Let's talk about vaccines.

I'm 26. Almost 27, at which point I will no longer be able to get the HPV vaccine. For some reason, I'm not convinced I need to get it.

"Females who are sexually active may also benefit from the vaccine. But they may get less benefit from the vaccine since they may have already acquired one or more HPV type(s) covered by the vaccine." Source: CDC

What do people think? What have people done?

Ouch, That's My Identity

So I came out as bisexual in high school and since then I have met many a person with much to say about my sexual identity. From the straight, male jock to the radical, third-wave, lesbian feminist many a stinging remark has been made about bisexuals. Here is a quick and handy definition of bisexual I've compiled from these experts over the last decade:

Bi-sex-u-al [bahy-sek-shoo-uhl]: A person who has the capacity to engage in sexual and/or romantic relationships with other people regardless of gender as long as they are never monogamous or date less than two people (of different genders) at once.

The bisexual male does not exist as he is actually just about to call you and tell you that he's gay.

The bisexual female does exist, but can be difficult to find in a sea of heterosexual female liars. I mean, I love women, just not the fake bisexual ones. You know those girls, you sleep with her for a while, maybe even have a relationship, but then after that's done, she dates a guy. Liars.

At least lesbians are honest, when they leave you, they go and date another girl. Unless they're a lesbian who dates guys sometimes, but I digress.

The bisexual female can be defined by her previous and current sexual and romantic partners. In order to be a real bisexual a woman must have reached orgasm with or been a girlfriend to 60-100% female and 0-40% male partners. Any fewer female and any greater male means she is a heterosexual liar and cannot be trusted. Any bisexual female who is currently in a committed relationship with a male is a heterosexual liar.

Of course all gender is an illusion and no one should have to pick or be defined by their gender.

a queen in kings county

brooklyn brooklyn
it was good before you
could it be good after you,
too?

wish i could say
i recognized you better from the back
so you walking away wouldn't be so strange
but i still remember the first time i saw your eyes
the first time they saw me

brooklyn brooklyn
two months in and you've got me twisted around your little finger
loving red brick
wrought-iron garbage cages
24s of malt liquor
and the born and bred motherfuckers that decorate
every one of your stoops

i come from a land of cool and wide
slow and sexy
clean and green
to brooklyn brooklyn
hot fast dirty
where you gotta search for the soft spots:
on the roof at midnight finding shapes in the clouds
smooth brown liquor in dixie cups
a "good morning neighbor"

brooklyn brooklyn
you know you already got me
but i labor you like the last cigarette
suck your sweet smoke
to the butt
let you fill me before i breathe out

Support NPOs with your searches

I stumbled upon this and had to share. Goodsearch is a very easy add-on to your search box that will donate 1c for each search you do to the charity of your choice (of the ones who have signed up)... so please, check it out!

"If you have a conscience, act."

Raising awareness of HIV & AIDS prevention has never looked so hot. These dresses, by Brazilian artist and activist Adriana Bertini, are made entirely out of expired or defective condoms. Her dresses sell for big bucks and all proceeds go to organizations working to fight against AIDS. Pretty inspiring.

Thanks Rebecca for the tip.

Gays: Too Sexy for School

I really do apologize for posting such an inappropriate image on a Sunday. I understand if you need to block it out with your thumb or a post-it note or something less "illicit" and "suggestive". I mean "I don't have a problem at all", it's just that the picture is so provocative, especially for homophobes.

This June the Newark Public Schools superintendent, Marion A. Bolden, distributed yearbooks with a conspicuous black blob over this photo on Andre Jackson's personal senior page. Jackson took this photo of him and his boyfriend which is very similar to many photos of hetero couples deemed appropriate to publish. I mean shit, there is even a picture "of a young man and a young woman kiss[ing] on a couch, his hand on her leg as she sits on his lap" on the page across from Jackson's. But you've got it all wrong, this is not about them being gay. Clearly.

And I was hoping we were getting somewhere in American schools.

Thanks Feministing for the link.

MacWarhol

So if you have a Mac you won't be impressed but I just got one today(!), and this is my lame excuse for art.

Speaking of amazing female artists, yesterday I made an appointment with Idexa at Black & Blue Tattoo. Black & Blue Tattoo is a woman owned and operated tattoo parlor in the Haight that I totally can't wait to support. If you're in the SF area and looking to get inked, I recommend checking them out. If you want to work with Idexa though, be prepared to wait. I took her next available appointment which isn't for over a month and also happens to be my birthday. I'm stoked.

Happy July!

I just want to remind everyone that if you would like to post your own poetry, photography, artwork, etc. that would be awesome. Some folks have expressed an interest in this but I'll break the ice with a poem or two once I find/write them (it'll be soon I promise!). So bust out those pens, cameras, or brushes because we'd love to see what you can do!

On a personal note, I just decided that I will in fact be going to grad school at Boston College in the fall! Ilya and I will be moving there on September 1st. I hope I can catch some time with all you West Coasters before then and I'll see all you East Coasters soon! Oh and check out this awesome group I already joined!

One Morning on Paris

I'm having kind of a video day, so please excuse me. First I'm just going to explain, because it is confusing, that this video is actually two segments spliced together. After Brzezinski says, "To the news now," the second segment begins.

On June 26th Mika Brzezinki of MSNBC's Morning Joe made a stand against the news' obsession with Paris Hilton. Brzezinki has received lots of praise via the Internet for her one-woman, on-air protest. I agree that Brzezinki is awesome and what she did was fabulous. Her co-anchors, however, are fucking assholes. Brzezinki is trying to make a rational point about how sick it is that this trivial story is the lead instead of more important news. What is so fucked up is that her co-anchors do not take her seriously whatsoever. When she initially says she has to do the Paris story one anchor teases her (rather harshly) with, "She's not a journalist anymore". Then when she says she doesn't want to do the story and that she didn't choose it he says, "You make your own lead, that's a cop out...Take control of your life alright." The disdain and disrespect in those comments alone is clear. Then they purposely disrespect and frustrate her further by playing Paris video clips in the middle of her protest. I totally understand when she says, "I'm about to snap," I wouldn't have been able to keep it together being tormented by those guys on the air, it's humiliating. Despite her childish co-anchors, her actions are commendable and inspiring. I hope more anchors take her lead and stand up for their dignity and ours.

Thanks Rebecca for the link.

I am Beautiful.

"Big girls, you are beautiful" is a great sentiment, but something seems off about this. Maybe it's that it still poses women's bodies as objects to be judged (and either approved or rejected) by men. Maybe it's that the women don't have the agency or voice in the video to say, "I know I am beautiful". Or maybe it's just the odd lyrical references to diet coke and pizza. Either way, I am not convinced that this is a step forward, even for pop music.