Casting Call For Mx. Potato Head

What's in an honorific?

Mr. Potato Head – the brand, not the character – is being re-branded as, simply, "Potato Head."

As reported on CNN and beyond,

"Hasbro is making sure all feel welcome in the Potato Head world by officially dropping the Mr. from the Mr. Potato Head brand name and logo to promote gender equality and inclusion," the company said. The rebranded toy launches this fall.

It's interesting that the reporting at first kind of freaked people out, with the fear being that the characters of Mr. Potato Head and Mrs. Potato Head had changed their genders. So much so that Hasbro tweeted:

Hold that Tot – your main spud, MR. POTATO HEAD isn’t going anywhere! While it was announced today that the POTATO HEAD brand name & logo are dropping the ‘MR.’ I yam proud to confirm that MR. & MRS. POTATO HEAD aren’t going anywhere and will remain MR. & MRS. POTATO HEAD

The photo included in the tweet says volumes about how binary the Potato Head universe still is, with the art still showing Mr. Potato Head and Mrs. Potato Head, each on their respective box, under the new more gender neutral brand name, "Potato Head."

I guess rebranding the overall thing to be gender neutral is a step in the right direction. 

But if Hasbro really wants to be gender inclusive, perhaps the next step is for them to come up with a character who is part of the Potato Head Universe, who is also gender non-conforming, or Two-Spirit, or gender fluid. And maybe give that Gender Queer character their own box.

Casting call for Mx. Potato Head, anyone?

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you, no matter your gender.

Stay safe,
Lee

She/He/They/Me: For the Sisters, Misters, and Binary Resisters - Author and Sociologist Robyn Ryle Presents Gender as a "Choose-Your-Own-Adventure" Journey

She/He/They/Me: For the Sisters, Misters, and Binary Resisters by Dr. Robyn Ryle

If you've ever questioned the logic of basing an entire identity around what you have between your legs, it's time to embark on a daring escape outside of the binary box...

Open your eyes to what it means to be a boy or a girl -- and above and beyond! Within these pages, you get to choose which path to forge. Explore over one hundred different scenarios that embrace nearly every definition across the world, over history, and in the ever-widening realms of our imagination! What if your journey leads you into a world with several genders, or simply one? Do you live in a matriarchal society, or as a sworn virgin in the Balkans? How does gender (or the lack thereof) change the way we approach sex and love, life or death?

Jump headfirst into this refreshingly creative exploration of the ways gender colors every shade and shape of our world. Above all, it's more important than ever for us to celebrate the fact that there are infinite gender paths -- and each of them is beautiful.

Add your review of "She/He/They/Me" in comments!

Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe (An ALA Alex Winner, Naming It a Book for Adults That Will Have Teen Appeal)

Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe

In 2014, Maia Kobabe, who uses e/em/eir pronouns, thought that a comic of reading statistics would be the last autobiographical comic e would ever write. At the time, it was the only thing e felt comfortable with strangers knowing about em. Now, Gender Queer is here. Maia's intensely cathartic autobiography charts eir journey of self-identity, which includes the mortification and confusion of adolescent crushes, grappling with how to come out to family and society, bonding with friends over erotic gay fanfiction, and facing the trauma and fundamental violation of pap smears.
Started as a way to explain to eir family what it means to be nonbinary and asexual, Gender Queer is more than a personal story: it is a useful and touching guide on gender identity--what it means and how to think about it--for advocates, friends, and humans everywhere.

The School Library Journal starred review said, "It's also a great resource for those who identify as nonbinary or asexual as well as for those who know someone who identifies that way and wish to better understand."

Add your review of "Gender Queer: A Memoir" in comments!

The Latest TikTok - 1 Key To Unlock The Hidden History of the Pharaoh Hatshepsut

I'm excited to continue this series on TikTok with this 15 second celebration of Hatshepsut!

@leewind Over 22 years of ruling Egypt, Hatshepsut transitioned their public persona from female to male. ##queerhistoryiseverywhere ##queer ##historybuff ##pride
♬ Me Too part 2 - Meghan Trainor

The Key

The remarkable thing is that these three statues are ALL Hatshepsut. At the beginning of their reign, as regent for their 2 year old nephew, Hatshepsut was portrayed publicly as a woman. Seven years into their rule, they declared themself KING (senior Co-King, technically), and not daughter of their father but son of their father. There was a period of time where Hatshepsut's gender transitioned to an in-between state, both in terms of dress and body shape (men's clothes, no shirt, and not quite breasts or bare chest, in the center sculpture). And then, towards the end of their 22-year rule, Hatshepsut was portrayed completely as a man, with a man's physique and a beard!

I loved learning about Hatshepsut, and think how empowering it must be for gender-queer, gender non-conforming, and trans kids today to know that thousands of years ago (Hatshepsut ruled Egypt from 1479 BCE-1458 BCE) the ruler of Egypt completely transitioned their public display of gender over two decades!

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee

Billy Porter's Tuxedo Dress (Designed by Christian Siriano) Inspires!

This.

Lit up.

The Oscar's Red Carpet.

In Vogue, Billy explained how the Tuxedo Dress came about and how,

“My goal is to be a walking piece of political art every time I show up. To challenge expectations. What is masculinity? What does that mean?”

And as for the folks that didn't appreciate it?

"The comments are not my business. What people think about what I’m doing is not my business. I lived that already."

Go, Billy! And Bravo to you and Christian!

Quiver - teens from opposite worlds (Zo is gender fluid in a liberal family, Libby's family are evangelical Christians) become neighbors and unlikely friends

Quiver by Julia Watts

Libby is the oldest child of six, going on seven, in a family that adheres to the "quiverfull" lifestyle: strict evangelical Christians who believe that they should have as many children as God allows because children are like arrows in the quiver of "God's righteous warriors." Meanwhile, her new neighbor Zo is a gender fluid teen whose feminist, socialist, vegetarian family recently relocated from the city in search of a less stressful life.

Zo and hir family are as far to the left ideologically as Libby's family is to the right, and yet Libby and Zo, who are the same age, feel a connection that leads them to friendship--a friendship that seems doomed from the start because of their families' differences.

Add your review of "Quiver" in comments!

The Unintentional Time Traveler - A Gender Non-Conforming, Non-Binary, Trans Teen Adventure

The Unintentional Time Traveler by Everett Maroon

Fifteen-year-old Jack Bishop has mad skills with cars and engines, but knows he’ll never get a driver’s license because of his epilepsy. Agreeing to participate in an experimental clinical trial to find new treatments for his disease, he finds himself in a completely different body—that of a girl his age, Jacqueline, who defies the expectations of her era. Since his seizures usually give him spazzed out visions, Jack presumes this is a hallucination. Feeling fearless, he steals a horse, expecting that at any moment he’ll wake back up in the clinical trial lab. When that doesn't happen, Jacqueline falls unexpectedly in love, even as the town in the past becomes swallowed in a fight for its survival. Jack/Jacqueline is caught between two lives and epochs, and must find a way to save everyone around him as well as himself. And all the while, he is losing time, even if he is getting out of algebra class.

You can read an interview with the author, who speaks about being a trans author writing a trans YA novel, here at gayya.org. Add your review of "The Unintentional Time Traveler" in comments!

TRANS/gressive: How Transgender Activists Took on Gay Rights, Feminism, the Media & Congress... and Won! - Essential Reading

TRANS/gressive: How Transgender Activists Took on Gay Rights, Feminism, the Media & Congress... and Won! by Riki Wilchins

In the early 1990s, no one talked about transgender people, and no one knew one. We were not on TV or in movies. What formed the visible part of the transcommunity – overwhelmingly white, urban, and middle class – was also overwhelmingly focused on conferences, surgery or hormones and cisgender acceptance.

This was still a determinedly non-political population, often in defensive crouch because it was also constantly under attack by the media, police, local legislatures, feminists and even LGB-but-never-T advocates.

We were a group that still thought of ourselves as a collection of separate individuals, not a movement. What made political consciousness so difficult was that there was no "transgender section” of town, where we saw each other regularly.

And mainstream society mostly ignored us. And when it didn’t, it usually made clear it despised us. We were freaks. We were gendertrash.

We lived in a transient and indoor community that knew itself only a few days at a time during conferences at hotels out on the interstate.

But all that was about to change.

Even when politics are avoided, bringing despised and marginalized people together is itself a political act. Without realizing or intending it, the community was reaching critical mass.

Even in those pre-Internet, pre-cellphone days, enough transpeople were running into one another often enough to begin realizing we could be a force, that we didn’t really need cisgender acceptance. What we needed was our civil rights.

This is the inside story of how in just a few years, a handful of trans activists would come together in the face of enormous difficulties and opposition to launch from the very margins of society what would grow into the modern political movement for gender rights.

Add your review of "TRANS/gressive: How Transgender Activists Took on Gay Rights, Feminism, the Media & Congress... and Won!" in comments!

The Comma Queen on Gender Neutral Pronouns

The New Yorker's Mary Norris explains the singular form of "their" and gives some excellent advice on using it...

Love this!

Watch this on The Scene.

Thanks to my amazing husband for sharing it with me, so I can now share it with all of you.

ps - my apologies for loading the wrong video initially. The correct one is now in place. Thanks! Lee

ALL NEW Gender 101 Video: Episode 36: Gender Queer Panel Finale

Here's the finale of our Gender Queer panel, with Lucy (a.k.a. Benji), Nenu, Emmi and B J.



I was really moved by their eloquence, honesty and wisdom.

Let kids find their own place in our world.

Let people self-identify.

You don't have to be alone. Find your community.

Don't look for others for validation. Validate yourself.

And don't wait for what you need. Start it yourself!

Brilliant!

My thanks to all the panelists, and to you, for watching and learning along with me.

Gender 101, Episode #35 Redux: Lucy, Nenu, Emmi and BJ on Misconceptions About Being Gender Queer

In this last of the Redux episodes (new episodes debuting in 2015!) Lucy (a.k.a. Benji), Nenu, Emmi and BJ discuss some of the misconceptions they've faced being Gender Queer...



My thanks to Benji, Nenu, Emmi and BJ for sharing so honestly.

You can check out the original post here.

Gender 101 Episode 32 Redux: Nenu and Frankie on Being Gender Queer AND Persons of Color

Benji (a.k.a. Lucy) continues our discussions on gender, asking Nenu and Frankie to share about being both Gender Queer and People of Color.



What amazing latin@s!

Check out the original posting here.

Namaste,
Lee

Gender 101, Episode 31 Redux: Benji, Nenu, Frankie and Emmi on Presenting

It's the first of our panel discussions on gender, and Benji (a.k.a. Lucy) continues the conversation with Nenu, Frankie and Emmi. They discuss being Gender Queer and how they present themselves... covering issues of clothing, body acceptance, androgyny and safety.



My thanks to Benji, Nenu, Frankie and Emmi for sharing so honestly.

You can check out the original posting here, where Sally Bibary wrote this comment:

Sally Bibrary said...
Fantastic video! It makes me feel so good to see the next generation sharing so openly and honestly. :)
May 30, 2012 at 6:46 AM

Also, note that tomorrow (November 20th, 2014) is the Transgender Day of Remembrance. You can find out more about this annual observance that honors the memory of those whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence here.

Namaste,
Lee

Gender 101, Episode 29 Redux: Meet B J

Benji (a.k.a. Lucy) introduces us to another gender non-conforming community member, B J...



So delighted to meet B J,

You can check out the original posting here.

Namaste,
Lee

Gender 101, Episode #26 Redux: Meet Emmi

Our Gender-Queer friend Lucy (a.k.a. Benji) introduces us to another wonderful Gender Queer community member, Emmi!



I'm delighted to meet Emmi, and look forward to the discussions ahead.

Here are the comments from the original posting:

ivanova said...
Way to go, Emmi! That was expressed so well. I love "Gender 101."
April 18, 2012 at 10:36 AM

Joanna said...
Thanks, Emmi, I am so enjoying this series - every episode!
April 19, 2012 at 10:32 AM


Namaste,
Lee

Gender 101, Episode #23 Redux: Meet Nenu

Our Gender Queer Friend Lucy, a.k.a. Benji, continues the conversation about gender with Nenu Cruz, who explains their own journey with gender, and introduces us to the term "Maribri."




Here's that amazing image of Maribri again, and my thanks to artist Cindy Segura for allowing me to share it with you all!

Maribri

"A Maribri is a hybrid that transforms into their own image without limits or expectations.  The mix of a Mariposa (butterfly) and Colibri (hummingbird).  The hybrid of masculinity and femininity and neither.  A third gender that wants to be liberated from the social construct roles and their own."
- Nenu

I'm so glad to have met Nenu!

Namaste,
Lee

ps- my apologies for the video quality being so inconsistent.

You can check out the original posting and comment here.

Gender 101, Episode #22 Redux: Community Insurance

I'm very excited to continue the conversation about Gender with Frankie Palacios.

In this episode, Frankie shares about their fundraising efforts for their partner's top surgery… and the concept of "community insurance."



VERY cool.

You can see the original posting here.

Gender 101, Episode #22 Redux: Frankie's Gender Queer Heroes

Lucy continues the Gender 101 discussion with Frankie Palacios, asking about Frankie's Gender Queer Heroes.



Thanks, Frankie and Lucy!

Here's links to more information about:

My Princess Boy

Raja

Morrissey

and

Freddie Mercury.

You can see the original post, here.

Gender 101, Episode #20 Redux: Gender Queer People Of Color

In this episode, Frankie Palacios talks with Lucy about being a Gender Queer Person of Color, and they discuss the 2012 Queer People of Color Conference at Cal State Northridge.



Thanks, Frankie and Lucy!

(The 2014 Queer People of Color Conference was in San Diego.)

Here's a comment from the original post:


Kelly Robinson said...
Always such useful posts. I almost always end up sending a link to someone! Thanks!
February 29, 2012 at 10:03 AM

Gender 101, episode #19 Redux: Meet Frankie

My Gender Queer friend Benji continues the conversation about gender by introducing us to Frankie Palacios.

They discuss identity, how gender is culturally defined - particularly in Latino/Latina culture, and the term "Macho Femme." It's a great introduction to another Gender Queer and very cool person, and I'm so delighted to meet Frankie. I think you will be, too.



Here are three comments from the original post, many of which reference the series' return:

ivanova said...
Awesome! I'm really excited we have another "semester" of Gender 101 and I hope Frankie will return.
February 22, 2012 at 6:19 AM

Lisa Jenn Bigelow said...
Oh yay, I was hoping there would be more of these! Awesome.
February 22, 2012 at 6:48 AM

Joanna said...
I love this series and was waiting for its return. Thanks Lee, Benjie and Frankie.
February 22, 2012 at 10:58 AM