Latino Sexuality

Changes In DSM-5: Racism Can Cause PTSD Similar To That Of Soldiers After War

Sat, 25 May 2013 15:28:03 -0400

Changes In DSM-5: Racism Can Cause PTSD Similar To That Of Soldiers After War:

Updates to the recently released DSM-5 could potentially transform how race-based traumas are diagnosed in ethnic minorities.

From migrant worker to neurosurgeon

Sat, 25 May 2013 15:27:33 -0400

From migrant worker to neurosurgeon:

Dr. Alfredo Quinones-Hinojosa, a leading neurosurgeon, was once an illegal immigrant and migrant worker.

stories like this are impt, lets not forget how rare they are too and lets not use them to shame or isolate migrant workers

10 Most Absurd Sex Tips from the Christian Right

Sat, 25 May 2013 15:23:55 -0400

10 Most Absurd Sex Tips from the Christian Right:

Modern conservatives can’t stop talking about sex. And what they say opens a window into the strange, sexist worldview of patriarchal religion.

Iron workers local 40 represent! I love seeing this as i walk to...

Sat, 25 May 2013 12:15:00 -0400

Iron workers local 40 represent! I love seeing this as i walk to the train. They are building a costco or bjs here

brujacore: nitanahkohe: it’s not a dismissal. i have read her...

Sat, 25 May 2013 09:41:06 -0400

brujacore:

nitanahkohe:

it’s not a dismissal. i have read her books multiple times, and am well versed in her work. there are quite a few scholars who have critiqued Gloria Anzaldúa for her problematic definition and mobilization of indigeneity, including Andrea Smith (there is a quote from Smith’s article somewhere in this month’s archive of my blog, if you wanna dig thru to find it). a quick search on google scholar should find you what you’re looking for.

i appreciate Anzaldúa for the work that she did, and recognize that she has been a foundational inspiration for many powerful women of color, and for that reason deserves love and respect. her writing style is beautiful and she has a strength in her that i have continually tried to fortify in myself. as a woman who is also trying to connect to her indigenous heritage and make sense of her identities and situatedness in and outside the academy, i admire her relentless passion for such endeavors in her own life—it’s not easy.

none of that detracts from the lateral violence in her writings, which essentialize indigenous cultures of the Southwest and periodize them in a static framing of what Anzaldúa imagines Native cultural practices to signify. a lot of what she has written in that regard is inaccurate at best, and is so incredibly self-absorbed it’s hard, as a Native woman, to take seriously at times. i think it’s really short-sighted and selfish to claim indigenous ancestry and demand that others recognize your birthright to what you paint as a fossilized indigenous culture, while not also simultaneously aligning yourself with living indigenous communities. to my mind, as a reconnecting person, you don’t get to be Native and still not give a fuck about other Native people and what they are struggling with. moreover, indigenous cultures are not something that can just be melded into whatever you want (which is what she does)—ancestry does not give you the right to selectively pick and choose bits of a culture to appropriate or edit as you please.

i think both those problems are ultimately tied into a gross hyper-romanticization of mestizaje as the answer to some grand postcolonial borderlands question—theories of third spatiality, hybridity, and mestizaje have been tempting for a lot of postcolonial scholars because they allow for recognition of nuance and intermixing, but i personally don’t think that’s enough of a legitimation for an ideology that leaves a lot to be desired. a lot of people who romanticize third spaces, for example, do so with no recognition of the fact that for those of us that live in third space forms of survival and resistance because we don’t have a choice, it’s a life of hardship and struggle that often means physical and emotional needs go unmet—when the third space is your only option, there’s often not much you can do and it’s not as glamorous and revolutionary as everyone makes it out to be. hybridity to me seems similarly short-sighted—interrelations and intermixing are two different things and do we really need a vamped up melting pot vision in order to make the point that things are complicated and bound up in their relations with one another? getting back to Anzalduúa, i think the romanticization of mestizaje is especially egregious considering the lateral violence perpetrated against Natives previously discussed—Andrea Smith has written a critique of this that is basically arguing that Anzaldúa’s entire formulation of the mestiz@ as the person who travels between worlds and crosses boundaries is pinned on a theoretical imagination of Indian as Romantic & Prehistoric (especially oppressive re: gender & sexuality), that can only be updated and transformed into something liberatory by the mestiz@. that’s a pretty offensive implication to me.

i’m not doing these critiques justice, there’s plenty of scholarship that goes into this at great length. i don’t have the time to do your research for you, but there’s plenty of stuff out there if you make the effort to look for it. Natives don’t owe you an annotated bibliography every time they say something is offensive.

I have never thought of this, and basically took Anzaldua’s word for it because of how unfamiliar I generally am about indigenous communities. I’m glad this came up though, I’m reading Andrea Smith’s critique now.

How Crossing the Border Gets More and More Criminalized

Fri, 24 May 2013 23:44:05 -0400

univisionnews:

By TED HESSON

The next time someone tells you that the U.S. isn’t going after the people who cross the border, you can respond with a very simple answer.

They’re wrong.

Over the past 10 years, prosecutions for illegal entry and reentry have increased 1,400 and 300 percent, respectively, according to a recent report by Human Rights Watch.

Crossing the border without authorization is now the most prosecuted federal crime.

Read More

iwishlilbwasmygrandpa: This is so incredible no puedo

Fri, 24 May 2013 23:04:32 -0400

iwishlilbwasmygrandpa:

This is so incredible

no puedo

No bail for Penn. parents in faith-healing death

Fri, 24 May 2013 21:12:21 -0400

No bail for Penn. parents in faith-healing death:

After their 2-year-old son died of untreated pneumonia in 2009, faith-healing advocates Herbert and Catherine Schaible promised a judge they would not let another sick child go without

lets see how much time these racially white parents get for the death of a child vs. what we know Black parents receive for trying to keep their children alive

latinegrasexologist: its always time for some labelle “going...

Fri, 24 May 2013 19:35:09 -0400

latinegrasexologist:

its always time for some labelle “going down makes me shiver” this is a pussy carol @dopegirlfresh and i sang last year at the beach together

Commentary: It’s Time to Be Honest With Lauryn Hill Enough with responding to one social injustice by perpetuating another.

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:24:54 -0400

Commentary: It’s Time to Be Honest With Lauryn Hill Enough with responding to one social injustice by perpetuating another.:

“Neurotic Society” proclaims again that Babylon is falling — thanks in part to tricksters like ”girl men,” ”drag queens,” and the lies of ”social transvestism.” Whether or not Hill is merely using these comments as examples of the smokescreens and sleight-of-hands that pervade this “Neurotic Society” is unclear. Beyond intention, these sorts of statements suggest that society is in a shambles because it’s been taking too many cues from the LGBTQ community, acting like “girl men,” “drag queens” and “transvestites.” Is her beef with oppressive society or is her issue with people who don’t abide by a traditional family structure? For those who don’t feel me, would it be okay if her song criticized “neurotic society” for acting like “N——-s,” ”mammies” and ”jezebels?” No! Then why does she think it’s cool to critique society by using stereotypes about a community that suggest the community isn’t as valuable as another?

thoughts?

h/t sofiaquintero

Senate Accepts Deal to Kick Formerly Incarcerated Off Food Benefits - COLORLINES

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:20:10 -0400

Senate Accepts Deal to Kick Formerly Incarcerated Off Food Benefits - COLORLINES:

If this amendment ends up in the farm bill and passes, it would hit African Americans particularly hard.

gtfohwtbs

Indian Caribbean Museum in Nat Geo list of 500 sacred places

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:19:35 -0400

Indian Caribbean Museum in Nat Geo list of 500 sacred places:

The Indian Caribbean Museum, described as “a national treasure, a window to the past, and an opportunity to see history come alive”, has been cited by a National Geographic publication that showcases 500 of the world’s most powerful and spiritual

We still fundraising for a hotel room for the WOCSHN please help us reach out goal!

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:13:02 -0400

www.wocsexualhealthnetwork.tumblr.com

Teen birth rate drops, especially among Hispanics

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:04:54 -0400

Teen birth rate drops, especially among Hispanics:

Across the nation fewer and fewer teens are giving birth, especially Hispanic girls, according to a new government report. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that from 2007 to 2011, the overall rate of teen births plummeted a full 30 percent. Th &

Congress Steps Up Anti-Sexual Assault Efforts

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:03:26 -0400

Congress Steps Up Anti-Sexual Assault Efforts:

A measure would limit a commander’s ability to dismiss a court-martial conviction and discharge those convicted of rape or sexual assault.

tw: rape, sexual assault, military industrial complex, racism

Teens, Social Media, and Privacy

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:02:16 -0400

Teens, Social Media, and Privacy:

Youth are sharing more personal information on their profiles than in the past. They choose private settings for Facebook, but share with large networks of friends. Most teen social media users say they aren’t very concerned about third-party access to their data.

The BlackStar Film Festival is a celebration of cinema focused...

Fri, 24 May 2013 17:00:16 -0400

The BlackStar Film Festival is a celebration of cinema focused on work by and about people of African descent in a global context. BlackStar highlights films that are often overlooked from emerging, established, and mid-career directors, writers and producers working in narrative, documentary, experimental and music video filmmaking.

This year, we are launching our first annual short screenplay competition.

http://blackstarfest.org/screenplay/

Enter for your chance to win $2,500 to produce a short film based on your short screenplay!

Submit your short screenplay online by the June 7, 2013 deadline.

Submit Now Online

Thanks so much for helping get the word out!

UN Praises Greater Political Inclusion of Indigenous People

Thu, 23 May 2013 20:34:24 -0400

UN Praises Greater Political Inclusion of Indigenous People:

Website of the Latin American News Agency Prensa Latina with the head office in Havana, Cuba, and 28 bureaus worldwide.

Reappearance of H1N1 in Dominican Republic

Thu, 23 May 2013 20:34:01 -0400

Reappearance of H1N1 in Dominican Republic:

Website of the Latin American News Agency Prensa Latina with the head office in Havana, Cuba, and 28 bureaus worldwide.

[VIDEO] Filmmaker brings attention to a Latina soldier who fought in the U.S. Civil War

Thu, 23 May 2013 20:33:42 -0400

[VIDEO] Filmmaker brings attention to a Latina soldier who fought in the U.S. Civil War:

The U.S. military may have recently lifted the ban on women in combat, but Loreta Velazquez, a wealthy Cuban planter’s&