Columns

In case you missed it, the big news this week was the launch of Rainbow Youth and Outline’s new campaign WTF, which stands for both “What The Fuck” and “Where’s The Funds”. If you haven’t checked it out already, you really should.

WTF features a number of well-known New Zealanders, including – OMG! – Lucy Lawless, calling for wider reflection on the crap experienced by queer and trans folks. It asks for donations to help organisations deal with this problem more effectively.

I know many of the people involved in producing the video, and want to thank them for all their hard work. At the time of writing the video had already received 71,000 views, and been covered in gay media worldwide. It has definitely succeeded at getting people yakking.

The thing that irked me about the straight media coverage of WTF was the tendency to reduce hetero/cissexism to incidences of random street violence or similar, as though that is the main concern for queer/trans folks. For me, this violence is only symptomatic of a wider sick culture, which ultimately wants queer/trans kids and (gender)queerness in general to disappear. I would love it if the media would instead highlight the fact that it is our culture of heterosexism which needs to change, not just the thugs that exemplify it. That requires deep and sustained intervention in many spheres of life.

In other news, Jim Parsons, that cute dork from The Big Bang Theory, came out. I get really annoyed by well-meaning heteros saying things like “Who cares if he is gay? It won’t stop me watching it!”

Well… I CARE I CARE I CARE I CARE.

I care because mainstream media provides precious little visibility of queer/trans folks, so when someone decides to make an announcement like that, it makes me a little bit happy. I get annoyed when cis-straight people say things like that, or the old chestnut:

“I don’t see gender/sexuality. People are people.”

Um, WTF. Yeah you do. We all do. Don’t tell me you don’t see me, and my gender-giftedness and lustiness. For me, what would be way cooler is if you would say something like:

“Woah babe, I see your gender in all its glory, it is gorgeous and you are amazing!”

What do you think of the WTF campaign or celebs coming out? Email me at dameladida@gmail.com. xox

– Dame La Dida