26 March 2009

Tranny Roadshow Comes to Maine!


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The Tranny Roadshow is a multimedia performance art extravaganza. It is composed of an eclectic group of artists, each one self-identified as transgender, and includes poets, rappers, filmmakers, storytellers, breakdancers, rock bands, comedians, actors, folk singers, photographers, zinesters, and more. Stationary art (i.e. photography and sculpture) is displayed, but most of the presentation is the live show, a unique variety show where the expression of gender and the expression of self are inseparable. The show is a fluid entity, changing to suit the artists and the crowd, but always it is full of intelligence, fun and humor.

Although the Tranny Roadshow is done entirely by transpeople, it is not exclusively for transpeople. It is a raucous evening of entertainment, open and accessible to people of all backgrounds. Most of us are experienced performers, and while our goals do include challenging people and making them think, our most important goals are to entertain them, make them laugh, and make them dance.

Some pieces of each show focus specifically on gender, but many others do not. All people have multiple identities, which overlap, intertwine and impact each other in different ways. We recognize that our trans identities are singular facets of who we are, and one of the aims of the Tranny Roadshow is to present transpeople as we are - as whole, multi-faceted people. We are not only trannies, we are singers, filmmakers, dancers, writers, jugglers, etc. And our art expresses many things, of which gender is only one. In the show, we present a wide spectrum of gender identities, a brilliant array of living art, and the ties that bind these identities to our artwork and to the world.

Check out the show on April 26th at the UU Church in Auburn Maine @ 7pm ($10 admission) or on April 27th at the University of Maine Farmington's Lincoln Auditorium @ 6pm (free!).

Tranny Roadshow Website!

19 March 2009

Red Cross: Naughty North are Real Heros!!!




This winter a savvy friend (code name Maxine Wolfe) nominated Naughty North! for the American Red Cross Good Samaritan Real Heroes Award for our work in the Summer of 2008, pointing out that even the most benevolent organizations like the American Red Cross are entrenched in homophobic and AIDS panic politics.

The attached letter is a rather sad ironic attempt by the the Red Cross to de-claw our fierce satirical attack on their shabby institutional policies and we won't settle for it. We will not be gently folded into the non-profit and medical industrial complexes when queer youth are still being told that their sex lives are a death sentence and that homophobic profiling is a matter of public health when the American Red Cross descends on our public schools to extract blood like parasites...

Using the FDA as an excuse to continue following outrageous policies that are part of a complex system of homophobic violence that kills queer teens is unacceptable. Grow a back bone, American Red Cross! Otherwise, acknowledge that every queer/trans teen suicide is murder and their is blood all over your hands!!!

16 March 2009

Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition Gathering

Second gathering of the Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition (MPAC) is happening on March 21st 2009 at noon at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Belfast Maine.

Last January, organizers, family members, friends, prisoner abolitionists and ex-prisoners from throughout the state of Maine gathered to discuss how we can share ideas, resources and strategies in working for a more human and just treatment for Maine's prisoners.

A few of us from Naughty North will be there to give an update about the NJ4 campaign we have been working on as well as discussing how we can better support queer and trans prisoners in Maine.

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Maine Prisoner Advocacy Coalition
Saturday March 21st 12:00-4:00 PM
Belfast UU Church 37 Miller Stre
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02 March 2009

Burlesque, Burlesque!


Thursday, March 12, 2009 9PM
@ One Longfellow Square, Portland, ME

The University of Southern Maine’s Women’s Resource Center & the Gender Studies Student Organization are teaming up to present Burlesque, Burlesque! an old school burlesque show w/ a decidedly postmodern twist. Each show will feature performances from the outrageous to the sublime.

The star studded cast includes local drag king legends the Kings of the Hill, Portland’s punk rock princess Bunny Wonderland, the explosive Atomic Trash, and vintage burlesque by Whistlebait.

The evening is a FUNdraiser for the Women’s Resource Center (WRC) & the Gender Studies Student Organization (GSSO).

Burlesque, Burlesque! is comedy, song, and performance art that showcases burlesque from its original 20th century form - of women in drag acting out satires - to the neo-burlesque of today as a feminist art form.

Today’s burlesque allows all genders and subject positions to express not only a range of sexualities but political ideas and personal experiences. The show offers a safe & fun environment and showcases a style of performance art that is underrepresented in Portland.

Cost: $8.00

01 March 2009

Bash Back! Announces Spring Convergence May 28th-31st in Chicago!



Anarcha-Queers! Trannies! Fairies! Perverts! Sex-Workers! Sex-Radicals!
Allies!

Bash Back! is ecstatic to announce a national radical queer convergence to take place in Chicago, May 28th through May 31st of 2009! We’re pleased to invite all radical queers to join us for a weekend of debauchery and mischief. The last weekend of May will prove to be four solid days of workshops, discussions, performances, games, dancing and street action!

We’ll handle the food and the housing. Ya’ll bring the orgy, riot, and decadence!

We’re looking for folks to facilitate discussions, put on workshops, organize caucuses, share games, tell stories, get heavy in some theory, or bottom-line a dance party. More specifically we’re looking for workshops themed around queer and trans liberation, anti-racism, confronting patriarchy, sex work, ableism, self defense, DIY mental and sexual health, radical history, pornography, or queer theory. We are also looking for copious amounts of glitter, safer sex products, zines, home-made sex toys, balaclavas, pink and black flags, sequins, bondage gear, rad porn, flowers, strap-ons, and assorted dumpstered goodies. You down?

To RSVP, volunteer for a workshop, get more information, or send us dirty pictures:

email:
radicalqueer2009@gmail.com

For more info: Bash Back! News