#raespoon

[itshidinginyourcellar]

Baby you know I love you, but I just can’t leave the house. #raespoon

[ayisozluklgbti]

My Prairie Home

My Prairie Home | ‪#‎Ayılarock‬ ‪#‎LGBTİ‬ ‪#‎MyPrairieHome #RaeSpoon‬ | LGBTİ Temalı Film Dizi Belgesel Klip Portalı | http://ayilarock.ayisozluk.com/my-prairie-home/

[womenandliterature]

     Are We All Gender Failures? 

By Alice Howard 100970046

Gender performativity is the message conveyed in the collaboration between Ivan Coyote and Rae Spoon in Gender Failure. The above clip is the co-authors/ creative contributors performing a section of their writing in a multimedia demonstration in the 27th Lesbian & Gay Film Festival.

       Both Coyote and Spoon are known for their writing on not fitting into the gender binary, Coyote as a trans person and Spoon as a retiree from gender. Coyote discusses how being a writer and how words fail at times.  When Coyote says, “The English language is sadly devoid of names for people like me” it really makes you wonder how other languages are able to have a non-gender binary pronoun used in commonplace and it is not a challenge for the public to understand. The English language being as established and steadfast in its ways that it leaves little room for change in the means of a new third genderless pronoun, however through the use of the they/them pronoun devaluing a persons identity is avoided. Coyote explains being miss gendered as, “ A little sliver of me disappears […] all those slivers add up to something harder to pretend around.” Knowing that it makes some feel like their soul is being worn down is enough for me to want to stop imposing genders onto everyone I meet, regardless of whatever gender they outwardly present themselves as.

      In Women and Literature class we were asked to participate in a simple exercise, tell a story with no gendered pronouns. For some it came naturally, perhaps they have had experience using the they/them pronouns before. However, I did encounter people who could not get out of that gendered head space, it has become so deeply engrained in our minds that outward appearance and emotional identity are one and the same, and that could not be more untrue. I suppose at times “walking pronoun tightropes” as Coyote said is hard to gauge, but the simplest way to avoid miss gendering someone is to not gender them at all! 

      Coyote closed off this section of their performance with a statement that resonates so deeply with me, “words are all imperfect […] I am a writer so I know exactly where words fail us.” That’s exactly it; Coyote and Spoon felt they failed at gender, at presenting what the world wanted them to be.  When in reality they were failed by a system of assumptions built on antique ideals that being a man or a woman can so simply be categorised by blue and pink. Remember that we are all so much more than what is outwardly presented; if we cannot be part of solution to miss gendering then we all become gender failures. Spoon, Rae, and Ivan E. Coyote. Gender Failure. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

[whitenoiseindustries]

#westfest #raespoon

[videokidsam]

Do you know about #GenderFailure? The amazing live performance by raespoon and ivancoyote? There’s also a fantastic book they compiled with more material than could fit into the live show.

[estevanartgalleryandmuseum]

Coming soon…

...We're launching our monthly meet-up for queer folk and allies - Q*munity - with a Transgender Awareness Week special! Featuring a screening of My Prairie Home (2013), and a live performance by Plush Laboratories, this event celebrates the talent of gender non-conforming folk on the prairies, and provides an opportunity to socialize, ask questions, access TransSask resources and enjoy snacks and beverages on us!

Monday March 30th, at 6:30pm (free)

About Transgender Awareness Week TAW is an opportunity to inspire, inform and educate society about the challenges faced by trans-identified and gender variant individuals, and celebrate the lives of transsexual and transgender people across the province. Find out more on the TransSask Support Services, Inc. FB page.

About My Prairie Home (2013) Filmmaker Chelsea McMullan takes audiences on a poetic journey through landscapes both real and emotional in this intimate portrait of transgender musician Rae Spoon. With thanks to the National Film Board of Canada.

[queerradiantdarkness-blog]

Stand By Your Trans - a duet by Elisha Lim and Rae Spoon

[harmony-dmg]

So today seems to be all about our friend Rae Spoon One of Harmony's founders just finished reading Rae's great book "First Spring Grass Fire" and had to share a comment about it. Can something be heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time? For all you literarily-inclined folks, this is a must-read. Even for those of you who don't tend to like 'big words' and 'big books', this one is an easy read. Heavy on emotions but kind of light on the heart. Thumbs way up!