The screening and panel discussion of Slaying the Dragon: Reloaded, co-sponsored by the NYU Asian/Pacific/American Institute and the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality, reflected the importance of “reloading” an analysis of popular representations of Asian women. The [...]]]> Slaying the Dragon: Reloaded: “Things Change A Lot”
New York University, 27 October 2011

The screening and panel discussion of Slaying the Dragon: Reloaded, co-sponsored by the NYU Asian/Pacific/American Institute and the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality, reflected the importance of “reloading” an analysis of popular representations of Asian women. The film covers a range of issues very succinctly, reflecting on the progress and/or lack thereof that might be seen in the decades between this and the original 1988 documentary, and presenting contemporary issues and strategies that have arisen in the period between the two films. The documentary was screened after a brief introduction from director and producer Elaine Kim, professor of ethnic studies at UC Berkeley; it was followed by a panel discussion, moderated by NYU’s Gayatri Gopinath, and featuring Kim, comics guru Jeff Yang, and Benjamin Han, a doctoral candidate in Cinema Studies at NYU.

Both films were produced by Asian Women United, a project-driven activist organization co-founded by Kim in 1981. While the original Slaying the Dragon, released in 1988, was produced with a $300,000 budget—now the equivalent of $800,000—the sequel was produced with $15,000. As Kim stated, they “couldn’t get any funding” for the sequel, because “race and representation of Asian women is kind of an old idea.” Of course, the irony of this statement reflects the intervention of the documentary, which demonstrates, as the saying goes: “the more things change, the more they stay the same”—and, as Kim put it, “things change a lot.” The film presents the prevalence of multiculturalism onscreen as one example of changes in representation in the last 20-odd years, and suggests that while the fact that there are “more brown faces” onscreen now than in the 80s might seem “comforting” in the context of the documentary’s interest in representation, the characters being portrayed are “still white characters,” whose cultural history and experience is erased in the service of presenting “universal” (read: white) experience, demonstrating the “interchangeability and commodification of race” in our current moment.

The tension between universal and particular experience was discussed as a perennial issue for Asian-American writers and performers, who struggle to, as Jeff Yang put it, “depict characters in a way that allows them to live in their skin without being defined by that skin.” Kim offered films like The Motel, Robot Stories, and Colma: The Musical as examples of films that “address and embrace race without being obsessed by it,” while Yang suggested the Harold and Kumar trilogy as another example—yet, as Slaying the Dragon: Reloaded suggests, and Kim reminded us, the strides in representation for Asian-American men onscreen are not yet similarly reflected in roles for women. Of course, these struggles are in large part due to the fact that such stories “haven’t yet been given the budget, the resources, or the freedom” for such complex depictions.

The lack of budget for Slaying the Dragon: Reloaded resulted in a DIY ethos, and led to a number of conceptual choices that differentiate the sequel from the original documentary, in ways that were both necessary and strategic, and reflect the film’s interest in the ways new media and technology productively complicate representation and the primacy of mainstream culture. While Slaying the Dragon was recorded on 16mm film and ran 60 minutes, the sequel is a concise 30 minutes. The shorter running time was certainly not due to a lack of content; rather, Kim wanted to ensure that the film was a functional length for use in classroom contexts, while still allowing time for discussion. Kim’s pedagogical focus can also be seen in the formal composition of the sequel, which was recorded digitally, rather than on film, and was put together on the filmmakers’ laptops. Kim described the process of making the original documentary on 16mm as ultimately finite: “as soon as you make it, that’s it.” In contrast, Slaying the Dragon: Reloaded is a dynamic site that welcomes commentary, response and contribution. Kim described it as an “agglutinative project,” because, ideally, the film will continue to expand through feedback and discussion in order not only to reflect the continued evolution in representation of Asian women, but also to keep such conversations alive.

–Julia DeLeon

Julia DeLeon is a PhD student in Performance Studies at NYU.

Saturday, December 17 2 to 4 pm

Trinity Lutheran Church of Manhattan 164 West 100th Street near Amsterdam Avenue 1, 2, or 3 train to 96th Street.

Organized by sex worker support and advocacy [...]]]> On December 17, International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers Marks One Year Since Bodies Discovered on Gilgo Beach

Saturday, December 17
2 to 4 pm

Trinity Lutheran Church of Manhattan
164 West 100th Street near Amsterdam Avenue
1, 2, or 3 train to 96th Street.

Organized by sex worker support and advocacy groups the Red Umbrella Project and the Sex Workers Outreach Project New York. Attendees will be people currently or formerly involved in the sex trades and our friends, family, allies, and those concerned for our health and safety.

In December 2010, the bodies of four women, later identified as Amber Lynn Costello, Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, and Maureen Brainard-Barnes were discovered on Gilgo Beach in Long Island, after the family of missing woman Shannan Gilbert insisted on a police investigation of her disappearance. The cases remain unsolved, and since December the remains of another six people have been discovered in the area. The Suffolk County Police Department, which is responsible for the investigation, believes that it is likely that there are multiple local killers who are preying on people who sell sexual services.

On December 17, 2011 people in the sex trade and the people who love and support us will gather at Trinity Lutheran Church of Manhattan from 2 to 4 pm to hold a vigil for the victims of the Long Island killers and the many other people killed every year because they trade sex and are vulnerable to violence. The event will feature community activist speakers, a candle lighting, and a reading of the names of people in the sex trade who have been murdered this year.

The International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers was first organized nearly a decade ago by sex workers in San Francisco to memorialize the people murdered by serial killer Gary Ridgway. Ridgway captured the attitude that cultivates violence towards sex workers: “I picked prostitutes because I thought I could kill as many of them as I wanted without getting caught.” At the event, we create a space that challenges this assumption by demonstrating that we have a caring community.

Co-sponsors:

Evelyn Fox Keller Professor Emerita of the History and Philosophy of Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Friday, December 9:30 pm The Graduate Center, CUNY 365 Fifth Ave, Room 6112 NYC

Evelyn Fox Keller, Professor of the History and Philosophy [...]]]> Presented by the Center for the Study of Women and Society at the Graduate Center

Evelyn Fox Keller
Professor Emerita of the History and Philosophy of Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Friday, December 9:30 pm
The Graduate Center, CUNY
365 Fifth Ave, Room 6112
NYC

Evelyn Fox Keller, Professor of the History and Philosophy of Science, Emerita (Program in Science, Technology, and Society) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is the author of several books, including A Feeling for the Organism: The Life and Work of Barbara McClintock (1983), Reflections on Gender and Science (1985), The Century of the Gene (2000), Making Sense of Life: Explaining Biological Development with Models, Metaphors and Machines (2002), and The Mirage of a Space Between Nature and Nurture (2010). Keller’s research focuses on the history and philosophy of modern biology and on gender and science. Co-sponsored by The Sociology Doctoral Program, Committee for Interdisciplinary Science Studies, and Center for the Study of Women & Society

Free and open to the public.

For more information see the Women’s Studies website: http://web.gc.cuny.edu/womenstudies

Gender and Transformation: Women in Europe Workshop

Friday, December 2 4:30 to 6 pm

Katerina Liskova, Assistant Professor, Gender Studies Program, Masaryk University

Center for European and Mediterranean Studies New York University 285 Mercer Street, 7th [...]]]> Presented by the New York University Center for European and Mediterranean Studies and the Network of East-West Women

Gender and Transformation: Women in Europe Workshop

Friday, December 2
4:30 to 6 pm

Katerina Liskova, Assistant Professor, Gender Studies Program, Masaryk University

Center for European and Mediterranean Studies
New York University
285 Mercer Street, 7th floor
(between Waverly and Washington Place)

For more information, follow us at http://gendertransformationeurope.wordpress.com/.

Friday, December 2

2 to 4 pm 295 Lafayette Street 4th Floor Conference Room

To discuss a draft paper by Max Besbris, a doctoral candidate in the Sociology Department. The title of his paper is Revanchist [...]]]> The Crime, Law and Deviance Workshop of the NYU Sociology Department and the Institute for Law and Society

Friday, December 2

2 to 4 pm
295 Lafayette Street
4th Floor Conference Room

To discuss a draft paper by Max Besbris, a doctoral candidate in the Sociology Department. The title of his paper is Revanchist Masculinity and the Framing of Identity: How Pimps View Women, Domination, and Themselves.

The paper is not attached because of the restrictions the Lyris system imposes on the size of files that can be sent out to the list. Anyone wanting a copy may request one by e-mailing me at dg4(at)nyu.edu.

Light refreshments will be served at the workshop.
– David Greenberg

December 8 to 9, 2011

Rosenthal Pavilion, Kimmel Center New York University

More information: http://wagner.nyu.edu/wocpn/news/ Register for the opening event: http://wagner.nyu.edu/events/wocpn-12-08-2011

Engage 2012 is a national summit of policy experts, practitioners, thought leaders, and key stakeholders working on issues related to immigration, racial justice [...]]]> Presented by the NYU Women of Color Policy Network: http://wagner.nyu.edu/wocpn/

December 8 to 9, 2011

Rosenthal Pavilion, Kimmel Center
New York University

More information: http://wagner.nyu.edu/wocpn/news/
Register for the opening event: http://wagner.nyu.edu/events/wocpn-12-08-2011

Engage 2012 is a national summit of policy experts, practitioners, thought leaders, and key stakeholders working on issues related to immigration, racial justice and equity, economic security, LGBT rights and reproductive and environmental justice working together to build a progressive, unified agenda for change.

Engage 2012 is presented by the Women of Color Policy Network at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and leading civil rights and human rights organizations.

Thursday, December 1 12 to 2PM

Katie Gentile is the director of the Women’s Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City and a training psychoanalyst at the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy. Dr. Gentile’s focus is on eating problems [...]]]> Presented by the Seminar in Gender and Sexuality with Katie Gentile

Thursday, December 1
12 to 2PM

Katie Gentile is the director of the Women’s Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City and a training psychoanalyst at the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy. Dr. Gentile’s focus is on eating problems and the pervasive effects of trauma. She is the author of “Creating Bodies: Eating Disorders as Self-Destructive Survival” from The Analytic Press.

CUNY Graduate Center
365 5th Avenue @34th Street
Room 6112 (Sociology Lounge)

Refreshments will be served.
Co-sponsored by the Center for the Study of Women and Society and the PhD Program in Sociology

This event is free and open to the public.
For more information see the Women’s Studies Website: http://web.gc.cuny.edu/womenstudies

Since 2008, we in the New View Campaign have challenged the growth of a dangerous new industry, female genital cosmetic surgery (FGCS), wherein amputations of parts of the vulva (“labiaplasty” “clitoral hood reduction”) are marketed as “enhancement” and “beautification” procedures. On their websites, many FGCS surgeons post [...]]]> Presented by the New View Campaign: http://newviewcampaign.org/default.asp

Since 2008, we in the New View Campaign have challenged the growth of a dangerous new industry, female genital cosmetic surgery (FGCS), wherein amputations of parts of the vulva (“labiaplasty” “clitoral hood reduction”) are marketed as “enhancement” and “beautification” procedures. On their websites, many FGCS surgeons post before and after photographs that misinform the public about genital diversity, suggesting that all vulvas should look alike and that there is something wrong with full labia. Check some of them out for yourself here and here. There are dozens of such surgeons’ websites.

Part 1 of the New View FGCS VULVANOMICS activism for November, 2011 is an online petition directed to the American College of OB-Gyn and the Federal Trade Commission Division of Consumer Affairs calling for oversight, research, monitoring.

I hope you ALL take the time to sign the petition NOW, post it on your FB page, send it to your colleagues, friends, and family. As of today, we have 289 signatures, and we are aiming much higher!!

Part 2 of VULVANOMICS is an international day of FLASH ACTIVISM

On Saturday, November 19th, 2011, activists all over the US and Canada will converge on the offices of surgeons who perform FGCS. We will specifically target surgeons who have these appalling websites with before and after photos. We believe that surgeons’ informed consent process for these procedures must include information about the range of genital diversity. On November 19 we will target surgeons who make false claims and create self-consciousness and anxiety.

On November 19th, we will be taking (and then uploading) photos of ourselves holding up protest signs in front of these surgeons’ offices that send a very specific message: we support genital diversity!

For more information about the event, how to participate, and a list of FGCS surgeons near you, please e-mail vulvanomicsactivism(at)gmail.com and indicate that you want information about provider locations, options for signs, and instructions for Flash Activism Day.

I urge you to forward and share this announcement with individuals and lists of people who might like to join us, and stay tuned to hear our plans for the many photos we expect to collect.

Thanks,
Leonore Tiefer and the Vulvanomics team in US, Canada and New Zealand.

December 2, Friday 12:30 to 1:45 pm

Elizabeth R. Boskey, CSGS Visiting Scholar

The Pap smear was one of the great public health innovations of the 20th Century. However, the way in which the test is currently used brings up important issues of sexism, paternalism, [...]]]> a brown bag lunch talk with Elizabeth R. Boskey

December 2, Friday
12:30 to 1:45 pm

Elizabeth R. Boskey, CSGS Visiting Scholar

The Pap smear was one of the great public health innovations of the 20th Century. However, the way in which the test is currently used brings up important issues of sexism, paternalism, and autonomy in medical care. This talk will look at how oral contraceptive prescriptions have become linked to cervical cancer screening and examine the issue of birth control access through the lens of reproductive rights.

Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality
41-51 East 11th Street, 7th Floor, Room 741
between University Place and Broadway
wheelchair access at 85-87 University Place, between 11th and 12th Streets

This event is free and open to the public.

Bring your lunch — we’ll provide beverages and dessert!

For more information, please call CSGS at 212-992-9540 or email csgs(at)nyu.edu.

Organized by the Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality.

Katie Gentile is the director of the Women’s Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City and a training psychoanalyst at the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy. Dr. Gentile’s focus is on eating problems and the pervasive effects of trauma. She is the author [...]]]> Thursday, November 17
12 to 2 pm

Katie Gentile is the director of the Women’s Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City and a training psychoanalyst at the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy. Dr. Gentile’s focus is on eating problems and the pervasive effects of trauma. She is the author of “Creating Bodies: Eating Disorders as Self-Destructive Survival” from The Analytic Press.

CUNY Graduate Center
365 5th Avenue @34th Street
Room 6112 (Sociology Lounge)

Refreshments will be served.

Cosponsored by the Center for the Study of Women and Society and the PhD Program in Sociology
This event is free and open to the public.

For more information see the Women’s Studies Website: http://web.gc.cuny.edu/womenstudies