tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-366172292024-02-08T00:24:35.473-05:00A Dyke, AbroadOUT in the world.KChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08241556587624969142noreply@blogger.comBlogger350125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36617229.post-14707810485745157252018-06-18T11:25:00.000-04:002018-06-18T11:25:10.889-04:00State of the Queer Nation 2018: Choosing HopeBy Kelly Cogswell
I've found them--out and proud young lesbians on Twitter. They're influenced by queer theory, denounce transphobia, but embrace the word lesbian, too, no matter what their pronouns are. One posts a series of lesbian laments along the lines of, "Over a week into Pride month and I still don't have a girlfriend. Why?" Another jokes about going full lesbian in the morning as she KChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08241556587624969142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36617229.post-76464810721230959882018-05-07T14:38:00.001-04:002018-05-07T14:38:16.703-04:00Men, Women, Dykes, and the Language of HateBy Kelly Cogswell
A couple weeks ago a man jumped in a van, drove down a sidewalk in Toronto and killed as many women as he could. Pretty soon the news media was full of how this man was one of those men who goes online to rant with other men about how horrible women are, and how they should pay with their lives for rejecting men like them.
Almost every article, every think-piece and interviewKChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08241556587624969142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36617229.post-75494462674879332832018-04-09T20:26:00.000-04:002018-04-09T20:26:45.387-04:00Baby Dykes in Danger: The School to Prison PipelineBy Kelly Cogswell
I'm trying to remember what school was like. Having to beg permission to pee. Grades that seemed almost arbitrary. Hallways where boys regularly grabbed or pinched my ass. I didn't know if they did that to all the girls, or just me, because I never told anyone, or even think about it. Why would you? I was taught girls were always in danger. Always prey. Don't wear short skirtsKChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08241556587624969142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36617229.post-83474965244055460762018-03-27T09:00:00.000-04:002018-03-27T09:00:25.616-04:00Dykes to the Front: In Brazil, Ukraine, U.S.By Kelly Cogswell
Lesbians have always been part of every social change movement, and in 2018, we are finally out of the shadows. For better and for worse. People hate women so much. Add a touch of dykeness and our bodies/our lives are red flags to the patriarchal bull which likes to leave us gored and bleeding in the sand.
Especially if we fight back. Marielle Franco was not only a feminist KChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08241556587624969142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36617229.post-75322104451866652572018-02-12T19:59:00.002-05:002018-02-12T20:10:18.133-05:00Lezzie at Large: Revolting Lesbian Jo Macellaro
By Kelly Cogswell
A young Special Ed teacher, Jo Macellaro knew she had to do something when Trump was elected and her students came to class in tears, afraid Trump would deport or even kill them. So she joined the mostly queer Rise and Resist, kicking off her trouble-making career with a direct action focused on immigration, "No ban, no wall, no raids."
In R&R she met a lot of experienced KChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08241556587624969142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36617229.post-75315682706797854842018-01-29T16:43:00.001-05:002018-01-29T16:43:43.718-05:00Ten Ways I Aspire to Resist that Sniveling Bastard Trump and his Evil Republican MinionsBy Kelly Cogswell
I try not to think about Trump. He's there in the White House, of course, but he's like the golden retriever with its head stuck out the car window grinning and drooling while the humanoids in charge careen down the highway scattering ink-stained bills from their latest heist.
I've seen the movie, and it's never ends well for anybody. Not for the insatiable thieves who are notKChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08241556587624969142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36617229.post-83194406007849252062018-01-02T15:41:00.000-05:002018-01-03T09:57:23.793-05:00Lezzie at Large: A Conversation with Innocence Project's Karen Thompson
By Kelly Cogswell
Quotes been edited for clarity and for length. Watch the interview [coming soon].
Last week I spoke with Karen Thompson about her work as a lawyer and lesbian advocate. I first met her more than two decades ago when she was a street activist and Lesbian Avenger. It was only several years ago, while working in a huge, international law firm, that she realized she had a talent KChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08241556587624969142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36617229.post-74154027910130847352017-12-04T14:23:00.001-05:002017-12-04T14:23:47.426-05:00State of the Global Queer Nation, Post-Trump, Year 1By Kelly Cogswell
It's hard to do more than gape at the destructive ripples we're sending worldwide, the terrible knowledge of how fragile our already imperfect American democracy is, how dependent on custom and those "gentlemen's" agreements, and not the beleaguered U.S. Constitution. Who knew it only took one mad, racist narcissist to inexorably open the floodgates to the blatant white KChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08241556587624969142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36617229.post-68926148530567820912017-11-20T13:42:00.000-05:002017-11-20T13:43:48.326-05:00Long Live the King! Celebrating Diane TorrBy Kelly Cogswell
Sunday afternoon, I gussied myself up and was at the door putting on my red shoes when I realized I was still wearing puffy white athletic socks. I was going to a memorial at Dixon Place for Diane Torr, a remarkable artist, extraordinary human, and king of all drag kings everywhere who died in May. So of course I stopped and changed.
The first time I met Diane, we were both onKChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08241556587624969142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36617229.post-86004105918631447892017-10-23T20:44:00.002-04:002017-10-23T20:44:55.867-04:00#UsToo: Reclaiming "Lesbian" in ViennaBy Kelly Cogswell
I recently went to a march in NYC organized by Voices 4 Chechnya and RUSA LGBT demanding that the U.S. welcome queer Chechen refugees who are being tortured and murdered by the brutal regime of Putin faithful, Ramzan Akhmadovich Kadyrov.
I'd heard a lot about how gay men and trans women in Chechnya were targeted by police stings, and often kidnapped, but very little about KChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08241556587624969142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36617229.post-69896427419367560632017-09-25T16:11:00.000-04:002017-09-25T16:11:02.618-04:00Mixed State of the Queer WorldBy Kelly Cogswell
I went for a check-up last week, and when the doc asked, "What's new?" I blurted out, "It's the End of Days. That's what's new." Then I grinned so he wouldn't haul me off to Bellevue. I hadn't seen him since before the election when he told me there was no way Trump would win.
Now, we have straight up Nazis in the very White House, daily earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, KChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08241556587624969142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36617229.post-8597246844647668562017-09-12T11:22:00.000-04:002017-09-12T11:22:15.966-04:00Caring About Queers In the Age of the TrumpocalypseBy Kelly Cogswell
After gracing the front pages for what seems like years with major gains in trans rights, and marriage equality, queers are nearly invisible again in the face of neo-Nazis in the White House and board rooms, nuclear war with North Korea, deadly earthquakes in Mexico, fires across the globe, and their evil twins--floods--impolitely fed by global warming.
Traditionally-definedKChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08241556587624969142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36617229.post-90250416487587656862017-07-31T17:13:00.000-04:002017-07-31T17:13:26.121-04:00Truth and ReconciliationBy Kelly Cogswell
I decided to go down to Louisville last week, and hopped on a Chinatown bus for a mere thirteen hours with a bunch of Asian and African immigrants, two or three South Asians, a couple of Latinos, and a handful of young African- Americans, all glued to their smartphones and tablets and largely indifferent to the white dyke shivering in her blue child's hoodie.
The last time I KChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08241556587624969142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36617229.post-70244306338110475372017-07-03T16:47:00.000-04:002017-07-03T16:47:57.591-04:00Abandoning OutrageBy Kelly Cogswell
I've been thinking about outrage lately, and how inadequate it is when it comes to Americans and Trump. Maybe the problem is that outrage requires some level of surprise, and, at this point, surprise seems false, even bizarre, in the face of a president who revealed himself clearly in all his pre-election conspiracy tweets and unsavory deeds: from boasts about grabbing pussy KChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08241556587624969142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36617229.post-15408061763653939462017-06-19T14:04:00.000-04:002017-06-19T14:04:26.291-04:00Notes on the State of the Queer UnionBy Kelly Cogswell
Last week, I bought seeds, and potting soil, rigged a couple of egg cartons, and planted tomatoes and herbs. Before I went to bed yesterday, I saw the first pale sprouts of basil emerging. I check back every half hour now, to see what else has poked out. At least that hasn't changed. Stick some seeds in some dirt, add water. Something will grow despite the violence in the air. KChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08241556587624969142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36617229.post-77992949350779237402017-06-05T14:06:00.000-04:002017-06-06T08:06:56.283-04:00In Defense of Lesbians ie. Those Fucking DykesBy Kelly Cogswell
On Saturday, May 20, two lesbians got attacked on the Q train. The news reports say it was an altercation over seats. Apparently two lezzies had them, and when Antoine Thomas got on the train he demanded theirs, bumping against them, and screaming "Faggot," and "Dyke."
When they asked him to calm down, he beat them, smashing one woman's face until she was unconscious. At the KChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08241556587624969142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36617229.post-44347534910365316612017-05-08T08:05:00.001-04:002017-05-08T08:17:54.505-04:00France at the Authoritarian Crossroads
By Kelly Cogswell
It's almost a miracle, how in just one year, centrist Emanuel Macron and his supporters launched the grassroots movement En Marche! (Forward!) that not only got him into the second round of the presidential vote, but helped him win. Much of the work was done by folks who hadn't been involved in politics before, including many women, and people of color. Victories in the KChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08241556587624969142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36617229.post-86121527939902662352017-04-25T10:28:00.000-04:002017-04-25T10:28:07.163-04:00Voting for Hope in FranceBy Kelly Cogswell
The first round of the presidential election is over, and it's down to the centrist Emmanuel Macron and the candidate of the extreme right, Marine Le Pen. I think he'll win. God, I hope so. In many ways, he was the most progressive in the pack, emphasizing education, human rights, social mobility, economic justice (achieved through reform rather than revolution), and the KChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08241556587624969142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36617229.post-77185577699469533882017-04-10T11:05:00.000-04:002017-04-10T11:05:30.197-04:00Don't Mention Gender or RaceBy Kelly Cogswell
For the next four years our only strategy on the national level can be to persistently say, "no." And "no." And "no." No! to every single thing Trump does, or that the Republicans propose from Supreme Court candidates to financial reform, and next season's wars. Odds are we'll still lose. But as bad as things seem, they'll be worse if we sit at home with our mouths closed.
Of KChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08241556587624969142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36617229.post-30934443679844013142017-03-27T09:06:00.000-04:002017-03-27T09:06:41.495-04:00More Radical Than Hate By Kelly Cogswell
A couple of decades ago, the Lesbian Avengers did a Valentine's Day action at Bryant Park reuniting the statue of Gertrude Stein with Alice B. Toklas. Veteran activist Maxine Wolfe launched the proceedings with a speech explaining that the purpose of the action was to make "visible the fact of lesbian existence and lesbian love in all its forms and expressions including (…) theKChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08241556587624969142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36617229.post-35972414494214767752017-03-13T12:48:00.000-04:002017-03-13T12:48:12.377-04:00The Temptations of Direct ActionBy Kelly Cogswell
Right before it happened, I'd turn on the news and watch a black or brown woman interviewing the likes of Al Sharpton, or Margarita Lopez, who was the first out Latina dyke on the New York City Council. It didn't seem remarkable then, seeing so many women, so many people of color on the tube. And queers, even. But after September 11, suddenly the newscasters were all white KChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08241556587624969142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36617229.post-18362523417217250532017-02-13T10:34:00.001-05:002017-02-13T10:43:11.107-05:00Baiting TrumpBy Kelly Cogswell
I was so happy when I saw the SNL skit for the first time with the brilliant Melissa McCarthy decked out as Sean Spicer, guzzling gum, throwing tantrums, blasting the press for questioning Trump's Muslim ban, destroying language itself and offering an imaginary narrative, while accusing journalists of spreading fake news.
It was a blistering characterization that not only KChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08241556587624969142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36617229.post-57860764096387442742017-01-30T09:20:00.000-05:002017-01-30T09:20:47.462-05:00Lessons from Egypt on How to Organize the ResistanceBy Kelly Cogswell
Six years ago last week, on January 25, 2011, mass demonstrations began in Egypt that would topple the corrupt, brutal regime of Hosni Mubarak. Following the lead of Tunisia, demos were at first just inspired by, and reported on, by social media. After a couple days, they became so big even Egypt's official radio and TV was forced to acknowledge them.
Inspired by hearing KChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08241556587624969142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36617229.post-21959836378886778182017-01-23T09:05:00.000-05:002017-01-23T09:05:59.254-05:00Women Rising?
By Kelly Cogswell
I'm back in France, and about the time that Donald Trump was taking the oath of office in the rain, I was trapped on a bus in the dark going around and around and around in circles. That's what it felt like anyway, going round and round traffic roundabouts in the dark countryside after being bottlenecked for hours.
I was afraid it was a metaphor. I've been afraid for months.KChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08241556587624969142noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36617229.post-43115847628417041312017-01-17T05:46:00.000-05:002017-01-17T05:46:26.194-05:00Trump Redux in France?By Kelly Cogswell
In France, we're gearing up for a presidential election where the likely victor, François Fillon, is as friendly with Putin as Trump, and has policies as disastrously conservative as Pence.
There will be no saviors from the floundering left. The incumbent Socialist president, Francois Hollande, is so unpopular he isn't even going to run. The half-dozen men who want to take hisKChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08241556587624969142noreply@blogger.com0