Hi, Everyone!
Here's your 'Arts & Culture Round-Up' for today...
I'm fascinated by couples who share the same career such as in the case of Ben Draghi and Richie Shazam (pictured above). As their relationship grew so did their professional profile. The talented duo are making their mark in the fashion world. “Part of our process is learning from each other,” says Shazam. Read their story below.
Ah, relationships! Meeting people, even in the best of times, can be full of challenges. Is the pandemic wrecking havoc on your sex life? For many folks these days Covid-19 is a boner-killer.
You just never know who other people know. I was surprised to learn that Nobel Prize-winning physicist Marie Curie was friends with lesbian dancer, Loïe Fuller. I remember learning about Madame Curie in school but I was not familiar with Loïe Fuller at all. Luckily, there's a new biography about Fuller and she won't be relegated to a footnote in history. A reminder once again that LGBTQ visibilty is so important.
Crunchyroll the anime and manga streaming service now features the film "Given" and fans couldn't be happier. "Given" expresses the queerness of its male characters in ways that many young people can relate to.
Keith Haring has been dead since 1990 and his influence in the art scene is still felt today. Haring's work was often controversial. Now a new book posits that Haring's sexual attraction to Black and Brown men of a lower social and economic stratum was evidence of “plantation mentality”.
Sunday can be a great day to kick back with some interesting reads. I hope you enjoy this collection of articles I have for you. 😊
Meet Fashion’s New Queer Power Couple
Ben Draghi and Richie Shazam's romance has blossomed into a booked-and-busy creative partnership. It was the first week of summer 2018 when Richie Shazam spotted Ben Draghi gyrating on the dance floor at Brooklyn’s Spectrum. Neither of them had been in a serious relationship: Draghi had just graduated from college and was acclimating himself to New York’s queer scene, and Shazam, a downtown nightlife fixture, described themselves as “the eternal single lady.” But Draghi was feeling himself as he danced alone, and Shazam was mesmerized: “I was like, ‘Damn, this white boy has moves!’ ” More.
Why Men Dating Bi Women Need To Be Better Allies
It’s no secret that heteronormativity’s days are numbered. This doesn’t mean that we’re hurtling towards a gay planet. Bi people comprise over 50% of today’s queer population, signalling that some men and some women will still be loving, shagging and ghosting one another until the end of time. This is not to say that bi people's 'straight passing' relationships should be seen as traditional. In fact, they could be the site of profound social change. Cis straight men are in a unique position of privilege and when they become intimately involved with bi women, they have a duty to use this privilege for good. More.
Covid-19 Is A True Boner-Killer
The pandemic is having a very real impact on our sex lives. Sex is just as much a physical experience as it is a psychological one, and there’s enough going on in our world to keep our minds from reaching their fullest sexual potential thanks to the ‘rona. Stress and anxiety can interrupt how our brain sends messages to our bodies, helping us prepare for sex. Yet, if those messages aren’t working as well or as quickly as expected, we can freeze up. Desire may still exist, even if the body fails to meet the moment. Many men encounter pressure to perform. And pressure is just another word for more stress and anxiety, which just makes it even more challenging to produce and maintain an erection. Many of us have heard the term before: performance anxiety. For women, arousal is less visible sometimes, but a general disinterest in sex can come from mounting stress as well. More.
Marie Curie's Friendship with Lesbian Dancer Loïe Fuller
Liz Heinecke's new book "Radiant" is a parallel biography of two extraordinary women Nobel Prize-winning physicist Marie Curie and modern dancer and pioneer in theatrical lighting, Loïe Fuller. The details of Marie Curie's life are very well-documented and well-known. Loïe Fuller, on the other hand, has been largely relegated to the footnotes of history, although there has been a resurgence of interest in her career and influence in recent years—most notably in a featured segment during Taylor Swift's 2018 Reputation Tour, and the work of choreographer Jody Sperling. More.
In The Movie "Given" The Queerness Of Male Leads Is Never Fetishized
Ritsuka and Mafuyu fell in love in an unlikely place: a high school stairwell. It wasn’t love at first sight. Rather, it was a gradual fall, just a couple of boys fumbling with their feelings while plucking their guitar strings and humming unfinished melodies. That, in essence, is the plot of Natsuki Kizu’s Given, the story of four young men in an amateur band who learn to love and be loved. Given The Movie, recently premiered on Crunchyroll. More.
BOOK REVIEW: "Keith Haring’s Line"
Keith Haring’s Line is definitely not a children’s book. Instead, it is a scholarly examination of some of Haring’s work by Ricardo Montez, an Associate Professor of Performance Studies, Schools of Public Engagement, The New School. Montez approaches these works through the lens of Haring’s sexual attraction to Black and brown men and sees implicit racism and exploitation. Montez focuses his critique primarily on two collaborative performance pieces involving, in one, the dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones and, the other, singer and icon Grace Jones. In Montez’s view, Haring’s sexual attraction to Black and brown men, particularly Black and brown men of a lower social and economic stratum, evidences a “plantation mentality” toward those men. He finds this mentality in Haring’s relationship with Juan Dubose and with the graffiti artist LA 2 (Angel Ortiz), who, Montez asserts, never received proper credit for the works on which he collaborated with Haring. More.
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Happy reading!
- Shane, Editor
- Shane, Editor
Meet Fashion’s New Queer Power Couple
Ben Draghi and Richie Shazam's romance has blossomed into a booked-and-busy creative partnership. It was the first week of summer 2018 when Richie Shazam spotted Ben Draghi gyrating on the dance floor at Brooklyn’s Spectrum. Neither of them had been in a serious relationship: Draghi had just graduated from college and was acclimating himself to New York’s queer scene, and Shazam, a downtown nightlife fixture, described themselves as “the eternal single lady.” But Draghi was feeling himself as he danced alone, and Shazam was mesmerized: “I was like, ‘Damn, this white boy has moves!’ ” More.
Why Men Dating Bi Women Need To Be Better Allies
It’s no secret that heteronormativity’s days are numbered. This doesn’t mean that we’re hurtling towards a gay planet. Bi people comprise over 50% of today’s queer population, signalling that some men and some women will still be loving, shagging and ghosting one another until the end of time. This is not to say that bi people's 'straight passing' relationships should be seen as traditional. In fact, they could be the site of profound social change. Cis straight men are in a unique position of privilege and when they become intimately involved with bi women, they have a duty to use this privilege for good. More.
Covid-19 Is A True Boner-Killer
The pandemic is having a very real impact on our sex lives. Sex is just as much a physical experience as it is a psychological one, and there’s enough going on in our world to keep our minds from reaching their fullest sexual potential thanks to the ‘rona. Stress and anxiety can interrupt how our brain sends messages to our bodies, helping us prepare for sex. Yet, if those messages aren’t working as well or as quickly as expected, we can freeze up. Desire may still exist, even if the body fails to meet the moment. Many men encounter pressure to perform. And pressure is just another word for more stress and anxiety, which just makes it even more challenging to produce and maintain an erection. Many of us have heard the term before: performance anxiety. For women, arousal is less visible sometimes, but a general disinterest in sex can come from mounting stress as well. More.
Marie Curie's Friendship with Lesbian Dancer Loïe Fuller
Liz Heinecke's new book "Radiant" is a parallel biography of two extraordinary women Nobel Prize-winning physicist Marie Curie and modern dancer and pioneer in theatrical lighting, Loïe Fuller. The details of Marie Curie's life are very well-documented and well-known. Loïe Fuller, on the other hand, has been largely relegated to the footnotes of history, although there has been a resurgence of interest in her career and influence in recent years—most notably in a featured segment during Taylor Swift's 2018 Reputation Tour, and the work of choreographer Jody Sperling. More.
In The Movie "Given" The Queerness Of Male Leads Is Never Fetishized
Ritsuka and Mafuyu fell in love in an unlikely place: a high school stairwell. It wasn’t love at first sight. Rather, it was a gradual fall, just a couple of boys fumbling with their feelings while plucking their guitar strings and humming unfinished melodies. That, in essence, is the plot of Natsuki Kizu’s Given, the story of four young men in an amateur band who learn to love and be loved. Given The Movie, recently premiered on Crunchyroll. More.
BOOK REVIEW: "Keith Haring’s Line"
Keith Haring’s Line is definitely not a children’s book. Instead, it is a scholarly examination of some of Haring’s work by Ricardo Montez, an Associate Professor of Performance Studies, Schools of Public Engagement, The New School. Montez approaches these works through the lens of Haring’s sexual attraction to Black and brown men and sees implicit racism and exploitation. Montez focuses his critique primarily on two collaborative performance pieces involving, in one, the dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones and, the other, singer and icon Grace Jones. In Montez’s view, Haring’s sexual attraction to Black and brown men, particularly Black and brown men of a lower social and economic stratum, evidences a “plantation mentality” toward those men. He finds this mentality in Haring’s relationship with Juan Dubose and with the graffiti artist LA 2 (Angel Ortiz), who, Montez asserts, never received proper credit for the works on which he collaborated with Haring. More.
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