''Do you wanna see me naked lover? Do you want to peek underneath the cover?'' These lyrics from a leaked Lady Gaga track, ''Burqa,'' as I learned from a gay Muslim friend, provoked the blogger at Post Modern Veil (PMV) to write, ''Why is it that white pop stars are so unoriginal that they have to ridicule, mock and appropriate other cultures to garner attention?'' Thus our summer of protest and boycott yields a culture clash. Let's have a peek.
PMV says, ''Lady Gaga is an American cultural icon, and thereby, an extension of the imperialist and capitalist propaganda industry of the USA. Gaga's obsession with Muslim women … is strategic and in line with America's foreign policy, militaristic endeavors and orientalist understandings of the Muslim other…."
Wow, thanks for sharing! PMV translates Gaga's statement supporting LGBT Russians, ''We will fight for your freedom,'' as ''We will bomb the oppression out of you.'' This is an easy mistake to make; I blame the grenade dress.
Much of PMV's screed has as little to do with Gaga as the song itself has to do with the lives of women who wear burqas. Blogger and singer are each advancing an agenda. In Gaga's case, she reduces the burqa to a fetish object, a tool of self-promotion that exoticizes rather than examines.
But set aside pop singers who exploit other people's lives to strike revolutionary poses. PMV's invective is about more than a cheesy demo from a shock artist. If criticizing other countries' mistreatment of women is a form of cultural imperialism, that suggests misogyny is okay as long as it's part of your culture, and human rights defenders are neo-colonialists.
No. We can respect religious diversity while disagreeing with particular practices. I criticize the French for prohibiting religious veiling, just as I criticize governments that require it. But dress codes are not the only issue. There is a wide range of policies, many of them pre-Islamic, regarding women in the Muslim world. To weigh in usefully, we must study both lives and laws. For example, veiled women in America often encounter hostile stares and police stops; but they enjoy constitutional protections unavailable to dissenters in many nations.
It is fair to ask Americans concerned about the rights of Muslim women to begin with Saudi Arabia, whose repression receives American subsidies. Hypocrisy is a poor beginning for a global conversation. But it is hardly better to begin with a ritual branding of all things Western as oppression. Speaking of which, are Western science and medicine also to be rejected? That would be like driving off a cliff to avoid an accident.
Neither the West nor Islam is monolithic. Calling unwelcome messages ''propaganda'' infantilizes people in the global South who willingly partake of American culture. A marketing campaign is not a military invasion. Aggressive advertising cannot long conceal an inferior product, any more than angry sloganeering changes minds.
As for unsolicited expressions of solidarity, the question is whether we bother to consult those we seek to help, such as Islamic feminists. As for appropriation, whether of ideas or music, it occurs in both directions when different cultures collide. A better question is whether a particular act of appropriation is done well or poorly.
My late colleague Frank Kameny used to say, ''What the world needs is more and better blasphemy.'' I would put it less provocatively, but Frank was right. One person's free speech is another person's sacrilege. We cannot square that circle. Attempting to police offensive religious or cultural critiques, as some liberal countries do, falls afoul of America's First Amendment, which allows vigorous religious and political disagreement. I think America is better for that. So call me names.
Richard J. Rosendall is a writer and activist. He can be reached at rrosendall@starpower.net.
...moreFor the first time in history, the Supreme Court has opened the door for same-sex married couples to receive federal tax-related benefits previously available only to opposite-sex couples, including income-tax benefits, estate- and gift-tax benefits, and taxpayer-friendly employee benefits.
But as much as the LGBT community is proud of the repeal, all that glitters is not necessarily gold when it comes to the promise of new benefits, warns the Capital Area Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, aka the Chamber.
John Caldwell
(Photo by Todd Franson)
While the Court's historic 5-4 ruling on June 26 striking down key provisions the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) will pave the way for marriage equality for millions, the route to marital bliss also leads through Uncle Sam's byzantine, sometimes hair-pulling, bureaucracy governing marriage-related tax benefits.
The issues may be complicated, but married same-sex couples – or those planning to marry – shouldn't fear tax-related headaches. The Chamber's next Business Matters Lunch session, Aug. 23, will help you cut through the bureaucratic red tape and focus on exactly what the death of DOMA means for your marriage and financial future.
''With this seminar, we hope to address issues experienced by Virginia, Maryland and D.C. residents moving into states where same-sex marriage and partnerships aren't recognized, as well as potential amendment of previously filed tax returns in states that do,'' says John Caldwell, managing partner of Malvin, Riggins & Company P.C., a tax and accounting firm that is sponsoring the session. ''There's a lot of conflicting information out there, and we're going to cut through any confusion.''
For same-sex couples, married or otherwise, the further ramifications of DOMA's death are just beginning to appear: Beyond taxes are obvious considerations for domestic-partner benefits, past contributions to Social Security and Medicare, future benefits, as well as overall finances and estate/trust matters. Indeed, whether you are partnered, single, legally married or somewhere in between, every family situation is different – and the Chamber wants to help.
The beauty of the Business Matters Lunch series, like all of the Chamber's events, is that it focuses on the specific needs of the LGBT business community. Caldwell counsels attendees to ''be prepared with questions on issues that affect you directly,'' as much of the hour will be a well-structured, formal question-and-answer session. Caldwell, a full-service tax and accounting specialist, boasts more than 20 years of experience and expertise in individual, business and estate/trust tax preparation and consulting, payroll services for businesses of all sizes, bookkeeping and financial statement preparation (audits, reviews and compilations), retirement planning, IRS representation, wealth management and much more. Both Caldwell and Malvin, Riggins & Co. work throughout the LGBT community and are familiar with the unique needs of LGBT couples. The company is also experienced in providing tax solutions to community and nonprofit organizations.
The Chamber's Business Matters Lunch (BML) series, a monthly gathering in the heart of Washington, consistently brings together experts on various topics with members of the LGBT community to provide ''an educational forum and daytime networking opportunity dedicated to small business issues and leaders.'' The BML series is open to the public, and reservations may be made for a small fee. Lunch is included with each registration. Learn more about the Chamber's BML series and reserve your spot online at caglcc.org/upcomingevents.
Brennan Gamwell is a D.C.-based communications and marketing manager and freelance writer. Learn more about his work at brennangamwell.com.
Winner of the 2012 NGLCC Chamber of the Year Award, the Chamber means business. For more information, visit caglcc.org.
...moreDid you know Barbra Streisand built an underground shopping mall at her Malibu, Calif., home? The stores display the many clothes and collectibles she's acquired over the decades.
Buyer and Cellar: Michael Urie
(Photo by Sandra Coudert)
No, that is not a joke. Playwright Jonathan Tolins took that little factual detail, as revealed and documented in Streisand's 2010 book My Passion for Design, and ran with it, creating a whole one-man show exploring what it might be like to work for her down there. The result, the hilariously entertaining -- but also touching -- Buyer & Cellar, is as imaginative as you might expect, but it's also utterly realistic. Everything that transpires just seems so plausible, and so true to what we know of Streisand as a celebrity and as a human being. Aiding the cause is actor Michael Urie, probably best known as Marc St. James from ABC's Ugly Betty. Urie plays Alex More, an out-of-work actor hired to work in Streisand's basement mall. He eventually becomes chummy with his ''best customer'' Streisand -- so much so that he helps her rehearse scenes from Gypsy, as she hopes to take on the role of Mama Rose (or ''Grandma Rose,'' in the hilarious assessment of More's boyfriend).
As a one-man show Urie portrays all the characters -- though he never changes his outward appearance, sporting the same boyish good looks as well as T-shirt and jeans throughout. Urie is so particularly good at channeling the mannerisms, even the spirit, of Streisand that to put him in any kind of drag would have ruined the experience. Tolins, you see, elevates his exercise in diva worship here -- because at heart, that is what Buyer & Cellar is -- by keeping it above the plane of caricature. Streisand naturally comes in for her share of criticism -- Hello, we are talking about a woman who built a mall in her basement! -- but it's all out of love. Urie touchingly portrays her as a living, breathing human being, one in serious need of human connection and simple kindness.
You just want to give her a hug.
Buyer & Cellar runs to Dec. 29 at New York's Barrow Street Theatre, 27 Barrow St. Tickets are $75 to $95. Call 212-868-4444 or visit barrowstreettheatre.com.
...moreA federal judge today overruled the American evangelical minister's request to dismiss an international lawsuit contending that Lively violated human rights by stoking the antigay climate in Uganda.
America's Survival Inc. thinks Fox's Megyn Kelly isn't antigay enough to take over Sean Hannity's time slot on the network.
- Sponsors -
No comments:
Post a Comment