“All roads in life lead nowhere. So you might as well choose the road that has the most heart and is the most fun.”
Once again, my apologies for not posting sooner. I’ve been in rehearsal for my new solo show that opens in Manchester UK in mid-May, and I’ve been getting all my ducks in a row for my upcoming HEAVY tour schedule this season. I’m posting the schedule here, and I really do enjoy meeting people from online, so if you’re in any of the following towns, please stop by and say hey.
kiss kiss
Kate
I’ve just returned from a visit to Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. I was there as part of a trans-awareness weekend, which included an amazing drag show which included participation by one of the fraternities on campus, and and a genderfuck party in the frat house later. I was happy to hang out with a collection of perfectly delightful queers of all genders, sexualities, and persuasions.
Top Row, Left to Right: Kelli, Mercedes, Kate, Haley, Will, Maddie. Front Row, Left to Right: Ellen, Kari (the photographer), Courtney, Rachael
Virginia Ramey Mollenkott celebrated her 75th birthday a few days ago. You may or may not know Virginia, but the odds are if you’re reading this blog, your life has been touched by her work.
In 1978, Virginia Mollenkott co-authored (with Letha Dawson Scanzoni) the book Is
the Homosexual My Neighbor? A Postive Christisan Response. God alone knows how many queer lives she saved with that book, which is still on the shelves, revised and re-isued, after 19 years. Yow!
I first ran into this handsome butch spiritual lesbian about ten years
ago when we met at the now defunct A Different Light LGBT bookstore in
New York City. Virginia has written 13 books, but my favorite remains Omnigender: A Trans-Religious Approach, in which she debunks the myth of religious "truth" of two and two only genders, and she does this religion by religion. It’s amazing work.
This is gonna be a weird Xmas Eve posting, but fuck it. It’s important. Merck & Co. (not my favorite big drug company) seems to be doing a very good and important thing: they’ve just released a vaccine called Gardasil, and it could be the greatest thing since sliced tissue samples. Gardasil is currently the only vaccination against cervical cancer, and that’s great news! What’s more, the company has launched a PR campaign called "One Less," aimed at girls and young women, promoting the vaccine; and you hafta agree: one less case of cervical cancer would be a great thing indeed.
I’m not sending out any holiday cards this year, but I wanted to celebrate the spirit of all the holidaze that are happening just now, so here’s a silly, silly me movie. I made it at http://www.elfyourself.com/
So…. enjoy the season as best you possibly can!
kiss kiss
Kate
Okay, here are some sobering statistics for ya. They may not be surprising, but the numbers sure scare me.
According to Sexual Information Council of the United States:
41.7% of LGBTQ youth do not feel safe in their school.
28% of queer teens drop out of school annually. That’s three times the national average.
And according to 2005 report from Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)
95% of school counseling services have few or no gay, lesbian or bisexual resources. And…
99% of school counseling services have little or no transgender resources.
Thank goodness there are national campaigns like Ugly Ducklings, run by Hardy Girls Healthy Women, out there actually doing something about this quiet horror.
For the past 6-8 weeks, I’ve been out on tour or down with the flu or helping my grrlfriend say goodbye to her mom who passed from this world. But I’m back now in New York City, and I was thankfully lucky enough to catch a performance of Spring Awakening, a shiny new Broadway musical that shatters Broadway stereotypes in a healthy, sex positive way.
Here’s a fun piece I do, called "The Voice Lesson." It’s the story of how I learned to "talk like a woman" when I first went through my gendah change. It’s a trans-positive, feminist funny take on how women are expected to talk in our cultcha.
This is a slide show, with full audio. I’ve posted the video on my MySpace site. Wanna see? Click right here. xoxo Kate
Yow, I’ve got lots more to say than I thought. Here I yam again at here! TV’s podcast called here! with Josh and Sara. I had a great time talking with the two of them, and if you’re tired of hearing me, they’ve got a great archive of programs that should keep you alive and kickin’ for at least a couple of months.
So, click right here! for more audio of me, me, me!
I’ll be checking back in witchoo later on.
kiss kiss, Kate
I just had the FUNNEST time speaking with Fausto Fernos and Marc Felion, those two FABULOUS guys from Chicago who run the podcast, FEAST OF FOOLS. And, well, it’s up here in cyberspace for everyone to hear. Eeek!
So, point your magic browser and have a listen to Kate Bornstein on Feast of Fools.
xoxo
Kate