I’m not on Team Bieber nor am I on Team Mariah Yeater. I’m not on any team besides Team Media Justice (yes that’s code for Team Bi). I created my team and I encourage readers to do the same. Figure out what all of the information is, and then think about how this information impacts our communities and work. That is what this post is about. What is going on regarding this child, the conversations around children of young parents, how are they supported, targeted, ignored, threatened, and what will we do to change that (if anything!?). An element of this hysteria among young people and Bieber is not that he’s no longer “available” (as he’s been openly dating Selena Gomez for the past several months). Rather, what do we lose if he is the progenitor of this child?

One of the things I do appreciate about Justin Bieber is that he not only demonstrates with his life how media can change one’s entire reality as he was “found” on YouTube (for the most part), but also that he’s been open about practicing abstinence and speaks on it freely and openly. I think it’s important for youth, especially young girls who identify right now as heterosexual, to have a image of a young person who is standing by the choice to be abstinent at this time. I think it’s useful to have this dialogue go on in popular culture that many pre-teens do consume especially at a time when comprehensive sexuality education is not offered for all youth in the U.S.

Something we do lose, I believe, is a huge pop culture icon that speaks and practices abstinence; a useful point of interest to begin discussions on the topic. Ignoring this is a huge problem for many of us working with and mentoring youth. Are we ready to discuss abstinence and how it may and may not work? I think it is safe to say he won’t lose too many fans or be shamed as Yeater and other young parents have been by our society, if the paternity test he takes demonstrates he did play a role in creating this child.

I’ve written about abstinence and talk about it often as I work because it is an option. This is one option many of us choose to practice at different times in our lives.

There are also some very clear messages going on about condoms here. Whether we want to admit it or not, youth hear things about condoms not feeling “good” or “real, even if they have never used them before. This is one reason why i’m in favor of youth having access to condoms, opening them, putting them on things (either themselves or even playfully/educationally on other things) to practice how to properly use condoms. I think it is important for youth to also see how easy it is to put a condom on incorrectly and how important lubrication is to their proper usage. These are all parts of being prepared. This is something not only young people can learn from, but all people. Let’s keep in mind that properly putting on a condom is not only for the person with the penis! Plus, there are also condoms that go into the vagina as well. Both of these require practice and a level of comfort to use them properly.

Yeater claims she asked Bieber to put a condom on for protection and he said no. This to me sounds like a sexual assault, yet folks are targeting her as the abuser for statutory rape as Bieber was 16 at the time and she 19. Don’t get it twisted, she asked to have a consensual sexual act occur with a barrier method to avoid pregnancy and potential STI and HIV transmission (not all STIs require one to have sex, see HPV, and not all people who are living positive with HIV had sex, there are many young people who are living positive and were born positive). Bieber’s alleged “no” in response to using a condom, his fame and power all may have played a role in the fear and discomfort Yeater may have experienced in telling him she no longer wanted to continue to have sex. Being afraid to say “no” during sex is a form of coercion. Please understand and recognize this. These allegations of Yeater being tried for statutory rape could result in up to one year in jail if chargers are pressed and Yeater found guilty. (And that’s just what we need, a young mother in jail away from her child).

The bullying, harassment, and namecalling Yeater is experiencing isn’t just from young fans. The media is also playing along and calling her “crazy”and diagnosing her mental health, judging her as a liar and shaming her as a young parent. This public harassment is ridiculous, and I hope those folks who are engaging in this behavior realize that there are responsibilities that come with using technology and the internet! Ya’ll know that any tweets you send are kept by the Library of Congress right?

“Experts” are even jumping onto this story and encouraging the isolation and harassment of Yeater. Family law specialist Debra Opri tells ABC News that she would not encourage her client to have a paternity test (she’s not Bieber’s attorney just a “expert” they looked to for comment) and states: “I wouldn’t make it easy for her whatsoever,” she said. “I would make her life miserable.” Riiiight. Because that’s EXACTLY what young mothers need: their life to be even more difficult. Good job Opri and all others who think the way she does. I hope that if you ever find yourself in a space similar to Yeater you are supported more than what is offered to her at this time.

Now, when it comes to supporting young mothers, I have to ask: do we really do what we can to support them? At the end of October I saw this image come across the internet with a ton of judgement, shaming, and name calling of young mothers of Color:

I don’t know who posted the image so foto credit is not given, but it is clear that these young pregnant people are proud of their experiences with their pregnancies. The person and people who have things to say about this image are in the thousands! I mean the title of the link alone and the commentary by the person who claims to have posted it states “dis a damnnnn shame.” Why is this shameful? Oh, because young women and pregnant people are taking pride in their experiences.

Perhaps I’m being extra sensitive to young pregnant people, many of which I work with and have supported in various ways. But also because my immediate family is expecting a child as well. Yes! I’m going to be a tia/auntie so there will be a post on children’s books for babies and kids of Color with same gender parents soon! I’m also aware that teen pregnancies and everything that goes with that from parenting, adoption, and termination are topics we must discuss equally. It’s also about being pro-choice. If we claim we are pro-choice then we must support decisions of parenting and pregnancy at all stages. This means supporting young mothers who choose to carry to term and parent.

What is wrong with young moms being proud and supporting one another? What is wrong with finding communities of practice based on our lived realities? What is wrong with sharing that pride? It’s too easy to prove the racism (internalized and otherwise) associated with racially Black women sharing such pride. It’s also too easy to show how our sexist society judges them as women. Would an image of several young fathers holding their infant children and posing in the mirror to take a foto of themselves in the bathroom have resulted in the same response?

As Loretta Ross of Sister Song has said “you can’t save Black babies by attacking Black women.” We also can’t save Justin Bieber (and I’m not interested in saving him or a lot of other people to be honest), but we can be mindful of how Yeater is treated and how post-paternity test she will be treated. What support are we able to offer Yeater, a young mom, and other young moms in our communities?

*I’m choosing to use this term because I don’t want to use the phrases “baby’s father,” “sperm donor,” or other phrases. This is because “father” is an identity not many may claim. I wish to avoid using it in the same way that anti-choicers claim and describe pregnant people are “moms” even if that term is not one they embrace. It is a tactic to shame and make the pregnant person assume an identity that they do not desire or embrace.

I don’t know too many folks who don’t like to be complimented. I felt proud to know that there was someone who recognized the care, skill, and time it took to get my make-up the way I had wanted it to look. This was one of the things that sparked my desire to write this post. Before I get into the specific points I’d like to make, let me share a story with you.

When I went back to school to focus on gender I remember having many comments made towards me about my gender expression. As my bio above mentions, I identify as a “femme” and have always had a gender expression that many read as stereotypical to Western ideas of how women are to look and ideas of femininity. I did not feel welcomed in that space. I questioned if my purple backpack was “gender neutral” enough. I resorted to wearing jeans and t-shirts more often than I cared for. My creative spirit had been broken and I became depressed.

You see for me, and many of the folks I know who “beat their face,” putting on make up, nail polish, etc. is part of our gender expression. It is a part of who we are. For me, it is a creative aspect of my identity that is extremely important. When I don’t have the ability, time, or resources to be creative in ways that fulfill me on a regular basis (photography,dancing, collaging, letter writing, zine making, etc.) I still find space for that creativity to be nurtured in make-up application.

One day at the MAC make up counter (of which I am a MAC Pro, which means I have a membership as a make-up artist and performer and thus receive a large percentage off my purchases, let me know if you want in on this discount as I make purchases for others), I heard a person say “look at all these women trying to change the way they look.” I looked up and it was a racially white woman rushing past and speaking to her pre-teen daughter. It was in that instant that I knew there was something more here. I looked around at the women at the counter and we were all women of Color.

Ideas and standards of beauty for women of Color are not the same for racially white women. Instead of hashing out this history, I encourage readers to do personal research and analysis on their own about how these differences occur and manifest. I once told a psychologist I was working with that I don’t have the pleasure, luxury, or privilege to leave my home without looking “well kept”/”put together” as a woman of Color living in this society. He did not understand and disagreed with me. I expected this and disengaged with him after I shared some resources for him to look into.

There are some folks claim that if someone uses and wears make-up you/us are perpetuating stereotypical ideals of beauty. This is one of the many issues “femmes” like me experience on a regular basis. These messages we hear from folks in and outside of our communities. There are many folks who identify as feminists, radical, revolutionaries who judge us because of our choice to wear make-up. I’ve encountered several of them who claim what I am doing is not revolutionary, is a problem, perpetuates the issue they are attempting to erase. All of a sudden I’m a part of the problem, not a useful member of the community, someone to be ridiculed, reprimanded, and ignored as my voice no longer matters. It is rare when some folks consider how my gender expression challenges them in ways that make them uncomfortable and sit with that discomfort to examine it. I write that as someone who has sat with that discomfort and will continue to do so as I learn about myself and others in such experiences.

One thing I often find interesting is that folks will judge me based on my gender expression and use of make-up, yet will not consider how I paint other parts of my body. Often when folks do recognize or discuss my body art they have vary different responses to the art on my face. The same radical, revolutionaries, and feminists enjoy talking to me about my body ink when they can see it, something that is often not done regarding my make-up.

Many of us recognize how important gender is to our lives. Many of us work regularly to be inclusive of folks who challenge gender binaries, be trans inclusive, and challenge misogyny on a regular basis. For some reason though there remains a disapproval of those of us who have a certain gender expression no matter how demure or exaggerated. There seems to be a disapproval, irritation, and even disgust for what is considered feminine. I wonder what that means for all women. Is there even safety and protection from other women in our communities? Do we really “have each other’s backs”?

Affirming our identities is important for many of us, if not all of us. There are many things we do each day to connect with who we are and where we come from. I know wearing make-up affirms my identity as a radical woman of Color, as a sexual being, as an intellectual, and educator. It also challenges ideas that people have about my identities. My use of color challenges ideas of me wanting to hide who I am and not stand out. This is associated with many parts of our identities that we are socialized to attempt to not make visible whether it is being a woman (and being passive), being fat (and not bringing attention to yourself as you already take up too much room), being a person of Color (especially if you are one of a few, or the only one in a room), being someone with a different ability (see being fat and a person of Color), and being of a certain age (wear color and products that are gender appropriate).

I’ve shared often how media is created and consumed. With this I believe that there are messages that I create when I put on my make-up. Some of my messages may include: I care about my appearance, I’m not afraid of color, I will wear this neon orange lipstick (or other bright non-traditional color) year round if I want, I love my eyelashes, cheekbones, and lips; parts i’ve been told are too broad, wide, and not beautiful. Other messages I choose to convey include: I belong here. This is one thing I hope to leave with many of the youth I work with: that they belong wherever they want to be!

Often I’ve joked that red lipstick is a cultural artifact in my Puerto Rican home. My mother wore the color, my aunts, grandmothers as well. It was a color I was given at a very young age to play with while dressing up. It is a color I continue to use to this day. This color is attached to many things for me and using it has become a ritual. One of the main reasons I adore the color right now is because it is my mother’s favorite. And I miss my ma and when I put it on I remember her, hope she will take pride in me transmitting this practice and color to other generations in our family. I’m connected to my mother through this color and practice.

I’ve also created ritual around make-up application. A ritual that is not only connected to my own forms of self-care, but also to my cultural background. While applying my make-up I put on certain media (usually a song or image) to inspire me. I have a process I follow in figuring out how I’m going to apply the products, in what way, with what brush, what effect do I want to create today, what shapes and lines will I create and how many will there be, and of course: how much sparkle to include. I do the same with nail polish. This ritual, as small or materialistic as some may see it, is a form of self-care for myself. I’m spending time with myself, doing something I love that is connected to my community, roots, and my own sense of self.

Some folks have said to me that my own sense of self can come form being natural. Ideas about natural being beautiful are ones I wholeheartedly agree with. Some folks think there is nothing natural about wearing make-up and I have to disagree. This seems to be a very US-centric perspective; one that does not recognize the diversity and varied cultures that already exist in the US (even before it was considered the US). Body decor and modifications are found all over the world and are not “new” phenomenons. Thus, these ideas of not being “natural” are not only judgmental but also make assumptions of defining “natural” for all people in the same way.

Is there privilege in putting on make-up? Sure, there’s privilege in doing a lot of things. However, if we just focus on the privilege aspect we erase the rituals and traditions of generations of people who do similar practices. That is not always helpful. There are many femmes and folks who use make-up who are using their privilege to access products by supporting certain brands exclusively. Many folks only use products that have organic components, no chemicals, are not tested on animals, do not have different pricing for different shades, are fragrance-free and are run by community members. There is a way to strategically use our privilege and many make-up wearers are aware of this.

At the same time, assuming that people who wear and use make-up only use corporate brand names is erroneous. There are many ways to make your own shades, primers, and glitter. One of my broke femme tips is that I used to (and sometimes still do) fill in my eyebrows with a wooden match. I strike the match, let it burn, then blow it out and take the tip off. The remains on the wooden stick are great for creating black shading. I have many other friends who make primer out of milk of magnesia, pinch their cheeks for blush, use sugar in the raw to get rid of dry skin on the lips, and who use coconut oil as moisturizer.

If we support choice and folks having power over their body to do with it as they wish, how and why is there still this marginalization? My make-up use and application are not about you or them or that over there. It is about me. It is an expression of my creativity, personality, love for self, connections to my culture, commitment to challenging expectations, and it is my choice.

Is being femme a political identity? This is a question I deliberatly chose not to answer as it’s complicated and very layered. For some yes. For others it is just who we are. There is a lot of literature and thought about femme as an identity, a political and queer one and I encourage folks to look into that literature if you are interested. Also consider attending theFemme Conference in 2012 which will be held in Baltimore.

Many folks are familiar with this piece of media below: “To All of the Kick Ass, Beautiful Fierce Femmes Out There” by Ivan Coyote. I think it fits well into this discussion and is an important reminder to us all.

Share with me some of your ideas on media making and the connections to make-up. Do you think there are any?

Anthony Otero is Puerto Rican and Ecuadorian that was born and raised in the Bronx, NY and currently a staff member at Syracuse University. He is one of the co-founders of The LatiNegr@s Project. A constant writer, he is currently working on his first book of poetry called “My Twisted Life Through Lines of Poetry”set to come out in 2012 and created the blogInside My Head.

As one of few Latino administrators at Syracuse University, he become an adviser to many Latino students and Latino student organizations. Anthony also helped create the Latino Heritage Month celebrations that still occur today. He took graduate courses in Cultural Foundations of Education and finally understood that what it means to be Afro-Latino after soul searching through research papers. This sparked the creation of all his blogs including the newly retitled Tumblr site: Black, Brown, and a little Mestizo. He also created the @beingafrolatino twitter account as a way to promote and unite Afro Latinos.

Bianca I. Laureano is a first generation Puerto Rican sexologist living in NYC. Raised in the Washington, DC area in an activist environment, Bianca is the daughter of an artist and educator and a product of the public school system. In the field of sexuality for over a decade, Bianca has worked with and taught youth of Color, working class communities, speaks at national and international organizations advocating sex-positive social justice agendas. She has presented both locally and internationally on various topics concerning activism, Latino sexual health, feminisms, youth and hip-hop culture, Latinos and race, Caribbean cultural practices and sexuality, dating and relationships, curriculum development, reproductive justice and teaching.

She’s a board member at the Black Girl Project, doula with The Doula Project, co-founder of The LatiNegr@s Project, and Monster Girl. Bianca is an instructor and a freelance writer and was awarded the 2010 Mujeres Destacadas’ Award (distinguished woman) from El Diario/La Prensa for her work in sexual health. She hosts the website LatinoSexuality.com and identifies as a LatiNegra, media maker, radical woman of Color, activist, sex-positive, pro-choice femme. Find out more about Bianca by visiting her website BiancaLaureano.com.

Violeta Donawa is a Detroit native, born to a Panamanian father and African American mother. As a doctoral student, she examines racial ideologies and paradigms, as well as the impact of social media on identification processes. She has two publications, entitled, “Exploring the Afro-Latino Presence: The Afro-Panamanian Experience in Michigan” in the journal, Negritud: Revista De Estudios Afro-Latinoamericanos and “Defining and Documenting Afro-Latin America” in the journal, Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies.

Raising visibility of the AfroLatin@ community has always been a passion. She has found multiple ways to integrate this passion into her everyday life through academia and social media. As a freelance writer and emerging blogger, she has contributed to the Voices from Our America ™ project, volunteered with The AfroLatin@ Forum, written forwww.vidaafrolatina.com, and runs her blog La Republica de Detroit.

Kismet Nuñez is a black and Puerto Rican woman of color insurgent who deploys 21st century forms of art, autobiography, and performance against the discursive terrain of race, sex and personality. With the help of new media, Kismet breaks herself into pieces to become more than her parts in a revolutionary act of defiance, affirmation & self-care. Kismet is a blogger, writer, student, teacher, researcher, historian, fangirl, lover, sister, daughter and everything in between. In 2008, she founded iwannalive productions, a social media collective specializing in radical black gyrl media, political education, sex positive empowerment and complete and utter disruption of the archive, academy and hu-MAN-ity as we known and understand it. iwannalive productions manages #AntiJemimas, a social media performance project.

Begun in 2010 out of an earlier blog project exploring self love (and hate) titled Self Care: Revise, Revise, Revise, the #AntiJemimas project is about infinite literacies, multiple beings and the conundrum of trying to build a real black gyrl in a world of 21st century digital engagement. The project’s goal is to circumvent the oppressive power of the iconic that traps woc bodies, sexualities and genders into roles labeled Only or Never. Today, #AntiJemimas has evolved into an online universe of blogs, Tumblrs and Twitters committed to the very hard work of building a real gyrl of color in a world of new media. You can find Kismet fomenting rebellion at Zora Walker, making gris-gris in the WOC Survival Kit, living on a distant star as the Sable Fan Gyrl, stroking her thighs as Pretty Magnolia, or twiddling her thumbs on Twitter. Kismet also blogs at Nuñez Daughter, the base blog for #AntiJemimas. Founded in May 2008, Nunez Daughter is an experiment in digital autobiography and archive. It expands on thoughts formulated in a research paper titled, “‘I’m On to You:’ Troubling Performances of Race, Gender and Class.”

We are Team Being Afro-Latino. You can follow on Twitter or on Tumblr. Buckle your seat belts, it will an exciting ride.

There’s been a lot of virtual attention towards a young 14 year-old Black woman from Alabama who was videotaped providing oral sex to her ex-boyfriend at their high school. As a Maryland native, this story being centered in Baltimore, hits home and remains enraging. Before I share more about this event, I want to share that two of the young men who participated in creating this video (which the young woman did NOT consent to) and then posted to the internets, have been arrested and the young woman has reportedly changed schools.

The young woman involved (and I’m purposefully not mentioning her name for many reasons, one she’s a minor, two she doesn’t need do a search and find this post about her, and three, it’s not important at this time) did not consent to having the video of her actions posted on the web. It’s unclear if she even consented to having the encounter videotaped, but what is clear is she is hurting, harassed, threatened, targeted, taunted, and isolated. To my knowledge the video is no longer available where it was originally posted (and I did not go searching for the video), however, some news outlets do have the video and use it when reporting on the story and blur out the images. In addition, one online site asked their readers (about 10,000 responded) if they would watch the video and 75% said they would! Unfortunately, there is still an interest in watching this encounter. Lots of conversations around cyber-bullying child pornography, and even sexting have emerged.

Youth responses
I have a love hate relationship with social media and situations such as this is one of those reasons. This is also a reason why some folks are against Net Neutrality (something I’ve encouraged us to consider and even support). Now, opponents of net neutrality would tell me there must be more of a social responsibility and accountability of some of these online spaces that host user content. I don’t think this is such a negative thing, however, how this is implemented is essential to understand and examine.

What I have seen are many youth responding to this situation in specific ways. There are folks who are clearly in support of the younsg woman and asking folks to stop harassing andbullying her. Then there are youth who are creating media of their own and posting it about the young woman (and no I’m not linking to any of them on purpose). Part of the cyber-bullying this young Black woman is experiencing is videos made of her, people reacting to watching the video, several young men (many of Color) creating raps, her first and last name becoming a verb, songs about the young woman, and even adults blaming her for her actions saying “she knew what would happen” and “she chose to perform this act.”

It troubles me because we still are in a society where people are UNCLEAR about what consent includes, what it means to obtain consent from someone, and what it means to violate someone and not obtain consent. I find it troubling that adults are blaming this young woman for experiencing bullying, threats, isolation because of her choice to perform oral sex. This sends many messages, one which is shaming of young women, women of Color in being sexual. Shaming folks has rarely ever had positive outcomes for all people involved, including especially the person it is targeted towards. People think they may be “helping,” or “just sharing their opinion,” or “stating the facts,” when in fact they are essentially rape apologists claiming “she asked for it” and “it’s her fault she is being treated” poorly. These are the same things we hear from people who blame victims and survivors of rape and sexual assault.

Sexting
I know that many of you don’t even think of sexting, instead maybe you think of seeing or sending naked pictures to other folks in your cell phone. Well, the legal term for that which older folks (who also participate in this activity) have come up for is sexting. I’ve shared some of the historical background that is connected to the legislation of sexting and how it is a crime before. I want to be clear that if you or someone you know is under 18 years old and things like this come into your cell phone/handheld device this will be considered a crime. If you are the person sending it you are the person who is considered doing the crime, the perpetuator. If you need or want more information on sexting check out my last article on the topic. Don’t think that just because you don’t know the rules/laws that they don’t apply to you, make sure these are clear and be careful! It’s part of the responsibility that comes with this type of technology today.

Speaking of responsibility, what role do our communities have and each of us individually have in these situations? Earlier this week Nicole Clark, MSW a social worker and sexual health activist/consultant for women and girls of color wrote a post called “Call To Action: Teens, Sex Tapes, and Why We’ve Got To Do Better” where she outlines four questions for readers about this current event and reality for the young woman involved. She writes:

What is the solution here? What can we do as adults to decrease the likelihood of incidences like this from occurring in the future? For one, we can stop sending mixed messages to young people about sex and sexuality. We can put the blame all we want on the media, rappers, models, music, videos, pop culture, social media, and magazines all we want, but young people are looking to the adults in their lives on how to behave.

I agree with Nicole’s perspective of ending mixed messages on sexuality and as adults, mentors, parents, educators who have young people in our lives taking some of this responsibility as well. Not just responsibility but accountability. We can blame the outlets and social media like Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr that allowed the video, bullying and harassment to continue (and some folks claim the young woman is using Twitter currently, although this has not been confirmed that it is actually her). However, there is a level of user accountability that we must also recognize. How do we talk to youth about how they behave online? Is it the same as how we teach them to behave in 3D? Why are they different? How can we figure out more solid and useful ways to discuss these methods?

Now, this incident is not isolated. Black women and women of Color have been targeted, harassed, threatened, bullied, isolated, shamed, silenced, violated, and victimized for being sexual beings in this country and world. We have not been protected the same way other women have, and even victimized by the same communities and organizations created to provide us some form of protection.

I believe the first things we must do is think about what consent means to us and then have conversations with others on the topic. How do folks have different definitions of consent? How do you obtain consent? What are the challenges to getting consent? What are the pleasures in getting consent? Then follow that up with a conversation with family members, community members, classmates, professors, mentors, and other folks in the communities of practice of which we have membership.

Next, think about what it means to have the privilege of social media, access to the internet, and how that gives us a unique yet important type of power. What are the ways we may practice power with versus power over in social media? How are these connected to our ideas of respect and I’m not saying this is an easy one as I see adults on social media acting out too!

Finally, what may we learn from young people about the uses and necessities of social media? I think it is important to look to young people as those experts who can help with creating solutions and holding their peers accountable. This is NOT just something that adults must do. It is something we ALL must do, it is all of our responsibility to speak out towards injustice, oppression, and isolation of young people because of a choice they made. To think it is up to adults to lead these efforts is a problem already. I’m committed to working with everyone in our community to challenge and find ways to make sure this does not happen again to another young person, young person of Color or community. What are ideas and ways others are working to help end these incidences as well?

Aiesha has asked me to present on the plenary panel of other women of Color speaking about the them of the conference: Projecting Yourself: Standing Up, Standing Out. I have yet to really sit and think about what I want to share in the 4-5 minutes I have to speak. Although I have spent various times of the day thinking about themes that I’d like to focus on and share.

I’ll be in the fabulous company of several activists which include: Tanya Fields (@BlkGrlInc on Twitter), who is the executive director of The BLK ProjeK which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating women-led local economies in underserved and marginalized communities. DJ TastyKeish (@TastyKeish on Twitter), who is the weekend host of WBAI 99.5 FM’s Rise Up Radio on Friday nights will also be on the panel. Verneda White of Human Intonation (@HumanIntonation on Twitter), which is an organization that centers fashion, human rights, and social justice. Amplify readers may remember the collaboration Advocates for Youth did with Human Intonation earlier this year. Ghylian Bell of Urban Yoga Foundation will also be present and discussing holistic health.

To say the Sisterhood Summit will be amazing is truly an understatement. I know this because I’ve been a part of creating the summit, selecting workshops, scheduling HIV and STI testing, figuring out the use of social media during the summit, hearing about donations of food and goodies, and setting up ground rules. A majority of the workshops are youth-led and interactive. Participants will leave with new knowledge, but also with tools and media they create on this day. Workshops include topics in politics, relationships, health, social justice, sexuality, identity, and empowerment. There are still some openings for those interested inregistering (and yes this does take place in Brooklyn, NY, and no you do not have to identify as Black to register).

Some themes that come up for me during my presentation include conversations of power, resilience, revolutionary love, and asking for help/healing. When I started writing this piece I had it on my mind when I went to bed and had this great speech laid out in my mind. Of course when I’m awake, conscious, and able to write things down they are not as clear. Since we are asked to speak about how the theme of the summit impacts the work we do I definitely want to tease out the discussions of power, love and healing. Here are some things I’m thinking about including. Let me know if you have suggestions or other ideas/ways to go and I’ll definitely give you a shout-out in my presentation!

-Power is something we all have
-How I learned and discovered the various types of power I embody and own
-Ways I misused my power and how I came back from that
-What acknowledging our power means for us and our community
-How others can see the power we have
-How our core essence/qualities/identities is/are attached to this power
-How loving ourselves in a world that does not love us back as much is revolutionary
-That part of revolutionary love is to be happy as young women of Color and to survive
-Asking for help is a gift we give ourselves and others
-Asking for help can assist with healing, individually or communally
-Healing and coping are parts of revolutionary love
-Boundaries are a part of healing and revolutionary love
-Survival, love, healing and resilience are connected
-It is ok to rest

I know these are lots of thoughts to string together and I wonder if I need to include media-making as part of this discussion. And I keep reminding myself I only have at most 5 minutes! Maybe I can edit and hope that some of the questions we are asked offer me the opportunity to get to what I couldn’t share in my first statement. What would you want to hear about at a Sisterhood Summit from panelist as they discuss their work and connections to projecting yourself?

For those not knowledgeable of the show, it takes place in Miami, Florida and features four women: Rose performed by Betty White, Blanche performed by Rue McClanahan, Dorothy performed Bea Arthur and Sofia, Dorothy’s mother, performed by . We follow the four women who are all over 55 years old in their everyday lives as single women. Estelle Getty. All of the women are widows except for Dorothy who is divorced and her husband Stan has a returning storyline. They are all parents and some even grandparents. We follow them as they age, find work, date, and remarry.

Homophobia

Teen Pregnancy, Single Mothers & Birthing Options

Normalizing Sexuality In Older Adults

HIV

Aging and Dying

One part of our lives that we often don’t enjoy discussing is dying and aging. Because The Golden Girls are all over 55 years old, this is a recurring theme. Sophia often is the one character who talks the most about aging and dying. In this clip Sophia believes her dead husband has sent her messages about her upcoming death and she is preparing for it with the girls. Also in this episode Blanche’s brother Clayton comes out to her as a gay man.

Infidelity

Race & Ethnicity

It all seems to come together, those topics I wanted to discuss. The movements against corporate greed and wealth, class issues in this commercial for Verizon. There’s no transcript, but you can imagine just from the image what is going on or being sold.

In this advertisement Verizon has chosen to sell their latest cellular telephone using symbols that are appropriations of the Hindu religion. This occurring so close to when folks are dressing up for Halloween. I want to be clear with readers who are not familiar with this value and belief system: this is not okay. This is problematic on numerous levels! This advertisement is in no way praising or respecting any aspect of Hinduism. It is actually mocking the belief system and attempting to sell aspects of the religion to consumers.

And this is why this column exists. For media such as these. For us to be thoughtful and aware consumers and media makers. This is one of the reasons why when Latino Heritage Month comes around I try to focus attention on folks who are doing work that impacts reproductive justice movements. Often organizations and spaces celebrating this month often forget or consciously exclude topics of sexuality and reproductive justice. Instead of taking advantage of normalizing HIV testing (October 15 is the National Latino AIDS Awareness Day), or discussing how to combat transmisogny within our communities and prepare forTransgender Day of Remembrance (November 20), I’ve often experienced conversations that are about watching groups perform, having authors discuss their work and watching films. I see these forms of celebrations useful in a very general sense, yet there needs to be more of a challenge among us and from within our communities.

Do we know the geography of Central and South America and the Caribbean? What type of conversations do we have during Latino Heritage Month when it intersects with Columbus Day? Are any of the events bilingual or are they English-only? Do we include countries that are a part of South America but not colonized by the Spanish (i.e. Brazil, Guyana, Suriname)?

A small form of my activism during this month is to highlight Latinos doing work this month in the field of reproductive justice and will feature several folks. The first part of this series has been posted on my RH Reality Check blog along with a link on where you can read last year’s posts as well. I have several other folks in mind, but if there’s someone you think must be included this year definitely let me know!

I’ll leave you with a few of my favorite media that has been produced for Latino Heritage Month.

Cristo Negro is a film in production. This is the trailer. Here is what the film is about “In Countries like Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru, Panama and more there are Black Christs found in many churches. These mystery images have interesting legends, connected with miracles and the practitioners do unique rituals. Get a sneak peek of this documentary that will discover the worshipers of the Black Christ.”

A quick history of the National Young Lords organization.

http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:uma:videolist:mtv.com:1670531/cp~instance%3Dfullepisode%26autoPlay%3Dfalse%26id%3D1670531%26uri%3Dmgid%3Auma%3Avideolist%3Amtv.com%3A1670531

And yes, I still do adore elements of popular culture, so that is why this MTV Made “I want to be a rapper” featuring a young high school student in Florida, Rafael. He is a little person whose parents are Puerto Rican and Dominican. What I love about this episode is that his Made coach gave him assignments and “homework” that will help him for the rest of his life, not just to accomplish this goal he’s set for himself. For example, it was clear to me as a educator that Rafael was working on getting a good grasp on the English language (as many high school students do) and his Made coach gave him vocabulary to focus on. I really love this episode!