CWLU Herstory Blog

As most of you probably know, Proposition 8 passed in California. This referendum vote outlaws same-sex marriages and endangers the thousands of California same-sex marriages that had been made legal by a 2008 court decision. There have already been protests against the results and 3 lawsuits have been filed to overturn the decision.

Keith Olbermann had a powerful Countdown Commentary about Proposition 8  on November 10.  See it on YouTube here . 

Because voters of color  did not overwhelmingly reject Proposition 8, some commentators have placed the heaviest blame on them for its passage. This is despite the fact that it was the largely white Mormon church and its Christian Right allies who provided most of the political muscle and money in the campaign.

The Angry Black Woman has a powerful analysis of this whole controversy. You owe it to yourself to read what she has to say here.

As most of you probably know by now, bans on gay marriage passed in both Florida and California. Our friend Veronica Arreola has a heartfelt blog posting over at Viva la Feminista about Latins who voted for Obama and against same sex marriage. Read more at Viva la Feminista.

This year the Chicago Dyke March will take place on Saturday June 28th, 2008. Gathering begins at 1:00 PM at 1800 South Halsted (Chicago Community Bank Park), and step off is at 2:30 PM. Attendees will then march down 18th street to rally at Harrison Park (1824 S. Wood).

All people, including allies to the community, are encouraged to attend.

The Chicago Dyke March (CDM) is looking for talented spoken word artists, musicians, comedians, dancers, drummers, and performers for the rally after the march. In the past, some performances have been theater, burlesque, and poetry. Anything that is queer, EMPOWERING, and entertaining can find a place at the rally.

We received this message from Paddy Foster, a lesbian mom living in New Zealand. She would like to network with other lesbian moms who have lost their kids to an unfair legal system. You may communicate with her at this email address This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

As I live in New Zealand maybe this is not an appropriate message but I'm trying to get in touch with other mothers who had no choice but to leave their children behind. My experience is 20 years ago but the effect and the scars never leave.

Faculty from nine universities and colleges will hold the largest ever conference on black and Latina/o sexuality on April 11-12 at the University of Illinois at Chicago. "Race, Sex, Power: New Movements in Black and Latina/o Sexualities," the culmination of more than two years of planning, will bring together academics, activists, and artists to address topics ranging from intimacy and desire to HIV/AIDS and teen pregnancy to humor and Hip Hop.

Organizer Cathy Cohen, Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago, calls the conference "a bold effort to rethink what sexuality means for the two largest racial minorities in the US." Dr. Jocelyn Elders, the former United States Surgeon General appointed by President Clinton, will open the conference on Friday morning, April 11.

One of the hallmarks of this conference, Cohen stresses, is its emphasis on collaboration and inclusiveness. The complex coordination of nine institutions permitted organizers to draw on a pool of expertise that no one college or university could hope to contain. The unusual blend of research, activism, and art encourages all participants to think outside their personal assumptions and the conventions of their fields.

Finally, the organizers hope to draw an audience of specialists and non-specialists alike. Asencio reminds us that knowledge about sexuality is hardly confined to those who make a profession of its study. Everyone, Asencio argues, is engaged in a critique of current sexual conventions. The conference is simply the space where such knowledge can be shared, rethought, and transformed.

LOCATION: UIC FORUM, 725 W. Roosevelt Rd., Chicago, IL



SPONSORING UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES:

Chicago State University
Columbia College Chicago
DePaul University

The Graduate Center, CUNY
Northwestern University
Roosevelt University
University of Chicago
University of Connecticut at Storrs
University of Illinois, Chicago



Conference Website

 

Alison Kafer will talk about,"Queerness, Disability, and the Foundation for a Better Life" at the University of Illinois at Chicago on September 26.

Summary of the talk:

In the years since 9/11, the philanthropic organization the Foundation for a Better Life has funded a public service campaign touting "community values" and "character development," arguing that these values will result in a "better life" and future for the United States. Representations of disability and illness play a large role in this campaign, with a majority of billboards praising individuals with disabilities for having the strength of character to "overcome" their impairments. Using insights from feminist and queer theory, Alison Kafer offers a crip reading of these billboards, tracing their adherence to a neoliberal politics of sentimentality and their potential subversion by disability activists.

Alison Kafer is an assistant professor of feminist studies at Southwestern University where she teaches courses on feminist and queer theory, activism, and disability studies. She is currently co-editing an anthology with Susan Burch on the intersections between Deaf Studies and Disability Studies for Gallaudet University Press

PLACE

• DHSP Building, 1640 West Roosevelt Road, 1st Floor Auditorium
• Wednesday, September 26th from 2:00 to 3:30 PM
• Refreshments will be provided! The lecture is free and open to the public.

ACCESS:

Anne Enke's new book called Finding the Movement: Sexuality, Contested Space, and Feminist Activism is now in production. It is a study of Midwestern feminism to be published by Duke University Press in October 2007. Anne visited us a while back and we had a long discussion about the unique character of the Midwestern women's movement.

In the book, Anne Enke reveals that diverse women’s engagement with public spaces gave rise to and profoundly shaped second-wave feminism. Focusing on women’s activism in Detroit, Chicago, and Minneapolis-St. Paul during the 1960s and 1970s, she describes how women across race and class created a massive groundswell of feminist activism by directly intervening in the urban landscape.

They secured illicit meeting spaces and gained access to public athletic fields. They fought to open bars to women and abolish gendered dress codes and prohibitions against lesbian congregation. They created alternative spaces, such as coffeehouses, where women could socialize and organize. They opened women-oriented bookstores, restaurants, cafes, and clubs, and they took it upon themselves to establish women’s shelters, health clinics, and credit unions in order to support women’s bodily autonomy.

The cover of Anne's book includes a poster from the Chicago Women's Graphics Collective.