A coalition of Chicago activists, artists and writers have organized an event in response to a contentious community blog, which some members of the LGBT community say contains racist and inflammatory content.
"Queer Is Community," to be held Sunday at the Center on Halsted in the heart of Chicago's East Lakeview neighborhood, was born out of some community members' frustrations with the "When In Boystown" Tumblr blog, which was launched earlier this year.
On the blog "In Our Words," ellie navidson, one of the event's organizers, wrote that the "When In Boystown" blog was angering -- particularly when it came to one post that partnered an image of a screaming individual being sprayed in the face with a can of hairspray with the caption "A tranny tries to steal your iPhone." The post's caption was later changed to read "A ghetto bitch tries to steal your iPhone." Wrote navidson:
The amendment of “tranny” to “ghetto bitch” isn’t much better, as it not only racializes trans* femininity, it links this tendency toward violent theft to another racialized stereotype of “people from the ghetto.” And this is only one of the posts on the blog. Many were racist, sexist and fatphobic. Some were even homophobic.
navidson and other activists came together to organize a Sunday rally and discussion around issues of racism, sexism, transphobia in Chicago. The event will be hosted by comedian Adam Guerino and will feature a group of writers and performers including navidson, Jamie Royce, Rebecca Kling, HuffPost contributor Zachary Stafford and more. Guerino organized a similar event in response to racial tensions in the city's Boystown area after a spate of violent crime in the neighborhood last summer.
The event begins at 6 p.m. Sunday at the Center on Halsted and a $5 donation, benefiting the Center and homeless youth shelter The Crib, is suggested.