John Walker’s Writing Clips
1. "Donald Trump Inspires Self-Defense Classes In LGBT Community," Teen Vogue, 12.06.16
"Blake always brings mace with him when he leaves the house in drag, but now he worries if that’s enough. Rachel has begun to carry 'stabby things' in her purse—an old fruit knife with a mother of pearl handle that belonged to her grandmother. A sharp, pointed tube of blood-red Ellis Faas lipstick that can double as a makeshift stake, should the need arise. Seth is usually on the lookout for someone who might share his critical appreciation of Janet Jackson’s self-titled 1993 album. Right now, though, he’s looking for a new boxing gym."
2. "Transgender Women Are Facing A Devastating Medical Crisis—And No One's Talking About It," Fusion, 09.30.16
"Synthetic estrogen plays a crucial role for trans women and transfeminine people who choose to undergo hormone replacement therapy as a means of medically transitioning. Yet the growing disappearance of its injectable form from the pharmaceutical market has gone largely unnoticed beyond the circles of those affected. Salcedo said that she has 'not seen any' media coverage of the shortage, despite the subject’s constant presence on her various social media feeds. That’s not surprising. In the eight weeks since Outmagazine’s website broke the news of the 'Injectable Estrogen Shortage That’s Leaving Trans Women in Crisis,' very few outlets have picked up the story. This silence, Salcedo told me, must be broken."
3. "Will LGBT Anti-Discrimination Laws Survive A Trump Presidency?" VICE, 11.11.16
"On Tuesday, Americans—mostly white Americans—voted Donald Trump into the White House. Now the country is wondering what Trump will do once he gets there. For LGBTQ people…the question will be how the incoming administration will handle legislation protecting them from discrimination, and they have ample reasons for fear."
4. "Meet Shakina Nayfack, The 'Trans Truther' From Hulu's 'Difficult People,'" Next Magazine, 08.15.16
"The TV Tropes wiki might be packed full of television’s most overused clichés and storytelling devices, but nowhere throughout its thousands upon thousands of web pages will you find an entry for ‘trans truther.’ That’s because there has only been one such character in the history of TV, and she’s played by New York’s own Shakina Nayfack."
5. "On The Dangerous AIDS Myth Of 'Patient Zero,' And The Book That Started It All," Lit Hub, 12.01.16
"Not only did these articles tread well-trod ground in terms of content, that [Gaëtan] Dugas was not responsible for bringing HIV/AIDS to North America, but they retraced the steps of an all too familiar media narrative surrounding HIV and AIDS, one that whitewashes their history while doubling down on the very same criminalizing mindset and emphasis on individual responsibility that allowed, and continues to allow, governmental institutions to fail to meet the needs of the trans communities and communities of color most directly impacted by the epidemic."
6. “Before Grindr And Scruff: A Brief Oral History Of Gay Men Finding Each Other Online,” Fusion, 07.19.16
“While apps like Scruff, Grindr, Tinder, and Jack’d have been accused of everything from ‘ruining romance’ to killing off queer nightlife, I’d suggest we consider their place within a different legacy. LGBTQ people have long used digital spaces as a means of connecting with others like themselves… The Scruff partygoers at the Time Hotel’s LeGrande cocktail lounge last Thursday varied in age from their early twenties to mid-forties and beyond. I wondered what kind of stories they could tell about meeting other gay people in the pre-smartphone age.”
7. “Increased Safety Measures At Pride Parades Won’t Make All LGBTQ People Feel Safe,” Fusion, 06.17.16
Increased police presences and other security measures at Pride celebrations nationwide suggest that safety will be of the utmost priority at these events. But safety for whom? Many advocates for the rights of the most vulnerable people under the LGBTQ umbrella—Latinxs, people of color, Muslims, transgender people, gender-nonconforming people, undocumented people—say that this response to the Orlando shooting does not make Pride events safer for everyone in the queer and trans community. In fact, they say, these measures could discourage LGBTQ people who are not documented, white, and cis from attending such self-affirming celebrations in the first place.
8. “Even The Ass-eating Scene Couldn’t Make The ‘Looking’ Movie Any Less Boring,” Fusion, 07.25.16
“There’s no more risk, danger, or complication in Looking: The Movie‘s plot than there is in its depiction of contemporary gay identity. At least the ass-eating scene about 18 minutes in is really hot.”
9. “Meet Macy Rodman, The ‘Trans Pop Courtney Love’ Who Won’t Cede An Inch,” Fusion, 05.12.16
“Macy’s no stranger to the politics of taking up space. Blissful ignorance of how one’s body will be received in a given environment is a luxury not often afforded to trans people. The songs on her HELP EP…reflect the experience of constantly having to assert her right to exist in a culture that would rather see her erased. But while the everyday transmisogyny that fuels everything from street harassment to the passage of transphobic ‘bathroom bills’ might make Rodman ‘wanna lay down and die,’ to borrow a phrase from her underground breakout hit ‘Lazy Girl,’ there she was last Friday night: taking up space and annihilating the crowd with her presence.”
10. “Views From The 7 (Train) After Beyoncé’s Formation World Tour,” Brooklyn Magazine, 06.08.16
“Transferring from the 7 to the Church Avenue-bound G at Court Square…I found my fellow concertgoers increasingly silent as the end of our pilgrimage set in. Despite standing in a semi-packed train, I didn’t really overhear much in the way of conversation; the loudest words to be found in the entire car (‘THE FUTURE IS FEMALE,’ ‘Liberté, Egalité, Beyoncé’) were ironed onto T-shirts. In an effort to quell the reality of Wednesday morning from setting in, I popped in my earbuds, queued up ‘All Night,’ and opened my book. I don’t remember a single word I read.”
