Disqus - Latest Comments for melissa

Re: Sex Work in 2013: No Debate

melissa — Tue, 31 Dec 2013 17:46:34 -0000

Of course! (And thanks for being awesome.)

Re: Sex Work in 2013: No Debate

melissa — Tue, 31 Dec 2013 14:08:22 -0000

I love your piece. What a wonderful tribute to Carlos, too.

Re: Nicholas Kristof: Half The Sky, All The Credit

melissa — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 11:00:17 -0000

And I should add -- the actions in the West Village? Led to the formation of FIERCE (http://www.fiercenyc.org/), a community organization founded and led by queer and trans youth of color, who have been incredibly successful organizing in New York and nationally.

And the actions to target sexually oriented businesses? In the late 70's, that's what galvanized the sex workers' rights movement in the US, and fed consciousness-raising efforts in sex worker communities. (It was also a time when some second wave feminists supported sex workers' rights. I was amazed to find really solid defenses of sex workers' rights in the writing coming out of the Wages For Housework campaigns in the late 70's – women who did not do sex work supporting the organizing led by sex workers, and opposing police repression of sex workers. They lent their analysis and support and their ability to call out cops as people with generally more power than sex workers had. And they didn't try -- as far as I have seen in these archives -- to steer sex workers' own agendas. Powerful stuff, and a great model.)

Re: Nicholas Kristof: Half The Sky, All The Credit

melissa — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 10:40:07 -0000

That's a really fair, important, and huge question. And I want to answer it, and ask others to weigh in, too.

But in (extreme) brief: I'm an advocate for self-centered activism. I am. I think it's incredibly effective. I look at ACT UP, led by people living with HIV, supported by allies. I look at the movements to de-stigmatize breast cancer (before they were overtaken by pink ribbon profiteering). I look at the organization I first did sex worker rights work with – a women's welfare organization, founded and led by four low-income women.

Activism is incredibly powerful when it comes from a place of our own experience, our own stakes, own own skin in the game.

The thing that's difficult is -- we all have some power at stake in these issues. And it can be incredibly difficult for people to face that. I remember the feminist foundation I worked at, and I remember how much harder it was to get some people to fund feminist activism in the United States, rather than in India or South Africa. I think it's because for an American woman to even write a check to an American organization, it implicates her in the power relations at hand. It draws attention to the fact that (in this case) young women a few towns away from her were going without sex ed, were going without health care, were experiencing violence in their schools and homes -- and she was not.

Do I want that woman not to write a check? No, please, write your check. We need it.

But also ask -- what power do you have, that those you seek to "help" do not? How can you be an actor in your activism? How can you hold yourself accountable and use that power differently?

I think of the well-off residents of the West Village in New York, a historically gay neighborhood, organizing to kick queer and trans kids, and mostly queer and trans kids of color, out of the neighborhood, citing "quality of life" issues, not getting the T in GLBT, not getting the connections.

I think of women's rights activists who want to kick porn shops and sex work businesses out of populous areas in cities, not understanding that isolating sex workers puts them at risk.

Not understanding the power we bring to our activism is what leads to these "unintended" consequences. And that's at the core of what pushes me (and others) to want to hold Kristof to account.

Re: Nicholas Kristof: Half The Sky, All The Credit

melissa — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 11:34:36 -0000

"Sure he's naive about the role of capitalism in eradicating gender inequality."

You nailed it. And no, it's not trashing someone to point that out. And yes, I'd gladly point it out in person.

Re: Nicholas Kristof: Half The Sky, All The Credit

melissa — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 14:10:27 -0000

It's a fair point, Rachel, though I can't speak with 100% certainty as to the race, ethnicity, and economic status of each person whose piece we linked to.

In my piece on Kristof (which we linked), I do link and quote Cambodian sex workers' testimonies on raids and rescues. The Asia Pacific Network of Sex Workers have produced several videos about the impact of anti-trafficking policies in their communities, and are tweeting furiously about Half The Sky, as well, at http://twitter.com/apnsw

Re: http://queershoulder.tumblr.com/post/22145893457

melissa — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:59:35 -0000

Make an appointment ASAP with the Genius Bar, or just take it in and wait. You should not have to pay for it (if you are under warranty still or have Apple Care). Go go go!

Re: The Soapbox: On SXSW’s “Homeless Hotspots” And Trolling For Charity

melissa — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 12:56:27 -0000

I don't doubt that people who can't find work because the economy is collapsing around them like making some money. That's not my issue.

But it only serves BBH's brand to pretend that this project has any impact aside from making a few people at SXSW feel like they "did something." And getting us talking about BBH.

Re: http://melissa.tumblr.com/post/18963140806

melissa — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 19:12:07 -0000

How would you like to be included?

Re: http://fever.toomuchparanoias.com/post/1159327343

melissa — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 11:18:20 -0000

here is the paper...

http://www.winter-company.c...

Wibalin Finelinen in Gray.

I want to live in it, too.

Re: http://eversonpoe.tumblr.com/post/1059720366

melissa — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:27:14 -0000

It's the NYC Sex Bloggers 2010 Calendar. Out of print as far as I know?

http://www.sexbloggercalend...

Re: Kickstartup — Successful Fundraising with Kickstarter & the (re)making of Art Space Tokyo — Craig Mod

melissa — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 22:30:56 -0000

Just stunning. We just got our Kickstarter-community funded book back from the printer and are spinning and reeling and getting asked quite a bit how to do this.

In some ways, I was glad to strike out & launch a Kickstarter project w/o running math -- our book was up in the first six months of the site, and so it felt like there was no way to go wrong really. It's not just luck, I knew. And it's not just science. But it is a sort of new power people want to understand. This breakdown makes me understand what we did better than we even understood at the time.

Re: http://meaghano.com/post/523545633

melissa — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 19:27:33 -0000

It means we accept that we are publishers and toss our hat in the fucking ring.

Re: http://meaghano.com/post/434881673

melissa — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:30:08 -0000

(How rabbit devours hair..! it's like an Angela Chase flashback to my former bob self...)

Re: because it's important to support the arts

melissa — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:17:25 -0000

This! Yes!

Also I think we all met because of Warren Ellis (lover of womynkind, only don't tell him I said that).

Re: http://sexpigeon.org/post/387615438

melissa — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 14:38:32 -0000

If that butter is c. 2008, just blame me. (Ask Tag.)

Re: http://fictionalhistories.tumblr.com/post/278510218

melissa — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 23:58:58 -0000

Your tags are priceless.

Re: Hot Piece of Ass: Eva Mendes | The Frisky

melissa — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 18:08:29 -0000

Awesome article. <a href="http://hintcafe.com/askamy/...">Breaking up</a> in the world of social networking can be tricky. Its pretty hard to avoid seeing photos of ex's with common friends on facebook.

Re: Unfollow Friday - meaghano

melissa — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 00:57:47 -0000

Dude, you got it backwards. I rip meaghano! GLADLY.

Re: Too Much Awesome. - We all have somebody that we can point to online...

melissa — Sun, 24 May 2009 14:38:08 -0000

Aww! *Awkwaaaaaard!*

Re: Too Much Nick

melissa — Sun, 17 May 2009 20:35:46 -0000

La di da!

Re: Too Much Nick

melissa — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 01:19:53 -0000

http://www.amazon.com/WowWe...

Just a robot baby tiger, no big deal.

Re: Too Much Nick

melissa — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 19:45:53 -0000

FIXED

Re: Too Much Nick

melissa — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 21:22:37 -0000

Nicholas Fierce!

Re: Too Much Nick

melissa — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:19:22 -0000

I swear I might have gone to college with her. Shannon?