in a queer niche. I chose this niche because it is something that I identify with; a community that I am familiar with. It was a safe bet.

I have tried to write professionally and critically. I have written opinion pieces on television shows: Sorority Girls. Current events pieces, such as Philip Parkers suicide and the exposure of Justice Adams, and life’s little  idiosyncrasies: the jam and chicken post. I have avoided writing about personal and emotional subjects such as: my ex girlfriend, my health, and grey London.

When I had something to say about something like that I constructed a more objective blog post -Shared Resources For Queer Break-ups on the Web . Recently I’ve written more news-based posts regarding what is happening in regards to LGBT issues in the United St ates.

 I am pleased with what I’ve produced and the little writer’s journey I’ve been on so far. Yet, I think that after four months, my niche has become a corner.

So I am proposing to start a slightly more personal blog on which I might do something a bit silly like talk about my stuffed hedgehog Mister prickles and his persona as a gay male hedgehog. Or, I might throw in some honest creative writing… Truthfully, I don’t really know what will happen.

What I do think is that it’s time for me to break out of my queer niche blog and write things that are slightly more hard-hitting. I always worried that my writing would sound contrived if I wrote about things that were more personal to me… But I realize now that it is the greater challenge to write about something which is more personal, in a professional manner.

I still want to talk about things which are important to me which exist outside of me: the media, LGBT teen suicides, the gay-rights movement etc, but I also want to give myself space to be the thoroughly eccentric, overly housebound, 22-year-old that I am.

What inspired me to do this? This blog which was written quite a long time ago, by the creator of autostraddle.com… and this blog which was recently started by a friend of mine. I think that to blog how I want to I will have to blog professionally, but also truthfully. Or maybe just truthfully, because what is professional writing anyway?

So, I think I am going to start wordpress and link it to my tumblr… or maybe not link it.

“English teachers worried they’d get in trouble for teaching books by gay authors, or books with gay characters…Health teachers were faced with the impossible task of teaching about AIDS awareness and safe sex without mentioning homosexuality. Many teachers decided once again to keep gay issues from the curriculum altogether, rather than chance saying something that could be interpreted as anything other than neutral.

“…Silenced by fear, gay teachers became more vigilant than ever to avoid mention of their personal lives, and in closeting themselves, they inadvertently ensured that many students had no real-life gay role models. “I was told by teachers, ‘You have to be careful, it’s really not safe for you to come out,’” says the psychologist Cashen, who is a lesbian. “I felt like I couldn’t have a picture of my family on my desk.” When teacher Jefferson Fietek was outed in the community paper, which referred to him as an “open homosexual,” he didn’t feel he could address the situation with his students even as they passed the newspaper around, tittering. When one finally asked, “Are you gay?” he panicked. “I was terrified to answer that question,” Fietek says. “I thought, ‘If I violate the policy, what’s going to happen to me?’”

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/one-towns-war-on-gay-teens-20120202#ixzz1lMdC2TZQ

I do not usually say this but you absolutely have to read this article if you care about human rights. This is what happens when the freedom to practice religion is hijacked, and grotesquely perverted,  by state law.

A town in Minnesota has experienced several teenage suicides due to homophobic bullying. Regardless, legislation denies teachers and students the right to mention homosexuality within schools. 

The legislation that students and teachers are forced to operate under is causing LGBT students to kill themselves.  This is a member of the Minnesota family Council responded:

‘Tom Prichard blogged that Justin’s suicide could only be blamed upon one thing: his gayness. “Youth who embrace homosexuality are at greater risk [of suicide], because they’ve embraced an unhealthy sexual identity and lifestyle,” Prichard wrote.

Michelle Bachmann, the insanity behind such legislation, reacted to this by saying:

“What will be our definition of bullying? Will it get to the point where we are completely stifling free speech and expression?… Will we be expecting boys to be girls?”  [read full article here] 

This woman ran for Republican presidential candidate. There are no words. Except to say that every time Michelle Bachmann tries to instil policy, for the rest of her life, she should be patted on the head and given a lollipop - possibly by Lady Gaga. 

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/one-towns-war-on-gay-teens-20120202#ixzz1lMhqhUrz

I think people  need to know about this destructive nonsense.

10 ways to critique television from a Feminist/Queer perspective

Does anyone else ever watch movies/TV shows and think: Crikey this would be so much better if it related to me more as a woman, rather than what I am supposed to be as a woman. Well I do, so I was thinking about how to watch television from an analytical and aware perspective. I put together this list:

Please note, ‘me as a woman’ applies to women of color and/or lesser physically able women. Really all women everywhere. This top ten focuses on queer feminist issues as an example, but it is only a guideline.

Do apply these techniques to diverse intersections of women. See what happens and what would need changing – then you will see what needs to be changed regarding modern perceptions of women.

1. Switch main courses - I didn’t order this! Swap the main male character with a female character:  if there is a male hero/protagonist in a film, imagine her being played by a woman. Harriet Potter, anyone?
2. Lady counting:  Count the number of times you recall having seen women talk amongst themselves, without discussing men or themselves in relation to men. In the media there are depressingly few conversations between women for women.
3. Role reverse: Switch all of the female parts to male parts, and vice versa. You can include swapping clothes in this if you want to get a different perspective on gender performance (get a bit silly).
4. Queering the picture: Switch all of the heterosexual relationships with queer relationships. So many films appear wearingly hetero normative to the LGBTQIA viewer. Take a simple and enjoyable romantic film, such as the notebook, and then queerify it! Imagine instead that Allie met another girl that summer she was on vacation with her parents. When I did this I noticed that the story gives this illusion: if you try to succeed in your ambitions, you will gain the thing you most desire. This fantasy is played out by a typical straight couple living out the American dream. If you imagine a lesbian couple it is easy to see a how different the story could be, and how many holes there are in the ultra-conservative and heterosexual concept of the American dream.
5. The non-skinny are not automatically gross! Imagine all of the good people are fat and all of the sleazy/irritating people who get caught masturbating in a gross way are slim.
6. REAL food REAL consequences: The characters are the size they would be in everyday life if they ate what they are eating in the movie. Oh my God they live off french fries and beer? I only half live off fries and beer. Oh my God, now they are a size up from me! Everything is the way it should be.
7. Omg nekkidness? Every time a woman’s body part is sexualized (this could include nude shots or erotic glimpses of her lips, thighs etc) imagine this being done to an alpha male type man. The effect this had on me was that it made a lot of visuals appear needlessly pornographic. Erotic glimpses of women are so mainstreamed we do not realize how often we are being sexualised.
8. Boys make some noise: In sex scenes imagine the man moaning profusely, almost comically, and generally kicking up a fuss while the woman quietly gets on with it. Women are made to seem ridiculous when they enjoy sex. Their exaggerated sexual moans parody female pleasure, and make the lady in question seem vulnerable at the same time.
9. Whose fault is it anyway? Count the number of times a woman is blamed for a situation which may be beyond her control. We are taught that it is more acceptable to feel sorry for male protagonists, whereas when a woman experiences negativity it is automatically her fault.
10. Daddy’s help: Observe how often a woman is able to succeed/get herself out of a negative situation without the help of a man. Surprisingly few. Women are portrayed as helpless and incompetent, when really we are awesome.

I hope that you got something from this top 10!

 I do not mean to ruin all television and film for you. I am a strong believer that we can still enjoy something, despite it being problematic. Unfortunately for women though, a film which ticks all of the above boxes is considered arty, feminist and alternate, rather than the mainstream. Happy watching and thanks for reading.