When You're About To Say Something Stupid . . .

How do you feel about NY's same-sex marriage ruling? Submit your opinion to the online zine Grrrl Beat!

I'm guessing you've already heard the fantastic news: "[New York] lawmakers voted late Friday to legalize same-sex marriage, making New York the largest state where gay and lesbian couples will be able to wed and giving the national gay-rights movement new momentum from the state where it was born."

Sophie, the creator of the online magazine Grrrl Beat, is seeking submissions from teens about their views on this momentous ruling. If this issue is at all important to you, I highly suggest whipping up a response and sending it to grrrlbeat@gmail.com as soon as possible!

This was my response: 

Before finding feminism and identifying wholly with the movement, I wasn't too familiar with the LGBTAQ (lesbian, gay, bi, transgender, asexual, queer) community or its struggles. I certainly didn't have a problem with people who fit under the acronym's umbrella, but I knew as much about their varying lifestyles as I knew about theoretical physics (which wasn't much).

Considering I can literally count my family members on two hands (and the number of non-Christians on about three fingers), I didn't experience much diversity growing up. My parents were cool about most things and taught us to be honest, hard-working, etc., but homosexuality was something we just didn't talk about at the dinner table. (We rarely ate at the table, anyway. Most of the time we had our butts planted to watch Seinfeld. Bonding at its finest.)

Feminism introduced me to a litany of human rights issues. I'm still not as well-versed in the LGBTAQ movement as I would like to be, but I do have a child-like passion for equality. "Should two people of the same sex be allowed to get married?" seems like such a stupid question. If two people love each other, why shouldn't they be inclined to do whatever the hell they want? Love is love. It doesn't matter what form that takes.

When Sophie (from Grrrl Beat) emailed me the news — that same-sex couples can now get marriage licenses in New York — I was ecstatic. It was one of those fist-pumping "Hell yeah, equality strikes again!" sort of feelings. This may only be a small win in the grand scope of things, but this win will inspire another, and that win will inspire two more.

People are going to fight us every step of the way, but activists and feminists and allies are rising up in mighty hordes. Imagine if we (those of us who want to) go on to have kids of our own, passing on ideas like "equality" and "acceptance." Our kids will teach their kids, their kids will teach their own kids, and then those kids will go on to teach their kids (the only difference is they'll have robot butlers by then).

This world is changing for the better, and I am so damn excited.

Feminist Essay Contest

My friend Talia runs a fabulous blog called Star of Davida (the title's a tribute to her dual love for feminism and Judaism). Like many of us teens who will soon rely on sweet, sweet financial aid and scholarships to get into college, Talia is in a sticky situation. She's been hunting for essay contests online, hoping to score a little cash to feed her "hungry college fund," but when it comes to writing about her passions she has pretty much come up empty-handed:

As a financially needy student who wants to go to a really great college, I’ve been obsessively looking for essay contests to win so I can build up my résumé and get some money . . . As a feminist, I’ve tried to find essays relating to feminism, but I haven’t been so lucky. I actually found an essay contest whose title was “Why is Abstinence Before Marriage the Best Choice for Teens Today?” Needless to say, it made me gag, but it didn’t stop me from writing the most pathetic essay I’ve ever written and submitting it. (I won an honorable mention. Go figure.)

Talia's epic-failure-of-an-essay-hunt wasn't totally in vain, however, because it inspired her to start the Star of Davida Essay Contest. For a chance to blab about your love of feminist and win a copy of Care Bears on Fire's newest album, Girls Like it Loud, here are the rules!

• Description: Answer the question “How has feminism changed your life?” Has feminism helped you get through a rough time, accept yourself for who you are, changed how you live your life, your aspirations, etc. etc. Go crazy. As long as it’s between 250-750 words.
• How to Enter: Send your essay as a doc, docx, or PDF file to starofdavida@gmail.com. If there’s a technical issue with your entry, Talia will be in touch — don’t worry. In the subject line, make sure to write “Essay Contest” or something to that effect. On the top of the first page include your full name, age, and email address.
• Deadline: October 10, 2011
• Eligibility: If you’re a feminist, and you’re a student (ranging anywhere between preschool and a PhD program), then you can enter.
• Awards: The top three winners will each win a copy of Care Bears on Fire’s newest album, Girls Like it Loud! They will also get their essays published on Star of Davida!

From the Curious Depths of My Backpack #3

If you haven't been following this post series, this is where I pull random crap from my backpack and post it (yay)! I wrote this particular piece for my AP Language and Composition class. We were given a list of "wacky laws" and told to write a fictional story about one of them. I chose a law that says women in Corvallis, Oregon can't drink coffee after 6pm. (I apologize, there's one typo near the end.)

Written February 8th, 2011

Other posts in this series:

• From the Curious Depths of My Backpack #1: Where I'm From
• From the Curious Depths of My Backpack #2: My Life in Six Words