When asked about the blogs a few weeks ago, Talissa told us to basically “make it happen”. Sooo… a few weeks later, I’m making it happen...with 4 consecutive blogs. =)

I found “Paris is Burning” to be very interesting and, sorry Bell Hooks, quite entertaining. I think I would have been one of those movie-goers that she seems to despise so much, the ones that left the theater exclaiming how insightful and enlightening the documentary is. While I don’t want to come off as closed-minded or sheltered, I never knew such a community existed. Since I have no oppositions to homosexuals/heterosexuals cross-dressing, the documentary served as an amusing introduction to a previously unknown world. There’s no doubt that a white patriarchal prejudice still exists in today’s society, so I cannot argue that Bell Hook’s feminist and racial concerns are completely unfounded. Nonetheless, I don’t believe Hook’s concerns approach the major issues transvestites confront on a daily basis. Her battle is minor in the larger scheme of things. I doubt Venus Xtravaganza was murdered because she was conforming to an illusion of a weak white female dominated by male society. The real battle transvestites have to face is finding acceptance into a disapproving society so that they can live safe, normal lives outside of poverty. Once that has been accomplished then maybe Hook’s concerns won’t seem as trivial. As for now, I think she’s focusing on the wrong issues.