(no subject)
Message: This is an announcement (a call for papers,
artwork, etc.) for a forthcoming book which relates
to FTMs (transmen) of color, a relatively rare
population. If this is you or any of your friends,
please contact the author or pass this message
along.
Contact: Spokes@homofactuspress.com
Testline:
Tinting the Lens in "Trans" Communities - An
Anthology
Call for Entries
SPOKES: Intimates of color, trans-identities,
masculinity and relativity
There are, with consideration to 25 years ago, a
plethora of books addressing the social
construction of masculinity. About 90 books deal
specifically with trangender identities. To my
knowledge, only four of the 90 specifically offer
more than an obligatory glimpse of what is
repeatedly understood as the illusive Ftm of color.
In other words, where are the voices, opinions,
insight of all the black, brown, red and yellow
tomboys, thatways, butches, bull daggers,
brothers, guys like us, etc? Who is recording our
journeys in this lifetime? How are women of color
dealing with being seen as masculine, living like /
as, wanting to be men? Where do we find support,
education, resources and self-esteem? Are we
silent because it is not an issue? Is it a white
thing/way to want to find answers to these
questions? Where are the unpublished works of
our poets, authors, theorists, teachers, artist,
photographers, performers, peers and mentors? I
am certain I am not the only one in this world
who wants to know.
So I have been asked to edit an anthology on
`persons of color* who are / were born female and
now live all or a significant portion of their lives as
masculine women (butches, studs, aggressors,
ballers, playas.,) Ftm, transmen (boi, daddy,
tranny, tranny fag, G3 [gee
cued gender gifted guy,] drag kings, male
illusionists, gender performers, transgenders,
transsexuals, gender-queers and the likes.
*I know this term has its problemsif it offends you,
my apologies. Trust me when I say I wrestled in
near agony, before making the choice to use it. I
ultimately decided it was distracting me from the
task at hand, by giving me a reason to
procrastinate. Lord knows I need no help puttin off.
All submissions, commentary and visual history
shall be fully considered. IT DOES NOT HAVE TO
BE ACADEMIC, POLITICALLY APPROPRIATE or
GRAMMATICALLY CORRECT. I am also
accepting photos, written works, sketches,
drawings, digital imagery, reprints, project
descriptions, cartoons, erotica and more.
Word Count/Page Limits:
Personal Narratives 20 pages/5000 words
Fiction 20 pages/5000 words
Critical Essays and Cultural Critiques 20 pages
(including
bibliography) 5000 words
Interviews 10 pages/2500 words
Poetry/Rhymes No more than 3 pages per
poem/rhyme and 3 poems per poet/mc
Graphic Stories No more than three pages per
submission (number of panels up to you) Up to
three pieces per artist.
Photographs/Paintings/Collage/Drawings- 3-5,
scanned as B/W only.
DEADLINE: July 1, 2006
Please send entries as .tif, .jpeg format, word
or .txt attachments
Not sure what you might have to contribute? Think
about
contributing works that express your attitude
towards
Self/personal journey: how do you see yourself?
What kind of challenges / issues do you have to
deal with being you? I mean do you go by he?
boy? him? you don't care? Do you get mad when
people mistake you for a ...? Do you see yourself
as gay or what? Are you a Butch? Bull? Hard?
Stud? Aggressor? Man? Guy? Are you okay with
being
referred to as a Tranny? Trans? Transexual?
Lesbian? Dyke? Queer? Are you just a Tomboy?
Athletic? Do you always wear guy stuff? Are you
pissed off by these kinds of questions? Does being
an athlete give you more space to be boyish? Are
you just one of the dudes to the
real dudes? On the realever think about checking
out?
Butyour reading this, sooo?
On the job: Do you work for yourself? Are you a
tradesperson, entrepreneur, civil servant, domestic,
mid-management, white collar, educator, etc and
does your job make it easier for you to be
who you be? Do you accept public assistance? Is
interaction with social services affected by who
you are / what they think they see? Do you think
the way you are seen (then/now/always) directly
affects the customer service, client advice,
educational information opportunities, medical
support that you are offered or receive?
Have you transitioned? How so / in what ways?
Are there differences in life as a woman of color to
life as you live it now?
What about relationships with your family, children,
males in your life, friends, intimate ones,
girlfriends, tricks, neighbors and random human
contact.
Are you a parent? Co-parent? Adoptive parent?
Foster parent? Guardian? A Primary Provider for
someone younger than 18?
What about everyday living?
Community Involvement? (neighborhood, queer,
trans, political, social...)
Health / wellness....
I am sure you get the picture. If it is relative to you,
submit it.
Who Am I?
The short answer who cares? Heres an opportunity
to express yourself! The stock answer - Sile P.
Singleton is a leading force in producing and
promoting the modern day Drag King cultural
explosion. Truly a Jack for all ages, Sile is a host
emcee, social activist, critical theorist, cultural
commentator, performance artist, writer, parent
and a buttload of other things dependant upon the
moment. A life student of gender disruptions,
always reclaiming, re-examining and challenging
the status quo within and at the margins of
everyday life. My brothers answer [someone who]
is always thinkin and asking questions.
Contact: Spokes@homofactuspress.com
My publisher is Homofactus Press at
www.homofactuspress.com
Homofactus Press takes its name from the Latin
version of the Christian Nicene Creed, which
claims that in Jesus of Nazareth the Son of
God "was made man": et homo factus est. By
appropriating and, from one perspective,
deliberately misusing this traditional language to
describe FtM identities, Homofactus Press stakes
its claim as a new space for the interpretation and
criticism of longstanding beliefs about gender,
transformation, and the limits of human possibility.
Language purists will recognize that the Latin word
homo ("man"), although usually used in Latin to
describe male-gendered persons, is itself both
masculine and feminine, and can be used to
describe human beings more generally as well as
male-gendered people specifically. Homofactus
Press thus seeks to emphasize the process by
which human
beings are made into what we are. We are all, in
this sense (and to coin a phrase),
Homofacts: "made people."
The broader mission of Homofactus Press
encourages an active engagement with the
process of gender-making and people-making in
the world.
Our mission is to:
Publish the best books for FtMs in the world.
Promote a sense of community through word-of-
mouth and blogging (obligate our authors to hold
themselves accountable to their community of
readers.
Enhance the well being of readers with visible
impairments and learning disabilities by publishing
all books in XML format, available for free download.
Enhance the well being of poor readers in
developing nations and developed nations by
publishing all books using a creative commons
license and having PDF versions available for free
download.
Enhance the well being of our authors by providing
robust royalty payments, reselling opportunities,
novel distribution arenas and limited rights.
We achieve our mission through:
Achieving sales goals without going into debt.
Doing what we say we are going to do.
Containing costs and honoring all our financial
commitments.
Publishing unusual titles geared to communities of
color and communities with disabilities.
Publishing the highest quality books known to
humankind that discuss meaningful experiences
by, for and about FtMs.
Having fun.
Sharing profits with all who helped to make them.
Finding success and happiness in our
microbranding strategy (i.e., remembering we
never set out to be Alyson Publications or Simon
and Schuster).