Further Reading on Arizona

To get a better sense of the Tucson Mexican American Studies program and its shut-down:

A list of books banned by Tucson Unified School District (TUSD). (This web site has extensive coverage of the shut-down. Click around if you are interested.)

The Arizona Ethnic Studies Network, which supports the Mexican American Studies program closed by HB 2281.

Sandra Soto's article, co-authored with legal scholar Miranda Joseph, Neoliberalism and the Battle over Ethnic Studies in Arizona. The article recounts how Soto's 2010 Convocation Speech at University of Arizona College of Social and Behavioral Sciences was met with anti-Mexican racism by "injured" audience members who, like the law HB2281, would remove any mention of race or ethnicity from even the supposedly intellectually open and politically productive space of the University.

Borderlands 2

Post your comments on the reading from Borderlands/La Frontera below.

A Donkey Knows More Than You

(Hey y'all, Daniel here. Josh couldn't post his blog post due to technical difficulties, so I posted it for him instead. The following is a blog post from Josh Martinez.)

My 10 year old cousin told my tia that she didn't like mexicans.

As I think of her now, I am filled with a strange sense of recognition and pain. Her pretty bright blue eyes, blonde curly hair (like her mother's), and pale skin.

How would she even have a clue?

My introduction to my own mother culture was actually a similar experience, though notably separate. I recall at one point asking my mother if I we were white.

My mom has dark, thick, wavy hair that I've seen roll to her shoulders or, when her taste changed, would lay obediently at her chin in straight-ironed falls. Her dark eyes I've seen simmer with pride or in anger but always with a strength that paralyses. And her skin a shade like mine, not quite white, but weda.

My mother told me to check Hispanic in the little box. She told me that we were american. And that really was the extent of it. Even now, my understanding of my culture is full of holes and patchworks.

From what I understand of my own family tree, I'm third generation american. My grandparents were born in San Antonio where they went to public school. The building where my grandfather went to school still stands, out in a small patch of land on the outskirts of Losoya, where my tias y tios still live and where I've popped fireworks every July 4th and New Year's Eve with cousins while the men drink and cook and the women talk and fuss over the children. My grandmother has told me stories about picking okra as a young girl, and how to this day she hates the smell of coffee because it awoke her to another morning in a field. More stories about cruel teachers who would "discipline" kids who spoke spanish during class or at lunch or in the halls. But also happy stories about football games, or sock-hops, while fishing through an old yearbook. To this day my grandmother rarely speaks spanish to me while my mother knows enough to get by, and what's left in me are terms of endearment and slang.

What I'm getting at here is that I know what Anzaldúa is saying when she talks aboutmujer mala. Though I am male, I feel I have an appreciation of cultural tyranny. I've been called white boy, wedo, gringo. I've been lectured for not knowing spanish. I've had spanish been used to exclude me from conversations, and I've been made to feel guilty from Latinos for assimilation. What choice did I have? Three years of public school spanish taught me numbers and a, e, i, o, u el burrito sabe mas qué tú.

My sister was born May 2005 and has a beautiful mocha shade across her face. While reading this week's text, I thought of mi hermanita. I doubt she will have any idea about a shadow-beast within her, she will be strong and won't take that kind of crap, but I do wonder about her self-identity.Borderlands gives me something I wish for her, a female rite of defiance to cultural change. La Chingada (or Malintzin) seems to me a patron saint for rebellious women, and while she did betray her race and helped the Spanish eliminate much, if not all, of the Aztlán people, it makes for a very interesting mini-series I'm thinking about writing and pitching to Showtime, who you can always count on to shamelessly include sex and violence exactly where it belongs. 

Close, yet Alien.

You’ll forgive me, I hope, if I begin with a bit of prose.

But I once knew a girl who reminded me of sage and mesquite, yet tried to always cover it in a musk of pink roses. Some days, the roses were white, though I could always see their browning edges. She wasn’t like those soft, tame petals that were as silken as filly noses. She wasn’t covered in dagger-ish thorns blatantly worn, nor did she flirt with elegant strangers decorated in pearls.

She pretended, of course, with all her will and finesse, though I’m not convinced she ever did cast us away. She was not afraid of going home, but of being forced to stay there. She expected its rejection, its confirmation that she would be nothing (as well she should be) and that was something she could never forgive. But she was never quite able to forsake that smooth, dark smell of wilder places that were so uncouth in her circle of rosy friends.

She broke my heart.

What is so wrong with our sagebrush and mesquite that pearls and roses can destroy them? Why did embracing the wilderness mean being tamed? Couldn’t we be wild in this wild place and still be loved?

We met a small borderland of our own, my family being from New England and hers being rooted in the Texas hill country. When we first met as children, she couldn’t speak a single word of English and I certainly didn’t know Spanish, but we managed to figure out hide-and-seek with little effort. I suppose we each wanted what the other had, too. I thought she was exotic, mysterious, and I couldn’t fathom why she would ever want what I had. She wanted the American Dream, whatever that may be: a normal, nuclear family with a very cushioned lifestyle. She wanted to be normal. I didn’t.

In retrospect, neither of us had ever understood the other, and that ended in a pile of broken glass.

We both had Catholic families. We both received the same messages that La Frontera discusses. The three, possibly four choices women have as they drift through this world. That men are like children, like animals, even when women are portrayed as carnal, too (17). Why did we see each other so differently? She thought I had a perfect, calm life, I thought she had a perfectly adventurous one. What we didn’t see is that we were stuck with the same cultures swirling in and out of each other, where commonality seemed to be alien.

The article was frustrating. It was frustrating because I don’t know Spanish, forcing me to seek out an old friend to ask desperately to help me understand. It was frustrating because it told me about repressions I already feel, from a destiny of a mother and wife to being told that my entire nature is not appropriate for this world. It was frustrating because it made me feel like I don’t belong to this land, that I don’t belong to Texas or a movement or a plight. It made me feel very close and very alien. The same feeling I always had with her. Close, yet alien.

In one swoop, one quote illustrated all of these frustrations for me. “For the lesbian of color, the ultimate rebellion she can make against her native culture is through her sexual behavior.” (page 19)

Is it only the lesbian of color who can rebel in this fashion and with such atrocity to her native culture? What ‘ultimate rebellion’ can the white (?) lesbian make? Is all of this perhaps closer to religion, region, class which cultures perpetuate along racial lines, along borderlands? Can we ever accept each other?

Who are we, anyways?

Gay Liberation, Limits of Identity

Comment below on the reading from Annmarie Jagose's Queer Theory: An Introduction.

Tragic Bitches

Comment below on the selections of poetry from Tragic Bitches: An Experiment in Queer Xicana & Xicano Performance Poetry.

Memories and Movies

“This would be a great movie!” I thought to myself as I ended the last few pages of Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin.

Pretty much at a loss for words, I had to sit and ponder what it would be like to be David and hide my sexuality when all I really want to do inside is feel warm and cozy.  As I finished the book another thought that popped in my head was, no wonder “they” use to think being gay was a disease or mental illness in earlier times. David and his personality is the perfect definition of why exactly that thought even occurred.

Enough of my tangent on movies and crazy people, to tie this into a class discussion, the ending section of this book reminded my heavily on the presentation we just had of Heather Love and the feeling of “Backwardness.” David showed signs of not only going backwards by sleeping with another woman to make himself feel better but also of shame and guilt by succumbing to the same act of going back to Hella. To feel this low, this disgusted by the thought of your own self-loving someone else is truly a heartbreaking thought to think about. Giovanni, towards the end of the book reminded me of a lonely child; jumping from one person to the next because he needed someone. A sense of belonging is what I truly got that Giovanni wanted, when maybe all along it was simply to be loved by David.  Who knows? Signs of an unhealthy relationship are written all over the two. The whole story, through its ups and downs was an even more romanticized version of “your first encounter of the gay world” and “your first love” all tied into one. No matter how much you might want to forget your “first” time doing whatever, with that one person who broke your heart; at the end of the day, its something that you will carry with you for the rest of your life. Even if all you want to do is forget it.

Remember how you felt when you told him or her you first liked them? Loved them? Remember when you kissed? Memories are what this book is made up of and for David and Giovanni you can’t get the good without the bad.

(sorry for the late post, I had publishing issues)

what did David wanted from Hella and Giovanni?

I suspected that the conclusion of the story of David would end in a bad way. I was especially left baffled due to the fact that there was no foreshadowing of the sudden death of Guillaume. I understand there were some love interests going on between David, Guilliaume, Giovanni and Jacques. I assumed Jacques was jealous of secret encounters between David and Giovanni. However, the chapter five revealed that Guilliaume had something going on and eventually been holding grudge on Giovanni for Guilliaume couldnt earn the love of Giovanni like David did. Out of rage and being betrayed by David, Giovanni unleashed his anger at Guilliaume. I think in this sense, Guilliaume is an unfortunate victim.

In chapter four, I found some series of evidences that argues Giovanni honestly loved David. Like in p.144, David explains,

“Then something opened in my brain, a secret, noiseless door swung open, frightening me: it had not occurred to me until that instant that, in fleeing from his body, I confirmed and perpetuated his body's power

over me”.

This powerful force which even David can't resist was constantly emanating from Giovanni, who couldnt stand against how Hella was taking David back. It even made David's head turning and making, “salt in my(David's) mouth.” (p 148) I know for sure that when Hella left David for Spain, David felt no remorse toward how he had treated Hella, who genuinely loved David as much as Giovanni did. Therefore, I know David was just playing nice to Hella out of sympathy. But it is pretty evident that David wasn't feeling for her. As soon as David succumbs to his true emotions about men, he disguises and resort to 'double' relationship with Hella and Giovanni. I believe this two relationships served David with both emotional attachment and sexual feelings. In short, David, who had gone some troubled years previously, wanted a steady partner whether a man and woman, and neither Hella nor Giovanni could provide.

Giovanni's Room 2

Comment below on Giovanni's Room.

Paper 1: Rainy Nights in Harlem

The following essay was one of the most successful Paper 1's. Check out how the formal analysis of diction and rhyme supports an insightful argument about the speaker's desire to change.

The Harlem Renaissance gave artists a venue like none that had ever been seen before. African Americans now had an opportunity to explore topics such as feminism, homosexuality, and poverty from their perspectives; perspectives that had often been silenced. Bruce Nugent was one of these writers. Famous for both his art and writings, Nugent had an ability to emphasize what he felt using many techniques throughout his works. In his poem “Pattern for Future Dirges” Nugent uses both vocabulary and rhyme to illustrate his past failed relationships and consequent desires to end that ongoing, unsuccessful cycle.

Throughout Nugent’s sonnet the vocabulary he uses symbolizes not only physical settings, but emotional ones as well. Nugent begins with, “That evening when I met you in the rain” (1). This rainy evening could be looked upon in two ways, the night could actually have been rainy, but furthermore the rain could signify his sentiment at that time. Rain is associated with dreary days, so even if there was literally rain it would have depressed the scene more than if he had emphasized a sunny day. He goes into further detail about this rainy night and how it reminded him of so many other nights before; it was “another of those episodes to [him]” (3). His use of the word episodes in this sentence shows a recurrence of these rainy nights, almost like a pattern. This leads the reader to assume that he has been stuck in these dark, cloudy nights for some time. The word episodes has a minimizing effect on these relationships, or what could even be called late night trysts, which he had participated in. The word makes it seem like he has experienced many one night stands, which he has finally grown weary of. From these he has gotten nothing but sexual satisfaction, and is beginning to yearn for more of a connection. These episodes have little emotion, and are something he does out of frustration or as a momentary release from the darkness of which he is being consumed. But for some reason that night he realized that his, “choreography was uncouth” (10). The basic meaning of this sentence would be that his dance or steps were strange, but in relation to the rest of the poem it shows how on this night, with this particular guy, he realizes how this rain and these nightly encounters have been negatively affecting him. The choreography is his walk or dance through life, which he describes as strange or ill mannered. He shows here that he desires something more, something different, a new way to stomp through life.

Nugent also uses rhyme to explore his ideas. By rhyming particular lines he associates these former lines with others that do not always directly follow, yet both lines are in tune with the same idea or clarify the previous one. The first instance this can be seen is with his first and fourth lines in the poem. The opening first line, “That evening when I met you in the rain” (1), is later completed by, “which seem to happen, happening again” (4). The rhyming of rain and again shows that these two sentences are connected. This rainy meeting on this rainy night is not his first; it has become a frequent occurrence in his life. It also shows his fear that what happened with all those other guys will once again happen on this night. This rhyming sequence is once again shown using uncouth and youth. On the ninth line Nugent, “finds his choreography uncouth” (9), and on the eleventh “So – in the rain I saw your graceful youth” (11). While youth and uncouth rhyme, there is even more evidence to show these sentences are paired by graceful and choreography. Since graceful can be an adjective to describe choreography or dance, it can be assumed that Nugent is saying that he admires this new acquaintances steps. The way he carries himself and moves along with life strikes Nugent as different from the other men, and forces him to think about changing his ways and possibly having a meaningful experience. The eleventh line ending in youth can be linked with the final line of the sonnet, “The future lie I paint with the present truth” (14). While a complex line to understand, rhyming youth and truth allows for an interpretation which would make it possible for this guy to finally be what he was searching for. This youth could be his truth; the one he needed to stop his rain and finally put an end to his life of darkness.

Keeping in mind that authors place every word in a poem for a reason, added formal elements can enhance the readers understanding of the authors message. Nugent’s ability to do this dramatically increases the clarity of the poem, bridging all thoughts at all times. Nugents hope for change on that rainy night was conveyed more powerfully by his rhyming and vocabulary. His choice to place certain words and emphasize others allowed the reader to grasp the loneliness rain can bring.

Paper 1: Thou Art More Queer than a $3 Bill

The following essay was one of the most successful Paper 1's. Check out the light yet confident tone, the use of counterargument to strengthen the argument, and the supporting evidence from other poems and the OED.

The audience to which the famous poet known as ‘The Bard’ was writing to in his Sonnets is a grand enigma. Under critical analysis, gender-specific elements can be inferred, but even the whimsical tone in which Shakespeare wrote was questionable, as was the poet’s historically recorded identity as well. Therefore, one may argue with evidence of Shakespeare’s semantic choices and the context of his other works that the audience in Sonnet 18 is non-gender specific is likely inhuman. This was something intangible that Shakespeare could not write about romantically or erotically.

Sonnet 18 contains a myriad of literary elements that require a close reading to fully be appreciated and understood. In addition to writing in Iambic Pentameter, which is found in nearly all of the Bard’s work, Shakespeare rhymes every other line in an AB pattern until the last two indented lines. These were arguably indented to place emphasis upon what was intended to be the heart of the poem.

The motif of weather recurs often, and could be interpreted as describing a person’s “temperate” (line 2) personality, which is fair and attractive. However, when making the argument that the audience was either male of female, the only evidence that the reader can refer to is the use of the word “lovely” (line 2) and the use of “his” (line 6). According to the Oxford English dictionary, the meaning of the word “lovely” has a wide gamut of meanings, including: kind, attractive, bringing pleasure, morally/spiritually beautiful, or in noun form the word refers to “an attractive and glamorous woman” (‘Lovely’, OED). Sappho also uses this word to describe the audience’s “lovely laughing” (line 5), and a strong argument has been made that her audience was nearly always a woman. However, can we use this one word to assert that Shakespeare was writing to a woman, and possibly even his wife. The use of the words “his golden complexion” could also imply that the subject is a male, unless of course “his” is referring to the sun or even summer itself. One must keep in mind that Shakespeare’s work is the product of a male-dominated, hegemonic society and the default gender pronoun used for strong, powerful things was masculine.

Other works by Shakespeare, such as Sonnet 20, clearly praise “a man in hue” (line 7) and are much more blatant about who they address. Sonnet 18’s ambiguity leads to speculation that perhaps it is more about being in love with the idea of love itself. Shakespeare could have also been referring to a muse of his, as he was very publicly in love with writing. We have been conditioned as a society, however, to assume that all poems must be written for love’s sake. When speculating for eroticism in Sonnet 18, the closest element to innuendo is the mention of “rough winds” that “shake the darling buds of May” (line 3), which could be interpreted as a metaphor for deflowering, or losing one’s innocence. This innuendo would be very inappropriate in the context of the whole poem, however, which has more of an admiring tone.

The most famous playwright in history used his deft grasp on the English language, and the power of enigma to create a text that we can still extract meaning from today. His intention may have been for just that to happen. Shakespeare’s love for said object of desire “grow’st” (line 11) and the poem’s mention of itself, on line 12, states that “this gives life to thee.” As long at this poem is still circulating and being read, Shakespeare’s affair with poetry and the English language lives on. The poet is saluting poetry, and demonstrating the beauty of multiple interpretations that come from such a rich art form.

Bibliography

• "Historic Definition of 'Lovely'" Home : Oxford English Dictionary. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. http://www.oed.com/
• Sappho, and Anne Carson. "Fragment 31." If Not, Winter: Fragments of Sappho. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2002. N. pag. Print
• Shakespeare, William, and Edward Bliss Reed. "Sonnet 18." Shakespeare's Sonnets. New Haven: Yale UP, 1923. N. pag. Print
• Shakespeare, William, and Edward Bliss Reed. "Sonnet 20." Shakespeare's Sonnets. New Haven: Yale UP, 1923. N. pag. Print

Paper 1: Turmoil

The following essay was one of the most successful Paper 1's. Check out the strong organization, the methodical analysis of language, and the way the concept of "turmoil" in queer love (or non-normative desire) ties it all together

A beautiful piece of twisting confusion and reflection, Richard Bruce Nugent’s Sonnet 1 recreates a scene that illuminates more than just a chance encounter. Nugent’s use of imagery to create a feel of loneliness and failure, his repetition of ideas to portray the reoccurrence of these events, and the paradoxical diction that illuminates hopelessness for what may occur between the two men creates a commentary on the turmoil and pain that comes with a non-normative desire and longing.

Flowing imagery attributes greatly to the dark and lonely mood of Nugent’s sonnet. Set at evening, already we are shrouded in shadow, which is then coupled by rain, an even darker setting that closes off the remaining light. By not adding any more detail to the setting, we are simply left standing in a dark rain while he tells us of the figure that has caught his eye. The scene thus has only two beings in it who have yet to speak to one another. In fact, we are not even sure if the other character has yet to notice the narrator, giving an ‘alone’ connection between the two individuals. Setting the scene on a rainy evening with little commentary beyond that leaves one with a solitary feel of the couple. The loneliness is amplified by the imagery of dance that he pulls forth. Dancing, often a happy occurrence full of vibrancy and other people, is made to reflect a solitary stance by comparing only himself in the action. Dancing, too, has a romantic connotation, but again, the narrator is alone. Failure is emulated in this scene, too, by the path of reflection and hesitation the narrator takes. His imagery of an uncouth dance, though continuously fluid, places turmoil into the otherwise smooth scene, especially when coupled with the “refrain”. The idea of a continuous song that emulates a natural order of things danced to with non-fluid, non-normative movements creates an image of discord, the character failing to dance ‘correctly’ and thus failing his appointed role in life. With the shadowy scene set, the pain of these failed encounters comes through crisply, even before his allusions to “another of those episodes”.

With repetition, Nugent not only creates a sense of continuous failure, but also a hopelessness that the narrator seems to ignore as he reflects on this encounter. The second line sets the stage with ‘another of those episodes’, alluding that prior encounters have happened, the next few lines drilling in the idea that this has transpired before and with little success. He still feels an ‘ever-yearning’ and, despite the failure and pain he clearly feels because of these repeated happenings, he continues to search for a fulfillment that seems to be impossible, as his ‘refrain’ and dance indicate. He repeats the idea that these encounters lead to nothing, as well, by stating it is his ‘classic fate’, leaving one to view the scene with hopelessness for the outcome. An understanding that repetition of these occurrences create turbulence within the narrator also helps in comprehending both his longing and hesitation.

The ‘future lie’ as compared with a ‘present truth’ is a beautiful use of paradoxical diction to draw attention to the turmoil Nugent’s poem consists of. The future lie, in this sense, seems to be a future that goes against his constant refrain of ‘It only is as it must be’, a future that holds a satisfied, hopeful end which can’t ever be, while his present truth is the current situation in which he reflects upon the continued, failed occurrences of his short encounters with people. A future lie opposing a present truth is, perhaps, the strongest singular use of Nugent’s paradoxical diction within the sonnet. It pulls the themes of failure, loneliness, hopelessness, and a clear disregard for these ideas together in a way that notes how a queer love or desire can hold such pain and turmoil. However, he uses more subtle comparisons within his poetry that bring to light this same turmoil, such as his ‘choreography uncouth’ while in contrast to the other’s ‘graceful youth’. This creates a feeling that, although the narrator clearly would like to interact with this other, there is a certain discord. The elegance of the other contradicts the sporadic, continuous dance of Nugent, disturbing the idea of queerness and forming a barrier between the two. It calls into question who this other is and if they can speak with one another about such an encounter, again adding to the narrator’s hesitation and dilemma of another failure.

The poem emulates the difficulty of a non-normative desire without having to portray the relationship between an individual of such longings and society itself. The mere reoccurrence of failure and pain discusses the aspects that non-normative relationships tend to have, especially when considering the discrimination that occurred not only to racial minorities but homosexuals in the 1940s when this sonnet was composed. Without discussing more than just a rainy evening and his reflection of the current situation, Nugent clearly states the stinging turmoil that can come with love in a difficult world where, often, queer relationships failed.

Distinguishable Space within a Structure

“But this time when I touched him something happened in him and in me which made this touch different from any touch either of us had ever known” (Baldwin, pgs. 7-8).

It’s hard to ignore from the beginning of the story that David has some repressed feelings that he has trouble expressing. From the moment the reader learns about his first encounter with another man, it is easy to tell that sexuality and sexual identity are going to be reoccurring themes within the story. David is struggling with the fact that he is trying to convince himself that he ‘loves’ women yet is sexually attracted to men. The above quote is an excellent example of this point. How well of a deceiver is David in his attempts at hiding his secret?

When Jacques and David visit Guillaume’s bar and David meets Giovanni, David tries to muster the ability to leave the bar and pick up a woman, but he cannot. Instead he gets pulled into Giovanni’s gravitational force. Throughout the night, he keeps up his mantra of attempting not to lead Giovanni onto the wrong message. To no avail however, they end up sleeping together.  – Seems oddly familiar. Has this happened before? Weren’t Joey and David just hanging out at the beach scamming on babes before they slept with each other? It seems that David has a harder time convincing himself of his non-homosexuality, which is something that others obviously don’t see.

On the topic of David’s sexuality, it seems that he only feels comfortable in others’ rooms. He and Hella have their own room. This seems like just a room, however. When compared to Giovanni’s room, and even Joey’s room for that matter, these rooms seem to act as a refuge for David where he can act himself and not worry about the deceit he lives. (That is until he wakes up the next morning and feels dirty about what he just did, but that’s another topic…)

Personally, as upset as I felt at times with David, I must say that I saw some of myself in him. I’ve always said that my sexuality was fluid, but have only ever dated girls. It wasn’t until recently that a ‘Giovanni’ fell into my own life and was able to pull me out of my room and into another room where I could be myself. Was David happy to be pulled out of his comfort zone and into this new room where he may or may not have felt safe? Only Part II will let us find out. For me however, I can say that if David and I are truly as similar as we seem to be, stumbling into a room you aren’t comfortable with, isn’t always a bad thing. 

Works Cited:

Baldwin, James. “Giovanni’s Room.” New York, NY: Random House, Inc., 1956. 3-71.

I Am White Hetero Man

Isn't it funny that the film student gets to blog about a movie? 

"I say I'm proud to be black, I'm labelled a racist/
I can't be proud of who I am/
I am black woman, black woman I am/
I've been abused through history/
so how dare you say I can't be me/
I've quieted my spirit taking care of your kids/
fed my family and shed no tears/
I am black woman/
To have you tell me what I can and cannot do/
after all the shit you done put me through/
honey quiet down, cause I'm about to read you/
All you see when you look at me/
is tits, color and ass/
Then preach to me about how I should be/
and that I showered in arrogance/
You tell me its not my fault/
for being who I am/
but I am black woman, black woman yes"

     The Watermelon Woman, a hybrid documentary-narrative drama, serves as our little window into a niche culture in the not-so-distant past. The film is very distinctly time-marked by its standard definition resolution, full aspect ratio and its use of 'hip hop' music to enhance the tone of the scenes. The viewer was thrown back and forth between uncut shots of interviews and 'behind the scenes' footage of Cheryl Dunye's filmmaking journey, as well as her struggle to find balance in her personal life. Dunye seeks to prove, using the 'Watermelon Woman,' that 'compound' minorities such as black lesbian women were relevant to US culture even back in a time period that did not care to document their existence. 
     As shown in "Looking for Langston," blacks and other racial minorities in the queer community faced an amalgamation of different types of discrimination during the 1920's. This battle on multiple fronts of race, sexual orientation and gender is still an issue today. Dunye's relationship with Diana in the film arguably parallels that of Fae Richards, the Watermelon Woman herself, and Martha Page, a white film director. Just as Page and Richards faced scrutiny for their relationship, Cheryl and Diana receive criticism from Cheryl's friend Tamara who does not like white women. Diana is the 'Beauty' to Cheryl's 'Alex,' and after providing inspiration Diana parts with Cheryl during the film just as Beauty did from Alex upon uttering "I'll wait." The motif of secrecy is strongly present, as Dunye works almost as a detective, finding clues to Page and Richards' past. Secrecy of identity has long been a relevant issue for most of the queer community, many of whom are still 'in the closet' in attempt to avoid complete ostracism.

     The 'I Am Black Woman' song (lyrics above) from 51 minutes into the film seems at first to be merely background noise for a scene that illustrates the developing between Cheryl and Tamara. With closer observation, the spoken poetry proves to be an honest embodiment the frustration that those discriminated against feel. The poet is speaking bluntly to her audience about her dissatisfaction with being objectified and mistreated. But rather than blame a specific target, the poet chooses to focus on the development of her own identity. While the argument in this poem is easy to sympathize with, one would not expect to hear any sort of song titled 'I am straight white man.' In some form or another, hetero white males are already largely represented in modern society's culture, as they have been for centuries. However, many minorities such as blacks, queers and women feel they need to speak out in order to have a presence in society. The very fact that Cheryl Dunye had to search so hard to find legitimate documentation of just one lesbian biracial couple in the 1920's is proof of the lack of representation that is faced by historians today. 

On another note, I look forward to hearing "Part II: I am Queer Human"