So How About That

More tomorrow on the election in general, but for now let’s talk about Tammy Baldwin.

She was the one who got me started with the crying.

I’ve been doing a lot of reading at work about corporate diversity and inclusion initiatives, and the idea I keep coming back to is bringing one’s “whole self” to work.

What does it do to people when they feel like they can’t post a photo of their family, or talk about their personal lives, or speak with their real voices? How can you truly contribute if a piece of your brain is worried about letting slip the wrong pronoun?

There was a generation, no… several generations, who had to choose between being themselves and becoming a public servant. The election of Tammy Baldwin, the first openly gay senator, is another crushing blow to that Chinese wall that queer Americans have had to create between their personal lives and their professional lives.

Fuck, sometimes America is pretty alright.

Related Post: When NYC passed marriage equality.

Related Post: Andrew Sullivan on marriage equality.

S(Monday) Scraps 56

1. HERPES: Fantastic essay from The Hairpin about the perks of having Herpes. Yep, you read that right.

2. VLOG: My lovely friend Bryn and her friend Caro have officially launched their new vlog, Come to Bed with Bryn and Caro, which is “devoted to sitting in bed, eating snacks, and discussing important queer lady issues like alternative lifestyle haircuts, hot celebs, and the butch/femme dichotomy!”

3. JULY: The Rumpus interviews writer/actress/director Miranda July about her latest project, which involves interviewing people who sell objects on the internet.

4. BARNEY: Oh man, do I love Barney Frank. The Masschusetts congressman speaks to New York Magazine about his impending retirement, being the first congressman to come out, and the excessively divisive political landscape. One of my favorite lines (of many): “Half of them are Michele Bachmann. The other half are afraid of losing a primary to Michele Bachmann.”

5. PLAYBOY: The Chicago Tribune publishes an open thank you letter from Hugh Hefner to the city of Chicago, where he founded Playboy (and built the first Playboy mansion) 60 years ago.

6. EVERNOTE: The New York Times interview with Phil Libin, founder of everyone’s favorite memory aid, Evernote, on his approach to developing company culture by adding cool training shit and removing unnecesary technology (no desk phones!).

Related Post: Sunday 55: Juvenile detention centers, geeky tattoos, deal breakers, etc.

Related Post: Sunday 54: Peter Dinklage, baby ear piercings, remixing gendered advertising.

Sunday Scraps 53

1. BEAUTY: One mom, Eleni Gage, writes about how she pierced her infant’s ears and wound up on the receiving end of a whole slew of comments ranging from “female genital mutilation!” to accusations of class warfare.

2. REDDIT: Pretty fascinating account from Wired of how a rampant Reddit thread about a hypothetical Romans vs. United States military battle became a sensation, a screenplay, and a soon-to-be-released blockbuster.

3. GROCERY: Ever been to the Bi-Rite in the Mission in San Francisco? How did the store on the corner become the little grocery nobody can shut up about?

4. ORIENTATION: From Salon, one story about how San Francisco’s sexual fluidity pushed Anna Pulley away from her lesbian history towards conventional hetero sex.

5. BLOOD: Incredible, moving, beautifully-written piece in The Atlantic by John Fram on the course of his relationship after his boyfriend’s HIV status is revealed.

6. ART: Artist Andrew Myers creates 3D portraits out of screws, a drill, and paint.

Related Post: Sunday 52 = Advice for black children, Southerners deserve more, SATs at 35

Related Post: Sunday 51 = Rooming with Gloria, Bruni on double standards, A League of Their Own