Wednesday, May 13, 2009

QUEER RADICAL RADIO ON THE RISE!

Radio Documentaries for Community Radio Outlets
by Queer Radical Voices*
Coming June 2009

1. A LONG AND DANGEROUS ROAD: Gay Men, Queers (and One Straight Man) Talk about Sex Offense. A mind-clearing and rare discussion of this stigmatized topic.
58 min. Produced by Adrienne Lauby

2. THE OTHER ARELLANO: El silencio iguala la muerte. A young trans woman dies in immigration detention after being denied HIV/AIDS drugs. Where was the queer outrage?
28 min. Produced by Irina Contreras

3. THE QUEERNESS OF CLASS: Myths and Realities of the Gay Income Gap. Affluent “dream market” or disenfranchised workers? We look at two income studies and the lives behind them.
28 min. Produced by Kate Rafael

4. WHAT ARE RADICAL QUEER POLITICS? Looking beyond gay marriage, activists and academics speak out on the importance of multi-issue politics and the alliance building it entails.
58 min. Produced by Lisa Dettmer

5. TRANS ORGANIC CHEMISTRY. Four trans people meet for the first time in a night of beautiful music, delicious food, fascinating stories and extravagant thought.
58 min. Produced by Shelley Berman

6. SHOWCASING SINS INVALID and QUEER LOVE. An exploration of beauty, sex, and pleasure as presented by disabled queers in a San Francisco theatre production. Plus, a celebration of love and relationship in the face of AIDS.
28 min Produced by Kevin Jefferson and Vini Beachem


======DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS==========
1.
A Long and Dangerous Road:
Gay Men and Sex Offense in 21st Century United States

Over the last four decades sexual repression and sexual violence have intertwined to produce a bizarre U.S. reality called the crime of sex offense. In this sixty-minute program we’ll looking at the slice of this reality that pertains to gay men. We’ll hear from many people -- from a gay man who remains in jail although he has already served out his sentence to a therapist who works with men who have had sex with underage boys. Their stories will shock you, surprise you and leave you thinking.

You’ll hear from experts who believe that sex offense covers a variety of activities, many with nothing in common with each other and most of which are harmless. A man from Bangladesh fondly remembers his first sexual experience with an older man when he was nine. Another man sees his former activities with young boys as an addiction that can and should be conquered.

In the U.S. today, someone can be busted for consensual sex with a slightly younger man and be forbidden to enter any neighborhood park for the rest of his life. Murders and suicides of sex offenders are routine. Parents rarely leave their children alone for fear of stranger abduction. Grade school sissy boys are labeled potential sex offenders and sent to special schools. And, the U.S. treatment of sex offenders is considered a human rights abuse by the Human Rights Watch.

We turn away from information and discussion about these issues to our peril. Have draconian sex offender laws made children safer? Families less sexually abusive? How many gay men are caught up in this network of punishment and media hype, and, why? Are gay men and lesbians able to be sexual without fear of criminalization? What role should feminists play?

Producer Adrienne Lauby explores these questions in a provocative hour of talk with experts, activists, survivors and victims.

Producer: Adrienne Lauby
adrienne@sonic.net

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2.
The Other Arellano: El silencio iguala la muerte

1/2 hr audio documentary

In August 2007, two women were faced with deportation from the United States. One woman, Elvira Arellano was a single mother fighting for sanctuary in Chicago. She was arrested and deported while attempting to speak out on behalf of separated families in Los Angeles. Just a few weeks before, 23 year old Victoria Arellano was also arrested while attempting to cross en route to her home in Los Angeles. She was detained in a San Pedro detention center where she died after being denied her HIV/AIDS medication. During her final hours, her strongest allies both in and out of the cell were fellow immigrant community while much of the queer community remained silent. Why is it that the lives of trans/queer and/or undocumented seem to slip under the radar while gay marriage has proliferated every news station, blog, club and discussion group? What has happened historically to queer immigrants and what has been the repercussions of a single issued movement? This program looks at the history of queer migration and the fight for all undocumented persons via the lens of privilege inherent in a mainstream focus that is fixed on pursuing rights that support societal norms while human rights are trumped. This audio documentary, produced by Irina Contreras features Bamby Salcedo, QTeam, Nico Dacumos, Mia Mingus and more.

Producer: Irina Contreras
poopstarr@yahoo.com

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3.
The Queerness of Class: Myths and Realities of the Gay Income Gap
A half-hour audio documentary

In 1990, the Wall Street Journal proclaimed the gay community a “dream market,” based on a study commissioned by a group of gay media owners. The data the media group released showed that gay men and lesbians made nearly 40% more than heterosexual Americans. Gay marketing firms pounced on the data with glee, using it to win corporate sponsorship of pride parades and lucrative ad campaigns. The anti-gay right wing also welcomed this news, publicizing it in films and speeches as evidence that gay people did not suffer from discrimination or need civil rights protections. It even found its way into Supreme Court opinions.

Daniel Ward could have told you the studies were wrong. In 1990, he had just been laid off from the low-wage bookstore job he’d found after he was kicked out of the Navy. “I couldn’t afford to buy the newspapers where those studies were published,” he says wryly. At the same time, Polly Taylor was getting ready to retire and watching inflation wipe out her savings.

Nearly 20 years later, those studies are still given a lot of credence in the media. Meanwhile, economist Lee Badgett has done a number of studies herself, combing through census data and government health studies. She reveals a much different picture, one which finds gay men and lesbians in all demographic groups living on incomes the same or lower – often significantly lower – than their heterosexual counterparts.

The Queerness of Class explores the ways that perceptions and realities of socioeconomic status affect the lives of queer people. Producer Kate Raphael visits a high-end LGBT friendly senior residence and an 8 by 10-foot single hotel room, bringing us the voices of researchers, marketers, service providers, sex workers, artists and community activists.

Producer: Kate Raphael
katrap@mindspring.com
====================================
4.
What are Radical Queer Politics?

Since we have all heard so much about Gay marriage it has come to define what is meant by gay politics. But there is a whole other world of radical Queers working for other causes and who have very different politics then those of the mainstream gay movement. Yes, there is a world beyond the L Word and there are even those radical queers who are critical of the mainstream gay marriage movement and the large gay organizations like the HRC who only focus on single queer issues and do not see the connection between issues.

In this 58 minute documentary we will hear from Queer activists and academics who will talk about what radical queer politics means to them and the issues that they feel are important. This will include Queers from such groups as Gay Shame, Queers for Economic Justice, Fierce, Quit and other activists all of who share a commitment to a politics that links issues together instead of having a single-issue politics. They explain how for low income Queers, Queers of colors, feminists and others the issues of everyday survival, violence against queers, health care for all, gentrification and fighting the prison industrial complex as well as U.S imperialism are all important issues. For these Queers and many others, work on these complex issues have been at the heart of gay liberation since its creation in the 1970's. Produced by Lisa Dettmer for national distribution.

Producer: Lisa Dettmer
cositas1@comcast.net


=======================================
5.
Trans Organic Chemistry

Join four trans people as they meet for the first time in a night of beautiful music, delicious food, fascinating stories and extravagant thought. Stories of gender insight and legal battles mingle with oxtails and Jerusalem artichokes in this hour-long gourmet radio program.

Joe Stevens will be here, with his guitar and Ingrid Elizabeth, his partner in life and in the folk duo, Coyote Grace. After a year of touring and appearances at many queer and trans events, they're in town to record their second CD.

Jackie Martine, an accomplished cook and leader in the slow food movement will not only provide the meal but she and her partner, Melinda Montayne, host our party in their dome overlooking the Pacific ocean.

Jazz singer, Veronica Klaus brings her experience in the San Francisco Theater and Cabarets as well as news of her successful immigration fight.

Academic Delia Wolfe brings her brilliant mind and memories of friends lost to transgender violence.

Radio host and producer Shelley Berman will be on hand to record and orchestrate the event as these talented, thoughtful and thought-provoking transpeople laugh and challenge each other to tell the complex truths about their lives. Pull up a chair, pour a glass of wine and a plate of local seasonal food. You’ve got a reserved seat at the trans organic dinner.

Producer: Shelley Berman
sb4of6@yahoo.com

========================================
6.
Showcasing Sins Invalid & Queer Love.

All humans are innately beautiful, yet all humans are conditioned by societal rules governing beauty, sex, and pleasure. What happens when queer people collide with people with disabilities? “Sins Invalid” happens!

All humans are innately beautiful, yet all humans are conditioned by societal rules governing beauty, sex, and pleasure. What happens when queer people collide with people with disabilities? Sins Invalid happens!

This 15 minute radio piece is a steamy romp through the realms of queer passion on wheels, in a backbrace, and in the sheets. Preformed in September of 2008 Sins Invalid exposes societal taboos on disability and sexuality. Join us as we listen to queer and trans artists claiming rightful pleasure in an able-ist society. Showcasing "Sins Invalid" features the voices of Seeley Quest and Noemi Sohn, queer and allied artists with disabilities, in both performance and interview, as they deconstruct queer-phobia, able-ism, and taboos on sexuality. Artistic Director, Patty Berne, also shares with listeners the story of Sins Invalid from its making and its purpose, to the worldwide requests for performances the artists currently receive.

This 15 minute piece exploring the connections between queer-phobia and able-ism is intended for national radio distribution.

This piece is to be paired with Queer Love, a 15 minute celebration of love and relationship in the face of AIDS.

To many, marriage is the epitomy of love. Each day, thousands of couples mark their devotion to each other in weddings with a pledge to care for each other "in sickness and in health." Craig Smith and Basil Dean have found love outside marriage with each other. Outsides the bounds of a monogamous relationships they honor their love and the beauty of their relationship. As Craig encounters the final stages of AIDS Basil finds himself honoring the pledge he did not take in marriage to care for Craig in sickness and in health. Basil takes us to experience the intricacies of their relationship, the challenges of losing a soul mate, and the resilency of their love by weaving a rich tapestry of poetry. Their celebration of love airs on radio shortly before Craig passes. Produced by Vini Beachem.

For more information, contact:
Kevin Jefferson
Kevinaje@gmail.com


*Queer Radical Voices is a working group of queer radio producers. This project received support from the Astraea Foundation, KRCB fm Santa Rosa, California and KPFA fm Berkeley, California.

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