Sorry for the delay I will have a couple of really great blog posts  for you over the next week or so including a review of a fantastic new book by Lee Harrington (one of our own Femmes Guide bloggers), as well as a preview of Johnny Blazes solo show "wo(n)man show" which will be up at the WOW Cafe here in NYC next month. Johnny and I met performing together with The Femme Show a couple of years ago and I'm so excited to see this newest work!

i'm working on this blog while my wonderful partner  (seriously the best butch in the world who just got pink on hir hands just for me   )bleaches the roots of my little pink streaks in the back of my head. Here's a picture that shows the pink on one side.

In my younger and punker days my hair was dyed into a rainbow of colors. This coincided with my living as a butch and then as an FTM all sorts of short punky cuts to accompany the variety of colors that streaked the bathroom tubs of the various houses and apartments I lived in during those years. When I came out as femme I had bi-hawks and dyed them hot pink (chemical burning my scalp in the process) and was in heaven. At that time, claiming my identity through the way I styled my hair felt important. When I came out as femme I pretty immediately started wishing my hair was long again too. The pink bi-hawks pulled into little pigtails with glittering hair clips in them satisfied me for a while but then I knew the time had come to start growing, and believe me it took a long time. Growing my hair out took me about 2.5-3 years. During that time there were months I couldn't stand looking in a mirror because the growth was so awkward (made more awkward by the fact i refused to cut my bi-hawks when I started growing because it would have meant shaving all my hair). Now, 4 years later I can pretty safely say that my hair is considered "long" by most anyone who sees it, and thanks to some pretty aggressive trimming a few years ago all of the damaged parts from the bi-hawks are long cut out. Although my hair had grown a lot there still felt like there was something missing, I knew that I wanted....no, I needed to be pink. Not all pink, just a little touch in places, and for my birthday (last may) I got my wish.

Since the spring I've been rocking two little pink streaks in the back of my head and loving them! For me, hair has been an important signifier both to myself and to the world about my identity as femme. Having long hair makes me feel more femme.  and the pink streaks are really the icing on the cupcake that is my life is a femme

I don't know any femme that doesn't have a story about hair (two artists i performed with in  The Femme Show had entire performance pieces dedicated to their relationships around their hair). There are femmes I know who feel most powerful in their identity when their heads are shaved, for others it's with wigs and hair extensions (those were my saviors through some rough months of hair growth). I'm rocking my gray streak in my bangs (had it since high school) while I know other femmes who wouldn't be caught dead with gray hair. What about you? Do you have a story about your hair? Is it part of how you conceptualize your gender?

As I work out the learning curve on a new editing program for FemmeCast: The Queer Fat Femme Podcast Guide to Life, I have started to produce some video podcasts. The first one is me (Bevin Branlandingham) and Taueret (Ferocity Correspondent) doing some activist stretches. Sometimes the holidays give you The Rage and you just gotta stretch it out.

(For some reason it's not letting me embed the video--so here is the link to youtube!)

I have more to come, one on a fun game called Intervention (not like the tv show), another from FemmeCamp in Austin, TX and another one from the Fat Studies Reader release event in Brooklyn.

Stay tuned for more at The Queer Fat Femme Blog Guide to Life.

Technorati Tags: art, Bevin Branlandingham, books, fat, femme, femmecast, Holiday, queer, video post

photo taken by me late December 2007 when I was @Sylvia's doing a writing workshop

This can be a rough time of year for a lot of  LGBTQ folks, but it’s especially hard for the thousands of homeless LGBTQ youth across the country who not only are being bombarded with the frequently triggering  imagery of the importance of “going home for the holidays”  but also have to deal with the basic realities of survival.  That’s the reality of  the 40% of homeless youth in this country that identify as LGBTQ.

As most of you know when I’m not here blogging about all things femme the main focus of my work is on storytelling and trying to do my part to try to end the epidemic of LGBTQ youth homelessness.  Through this work with my anthology Kicked Out I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with an incredible organization here in NYC called Sylvia’s Place.  I know that this isn’t an explicitly femme themed post, but I think you can all forgive a bit of topic creep for a good cause, and besides lots of homeless LGBTQ youth are femmes.

Sylvia’s is the only emergency shelter for LGBTQ youth in NYC, this is the real deal. I had the extreme privilege of working with some of the youth that call the shelter home as they crafted their submissions for the Kicked Out anthology, and have had many conversations with staff members. Let me assure you this is the real deal. Sylvia’s Place which is housed in the basement of the MCC Church of NYC  is saving lives every day, and they need our help. The youth living  (over 40 on any given night) who are living in about 800 square feet  might be going to sleep on concrete floors (yes really), but they are safe,  have supportive staff to talk to, and have eaten dinner. Sylvia’s needs our help to continue providing these services.  This has been a rough year for all non profits but Sylvia’s place has been hit harder than most, the city of New York has pulled a major chunk of their funding and they are surviving because of donations from folks like us.

In NYC? There will be two benefit holiday parties / food& clothing drives next week (you can get more info here)

Tuesday  Dec. 15 @ The Phoenix
W. 13th Street btw. 1st Ave and Ave A
9 PM

Thursday  Dec. 17 @ Nowhere Bar
322 E. 14th Street btw.1st and 2nd Aves
9 PM

There are items that are desperately and urgently needed this year:

Toothpaste and toothbrushes
Personal hygiene products
Warm socks
Cold and Flu medicines-generics and store brands are fine
Basic first aid supplies
Canned and boxed food goods
Coats,jackets, and gloves-used and clean is fine
Hats and caps-used and clean is fine
Scarfs-used and clean is fine
Blankets-used and clean is fine

If you aren’t in NYC and still want to help you can send any of the above items directly to Sylvia’s Place or send them such much needed cash. All donations are tax deductible . I know some folks outside of the city are getting together and sending one big box to cut down on shipping expenses- its’ a great idea! After all, I know a lot of us have so many more fabulous (and warm) clothes than we need.

Homeless Youth Services
c/o MCCNY
446 W. 36th St.
(between 9th & 10th Ave.)
New York, NY
10018

Checks and money orders should be made payable to
M.C.C.N.Y.Y.S

Sylvia's also accepts Pay Pal and Credit Cards.
http://www.homelessyouthservices.org/Generalpaypal.html

My partner and I are going out this weekend to purchase some  toiletries,  to bring with us next Thursday to the event at Nowhere bar. I’m also going to raid my dressing room- I have about 4 warm coats that no longer fit me properly, but are so fabulous that I just haven’t been able to bring myself to give them away, until now. I know for a fact that there are a lot of femmes of all genders living at Sylvia’s place who need a warm coat, and I’m sure will fall in love with one of these.

Come on femmes, let's get donating!!!!!!!!!