By Ann Rostow–
Straight Women Behaving Badly
I thought I’d start this week’s column with news from the Eleventh Circuit, which will rehear a transgender lawsuit before the full court, likely nullifying a 2–1 panel victory for the Houston County, Georgia, transgender sheriff’s office employee, Anna Lange.
I also have news from the Supreme Court, where the justices refused to modify a block on Joe Biden’s transgender friendly interpretation of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. Biden’s policy is meant to enforce the High Court’s 2020 GLBT civil rights victory, and notably Justice Gorsuch, who wrote that opinion, voted with our three liberal justices to let the Biden rule take effect. Unfortunately, five other justices voted against their colleagues, which puts the rule on hold in 26 states while various lawsuits slowly make their ways up their judicial ladders.
As is often the case with these legal news stories, I will be obliged to read opinions and briefs and articles in order to provide details and insight. But as I was looking around for these materials, I noticed that I have saved an article titled “Woman Sentenced for Chopping Boyfriend to Pieces” from August 10. And yes, I saved it for you!
The story comes from a place called Headline Smart, which has lately been dropping outrageous-sounding news items into my email inbox. I don’t know what I did to attract their attention, and I don’t usually click on their tabloid offerings. Who knows where they come from and/or if they’re even true? This one, however, was too good to ignore.
“Maryland resident, Michelina Desiree Goodwin, 46, has been sentenced to 61 years in prison for the murder and dismemberment of her boyfriend, James Volodimir Nalborczyk, 50,” we learn from whomever it is who sent us this item. “Goodwin was convicted of second-degree murder, unauthorized disposal of a body, and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.”
Nalborczyk’s body parts were found scattered across two counties. An air-conditioner technician by trade, he had a fight with Goodwin, who then shot him in the back. Goodwin then got a buddy to help her chop him up and dump the bits around the countryside. She eventually confessed her guilt to police.
Hmmm. Wouldn’t it be better to bury the guy or put his body in the ocean with some weights? His family and the cops might have thought he went on a lengthy vacation. Plus, it would be tough to pin his disappearance on the girlfriend without evidence. Finally, after googling “headline smart,” I see that it’s considered somewhat harmless spam. I have a similar email spammer called “Informing News” that is urging me to read about “Missing woman’s remains discovered in fertilizer tank” but I think we’ve had enough, don’t you?
(She’s been missing for three years and her husband is under arrest!)
Love Means Having to Say You’re Sorry
I was mildly interested in the case of Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran, who snapped back at a heckling fan during a recent at bat against Houston. “Shut up you f-ing faggot,” he yelled, earning a two-day suspension without pay, which will be diverted to some gay rights cause.
When I read that sales of his jersey went through the roof after the incident, it was more than annoying. This, ladies and germs, is where MAGA has brought us. To the point where grown men are transformed into childish schoolyard bullies, eager to prove their masculinity by denigrating gay men. Really, guys?
The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. What idiots are buying his stupid jersey? Then I read about Duran’s reaction to the whole mess. According to a report in The Hill, Duran apologized profusely, admitting the word he used was “truly horrific.”
“I feel awful knowing how many people I offended and disappointed,” he said in his statement. “I apologize to the entire Red Sox organization, but more importantly, to the entire LGBTQ community. Our young fans are supposed to be able to look up to me as a role model, but tonight I fell far short of that responsibility.”
The black cloud above my head evaporated in an instant. My entire impression of Duran flipped from negative to positive. And the moral of the story is that a heartfelt expression of remorse goes a hell of a long way to easing conflicts. I suppose I knew that, but because I didn’t see the apology until the very end of my reading, this obvious lesson was delivered in an unusually powerful manner.
Pass The Haggis
Watching the Democratic National Convention, I was suffused with excitement and whatever it is we are all feeling since the Harris/Walz candidacy took hold. Oh my God, you guys! I can’t help feeling the moment, even as I recognize that a) this will be a close race and b) the Republicans have a number of shady characters positioned to interfere with election procedures. All I want is for Harris and Walz to run up the polls and win this race by ten or fifteen points in the popular vote and huge margins in the electoral college.
Oh, and I’ve started to really detest JD Vance. I never liked him, but now I find him despicable. While waiting for interesting speakers, I read a piece on the subject of “queer food.”
Listen. I’m no fan of the right-wing politicians who are trying to shut down university classes on culture, on race, on politics, on gender, and so forth. But there are some topics that make me roll my eyes. The subject of “queer food” may fall into this category.
In college, we all searched our handbooks at the start of each semester for fun “gut” courses. One time my roommate and I signed up for Geology 101, aka “rocks for jocks” that had recently been revamped into a tough introduction for science majors. We didn’t know that, so we both flunked out of that class. Oops.
With that in mind, a New York Times article from earlier this summer describes a Queer Food event at Boston University. “The way you slice into okra and it’s crunchy and ooshy-gushy—a lot of people think it’s weird,” said Ms. DuBose, a nonbinary transgender lesbian who will soon graduate from the food studies program at New York University. “But okra is queer.”
“Queer food defies categorization, and that’s its beauty,” said Megan J. Elias, who organized the conference with Alex D. Ketchum, an assistant professor at the Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies at McGill.
University in Montreal
No. It defies categorization because it’s not a thing! And you know what? Looking back, I did not deserve to get college credit for lackadaisical attention to geology class, and I did not. But nor should our kids deserve to get credit for mindless courses on “queer food.” I guess this was a conference rather than a course, but still. Okra? “Ooshy gushy?” Spare me.
“The goal of the event was to reclaim histories and imagine futures, not of a cuisine—queer food has no set taste profiles or geographic origins—but of food that ‘challenges binaries and any kind of normativity,’ said Ms. Elias, the director of the Gastronomy and Food Studies Programs at Boston University.” Food that “challenges binaries?” What does that even mean?
Sad About GLAAD
Lately I feel as if I’m verging on becoming a contrarian. I hate contrarians, because usually the majority opinion on something is the majority for a reason. Often that reason is because the majority is correct. Contrarians, in turn, are geared towards attracting attention and making a name for themselves. Think of the gay couples who “opposed” marriage because it was a heterosexual institution. These characters would win headlines along the lines of “Not All Gays Support Marriage Equality,” even as 95 percent of us did support marriage and the other five percent were whackos.
On transgender minors, it seems to me that we need a lot more research, a lot more history, and a case-by-case evaluation of what a preteen or young teen needs. That’s what various countries in Western Europe are telling us, and that’s just common sense. Some kids may desperately need hormone therapy and puberty blockers. We must make sure those therapies are available. Others may be torn. They may need time to work out their feelings. One thing we don’t need is government restrictions, but at the same time, the road ahead is complicated, don’t you think?
And on the future of gay civil rights organizations, I’m shaking my head a little bit. James Kirchick, writing in The Atlantic, looked at the gay groups that had, let’s say, outgrown their original mandates but still kept grinding away rather than admit to creeping irrelevance. I have to say, I sympathized with his critique.
Look, we have made incredible progress in the last thirty years. As I wrote last week, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) was once an essential watchdog against a hostile press. But these days, much as we like to maintain our victim status, we are basically part of the mainstream of American culture. Newspapers and magazines are on our side. We are rarely criticized, and when we are, we can expect an uproar in our favor.
What exactly does GLAAD do? And, of course, in view of recent headlines, why does the GLAAD CEO make tons of money, fly first class, and why does the nonprofit pay for her vacation rental and her home office? You should know that The New York Times article on GLAAD’s free-spending chief continues to anger GLBT commentators and activists, particularly since the organization defended its priorities and basically told all of us with raised eyebrows to mind our own business.
While we’re at it, what exactly does the Human Rights Campaign do, aside from rank corporations and throw fancy dinners? I have no problem with our legal groups: Lambda, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and the ACLU. These guys are always on call for civil rights litigation, which never stops. I think The Victory Fund is important, working to elect GLBT candidates to office. I think local groups are helpful community centers. I think we still need activists, particularly transgender activists.
And nor do I think GLBT organizations have to operate on bare bones budgets. We have money and we should invest in our ongoing movement. But let’s also recognize that we have achieved a lot of our goals in thirty years. One recent GLAAD statement bemoaned the fact that approval for GLBT citizens has declined … from 84 percent to 80 percent. So, that’s not great, but then again, that’s pretty great for some of us who have lived through the previous decades. I guess my point is that our traditional GLBT organizations need to cast aside the victimhood rubric and look towards a future of progress and dignity.
Finally, I was going to remind everyone that the Log Cabin (gay) Republicans paid Melania Trump $237,000 to speak at an April fundraiser they held at Mar-A-Lago. Of all the gay groups that outgrew their usefulness, the Log Cabin Club needs special mention. I had some friends back in the day who were members of Log Cabin because they were Republicans and gay. Makes sense, right? Now the only ones left in the club are gay and lesbian MAGA voters with enough cash to lure the elusive Melania to their podium.
The group reportedly received pledges of a million or so from the sixty deep pocketed attendees, which included lots of women. According to The Daily Beast, each member of the audience pledged between $10,000 and $250,000 to the cause, which was described as a “get out the vote” fund for you know who. What. Ever.
arostow@aol.com
GLBT Fortnight in Review
Published on August 22, 2024
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