Tag: intersectionality

Only twice have I ever actually seen a physical copy of an Octavia Butler book in all my trawling of bookshops, new and used.

First, I found a copy of Fledgling for $2 in a Salvos. It has european stickers on it – proof it was imported at some point, rather than bought here. I grabbed it, because it was like seeing some mythical kind of Pokemon that I knew I’d never see again.

Today, I was walking past Dymocks and on the markdown table I saw the Kindred graphic novel. Even though it was only published last year, it was 50% off, possibly because of the small amount of scuffs to the dust jacket. Possibly because they hadn’t bothered promoting it and it hadn’t sold. I certainly never noticed it in there before. It was $17.50. I bought it, because, though I don’t really have the cash right now, I knew it was my only chance.

I have no doubt I’ll struggle to find the others without buying them off the internet, but I can read them digitally on Scribd, so at least the lack of physical copies won’t stop me from being able to read them.

Still, it shouldn’t be so hard for me to find works by a groundbreaking Hugo and Nebula winning author. Oh, that’s right, it’s racism/sexism/homophobia. And if a book isn’t stocked by a shop, PEOPLE CAN’T BUY IT. Instead, let’s fill the shelves with Tolkien, Jordan, McCaffrey, and Pratchett and pat ourselves on the heads for stocking what will sell. PEOPLE WILL BUY DIVERSE BOOKS IF YOU STOCK THEM.

I will add that my Dymocks’ YA section is GREAT. Lots of queer and other flavours of diverse titles. But the adult fantasy sci fi section for the most part sucks if you want anything that isn’t by or about someone cis het white published by a major publisher.

bougiegaara:

hello i just want to say that i understand the thought process behind “wlw cant fetishize women” and i understand where this comes from but also its still relevant to the conversation to talk about how white wlw sexualize woc. i saw a post claiming that bringing this up is derailing and that “ppl know what we mean” but i really dont think it is!

white wlw need to be aware of how they view woc. they need to be conscious of this sexualization. conscious of how they speak about our bodies. conscious of how they touch us. conscious of their expectations on our sexuality and wants and desires. white women have a long history of violence! yall contribute to our fetishization and abuse!! its relevant to the conversation and it may be uncomfortable to acknowledge but it needs to be said and heard.

a woman viewing another woman sexually is not inherently dehumanizing, but you still need to take into consideration the way race plays into it.

sonneillonv:

No lie, I do appreciate how Tan and Karamo speak out on this to the others, and the others LET THEM, and give them the floor when they’re talking about how being brown/black and being gay intersect.  Similarly to the way they give Jonathan the floor when he’s talking about the difference in presentation being being, for example, someone like Antoni and Bobby who straight people generally don’t find threatening, and being someone like Jonathan who, in his own words, never had a CHOICE about being in the closet because “Sky is blue, water is wet, Jonathan is flamingly homosexual”.  There are different experiences here, but Queer Eye actually gives them air time to talk about intersections of prejudice??? and that’s… so weirdly cool????

I got my copy of this yesterday, watched it this evening, and I loved it. It’s not a film with an overblown, fantasy finale. It’s a film about having the freedom to live your best life, and the freedom to explore exactly what that means, in your own time. There’s a quiet kind of triumph to Michelle’s journey, and that’s more real and precious than any artificial ableist narrative of normality.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Surround yourself with other beautiful brown and black and indigenous and morena and Chicana, native, Indian, mixed race, Asian, gringa, boriqua babes.
Let them uplift you.
Rage against the motherfucking machine.
Question everything anyone ever says to you or forces down your throat or makes you write a hundred times on the blackboard.
Question every man that opens his mouth and spews out a law over your body and spirit.
Question every single thing until you find the answer in a daydream.
Don’t question yourself unless you hurt someone else.
When you hurt someone else, sit down, and think, and think, and think, and then make it right.
Apologize when you fuck up.
Live forever.
Consult the ancestors while counting stars in the galaxy.
Hold wisdom under tongue until it’s absorbed into the bloodstream.
Do not be afraid.
Do not doubt yourself.
Do not hide
Be proud of your inhaler, your cane, your back brace, your acne.
Be proud of the things that the world uses to make you feel different.

Juliet’s letter to herself in Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera (via biandlesbianliterature)