Recommended Reading #51: Humanity and Inspiration, Pt. II
"Dear Tracy Morgan" by Alana Noel Voth (Sexual Orientation, Parenting, Sex and Society) 6/12/11
I read this twice in a row about fifteen minutes after Alana posted that it was live. Each time, I started crying when I got to the picture of the fence. After the first time, I was speechless. I didn't much know what to say after the second time either, though I left her a comment that I found it "indescribably extraordinary." That still holds—which means I don't know what else to say about it. I just recommend that it be read. (Note: Here is a later post on the apology Tracy Morgan has since issued.)
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"My son, the pink boy" by Sarah Hoffman (Gender Socialization, Sexual Orientation, Parenting) 2/21/11
I adore this article and virtually everything the author says in it. The perplexing (to me) societal lack of acceptance of "feminine" behavior among male-bodied individuals is something I've noticed for a long time. Even in my teenage years, as a young feminist, I remember it occurring to me that while "feminism" had seemed to make it okay for women/girls to act certain ways and do certain things they weren't societally "allowed" to before, feminism didn't seem to account at all for any behavior or adjustment or allowance on the account of men. This seemed odd and eventually concerning to me. This article points out exactly why.
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"A Pill to Change Your Life" by Donna George Storey (Memoir, Non-sex-related, Health and Body, Government and Politics) 2006
I'm going to caution that one not read this when one is in a hurry or not feeling an opportunity to absorb and be affected by a profound and sobering story. The first time I read this, I did feel somewhat in a hurry and figured I would only read part of it right then. It turned out I found it so spellbinding that I literally felt I could hardly pull myself away from it to get to where I was going on time and rather—almost involuntarily—opted to finish it in that sitting. It may not make everyone cry (though I myself can hardly imagine not being brought to tears at some point during the reading of it), but I would guess it would affect most people. I recommend reading it at a time one feels accepting of that. It is, in my perception, an extraordinary story, told with extraordinary love and beauty.
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