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obsidianarchives · 4 years

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Marci and Ako

Marci & Ako are the podcast duo behind The Colored Pages Book Club, a bi-weekly podcast discussing fiction, fantasy, and magical realism written by writers from colorful backgrounds. Through this lens they discuss their own lives as well as bigger social themes such as liberation, anti-oppression, and intersectionality.

Marci is originally from Atlanta, Georgia, but, while they’re always repping Atlanta egregiously, they haven’t actually lived there since high school. A lover of Motown, anime, dance, and tea parties, Marci can often be found pounding vegan yogurt or engaging in rodent-like shenanigans with friends. While not always an avid reader, Marci’s love for storytelling dates back to his days as a wee lass enjoying cartoons, playing Japanese Role-Playing games, and living a life filled with hijinks and tomfoolery that honestly just had to be conveyed to others.

Ako has lived a decent bit of her life in one place or another. She considers home to be where her heart is — and anywhere she can find a decent slice. She never leaves her bed without her wits about her, and is always down for an adventure, a little mischief, or nonsensical turn of events. Her diet consists steadily of afro-futurism, sci-fi, fantasy, and comics. And she firmly believes a good story, heard at just the right time, can change a life.

Black Girls Create: What do you create?

Marci: Through our collective vision, we create a virtual space of radical love for readers, writers, video game nerds, fantasy lovers, anime geeks, artists, and so many others that dare to imagine. We focus on centering the stories, narratives, and discussions that mainstream society tries to erase by centering the most marginalized or, in our words, most “colorful” individuals.

Ako: As Marci said, we’re just making Black kid magic or youngblood joy. We’re trying to create a corner of the internet that’s a little off the beaten path. Somewhere you can laugh, relax, and maybe think a little.

BGC: Why do you create?

Marci: Both of us share the core belief that imagination is the greatest catharsis and is the vector we need to create a better world. For that reason, literature has been a very transformative part of our lives. We wanted to create a show that made discussions around the precious medium more accessible. Conversations around books can be hilarious, serious, silly, and have the charm of two good friends catching up. So, we wanted to encourage imagination and change what it means to be someone that consumes and appreciates literature.

Ako: Yeah, I think all people create in some form or another, whether it’s tangible or intangible. Creating is what we do with our lives and imagination, and I feel CPBC is one of the tools we do it with. I create to figure things out, to deal with life, to change my life, and sometimes, frankly, to escape my life. I create because I want to experience something that’s not there or I want to give my take on something that is. So for us, just like Marci said, we wanted to create a place that honors imagination, by interacting with it. You open a book and you see someone else’s whole perspective on life and you ask yourself, “How do I feel about this? What did I learn? What do I think?” and then get to talk to your friend about it and that conversation becomes this creation of fun, joy, healing, and growth.

BGC: Who or what inspires you to do what you do?

Marci: Whether I was telling some ridiculously dramatic story on the bus or literally getting sent out of Calculus class for sharing some ridiculous tale, I’ve always been a storyteller. What can I say? But more than CPBC serving as a platform for Ako and me to tell our collective story — a story of friendship, social action, and rule breakers — we’re inspired by all the great stories that precede and exist alongside us. Stories are the key to building empathy, creating community, and fostering visibility and it’s the potential of stories and the act of storytelling that inspire us the most.

Ako: For this podcast? I guess Marci inspires me. I mean they called one day and said, I have this idea for a book club and I thought of you. Before that I had very little intention of doing anything related to podcasting. But it was one of those moments when someone says, “Hey, I found this magic carpet and I’m gonna take it on a joy ride. Are you in or you out?” And at first I was worried — “What if we fall? What if we run into a plane? What about altitude sickness?” But then I thought, “Well if it's Marci, it’s sure to be an adventure, and moreover, I certainly don’t want to regret not giving it a shot!” It’s moments like this, that when life asks you if you dare — and whatever you answer kind of tells you the life you want to live.

BGC: Who is your audience?

Marci: Listen, we invite anyone to listen to the Colored Pages Book Club! While the show is about fiction, fantasy, and magical realism, Ako and I love us some anime, 90s cartoons, and similarly imaginative mediums. So, for our readers out there, tune in if you’re looking to be part of a virtual book club, trying to find more books by colorful writers (women writers, LGBTQ+ writers, writers of color, etc.), and ultimately looking for hilarious discussion and intersectional analysis to accompany your reading experience. And, for everyone else, tune in for the anime references, the personal anecdotes, the hilarious sidenotes, and the general nerding out that take place. (And don’t worry if you haven’t read the books. Think of the show as Sparknotes: Blerd Edition.)

Ako: I agree, anyone who wants to join the conversation is more than welcome! That’s what’s so cool about having an online “book club.” We get to be like, “Yo, people somewhere out there, we read this book and we had some thoughts — what about you?” Of course, injustice and hatred isn’t really our speed, so if that’s what you’re into, we’re probably not for you. But otherwise, if you like books, blerd stuff, nerd stuff, or just something fun and a little different from the usual, you’re in the right place.

BGC: How do you balance creating with the rest of your life?

Marci: Lately, I have been really intentional about crafting time each day for the things that matter most to me. I am someone with a lot of varying interests and curiosities and keep myself on a set morning self-care routine that ensures I’m equally contributing to my personal, mental, and creative health. So, while that means I can’t quite binge YouTube video game reviews or the latest season of Pose like I used to, it’s well worth it.

Ako: I don’t…or I’m learning how to, I guess. But often my life bleeds into my creative process and vice versa. Sometimes it’s not great and sometimes it is amazing. An experience will influence a creative project I’m working on, and often my creative projects influence how I live my life. Mostly, I just try to make sure one doesn’t sideline the other — but I would be lying if I said I had it all figured out.

BGC: Why is it important as a Black person to create?

Marci: As Black people, our voices and stories have been erased, disregarded, and misappropriated for centuries. So, by creating, we are able to control our own narratives and ensure our stories are being told honestly and respectfully. But, in addition to that, as a Black, queer individual, I understand that my liberation is not mutually exclusive to the liberation of others. That it is just as important for me to lift up and support others on my journey of creative expression since, quite frankly, we can ALL eat. There’s more than enough to go around.

Ako: Because we’re humans, and creating is the human experience. Often times the world tries to deny or define that experience for Black folks. But honestly, we’ve created in the face of oppressive forces that have tried very hard to stop us before and we continue to create in the face of those forces now. Why wouldn’t we? We exist on this earth experiencing all that it is, and so it only makes sense that we influence it, and we leave a part of ourselves here in whatever form that it takes.

BGC: Advice for young creators?

Marci: My biggest advice would be to not be afraid to create in ways you haven’t before. Learning to podcast was definitely a learning curve and historically, I’m not someone who really fell in love with reading until fairly recently. I spent so much time in the beginning stages doubting my ability to realize this idea and to manifest our vision for CPBC. It’s very normal to question your ability to do something you haven’t before, but dare to believe in your ability to learn, expand, and grow and, most importantly, trust that your spirit would never manifest an idea that you were incapable of actualizing.

Ako: I think just start. It doesn’t have to be good, in fact it probably won’t be, but who cares? Creating is for you. It’s not for the world, although you might share it. It’s a way of freeing yourself, or working things out in your mind, or imagining possibilities. Don’t think so hard about what it should be, just start, and allow the experience to tell you of what it is.

BGC: Do you have any future projects?

Marci: So, in the vein of challenging your perceived creative limitations, I am actually in the process of writing my first novel. It’s an idea that has constantly shifted and expanded throughout the years, but I’m finally working to actualize this creative vision. Details to come.

Ako: I’m really excited to one day start an animation company. Animation, to me, is such an innovative and dope medium. It allows a creator to play with so many aspects of storytelling. And when I think about how those aspects could be used to tell different perspectives I get really excited. So, that’s my dream and I honestly look forward to it.

Follow Marci and Ako on Twitter @TheColoredPages and find their podcast at www.thesecoloredpages.com.

#Black Creators #Create #Podcast

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recentnews18-blog · 6 years

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New Post has been published on https://shovelnews.com/homophobia-isnt-funny-so-why-do-liberal-comics-keep-using-it/

Homophobia Isn't Funny. So Why Do Liberal Comics Keep Using It?

Last week, Sacha Baron Cohen, while in disguise on his new show, got the notorious Joe Arpaio ― the former sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, and a loyal supporter of President Donald Trump ― to say he’d accept an “amazing blow job” from the president.

The stunt illustrated, as it was meant to, how far some Trump backers might go in supporting the president (though Arpaio later said he “couldn’t understand” Baron Cohen’s question). The absurdity of it draws a laugh, even from many of us who are queer.

But the joke nonetheless rests on the tired premise that gay sex is one of the most grotesque things anyone could possibly do. It anticipates a certain amount of shock on the part of the audience at the thought of two men engaging in a sex act. If the roles were different ― if Arpaio were an openly gay man who was being asked if he’d go so far as to have a female politician he supported perform oral sex on him ― the joke wouldn’t work. It would likely be seen as degrading to the woman to even raise the question, but Arpaio wouldn’t be the butt of the joke.

Baron Cohen could just have easily asked Arpaio if he’d clean Trump’s toilet with a toothbrush or eat maggots from a bowl if the president asked. But for many people, those actions wouldn’t be as funny as Arpaio receiving a blow job from Trump, and that says something about our popular culture.

Casual homophobia ― the perpetuation of anti-gay tropes and language ― persists in our society, including among those who consider themselves supporters of LGBTQ equality.

It appears more glaring in the Trump era. We’ve seen well-meaning liberals and late-night comedians, from Jimmy Kimmel to Stephen Colbert (and, more recently, even the New York Times editorial page), come under fire for joking that Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are sex partners, often with Trump in the submissive role. Trump is Putin’s “cock holster,” Colbert cracked last year.

Chelsea Handler attempted to demean Attorney General Jeff Sessions a few months ago by calling him a “bottom.” She’s also joked that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) ― who’s long denied rumors that he’s gay ― must be a victim of blackmail, with someone holding a “dick sucking video” over his head. “Wouldn’t coming out be more honorable?” Handler asked.

Queer people have certainly joked about Graham and the rumors. I have myself. But Handler’s tweets about these Republican men, coming from a straight liberal within a particularly mocking context and using gay and bisexual men’s sexual slang, comes off as an attempt to humiliate the target by associating them with gay sex.

Holy, fuck fuck. I just the video of trumps bipartisan “meeting” yesterday. Hey, @LindseyGrahamSC what kind of dick sucking video do they have on you for you 2 be acting like this? Wouldn’t coming out be more honorable?

— Chelsea Handler (@chelseahandler) January 11, 2018

In fact, bottom shaming is a running theme. Kimmel, feuding with Sean Hannity on Twitter in April, asked Hannity whether Trump prefers him to “bottom,” trying to ridicule him in the same way Colbert tried to ridicule Trump with his “cock holster” line. Over the past decade we’ve seen similar kinds of jokes in Seth Rogen’s films and films by director Judd Apatow. Yet both men ― like Kimmel, Handler and Colbert ― are progressive Hollywood champions of LGBTQ rights.

Tolerating casual homophobia opens up a space for more blatant forms of bigotry. Thus, in 2018 we still see comedians imitating gay men with stereotyped, effeminate, high-pitched voices, something Dave Chappelle continually works into his routines. Another classic smear persists as well: calling someone gay as an insult in retaliation for something offensive he or she did. The most prominent recent example was Kim Kardashian’s slap back at Tyson Beckford for fat shaming her in discussing her body. “Sis we all know why you don’t care for it,” Kardashian tweeted, followed by teacup, frog and nail polish emojis.

The use of anti-LGBTQ epithets by people who otherwise position themselves as supporters of LGBTQ rights ― or at any rate, who don’t pose as enemies of LGBTQ equality ― is still commonplace. Rapper Cardi B and her fiance Offset, while defending a song where Offset raps “I cannot vibe with queers,” claimed in February that they didn’t know the term “queer” has been used to refer to gay people, let alone its history as a slur. (Offset argued that the dictionary defines “queer” as “odd” or “weird,” which seemed pretty weak.)

In recent weeks, we’ve seen the resurfacing of racist and homophobic tweets from three Major League Baseball players, all of them white. Atlanta Braves pitcher Sean Newcomb, for example, used “fag” in tweet after tweet while in college. All three players issued apologies, and other players spoke out against the language. Sean Doolittle of the Washington Nationals tweeted out a terrific and powerful thread that went viral.

It’s been a tough couple of weeks for baseball on twitter. It sucks to see racist and homophobic language coming from inside our league – a league I’m so proud to be a part of that I’ve worked really hard to make a more accepting and inclusive place for all our fans to enjoy.

— Sean Doolittle (@whatwouldDOOdo) July 30, 2018

“There’s no place for racism, insensitive language or even casual homophobia,” he said. That Doolittle felt he had to say “even casual homophobia” was a telling indication that demeaning LGBTQ people is widely considered acceptable in a way that demeaning other groups isn’t ― at least in the male sports world. Doolittle also likely wasn’t aware that when he said it “sucks” to see racist and homophobic language, he was, ironically, engaging in bottom shaming. After all, what exactly are people talking about sucking on when they derogatorily say someone “sucks”? The truth is, many of us unknowingly use language every day that subtly stigmatizes.

The website NoHomophobes.com, a project of Canada’s University of Alberta, tracks homophobia on Twitter, tallying the numbers daily and listing tweets that include the terms “faggot,” “dyke,” “no homo” and “so gay,” each adding up to thousands per day.

“Homophobic language isn’t always meant to be hurtful, but how often do we use it without thinking?” the website asks, leaving it to readers to judge the tweets in context.

Don’t break a nail trimming those roses faggot

— tinn (@thecrack_man) August 7, 2018

Why are we speaking out more about casual homophobia now? My theory is that it’s not because of how far we’ve come ― it’s actually because of how far we’ve realized we haven’t come.

We accepted casual homophobia among liberals, particularly comedians, just a few years ago. We seem to have thought it was all right for them, in specific contexts, to use anti-gay slurs and make gay jokes, since they ― and much of America ― were supposedly so much more enlightened in the Obama era.

An example of this was Louis C.K. and his “faggot” monologue in 2011 that received millions of views on YouTube and elsewhere. In the routine, C.K. uses the word “faggot” over and over again, but he jokes that he isn’t referring to gay men or men who have sex with one another. He just means guys who are a particular kind of annoying ― feeble-sounding guys with high-pitched voices who say “faggy” things like “People from Phoenix are Phoenicians.”

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Partly due to his talent, but mostly due to the time we were in ― in which we thought full equality had arrived, and a seemingly enlightened straight man could throw this word around ― a lot of people bought that. Those who criticized C.K. were considered overly sensitive, or were accused of not getting the joke. Of course he wasn’t being homophobic, defenders said. And yes, they said, he could use that word.

But looking at the clip now, given the accusations of sexual harassment several women have brought against C.K. ― which he confirmed were true ― and the onset of the Trump era, it’s pretty cringeworthy. Misogyny and homophobia are interconnected (bottom shaming, for example, is both sexist and anti-gay), as both emanate from anxiety about masculinity.

Comedian and author Guy Branum, who is gay, sent the 2011 clip to his followers on Twitter shortly after the sexual harassment allegations against C.K. went public. “Just a reminder he did this a few years ago and you guys were still declaring him the greatest comic alive,” Branum wrote. Someone replied, “I have had so many straight dudes use that routine as a justification to say that word.”

Indeed, giving a pass to any public figure promoting anti-gay tropes or language ― including those considered well-meaning allies ― allows homophobia to flourish throughout the culture.

This Sunday, Sacha Baron Cohen was back with a new episode of “Who Is America?” where he tangled with a gun rights advocate. The punchline? He tricked his target into simulating oral sex with a dildo. Hilarious.

Michelangelo Signorile is an editor-at-large for HuffPost. Follow him on Twitter at @msignorile.

ALSO ON HUFFPOST OPINION

Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/opinion-casual-homophobia-comedy-trump-jokes_us_5b698a50e4b0de86f4a5143d

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