|
Please note: I'm hella heated and may continue to tinker with my language here and there, but my general controlling idea will remain the same.
Aunt Maries Are Not The Way. Today, I'm skipping the regular Current Curiosities to dive directly into Matthew Vines' wildly offensive opinion essay "I'm Gay, Not Queer. It Matters." published in this morning's New York Times. Happy last day of Pride Month, I guess. Like the titular Uncle Tom, Vines as Aunt Mary seeks to align himself with moderate and conservative Christian and white cisgender heterosexual systems of power by claiming (in the same misguided vein as the Human Rights Campaign) that we are just like you. That gay people, but not queer people, are deserving of equal rights. But as we've learned, no amount of we're just like you will protect queer and trans communities from cishet bigotry and violence. We are always already other. And what Vines is actually saying is I am not like those other queers; rather I, a white cisgender gay man, am just like y'all white cisgender heterosexuals with all the power and protections that I covet - but only for myself. Imagine hating yourself so deeply that you would willingly choose to aid your oppressor as your own community is targeted and harassed, as your oppressor finds new and well-worn ways of stripping your community of its rights to life and liberty. Again and again history and literature show us that the Aunt Maries, the Uncle Toms, the bootlickers themselves meet the same end as the communities they betray. No amount of we're just like you will protect you, will protect us. Vines represents a problematic and dangerous sect of white gays. That is to say, Vines' white and cisgender identities and his proximity to white cisgender heterosexual power overrides his solidarity with broader LGBTQ+ communities - particularly queer and trans communities of color. He seeks rights for himself and those who look like and act like him at the expense of equal rights for folks locating themselves (via sexual and romantic orientations, gender identities and expressions, etc.) under the broader queer umbrella. Queer is an identity. Queer is a call to action. Queer is a movement. Queer is a political statement. Queer is otherness and that is power. Queer challenges oppressive heterosexual and white supremacist systems. (Vines should take a note.) Queer reclaims the slur that was hurled at us (and still is, though fagot seems to be more en vogue these days) on the playground, on the street, in schools and offices and churches. Queer is collective. Queer is our ability to work across our in-community differences in identity and gender and ethnicity and class. Queer confronts white cisgender heterosexual power, but not in the us/them binary Vines asserts. Rather, queer dismantles the systems upholding white cisgender heterosexual power. Queer is emancipatory. Queer is liberatory. Queer is our survival. And no amount of Vines' rejection of queerness or his we're just like you will protect him or any other queer or trans person from the bigotry and violence of white cisgender heterosexual power. Thank you very much for your time. If you have recommendations or curiosities, please fill out this nifty contact form. Sending y’all supportive, well-caffeinated vibes, Creighton Today’s Pen(cil): Sharpie Mini Caddy Limited Edition P.S. This is why I've never been a supporter of Secretary Mayor Pete. P.P.S. Am I in my Magneto era???
0 Comments
Current Curiosities
[Reading] Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire (reread) [Listening] "Nobody Knows How To Be A Fan Anymore" from Vibe Check [Watching] The Sheep Detectives WHERE I LIKE TO GO AROUND TOWN As an engaged community member, I try to support local businesses that in turn support queer and trans communities and are owned by women, Black and Indigenous people, or LGBTQ+ folks. Below are a few of my go-to local shops and restaurants in Moorhead (and a few in Fargo).
Thank you very much for your time. If you have recommendations or curiosities, please fill out this nifty contact form. Sending y’all supportive, well-caffeinated vibes, Creighton Today’s Pen(cil): Sharpie Neon [Permanent Marker] Current Curiosities
[Reading] Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid [Listening] Houseplant Houseparty Double LP [Watching] Spider-Noir Today is National Ballpoint Pen Day! While I mostly write with demonstrator fountain pens, Sharpies, and occasionally wood pencils, I do marvel at the ingenuity and engineering of ballpoint pens. Prior to the development of ballpoints, folks used messy fountain pens or dusty graphite pencils. (Offices must've been a mess! I mean, they still are, but in the contemporary sense of messy. Just kidding - kinda.) The first ballpoint patent was submitted on October 30, 1888, by American John J. Loud. Instead of using the capillary action of fountain pens, Loud's invention used a small ball bearing, drawing ink out of the reservoir as it rolled across the page. This first model was scratchy and unreliable and often clogged, but with curiosity and experimentation over the next fifty years from inventors around the world, the modern ballpoint pen came to prominence. Hungarian László Bíró, a newspaper editor who moved to Argentina to escape the Nazis (original recipe), made the next significant improvement to ballpoints by incorporating thicker newsprint ink instead of runny fountain pen ink. Bíró applied for a British patent on June 15, 1938. (Outside of the United States, you will still hear ballpoint called biros.) World War II spurred the next round of innovations and patents. Marcel Bich began manufacturing Bíró's ballpoint pens under the name Bic (yes, that Bic) in partnership with a Spanish firm. Then, in a shrewd move, America firm Reynolds International Pen Company altered Bíró's design, bypassing his patent. In 1945, Reynolds launched its ballpoint at legendary department store Gimbels for $12.50 (over $200 today), kicking off a short-lived moment when ballpoints were luxury items. But by the mid 1950s, the market was oversaturated and prices plummeted. Ballpoints became an everyday tool and their contemporary ubiquity underscores the importance of these little marvels, the significance of curiosity and ingenuity. So the next time you pick up a ballpoint, consider the rich history of this commonplace tool. My Favorite Ballpoint Pens
Clearly, I love the ink (blue obvi) and writing experience of Bic pens, but want the extra weight of a metal body. I'm curious, what is your favorite ballpoint pen? And what are you writing with it? Journaling? Drafting essays? Jotting down to-do lists? Doodling? Regardless how you use your ballpoint pens, happy writing and happy National Ballpoint Pen Day! Thank you very much for your time. If you have recommendations or curiosities, please fill out this nifty contact form. Sending y’all supportive, well-caffeinated vibes, Creighton Today’s Pen(cil): Caran d'Ache 849 [Ballpoint Pen] Current Curiosities
[Reading] Game Changers Rachel Reid [Listening] "Go West" by Pet Shop Boys [Watching] Heated Rivalry and Red, White & Royal Blue (rewatches) Over the last few weeks, I've free-written and reflected on what to write about for this Pride season. Nothing seemed right for our current polycrisis. Last year, I wrote about how to protect ourselves while attending Pride events and how allies can practice their allyship, so no need for a redux. Then as I was listening to Game Changers on Spotify, enjoying all the smut (complimentary!) and laugh-snorting at the narrator's interpretation of Kip's New York accent while reminiscing about my own early queer explorations, I realized I was feeling joy for the first time in what felt like weeks. I knew I wanted to write about queer joy, my recent queer joy. I've written about finding joy before, but with ever-increasing Christian and MAGA anti-trans and anti-queer bigotry and violence, I want to focus particularly on queer joy. Queer joy promotes flourishing and whimsy and delight. Queer joy exists in acts big and small, public and private. Queer joy is the counterpoint to the trauma and violence inflicted on our communities by cishet culture. Queer joy is survival and liberation and celebration. One thing brining me queer joy this season is seeing how many LGBTQ+ folks feel comfortable coming into the local hardware store where I work. When my federal research grants were canceled in 2025 by the Trump Administration (because my work focused on collaborating with women and minority-owned businesses and educational institutions), I began working at my neighborhood hardware store. As a queer person, it hasn't always been easy working at this particular hardware store. Spaces like this are designed for cishet men and are not always safe for queer and trans folks. However, in my year of working at the shop, I've noticed an increase in queer and trans customers visiting the store. Some are regulars. Some are first-timers. Some are elders. Some are college students temporarily living the valley. I love seeing more queer folks shopping, feeling comfortable asking questions and taking up space - space not intended for us. And I love every minute of collaboratively problem solving whatever challenge they bring into the hardware store. Helping to build a more inclusive hardware store community brings this queer joy. Being kind and creative and useful brings this queer joy. What brings you queer joy this Pride season? I wish y'all love and joy this Pride season! And please remember to hydrate! Thank you very much for your time. If you have recommendations or curiosities, please fill out this nifty contact form. Sending y’all supportive, well-caffeinated vibes, Creighton Today’s Pen(cil): Sharpie Mini [Permanent Marker] P.S. As always, cops do not belong at Pride. Every queer and trans person, regardless of citizenship status, race or ethnicity, deserves to feel safe celebrating Pride. As Roxane Gay wrote in her thoughtful 2021 New York Times opinion piece, police harassment of LGBTQ+ communities did not start with the Stonewall Riots and did not end afterward. And BIPOC queer and trans communities bear the brunt of contemporary police harassment. |
Categories
All
Archives
July 2026
|