Dykeumentary

I made the video “It Gets Better, Rural Dykes” because Camille sent me a link to the project the day after it started. I thank her for that. She knows how the issue of suicide, and deaths of lesbians in general, have been at the core of my artistic and political work. Also, I’ve been intimidated with threats of violence my whole life, and I’ve been queer-bashed three times. I’m so glad a famous gay person like Dan Savage decided to get mad about intimidation, violence, and suicide.
Here’s a link to a video I made after my lesbian friend Monique killed herself.
Here’s a link to a video I made after I tried to kill myself.
And here’s a link to a video I made about how my gender got “treated” at the psych hospital.
And all these videos are possible because my lesbian friend Sherry — who killed herself — and I taught ourselves how to make videos using the pause button on a VCR hooked up to a bulky VHS camera.
I also published an essay about Sherry’s funeral, and how they “straightened her up in her coffin” for the book “Experiments In A Jazz Aesthetic: Art, Activism, Academia, and the Austin Project” written by Dr. Omi Osun Joni L. Jones, Sharon Bridgforth and Lisa L Moore.

So, yeah, I Care about this issue. I know the snarks at the snotty “queer-er than thou” websites are all like “oooh, we don’t like Dan Savage” and “oooh, show us the money” but fuck them, and all the nay-sayers. Nothing is as easy (yet unsexy!) or as boring as being a smug “aggregator” who only can criticize. No amount of “we are right, and you’re not” will bring back my friends, so poo-poo’ers should shut the hell up. And think up something original.

So through the “It Gets Better” project ” you can buy the book and send it to the school of your choice. I suggest you do this. I am an haggard old butch. When I was trying to figure out how to be gay in the 1980s, the only resource I had was the public library’s copies of The Village Voice “personal ad section”. You can imagine how applicable those ads were to me, living in Iowa and working as a janitor. …… NOT. For example: “White Gay Woman seeks White gay woman. No Butches. Manhattan only. Professional only.” or ” White Gay Woman seeks Professional Gay Woman. Discreet Only. Straight-acting only.”

Also, as I said before, so many gay men my age are dead. Dead. They died of AIDS when I was having the same amount of sex that they were. Who knows what good they could have done, or whom they could have parented, or mentored. So if you know someone who died of AIDS, in memory of them send a copy of this book to the school of your choice. Or if you live in– or are from– a rural area, it is really important that kids can secretly go into the stacks and read this book. Or if they are like me, they will steal it. All the more reason to donate multiple copies!

Here’s how to send it to your school, even if you’ve never darkened their door at a reunion. Blech!!! Oh, sweet Revenge!