Deku's Musing

I've been following the hoopla about Semenya, the South African runner who is being asked to submit to a "gender test" (WTF is a gender test anyway? do they show you Barbie or GI Joe dolls and ask which you prefer?) based on her superb performance at her chosen sport. So far, it feels like a clusterfuck of fail.

First, let's look at the misogyny here. The doubt about her sex came because she was performing well? Because, after all, excellence in physical performance is a masculine prerogative. Add to that someone who doesn't present as stereotypically feminine, and we've immediately got doubt about whether or not she's a "real" woman, whatever that means. After all, she's already breaking a societal rule about how women should look and act, and she's succeeding at something to boot. Suspicion time!

And, let's not forget the racism. There decades of issues around black women not being expected to succeed, not being seen as sufficiently feminine, and not being seem as trust-worthy. Can this stuff die already?

And what's the deal with the gender test - I'm assuming they mean sex test, but even this is a bit odd, isn't it? We'd like to think that sex is binary, absolute and neatly packaged in blue or pink wrapping. But the truth is, even in our supposedly perfectly differentiated male and female worlds, we have a ton of different combinations. Plenty of people are born with varying degrees of intersex conditions, and many of them are never aware of it since there's nothing outwardly obvious. And lots of people who fall within "normal" by any barrage of tests may have differing hormone levels that give them advantages or disadvantages in certain areas. But this test seems to imply that we need someone to be determined unambiguously, absolutely, and irrevocably male or female if they are allowed to perform in sports. Either that, or we need to out them as other than binary male/female because they're holding something back, deceiving us all.

It's disturbing to read the comments associated with her story, because there's a nasty undercurrent of blame and judgement even in the sympathic commentary. Let's look at this quote from one of her competitors:

I've heard a lot of speculation, but all I could do was just keep a level head and go about my business," Meadows said. "If none of it's true, I feel very sorry for her."

Why the "if none of this is true" qualifier? If Semenya is found to be a "real" woman, we can feel sorry for her experiencing this public humiliation. But if the tests reveal abnormalities, we can revoke our pity, because our doubts were justified all along.

And what are our doubts? I think it comes down to that old saw about someone with non-conventional gender presentation, expression or identity being seen as deliberate deceptive. After all, blaming an ambiguously gendered person for their very existence is nothing new. Look how many murders of trans women are explained by the killers as happening because the trans woman deceived the perpetrator about her "true" sex. She's suddenly no longer a victim but a predator. Interesting how many of them are women of colour too, because when you combine the gender + colour you get some exponential marginalization happening. Like right now, when we see Semenya is being subjected to a very ugly public scrutiny because she's good at what she does, and we're not okay with that because she challenges our beliefs about gender and race.

I'm so very, very tired of this. I wish the rest of the world was, too.

Rain is lovely! But if it continues until Saturday, I may rethink berrying. Hmm.

Our office is moving and we've got a ton of stuff to get rid of. If you want any of the following and can come to Harbour Centre to take it away, please email me at jderoo@copy-cat.ca.

- Poster boards - lots of foam core mounted posters, mostly 2 x 3 feet but some other sizes. Good for craft projects, or as is if you want a lovely commemorative SFU poster on your wall!

- binders. lots and lots of binders. mostly 1 inch, but some 2 and 3 inch as well.

- various desk organizers, mostly plastic

Thanks!

Inspired by one of those awful "how to avoid getting raped" lists.

1. If you're walking to your car late at night in a dark alley, make sure you reconsider. Car accidents much more likely to kill you than anyone lurking in a dark alley. Walk home instead, statistically you are doing the smart thing to stay safe!

2. Serial rapists could be lurking anywhere. However, if you're seriously worried about being raped, stay away from the people most likely to rape you - your husband, boyfriend, and male friends and family members.

3. Avoid dangerous places. The most dangerous place for a woman, where she is most likely to be attacked, is in her own house, so stay out of that. And this isn't because of break-ins - it's because of the people who live with you, or who you invite in. So, stay at Starbucks or something.

4. If you're thinking about jogging alone in a park, and are concerned about safety, think about this - far, far more people die from heart disease that was preventable with exercise and sensible food choices than random attacks.

Sex reassignment surgery deserves full coverage across Canada.

So says Bill Siksay, who has tabled a private member’s bill, Bill C-389, in the House of Commons to add gender identity and expression to the Canadian Human Rights Act.

Go Bill!

Stand in protest for the loss of the MAP van June 23rd

We need your support Tuesday, June 23rd, between 9:30 pm and 10:30 pm when we will stand together for the MAP van.

Come out along the MAP van route and light a candle.

Rallying Points:
Hastings and Gore

Dunlevy and Cordova

Hastings and Jackson

Hastings and Hawks

Hasting  and Campbell

Franklin and Raymur

Franklin at Commercial Drive

Victoria and Triumph

Clark at East Georgia

Grandview Park on Commercial Drive

Commercial at 7th (meet on the bridge)

Kingsway and Nanaimo

Kingsway and Joyce
 
Please mark your calendars: Tuesday, June 23rd, 9:30 pm
 
Show the Premier and the Provincial Government that women on our streets are at terrible risk without the MAP van.

Give the new Solicitor General, Kash Heed, a battle to win for survival sex workers

·        MAP(Mobile Access Project) is an essential overnight service providing women sex workers with options for health and safety

·        MAP is operated through a partnership with WISH and PACE

·        We can never forget the 67 women who went missing from the same streets where the MAP van works every night.

·        What is the social cost of taking the MAP van off the road?

·        Show the government that they can make the difference between life and death

·        95% of all "Bad Date" reports are made to the MAP van staff, providing the only and immediate warning for sex workers against violent predators
 
To find out more about WISH: www.wish-vancouver.net

To find out more about PACE: www.pace-society.ca

This is my week off, but apparently I am unable to relax, so I shall post events instead.

Tomorrow, please come out for the Trans Partner/Family/Friends Support Group: Information Session

Date: Tuesday, April 21, 1009
Time: 7- 9 PM
Location: Generations Office, the Centre, at #610 - 1033 Davie Street.
Wheelchair-accessible space.

The Centre's "Trans Partner Support Group" exists to provide a safe, supportive environment for all self-identified trans partners, family & friends of transgender, transsexual, intersex, genderqueer, cross-dressing & any other gender-variant or questioning people.

We're starting back up and we'd like your input! The first meeting will be open to everyone: partners, family, friends, plus trans or questioning people, and anyone else who feels a connection with this diverse community. We are also looking for more facilitators, so if you might be interested and have a connection with the trans-spectrum community, we'd love to hear from you.

At our first meeting we will be discussing the feedback from our survey. If you haven't had a chance to fill it out, it's available at:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=E1xfpFoXqpj8Lp_2bzyjIgbg_3d_3d


This group will meet monthly at the same location on the third Tuesday of every month, so please mark your calendars!

For more information please contact the Centre at 604-684.5307

I'm behind on my gender theory stuff and don't know anything about this, but it looks interesting and it's free, so I'm passing it on to everyone. I will be there.

Public Lecture:Sex, Gender and the Body: Should We Look at Genes, Hormones, Environment, or Society?
With Judith Lorber, PhD

Professor Emerita of Sociology and Women’s Studies at the Graduate Center and Brooklyn College of the City University of New York

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009

12:00 – 2:00 p.m.

Room 2200 – RBC Dominion Securities Meeting Room

Simon Fraser University at Harbour Centre (Downtown)

515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver

Judith Lorber is author of numerous books and articles on gender theory and gendered health, including Breaking the Bowls: Degendering and Feminist Change and Gender and the Social Construction of Illness.  Dr. Lorber was the first Coordinator of the CUNY Graduate Center’s Women's Studies Certificate Program and Founding Editor of Gender & Society.

This event will be originating from Columbia University and telecast live at SFU Harbour Centre.

Everyone Welcome, but space is limited.  Please RSVP.

Feel free to bring your lunch.

For more information, contact Rodney Hunt at rhunt@sfu.ca/ or 778-782-7641

K, have decided that for every procrastination effort I indulge in of more than 5 minutes, I will do jump-roping. I will start with 20 and go up by increments of 20 for each subsequent misdemeanour.

Am at 40 so far and felt a bit winded by that. Better get back to work before I have to hit 60.

Date: Tuesday, April 21, 1009
Time: 7- 9 PM
Location: Generations Office, the Centre, at #610 - 1033 Davie Street.
Wheelchair accessible space.


The Trans Partner support group, put on by the Centre, exists to provide a safe, supportive environment for all self-identified trans partners, family & friends, including partners, family & friends of transgender, transsexual, intersex, genderqueer, cross-dressing & any other gender variant or questioning people.

After a hiatus, we're starting back up and we'd like your input! The first meeting will be open to everyone: partners, family, friends, plus trans or questioning people, and anyone else who feels a connection with this diverse community. We are also looking for more facilitators, so if you have an background or interest in facilitation, and a connection with this community, please come out and let us know!

We look forward to hearing your thoughts and feedback about what you'd like to see in the group, and we'll also be discussing some of the questions raised in our recent user survey. If you haven't had a chance to fill out the survey yet, it's available at:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=E1xfpFoXqpj8Lp_2bzyjIgbg_3d_3d


After this first session, we will be offering this group monthly at the same location on the third Tuesday of every month, so please mark your calendars!

For more information please contact the Centre at 604-684.5307

I kid you not. Check out the video.

*marmot pops head out of burrow*

*marmot blinks*

*marmot trundles around happily, seeing no trace of shadow*

Ignore Punxsutawney Phil and those other posers. The one and only Vancouver marmot predicts an early spring.

Mutual respect. Social responsibility. Self awareness. These are things every parent wants their child to learn. Using renowned Adlerian parenting principles, parents can learn how to help their children develop to their full potential.

Our fun and interactive 8-session program will teach you Adlerian parenting concepts to apply immediately, including how to better understand your child, the role of birth order, family values, encouragement and increasing your child’s self esteem, the goals of children’s behaviour, discipline, communication, problem solving and much more. You’ll leave each class with valuable new parenting solutions and skills.

For Parents of Children 12 years and under
At Mount Pleasant Family Centre 2910 St. George St. (at Robson Park)
January 18, 2009- March 8, 2009
Sunday 12-2 PM
Classes are free, but registration is required. Call 604-872-6757 to register or email me at jderoo@copy-cat.ca for more information

Presented by the Adler School of Professional Psychology and
Mount Pleasant Family Centre

Wow, 18 comments on the donate-teh-fud post and later posts so far - that's a lot of cans! I did my first grocery fud-bank run today and bought 17 cans (I miscounted, sigh), mostly those thick hearty soups (they were on sale - $4 for 2!), plus some beans, chili, tuna, and salmon. I know I need to get a bunch more because lots of the comments on the HIV post came after the fud post, plus I'm confident people will continue to comment, but am very happy with the cannage so far.

So, added incentive - if you want to me to donate a particular type of food, please let me know in this post and I'll make sure I get it! Keep in mind I'm a student with massive tuition working half-time, so I would appreciate it if you chose stuff on the less-expensive, but still nutritious side. As an added incentive, if you wish I will give you a totally unscientific, pseudo-psychological, faux-Jungian, eerily accurate personality profile of you based on your food choice - make sure to request this in the comment if you want it.

Stolen from arwenoid, and you should steal it too, as well as commenting on her blog*

For every comment left between today and next Friday on any post (preferably not just this one, but that’s fine too), I will donate one can of food to the food bank. Delicious, nutritious cans! This is extra easy for me since I've got a handy food bank bin right in my office.

So go on, start commenting! Feel free to comment on more than one post to max out your cannage.

*if your comment on arwenoid's blog is blatantly mocking her fear of going to her partner's Xmas party based on this post, post a link to your mocking comment here and I'll match that with yet another can of food

Due to a last minute volunteer replacement issue, I'm going to be at MAC in Metrotown from 12 - 4 today for World AIDS Day handing out pretty flyers and giving information about BC Persons with AIDS. If I get there early enough I get a FREE makeover! Plus, BCPWA gave me 3 (!) free coupons for delicious fancy starbucks new christmas drinks (gingersnap, expresso truffle or peppermint mocha) so if you do come visit and are craving caffeine, I might give you one in exchange for a coffee run.

No purchase necessary. Coupons limited if marmots drink all the coffee before you arrive.

Today is the Transgender Day of Remembrance. Please take some time to remember the people killed in the last year as a result of prejudice and hatred against trans people.

We remember you

Thank you, America. I'm so thrilled that I don't even have the words.

It's election day today. I'm voting. Are you?