The "We Are The Youth" photojournalism project

 

Meet Marina, a senior at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and daughter of a Mexican father and a Southern white woman.  She also identifies as queer and is one of the many young people profiled in a new photojournalism project by photographer Laurel Golio and journalist Diana Scholl called "We Are The Youth".

Through the project, Golio and Scholl hope to chronicle the individual stories of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth in the United States and capture the diversity and uniqueness of the LGBT youth population.

Here is an excerpt from Marina's profile:

I identify as queer. Depending on who I’m talking to, I’ll identify as bisexual, but I think the word bisexual, to me, sort of means two genders, which isn’t necessarily how I see things. I understand two genders exists in society, but they aren’t inherent or necessary. But I go by female pronouns. More or less, I identify as female. That’s how I was raised to identify and how people view me. I’m a linguistics major, so I’ve thought a lot about these terms.

Being queer affects many aspects of my life beyond just sexual orientation. I work at the Center for LGBT Life, and the queer community here is very supportive. Other queer students on campus ended up being a pre-made social circle for me. Through the Office of LGBT Life, I've met so many people that I've really connected with. Almost all of my close friends are queer. Emory is my first experience with any queer community. I didn’t really have that in high school.

The project is still in its infancy and 2011 will bring the launch of a project-specific website.  But I wanted to highlight
it now because I just love the idea behind the project, particularly as it lets young queer youth speak for themselves through images and words.  One of the other current profiles is that of Derrick Martin, who famously challenged his high school to let him take his then-boyfriend Richard to the prom last year.

You can read his take on the media whirlwind that his bravery elicited as well as find out what happened after his parents thew him out of his home here.

It's definitely worth your time to go to the home page and work back from there.  You will meet quite an array of amazing individuals.

RELATED:

• About "We Are The Youth"
• "We Are The Youth" on Twitter
• "We Are The Youth" on YouTube
• "We Are The Youth" on Facebook

NOTE: The photo of Marina I've used for this post has been modified from the original by photographer Laurel Golio and used by permission.

The yellow, the orange, the red, the green, the Levi...

Yup! I've been away from home... As for Levi, he is ever vigilant and zombie-eyed at night.

Thank goodness...

The Times has more reader-submitted photos here. Thank goodness nobody perished (except the geese) or ended up like the all time classic "Airport'77" (itself "bigger, more exciting than "Airport 1975" according to the advertising and featuring Brenda Baccaro, Olivia de Havilland, Christopher Lee, George Kennedy and James Stewart, among other luminaries).

My New York: Hot subway tranny mess

Caught this at one of Manhattan's subway stations. Embedded in the subway tiles for posterity perhaps to record the wobegone days of the 80's and early 90's West Side meatpacking district (I guess?). It's housed at the Spring Street R/N/Q subway station and designed by artist Janet Zweig (h/t Splog).

Touristin'

Been touristin' with visiting family. Blogging will be intermittent for the next few days. That's me at the top of the Empire State Building yesterday afternoon (behind me and the tourists is the southern tip of Manhattan).

My New York: Veterans Day Parade

This afternoon: Veterans Day Parade, New York City's 5th Avenue (some thoughts here)

Pinups

I sorta stumbled upon Pinups Magazine yesterday and thought it was cute. Furry Brooklynite photo-artist Christopher Schulz (not the furry Brooklynite on the cover of Issue 3, mind you, but still furry nevertheless) puts it out and it's supposed to fold out so that you get a nice groovy poster you can hang just above your bed.

With a run of 200, the hot-sheets sell like pancakes at $20 bucks a pop (plus $2 for shipping AND handling) so get sum. Issue 3 is out in September.

Starfucker also has a write-up over on his blog.

Colombia Dispatch: The Botero Square

In 2000, well-known artist and sculpturist Fernando Botero, a Medellin native, donated 114 of his paintings and 23 of his sculptures to the Museum of Antioquia in Medellin. Some of the sculptures now adorn what is called The Botero Square which is heavily trafficked and just outside the museum.

Most recently, Botero made a splash with a series of paintings inspired by the revuslion he felt at the abuses by the US military in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq (some can be seen here and here). Personally, at least artistically, the series seemed to me mediocre at best and almost exploitative. But, hey! That´s just me.

Then again, if you´ve seen one Botero and you´ve pretty much seen all Boteros. To be fair, earlier works do jump at you with their playfulness and colorful depiction of Colombian life. For what is worth, I do like the hand and horse statues below.

PS - Below you can also see a crowd watching the antics of a hefty man who asked four spectators to volunteer and stand on his stomach as he laid down on broken glass; he later pulled out nails out of his nose. Yay!.

Colombia Dispatch: Streets of Medellin

Downtown medellin...
Built to resemble a threading needle, the Coltejer building has been the emblematic building structure of Medellin since it´s construction back in the late 1960´s (much like the Empire State Building is emblematic of the Big Apple). After all, Medellin has long been famous for its pioneering and still leading textile industry. At 140 meters and 35 floors, it remains the tallest building in the city. It did look taller to me when I was a kid (or before I became a worldy man of adventure).
Here´s a look at downtown Medellin from the grounds of the Medellin branch of the National University. Yup, that´s the Coltejer in the background.
There´s some uglyness to this particular urban structure but for some reason it has always fascinated me. Build a building on top of a steep hill, access to public transportation is on ground level. Solution? Build an elevator tower on the outside that gives easy access to the bottom of the hill. Very practical.
Yes, there are Citibanks in Medellin...
One of my favorite movie theatres as a kid, El Cid, long ago ceased to show wholesome family fare. Yesterday´s movie: "Suzanne, the pervert waitress," only U$2.50!
This requires some explaining: Tarrao is a particular slang word used in Medellin to describe someone who is hot. It can be used as a noun as in "Damn, what a tarrao" or as a term of enderment as in "You´re my tarraito." But it denotes, mostly, that you come from a poor neighborhood (where gonorrhea is sometimes also used as a term of endearment as in "How are you, gonorrhea!"). So I had to laugh when I saw this billboard right in the middle of the city advertising tarrao underwear (funny thing - the imagery on their website shows the Boston skyline instead of Medellin´s).
Although there are fewer young men in Medellin sporting anime cartoon spiky hairdos than in Bogota, pink power seems to have taken over women all over the country regardless of age. Pink IS the fashion color of the season, or - to be more exact, fucsia, which happens to be the name of this pink shop.
Second, perhaps, to Caracas, Venezuela, Medellin women are known for their curves, their slavery to fashion, a high rate of bulimia and anorexia and sky-rocketing rates of plastic surgery, even among adolescents. Not for nothing do they call Medellin the fashion capital of the world (the city is still buzzing about the 1st ever appearence by designer Carolina Herrera at the recent ColombiaModa fashion show).

The women of Medellin are extremely fashion conscious, no matter what age, weight, economic class or looks. The preferred look is tight jeans, bare midriffs, high heels, long hair, big breasts and some pink. It probaby would look sluttish anywhere else in the world but Medellin. Above, grandaughter and grandma at the meat rack in a supermarket waiting for a ticket. Loved the stylish grandma wearing that tight, tight, tiiight red full-body jumpsuit.

Colombia Dispatch: Park of Light

Continuing with our blog hiatus break, this time I am bringing you images from my birth city of Medellin (medallo or "medal" to the locals, metrallo to those who want to make fun of the city´s no-longer-deserved ultra-violent reputation - metralleta is the Spanish word for "machine gun" - or medhaleen to English-speaking tourists who haven´t taken any Spanish classes).

In any case, I´m not sure that these were in place the last time I visited Medallo but I couldn´t help but feel awe as I walked off a downtown side-street earlier today and smack into the Parque de la Luz (the Park of Light) near City Hall and right next to the old main train station.

On their own, each cement stick looked pretty damn ugly and the lack of real foliage would make it seem a monument to anti-environmental causes, but standing together and with the high-noon sun shining down on the "trees" it was pretty darn impressive. So if Bogota was about horseys, Medallo, at least for today, was about cement sticks, sunlight and shadows.

Spain: Public gay sex lauded artistically, maligned in reality

Leave it to the irreverent Spaniards to go both agog over a racy artistic exhibition called the "Ten Gay Commandments" featuring digitally manipulated photographs depicting men engaging in public sex in saunas and bathrooms (above) while others go apoplectic over men engaging in the real deal in a public park in the conservative province of La Rioja (below).

Agogness: Today, the leading Spanish newspaper El Pais profiled artists Roberto González Fernández and David Trullo (known as RGF+DDT) and their stylized, sometimes sacrilegious imagery, which is showing at the Madrid art gallery Rita Castellote.

The article is mostly favorable and supportive. They also take notice of the fact that the artists do not want to have their art categorized as "gay" (how post-gay of them!).

Apoplectic spazz out: In contrast, the conservative north-eastern province of La Rioja has been rocked to the core by the real thing. The leading local newspaper called (unsurprisingly) La Rioja, has been salivating over photographs they captured of two men "frolicking" in a public park.

The article states, in a very "Dateline NBC" kind of way, that the locals are sick and tired of the public spectacle.

Still, Francisco Pérez Diego, leader of the local LGBT rights advocacy organization GYLDA, has undertaken a campaign to stop sensationalistic media representation of local gay communities and called La Rioja to stop sinking to the lowest common denominator, particularly because they ran the "exposé" on what would have been Spain's gay pride day.

So, from New York, we salute GYLDA and hope that La Rioja will listen to the complaints and stop representing the local LGBT community in the worst possible way.

Crimen: Cerati rocks Central Park

Gustavo Cerati made good on his promise to visit New York during his current tour by performing at Central Park's Summer Stage series which, unfortunately for Cerati fans, meant that he was sharing the bill with another two bands and could not do a full set.

Surprisingly opening band Mexican Institute of Sound were jaw-droppingly bad (I had heard good things about them, maybe the electonica heavy set wasn't necessarily best served by the outdoors venue). Things picked-up considerably when Puerto Rican reggaeton band Calle 13 came on stage and nearly blew the place up in no small thanks to their charismatic lead singer Residente and a great back-up band. Their own jaw-dropping moments came from some of the raunchy lyrics (no surprise there) and their over the top lyrics for Japon (which trades on racist stereotypes for both Asians AND Puerto Ricans).

Cerati's set launched with a series of electric guitar-heavy tracks from his most recent album, Ahi Vamos, which some are calling a return to form to his early and rockier sound as former band leader for the disbanded Soda Stereo (I was more enamored of his later trippier psychodelic electronic experiments with later Soda Stereo albums and as a solo artist). On the CD, the electronic experimentation still bubbles behind the wall of electric guitar, on stage and outdoors the guitar was God. For some of the fans that might not have been aware that there was a new album out, they were left initially in the lurch as they sought to find familiarity, and they were partially rewarded by later re-toolings of early Soda Stereo tracks "Te Para Tres," "Profugos, "Ecos" and the great "Toma la Ruta" - though there was no "Zoom" (as well as more recent songs from previous efforts as a soloist including the amazing "Paseo Inmoral").

The set, though, was definitely dominated by the new with outstanding performances of "Bomba de Tiempo" (video here) and the best track on the new album, "Crimen."

The performance had me going back to listen to "Ahi Vamos" once again the moment I got home and finding new depths to the whole piece. All in all, a great Saturday afternoon.

Other experiences (not all about Cerati perse):

• Perreo & Sandungueo: Residente activo al Central Park
• Yo he visto algo raro: Concierto raro
• Sugarlowdown: Cerati en Concierto
• Freehaircuts: Gustavo Cerati day and Cerati photos part 2
• A Mi Paso: Buen concierto
• Hernanii: Esta tarde vimos
  

Anyhoo, you get the point... MORE photos here.

When Andrew Sullivan's blog tags you

Who knew? Within the past hour pundit Andrew Sullivan added a link to my Fotki photo site, on his Time Magazine owned blog. On Fotki, I've uploaded photos of different LGBT-related events that I have attended and also acted as a host to images that accompany reporter Rex Wockner's weekly columns for several newspapers. Well, within that hour more than 1,400 people have visited with more than 7,300 hits. Kinda scary.

The direct link on Andrew's site is to a folder of photos in one of the Wockner folders taken by Nikolai Alekseev of GayRussia.ru at an anti-gay pride rally in Latvia last week (pictured: A religious woman with holy water and an icon flings herself upon a car carrying gay activists).

Bt the way, Rex Wockner's report on the Latvia gay pride disaster can be read here.

Photos: New Yorkers react to Gay Marriage Ruling

Angry thousands at Sheridan Square (on Christopher Street) this evening, speakers included New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Senator Thomas K. Duane, Congressman Anthony Weiner, State Comptroller Alan Hevesi, Assemblymember Dick Gottfried and State Attorney General candidates Sean P. Maloney (who brought along his partner and kids) and Mark Green.

Scenes from today's rally at Sheridan Square protesting this morning's New York State Court of Appeals Decision against the constitutionality of same-sex marriage rights in New York State. Full set of photos here.

Coverage from tomorrow's Gay City News:

• Andy Humm reports on today's rally.
• Editor in Chief Paul Schindler writes the editorial.
• New York Law School Professor Arthur S. Leonard (on my personal blog list on the right) analyzes the ruling.
• Associate Editor Duncan Osbourne on reaction from couples, gay advocates and political leaders.

And from tomorrow's New York Times: An editorial and coverage.

Also, a message I got tonight from Daniel and his partner Curtis on today's ruling (he's pictured above, third one from top):

Dear Friends,

As many of you may already, New York's highest court, the State Court of Appeals, rendered its decision this morning regarding our marriage case. In effect, they ruled that the denial of marriage licenses to same-sex couples was not a constitutional issue and determined that it was a matter for the legislature. The decision was 4 to 2.

Curtis and I are deeply saddened by the decision. While many are hopeful about continuing the fight in the legislature, we believe that our part in the struggle is coming to a close. Our next steps are more personal, be must now go about protecting our relationship as every other same-sex couple in New York State with a patchwork of very expensive legal contracts, wills and proxies. It also puts our desire to adopt children even further on the back burner. Now as it stands, we will have to separately adopt a child. We were hoping that if we won we would actually be able to afford adoption because married couples need only go through one adoption process.

We could go on about the matter, but it is the end of a very difficult day that we just want to be over. Thank you for your support.

Hugs,

Daniel and Curtis

A sad day indeed.

ps - Lavi has more here and pictures here as well (spot me!)
pps - Good as You has video of some of the speakers at the rally here