On her first day of work back in 2004, Debbie nearly knocked the water cooler over and onto cofounder and then-publisher Lisa Jervis. Luckily no one held it against her, and in fact she was handed the publishing reins in 2006 when Lisa stepped down from the staff.
Prior to joining Bitch, Debbie was, at various points, involved in sexuality and reproductive justice work, union organizing, queer youth counseling, and racial- and economic-justice work. Way back in the day she also used to answer emergency road service calls from stranded Minnesotans in the dead of winter, which led to her fear of phones.
Debbie has a Master's degree in Publishing/Journalism from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, which sounds much fancier than it is, 'cause most of her time there was spent working on the collectively run, community-supported, endearlingly-titled Madison Insurgent newspaper and and helping organize the first successful unionizing effort at the Whole Foods Market chain.
She returns to her hometown of Minneapolis occasionally to help her grandma host tea parties. She also likes practicing yoga, playing the accordion, rearranging furniture, talking to animals, and adjusting the lighting.
Turn-ons: accordions and anarchy
Turnoffs: cilantro, jerks, Judge Judy, meatloaf (the food and the musician)
Secretly wishes she were a: koala bear
What I'm reading:
Doris, by Cindy Crabb
What I'm listening to:
accordions and organs and banjos and other strings
The rising visibility of trans, intersex, and genderqueer movements has led feminists—and, to a lesser extent, the rest of the world—to an increasing awareness that m and f are only the beginning of the story of gender identity. With the release of Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the Scapegoating of Femininity, Julia Serano offers a perspective sorely needed, but up until now rarely heard: a transfeminine critique of both feminist and mainstream understandings of gender.
This week's damali ayo lecture has left my head spinning. Bear with me while I try to sort my thoughts, please?
I'd known of damali's work for a few years, but this was the first time I'd seen her perform. As I expected, she's wickedly funny, extremely articulate, exceptionally bright, and undeniably charismatic. In her talk, "Shut up and change: A life as a social change artist," she walked us through her childhood, her art projects and performance pieces, her heroes, the negative and hostile response to her work, her six-year struggle with chronic fatigue syndrome, and her recent decision to "pass on" her anti-racist projects so that she can focus on yoga teacher training.
Bitch: It's a Noun, It's a Verb, It's a Magazine, Now it's a Cabaret!
Saturday, October 4, 2008, 8:00 p.m.
WARPhaus Gallery, 818 NW 1st Ave., Gainesville, Florida
Come enjoy artwork about feminism, sex, sexuality, sexism, gender...
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