arts united - Priscilla Daniels

e
th
exploring femininity & mansculinity
arts
united
PROMOTING SOCIAL AWARENESS
THROUGH ART AND LITERATURE
limited edition
CONTENTS
EDITORIAL 4
FORWARD 5
ARTICLES
Amanda La Pistolera 6
Matthew Sims28
Annabella Lugosi
67
VISUAL ART
Amanda La Pistolera 9
Daniela Riojas
10
Will Bermudez12
Julya Jara14
Lizz Pumphrey14
Zachary Mojica15
Kenneth Lee Flannery 22
Priscilla Daniels
23
Kim Bishop24
Steven DaLuz25
Matthew Sims34
Carmine Santaniello 39
Suzy Gonzalez40
Luis Valderas46
Iris Petro53
Jeffrey Olivares53
Diana M. Santiago
54
Quinten Rhea55
David Titterington
56
Moe Profane58
D Ellis Phelps
64
LITERATURE
DianaL. --Joe
16
Kim Klocek17
Richard Raznikov
18
Maribel Hermosillo 21
Ben Tremillo36
Jamye Cox42
David Barcelona
43
Veronica Anne44
Jabez Churchill45
James Batt48
Taylor James Johnson 50
Dr. Grisel Y. Acosta 52
Tammy M. Gomez
60
Julie Marin65
Editorial
Founder & Executive Director
Daniela Riojas
Creative Director & Managing Editor
Will Bermudez
Chief Editor
Viktoria Valenzuela
Staff Writer & Coordinator
Jose Mojica
Staff Writer & Editor
Carolina M. Hinojosa
Visual Arts Editor
Andrei Ranteria
Published by:
The Arts United
1100 Broadway St,
San Antonio TX 78215
MORE INFORMATION AND SUBMISSIONS
www.theartsunited.org | [email protected]
© The Arts United 2012
All material is strictly copyright and all rights are reserved.
4
Reproduction in whole or in part without the written permission of The Arts United and the artist is strictly forbidden.The greatest care has been
taken to ensure the accuracy of information in this magazine at time of going to press, but we accept no responsibility for omissions or errors.
Forward
What does it mean to be man or woman? It is a question we all seem to have
an opinion about but hardly a concrete answer. Some answer with a scientific
response, while many respond with stereotypes that have cultural and historical
origins. To say a man has a penis, and a woman has a vagina, doesn’t seem to
fully encompass our understanding or presuppositions of gender. For instance,
our society expects men to be “masculine,” to be strong and provide for his
family as the hunter of his community, whether that refers to food or merely
money; even emotionless and purely driven by reason. However, if he were to
show his emotions and a sense of tenderness in his heart, with maybe a tear, he
would be considered “feminine” and considered weak, in a sense emasculated.
Which begs the question: Why are gentle and emotional traits conventionally understood to be feminine and almost solely expected in all women? Conversely,
if a woman shows too much attention to certain activities that are conventionally
considered “male,” she is considered a “tomboy” or “butch.” Women have been
a gender subservient for millennia by patriarchal ideals that have only been seriously questioned in the last few decades. It is apparent as our society evolves
that our understanding of male and female is shifting. The very lines that define
male and female are blurring. It is in this very issue we explore this shift in
gender roles.
We, The Arts United, believe that it is imperative to educate and motivate our
readers through art and literature. This issue will be adding to the discourse
concerning the contemporary understanding of femininity and masculinity. We
connected with imaginative minds to reconstruct and explore femininity and
masculinity as well as the implications of gender identities and gender roles that
accompany this duality. We are currently undergoing a paradigmatic shift. The
ideological foundations of our society regarding gender are evolving. As a result,
we seek to make witness to the r/evolution of Femininity and or Masculinity
currently happening in the world around us and are privileged to present each
individual voice that contributed to this transition.
We believe that a future cannot be created unless it is envisioned first and this
magazine is a true representation of this new vision of gender identity.
5
AMANDA LA PISTOLERA
by Jose Mojica
6
In search of artists, I was directed to the
facebook profile of Amanda “La Pistolera”
Capen. A heavily tattooed, gun-toting, motorcycle riding, drummer from Lockhart,
TX with bright red hair that captures her
fiery free spirit like an active volcano. Completely taken by La Pistolera, and all of her
artwork, hells yes! I contacted her within
five minutes. In a brief phone conversation,
photos by Daniela Riojas
I informed Amanda of The Arts United and
asked her to send submissions. Immediately, I felt a warm soul with lots of energy.
A few hours after we spoke she called back,
“Dude, I had to look ya’ll up to make sure
you weren’t shittin’ me.” Her excitement
grew louder, and just before I lost my hearing she said would send her submissions.
A few days later, at The Arts United round
table, La Pistolera’s art was up for review
and it lit a blaze under my colleague’s chair.
That’s when I knew we had come across someone special.
Aside from a drawing class in a
community college, Amanda had never
taken an art class. Having been influenced by
Salvador Dali, Van Gogh, the voodoo queen
Marie Laveau, and the renegade methods of
Jean Michel Basquiat. See, it’s not just technique; it’s the finished piece that matters. She
even implements hints of sanitaria in her
clay jewelry. Amanda seems to channel an
almost childlike wonder with overtones derived from deep emotions which she refers
to as “spazzing out” or being “loca”; a sort of
madness to her method as she puts it. Using
a mixed media approach which combines
wood, spray paint, animal skulls, and reclaimed materials. She also physically reforms
prints from her Wacom tablet then pastes
it onto canvas or newspaper, all spilling out
like an emotional vomit. Although, she has
been producing art all her of life, it wasn’t
until recently that she quit her job at the
gun range to pursue art full-time. Amanda
shares her earliest childhood creation - her
dad’s conch shell. “I had a bunch of crayons
and I thought it needed to be colored and
not white.” It just took off from there and
has never stopped. Her home also doubles
as a workshop accompanied by Morticia,
her pet tarantula.
Amanda thought this topic of femininity & masculinity would be difficult.
“First, were the cliché ideas of painting a
mustache on my face. Let me wear men’s
clothes. Then it hit me…” she says. “My
whole life has been this struggle.” As a child
Amanda was a competitive gymnast, stocky
with short hair. “I remember people saying
‘Oh, let this boy go head.’” Growing up, she
liked skateboarding with the neighborhood
boys. She had a knack for fixing things that
“Sometimes it’s hard to feel like a woman
and I want to be seen that way. It’s a hard
balance to manage; it’s not on purpose. I
like the things I like,”
broke such as lawnmowers or cars, then later worked manual labor for a majority for
her life. As a stage-hand and sometimes the
only female out of 120 men, Amanda was
accused of having penis envy and was labeled as a butch. In between the tears, she
adds, “Sometimes it’s hard to feel like a woman and I want to be seen that way. It’s a
hard balance to manage; it’s not on purpose. I like the things I like,” she said tearfully.
7
While working at the gun range Amanda
would have to call the line in her big girl
voice to be authoritative. People would reply, “Yes, sir.” One day she whipped around
and yelled to some man, “I sit down to pee!”
As for myself, I wouldn’t go pissing people
off at a gun range.
People get this notion that when
a physically fit woman is doing things like
auto repair, construction, and manual labor
she should automatically be categorized as a
butch. You’d be mistaken with Amanda “La
Pistolera”. She has a multitude of skills &
talent, which make her very a self-efficient
female. Overall, Amanda is one the most
warmhearted, adventurous women I have
met. She is full of life and spunk, plus she
knows how to handle a gun while looking
good in a dress.
AMANDA LA PISTOLERA
My name is Amanda La Pistolera. I am a 35 year old artist based out of Lockhart, TX. My company, Bite The Bullet, is
new as I just recently quit my job at the gun range to pursue art full time. This project was easy for me, I just had to reflect back on my entire life as a young woman and adult. I was a young competitive gymnast which gave me a physique
that classmates deemed butch, tomboy, and I was told I had penis envy. All because of my physical build and choice of work/hobbies. I worked jobs of manual labor being the only
female a of 120 person steel crew, I ride a motorcycle, was a weapons mechanic in the Army, play drums, worked at a gun range, enjoy shooting, painting, mechanic work, gardening,
lipstick, and kissing men. I am only a woman...I AM WOMAN and I believe NAME TAGS ARE UGLY! [email protected]
More of Amanda’s artwork can also be found at
www.etsy.com/shop/BiteTheBulletArtwork
8
Butch
Nametag
Tomboy
9
daniela riojas
[email protected]
Daniela Riojas lives in San Antonio, TX as a fine art photographer and is the founder and executive
director of The Arts United Magazine. She is also the owner of ZaaZaa Productions, specializing in
photography and video. She is deeply interested in capturing souls with her camera. More of her fine art
works can be viewed at http://www.danielariojas.com
Baby Go Boom
10
Surrender
I.Mind
Elan Vitale (The Birth of ZaaZaa)
11
WILL BERMUDEZ
[email protected]
Native American culture believes, inherently, we possess the attributes of a particular animal, which
brings us strength and healing. This concept of “power animals” correlates with the understanding that
our minds carry our evolutionary past and unconsciously govern behavior and simultaneously our identity. The series of photographs below seek to give visual representation to this idea of an inner animal.
Skylar Brown - Swan
12
Brittany Dunk - Gazelle
Michael Moponga - Bear
Amanda La Pistolera - Bat
Warren K Carlyle IV - Wolf
Jamye Cox - Lion
Makeup: Kayla and Maddy Falcon
Hair: Lala Meza
13
ZACHARY MOJICA
Julya Jara
Zachary Mojica is a young artists whose work can be viewed at: http://themeloncholykid.deviantart.
com/
[email protected]
I called it “In Fashion.” With my model we were exploring the theme of “a typical victim of mass
media”. It’s a regular day in the life of a young woman, who grew up in a society with mixed up
values, and due to her life circumstances wasn’t able to find her own identity.
In Fashion
Set Me Free
As women we live in an unusual time where we have more freedom
than ever before, and yet there are those fighting to take away our rights.
Even with modern feminism, we are held captive by society, entertainment, fashion, and our own expectations. This image represents a classic
theme with a modern twist of woman’s liberation through removing the
one thing we wear to remain “decent” and to sexualize ourselves. We are
beginning to break free.
Liz Pumphrey
The children with no name
Wash away your sins
15
Diana L. --joe
La Virgen Que Onda 2012.
Growing Up Around Virgins
I saw what they had and what they
got...
they had lots of admirers.
Long hair in trensas left there.
Offerings of flowers.
Candles, with names taped on them.
Holy waters
in mason jars.
I made my own.
La Virgen Que Onda 2012.
She is for special miracles...
from immigration to the war on drugs;
terrorism and the border fence security act.
She specializes in ending deportations and
gets families out of detention!
16
Diana L. --joe is a poet living in Tsaile, Arizona. “I live in a reservation,which is not mine..but after
having lived here now about fifteen years-I pretty much can say it ain’t no ones either.”
She can also help with difficult cases
of known K K K activity!
by the hand of a Navajo,
...to add more power to her!
La Virgen Que Onda 2012.
I placed some ribbons in her hand from
Chiapas in the Lacandon landfrom the sister temascallis over there.
Lately, she will handle Book Banning
in Tucson.
Tucson will never look the same.
The desert will turn to see –her,
La Virgen Que Onda 2012.
I made her.
I didn’t ask the pope.
Que gacha.
Pero like I was telling you...
La Virgen Que Onda 2012,
she will take care of you.
You just have to believe.
I made her in my image.
I placed a copilli, made
Some sweet grass
and glass beads... so there.
Kim Klocek
Kim Klocek lives in Nashville, Tennessee.
Kissing my own hand in practice
Dizzying, simple, scary, anxious
Kiss
Belly round, kicking
Sickness, joy, awe
Panties drenched
Cries, teased hair and Shirley temple curls
Ice skates, tree forts, pussy willows, pollywogs
Mud pies and weed salads
Petting, silly word, silly game
But tempting, longing, damp
Panties wet, irritating, in the way
Touch it but don’t look
Bright lights above
Unbelievable pain, sweat, tears
Blood, push, breathe
Boy
Tender buds sprouting GIRL, hair too
Makes it uncomfortable to run, to have fun
Boys looking longingly, awkward
Still like to fish and play hide and seek
Penetration, pain blood left longing
Clumsy, awkward, less than anticipated
This is it? Why all the hype?
Maybe next time
Flow, panties ruined
You’re a woman now, how exciting, gross
Congratulations. This is it?
Looking longingly at boys not toys
I see it, sidelong glance,
don’t get caught looking, curious
how angry and red. Thick ropey veins
and a purple tip
Teach him
Tenderness, love, giving
Give him
Hope, inspiration, strength
Love him
Unconditionally, forever
Kiss, quickened breath, WOW
where did that come from
unforeseen physical reaction
heat
I see how this can be a weapon, a tool
It is better now, but still lacking
Where is this mysterious O?
The fireworks I read about.
Curious to do it again
Breasts tender, swollen
Dolls, Scattered on the floor around me
Barbie, Tina, Chrissie, Mrs. Beasley
Nail polish, dresses, tiny pink shoes
Showing my panties in kindergarten
Gravity is winning, grey threads
Appear, take over
Time has passed, youth spent
The mirror doesn’t lie
Comfort wins, vanity lost
Low heels, slacks, pocketbooks
Where are my glasses
Panties granny
17
Richard Raznikov
Richard Raznikov is an author and journalist who lives and works in Marin County, California. His
webLog at www.lookingglass.blog.co.uk, is a regular column of commentary on political and social issues. His work has also appeared online at Ragblog, Truthout, ReaderSupportedNews, and Firedoglake.
Raznikov’s first novel, News From A Parallel World, which takes place in the United States in the 1960s
and involves the political assassinations of the time, will be published in September as an e-book and as
a trade paperback, available on Amazon.com.
Lady Madonna and the Tennessee Whore
There is legislation moving through the Tennessee legislature which would require the state to publish the name of every doctor who performs an
abortion and include details about every woman having one. It’s called the ‘Life Defense Act of 2012, and it is expected to pass both houses.
The information which under law would be made public includes the woman’s age, race, county, marital status, educational level, number of children,
the place where the abortion was done, and the number of times she has had the procedure. The doctor performing the abortion would be named, as
well.
Interesting, calling this bill the ‘Life Defense Act’ when its obvious purpose is to paint a target on the back of every doctor who performs an
abortion and to expose the personal life of every woman who has one. Two years ago, an abortion doctor was shot dead in Kansas. Obviously, passage
of the Tennessee law will guarantee that more will be shot. Obviously, that’s the idea.
Hey, as we all know by now, many state legislatures, especially in the South, already think that a woman’s decision to have an abortion gives the state
the right to penetrate her with an ultrasound probe. If you’re going to behave like that, apparently, you’re asking for it.
Women’s control over their own bodies has been a hard battle for years, but what we’re witnessing now is a counterattack by (mostly) men who don’t
mind killing a few to make their point. Indeed, a bill in the Georgia legislature would explicitly force a pregnant woman, in some circumstances, to
jeopardize her life in order to carry a stillborn or dying fetus to term.
If that sounds insane to you, welcome to the club. Republican legislative majorities are passing bills all over America which take away women’s rights
while extending them to zygotes. Health care may be denied by employers. Doctors may be prosecuted for the advice they give or withhold. Under a
proposed Arizona law, employers may actually fire a woman for using contraceptives.
In Texas, Governor Perry turned down $35 million in federal aid which was to be used to support preventive and reproductive health care for the poor
(by the way, Dr. Paul, how well will the ‘states get to decide’ policy work on matters like this?).
These dangerous, oppressive, and inhumane policies and statutes are backed by people who claim they are supporters of ‘right to life.’ But
they do not support right to life; they support the right of the male-dominant culture to control women’s lives. That’s all it is, that’s what’s going on here.
America’s a pretty sick society when it comes to the rights of women and when it comes to human sexuality. Put the two together and you’re going to
get serious trouble.
18
Before the feminist movement of the late ‘sixties and early ‘seventies, the role of women in America was carefully restricted. A woman was
expected to act dimwitted in public and like a hooker in the bedroom. The notion was termed the ‘Madonna/whore.’ Oddly, this was a pretty good
mirrored reflection of men, who tended to be dimwitted in the bedroom and act like whores in public.
The women’s movement threatened all that and men do not like to be threatened. My personal theory is that men, having their primary sex organ
outside of the body, are always worried that something will happen to it. This makes them defensive. White men, in addition, are worried that their
primary sex organ is not as big as those belonging to black men and that when white women get a load of that it will be all over. You think I’m kidding.
There are a lot of black men killed due to the puny peckers of white men.
I think also that sex is at the very bottom of the gender war some men are waging, using as cover the ‘birth control’ and ‘abortion’ issues. Neither of
these things are real issues in the sense that the legal world will materially change. Anyone who thinks they can outlaw abortion and get away with it
is too crazy for public life and dangerous when operating heavy machinery. Won’t happen.
Also, trying to make birth control difficult is a stupid, pointless exercise. This particular campaign will shortly disappear when it dawns on the stupid
white men pushing it that depriving minorities of birth control would hasten the day when whitey will be in the national minority. That realization
should arrive any day now.
But the problem is that abortion and birth control are not what’re driving the latest assault on women. That is coming from pure hatred and
fear, and that’s a lot scarier. Men are afraid of women’s sexuality, no question about it. If abortion is illegal and birth control hard to find, then a woman
will either be kept barefoot and pregnant or be constrained to not express herself sexually. Because both things are no longer subject to effective male
control, there are a lot of scared MFers out there.
America, when it comes to sex, is one screwed-up country. Maybe it’s the Puritan strain, but I don’t think so. It’s weirder than that. The society
pretends to have rather strict sexual conventions but in practice it’s close to anything goes. This leads to incongruities such as the FCC fining a major
network for the exposure of a woman’s breast –– for about a tenth of a second –– while ignoring the fact that advertisers have sexualized children in
order to sell garbage to the viewer. Pretty much anything sexual is available on cable, while the myth of ‘family values’ censors words on CBS.
I had a client once, a court-appointed case, who had made a habit of following attractive women home, then writing them letters in which he
described explicitly what he would like to do to them; he enclosed Polaroids with his prose, which depicted him, in the memorable words of the police
report, “in a highly excited state.” I visited him in jail and asked him just what he thought he was doing. Didn’t he realize that women didn’t like that
sort of thing, that they might feel threatened? He seemed genuinely puzzled. “Everybody else advertises,” he said.
Women’s sexuality is permissible in America only as it serves the interests and purposes of men. I realize that’s an ugly thing to say but that
doesn’t make it untrue. Over the past forty years, though much of what I personally hoped for with feminism has not come to pass, there have nonetheless been sufficient changes to threaten people such as Rick Santorum and Rush Limbaugh. Those changes are fundamentally sexual, hence the
19
Limbaugh screeds in which he turns anything remotely involving women into a perverse sexual revelation (his demand that Sandra Fluke videotape
her sexual relations and post them online for his enjoyment).
As we know, many women who claim rape are probably faking it so they can get abortions; at least that’s the view of Idaho State Senator
Chuck Winder, who authored a bill, which passed, requiring two invasive ultrasound procedures –– not one –– for any woman who wants an abortion.
She should be asked by her physician, he said, whether “this pregnancy was caused by normal relations in a marriage or was it truly caused by a rape.”
I’ll bet he’s a lot of fun around the house. Maybe Chuck’s wife often says no to him and he has to persuade her. If he was black and they lived
in Florida, she could shoot him.
The legislators in Tennessee, like the ones in Idaho, Virginia, Texas, Georgia, and elsewhere, who are passing draconian laws under cover of the ‘right
to life’ movement are generally doing nothing for newborns, nothing for malnourished children, nothing for kids who need parents or other adults to
care for them. As soon as you’re born, they’re done with you.
These are often the same legislators and other pols who ‘support the troops’ but, as soon as they come home with brain injuries or toxic poisoning from our depleted uranium, just don’t care anymore.
I don’t think it’s enough simply to defeat the latest misogynistic laws and respond to the hate speech from the likes of Rush Limbaugh. We need a renewed feminist movement, one which will will not be satisfied with seventy-seven cents on the dollar compared to what men earn; one which will not
think that women such as Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann attaining high office is progress; one which will flatten the corporate sponsors of ‘media
women’, the modern equivalent of Barbie. Maybe the ugly stupidity of this latest round of attacks will finally galvanize a real movement. This culture
certainly needs it.
Maribel Hermosillo
[email protected]
Maribel Hermosillo is a product of her community in San Anto, Tejas. She is a Chicana, Tejana, Nepantlera y Muxerista. Writer, danzante y belly dancer. Always evolving, she is traveling the red road and
is working towards different forms of healing and medicinal practices. She is a community organizer
and activista for queer, womyn, migrants and people of color. While studying history as an undergrad
at UTSA, she spends her time working with the community on various projects focused on building
community and creating safe spaces.
Relato de Una Mujer
Rigid lines
Uncompromising rules
I am no longer what you want to see, I don’t want to be
A mujer free from what you need me be.
almost
Hair straight, high heels and skinny pants,
Eyeliner, tight shirts and pretty flats.
Always wanting approval from mi mami,
Her beautiful dyed golden hair, carefully applied make up, and short mini
dresses,
“Porque no te pones high heels?”
She is so proud.
I walk in them all night and all day.
My big toe pulsing, blisters on my pinky toe, ankles sore,
still I smile so loud.
The “how do I look” every time I get ready
From nappy and curly to straight in thirty frustrating minutes.
Too young to worry about too much hair,
As hair grows and I feel that familiar anxiety
Mejor ser pelona.
Why can’t I be me?
Anxiety and shame
Common feelings attached when I dare to escape
Desire and need-soulmates on the quest to imprison me
I want to be free.
I want to be free.
Thick locks, mustache and naked eyes.
Flip flops, hairy legs and no lies.
I am not free but I want to be.
20
21
“Missing Pieces” – This piece represents that, until Kenneth comes home, there is something missing; his
wife’s, his daughter’s, and his sister’s life. “Day Dreaming” – This piece is an emotion that takes us all into
a journey we like to call Day Dreaming and what a journey it sometimes it can be. When Kenneth sent
this to me I wanted to name it “The Longing” because I see tears in this woman’s eyes that a mother has longing for her child to return home, longing for her
husband that is away. -written by Linda Mansfield, wife of incarcerated artist
Kenneth Lee Flannery
22
Day Dreaming
Missing Pieces
I am a self taught artist. I work mainly with acrylics, oils and mixed mediums. My experiences have guided me when
working with Art. I am inspired by the resilience a person carries in life that allows them to make changes that may of
seemed impossible. For me part of that resilience comes from Art. As a child I was poor and living in an abusive home
where drugs were all around me. Being poor and having these circumstances pushed my imagination to new heights.
I had to work with what I had around me and that was not much. I had the opportunity as a child to turn something plain into something beautiful. I had found an outlet for
everything that I was experiencing. It was my own personal therapy to be able to draw ,write poetry, and express myself. I am greatful that would carry with me through my life. Before, I was shy about showing my work until just a couple years ago when I was encouraged by my now fiance to show my works and tell my story through my works. When someone
starts to open up to me at a show about how a piece makes them feel it not only inspires me but also reminds me of why I am painting in the first place. I picked up painting as a
useful survival tool to get me through tough times and now I am alive and well and my art is proof of that.
Priscilla Daniels
The Valley
Mother & Daughter
Mary Angel
23
KIM BISHOP
My art is visual communication through the production of installations with paint, color, light and
objects that allow the viewer to experience rather than just observe the work. In each of my solo exhibitions my intent has been to create a visual narrative in which the viewers own experiences are combined
with visual aesthetics to provoke a behavioral reaction, impress new experiential memories and spark existing memories. I am the Illustrator of my life.
Steven DaLuz is a versatile artist who is compelled to do work that conjures a sense of mystery and ethereal light, whether
figurative or abstract. His interests are evenly split between the two. While identified with abstract works that are often
landscape-referential and employing a process he devised using metal leaf, oil, and mixed media. He is also known for
figurative works that are poetic and introspective. He used the term, “Neo-Luminsim” in 2009 to classify his work using
this process. His paintings often reflect upon primal questions about origins, the expressive beauty of the human figure, and the sublime.
STEVEN DALUZ
Hijab
24
Sacrifice Changes
Grey Flanel
Temptation
Virgin of Ramadi
25
When exploring femininity and
masculinity, implications of gender identities, and the gender roles that accompany this
duality, we unwillingly regurgitate what we
see in the gender biased media. It is almost as
if it is imprinted on us to comply with these
very specific gender roles such as baby boys
wear blue, baby girls wear pink, men go to
war, women should be thin and wear beautiful clothes, boys play with Transformers, girls
play with Littlest Pet Shop toys. From the
moment of whether we are female or male in
our embryonic state, our parents, by no fault
of their own, begin to stamp us with what
they have come to believe is socially acceptable. Many parents are beginning to break
free from these gender specific attributes. I
begin with writing about parents because of
the active role they take in shaping our lives.
More recently just as we are learning our
gender roles, we must quickly unlearn them
through exploration of the self as we relate
(or do not relate) to our contrastingly fluid
world.
When we chose the topic for Issue
MATTHEW SIMS
by Carolina M. Hinojosa
“I think a lot of men don’t feel oppressed
so they don’t know they are oppressed.”
photos by Daniela Riojas
#2, I was almost certain that the conversation
would lean entirely toward a feminist mentality. There are societies, media outlets, social
networking sites, and organizations dedicated to catapulting the world forward with
women at the forefront. I was determined
to find information about men leading the
charge for other men while still embracing
the post feminist movement; men working
together to bring this coexistence to life. It
was an incredible task to take on as I found
many men who chose to remain quiet or just
inactive out of due respect to women and the
movement. I heard from a few men that felt
their idleness was out of due respect to women because it was “owed” to them/us.
In trying to ascertain this mentality,
I was immediately drawn to Mat Sims, whose collages very directly and triumphantly
communicate the reality of gender specific
stereotypes that we are continually being fed
and in which we are required to adhere to.
I could hear the ripping and snipping of the
pages as he may have seen them in articles,
magazines, and books with all of their bold
and negative reminders. His compositions
are what moved me and arranged into vision
what I could only put into words. I had the
pleasure of interviewing an intelligent and
talented man which embraced the topic and
fully explored it in his collages:
As a collage artist how do you approach a
piece?
With any piece I’m creating, or viewing, I focus on composition, technique, and message.
Where do you find your material?
Most materials are taken from current periodicals, advertisements, and old anatomy
or National Geographic books. Just recently
I started printing some images from the internet but I sometimes feels like that’s cheating the medium. So I try to stick with found
images.
What is your process?
30
Each piece has their own process of composing but they all start out similarly. I’ll have
an argument that I want to communicate and
I start looking where I need to in order to
gather materials. Sometimes I’ll see an offensive ad or a powerful image and that will provide impetus. From there the challenge becomes finding related images and arranging
them to evoke discussion.
How do you want people to interpret your
pieces? What is it about collages that you
can’t express in another medium?
I want people to laugh and cry and think. The
reason I have been working with paper collage is because I take images created by advertisers and corporations then distort them. Advertisers create ideas of what culture should
be and market their products to these created
consumer-culture stereotypes. They try to
find our individual insecurities and use them
against us to make profit, so I use the symbols
they produce to combat the ideas they try to
introduce into our culture.
What piece are you most proud of and why?
They are all my little children, but I’d have
to say I put the most work into recreating
Picasso’s “Guernica” in my piece “2012 Guernica for Men.” I wanted to emulate and bring
into a modern context the antiwar sentiment
Picasso expressed in his famous painting. I
know it’s a lofty goal to try and emulate the
father of modern art but it’s more of homage
to the inspiration he has given me. I went to
see the tapestry recreation of “Guernica” that
is currently at the San Antonio Museum of
Art (SAMA) and was blown away. It has long
been my favorite painting, not only for the technique but the message as well, and to see it
life-sized was incredible.
If you are unfamiliar, during the
Spanish Civil War the Nationalist government contracted the German Luftwaffe to
bomb the city of Guernica killing hundreds
of civilians. My tribute to Picasso’s painting
has been updated to include a before-andafter of combat in a modern setting with a
title that simulates men’s cologne. Most ima-
ges are from the current war in Iraq and the
aftermath of veterans who served there. I
wanted to explore the trope of the masculine
warrior archetype, how it is portrayed in popular media, what the real cost of warfare is,
and the social pressures that create it.
What is your contribution, through your
collages, to the conversation of exploring
masculinity and femininity?
People perform themselves by what they
know, and a huge part of the problem is that
somewhere along the way it became cool to
be ignorant. This disturbing fad has limited
people’s ability to think for themselves. Some
of us just go along to get along rather than
challenging what is being force fed by society
and/or culture.
For the most part the stereotypes we operate
within are hyperbole. I’m sure women don’t
Obviously I have more experience
in dealing with ideas of masculinity but I have eyes and ears and
I know what women are subjected
to through advertising and societal
pressures. I’d like to think I bring
scrutiny and humor to the discourse.
In your collages, there are very
clear stereotypes that men and
women are faced with on a daily
basis. Why do we continue to fall
into these stereotypes?
31
mind if a man is strong and men don’t mind
if women are pretty. The problem is when our
culture begins to obsess about these things,
when we become fixated on an exaggerated
image to the point that people start getting
plastic surgery and taking steroids.
32
Masculinity. Why are there not enough
men talking about their oppression? Do
you feel men are oppressed?
I think a lot of men don’t feel oppressed so
they don’t know they are oppressed.
Take male circumcision for example. Most men have been circumcised without
having any say in the matter. The whole ordeal is based off an ancient Talmudic tradition which really has no place within common civil culture, especially for non-Jewish
people. Some say it’s a hygienic issue or that
they don’t want their sons to be different,
but the truth is personal hygiene has come
a long way since the inscribing of the Torah
and its genital mutilation. Yet, it is common
practice in the western world that rarely gets
any attention. Surely it is not as atrocious as
female circumcision but they both have the
same outcome of limiting sexual pleasure.
Heterosexual males are not normally associated with being sexually oppressed, but in
this instance they are.
There is much more oppression of
men by society’s standards than we normally give credit to, and somewhat rightly so.
Men have, more often than not, been the
oppressors throughout the centuries; but in
today’s society the oppression of men is more
cultural. Men are marketed to by exploiting
stereotypical insecurities; strength, sexual
performance, genital size, age, size of bank
account, mechanical ability, and appetite.
Any deviation from these proposed masculine traits ends up making one less of a man.
Femininity. Do you think women still have
a lot of work to do in gaining equal rights?
Do men play a role in that?
Absolutely - to answer both questions.
Current women’s rights struggles over reproduction, healthcare, pay-rates, work
place and social discrimination, sexual exploitation, and ideas of beauty; all play an
important role in an awareness of conflict.
All aspects of culture should be scrutinized,
questioned, and customized to better suit us
actors within our society.
While I was focusing on makeup,
at a certain point, I found myself becoming
ambivalent about some cosmetics. Of course skin whitening creams are offensive and
evidence of an endemic racial bias when it
comes to cultural ideals of beauty, but some
contemporary styles began to remind me of
war paint. Instead of becoming a cover-up or
clown mask it became more of an expression
of individuality and power. Certain fashion
designers also employ this role reversal and
embrace the potential strength with traditionally feminine forms of expression, something I was as aware of before starting this
project.
Men should have just as much role
in helping to gain equality for women as women should in understanding the struggles
of men. It’s important for mutual sympathy
between the sexes. The only way equal rights
will be achieved is if everyone can recognize
discrepancies and work together for positive
change.
Matthew sims
Matthew Sims lives in San Antonio, TX, and is the featured artist for the The Arts United Magazine:
Issue #2 Exploring Femininity and Masculinity.
[email protected]
Guernica for Men
34
Game On
Purity
Ceremony
35
Ben Tremillo
Ben Tremillo[ a San Antonio, TX. native, has been published in various print and online journals, as
well as the anthology Is This Forever, Or What?: Poems and Paintings from Texas. His ten minute plays
have been performed at The Overtime Theater and Northwest Vista College in San Antonio, TX. You
can see more of his work at www.bentremillo.com.
Laundry Day
with only the slightest of effort. I’m not concentrating on my nails or my hair right now. Not having anxiety over my baking pies or worried about what
shoes to wear to the ball. Simply thinking about how to load the car and drive home and whether or not to wait for my husband to help me unload the
car. He’ll be tired, sure. But so will I. She assumed all people thought like this, speaking inward, not some abstract process of neurons and electrons
colliding in cerebral splendor. Just talking to oneself in an easy and understandable language.
Is there actually such a thing as a man or a woman? She looked around to see if she had wondered that aloud. To see if her thoughts were so immediate
that they sprung from her tongue like leopards. No one turned to look at her, though, with judgement in their eyes or resentment in their hearts. So,
no. It was only a thought.
These are human thoughts. Not a woman’s thoughts. My thoughts. Human. Me. She moved to the towels and soon the bedsheets. This was her life in
fabric, spread out for the entire world to see, if it cared in the least bit. The Earth doesn’t care. It breathes its trees and sings its birds and dances its
oceans. What does it care about my dirty or clean laundry? Those are human concerns. Not so much a woman’s concerns or a man’s. Simply human.
But what a thought. No man. No woman. Female, yes. Male, yes. We cannot get around our physical makeup, our very real biologies. But the idea that
there is a masculine way of being or a feminine way of doing, and vice versa, should be thrown out with the idea of a flat Earth or a Moon made out of
cheese. It seems ancient, antiquated to think that there is some sort of division in who we are as people. That men have a certain role or that women
have a certain lot in life. It isn’t rational thought.
Look at my fingernails. She looked. Uncolored and cut short. Almost a man’s hand if not for the slightest bit of delicacy, the faintest touch of femininity.
I’ve always hated my hands. So like a man’s. Knuckles like a boxer. They could have fought Ali, Tyson, Pacquiao. And they could fold clothes with the
best of them.
Even so, here she was, folding laundry in a hot, noisy laundromat while her husband was out working overtime on a Saturday, mending the power lines
that keep this city alive and breathing in air conditioned air.
She picked up a t-shirt, holding its soft cotton between her fingers. Does a man feel this cotton differently? Does his knowledge of cotton fields and
gins and looms affect how he tangibly registers the fabric, its warmth right out of the dryer, its texture, its Spring Mountain smell or does his man brain
see it merely as a product to keep him from being exposed to the elements and something for women to tend to, to darn when necessary, to wash and
fold, keeping his mind free for more important thoughts?
Then she picked up a pair of pants. ‘The Great Divider,’ she thought. Pants. Who wears the pants in the family? Well, they were her pants. But it was
still a man’s piece of clothing. Take away the pants, the skirts, the bras and the neck ties and what did you have? Male and female, female and male.
Both with brains to figure out solutions to problems and souls to feel love, hate, whatever and a spirit mixed with some desires, wholesome or not, and
longing and on and on.
I don’t feel like I think like a woman, whatever that means, she thought, rolling socks into tidy little balls. She was able to match the socks together
36
She maneuvered folded clothes into baskets and kept the baskets all tidy and neat. Men and women are the same thing. At least in how they think.
There is not an emotional/mental softness or hardness inherent with having breasts or balls. I know men how cry during commercials and women
who think nothing of causing pain to another person. These are individual acts. Cruelty comes in all sorts of clothes. As does kindness. What is a man,
really? What is a woman? Take away the prominent organs and what sort of definition do you give?
She removed all the baskets from the laundromat and fit them snuggly in the car. It was hot. A sun much like the Earth’s, only hotter she thought, was
beaming down on the entirety of her world. It made the air above the street shimmer like a mirage. She got in the car, felt like a baked pastry, and
started to head home.
We are each ourselves, born into our skins. She thought about her two children and how different they were from each other, from herself and even
her husband. They are their own people. Bella, 16, is strong, an individual, true to her beliefs. Mikey, 12, is less strong but smart, a thinker. He can
fit into any situation. He takes after me. And Bella, after her dad. Yet, they were born the way they are. And both were more useful at home than in
the laundromat complaining, she thought, laughing quietly to herself. As parents, we influence, but only the littlest bit. The best parents, she tried to
convince herself, stay out of the way.
37
The ride home was uneventful. How many times had she driven to and from the laundromat? The ruts would be deep if she had driven a horse and
carriage. In a different time, she would wash clothes down at the river or have them boiling in a pot outside her cabin. In a different time, her place
as a woman would be much more defined. But not her mind. Her mind, she thought, regardless of time, place, oceans and suns, would have been as
restless as it always had been, a harried animal, trapped in a wildfire, aching for the moon.
Carmine Santaniello
With my Geisha series, both the masculine an Feminine combine to create an unprecedented
contemporary gender with no labels. Like Shakespearean times when men played women and it was
theatrically accepted without question of gender.
When she got home, her husband was already there. As soon as she parked the car he exited the front door, still dressed from work. She opened her
door and suddenly felt the hot air again, her skin less than eager for the sensation. He was smiling as he approached the car.
“I got out a little early today,” he said, his face unevenly covered by a two day growth of hair. “Need some help?”
“I do,” she said, noting it was not his help she wanted so much as his company. He had always been good at being a helpful husband but it was his
conversation and strength of character that made their marriage work. They connected on an equal plane, a level field where each of them carried a
balanced load and complemented the others personality. Not just as man and woman but as people, individuals that shared a place, raised walls and
children, working toward an identical goal, with all the love and cooperation they could muster.
He grabbed a basket from the backseat and held it close to his body, losing an undershirt in the process. “The kids are hungry,” he said, walking toward
the front door. “But it’s been a long, hot day. I was thinking of ordering pizza and wings. That way neither one of us has to cook or do dishes. What
do you think?”
She reached in the backseat, picking up the dropped shirt and placing it in the basket she would carry into the house, its contents a culmination of a
life with a family that always enriched her, always made the man/woman/human part of her happy to be alive.
“It’s funny,” she said, sweatily, without the slightest bit of self-awareness or irony, “I was thinking the exact same thing.”
38
Geisha I
Geisha II
Geisha III
39
SUZY GONZALEZ
Suzy Gonzalez graduated from Texas State University with a BFA in Painting. She publishes a local
feminist zine titled Yes, Ma’am, which focuses on women through positive articles and illustrations.
In October, she’s scheduled to attend an artist residency at Vermont Studio Center. She currently
resides in San Antonio, TX.
Affliction
40
Breast Assured
Second
She Wants for Christmas
Vagina Power (Strength)
41
jamye cox
Jamye Cox is a San Antonio based actress. She acquired her MBA from Texas State University, but she
has allowed the business woman and artist to join together in special forces. She loves to create art,
whether it is on paper or screen.
David Barcelona
David Barcelona is a passionate writer, poet and avid fictionist. Initially inspired by writing lyrics, he
evolved into writing fictional short stories, dialogues, and poetry. Barcelona’s published debut was with
his short story Child # 5, in VAO (2011). His poem “Sympathy for the Devil”, was published in this
year’s VIPF’s book Boundless, and his poem “A Portrait of an Undying Love” in this year’s 2012 edition
of the magazine Gallery. David continues his passion for writing, primarily concentrating on dark graphic poetry and flash fiction writing.
again We go unnoticed in…
Understanding the Female Manic
Racing thoughts bleed together in her unkempt mind
The humming of the electric fence of morality has been silenced
Everyday constraints are shattered and dismembered
Only to be replaced by the illusion of nonexistent superpowers
Anything can be done in a euphoric state of mind
Many deem such a powerful mind’s beauty crazy
Acceptance is granted when woman, artist, and manic converge
In a societal harmony not understood by those observing
42
Author’s Note:
Oftentimes society labels women with the bipolar diagnosis as “crazy bitches”, when in reality that is not true. She can be a very productive member of society, but when she goes against the male driven norm, then the
stigma of female mental illness is perpetuated in a negative light. How
often have you heard a woman called “bipolar” as an insult? Have you
heard of any men experiencing the same type of insult?
1969, when will Our time shine
waiting for things to truly change…
secluded from this world
has been nothing strange
Our dignity at best is absent
Our patience is completely spent
and so is Our trust
oppressed by the hand that feeds Us
under the heels of male’s stubborn shoes
few options have led this life We choose
voiced complaints fall on empty chairs
unfair justice gets evaporated in the air
under paid salary for the ones in a dress
the more corruption I see the more I stress
masculinity paints this board of endeavors
with a merry go round of processed neighbors
not one of Us is in power to make a difference
one day We will take over the world with a vengeance
corporate hands arrogantly fondle lucrative cookie jars
mocking Us for being weak as they chew on their cigars
poor eager pupils waiting for better school supplies
if one of Us calls out for equalness We get chastised
speaking against the school district committee is forbidden
learn Your place in society or You…You might get beaten
budget cuts and layoff threats force Us to keep quiet
inches from breaking into a Feminist riot
looking up to the EEOC to finally free Us from
this injustice in the work place
from being under their thumb
seems like the breed of mr.’s are the preferred race
there’s nothing gentle about a supposed gentleman
all he cares about is greed and his divine master plan
in Our day and time We pray for Women to have equal rights
and We won’t give up hope…no not without a fucking fight
43
Veronica Anne
From reading the pages of Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein, Veronica Anne developed an appetite for
literature at a young age. She loved it so much Veronica studied English and Creative Writing at the
University of Texas at San Antonio. Veronica has been published in The Sagebrush Review, Voices de la
Luna, HOOT, Pretty Much Amazing, the yes factory, and the San Antonio Current. She lives and writes
in the Alamo city.
let xx = xy
we
she
he
him
her
me
i
am
s√he
we
are
some√body
44
jabez churchill
Jabez W. Churchill lives in Ukiah, CA. He is a good son, father, grandfather, poet, teacher for CPITS,
Modern Language instructor (Spanish and French) for SRJC and Mendocino College, lic., mariner,
aspirant, skeptic and cooks really well!
Blasphemy
Full Moon
I’m pretty sure
God spoke Nahuatl, Mayan and Quechua
before He spoke Hebrew.
God spoke Sanskrit
long before the Gospel was written,
speaks Arabic, Spanish,
even English
if unabridged,
uncensored by hostility and greed.
God speaks
from the mouths of drunkards,
children, gays
and non homophobic straights,
and the penciled lips of cholas (bad girls)
(God really likes bad girls.)
But I’ve never heard God speak
through those who would have me fear
or hate.
I hear God’s voice
when I’m talking with my mother on the phone.
It echoes when she laughs
just like my grandmothers and great grandmothers.
I could listen to it forever.
Yasi,
Mother Moon,
since my face was soft
and round as yours,
you’ve watched at me from above.
Nor have you looked away
as it has waned,
grown silver as the stars.
Yasi,
Mother Moon,
how many empty nights
lost behind the clouds,
could I not see,
ceased to seek your smile
play peek-a-boo
until mine, too,
was shining.
Yasi
Mother Moon,
you’re watching me from above
just like when my face
was soft
and round as yours.
45
Luis Valderas
[email protected]
www.arttothethirdpower.com
Journey Through Intzalan Stage 1
46
I co-founded the collective Art to the Third Power with Kim Bishop and Paul Karam to creatively innovate as individual artists and collectively while engaging the community in public art events. We create
art and educate about art and art processes. We work individually and collectively to produce community art events that seek fulfillment, identity and social impact at three levels- for: The Individual, The
Collective and The Community. This provides an opportunity for transformation and growth as these
levels interact.
Journey Through Intzalan Stage 2
Journey Through Intzalan Stage 3
Journey Through Intzalan Stage 4
Journey Through Intzalan Stage 5
At the Steps of Teknoquetzalcuatl vert Med
47
james batt
James Batt is a 43yr old man from Hamilton, New Zealand, and a proud dad of 4 boys and proud
granddad of 1 granddaughter.
GRANDMA’S APRON
THE PRINCIPAL USE OF GRANDMA’S APRON WAS TO PROTECT THE DRESS
UNDERNEATH, BUT ALONG WITH THAT, IT SERVED AS A POTHOLDER FOR
REMOVING HOT PANS FROM THE OVEN.
IN THE FALL, THE APRON WAS USED TO BRING IN APPLES THAT HAD
FALLEN FROM THE TREES.
WHEN UNEXPECTED COMPANY DROVE UP THE ROAD, IT WAS SURPRISING
HOW MUCH FURNITURE THAT OLD APRON COULD DUST IN A MATTER OF
SECONDS.
IT WAS WONDERFUL FOR DRYING CHILDREN’S TEARS, AND ON OCCASION
WAS EVEN USED FOR CLEANING OUT DIRTY EARS.
WHEN DINNER WAS READY, GRANDMA WALKED OUT ONTO THE PORCH,
WAVED HER APRON, AND THE MEN KNEW IT WAS TIE TO COME IN FROM
THE FIELDS TO DINNER.
FROM THE CHICKEN COOP, THE APRON WAS USED FOR CARRYING EGGS,
FUSSY CHICKS, AND SOMETIMES HALF-HATCHED EGGS TO BE FINISHED
IN THE WARMING OVEN.
IT WILL BE A LONG TIME BEFORE SOMEONE INVENTS SOMETHING THAT
WILL REPLACE THAT ‘OLD-TIME APRON’ THAT SERVED SO MANY WORTHWHILE PURPOSES.
WHEN COMPANY CAME, THOSE APRONS WERE IDEAL HIDING PLACES FOR
SHY KIDS.
REMEMBER:
AND WHEN THE WEATHER WAS COLD, GRANDMA WRAPPED IT AROUND HER
ARMS.
THOSE BIG OLD APRONS WIPED MANY A PERSPIRING BROW, BENT OVER
THE HOT WOOD-STOVE.
CHIPS AND KINDLING WOOD WERE BROUGHT INTO THE KITCHEN IN THAT
APRON.
48
FROM THE GARDEN, IT CARRIED ALL SORTS OF VEGETABLES. AFTER THE
PEAS HAD BEEN SHELLED, IT CARRIED OUT THE HULLS.
GRANDMA USED TO SET HER HOT BAKED APPLE PIES ON THE WINDOW
SILL TO COOL.
HER GRANDDAUGHTERS SET THEIRS ON THE WINDOW SILL TO THAW.
THEY WOULD GO CRAZY NOW TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW MANY GERMS
WERE ON THAT APRON.
I DON’T THINK I EVER CAUGHT ANYTHING FROM AN APRON--EXCEPT LOVE.
49
Taylor James Johnson
Taylor James Johnson is a filmmaker and online radio personality living in San Antonio, TX. You can
see more from him here: http://taylortrashproductions.com/
“BYE-BYE” to the BI BIPOLAR POLAR BEAR
*“Bye-Bye” to the bi bipolar polar bear*
She could no longer bare
what was barely there.
Almost all gone, the ice was going away.
But the bear had a way
to bring it back today.
With love and care
the lovely bear
decided to share
a plan to repair.
The ice caps are melting
And no one was helping.
*“Bye-Bye” to the bi bipolar polar bear*
The doctor said she had a mood disorder
Lots of pills this doctor did order
the bear to medicate
“another appointment?” “yes, let’s set a date”
“I am pretty busy, and I think I have found a lesbian mate”
“oh really, let me be the first to congratulate.”
“I am bisexual and bipolar,
the weight of the world on my shoulder
I love this one girl but she is a little older.
50
But I also like this guy, and I haven’t told her.
I play for both teams
If you know what that means.
Confused as my world vanishes into the seas.
*“Bye-Bye” to the bi bipolar polar bear*
“Time to swim away – let’s go over there!
I am going to be with him today – just to be fair.
Back and forth with my heart – my mind is like that too
I just want someone to say “hey bi bipolar polar bear, I like you”
But I am lost in this world of disappearing ice.
When I am in a good mood, I appear so nice
But sometimes it gets too difficult for me.
I want to build a boat and just flee
But probably
My problems will follow me.
My depression is manic
This life, I did not plan it.
Can’t speak in church, can’t learn in school.
No acceptance for me in this dying Artic pool “
*“Bye-Bye” to the bi bipolar polar bear*
“Who cares, I like a girl and I also like a guy
Who cares, one second I am happy, the next I cry.
I am drowning and the water has not even come.
I can’t breath and I blame everyone.
This truth is inconvenient, what have we done?
We will melt away and you’ll never see us again.
I have never felt this way, with a boy or girlfriend.
Taking so much medicine, where do I begin.
But if we work together these problems we can mend.”
*“Bye-Bye” to the bi bipolar polar bear*
Take her hand, please hold as she does share
Her story of how the world is not fare
“The masculinity within me
complicates my femininity”
“The bi bipolar polar bear is an obstinacy!”
Shouted a closed minded society.
“All I ask is that you are polite to me
Don’t I have the right be
Truly
happy?”
The weather is cold but her heart is warm
A change is a coming, this I do warn.
A climate change, does this bring you concern?
A social change, a new history page to turn.
Things that were taboo, are now the norm
this is just the way she was born.
“I can’t help who I love
Can’t help who I am.
But we can help the earth if you would just understand.
Bye bye to my wondrous winter wonder land”
*“Bye-Bye” to the bi bipolar polar bear*
Stir up the oceans
Stir up her emotions
Stir up these notions
of bisexual love positions.
Three underlining themes in these overwhelming dreams.
Support love whether it be straight, gay or bi
Acknowledge the changing weather or we all go bye bye
Respect those who think and feel differently and I hope you know why.
*“Bye-Bye” to the bi bipolar polar bear*…bye bye
So let’s review this silly little poem thing
Educate those who play the bigot game.
But let us not forget
the point that I really meant
Is to love ourselves and the environment
All we have to do it try
*“Bye-Bye” to the bi bipolar polar bear*…bye bye.
51
dR. gRISEL y. aCOSTA
Dr. Grisel Y. Acosta is a writer from Chicago who now teaches and lives in the Bronx. Her creative and
scholarly work has been published in a variety of literary magazines, scholarly journals, and collegelevel textbooks. She is currently at work on Chica!Go!: The Afro-Punk Odyssey of a Hardcore Chick,
a mixed-genre collection of poetry, lyric, and narrative that reflects her Cuban, Colombian, and urban
journey. Contact her at: [email protected]
Androgyny Time Machine FuturePastNow
“I remember boots, there were definitely boots!” I answered, “There
still are. ;)”
1. I played a Black Latina George Washington in the fifth grade.
2. Grace Jones’ Jubilant Hula Out-Queened the Queen’s Jubilee.
10. My father was very uncomfortable with me when I spiked my hair
up or stayed out all night.
3. Mami stared while I counted my mosh pit bruises; she didn’t stop me
from returning.
11. One of my former students’ told me her mother said to her that she
would rather her be pregnant than be a lesbian.
4. Dresses that spun big were my favorite and I got one for every church
banquet.
12. Janelle Monae wears a suit like Smokey Robinson, dances like James
Brown, poses for pictures like Patti LaBelle, and sings like an alien cyborg pixie.
5. David Bowie loves Joey Arias and Iman and Iggy Pop and Angela Barnett.
6. My husband is 42% gay (according to an online quiz).
13. Working muscles into sweat and bubble baths bring the same relieving joy.
7. I am one point away from being completely androgynous (according to
the Bem Sex Role Inventory).
14. I see men across the country carrying their babies, holding hands
with their babies, laughing with their babies.
8. A boy in high school asked me during English class, “Why don’t you dress
sexy?” I answered, “I do dress sexy,” and offered no further explanation.
15. Men have always worn skirts.
9. A man from the high school I used to go to, on FB, posted on my page,
52
I am a beginner painter, fresh out of an
beginner painter course with Jennifer
Agricola at St. Phillips College. I enjoyed
the course and learned a lot from the class. I like to paint with water paint and pastels. My art
pertains to the show is that my piece is custom made photo off of a “Facebook Share” piece (I
thank de i Jahkeepitreal Shotta for posting and sharing!) This piece represents sharing and caring,
seduction, passion, pleasure and the need for one another and the fulfillment when you get it. Not
just physically, but mentally and spiritually. We must seek out one another. Black love is a rarity
and needs reconstruction.
Iris Petro
contact Iris:
[email protected]
www.facebook.com/irispetro
Women of Gold
Jeff Olivares is a San Antonio, TX. designer and artist. He has a degree in architecture, but decided to quit his job to travel/ make art. You can view more of his
work at http://jeffreyolivares.com/
16. According to Sandra Bem, androgynous people are more flexible and
psychologically healthier than people who adhere to rigid gender roles
Black Love
Jeffery Olvares
DIANA SANTIAGO
54
Diana Santiago felt that she was a gypsy disguised as a child from a military household. Her mother
having some formal training in painting fueled her imagination that was nourished by living in these
places. Today it’s those nostalgic experiences and life experience that feed into her work.
I Guess I Am A Housewife
The only thing left to do is polish the gun
Quinten Rhea
Galaxy
I am nothing,..nothing if not an artist first...(QRhea) I am a self-taught artist and musician. I am a
published author, ASCAP member, I own my own publishing company, and I am the creative luminary
behind the enigmatic musical entity ‘aDiaBlanca’ MPFree.
Saint Cecilia
Evening Airs
55
david titterington
In 2005 I received my BFA in Painting from the University of Kansas and traveled to India to study
Buddhism with the Dalai Lama. That fall I moved to Japan where I taught English, exhibited artwork,
and practiced Zen for five years. I’m currently getting my MFA at KU.
[email protected]
www.davidtitterington.org
The Sorcerer - oil on canvas
56
Retreat- oil on paper
Ritual - oil on canvas
Censorship - oil on canvas
Manhood- oil on canvas
Non-Vanishing - oil on canvas
57
Moe profane
58
Apple Martini
I AM profane, but not profane as in cussing and fussing in an attempt to make your mother uncomfortable. I am profane in that I refuse to prostrate myself before symbolic meaning. Nothing is sacred
because nothing matters.
Blue Martini
Malaria
Brother Ass
Puberty
Your Dick is Showing
59
Tammy M. Gomez
Tammy M. Gomez is profiled in LAS TEJANAS: 300 YEARS OF HISTORY (UT Press), and is featured
in “Voices from Texas,” a PBS documentary about Tejano/a poets. Tammy received an Austin Chronicle
Critic’s Choice Award, dubbing her “Best In-Your-Face Poet (in Two Languages, No Less)” in 1994. Her
full-length play, “She: Bike/Spoke/Love,” which premiered in Fort Worth to much acclaim, was staged in
Austin in May 2012. She is an inaugural artist on the United States Artists’ USA Projects website, where
her profile can be found at: www.unitedstatesartists.org/user/tammygomez.
Red Self-Existing Earth
I define in order to evolve
measuring synchronicity
I seal the matrix of navigation
with the self-existing tone of form
I’m guided by the power of space.
If I am given but one life, one body, this go-round on Tierra Madre, why
not kick it in an adventurous and unconventional way? It suits me well that
in this time and zeitgeist of trans-, inter-, multi-, post-, myriad options
spread out before me like an array of garments in a wardrobe closet.
Quote from a Performance Studies grad student at UT-Austin: “As a Hispanic from El Paso, who loves her high heels, make-up, and salon hairstyle,
I’ve come to realize that even I--in trying to be feminina--yes, even I am
in drag.”
(June 24, 2002 - Isla Mujeres, Mexico)
Anatomy is NOT destiny.
Yes--we’re ALL in drag.
On “Women’s Island,” I embark on slivers of floating ideas,
debris like floaters in a widening discerning eye. Who am I,
what shall I become, and how do I defy the coats and shells,
encasings of pressure to socially conform, how do I shed the
skin of stifling norms?
I challenge the “essentialist beliefs that gender-differentiated roles are
necessary for the smooth functioning of society” because to do so frees
me to be as U.S. feminine/feminist and Tejana/Chicana feminine/feminist as I care to be in any given context at any given time. Going further,
I have self-constructed and willfully performed IDENTIDAD with the
belief that even the “smooth functioning of society”could be considered to be: an unachievable idealized concept; a detriment to growth and
innovation and experimentation; and ultimately antithetical to our potential for catharsis, revolution, and human capacity-building. In my
experience, a smoothly functioning society, pre-supposing that we have
ever even lived in such a thing, would seemingly have had to be an unin-
Woman = Creative + Demon
Lorna Dee (Cervantes) says others would “identify us to extinction.”
a list / estoy lista
60
seek validity
assert territory
test limits
push boundaries
defy binaries
learn to trust
clusive (exclusive), apathetic, and oppressive system of control. For what
reason(s) would I aspire or desire to passively conform to its restricting
rules, unreasonable norms, and binding mores?
A Chinese-American poet once told me that the Chinese symbol for the
word “woman” is comprised of the ideogram for “creative” and the ideogram for “demon.” I like the energy of that combo, and it makes me think of
some powerful, raging women who have been life influences for me: Yoko
Ono, Patti Smith, Angela Davis, and Bjork, just to name a few. I would
never think of these women as girly-girls, but at the same time I would never refer to them as “manly” in the conventional sense. Nonetheless, they
embody--projecting from their bodies as well as their spirits--a ferocity
and self-possession that probably sets off all kinds of alarms for the gender
police. And their personae and creative/intellectual output has seemed
to evade the binding and blinding impact of sexualization. We focus on
their ideas and not their breasts, their timeline of creative production
and not their love lives. For defying conventions of “femininity” they
might very well be labeled demonic by those who adhere to the heteronormative binary.
“Most Likely to Incite a Riot”
I showed up at Alternate Current, an Austin outsider art gallery that
existed in the 1990s, for a spoof event themed as a “Debutante Ball.”
Rather than trying to girlie up in a floor-length prom dress or big-hair
bouffant, I opted to flip the script and outfit myself in a suit and tie,
with wingtip oxfords and a wool fedora hat. Though the gallery was
ripe for innovation and attracted a loyal cadre of risk-taking artists, I
was a stand-out at the Ball and won a dubious distinction (complete
with a printed certificate): Most Likely to Incite a Riot. As a performer
and creative artist who believes in snipping at the razor wire of societal
norms regarding gender expression, I decided to take this in stride as I
playfully waltzed with debutantes who decided to nickname me “Uncle
Guido.”
Allowing myself the pleasure and freedom to try on “male”
roles through male clothes, I enjoyed a 2nd Place win at a KO.OP Radio
(Austin) Halloween Drag Costume Contest in the persona of a poetcholo named “Jose.” When I start to think about it, it occurs to me that
I’ve played “boy” now and again, just to challenge the gender cop in my
own head. I once portrayed a Mexican boy who poisons a self-absorbed
artist with battery acid, in a play in Fort Worth. And years before that,
I walked into a beauty salon with a GQ magazine photo depicting the
61
exact crew cut that I wanted for myself. As a Monty Python’s Flying Circus
fan, my best friend Sharon and I agreed to dress like the Gumby characters-in men’s slacks with the pant legs rolled up, suspenders, work boots, and
handkerchiefs on our heads. Not a bit flattering, by the way. But I enjoyed
the role play.
Fake but no regret
i construct with subtle eyes
and gradual gaze
Let me see a reconstructed
natural beauty that isn’t on the page
With the freedoms afforded me as a 21st century Chicana Tejana feminist writer-artist, I explore and express my whims and will through dress
and voice, the persona of choice, switching and pinch-hitting as I see fit.
Though I’m not bisexual or a lesbian, I refuse to play pretty or conform to
societal strictures of how ladies should speak or behave, adorn or accessorize themselves. It’s just too much work, the make-up, the manicures,
and the rest of it--and to what end? To be gamely played and surveyed as
yet another gender-conforming little lady? Even my voice gives me away,
because I won’t pretend dumb by doing “uptalk” and I won’t feign sexy with
“vocal fry.”
From the introduction to Intersections: Performing Gender (Women’s and
Gender Studies in Review Across Disciplines, Issue 7, Fall 2009, UT-Austin): “Women are supposed to enact deference in their encounters with
others, while men are expected to perform dominance.”
62
Over the years, I’ve noticed that I am fiercely unapologetic, working
strenuously to choose and practice well what I say and do--a priori--so
that I am rarely in the position of having to Retract-Rescind-Regret, for
I am loathe to ever seem hasty, uncertain, arbitrary, foolish, fickle, or
unprepared--excepting, of course and necessity, when I am around or
interacting with my closet friends and family members.
This can be so much work, but I bear the burden nonetheless, in the
service of my will to construct and boldly enact a powerful counter-narrative to the life story and role boundaries that society would have me
portray. Which in turn, allows and compels me to expect and encourage
nothing less from other freedom-seeking comrades and allies.
You too will cut your own path.
a list / están list@s?
seek validity
assert territory
test limits
push boundaries
defy binaries
learn to trust
Anatomy is NOT destiny.
(Weiten and Lloyd 328).
17. True androgyny refers to personality traits as opposed to physical appearance.
18. At Midwestern Christian Academy, a new classmate told me I was a boy.
I said, “No, I’m not a boy.” She said, “Yes, you are. You are wearing pants
and that means that you are a boy.”
19. There are aggressive and passive people within every gender identity
group.
20. Integrity, wisdom, creativity, and grace are not gender specific.
D ELLIS PHELPS
My work speaks to the interconnectedness of all things. What human hands are doing to the Earth Mother
and to each other both, by our actions and by our inaction, by our thoughts and by our habitual feeling states,
by our focus of attention and by our unawareness is unconscionable. What we can do, should we wake in time,
is manifest the miraculous. My work is a call to that awakening, a call to healing that serves the Highest Good.
Julie Marin
Julie Marin is currently a senior at the University of the Incarnate Word. Her daily job entails empowering young teens through the Teen Arts Puentes Program at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. She
has been writing for the past ten years and has engaged in theatre for the past eight years. She can be
contacted at: [email protected]
Restoring Whole Cities Inside Me
Finding the words to address this pain,
Is like crafting hope from death…
A death,
You are accountable for.
A life, deceased, before it ever began living.
A smile, unseen.
A face, untouched...
An innocence taken,
For its fate was never to be enough.
An investment, abandoned,
For its makers were mistaken on a peaceful winter night.
One action.
One consequence,
A consequence with limbs,
With the ability to speak
To think, to someday rationalize, now…
Just as existent as a breath.
64
Beyond Boundaries Shaman’s Breath
I still cannot find the words
To accurately depict the ridding of my own flesh.
The poisoning of sangre,
Which now flows,
The deceased among arteries,
Circulating a presence through my heart,
Into my lungs,
Back into my skull,
Back down to shoulder blades
Withered with shame,
Dissapointment,
Onto,
Through to the tips of my fingers
Retracting behind elbows.
Slipping down my tender waist,
Settling there first…
Before resting at the arches of my feet.
Where can a young woman go to bury the shame?
The self-ridicule bred from gender role expectations.
Where is her freedom to choose, to decide,
To live?
Without the image of a womb
Held directly above her face.
A reminder of her duty,
A reinforcer of her purpose.
To some,
I am a walking blasphemy.
To others,
65
I am only a coward.
I refuse to accept such accusations,
But still,
I cannot deny them…
They are mere conclusions
Lacking insight and rationality.
They are analyzations without direction,
Without evidence,
They possess only one narrow perspective.
Still,
They may never instill fear,
Nor infringe on my independence.
I am not just a woman,
But a human being.
An individual embedded with experiences,
Horrifying to fragile.
I am beautiful without your approval.
A non-complacent,
Broken,
Hard headed damsel.
Without your consent,
I am still a woman.
Forever persistent to defend my significance
In a world paying no mind to consideration.
A world,
I refuse to fall in line with.
66
Classic Burlesque in Contemporary Style
A One on One Conversation with Annabella Lugosi Annabella Lugosi, founder of The
Scarlet Darlings, has her brown and fuchsiadyed locks in modern, made-to-look-classic,
grey and red curlers. She is getting ready for
our interview, and photo-shoot, where we
will be talking about her perception of femininity and burlesque dancing. I scan the
room for what is feminine and wonder if this
gorgeous dancer has managed to unite the
by Viktoria Valenzuela
1940s classic ideals of beauty with modern
femininity.
“Burlesque is about all of us having
a good time. That’s what the spirit of burlesque was. The ‘40s war men wanted to escape
war and enjoy themselves. I try to keep that
fun aspect to the shows,” says Lugosi.
Daniela Riojas, photographer (and
founder of The Arts United Magazine), and
photos by Daniela Riojas
I are enjoying Lugosi’s romantic home, in
San Antonio, Texas. The walls are beige with
white crown molding. Flowers accentuate the
space in ornate vases. A large print of A Midsummer Night’s Eve bows over a figurines of
Mujeres, from a Dia de los Muertes celebration, on the mantle. A Virgin Mary candle,
and a few pink and white aroma candles, grace us with sweet aromas of roses and vanilla
67
bean. I am taken back in time by a black art
deco ceramic bowl filled with deep red, organic, cherries on the coffee table; reminiscent
of a grandmother’s post-WWII era crystal
candy dishes that used to hold hard candies.
Lugosi pulls out dresses from a closet in a room at the center of the apartment.
“Burlesque is about all of us having a good
time. That’s what the spirit of burlesque was.”
Riojas suggests a fiery red dress or a bright
yellow one. She pulls out a small yellow chiffon dress, with off the shoulder ruffles and
a billowing skirt, knee length. We smile in
unison, because we know we are about to see
a lot of really great dresses. Next to emerge
from the bursting closet, a black and yellow
dress. It is sleeveless, with ruffles around the
plunging neckline of a Nehru collar. Then,
68
whoosh, she pulls forth a red 1940s cotton
day-wear dress, with a high collar yet plunging V-neckline. Just as I am about to suggest
something in evening wear or lingerie, POW!
Lugosi brings out a red floor length sequin
dress from the bed room. Then, a silky hot
pink dress that comes with matching gloves
and shoes.
She models the dress, complete with
single raised eyebrow and pouty lip, suggesting that this IS the dress. It’s perfect. Riojas
and I agree! When Lugosi reappears, dressed, we gasp at the bright vision she is. A silken pink ruffle drapes down one side of the
dress, from the curve of her hip, to the floor;
elegant and feminine. Perhaps, this giddy feeling lingers within us from playing dress-up
as a children. And part of femininity seems
to require fashion sense... and silk, and lace.
Who can say for certain? All I know is, we
three ladies were beyond eager to pick the
perfect outfit for the photo shoot: a sister-
hood in couture.
What makes this scenario so feminine? Is it the fact that women are consulting
with women, or is this merely a model confirming with her photographer? I suspect it is a
little of both. Riojas sweeps the floor of dust,
while Lugosi re-pins her ringlets at the back
of her head. A soft music from the bedroom
is playing random music selections that range from new indie punk rock sounds back to
old Hollywood tunes from the 1940s and 50s.
“Stylistically, most recently, the
Scarlet Darlings did a 70’s themed show. So,
we accommodate to the music between the
1930s to the 50s fashion, for the most part...
to keep up with the period. I shop in thrift
stores and ‘Frankenstein’ (those) prom dresses, galore.”
Lugosi’s shoes are bathed in pink
and white sequins, the dress rises up in the
back, just enough to show off her calves as
she sits. As alluring as that is, one can’t help
but notice tattoos that zig-zag across her calf
muscles of pink ballerina ribbons, tied in
bows, just below the pit of her knees. One on
each leg. Above the ribbon it reads, “Scarlet
Darlings”.
“I picked the name ‘Scarlet Darlings’
because it was daring. I didn’t want to go with
with something stereotypical that includes
the name dolls. I wanted a good solid name.
It came to me like a light bulb. It was perfect
and stuck with me. It creates the cute and
sultry aspect,” says Lugosi.
In 2009, The Scarlet Darlings came
into being when Lugosi felt she wanted see
burlesque in SA and wanted her own troop.
At 17, she’d attended her first burlesque show
called Tease-o-rama, where dancers, Tempest
Storm and Betty Page were performing. The
only troop forming at that time was Stars and
Garters, but she wanted to start showing in
places more accessible and to a wider audience.
70
“I like that burlesque is not just
girls, there is such a thing as Boy-lesque, I
like that it’s empowering to women and creates equality. Where we hold all the cards. Not
so many years ago we didn’t and now we do...
and it creates equality –It creates a balance.
It is about entertainment. Don’t take yourself
too seriously.” Lugosi has a lot to say about
the craft of burlesque dancing and her experimentation in its many forms. In one show
she started the show dressed as a man and
ended as a woman.
“That performance was inspired
when I heard this song from The Runaways...
and I saw Joan Jett walking down the street.
I started thinking about it and debuted it at
Our Night in Old Hollywood [event] . I went
to a Goodwill (store) and bought a suit and
hat. I came on stage wearing a mustache. I
wore suspenders and a hat and the big reveal
is when I put the hat back on. It gets a lot
of cheers. I take my mustache off and put it
show their bodies. It is a lot more emotional
than physical. I help them choreograph, so
they are confident. I critique them and rehearse with them... make them feel comfortable with the routine. I make their costume
and pick music, if they need that. A lot of my
girls are now traveling nation wide.
on my crotch. It incorporates the sultry and
funny which is the heart of burlesque.”
Do girls join The Scarlet Darlings to change
their body image?
Yes, and I try to help them. I’ve gone through
so many performers, I am kind of the momma bear. I guide the performers and let them
go their way, not that they have to go but they
make their own path. I modeled myself after
the old performers and teach confidence, because it is a strip tease. I know a lot of girls
who really want to be comfortable enough to
Would you say about burlesque to the
world?
It’s not about what the men think it is about
what other girls think of you. It is just as important to boost self confidence. It does please both sexes.
What elements have you brought with you
to this millennium, specifically?
Well for instance, there is a movement called
neo-burlesque that involves gore, fire eating,
blood... but I like to do classic dancing, classic
music, jazz... preferably, a live band. I want to
remain true to classic burlesque. I research
their costume making. I try very hard to recreate the 40s style burlesque.
How is this form of classic burlesque fairing with the audience?
I think it is doing extremely well. We are not
in competition, and is popular among older
people, but younger people think of this as
a fad. They are drawn to the new forms, but
are not as appreciative of the classic form. We
try to do shows around the nation. We want
to make sure that the neo-burlesque doesn’t
take over what we are trying to represent.
When you are thinking of, or shopping for,
your next act or dance what elements are a
must?
The costume must be able to come off as
easily as possible. I need it to look like one
piece but be able to come off. It must look
seamless. I try to make sure my song cho-
Mission statement for The Scarlet Darlings: To all my darlings, I am pleased to bring the beauty
and a passion for the art form to SA. Pinup photos, mentoring events and burlesque. We know this is not going
to pay our bills. There are so many performers that we will not be able to make money to live on. I love it as an
art form. They respect the original performers and they empowered us as women now. If it weren’t for them we
might not be able to vote. Be comfortable in your own skin and not tear yourself down. If you love it do it. If
it makes you happy don’t let anything stand in your way. I made a lot of sacrifices to get to where I am but don’t
regret any of it.
71
reography and costume are all in sync... and
shimmer is key.
The lights are set for the photo
shoot. Music coming from the next room is
playing the song, I Enjoy Being a Girl. Lugosi admits that this is her favorite song for
a dance routine. “I want this song/dance to
be-,” she opens her hands wide to the space
above and below her in a sweeping, graceful,
gesture, “I act it out... and wear a very foofroo
dress. I pull out the petticoats. I put on make
up while I’m doing it. The audience likes it.”
Lugosi turns to pose for the camera.
Her eyes are heavily winged with black eyeliner and her eyeshadow is of subtle smokey
tones. Her back is arched, legs wrapped in
fuchsia silk and tattoos. In classic pin-up
girl fashion, her ruby red lips are positioned
slightly apart, smiling. This is femininity according to Scarlet Darling, Annabella Lugosi.
72