Reconno (trans)Man

What is the Purpose of Art

jay.sennett@gmail.com — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 16:10:11 +0000

The purpose of art is to lay bare the questions that have been hidden by the answers. James Baldwin

A Transman Superhero

jay.sennett@gmail.com — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 13:15:28 +0000

Use your strength to assist women and children. I recently read that current superheros are bad for boys. You know, the old thing: two images, hyper violent or slacker. Doesn’t have to be that way, nor should it. I think a lot of transmen are superheros, showing the world how to be good strong men, [...]

What Is It You Think You Know?

jay.sennett@gmail.com — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 00:00:48 +0000

How Much Do We Hate People With Disabilities?

jay.sennett@gmail.com — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 14:59:07 +0000

Admittedly this isn’t my best cartoon. But I’ve been sitting on this post for weeks, and after talking with Ona Marae (who sometimes posts here) I knew I needed to write this post. I said to Ona on the phone, “If I write that I think Americans absolutely despises people with disabilities, and if possible, [...]

Mold Breaking

jay.sennett@gmail.com — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 13:27:34 +0000

Self-Organizing Men explores that much-written about, highly politicized, rarely understood phenomenon known as “man.” A kickass anthology of transgender poetry, transgender photography, trans cartoons…transgender prints and lithographs. Imagine. Included you will also find new trans and feminist theories about masculinity, transgender stories, some transgender peroformance art and a highfemme drag king musing. Oh, and two [...]

Racism and the Transgender Experience

jay.sennett@gmail.com — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 13:27:30 +0000

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Kortney and Awilda in person. The ongoing discussions about Thomas Beattie juxtaposed against Kortney’s documentary “Still Black” highlight the harsh realities that transgender and transsexual experiences are still framed as experiences of gender exclusively. Still Black also provides a counterpoint to the tiresome criticism levelled at white transmen [...]

Why This Transsexual Loves the DSM

jay.sennett@gmail.com — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 13:20:57 +0000

Awhile back I was asked to join a facebook group focused on removing Gender Identity Disorder from the unholy grail of social and mental malaise, the Diagnostic Statistics Manual. (link here) For as long as I have been living as a man I have had a verifiable and documentable mental illness. Now, back in 1996, [...]

You Can’t Buy Your Way Into the Workingclasses

jay.sennett@gmail.com — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:00:53 +0000

You can’t buy your way into the workingclasses. No matter how much money you spend. “But what about the $300.00 1930s inspired work shirt I just bought?” Nope. No matter how hard you work, you can’t use clothing to pretend you’re something you’re not. And the search for real masculinities will never be found in [...]

Here’s a Quick Way to Alienate Trans and Genderqueer People in Your Political Work

jay.sennett@gmail.com — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 16:00:53 +0000

(A work in progress. Ink and pencil in a moleskin. I’m thinking of transferring it to some kind of art board.) The cartoon reads, “WTF is gender performativity any way. I am who I am.” Seriously folks, if our theories can’t reach every day people, what’s the point? Restate Foucault all you want. But if [...]

Summer Suitings: If You Don’t Command Respect, You Won’t Be Respected, Part Deux

jay.sennett@gmail.com — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 12:44:52 +0000

My thanks to mewmewfoucault (MMF) for dialoging yesterday. I crystalized my thinking last night and realized my responses to MMF’s comments were circuitous at best. (All quotes unless otherwise noted are culled from MMF’s comments.”) MMF’s main criticism of my previous post is that it suggests that I advocate disrespecting people because of what they [...]