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Posts Tagged: gender

[Linkage] Smooooth Sunday

The video is tiight! Featuring Free from Soulshifters, directed by Chad Ross. Thanks to Francis for pointing me in the direction :)

The Asian woman/white guy debate will never, ever get old. Sylviek takes on a slightly-crazed lurker who equates the dating choices of some of us ladies with the downfall of the race. Its this breed of guy that irks me: the (understandably) angry Asian American guys who then translate their emasculation at the hands of the media and society into a general hatred for those of us who date white or even interracially. And if there’s one thing I hate, its ANY guy who feels entitled to my loyalty ……and my sweet lovin’.

Jude Dizon reflects on the nature of unpaid “women’s work” in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Its always cool to hear/read about the experiences of conscientious folks in SE Asia (especially cos I get to say that I know him!). I spend way too much time bitching about the dumb asses invading our continent, so this here’s a piece that I’m actually proud to link to.

LA City Attorney Carmen Trutanich seeks to criminalize suspected taggers for… hanging out? From the LA Times: “If you want to tag, be prepared to go to jail. And I don’t have to catch you tagging. I can just catch you . . . with your homeboys.” Going tough on crime = throwing more young people behind bars. I guess its a win-win situation for Trutanich: he appears to be doing something and gets to avoid the less glorified but more important task of like, actually helping young people.

The San Francisco Arts Commission is commissioning artists to display their work on abandoned storefronts as part of the Art in Storefronts Project. It combats the vacancy blight while enlivening the “aesthetic appearance of the street.” Pretty cool. But what’s with the psychedelic eyes? Why wolves? Well… I s’pose this is San Francisco, where hippie art will always prevail.

And below, 2 pieces in a series by ghostpatrol. Makes me wanna kick back on my hammock (if I had one), light up and CHILL.

among dreams

summon stance

What others called a crime, I called justice.

Lifted from Just Seeds Artist Cooperative.

This post isn’t about Phoolan Devi, but I liked the poster cos– unlike most of our Western portrayals of poor Asian women who experience sexual violence– it actually looks at (and honors) one of the many women who’ve fought back. And not by killing herself or falling into someone else’s protective embrace, as the movies might have us believe.

I recently came across this photography blog, and needless to say its disgusting. There’s probably a more tactful way to put it, but really, I think that’s the most appropriate description.

Some background: this guy lives in Thailand and he takes photos, mostly of women, most of whom are sex workers. His work has been featured in the Telegraph. He posts pics and shares his thoughts on the lives of his subjects, sex tourists, Thai culture, women… you get the idea. While he does exhibit a certain sympathy for the women he photographs, let’s not give him too much credit. His stance is typically patronizing and goes something like this: these poor girls have to sell their bodies, sex tourists are creepy assholes, but I, I respect and understand these women… which is why I take many, many pictures of them and comment on their every thought and move.

But this isn’t even about one guy, cos he’s not that unique. This alternately pitying and condemning yet lusty fascination with sex workers is well documented by like, every guy that’s visited Asia with a camera and access to the internet. Discussion ranges from unabashedly idiotic (THESE SLUTS ARE FUCKIN CRAZY!!!!!) to high-minded bitching (these poor, desensitized souls..) to a stealthy combination of both (see above example). There are also some critical voices in the mix, but they’re vastly outnumbered by the more obnoxious ones with racy photographs.

So what’s up with this (one-way) voyeuristic love affair? Somehow the Asian sex worker is there for endless consumption: to fuck, analyze and/or save (all at the same time, if you’re feeling ambitious). Conveniently, she’s downtrodden or driven only by money– and accepts her fate graciously. There’s also the favorite villain for everything that’s wrong with our people, The Asian Man.

And can I just say that my point isn’t that sex work should be kept on the DL, or that Asian men haven’t taken part in the exploitation and subjugation of the ladies. My issue is with the selective portrayal of women in this profession and the societies that they live in. It pities, preaches, and cops a feel–but doesn’t go so far as to respect the women and the work that they do. It focuses on the crimes of her countrymen, but fails to recognize that it’s the crimes of Western powers (I believe “globalization” is the fashionable word) that have led to the creation of such extreme gaps in power and wealth in the rest of the world. It loves to save, but doesn’t notice that women have been saving themselves ever since the need arose.

So on that note… I’ll end this really long entry with a quote from Empower Foundation, a coalition of sex workers in Thailand who are infinitely more worthy of time and respect than the assholes that clog up the Internet with their “observations”…

“We are sex workers. We are workers who use our brains and our skill to earn an income. We are proud to support ourselves and our extended families. We look after each other at work; we fight for safe & fair standards in our industry and equal rights within society. We are a major part of the Thai economy, bringing in lots of tourist dollars. We are active citizens on every issue…politics, economics, environment, laws, rights etc. We try and find the space in society to stand up and be heard. Some see us as problem makers but actually we are part of the solution.”

discussion — 4 Comments
7
Oct 09

The aesthetic of colonialism

dropular screenshot

I like media sharing sites. My favorite place to overdose on hip? Dropular. By now, I’ve pretty much learned to block out the glossy nudies for pretentious assholes to jerk off to sexploitation of white women high-budget porn. Which is probably the nicest way I can put it.

However, when I see photos of children and adults from the 3rd world alongside images of naked titties, cars, and furniture, I throw up a little in my mouth. Apparently Southeast Asian families are the hottest thing since vintage gadgets and band posters. In an attempt to understand who is responsible for this shit and why they think it’s okay, I’ve done some digging on my favorite haunts (mostly Flickr and Wikipedia) and also pulled from my good old-fashioned edumacation and life experiences.

First off, I understand that many of these photographers are well-intentioned and see themselves as helping the people in their photos. They claim to raise awareness and also seem to be interested in ending poverty, in an abstract and patronizing sort of way. And I get that not every photographer is necessarily exploiting their subjects. Photography, film and art in general are valuable components to broader actions one might take to pursue justice.

That being said, there’s a fine line between art and exploitation, activism and voyeurism. Too often, I feel like artists with good intentions fall flat because they don’t substantiate their work with context, critique or action (an artist statement with links to a few Western charities doesn’t count).

So what I’d like to know is: besides running amok and taking photos of poor people (which directly benefits you more than it does anyone else), how are you doing your part? Do you work actively to highlight not only peoples’ tragedies, but their lives as actual people with families, personalities, and voices of their own? Do you spend an equal amount of time documenting resistance to exploitation (there’s a lot of that) and the crimes that perpetrators of poverty continue to get away with (lot of that too)? How much compensation does each photographed person receive? Do they receive a cut when and if you cash in on their images? And by compensation, I mean the actual worth to you and not the amount that others have gotten away with paying.

By raising awareness, do you mean you stick your photos on Flickr with a link to your portfolio, or that you work proactively to educate yourself and others about poverty, the dynamics of power between and among the 3rd and 1st worlds, the continued pillage of the 3rd world via rampant cultural commodification and exploitation of labor and resources (which Western artists have historically engaged in and continue to benefit from)? What are you doing to ensure justice against poverty in your own country?

Miners, Plan Colombia Some might say this is unrealistic. There’s only so much one person can do, and that much is true. But there are artists who’ve managed to do it (to the left, a clip from Plan Colombia by the Beehive Collective– and I think we can all agree that “raising awareness” is much harder than skipping into the jungle with a camera, donning indigenous garb, and otherwise engaging in practices that are at best silly, and at worst exploitive. Not to mention that high-minded talk needs to be accounted for; you either take responsibility or ditch the preachery and proudly own up to being a trendy 1st world thief.

discussion / resources — No Comments
2
Oct 09

[Linkage] It’s Friday.

they make the crisis, by carlo de la cruz From Flickr, photo by Carlo De La Cruz

An intense speech delivered on Sept. 24th by Gray Brechin on the dismantling of California’s public education system. Berkeley Geography Department = bad ass (…I never knew). On a related note, a mobilizing conference to save public education is being held on Oct. 24th at UC Berkeley in order to determine the next steps for a state-wide action. All UC, CSU, CC, K-12 students, workers, teachers, and their organizations across the state are invited.

Askari Gonzalez, Overfelt High School’s VP of Californians for Justice, asks Arnold to sign on to Educational Funding Fairness. When I was sixteen, the most passionate letters I wrote were to my Xanga, and they were about boys and school dances. Sigh.

Who is Felicia Lee and how come we don’t know? Jen of DISGRASIAN weighs in on how the media determines which lives (and deaths) are more worthy of coverage, and which are not.

I usually try to avoid cheeseball descriptors like “thoughtful” and “personal,” but here it goes: poet and activist Bao Phi delivers a thoughtful and personal piece on Fong Lee and police brutality.

“In the UC system alone, APA undergraduates are the second largest population of undocumented students, accounting for more than 40 percent of all undocumented students. Of these APA undocumented undergraduates, 60 percent are Korean, 14 percent are Chinese, 10 percent are Filipino, 7 percent are South Asian, 7 percent are Thai or of Asian descent, and 1 percent are Pacific Islander.” Enough said.

discussion — 2 Comments
7
Sep 09

Little girl, what do u know about these things?

go away
I like to think that there’s more to art than this, but of course I’m probably wrong.

After all, what is art if not:

a hot subject (ie: a woman [excellent physique a must, the less clothing the better] or an edgy landscape [bonus points if its taken in the 3rd world and features some sad-looking yellow/brown/black people]
decent composition and use of medium (that’s what art school is for, suckas)
an expensive tool (in this case, a camera) that automatically makes everything look more glamorous than it really is (especially the “artist” himself– ever notice how seemingly ordinary, slightly awkward young men seem to inflate while wielding expensive medium of choice?)

Meaning? Context? You obviously don’t understand art. Sexist? She wanted to pose like that! Relevance to real life? I’m an ARTIST.

I hate to draw attention to fools that already get too much credit for shit that isn’t theirs (Note: your little photo would be nothing without the model, who you don’t bother to credit) and worse yet, who enjoy this sort of attention because they seem to think that their art is “controversial,” “edgy,” and “politically incorrect,” when in reality, it is TYPICAL and it’s EVERYWHERE.

Which brings me back to the reason I’m ranting about it now– not cos my prudish little mind can’t wrap itself around erotic art, but cos it seems to resurface everywhere in my life under this ubiquitous banner of “art” (when it should really be categorized under “man stroking his collective ego/dick”).

Yes, all of you independent, unsigned photographers, musicians, painters, filmmakers etc. who reproduce this kind of bullshit yet somehow think that you’re a radical artist (when you’re actually just self-absorbed)…. you are NOT pushing the envelope or “redefining the depths of female sexuality,” so please stop deluding yourselves. The depths of female sexuality will never be redefined by some douchebag jerking off behind his camera. Unfortunately, you succeed because you ARE mainstream, cos you make empty pretty pictures, you don’t ask hard questions, and you carry around expensive, important looking gear.

That is all.