Santa Cruz Dykes: Taking Over YouTube?

Just a moment ago I was browsing YouTube for an interesting video for LG&PS (read: procrastinating) and I stumbled upon this. I had searched "gender queer" and a few videos came up, I scrolled down, and oddly freakin enough this was the first video I played. I watched it for a bit and then all of a sudden it hit me. I know these people. These are Santa Cruz people!

So for all of you Santa Cruz folks, check this shit out. You know these women!

Santa Cruz Girls: Officially Rad

“The kind of woman you would see on television is usually very eager to please and well-groomed, and may or may not have very much personality. I really think there’s something radical about showing women who are not approval-seeking, but on the contrary, disapproval-seeking. It turns [things] on their head that women should be perfectly sexy or seen and not heard, or trying to be models. Some people would argue that it’s a strained feminist argument, but I feel that there’s something quite feminist about doing what you want.” -Ramona

Especially when what you want to do is fart in someone's mouth. Ramona, Munchie, Clementine meet the world. World meet the Rad Girls. Three Santa Cruz locals take television's gross-boy humor scene by storm, showing television watchers a different kind of "girl". Filmed in LA (although they wanted to shoot it in the SC), Rad Girls is Fuse TV's latest new show. So if you thought women couldn't pull off those disgusting Johnny Knoxville stunts, you were wrong. These girls are farting, puking, and being otherwise obnoxious with the best of them. This may not be my usual style of humor, but I will admit that the smell-elevator definitely got me laughing.

“I’m making a point that I don’t have to be pretty or act like Miss Manners wants me to act in order to be successful, to be happy, to find love.” - Clementine

Etiquette is definitely the furthest thing on the minds of these three and being pretty is not what they are about. The fact that they are stereotypically attractive will not, however, escape the viewers. To me, though, it is quite clear that their fashion and make-up is just part of who they are and is not something that they are doing (or would give up) to win an audience. The show was an idea Ramona and some friends had on a surfing trip and it was her baby from the start. This was not something handed down from above with auditions for the cutest and wildest male-fantasy types. These were some girls with an idea and they made it happen.

“We’re not promoting any kind of behaviors, but we’re promoting women to be themselves and don’t feel you need to be inhibited in any way because of how society says you need to be…We’re so pro-women.” - Munchie

Now you might say, isn't feminism is about being empowered females, not pseudo-males? But I really don't think that is what's going on here (whatever it even means really). What makes them awesome is that they are proud to be female, all about being themselves, and are making noise and taking up space! I for one, am glad to announce this particular glass ceiling officially broken.

#1 Reason to Live in Santa Cruz

The Santa Cruz Rollergirls

These ladies are totally hardcore. I want to be a rollergirl.

Gay Pride: Santa Cruz Style

It seems I am finally recovering from mono (no pregnancy guys, just a nasty virus). Sunday was my first big day out after too much bed rest. Luckily for me, it was also Santa Cruz Pride. I walked down to the parade on Pacific Avenue and took some snapshots:

As usual, a heartening mix of music and chanting filled the street and I clapped along. I am so thankful to live in a place where this is not only tolerated or accepted, but appreciated. I overheard a woman next to me, clearly a Santa Cruz native, explaining Pride to a traveler. The man was saying that nothing like this exists where he is from. I was stoked to see him place a gay rights sticker on his shirt.

Unfortunately I missed the Dyke March and subsequent celebrations, but I did manage to get my dance on at the Dakota midday on Sunday. Did you know that there's a skylight above that dance floor? It was like an afternoon at Babylon, let me tell ya.

Yup, the gays were definitely out in full force this weekend, and I'm excited to do it all over again in San Francisco on the 23rd & 24th! Who's with me?