Happy Spring!

Happy Spring! Finally! It's been a brutal winter. Let's celebrate with my favorite Laura Mvula song, Green Garden.

Review: Frozen is (almost) a feminist fairy tale

My review, Twitter length: 
"@dancingdiva Frozen is great! The point is sister love, girl power, independence. No Prince Charming needed/wanted! If only there was a strong brown girl."

If you have a short attention span or are short on time, that's all you need to know. Otherwise, let me elaborate.

Background: 
Last night I rented Frozen to watch with my 9-year-old granddaughter, who I'll call Sidekick. I've been curious about the movie since Sidekick has been obsessed with the music for months, playing it on constant rotation. Her mother is ready to kill me, since I bought Sidekick the soundtrack. And even I'm sick of it, in the once a week dose I get on "Grandma Wednesdays."

Apparently we are not alone. School-aged  and preschool kids worldwide can't get enough of the Frozen soundtrack and their parents are slowly going insane, applying limits on how often the music can be played, even hiding it to survive the weekends. The theme song, "Let it Go," has become an anthem for girls especially, everywhere. (And gay men are loving it up, too.)

What is it with that song, I've been wondering? So a couple of weeks ago I asked Sidekick why she loved the song sooo much, and she said, "Because she has Frozen powers, of course!" I looked up the lyrics to dig a little deeper into what she meant, and it really is an amazing song about empowerment:

"...My power flurries through the air into the ground
My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around
And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast
I’m never going back,
The past is in the past
Let it go, let it go
And I'll rise like the break of dawn
Let it go, let it go
That perfect girl is gone
Here I stand
In the light of day
Let the storm rage on,
The cold never bothered me anyway..."

 In case you live in a world void of young girls or the Oscars, check it out yourself, sung by the incredible Idina Menzel. (Sorry to those of you who have PTSD around constant repeat of this song. Just don't press play.)

When the song came on early in the movie, Sidekick jumped up and exclaimed, "This is MY song" with such conviction and sang along with such passion that I *almost teared up (okay I cried a little).

Review: 
So, on to the review (it's not a traditional review, so look up others if you want more plot detail). Also, spoilers galore.

There are two princess sisters, Elsa and Anna, in a Scandinavian land of some sort in olden days. Elsa, the oldest, has magical powers related to ice and freezing things. Rather than embracing her powers, she is told they are dangerous and she must hide them and stay locked away, creating much loneliness for both she and her sister (she accidentally hurt her sister with them when they were playing once). Their parents are soon dead, FYI, but the rule to stay locked up and separated in the castle sticks throughout their growing up

Then, finally, when Elsa gets to the age where she can be queen of the land, the doors and windows to the castle are thrown open for a big coming out party, and at the festivities little sister Anna even meets a visiting prince, who she becomes engaged to in one day (I thought the plot was going to tank here, but hang on). When Anna tells Elsa her news and asks for her blessing, Elsa says no, it's too soon and an argument ensues. Elsa loses one of her protective gloves during the argument and accidentally (again) lets her powers fly and freezes all the land. She believes she has no power to unfreeze things, so she runs away to protect the people. But alone, out in the snowy mountains, she releases her powers with great emotion and makes a totally fly ice castle for herself. This is when "Let it Go" is sung.

Message 1: Use your power, do you, and it's okay to be on your own. Let it go.

Anna sets out to find her sister and bring her back. During the course of that adventure she is told by a nice dude she meets that it is a bad idea to get engaged after only one day because you don't really know the person and might not like how they pick their nose. At this point Sidekick inserts loudly, "That's right, watch out for him, he's a liar and evil!" (She has seen the movie already, which only serves to give her more passion for the story.)

Message 2: Don't leap into love. 

As the story progresses, Anna and the love-advice dude go searching for Elsa. When they find her and the ice castle, they are rejected and sent away violently by Elsa, who accidentally again hurts Anna. This time she hits her heart with an ice shard, which will eventually kill Anna by freezing her heart. We later learn from the dude's adopted troll community that only an act of true love can heal a frozen heart.

I get a little worried here again that we are turning to the standard Disney plot as they head back to the castle to find her fiance to kiss her and fix her with his true love. But keep holding on.

Anna ends up back in the castle and we learn her fiance is indeed an asshole, who is scheming to take over the *kingdom, and he locks her in a room to slowly freeze to death. He then sets out to find and kill Elsa so he can be king. At this point Sidekick screams, "But you can't win because they are stronger than you!"

Message 3: Girl power, duh.

My memory of the plot gets a little fuzzy here, but both Elsa and the dude helping Anna are racing back to the castle. Anna breaks free of the castle and even as she is dying, starts making her way to dude, thinking now that he is the one who truly loves her and can save her. But hang on, that tired plot line turns again.

Just as Anna sees dude, she also sees her sister Elsa and that she is about to be killed by Anna's now former fiance. So, despite being near death, Anna turns from her oncoming dude to her sister and throws herself between Elsa and former fiance, becomes frozen, and deflects the sword so Elsa lives. Sidekick yells, "That's right, your family is more important than your boyfriend." (Really, she YELLED that, I'm not making this up.)

Elsa can't believe what has happened and wraps her arms around the frozen Anna, sobbing. Before long (yes you can see what's coming), Anna melts because her act of true love to save her sister, and her sister's true love for her in return are enough to heal a frozen heart, and indeed an entire frozen body. 

Message 4: Remember who counts. Family first. Sisters rock. The power of love (in non-romantic forms).

Then Elsa realizes that she can control her powers with the strength of love, and uses her love for her people to melt the land and summer returns.

The story ends with the bad guys rounded up and sent off, and Elsa takes her place as queen, using her frozen powers to throw a kick-ass ice skating party in the middle of summer. Dude who helped Anna asks if he can kiss her (gets consent!) and she gives him her cheek! (Sure you can kiss me but we are just friends, buddy.) He sells ice for a living so he is made the official royal ice man. 

And the sisters live happily every after. Together.

People, there is NO Prince Charming in this story, not even a back-up Prince or a side Prince or a *commoner who is anointed prince. The story is not about finding true happiness through love of a man, preferably a rich man. Not at all. It's (almost) a feminist fairy tale!

After it was over, I asked Sidekick what she thought the movie was about and she said (as if she was schooling me), "Grandma, come on, it's about finding your true self." 

Message 5 (as spoken by a wise 9-year-old): Happiness comes from finding your true self and living your truth.

What's missing: 
Brown people. Yes, it's set in Scandinavia, but that is no excuse. Also, nothing queer, not even a subtext. Again, inexcusable in 2014 (I might be wrong. See update at the bottom for a potential queer moment). And Elsa and Anna are stereotypes in their appearance - white, pretty, blonde (and red) haired, blue eyed, skinny, silly gowns. We can do better. But for Disney, Frozen overall is serious progress so I'm feeling a little forgiving, except on the lack of diversity. Sidekick is brown and I REALLY WANT her (and all girls like her) to feel that much passion for and attachment to a story revolving around someone who looks like her/them.

So I'm making an ask. We need a movie as wonderful as Frozen that stars a brown girl. Remember Tiana, the only Black Disney princess, who spends half the film as a frog and they rest chasing her prince? We deserve a do over, Disney. So many of we parents and grandparents of Black girls were hopeful, wanting a story to get our daughters excited about, but it just went flat, for them and for us. No wonder.

I'm not the only one sick of lily white Disney princesses. I'm just late to the table on the Frozen critique, having waited to rent it. See some of the many reactions in this July 2013 Indiewire article.

Segue: 
I'm going to end here by making a leap to Lupita Nyong'o, who just won an Oscar for her incredible work in her role as a brutalized young slave in "Twelve Years a Slave." We watched her on all the red carpets and she captivated us with her talent, beauty, and sexiness. Which has caused some to call (again) for roles for Black actors beyond slaves, maids, pimps, and whores. Amen to that!

Rumor has it that Nyong'o is being considered for a lead in the next Star Wars movie (along with Michael B. Jordan!), and for a film adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's amazing, award-winning book, Americanah! If Hollywood can make that necessary step forward, then Disney surely can make an animated feature where a young Black girl saves the universe through her strength, courage and wisdom. 

That's where we go from Frozen. 

March 21 update:
Wait, there may be a teeny-tiny queer moment in the movie. Read number 5 in this PolicyMic article! (The store guy is gay and his hubby and kids are in the sauna!)

Lessons: Being white on St. Paddy's Day in Philly

One thing we white people don't have nearly enough of is conscious thought about what it means to be white. So whenever something emerges, it's good to read it and pass it along. And, as a white person, to deeply take in what it says. As in, "This applies directly to me."

So today's lesson comes from, Being White in Philly St. Patrick's Day Weekend by j.n. salters, a Black feminist writer. We white people have such a hard time looking at our own whiteness and associated privileges that it is no surprise this is penned by someone who is Black. Kind of like how women can turn the mirror on men to see their sexism, their privilege, etc. We have to battle it, fight the power of it, so we know it. 

In her article, she points out,

"As I walked down 15th Street in Center City this past Saturday night -- amidst drunken white girls in green mini skirts and green heels with green bows in their hair, and belligerent white boys wearing green beaded necklaces and funny-shaped glasses yelling and chasing after the girls -- I could not help but think, this is what it actually means to be white in Philadelphia...

... Seriously? You cannot be fucking serious. But, of course you're serious. You're white in Center City. As I continued to make my way down the shit show covered in shamrocks, I asked myself, what if all these people outside were black? If we are to go by recent Philadelphia policies and legislation -- many of which disproportionately target people of color (e.g., stop and frisk, "zero tolerance" policies, curfew ordinances, voter ID laws) -- I am almost certain that had these been masses of drunken black teenagers and young adults decked in matching colors, they would have been deemed gang members, looters, flash mobsters, and subsequently stopped and frisked, beaten, and/or arrested."

Go read the whole thing (link conveniently re-inserted).

If you are white, did you go out and party on St. Paddy's Day in large crowds of mostly white people? Or at some other street party in the last few zillion years? Did you for one second think about your relative safety and what she just said? Probably not. That unawareness is your/our privilege at work.

And now that you're more aware, what are you gonna do about it? (And please do think about what it means that one of the viable answers is "nothing.")

I'm back, hopefully... and some Banksy

After being on hiatus from this blog since July 2012, I'm thinking of taking it up again. I'm not sure what my focus will be this time around - more art and less politics? More personal? Music reviews? A little of everything? Hmmm. Going to need to *feel it for a bit and see what pulls me.

There is also the question of Twitter - I'm busy there @dancingdiva, and maybe 140 characters and a link is all I need to express myself on social media (and you need to read). We'll see.

But today, to celebrate the return of Upside My Head, here is my favorite street art by Banksy. Maybe this will be the theme because it's true. Life is Beautiful.

And while we're talking about Banksy, a friend posted this great YouTube compilation of some of his images. Enjoy! Talk with you soon.

Famous queer/lesbian African American women

This year for Black History month, on Old(er) Lesbians, the Facebook page I founded and co-administer, we posted a photo and brief summary each day of February celebrating and honoring notable out lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer African American women past and present. I've re-posted it all here. Enjoy!

1. Wanda Sykes

For day one, here is Comedian Wanda Sykes, who is out and proud, and married with two kids!


2. Seimone Augustus

For day two, here is WNBA superstar and Olympic gold medalist Seimone Augustus with her fiancé Lataya Varner. Last year they were Grand Marshals for Twin Cities Pride and helped to support the defeat of the MN anti gay marriage amendment.


3. Audre Lorde

For day three we celebrate the late, great Audre Lorde. A fiercely out poet, writer, feminist, activist - her legacy lives on. If you want to learn more about her, and good place to start is "Zami: A New Spelling of My Name."


4. Ruthie Foster

For day four, here is the amazing, out, folk and blues singer/songwriter Ruthie Foster. Known for incredible live performances, her albums are also fantastic. If you don't know Ruthie, check out her music! She lives in Austin, Texas with her partner and their child.


5. Barbara Jordon

On day five we honor the late, great Barbara Jordan. Known best as the first southern African American woman to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, she also served as a Texas State Senator, was a lawyer, civil rights activist, and a professor. She achieved all this while battling M.S. Intensely private about her personal life, she never publicly stated she was a lesbian (being out would have surely prevented her career as a politician), but her long-time partner Nancy Earl was listed in Jordan's obituary.


6. Angela Davis

 On day six we celebrate the fierce activist, author and professor Angela Davis. In the 60s she first became known for her close ties with the Black Panther Party and membership in the Communist Party. She has been a life long champion of the rights of the oppressed including radical prison reform, civil rights, women, class and poverty. She publicly came out in the 90s. She currently teaches at the University of California, Santa Cruz.


7. Marsha P. Johnson

For day seven we honor Marsha P Johnson, transgender rights activist and popular figure in New York City's gay and art scene from the 1960s to the 1990s. Johnson was a leader in clashes with the police amid the Stonewall Riots. She was a co-founder, along with Sylvia Rivera, of Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (S.T.A.R.) in the early 1970s. She also was the "mother" of S.T.A.R. House along with Sylvia, getting together food and clothing to help support the young drag queens and trans women living in the house on the Lower East Side of New York. (Source - Out for Equity, St Paul MN Public Schools)


8. Meshell Ndegeocello

For day eight we celebrate the incomparable and openly bi/queer Meshell Ndegeocello. From the release of her first album Plantation Lullabies to her current album Pour une Âme Souveraine: A Dedication to Nina Simone, she has brought her unique mix of funk, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and more to us. Known for her deep songwriting, sultry vocals and mean bass guitar, she is one bad sister!

9. Barbara Smith

For day nine we honor and take our hats off to Barbara Smith, who was a key leader in defining and building Black feminist lesbianism in the 1970s and 80s. She was a founder of the Combahee River Collective, created to build and sustain a framework for a black feminist lesbian political organizing and activism. She was one of the founders of the Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press and wrote the sentinel "Toward a Black Feminist Consciousness." She continues her work as an activist and organizer today.

Alice Walker (second post for day 9)

 We have to post a second photo today in honor of Alice Walker's 69th birthday. She has openly discussed her bisexuality and relationship with Tracy Chapman (though Tracy has never publicly stated her sexuality). Thank you, Alice Walker, for revolutionary petunias, the color purple, your search for Zora Neale Hurston, womanism and so much more!

10. Cheryl Dunye

For day ten we celebrate out filmaker and actor Cheryl Dunye. Her first feature film was The Watermelon Woman, which explored the history of Black lesbians in film. She also directed Strangers Inside, about the experiences of African American lesbians in prison. She directed and co-wrote The Owls, about a group of "Older, Wiser Lesbians" who accidentally kill a younger woman and try to cover it up. Check out her work if you 
haven't already!

11. Mabel Hampton 

For day 11 we honor Mabel Hampton. Born in 1902, she lived her life as an out and proud lesbian, and was in a 46 year partnership with Lillian Foster. She was an activist for the rights of African Americans, women, and the LGBT community up until her death in 1989. She founded the Lesbian Herstory Archives in 1974. In 1979, she marched in the first National Gay and Lesbian March on Washington. So much more here: http://www.qualiafolk.com/2011/12/08/mabel-hampton/

12. Bessie Smith, Gladys Bentley, Ma Rainey, Zora Neale Hurston, Josephine Baker, Alberta Hunter

For day 12 we honor a group of amazing women, all artists during/around the Harlem Renaissance period (1920s) and long after. All either "rumored to be, admitted to, didn't hide, never said" that they were lesbian or bisexual, and we proudly claim today. Pictured here: Bessie Smith, Gladys Bentley, Ma Rainey, Zora Neale Hurston, Josephine Baker, Alberta Hunter. Here's Ma Rainey's "Prove it on me Blues" to celebrate these incredible artists: 

13. Linda Villarosa

For day 13 we celebrate Linda Villarosa, a journalist, author and editor. She has written for numerous magazines, has a column on AfterEllen called “Outside the Lines,” and is a regular contributor to The Root. She was twice editor for Essence magazine - where she came out in the 1990s. Her books include "Passing for Black" and "Body & Soul: The Black Women’s Guide to Physical Health and Emotional Well-being." She lives in New York with her partner and two children.

14. Mandy Carter

On day 14 we give extra love to Mandy Carter, who has organized for social justice, racial equality, and LGBTQ rights for more than four decades. In 1993, she was one of the co-founders of the amazing Southerners On New Ground (SONG), which works to build progressive movements across the South by developing transformative models of organizing that connect race, class, culture, gender, and sexual identity. One of many of her accomplishments. Read more here.

15. Octavia Butler

For day 15 we honor Octavia Butler, one of the greatest writers of our time. She was a science fiction writer, but her work was popular beyond the genre. Her books are astounding. She won a MacArthur genuis grant in 1995 and many Hugo and Nebula awards. She never stated her sexuality, but some articles suggest she was possibly lesbian or asexual. Whatever the truth may be, she certainly explored sexuality among many issues 

in her writing. If you don't know her work, start with Fledgling.

16. June Jordan

For day 16 we honor June Jordan, passionate poet, writer, professor and activist in the civil rights, feminist, antiwar and GLBT movements. June Jordan was openly bisexual and the author of more than twenty-five major works of poetry, fiction and essays, and many children's books. She died of breast cancer in 2002, but continues to inspire and challenge through her work and legacy.

17. Staceyann Chin

For day 17 we celebrate the out, fierce, spoken word poet, author, and activist Staceyann Chin. She first became known as a slam poet, including in the famed Nuyorican Poets Cafe. She was born in Jamaica and lives in New York. Her memoir, "The Other Side of Paradise" is a must read. She has one young daughter, born in 2012.

18. Linda Tillery

For day 18 we celebrate singer and percussionist Linda Tillery. Many lesbians were introduced to her during her time with Olivia Records, but she has been a prolific musician since the mid 60s. In addition to her albums and live performances, she is known for her work in musical preservation, In 1992, she formed the Cultural Heritage Choir, a Grammy nominated, percussion driven, vocal ensemble whose mission is to preserve and share the rich musical traditions of African American roots music. Fascinating article here.


19. Andrea Jenkins

For day 19 we celebrate Andrea Jenkins, an award winning poet, writer, performance artist and community activist. She has two chapbooks and was published in the anthology Gender Outlaws II: The Next Generation. When asked how she identifies, she said, "I am an African American, Transgender, GenderQueer woman." Andrea is the senior policy aide to a Minneapolis City Council member and serves on many local boards 


20. Pat Parker

For day 20 we honor poet and fierce activist Pat Parker. She was part of the Black Feminist Lesbian movement. She was a member of the Black Panther Movement, toured with Varied Voices of Black Women, founded the Black Women's Revolutionary Council, and contributed to the formation of the Women's Press Collective. She was also a contributor to This Bridge Called by Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color. She was just 45 when she died of breast cancer in 1989.


21. Lorraine Hansberry

For day 21 we honor playwright, author and activist Lorraine Hansberry. She is best know for "Raisin the the Sun," the first play written by an African American woman to be produced on Broadway. Though she was married until just before her death in 1965, she had begun to claim her identity as a lesbian in a 1957 letter to a lesbian periodical, The Ladder. She also joined joined the country’s first-ever lesbian political organization, the Daughters of Bilitis. She was just 35 when she died of cancer but her legacy lives on. Fascinating article here. 


22. Jewelle Gomez

For day 22 we celebrate Jewelle Gomez, who is an author, playwright, poet, and activist. She worked in public television and philanthropy for many years. Her book The Gilda Stories, published in 1991, is an amazing lesbian feminist vampire story about an escaped slave who comes of age over 200 years. She has published several other books and her work has appeared in many anthologies and magazines.

23. Cheryl Clarke

For day 23 we celebrate writer, poet, and activist Cheryl Clarke. Part of the Black Feminist Lesbian movement, her books include Experimental Love, Living as a Lesbian, and Narratives: Poems in the Tradition of Black Women. Her poems and essays have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies including Persistent Desire: A Butch-Femme reader. She is an academic and served in various roles at Rutgers University, where she also received her PhD.

24. Carol Mobley

For day 24 we celebrate Carolyn Mobley. She was the first woman to co-chair the African-American Lesbian/Gay Alliance, which was a smaller part of the National Coalition of Black Lesbians and Gays. She was raised a devout Christian in a petite, segregated Florida municipality. But her Baptist Church condoned her lesbian sexuality despite her work as a Christian educator. The organization served to bridge the gap between the civil rights movement and the LGBT movement. She is an ordained minister in the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches. She and her partner Minister Adrian Bowie created the Ministry of Inspiration.

25. Toshi Reagon

For day 25 we celebrate the amazing Toshi Reagon. She is a singer/songwriter and has been performing for over 20 years. The is the daughter of Bernice Johnson Reagon, who founded Sweet Honey in the Rock. Her band BIGlovely is a favorite at Mich Fest and other festivals and venues. She lives in Brooklyn with her partner and daughter.


26. Karen Williams

For day 26 we celebrate the hilarious standup and out comedian Karen Williams. Featured in the award-winning comedy/documentary We're Funny That Way, and in Logo's Laughing Matters. She's worked as a comedy writer and is the former television host of the New York variety show In the Life. 


27. Tracy Chapman, Joan Armatrading, Queen Latifah

For day 27 we celebrate three amazing musicians and performers who are rumored to be, reported to be, probably are, others have said they are, but to our knowledge have never publicly said, "Yes I am." We love them anyway. They have a huge lesbian fan base and they can be as public or private about their lives as they want to be! Big ups (and swoons) for Tracy Chapman, Joan Armatrading, and Dana Owens (Queen Latifah).


28. President Barack Obama

For the last day of our Black History month celebration we salute President Barack Obama for his support of the LGBTQ community and the steps he has taken to protect gay and lesbian people and same-sex couples. In May 2012, he became the first president of the United States to voice his personal support for the freedom to marry, and in the weeks leading up to the November 2012 election, he weighed in on four ballot initiatives - the campaigns to win marriage in Maine, Maryland and Washington and to block an anti-gay amendment in Minnesota - and urged people to support marriage for same-sex couples. He has made clear time and again - in his inauguration speech last month, when he announced that he thought the so-called Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional - that he supports same-sex couples, their families, and their marriages. We appreciate and applaud his support and urge him to continue his positive steps toward improving the lives of LGBTQ people and their families. 

Photo caption: Because of her work on LGBT equality as the Executive Director of OutFront Minnesota, Monica Meyer (right) was invited to a White House holiday celebration. Monica brought her wife, Michele Steinwald. What this photo does not show is that the nervous guests chatted too much and both hugged Michelle Obama when she reached her hand out for a handshake. I think they are smiling a little extra in the photo because of the follies.