get OUT: Dinah! Oh My - Chocolate & Wine All Out Women of Colour Weekend

It's that time of year again when lezzies everywhere make the trek to Palm Springs and to play in the sun and have some drunken hook ups (I'm just keeping it real, folks). I remember my early lezzie days and having the aforementioned fun. Now I'm a semi married woman who would rather skip all the frenzy and go to Palm Springs and stay at The Parker during the off season. However, what if you're not really into going but last minute you decide to get in your car and make the 2 hour treck to the lezzie/queer girl mecca? Well of course, you wouldn't be caught DEAD at any other party but this one:

Mignon & DJ One are providing a party experience to bring a little diversity into your Dinah weekend. You can purchase tickets at the door. So if you decide on a little last minute fun, check this party out.

get OUT: "Drag In The Name of Love"

BENT is at it again! (Thankfully) April 16th at Mr. T's bowl in Highland Park (on the Eastside, even!!!) Sounds like it's going to be an amazing night! And come on, who really wants to miss the Baby Drag King Contest?!

get OUT: Lectures at Cal State LA FREE and OPEN to the PUBLIC

Check out the info below on some great lecures happening right here in LA in the next week or so!


Intersectionality: Origins and Possibilities

In anticipation of Professor Crenshaw’s lecture on April 14th, there will be an accessible presentation on the origins of this metaphor in Black feminist thought, as well as its unrealized implications for social movements.

Tuesday, April 5 at 6:15 pm
Los Angeles Room, 3rd Floor
University Student Union

Racing to Postracialism: An Evening with Kimberlé Crenshaw

Join us for a distinguished lecture and discussion by Kimberlé Crenshaw, Professor at Law at UCLA and Columbia Law School. Crenshaw is a leading authority in the area of Civil Rights; Black feminist legal theory; and race, racism, and the law. Her articles have appeared in the Harvard Law Review, National Black Law Journal, Stanford Law Review, and Southern California Law Review. A specialist on race and gender inequality, she has facilitated workshops for human rights activists around the world.

Thursday April 14 at 6:15 pm
Los Angeles Room ABC, 3rd Floor
University Student Union

Makeshift Reclamation: New Feminist Art and Activism

Faced with not only gender-based oppression but also the structured violence of a collapsing capitalism, a climate-change crisis, and more, feminist activists and artists are resisting and creating alternatives to violent systems both intimate and global. And they’re doing it in many ways, spaces, and forms. “Makeshift Reclamation” is a dynamic, multi-media performance that shows what is happening on the ground and in the imaginations of social justice-minded feminists.

Monday, April 25 at 3:15pm
U-SU Theatre, 1st Floor
University Student Union

Born this Way: Lady Gaga, Pop Culture, and Representations of Sexualities

This panel discussion looks at the connections between the artistry and meteoric rise of pop singer and songwriter Lady Gaga, sexual affirmation and gendered sexual politics, and the role of performance and representation in popular culture.

Wednesday May 4th at 6:15pm
U-SU Theatre, 1st Floor
University Student Union

7th Annual Student Research Conference: Gender, Sexuality, and Power

Student scholars explore gender, sexuality, queer/LGBT, and women’s issues in this seventh annual conference presented by the Center for the Study of Genders and Sexualities and Cross Cultural Centers. For more information on submitting a presentation proposal or to register for the conference, please call the CSGS at (323) 343-6549 or CCC at (323) 343-5001

Tuesday May 17th, 9am-4pm
3rd Floor, University Student Union


For more information, please check out the Cal State LA Calendar & special thanks to Susan Forrest who runs the Hivdatf.org website. Susan's email blasts are always chock full of great events and resources. Go check out the blog!!!!

Luna's Lust List Lunes: Etsy Edition

Hello, my name is Laura Luna and I've become obsessed with Vintage on Etsy. :D

Today's Lust List Lunes item is a gorgeous Lady Head Vase on sale at JoulesVintage this particular beauty will set you back $165.00. I've always wondered why lady head vases were made, so I consulted the internets and according to the Head Vase Museum website, florists used lady head vases as inexpensive ways to display their bouquets. Five and dime stores also started selling them (I wish I could go back in time and buy about 100 of them). I also read an article that burlesque diva Ms. Dita Von Teese uses them to store her make up brushes on her vanity. (she recently found one at a flea market...what a score http://twitpic.com/499qmr)

Jess recently bought me a vanity and I've bought some cute items from Etsy to put on it. One of my fave buys is this:
Isn't it SUPER CUTE?! It's a cotton ball holder and you pull it out of the bunny's "cotton tail". I totally love it. I got it on Sarsaparillas Boudoir on Etsy and she was an absolute dear to transact with. She has a few lingerie items and a vase that I'm eyeing in her store that I'd like to get soon (when my self imposed etsy budget allows) :)

Do any of you own lady head vases or any vintage boudoir items? Let me know what your faves are.

Time to get MUDDY

Yesterday was soo relaxing and amazing! Jess and I were GOING TO (operative words) wake up early to get to Glen Ivy when they opened. Well that didn't happen....(surprise)

When we finally DID get up and have coffee (and breakfast) we got our spa bags together and head out Glen Ivy in Corona. Have you been there? Well it's SUPER FAB. It was pretty busy for a Tuesday, but I don't blame everyone that was there. I actually took a "Vacation Day" in order to take advantage of the "weekday rates" (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday: $39 Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Holidays: $52).

We opted not to get a service but just take advantage of all the things that were included in our admission price (Parking, use of all pools, sauna, steam rooms, Roman Baths, red clay mud bath and Wafa, towels, and lockers). We went to the locker area which was well stocked and clean, locked our stuff and away we went!

Glen Ivy sits on 11 acres and the grounds are just BEAUTIFUL! We started with a 10 min dip in the Mineral Baths then made our way to the area that I was super looking forward to: CLUB MUD!!!! There were 2 areas in Club Mud where we could apply the mud. One was a pedestal of mud with misters on the side and the other was a pool with a pedestal of mud in the middle. We dipped in the pool and then put mud on each other. It was fun, like a grown up mud fight!! I got a little *prissy pants* in the pool because I have a thing with standing water when I can't see my feet and since there is mud in the pool..well let's just say I didn't stay in the pool for long. After we got mud all over each other. We laid out and just sat under the sun for about 45 min while the mud dried.

before laying out

After the mud dried, we rinsed off in one of the many little "caves" that have about 4 shower heads and body wash. The mud wasn't as hard as I thought to get off and my skin felt soooo good after. I do also want to comment that it was nice to see people of ALL shapes, ages, colors and sizes there. It made me not so self conscious and allowed me to relax even more. After our romp at Club Mud, we went over to the Dry Sauna. I seriously can NOT explain here how beautiful it is just walking around the grounds. There are beautiful tropical plants everywhere and little ponds with turtles and koi fish. It's all just so beautiful to be around (and of course relaxing) . Ok, so after sitting in the dry sauna for a few and overhearing the sob stories of the couple of stay at home moms next to us we headed to the hot/cold dip pools. I thought I was a big girl and could do the cold dip buttttt it was too cold so I only got in to about my butt and then did the hot. After that (which totally "woke up" my body) we went over to the lap pool to lay out and read our magazines. Armed with an InStyle magazine and some sunscreen I laid in the pool side lounge chair and took in the sun (insert relaxing sounds here). In fact, I was a little too relaxed because I ended up taking a short nap. After about 45 min there, we got up and went to the Roman Baths to take in our final minutes of relaxation ahhhhh I sat first with my back to the jets, then with the jets hitting my feet. I was sooo amazingly relaxed! When we went back to the locker room, I couldn't do anything but sit there for a minute, because I haven't been that relaxed in such a LONG TIME. It felt so good!!

After we said goodbye to Glen Ivy, we stopped at Tom's Farm Market to have a little snack of baguette and cheese. We also picked up these amazing drinks (Vanilla Soda for me and Ginger Soda for the Mrs.)

It was nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles. All in all, I would totally recommend going to Glen Ivy, however I can't even imagine how busy it gets on the weekend, so I would suggest making it a weekday trip.

Rocking The Red Pump for Mis Hermanas #RedPumpProject

Today is National Women and Girls’ HIV/AIDS Awareness Day and I'm participating in The “Red Pump Project” campaign which is an annual initiative to commemorate National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.

What is National Women and Girl's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day? Well according to the official website:

National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is a nationwide observance that encourages people to take action in the fight against HIV/AIDS and raise awareness of its impact on women and girls. It is coordinated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office on Women's Health (OWH).

When I signed up to do this, I immediately thought "I wonder how many people/orgs fail to include Trans women on this day?" I also took into consideration my own lack of knowledge about this subject and asked a friend who works at Aids Project Los Angeles to see if she could direct me to studies that have actually studied and documented info regarding Trans Women (specifically of color) and her info was invaluable!

I read a broadsheet by Accion Mutua on Transgender Latinas and HIV and some of the super important facts regarding Trangender women and HIV (in this case, specifically Latina Trans Women) that stood out to me were:

• "Transgender women of color are at increased risk for violence, incarceration, discrimination and HIV."
• "Transgender Latinas in particular face huge and unique obstacles accessing basic services – increasing their vulnerability to HIV."
• "Research shows that among transgender women, African-Americans are at greatest risk
  for HIV infection."
• "Because there are fewer resources and less empirical research, there are often insufficient or inappropriate services for transgender women. Transgender Latinas may face additional barriers to information and care, especially if they are monolingual Spanish-speaking or are undocumented."
• "From the few large scale studies conducted, rates of HIV for transgender women are extremely high and range between 19% and 68%. One of the studies conducted in San Francisco (by the San Francisco Department of Public Health) found that 35% of the 392 transgender women they tested for HIV were positive. Over half did not know they were already living with HIV."

I couldn't believe that I read that right. 19-68%?! The broadsheet was extremely insightful and helped open my eyes to the different aspects of living in our society as a transperson (specifically Latina transwomen). There are some great quotes in the sheet and also some great resources for transpeople (see below)

Transgender Law Center http://www.transgenderlawcenter.org/
Gender Education & Advocacy, Inc. http://www.gender.org/
World Professional Association for Transgender Health www.wpath.org/
International Journal of Transgenderism http://www.symposion.com/ijt/hiv_risk/
Transgender Awareness Training and Advocacy http://www.tgtrain.org/
Tom Waddell Health Center Transgender Clinic www.dph.sf.ca.us/chn/HlthCtrs/transgender.htm

So, today, I Rock The Red Pump to raise awareness of the impact that HIV/AIDS has on transgender Latinas.

ger OUT: La Lucha de la Communidad LGBT en Latino America

This is a roundtable in Spanish with English translation happening at Saban Auditorium that will focus on LGBT Struggles in Latin & South America. The round table will be moderated by Bamby Salcedo & sponsored by the following organizations:

* CSULA Center for the Study of Genders & Sexualitites
* Coalicion TransLatin@
* Latino Equality Alliance
* Learning Trans
* Trans Town Hall Series
* Transgender Service Provider Network (TSPN)
* XQSI Magazine

Hope to see you there!

SATRANG Writing Workshop 2011 Applications Open!!

Hello all! I've been to a couple of SATRANG events before (a super FAB fund-raising soiree in the Hollywood Hills a couple of years back and also a performance of the participants of this writing workshop. I encourage anyone and everyone to submit for this!)

Check it out art and activist lovers!


Satrang is excited and honored that D'Lo is holding the third annual writer's workshop at the Southern California Library. Spots are limited so please email your application to D'Lo by March 5th, 2011.

If you don't know whatsup!

D'Lo is not only a leader in the artistic/educator/activist community but has been a teacher and mentor for the Satrang community.

APPLICATIONS SHOULD BE EMAILED TO D'LO at: dlocokidla@yahoo.com

Please respond to the three questions below and email this section to D'Lo:

In one or two sentences, please answer the following two questions. This information is accessible to D'Lo only and your privacy will be maintained.

1. Name

2. This workshop is open to writers and non-writers alike. Please tell us why you are interested in this workshop?

3. If you already consider yourself a writer (whether you are beginning or emerging etc) what skills do you want to improve on?

What Time and When?

Four Sundays from 12-3 (Performance Date to be Announced)

March 13, 2011

March 20, 2011

March 27, 2011

April 3, 2011

You can complain or you can do something about it like write, share your artistic gifts and help create a community. In case you don't know Satrang is the ONLY South Asian LGBTQQ org. in So. Cal. so support. It is YOUR community.

Our stories are unique and powerful and in sharing them with each other and the world, we create transformation. Satrang and D’Lo creates a protected yet freeing environment in which we can craft our stories and coming out processes. We hope you participate in this process, as it is a community gathering.

No prior experience is necessary; just be open and willing to create something new. Writers and non-writers welcome. The workshop will be held in four sessions, culminating in a public reading at a later date where workshop participants can choose to share their work or not.

Questions about logistics, parking, food, scheduling? Email Gina Singh at ginazonlyone@hotmail.com or call (310) 433-7134.

get OUT: Mujeres de Maiz 2011 "Soldadera de Amor"

 

Happy March, everyone!  Spring is almost here! I can't wait! March in LA for me every year means not only Birthday month, but also Women's History Month!  I love going to the Mujeres de Maiz events every year in March and this year, my tradition will continue.  A ton of amazing events are lined up (check out the flyer above for more info or go to their facebook page) I'm especially excited this year for the Holistic Health & Self Defense Workshop (other than the main event, of course).


Will you be at any of the events? How will you be celebrating Women's History Month?