Links round-up (26/03/2013)

Posted by Lashings of Ginger Beer Time

Berlin Riot Grrrl are looking for additions to their next compilation, Cats against Catcalling, the deadline is April 15th. More details here.

Lisa Wade from Sociological Images presents a comic strip that subverts that ways in which persons from the D/deaf community are patronised.

Ellie Kilburn writes on feminism from a teen perspective on the F-Word

Sezin Koehler discusses the whitewashing of the Harlem Shake phenomenon.

BBC Analysis radio programme "Who Decides If I'm A Woman?" features a discussion of trans identities, including excellent contributions from Lashfriend Ruth Pearce - content warning for Julie Bindel and transphobic language.

Highly relevant to my [Bishop's] interests: Jacob Gaboury on the ‘Queer History of Computing’. Gaboury explores the significance of the disagreement between Ludwig Wittgenstein and Alan Turing. While their brief correspondence was significant as not just as two gay men in a period of intolerance is Queer-significant; it’s the mathematical ideas they had, which represent what Queerness should be, namely: exploring the space outside formally desirable systems.

Janani at Black Girl Dangerous analyses the problematics of the term 'POC' / 'person of colo(u)r':

US/Western imperialism is so widespread that it even imposes its ways of doing racism on the rest of the world, and on people of color. For example, my family is upper caste, and that caste position is partly what enabled our immigration to the US. It also means that we're lighter-skinned South Asians (read: closer to Aryan British colonizers). Using the term 'POC' as my identifier rather than 'South Asian' or 'Desi' means I never unpack these non-Western racial systems that are also at play.

 Kate Bornstein - author of the groundbreaking trans book "Gender Outlaw" and committed suicide prevention activist (both in her book "Hello, Cruel World" and the #stayalive hashtag on Twitter) - is currently facing a resurgence of her cancer. Under the USA's medical system, she needs to fundraise to pay for her healthcare. It's a testament to how many people she has helped over the past decades that she has nearly reached the needed $100,000 in under a week - if you can, please consider donating something.

Finally, the news this past week has been full of transphobic fail, so here's some response to that:

- After transgender primary school teacher Lucy Meadows was found dead (following her press vilification by Richard Littlejohn), two petitions calling for Littlejohn to be sacked were started (here and here), and last night a vigil outside the Daily Mail offices was attended by hundreds.
- CN Lester at the New Statesman responds to the growing discourse that 'cis' is a slur
Don’t Buy Transphobia says enough is enough to the way the national press addresses trans* people, and advocates a boycott of transphobic materials.