A Body Image, Body Politics, and Body Justice News Roundup

Gender

• “There is some early evidence, then, that science is catching up with something many of us already assume, and for good reason: Gender identity exists on a scale, rather than in narrow dichotomized groups. In essence, trans people had brain chemistry approaching the middle of the gender spectrum — inherently different from their biological sex and closer to their identified gender.” – Neuroscience Proves What We’ve Known All Along: Gender Exists on a Spectrum on Huffington Post

 

• Adios Barbie has adapted The Singular They into our Stylebook! Allison Epstein, our resident grammarian, confesses her recent foray into rule breaking for the greater good and shares some grammar history on how the Singular They is not necessarily new but an inevitable necessity as gender evolves.

 

• “As we see in the media and within our interpersonal spaces, femininity is significantly scripted through whiteness and thinness. I am none of those things. So my body being bigger, being Black and being read as cisgender/ or being assumed to be DFAB (designated “female” at birth) but not being seen as a girl/woman has forced me to grapple with gender in specific and violent ways. … The way whiteness and white supremacist ideology is set up, we’re not seen as feminine or woman or human.” – Why I’m Nonbinary But Don’t Use ‘They/Them’ by Ashleigh Shackleford

 

Global Concern

• World leaders expressed dismay, sadness and solidarity with France over the Nice attack, carried out by a man who drove a lorry into crowds of people celebrating France’s national day, killing at least 80 people.

 

• “I think I understand now: when they say ‘working-class’, they mean the white British working-class. No doubt, this is an anti-establishment vote, … but at the same time, this is an anti-establishment vote misdirected at perceived ‘outsiders’ in Britain: EU migrant workers, Muslims and other ethnic minorities, refugees and asylum seekers.” – Hsiao Hung Pai on Brexit.

 

End the Violence!

• “Today, NBC News reported that Black trans woman Deeniquia Dodds was shot in Washington D.C. on the fourth of July. Deeniquia, known as “Dee Dee” to her friends, was taken to the hospital where she was kept alive on life support for ten days before passing away yesterday. … LGBT rights activist and family spokesperson Earline Budd told NBC: “Her murder reminds us all of how often the transgender community is targeted for violence in our society.” #SayHerName #DeeDeeDodds

 

• Latinos Killed by Cops are not getting any media coverage.  We rarely hear about them or know their names. Andy Lopex, Alex Nieta, James De La Rosa, and Anthony Nunez are some of the 88 lives lost to police killings this year.

 

Disability, Identity & Ableism

• “I had to fight to prove that I was, “not so desperate for love” that I was, “willing to take anything no matter the gender” because that’s what people in my family that knew I was queer believed about me. I’m still fighting to prove I’m trans and queer, because apparently I didn’t “act transgender enough” growing up, whatever the hell that means. … So many people in my life could’ve changed this for me. So many of them could’ve reached out. So many of them could’ve offered me something I so desperately needed…acceptance.” – Fighting Just To Exist as a Disabled Trans Person by Dominick Evans

 

• What if you can’t comply? “In the aftermath of police shootings, disability is seldom part of the dialogue. Yet, at least a half to 70 percent of police violence reported in the media involves people with disabilities,”  a press release from vigil organizers Advance Youth Leadership Project claims. Timotheus Gordon, who has autism, said he fears how he would react when confronted by police. Gordon said he feels more at risk for maltreatment by police because he’s “a black football player and dreadhead who doesn’t understand commands without explanation.” – Police Are ‘Murdering Disabled Black People,’ Resident Tells Feds

 

• Bani Amor is a queer non-binary Ecuadorian by way of Brooklyn who writes about decolonizing travel in one of my favorite blogs, Everywhere All The Time.  “I’ve been chatting with travel writers, activists and personalities of color about their experiences navigating the media industry and the globe with an intersectional lens, while exploring themes like, power, privilege, place, and identity, themes that are rarely touched on in the mainstream travel space.” Traveling While Disabled: A Roundtable with Jay Abdullahi and Mama Cox.

 

Advocating for Black Lives

• Following the killing of Philando Castile, by an Asian American Police officer, Christine Xu sounded a call via twitter for Asian American Solidarity with Black lives. She began an open letter on Google docs to Asian American parents on the importance of supporting Black lives. Hundreds of people responded to her call to crowdsource this open letter and translate into as many languages as possible.  So far, the letter has been translated into 30 languages, including Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Hmong, Hindi, Bengali and Japanese.  An Open Letter to Our Asian American Families About Black Lives Matter on Angry Asian Man Blog.

 

• “The war of words about whose lives matter more serves no useful purpose. Yet that doesn’t mean that initial responsibility for putting things right should fall equally on everyone. Instead, I believe it’s down to us, the members of the law enforcement profession, to start the reconciliation process—because we are the ones in the position of power.” – I’m a Cop and I Support Black Lives Matter: How Can We Heal These Wounds? by Diane Goldstein for The Influence

 

• Teen Vogue tackles 10 Things You Can Do To Help Black Lives Matter End Police Violence. A great list of doable actions and concrete ways to rethink the policies that are hurting us all.

 

• [F]or 27 years of my life, I unknowingly basked in privilege. I was never pulled over for no apparent reason or offense, my driver’s license and registration demanded of me. I was never passed over for a job because of my name or my skin tone. I was never questioned or followed by a security officer while goofing around with my friends at the mall. I have always been believed, trusted, and respected by most people I meet, simply because I have peachy colored skin. But this has not been my children’s experience — and since becoming a transracial family, it hasn’t been the experience of my husband and I, either. –  I’m a White Mother Raising Three Black Children, And Here’s What I Mean When I say Black Lives Matter.

 

Art & Culture 

• “With stories collected from survivors and living ancestors of the Bangladeshi Liberation War, victims of Islamophobia and entrapment, this play takes us on a journey with young Bangladeshi women uncovering family histories that end up changing their lives. A political theatre highlighting the resilience of Bangladeshi activists and communities throughout the diaspora, নারী বিদ্রোহ / Women’s Uprising: Stories of Bangladeshi Resistance puts a spotlight on the struggles and resilience of Bangladeshi people.”

 

• Catch Em’ If You Can: Accessibility in PokÉmon GO lays out the many areas in which this relaxing escapist game trending everywhere with people of verious backgrounds and all ages has  issues around security, privacy, and accessibility.

 

• “As a Trekkie for nearly 30 years — three-quarters of my life, I am super-excited about Star
  Trek’s 50th anniversary this year. … One step onto the bridge of the Starship Enterprise would convince anyone that many races can work together to overcome any odds. These are injustices we face as Native Americans today. If you asked our ethnic brothers and sisters who share this land with us, they would likely same the same. We all live in a reality of hatred and racism that shows its ugly face in the form of mass shootings and unchecked violence that is scars the heart of our nation. … Star Trek is a promise that things can be better. … Star Trek is a call for us all to be more than we are, becoming ambassadors of hope to a world in need.  – 50 Years of Spock: 5 Ways Star Trek Diversity is Great For Native People by Jeffrey Veregge