Red Light Politics

How post is this colonial gaze? Yesterday I attended the book...

Fri, 25 May 2012 13:04:00 +0200

How post is this colonial gaze?

Yesterday I attended the book launches for Changing Perspectives & UNFIXED, two different projects that seek to interrogate art in a post colonial framework. The topics of the books themselves interest me less for this particular post than the round table/ debate that followed the presentations by the book editors. For this debate, they invited three rather important names in the Northern European arts scene: Leen Beijers, Coordinator of the Museum aan de Stroom (MAS) in Antwerp, Belgium; Jonathan Harris, Director of Research at Winchester School of Art in the UK and Els van der Plas, from the Dutch Platform for Design and Fashion and the first managing director (now no longer part of the organization) of the Prince Claus Fund, quite possibly, the most important Dutch non governmental institution to manage subsidies and grants for artists and institutions from around the world.

Mr. Harris gave a presentation about globalization in the art world where he treated us to all sorts of rhetorical pirouettes, including profuse mentions of the Cold War in the context of post colonialism, but he carefully avoided even mentioning both the Dutch and British colonial pasts. Which, you know, left some of us scratching our heads because how can you even start to address globalization and post colonial analysis if you won’t even mention the slave trade as one of the founding moments of globalized capitalism, with the transatlantic trade of African bodies as means of production?

Later on, Ms. van der Plas, in response to how can the Dutch art world move forward in the context of post colonial theory, said that, for her, “the world had always been post colonial because the Chinese had been invading other lands for millennia and other civilizations had also been colonizing neighboring territories so, she believed that we had been post colonial for ever”. Yes. Do not roll your eyes as they might come out of their sockets.

So, since we were in a museum, a Dutch institution that is in charge of what I usually refer to as “the administration of knowledge” (both as an institution that produces knowledge in the form of symposia, books, seminars, etc and in the sense that the curating process is an administration of knowledge by itself), I took a look around in the room where all these debates about the post colonial gaze were taking place. Currently, the museum is hosting an exhibition by three Dutch artists: Bart Groenendaal, Stefan Ruitenbeek and Quinsy Gario. The room had been stripped of all the exhibition items to make space for the chairs and the stage where the debate was taking place. In doing so, the organizers arranged the platform so that the event could be filmed and, to do so, they removed the name of one of the artists who was part of the exhibition, Quinsy Gario’s. Now, because we are in a museum and because this administration of knowledge is neither innocent, nor ideology free, I should point to the most telling and substantial aspect in this name erasing exercise: of the three artists, the only name that was covered and erased was Gario’s. Also, of all the three artists, the only one of Color, a Dutch Black man who interrogates the Dutch self perception as a sexually open and tolerant nation. In the context of these debates about the post colonial gaze, about the role of “the subaltern” in art production, the symbolic value of this single name erasure does not escape me.

“Too radical for Dutch media”

Fri, 25 May 2012 12:07:19 +0200

And “unpublishable”. Those were the words of two editors from two separate major media outlets in The Netherlands in response to something I co-wrote about racism in this country, as a social ecosystem (leaving out incriminating details to protect the innocent). And to think we had even tried to simplify our ideas to make them more accessible for a general audience.

Maybe this should now be my byline?

The nature of Tumblr and insidious changes in meaning

Wed, 23 May 2012 12:53:00 +0200

My Tumblr posts are not always very well thought out (well, not that my non Tumblr posts are, but that’s another topic altogether). I sometimes respond to comments on the fly and don’t necessarily flesh out style or proper paragraph breaks. My Tumblr posts sometimes contain typos or kinda broken grammar (especially if I am working with sources in a language other than English and translating them as I type). However, even though some of the posts can have a draft-like quality, I do consider the words I use. So, yesterday I vented about the European boycott over the Eurovision Song Festival. Now, I fully acknowledge that it wasn’t a ground breaking post or super meaningful or even all that original. It was written in a couple of minutes just to share immediacy, to express something that was relevant to yesterday’s news cycle.

In the post I used the expression “these Othered bodies” to refer to the way the EU deals with undocumented immigrants and internment camps. This wasn’t a typo. This wasn’t a mistake or something that I misused. This was fully intentional and central to my politics. So, when someone reblogs this post and changes the expression to “these other bodies”, they are actually changing the very basis of my politics. I know it is a trivial and a small issue, pretty inconsequential, etc. However, it is worth noting that these changes in meaning (which we cannot control) are also of a political nature. And I’d say not exactly free of ideology either.

Mi dislike of Damien Hirst is well documented

Wed, 23 May 2012 12:20:34 +0200

I read this Guardian review of his latest exhibition in London and all I have is a visual recreation of my reaction:

"Several dozen masked individuals attacked the first sanctioned gay demonstration in St. Petersburg..."

Wed, 23 May 2012 11:19:27 +0200

“Several dozen masked individuals attacked the first sanctioned gay demonstration in St. Petersburg and vented their anger on migrant workers after police drove the gays from the scene.”

- Attack on Gays in St. Petersburg Spreads to Migrant Workers | Society | RIA Novosti

From the article:

Police moved quickly and placed all the gays on a bus, which then drove off.

The frustrated homophobes attacked another bus stopped at a traffic light that they mistook for the departed vehicle. But the bus was carrying migrant workers from Central Asia. The attackers hurled stones at the bus and somebody tossed smoke bombs on the road in front of it. They also broke windows and started beating the passengers.

There were no police in the area during the bus attack. Police said later they were accompanying the bus with the gay activists.

The police wouldn’t actually think to appease the homophobes by letting them take their rage on the “less valuable” brown bodies employed for manual labor, would they? Also, I love the lack of commentary on the chance that in that bus full of Asian migrants, there might as well be queer folks.

And then, right below the story, there is this comment:

LGBT people cannot destroy Russia. That is such sillyness [SIC]. If you want more babies pay Ethiopians to have your babies through IVF.

I just can’t.

14kgoldnyc replied to your photo: I am out of Smints and this is a disgrace. Also,… Are these...

Tue, 22 May 2012 13:41:42 +0200

14kgoldnyc replied to your photo: I am out of Smints and this is a disgrace. Also,…

Are these like Altoids?

Kinda in that they are small minty lozenges. I prefer them to Altoids though because the flavor is slightly less intense.

I am out of Smints and this is a disgrace. Also, this is now a...

Tue, 22 May 2012 13:33:23 +0200

I am out of Smints and this is a disgrace.

Also, this is now a quality Tumblr.

iamthecrime replied to your video: Just a reminder: tonight is the first Eurovision… Plus...

Tue, 22 May 2012 12:58:19 +0200

iamthecrime replied to your video: Just a reminder: tonight is the first Eurovision…

Plus there’s this matter: humanrightswatch.tumblr…

True. However, I am kind of exhausted with Europe presenting itself as a beacon of freedom and consequently, Europeans “boycotting” stuff to feel good about “doing something”. My contempt over this stems from the fact that the EU supports and upholds more detention camps than any other governing body in the world. These detention camps for undocumented migrants and asylum seekers are presented as a “necessity”, while Europeans point fingers at Azerbaijan for being so oppressive. Now, here is the thing, I have absolutely no doubt that Azerbaijan engages in oppressive practices and State policies. However, I am done with Europe’s supposed “moral superiority” while people die under the care of official institutions and when those deaths are neither reported or downplayed because these Othered bodies are not worth protecting, cherishing or being cared for. So, under that light, I side eye these boycotts as diverting tactics that continue the endless marketing campaign of Europe as a champion of human rights, which is simply a lie.

Just a reminder: tonight is the first Eurovision semi-final,...

Tue, 22 May 2012 12:48:04 +0200

Just a reminder: tonight is the first Eurovision semi-final, when they pick bunch of countries to compete at the big Eurovision final on Saturday. This hot mess, in headdress and everything is representing The Netherlands. Even if I did not look at the headdress disaster (or if I had never seen the video and only heard the song), this is awful. Bland and inane pop of the kind that puts me to sleep. Bah.

See what I mean about the internet?

Tue, 22 May 2012 12:37:14 +0200

Point out that there are deep rooted racist depiction in porn that are hardly ever addressed by sex positive feminists, be told to STAY AWAY FROM MY SEXUALITY!!!@@@###$!!!!!

Not feeling "teh internet"

Tue, 22 May 2012 12:32:48 +0200

Had to take time off because I had to lead a workshop this past Saturday (it went great, and I was surprised at how crowded it was) but now I feel meh. It’s like going back to a job you dislike after a vacation. I suppose I am mostly put off by trivial infighting, the endless loop of call out culture (did anyone ever change their ways by being called out? No, I am not asking, just wondering here because I mostly operate under the assumption that nobody changes their mind through reading stuff on the internet; those who already believed something or were inclined to a certain mindset will deepen their understanding, those who are far off the spectrum will just disagree and move on). And I guess I am kind of burned out from Tumblr. I am not leaving Tumblr or anything like that, just venting here so, you know… a bit of navel gazing (what is Tumblr for if I cannot indulge in navel gazing?)

I’ve been invited to speak at the Humanity in Action Fellowship Program (which is an international program for graduates and young professionals that has produced great research about racial issues both in The Netherlands and abroad), so I am thinking of my presentation in a couple of weeks. I am also working on a project for a multi voiced, collective, European media site focused on issues of racism and social analysis of racial issues. So, you know, I am kinda overwhelmed and as usual, dealing with my lack of focus. And the internet does not help with that much. Meh.

Just spotted this new ad campaign in Amsterdam’s...

Wed, 16 May 2012 12:59:58 +0200

Just spotted this new ad campaign in Amsterdam’s Leidseplein. Because nothing says “Barbecue and a touch of hot flavor” like an Indian Prince and Princess, right?

That page that cannot be found? IT’S MY ENTIRE FREAKING...

Tue, 15 May 2012 11:58:47 +0200

That page that cannot be found? IT’S MY ENTIRE FREAKING TUMBLR! AAAARGH

I got the weirdest error message involving suspicious activity in my account and an instruction to reset my password. After I did so, all the customizations, my theme, my settings were gone. WHY DOES THE WORLD HATE ME? WHY DO COMPUTERS AND SERVERS CONSPIRE AGAINST ME? HAAAALP EVEN MY OWN TUMBLR WANTS TO ABANDON ME!

No, but really, I hope this is fixed because I dread the mere thought of having to reconfigure everything again. Ugh.

My absolutely favorite Avengers moment

Mon, 14 May 2012 15:39:50 +0200

I didn’t write anything about Avengers since I saw it a week ago, but whatever, this is timeless and not bound by “date of exposure”. So, under the cut so as not to spoil it for those who might not have seen it yet.

My absolute favorite moment is when Loki tells Hulk that he is an “inferior creature” and the Hulk gives the only possible response: SMASH.

I wish there was a way to capture that in an animated poster just so that I could hang it from the wall.

rosa—sparks: madamethursday: [Image: A picture of a...

Fri, 11 May 2012 18:24:18 +0200

rosa—sparks:

madamethursday:

[Image: A picture of a tall, very thin Black woman with her shoulder over a shorter, older white man wearing traditional Orthodox Jewish clothing on a New York sideway.]

staghunts:

“This one is very serious, guys:

I came upon these two on the sidewalk. They were having a conversation. “Excuse me,” I said, addressing the girl: “I’m sorry to interrupt, but is there anyway I can take your photo?”

“Why would you want my photo?” she asked.

“Because you look beautiful,” I said. And she did. She was Sudanese. There is a very distinct beauty among people from the Sudan, and she was filled up with it. Suddenly the man cut in:

“I was just telling her she was beautiful,” he said.

Naively, I assumed I had just walked up on one stranger giving a compliment to another. I wanted to capture the moment. “Let me take your photograph together,” I said. The man seemed reluctant, he started smiling nervously and inching away. But the girl called him back.

“Come take a picture with me,” she said. Encouraged by her attention, he returned. She put her arm around him, and I took the photo.

As I examined the photos on my camera, the man started whispering to the girl. She answered him in a loud voice: “I told you! I’m not that kind of girl.” She seemed agitated now. Finally sensing that I had misread the situation, I stepped between them. The man began hurrying down the sidewalk.

When the man left, the girl’s demeanor changed completely. She seemed shaken. Her eyes were tearing up. “He just offered me five hundred dollars to go out with him,” she said. “And then when I said ‘no,’ he offered me one thousand. Why does this always happen to me?”

“It happens a lot?” I asked.

“All the time,” she said. “I’m sorry I’m getting emotional. I just can’t go out of my house without this kind of thing happening. I have a son. I’m a mother. I would never degrade myself like that. I just don’t understand why this keeps happening.”

“Do you mind if I tell this story?” I asked.

“Please,” she said. “Tell it.”

Let’s hope this man, and all men, realize the emotional damage they are inflicting on the women they try to buy. In the meantime, feel free to SHARE.*

Dear Tumblr, fuck you for trying to erase this.

I’m saving this post because as many times as Tumblr tries to erase this woman’s story and act like anything about this was okay, that’s as many times as I’m reposting it. They can either cut me off or stop being assnuggets about this. whichEVER.

Do not forget this.

"Archaeologists Find Mayan Calendar Reaching Well beyond 2012"

Fri, 11 May 2012 18:17:41 +0200

“Archaeologists Find Mayan Calendar Reaching Well beyond 2012”

- NewsRoomAmerica.com

Uh oh, that’s the collective roar of every New Age-y type who was awaiting doomsday. I wonder if they had already began stockpiling incense and crystals to avoid End of Days looting for their daily needs.

Tiger Beatdown: Missing intersectionality in sex positive feminism: the unaddressed racism in porn

Fri, 11 May 2012 17:35:29 +0200

Tiger Beatdown: Missing intersectionality in sex positive feminism: the unaddressed racism in porn:

CONTENT WARNING: THE PIECE AT THE LINK DISCUSSES RACIST SEXUAL VIOLENCE.

The last time I wrote a critique of porn, some people left comments saying I had no business criticizing the stuff because “they liked it” and being sex positive meant that if you like something, it is not OK to challenge it. Ever since, I’ve been thinking a lot about those comments, specifically because of how they close the possibility of any kind of intersectional approach (namely, how our preferences and actions are informed by a conflagration of factors including, race, class, dis/ability, etc.). Well, I set to challenge that idea. From the piece:

If you point out that there are ingrained elements of racism within certain sub genres of pornography, to wit, some stuff that is presented as “fetish”, the usual defense, even from many in the sex positive feminist camp, is that “people like what they like” and, as long as it is consensual, we should not question it. This kind of determinism due to preference remains unexamined, unchallenged, as if our personal taste would develop in a vacuum, devoid of any other sociocultural influence. As if we could separate ourselves from the environment where we exist. I suspect this uncritical “we like what we like” argument stems from a need to anticipate the attacks based on moralistic arguments. I understand that anything that deviates from the heteronormative and patriarchal ideas of “acceptable” is criticized on tenuous arguments involving “values” and supposed “deviance”. However, “we might like what we like” and still, that supposedly personal preference might not be as simple or as harmless as we might want to believe. Kyriarchy, after all, infiltrates even the most seemingly disconnected areas of our lives.

Gawker’s new, unmoderated commenting system surely seems...

Thu, 10 May 2012 22:52:35 +0200

Gawker’s new, unmoderated commenting system surely seems to be a success! These gems are currently the “featured” comment thread in a story about terrible, brutal violence at New York’s Rikers Island jail. I wonder if this was Denton’s goal all along, to turn the comments into something worse than Fox News.

Argentina makes sex-change surgery a legal right

Thu, 10 May 2012 10:56:14 +0200

I woke up to this and you know, I did a little dance. Since this happened a few hours ago, in the middle of the night of most of Europe and the US, mainstream media hasn’t yet picked on it much. From San Jose Mercury News:

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina—Adults who want sex-change surgery or hormone therapy in Argentina will be able to get it as part of their public or private health care plans under a gender rights law approved Wednesday.

The measure also gives people the right to specify how their gender is listed at the civil registry when their physical characteristics don’t match how they see themselves.

Senators approved the Gender Identity law by a vote of 55-0, with one abstention and more than a dozen senators declaring themselves absent—the same margin that approved a “death with dignity” law earlier in the day.

President Cristina Fernandez threw her support behind the law and is expected to sign it. She has often said how proud she is that Argentina became Latin America’s first nation to legalize gay marriage two years ago, enabling thousands of same-sex couples to wed and enjoy the same legal rights as married heterosexual couples.

For many, gender rights were the next step.

Any adult will now be able to officially change his or her gender, image and birth name without having to get approval from doctors or judges—and without having to undergo physical changes beforehand, as many U.S. jurisdictions require.

“It’s saying you can change your gender legally without having to change your body at all. That’s unheard of,” said Katrina Karkazis, a Stanford University medical anthropologist and bioethicst who wrote a book, “Fixing Sex,” about the medical and legal treatment of people whose physical characteristics don’t fully match their gender identity.

The law, I should add, is the only one of its kind in the world in that it relays on a person’s lived experience rather than on the opinion of medical professionals.

thecranium: humansofnewyork: “Are you Humans of New York?” “I...

Wed, 09 May 2012 16:02:25 +0200

thecranium:

humansofnewyork:

“Are you Humans of New York?”
“I am. Did you by any chance see last night’s post?”
“I did.”
“Your thoughts?”
“There’s deviance in every religion. Simple as that.”

God you fucking suck. “Last night’s post” doesn’t even exist anymore because, like a coward, you removed it. BUT that doesn’t stop you from justifying said removal over and over by posting numerous photos of Jewish men expressing themselves and reminding the world of THEIR humanity while removing that woman’s. What the fuck does this even have to do with religion? As though that man’s actions were a Jewish thing and not a racist/misogynist thing. “Simple as that.”

Adding myself to the chorus of everything that has been said already. Removing that post was an asshole move and then posting a series of cis guys “justifying” the predator? That was beyond asshole and just into the terrain of predatory apologia.

“Humans of New York”, coming soon with a separate section of their blog “Sub humans of New York” for those whose lives are not worth protecting or standing up for.