Monthly Archives: February 2022

Brian Tierney is the author of Rise and Float. Photo: Milkweed

The late Joan Didion once wrote, Memories are what you no longer want to remember. The implication is that revisiting the past means reopening the wounds. Poets, particularly those who write from personal pain or trauma, take a slightly different approach to troubled memory. They examine the ruins in order to reckon with what took place there. Such is the case with the two powerful debuts by Bay Area poets Brian Tierney and Paul Tran.

In Tierneys Rise and Float, the speaker states, to show you what I see/ is to show you how I feel. Whats presented is a series of disquieting recollections, usually involving family, that illustrate human vulnerability: having a body is a form/ of courting peril. The hazards loved ones had to contend with include mental illness, which led to institutionalization and suicide. The speaker, too, battles with mental health, leading to a bout with an eating disorder.

What allows these poems to grow beyond two-dimensional anecdotes about death and disease is Tierneys lyrical and arresting phrasing, which, given the gravity of subject matter, leaves the reader unsettled. The poem bulimia, for example, describes the act as follows: When I put one [finger] in my mouth, I nearly touched the bell/ of my voice. Ive done this for years, wanting/ to be a love song a little less each week.

There are times, however, when Tierneys penchant for impressionistic scenes doesnt benefit the poem, and the imagery, outstanding as it is, serves as a poor substitute for emotional resonance. The series of moments in Anthropocene, for example, is hit-or-miss. But for the most part, Tierneys poems reach their pitch, delivering stunning insights into the interiority of a person coping with depression and grief.

Two recurring words in the book are dream and imagine, which gesture toward the speakers desire to move past struggle and into a place of acceptance (its alright, love, that we dont love/ living), if not healing. Tierneys Rise and Float, about forging ahead despite the burdens that weigh the spirit down, is perhaps the most honest representation of trying to survive in the current state of the world.

Trans All the Flowers Kneeling is a remarkable book dealing with sexual assault and a survivors hard-won journey toward recovery: In violence I found a voice. One of the speakers lifelines is their mothers own story of resilience, she a Vietnamese refugee who defied the odds in order to reimagine her path.

The speaker wants to reach for that inner strength, but such a feat becomes complicated for a person negotiating their queer identity in the process, and the disturbing revelation that, as a child, they were molested by their father. The present turmoil, then, becomes a means to come to terms with the past, even as the psyche risks further injury: what humiliated me// as I relived my death in that room without sunrise/ wasnt my desire for light but my desire for more darkness.

Another important source of light for the speaker is Scheherazade (a tale the speakers mother told them as a child), whose storytelling prowess kept her alive, one night at a time. For the speaker, each poem is a step away from a metaphorical death, the realm of silence and shame: I, too, will be victorious/ like my mother. Like Scheherazade, Ill survive// in the end. Ill survive the end./ Even when I was helpless, I wasnt hopeless. As details of the speakers experiences surface they are distressing but now visible and real the reader too will come to believe that this young survivor will prevail, defined not by the wrongs done to them, but by the courage of their coming forward and giving language to the unbearable.

In one of the less-charged encounters in All the Flowers Kneeling, the speaker describes riding a car to an engagement. The curious driver begins to ask questions, the passenger, disarmed, answers them, sharing their personal story. By the end of the fare, the driver says, Yours isnt just a story about survival. Yours is a story about love. The poignant pronouncement summarizes the book perfectly, and it is quite moving to witness the speaker arrive at that truth through self-empowerment and self-love.

Rise and FloatBy Brian Tierney (Milkweed Editions; 80 pages; $16 paperback)

All the Flowers KneelingBy Paul Tran(Penguin Books; 112 pages; $18 paperback)

Paul Tran with sam sax: In person and virtual. 7 p.m. Feb. 8. Free. Masks and proof of vaccination required for in-person event; registration required for virtual event. Green Apple Books, 1231 Ninth Ave., S.F. http://www.greenapplebooks.comBrian Tierney book launch: In-person and virtual. 7 p.m. Feb. 11. Free. Masks and proof of vaccination required for in-person event; registration required for virtual event. Green Apple Books, 1231 Ninth Ave., S.F. http://www.greenapplebooks.com

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Review: Two Bay Area poets give voice to their personal pain and survival - SF Chronicle Datebook

Figure skater Timothy LeDuc will make history when they enter Beijing National Stadium for the 2022 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony Friday. Less than a year after Quinn and Alana Smith brought non-binary identities to the Olympic stage, LeDuc will do the same for the Winter Games.

The scope of the moment isnt lost on the two-time national champion. LeDucs mere presence in Beijing feels significant, existing outside of the gender binary in the Olympic host nation so obsessed with maintaining traditional ideals of masculinity that it banned unmanly depictions of men across its media.

But LeDucs commitment to bringing non-binary individuals to a place of comfort goes far beyond simply walking alongside Team USA or taking the ice with skating partner Ashley Cain-Gribble. They see the Olympics as the most prominent stage to showcase firsthand how boxing people into culturally defined ideas of gender should be pass.

My hope is now being openly non-binary and being outspoken about this, maybe it will make a path for other non-binary and queer athletes that come into pairs and ice dance, LeDuc told Reuters. I hope that, you know, me being open and authentic helps to move the conversation forward and help people understand more that people can be amazing athletes and still exist outside of the binary.

A major component of LeDucs message plays on the ice. Figure skating remains a sport steeped in traditional presentations of gender, but LeDuc and Cain-Gribble have made a point to push figure skatings boundaries of gender representation, even before LeDuc began using they/them pronouns last year.

LeDuc regularly sports colorful eye shadow during media appearances while Cain-Gribble donned a full leotard for one of their routines, a practice that was banned by the International Skating Union from 1988 to 2004.

We want people to look at our skating and know that they dont have to change who they are in order to be a part of this sport, in order to do something that theyre passionate about, Cain-Gribble told NBC Connecticut.

The two have also worked to break stereotypes in the masculinity-femininity narrative common in pairs skating programs. The duo ditched the romantic tropes that dominate pairs skating, choosing instead to focus on personal empowerment after being written off for not fitting figure skatings rigid mold.

It just had everything to do with us both being such strong, amazing athletes and that we didnt want to diminish either one of our amazing abilities on the ice, LeDuc said.

If I want to wear a dress, its because I want to. Its not because somebody is wanting me to be more feminine, Cain-Gribble added.

LeDucs voice extends beyond the rink as well. After they and Cain-Gribble captured the 2022 pairs national championship last month, LeDuc used the moment to highlight human rights violations committed by the Chinese government against the nations Uyghur population before turning their sights to the domestic legislative battles against trans and gender-diverse youth.

I see human rights being violated here, in my country, LeDuc said. I see trans people fighting for human rights. I believe that healthcare is a human right, and I see access to healthcare being denied.

So often, state and local governments are the ones who are restricting those rights. I feel powerless sometimes, seeing the situation in China. I can use my voice here, yes. But what I can do here to defend human rights is be sure that I am vigilant.

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Timothy LeDuc breaks the binary as USA Winter Olympic figure skater - Outsports

Like its heroine, Mitchell Lichtensteins indie horror-comedy Teeth is more than it appears at first glance. The poster shows a woman almost completely submerged in an opaque bubble bath and warns that the film is the most alarming cautionary tale for men since Fatal Attraction. The woman is Dawn (Jess Weixler), a virginity-obsessed teenager who discovers that her vagina contains a set of sharp and deadly teeth, a phenomenon known as Vagina Dentata. But the quirky film is so much more than a cautionary tale for men.

Its the story of a young woman discovering her own sexuality and with it, her empowerment. While definitely terrifying for anyone with a penis, Teeth also explores the dangers of abstinence-only sex education, flips rape culture on its head, and reveals the fallacy of female monstrosity. Throughout the film, Dawn learns to overcome the culture of sexual repression shes been raised in and stops looking at her body through the lens of fear.

Dawn is an extremely religious teenager. Shes a spokesperson for the films version of True Love Waits, an abstinence-only approach to sex education and youth ministry in which young people are taught that its their sacred duty to remain virgins until marriage. Early in the film, Dawn gives a speech to a group of pre-teens and teenagers in which she extolls the virtues of remaining pure. She equates her virginity to a precious gift she will keep wrapped, waiting to be opened only by her future husband on their wedding night.

During her monolog, she locks eyes with Tobey (Hale Appleman), a new student with whom she shares an instant attraction. On their second date, Tobey rapes Dawn in a cave off the lake where they were swimming. During the assault, her body responds by biting off his penis with the teeth in her vagina. This sets Dawn on a course of discovery of her own body and the truth about what sexuality and empowerment really mean.

Though we first meet teenage Dawn onstage, the opening scene reveals a darker past. As a young child, she was assaulted by her now stepbrother, Brad (Hunter Ulvog, John Hensley). While sitting together in a plastic pool, he penetrates her with his finger and gets a nasty bite in return. Too young to fully understand what is happening, her body protects itself. Though Dawn likely buries the assault deep within her memory, mental scars manifest as a fear of sexual intimacy. This fear is reinforced by the religious program she touts. It tells her that her sexual desires are shameful and giving in to them will cause emotional pain similar to the trauma she probably repressed as a child.

To be clear, there is absolutely nothing wrong with saving sex until marriage. The choice to lose ones virginity is a personal decision and bodily autonomy means protecting the right to abstinence as well. Dawn talks about the special gift shell give her future husband. Its clear this is a fantasy she holds dear. Her room is decorated with pictures of wedding dresses and she doodles sketches of brides during class. But beneath her sacred vow of purity lies a deep fear of her body as a sexual force and the slut shaming ideology shes been raised with.

She warns boys to beware of girls who dress like models in a music video. She heaps scorn on girls she describes as giving it away to anyone they pass on the street. Shes internalized the madonna/whore complex; Dawn sees any woman who hasnt made the same vow of chastity as a dangerous temptress, impure and unclean. After she is raped, she can only see herself as impure. Her perfect future is ruined; shes devastated to realize that her belief system provides no path to redemption.

In her speech, Dawn describes virginity as a special gift, an object to be saved for a special man who will receive it in exchange for a lifelong commitment. By equating her virginity with a gift, she is objectifying her purity, casting it as a prized possession to be sold in the transaction of marriage. If she has sex with someone else, she will become less valuable as a wife, ruined in the eyes of her future husband. She is essentially using sex as currency, awarding it to the man who will provide her with a life of safety and stability.

This objectification is the essence rape culture in which women are solely responsible for maintaining their purity while men prove their masculinity by claiming it. By patriarchal standards, a virginal wife is every bit a status symbol for a man as a prominent husband is for a woman. This harmful ideology is steeped in heteronormativity. It not only shuns non-virgins, but brands queer, trans, and non-binary people as deviant and casts them out of society.

This is all designed to reinforce the established patriarchal order and maintain control over the next generation of women and non-conforming people. By vilifying female sexuality, powerful male leaders try to prevent their children from making choices that threaten the dominant culture. By teaching women to fear their own anatomy and making them responsible for this prize of purity, they keep men in power. If a woman is raped, she is no longer pure. She carries the stigma of the crime while the man is understood to be a victim of her sexuality and his uncontrollable urges. When Dawn is raped, she immediately questions what is wrong with her own body rather than viewing Tobeys fate as a natural consequence of his own actions.

Once Dawn discovers the teeth inside her, she begins to investigate the mythology attached to their origins. She learns that the Vagina Dentata phenomenon is a legend stemming from a fear of female autonomy and designed to vilify sexually empowered women. The toothed creature is a woman with the ability to defend herself against unwanted penetration. Because this rejection gives her power over a transgressing man, she is to be feared. She becomes a monster threatening patriarchal order. The legend tells of a hero who must conquer these teeth, reestablishing the accepted order in which men are able to take whatever they want with no resistance. The mythology equates sex with a mans epic journey further reinforcing rape cultures view of women as gatekeepers to be infiltrated and men the conquering heroes.

As Dawn learns more about herself, she slowly grows into her empowerment. When consulting a doctor for help, she is again assaulted. And once again her teeth defend her, biting off four of her doctors fingers. He now bears the scars of his own actions and must carry the burden of explaining what he did. Dawn has physically branded him a rapist. Distraught, she turns to would-be suitor Ryan (Ashley Springer). He feigns concern, gives her one of his moms nerve pills, draws her a bath, and pours champagne. After passing out Dawn awakens to find Ryan molesting her. They have sex and shes so overcome with joy that hes still alive, that the monstrosity she believes her vagina to be hasnt destroyed him, that she doesnt even realize that hes taken advantage of her.

The next morning theyre having consensual sex when Ryan takes a call from a friend to brag about his newest conquest. Disgusted, she castrates him with her teeth and storms out, wondering how she ever could have considered him a hero.

Though Ryans actions are inexcusable, Dawn has learned a valuable lesson. She now knows that there is nothing wrong with her. She is not a monster to be conquered and sex is something she can enjoy physically as well. Its the turning point in her story and the beginning of her sexual awakening. At the films climax, Dawn finally gets revenge for the assault in her childhood. She seduces her stepbrother, Brad, then uses her teeth on him. Its an intentional act that gives her the justice society will not.

Hitchhiking out of town, she again encounters a would-be rapist. The old man who offers her a ride makes crude faces while refusing to let her out of his car. But Dawns slow smile at the camera shows that she now knows she has the power and the right to defend herself. She is not helpless against a man who believes he has the authority to claim her body simply because he has a penis. Rather than the prize, she has become the predator. Abusive men are her prey.

In an earlier scene, Dawns biology teacher describes adaptations and genetic mutations, a metaphor for Dawns transformation throughout the film. She is a highly evolved creature with a new bodily feature benefiting her survival. The teeth in her vagina allow her to defend herself against a world designed to exploit her. She has the ultimate weapon against rape culture between her legs. Though her teeth may keep men from raping a second time, they cannot directly protect other women. But Dawn has another sort of power: her leadership.

In describing her first speech, Tobey marvels over how inspiring the audience finds her. They respond not only to her words, but her passion as well. Even her name, Dawn, evokes the fresh start of a new day; a new beginning. Rather than spread fear and repression, maybe her words can inspire a new generation of young people on the path to discovering who they are and what their bodies can do.

We dont see the end of Dawns story, but I like to imagine her finding a new, more empowered life and giving a different kind of speech. I see her standing on a new stage encouraging young men and women to cast aside the fear they feel when they look at themselves in the mirror.

Perhaps she can inspire more girls to develop their own defenses and empower the boys in her audience to take responsibility for their actions. She has the power to brand them rapists with her deadly bite, yes. But she can also inspire a new generation to brand them rapists with their words. She can also show women that they deserve sexual power and pleasure. Dawn learns that she is not the monster patriarchy paints her to be, and her story has the power to help other women see this as well. Her sexual desire doesnt make her dangerous; it makes her human. By embracing her body for everything it is and everything it can be, Dawn inspires us all to look at ourselves in the mirror and find a way to love what we see.

Categorized: Editorials Matriarchy Rising News

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Teeth and the Dawn of Adaptive Empowerment [Matriarchy Rising] - Dread Central

La La Anthony photo by Solmaz Saberi

NEW YORK (PRWEB) February 03, 2022

La La Anthony launches her first ever hair care line, INALA, debuting on http://www.shopinala.com this month. With a mission to fuel confidence and boost empowerment, Anthony pulled on her personal experience to create thoughtful, results-driven products that work to inspire self assurance. What started as an experiment in her kitchen turned into a fulfilling experience filled with self discovery and the debut of the INALA brand.

I believe that strength, confidence, and power come from being who we truly are," says Anthony. "INALA was created out of a personal need and turned out to be much more. The journey of creating the INALA Rice Water Complex, which is the power behind the brand, is a story Im excited to share.

During COVID when Anthony was home for a long stretch of time, she began to notice that years of being in a stylist's chair and having her hair pulled, prodded and manipulated had taken a real, noticeable toll. Looking to find a solution to treat and restore her hair health, Anthony took a deep dive into the power of rice water. Because rice water has been used to enhance skin and hair for centuries, Anthony was committed to educating herself. Her research led to countless how to YouTube videos about nutrient-rich rice water. After making and using her own rice water treatments at home, the proof was in her hair and friends started to take notice. That was the catalyst that led Anthony to find a reputable team of beauty experts that could help bring her vision to life. The resultINALAs signature Rice Water Complex.

Great hair defines a mood and every hairstyle tells its own story. Knowing this, INALA prides itself on developing products that do the heavy lifting so that empowered hair is simple and effortless to achieve. Much like the beauty of a white smile or the smooth look of clear skin, healthy hair only takes a little bit of effort with the right products.

INALAs Power Potion, a leave-in treatment that combines the power of nature with the best of science to encourage healthy hair growth, is the first product in the line. Infused with INALAs signature complex of Rice Water, Biotin, Arginine and a variety of hair strengthening ingredients, there is power in every drop. Used once a day, it nourishes the scalp and strands at the root.

About INALAFounded by La La Anthony, INALA is a haircare brand with a mission to boost hair health from the crown down. The brand is built around 5 pillars; Inclusion, Nourishment, Accessibility, Listening/Learning, and Amplification. These pillars align and direct our product development and brand mission. They also happen to spell out our name, INALA. Like its founder, INALA embraces all forms of beauty and encourages acceptance by offering treatment-focused solutions for the common hair issues that women face. http://www.shopinala.com / Follow @INALA

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La La Anthony Debuts INALA, Her First-Ever Hair Care Line Fueled by the Power of Her Signature Rice Water Complex - PR Web

OKC Mayoral Election: Jimmy Lawson hopes to be voice for all residents

Oklahoma city mayoral candidate Jimmy Lawson talks about his run for office. The election will be held Feb. 8.

Addison Kliewer, Oklahoman

Jimmy Lawson said the idea to run for mayor was first put in his mind by his late father.

The two were building a fence together on Sept. 15, 2019, when Bishop Lawson Sr. paused. Bishop, who Lawson said was "fully healthy,"told his son that he wasn't going to be around much longer, and that he had an idea of what Lawson's future could hold.

"I want you to write this word down: the mayor," Lawson recalled his father saying.

Just four days later, Lawson's father died.

"Just like a puff of smoke," Lawson said of Bishop's unexpected death."That forced me to really focus on what he was trying to get me to see."

Related: Q&A: 7 questions with OKC mayoral candidate Jimmy Lawson

Since announcing his campaign in June, Lawson has run on the platform of ending homelessness, youth empowerment through education, police reform and economic development.

He has raised $3,913in campaign funds as of the third quarter of 2021, with most notably a $500 donation from Kim Kardashian, who he met while advocating for the release of hischildhood friend Julius Jones from Oklahoma's death row.

A proud Oklahoma City native,Lawson is a finance and economicsprofessor at Rose State College and the director of Permitting Services at the Oklahoma Workers' Compensation Commission. He graduated from Northwest OKC's John Marshall High School before accepting a Division I basketball scholarship from Grambling State University.

After his freshman season, he continued his basketball career at Oklahoma City University, where he earned his bachelor's in finance and his master's in business administration. Lawson still has a love for the sport he grew up playing, having coached all three of his daughters basketball teams.

At the only mayoral debate, Lawson took the incumbent's absence as an opportunity to point out Mayor David Holt's silence on Jones's case, which garnered national attention as Gov. Kevin Stitt waited until four hours before the execution to grant Jones clemency.

Lawson and Jones have been best friends since the sixth grade, and Lawson was one of the loudest voices proclaiming Jones' innocence.

More: Oklahoma City mayor election central: All about the 2022 candidates and more

"If you're a mayor of a city that has a national casein your lap, I think is your responsibility toat least make a statement," Lawson said.

The Jones case drew comment from prominent leaders and celebrities in the state and nation like Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr., Oklahoma State Superintendent and gubernatorial candidateJoy Hofmeister, Bernice King and former OU quarterback Baker Mayfield.

Holt told The Oklahomanhe didn't feel it was his place to speak up about something the governor's office had jurisdiction over.

"The murder was in Edmond, I never saw a role for the mayor of Oklahoma City," Holt said.

A self-proclaimed "PK" preacher's kidLawson said his late fatherinstilled in him the knowledge that he could accomplish whatever he set out to do.

And as a Christian, Lawson said his principles of compassion, grace and mercy for all people will follow him to his role as mayor.

These values are what give him a passion for serving others, which he has done in diverse ways over the years. Lawson founded the John Marshall Impact Team in 2019 as a way to mentor students at John Marshall Middle School.

More: OKC mayor candidates -- except for Mayor David Holt -- square off in only debate

He also helps with NewPoint Church's homeless outreach ministry, hosted an annual Christmas toy drive for underprivileged youth and started an annual $1,000 college scholarship to Oklahoma City high school seniors in honor of hisfather.

Lawson said a priority for him as mayor would be to give a voice to those who haven't had one before.

"There's a lot of hurting people in OKC," he said.

Lawson has said throughout his campaign that the city's homeless population is one of his biggest concerns.

"I think that the city has done aninefficient job at putting programs and resources into place to address this issue," he said at the debate.

Oklahoma City's last point-in-time count of the city's homeless found 1,573 people either on the street, at a shelter, meal site or in transitional housingon Jan. 23, 2020. It was the highest since 2007, but the yearly count has fluctuated between 1,000 and 1,500 for the past decade.

In 2013, OKC implemented a "housing first" model to address homelessness, with the idea that people needed a place to live before they could address the issues keeping them on the street. However, in 2021 the city's Task Force on Homelessness adopted a multi-faceted plan to end homelessness, with housing being only one of eight focus areas.

MAPS 4, a one-cent sales tax approved by voters in 2019, allocated $50 million for "truly affordable housing."

As part of his plan to end homelessness, Lawson said he envisionsa "homeless transitional complex," where unhoused folks can access mental health resources, assistance finding jobs, and more.

"Let's get them whole, let's get them trained up, and then let's talk about companies coming into Oklahoma City … that are willing to allow these individuals to have that second chance," Lawson said.

He said he's interested in using the $50 million earmarked for housing for the complex. This would require five votesfromcity council to change the MAPS 4 resolution of intent, which describes each of the 16 projects and was laid out for voters in 2019.

Another$40 million is allocated in MAPS 4 to fund twomental health crisis centers, arestoration center andtemporary crisis housing.

Through his time as a professor, Lawson said he came to understand the importance of education.

Plenty of students could benefit, he said, from more opportunities for mentorship, career information and life skill building.

That's where his plancomes in. Lawson would like to see the four MAPS 4 youth centers, for which $110 million is allocated, become what he calls "youth empowerment centers."

Not only would the centers have recreational opportunities but allow kids to meet with mentors andaccess tutoring.

"I'm excited about this piece of the pie," Lawson said."I think we have enough money to really build a complex that really can serve the youth from start to finish."

Other priorities for Lawson includeexpanding development outside of downtown, diversifying the types of companies coming into the city and improving community and police relations.

Lawson made clear that he is for the police and not for defunding them.

"It's such a sensitive time when it comes to law enforcement/citizen relationship," he said."I would totally challenge the status quo … (by looking) at different ways to help improve resources and training for officers."

Lawson, like Holt's two other challengers for mayor, has no experience as an elected official. However,he doesn't see that as something that should keep OKC voters from checking his name on their ballot.

"I'm not filtered by the system," Lawson said.

Lawson has gained skills he feels are necessary for the mayor's office in other ways.

As a professor, he says h learned how to communicate with people from all walks of life.

As a father, he says he learned how to pass on his own values to the next generation.

As a volunteer, he says he learned how to turn personal convictions into action.

"When we talk about a mayor, in my opinion, I'm talking about a leader who is able to manage adversity, and manage controversy," Lawson said."Being the lead person to the Julius Jones movement put me in a position where I had to talk about things that were tough, manage things that were tough, have conversations with leadership that was tough."

If elected, Lawson said he would bring a fresh perspective and a challenge to the status quo atcity hall and the city council.

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Jimmy Lawson vies for mayor's office, prioritizing homelessness and empowerment of youth - Oklahoman.com