German bill to overturn convictions of gay men prosecuted after WWII

Last week, Germany’s Cabinet approved a bill that, if approved by Parliament, will overturn the post-WWII convictions of thousands of gay men and provide financial compensation for convictions and jail time served. Here's an article with more information.

As we learn in class about queer history in the US, I have enjoyed learning a bit more about queer history in other countries as well, and it's interesting to see how those histories can mirror what has happened in our country’s past and present. I found it particularly powerful, in this article, to read about the experience of Fritz Schmehling and his desire not to die with a criminal record -- it reminded me of the American veteran in “Coming Out Under Fire” who was still struggling to upgrade his blue discharge 50 years later. Both examples raise the question of how countries/groups/individuals go about trying to right past wrongs and highlight how painfully long that process can take.

HOPE GRANT: HHS Survey ousts LGBT questions

I actually saw this article on Tuesday but haven't had a chance to post it until today. Basically, the Trump administration deleted questions on sexuality from two federal surveys, which has people worried. The first survey was intended to gather information for programs funded by the Older Americans Act. The second survey, also by the Department of Health and Human Services, was to gather feedback for counseling, skills training, and other services for the disabled. The article can be read here and I think it can generate a lot of discussion about the new president and administration.

HOPE GRANT: Buzzfeed 1970s Explanation of How Many Women Are Lesbians

This Buzzfeed story was really interesting for multiple reasons. Not only is a 1970s "profile" of lesbians interesting because it includes verbiage such as, "Even though there's strong scientific theory that says none of them has actually been born that way," as in born gay, but it is interesting because the reporter interviewed lesbians and attended a meeting of the Australasian Lesbian Movement. We have been learning about the rise of different lesbian feminist groups in the 1970s so I thought this was fitting! Click here for the story

More info on incident of radical feminist attack on Beth Elliot

Chapter 6 of Queer America briefly mentions that in 1973 "transsexual lesbian Beth Elliot was expelled from the West Coast Women's Conference" as part of "conflicts between lesbian feminists and trans people" (an extremely mild way of referring to the vicious transphobia of that strain of radical feminism). Here's a link that goes into much greater detail about that event; I recommend giving it a read if you can stomach it. Content warning for extreme and violent transphobia/transmisogyny and misgendering.

Bechdel NPR Piece

When we read the Bechdel cartoon for last week, it jogged my memory - a few years ago, I listened to a piece on NPR about Alison Bechdel and her relationship with her father. I remember being struck by how candid and funny she was, and I encourage you to listen if you have a second!

http://www.npr.org/2015/08/17/432569415/lesbian-cartoonist-alison-bechdel-countered-dads-secrecy-by-being-out-and-open

Beauty and the Beast's Gay Moment

On the topic of gays in film and media-

In describing the controversial "gay" cinematic moment between protagonist Gaston and sidekick Le Fou, Beauty and the Beast director Bill Condon said, "By representing same-sex attraction in this short but explicitly gay scene, the studio is sending out a message that this is normal and natural.”

Despite being well received by many audience members, it's important to note that this small scene caused a lot of controversies. Russia, for example, reclassified the film to “adults only,” Malaysia refused to screen the movie without editing out the gay moment, Kuwait's censors pulled the film for edits, and one Alabama theater was so shocked by the thought of a gay moment that it decided not to show the movie at all. Just when it seems like we have made a step forward, people/places are still rejecting representations of gays in media.

I also agreed with the reaction from the LGBT community, and I don't believe the representation of a gay character went far enough. Like many members of the LGBT community, I wonder "how long the LGBTQ+ community must wait to see a truly authentic performance of queerness by a main character in a Disney film."

Click here to read the full article

Asian (Korean) American Queer Representation

Andrew Ahn is a Korean American filmmaker who has delved into the representation of the queer Asian (Korean) American experience through his short film, "Dol" (2011), and full-length feature, Spa Night (2016).  Spa Night recently won the 2017 John Cassavetes Award in the Film Independent Spirit Awards.  In his acceptance speech, Ahn emphasized the importance of telling the stories of marginalized communities because "we can't be pushed aside, labeled as 'Other.' We are a part of this great country."

link if broken can be found here

This speech helped me reflect on our course as a whole to think about which stories are continually mis/unrepresented in the greater theme of US (Gay) History.  I also reflected on the media's increase towards self-determined representation of marginalized (queer) communities through films like Moonlight and how important it is for these communities to (re)claim their identity and representation in mainstream media.  When Ahn visited the Claremont Colleges he mentioned how Korean Americans would comment on and feel comforted by small details such as the way the mother peeled an apple in the film that was reminiscent of their own familial life, and representational of what the Korean American identity entails.

LINKS FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION
SPA NIGHT IS CURRENTLY STREAMING ON NETFLIX!! :)
Link to Spa Night Trailer here
Link to short film "Dol" here
Link to another blog post about Spa Night here

Author's Note: I wrote "Asian (Korean) American" with "Korean" in parenthesis to represent the Korean-American identity as falling under the umbrella term Asian-American.