Yes, I admit that this is a hilarious parody. I’m trying to see it as just that and not take it more seriously than I should, but I wonder how real any of this (either drug addiction or discrimination based on race and/or sexual orientation) is to anyone involved in creating either this clip or this site. The global reality is that, almost 3 decades later, HIV/AIDS still disproportionately affects LGBT people of color - many of whom can’t afford the ‘intervention’ being parodied because of lack of adequate health care.
OK - let’s say that ‘Bob’ (the parody’s protagonist) stops doing Tina and decides to take care of himself. Then what? Who’s lining up to offer him employment or a way to continue his education or affordable housing or health care? Mind you, I’m not even talking about ‘acceptance’ - fuck that. There will always be people who won’t accept him. The problem is that those people are usually the same people doing the hiring in human resources. No, not just your local pharmaceutical or on Wall Street, but on Broadway. At Motion. At Viacom. At Microsoft. At Google. At Craigslist. At the LGBT Center. Hell, probably at the deli where Kristin bought that sandwich. It’s easy to sing to someone you love when you’re concerned that his life might be at risk, but I’m guessing that drug addiction usually starts somewhere else. No one’s at FunnyOrDie seems to be poking fun at the people who actively ensure that other people they dislike or can’t relate to don’t have any way to take care of themselves. I guess it’s more difficult to find the humor in that.
Concern about drug addiction is one thing but using that as a conduit to dictate what kind of sex LGBT people should have is pretense - no matter how much it’s wrapped up in the fabulous musical theatre divaness that is Kristin Chenoweth. We don’t tell you how to fuck, so maybe you should concentrate on something closer to home, like what kind of sex you’re having with your boyfriends and husbands. And what they’re doing to facilitate that urge when you’re not around. During this parody, the gay meth addicted son/kid brother gets all the spotlight for his love of sucking dick, but consider the possibility that his father and older brother might be up on Craigslist right along with him. (When I typed this, I couldn’t help but notice ads on the top and to the right of this clip for CBS’ “Gary Unmarried” - a sitcom I’ll probably never watch. Coincidence?) Personally, I don’t care what other consenting adults choose to do sexually - gay, straight or otherwise - I just hope that all parties involved are enjoying themselves and taking care of each other. I’m more focused on the sex I have and want to have - not on someone else’s sexual itinerary.
]]>Go get that copy of Jet magazine from your coffee table and turn to the middle, (you know, just before you get to the Jet Beauty centerfold). Traditionally, the bride wears white and the groom wears black. (That’s probably a thesis in and of itself.) And the groom - aren’t people (usually men) who train and tend horses also called ‘grooms’? Before a horse is ridden, it’s fitted with a bridle over its head. And, for extra control, blinders are attached to the bridle to limit the horse’s sight. Let’s see: bridle made of leather, bridal veil made of lace … and I don’t believe there are many horses that ask to be bought, groomed and ridden. Just like there probably aren’t many brides who’ve carried their grooms over the threshold - a marriage tradition that bears a remarkable resemblance to this famous series of paintings and sculptures.
For many, the marriage ceremony is an incredibly lavish religious sacrament and no expense is spared. For many others, it’s not - and the legal document is sufficient. A state license that sanctions a religious ceremony doesn’t exactly scream out ‘separation of church and state’ but it automatically grants many benefits to anyone allowed to marry. Many of those benefits are saturated with the same inequality found at the very core of the idea of marriage, but wouldn’t some of those benefits (i.e. specifying who takes care of you in the event of a medical emergency) also be beneficial to single people? And those celebratory trips together down the aisles of our local churches won’t automatically result in lifelong sustainable relationships - or in regular everyday trips together down the aisles of our local supermarkets.
Personally, I see marriage equality mostly as a ruse of suburban white gays who don’t really give a shit about equality to reclaim another sizeable chunk of white privilege, so I won’t be picketing for or against it. The Governator was referring to those of a certain income bracket when he exposed the basis of trickle-down theory in his statement that same-sex marriage would be good for the economy; other politicians will probably rely on the same excuse to offer their halfhearted support.
You may kiss …
]]>I haven’t seen your documentary, but I did browse its site. That itself revealed enough for me and was probably much more than those who attended your recent premiere were able to access before the Q&A you hosted. None of the children you feature on the site have the same bright eyes or round cheeks as David Banda (the Malawi boy you’re hoping to adopt, although his father is alive). Why are you attempting to adopt a child with a living parent instead of a child whose parents have both died of AIDS? You had many choices between funding David’s well-being from afar or personally nurturing him as his mother - and you seem to have chosen the latter option. Do you also intend to adopt and personally nurture other Malawi children infected with HIV regardless of their parents whereabouts?
While we’re talking about AIDS and your documentary, I noticed that the first interviewee listed is Bill Clinton. Are you aware that the word ‘pharmaceutical’ is conspicuously absent from his foundation’s website? As you probably know, he’s working purportedly to make drugs like antiretrovirals more accessible to Africans infected with HIV and, last I checked, only pharmaceuticals make those particular drugs in Africa. Although the focus of your documentary is about AIDS’ destruction of an entire African country, there are those who not only know the numbers but who also understand and relate to the spiritual aspects of this onslaught’s impact much more than many of those you’ve chosen to interview, but people like Dr. Marjorie Hill are conspicuously absent from your project. I really expected much more perspicacity from someone like you, since there are probably not many people alive who can say they have witnessed the devastation of HIV/AIDS from a perspective as wide or as varied as yours.
I didn’t see you at Willi Ninja’s memorial service after he died of AIDS, but he left behind the House of Ninja and its children - many of whom were left parentless once again. (That’s the House of Ninja - not the House of Xtravaganza - although HIV/AIDS has decimated much of Black and Latino gay life inside and outside of the house community throughout the world.) Yet I read that you recently appeared on BET’s 106 & Park for an interview probably more about selling your new album than anything else, replete with gold chains. Why does an artist of your stature only seem to appear as ‘urban’ when it’s convenient for you and your marketers when youth who are truly urban could have benefited from the sincerity of your presence a long time ago? You see what New York City has become and take no responsibility for it. Where have you been? Once upon a time, its nightlife made you who you are. What have you given back to it? Is this documentary supposed to count? I question anything that proselytizes, but I guess there’s not much difference between evangelizing and working a sales pitch.
People of color in your employ this time around include Timbaland (what, no Missy?), his partner Danja and Pharrell Williams (without his partner Chad Hugo). People of color you’ve employed in the past include Jose & Luis Xtravaganza, Niki Haris and your daughter’s father, Carlos Leon. (Grammy winner Lisa Fischer, Siedah Garrett, the legendary Nile Rodgers and Babyface all had substantial careers before you ever employed them.) I don’t expect an artist of your stature to maintain professional ties that span the entire extent of your career (not like Liz Rosenberg) but witnessing the significant role race has played in your career while reading quotes like “If I weren’t for me, David would be dead.” (with David’s father being very much alive) make you more than a bit suspect as a role model for any Black child. All those salad days at the Paradise Garage, dancing to and being influenced by the Black music that Larry played, all seem to evaporate now that you wield the surreptitious white privilege that gives you the power to say such things and do pretty much whatever you want without incident or consequence. Once you collect whatever it is you want from us, you seem to revert back to someone who is white and who doesn’t want to be confused as anything else. It looks like you’re trying to mitigate your greed with philanthropy and your entitlement with religion. Is behavior like that supposed to be indicative of someone struggling with the realities of race in this world effectively enough within herself to then nurture children regardless of their respective races?
LiveNation knows why they’ve given you $120 million, and frankly I can’t blame them. You’ll probably be around for a little while longer. But honey, your slip is showing - and so is your agenda.
]]>(Note to Bill: the word ‘pharmaceutical’ doesn’t show up even once on your foundation’s website. Kudos to your marketing team.)
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