Post Pomo Nuyorican Homo in the News

Check out David Goodman's "Looking Hard at Looking Good" from the New York Times' City Room Blog.  Goodman discusses the protests against Sofia Moldonado's mural and quotes my post and Keysha Whitacker's  post in defense of Maldonado's work.

Check out the comments section.  Talk about classism!

Poncea Pokemones, Poncea!

Last week The New York Times reported on the Chilean youth parties known as Poncea Parties (a.k.a. lets make out and dry hump on the dance floor parties). The New York Times is surprisingly late uncovering the Poncea Parties. Even the less cool Newsweek covered the Poncea phenomenon in March! Come on NY Times, step up your journalistic game!

There has been a lot of recent American media coverage about the about this Chilean youth subculture and their (often public) sexual exploration (despite the NY Times' late discovery). Drawing inspiration from anime, the young Chileans refer to themselves as "Pokemones" and don piercings and flat ironed asymmetrical haircuts. Mostly the American coverage is scandalized to the point of careless reporting.

While the sexual repression of the Pinnochet dictatorship is mentioned in passing as a cause for this sexual awakening and experimentation, the focus seems to be on the perceived sexual deviance of the youth. They are not monogamous, same-sex hook-ups are commonplace, and they are actively breaking down the boundaries between public and private that dictate sexual normativity. I think the American media coverage through coded language is pointing the finger at stereotypical beliefs about Latin American licentiousness and queerness (and please believe they threw in the fact that the kids were grinding to reggaeton) as reasons for the youth's "bad behavior." Cast into a national phenomenon, the media has ignored important issues of race and class in participation in the poncea parties. For instance, who has the ability, economically and otherwise, to actually partake in these activities? Whose bodies aren't policed and survailed? Even if its deemed naughty by the mainstream, it is still dictated by issues of access so not acknowledging that is careless journalism.

Also, by isolating this particular issue of "deviant" youth sex to a Chilean context the American media doesn't have to face the fact that similar sexual activity happens regularly in schools and suburbs across the U.S. (remember the whole oral sex bracelets a few years ago?). By focusing on youth sexuality and the need for effective sexual education "over there," we excuse ourselves from doing the work around youth sexuality and education that needs to happen here.

I'm not condoning 14 year-olds giving each other blowjobs on bus benches in Santiago (because that just seems unsanitary), but I am advocating for a more complex analysis of the issues behind these parties. I'm looking for more than "Chile's disaffected 'Pokemones' don't care much about politics. They're too busy having sex." It's just not that simple so stop the simplistic journalism.

*tip of the fitted cap to Guanabee

Nas Takes on Fox News

So the hip hop community, and suprisingly much of the mainstream media, is abuzz with talk of Nas teaming up with Color of Change and Move On to stop Faux News' unfair and unbalanced attacks on people of color. There was a protest in front of the NewsCorp building in midtown on Wednesday where "famed hip hop artist Nas joined ColorofChange.org, MoveOn.org, and lots of young sign-carrying protesters to demand that FOX News stop calling race-baiting attacks fair and balanced news" (racewire).

Nas delievered a pitition of more than 620,000 signatures and addressed Fox's, particularly Bill O' Reilly's , blatant racism on The Colbert Report. He also performed his song "Sly Fox". Check out the clip of Nas on the Colbert Report...



Fox News has a record of bullying liberal media and an aggressive anti-hip-hop agenda (remember the whole Stop Snitchin' fiasco?). Nas was caught in Fox's cross hairs for a his participation in a performance at VA Tech shortly after the shooting. Check out the full "Sly Fox" video which talks about O'Reilly's attack on Nas...

Bill O'Reilly responded to Nas' appearance on the Colbert Report as an attempt to boost record sales and then tries to flip the switch saying that Nas is racist because he wanted to give his new album the controversial title "Nig**r." Check out a clip from the show...



Please believe that Nas, Color of Change, and Move On are on point with their criticism of Faux News. Fox news will stop at nothing to promote their right-wing racist heteropatriarchial agenda. Fox News is so despicable that it will even stoop to doctoring photos to make rivals look "ugly" and and cartoonish in order to discredit them. The did it to New York Times writer Jacques Steinberg and editor Steven Reddicliffe. Check out the summary from Media Matters which broke the story:

During a segment in which Fox & Friends co-hosts Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade labeled New York Times reporter Jacques Steinberg and editor Steven Reddicliffe "attack dogs," Fox News featured photos of Steinberg and Reddicliffe that appeared to have been digitally altered -- the journalists' teeth had been yellowed, their facial features exaggerated, and portions of Reddicliffe's hair moved further back on his head.

Check out the actual clip in question...



Check out MSNBC's Coverage...



Fellow Times writer David Carr was particularly outraged by the doctored photos and stood up to Fox and its dirty tactics. Carr also points out the Antisemitism apparent in the photoshopped photo of Jacques Steinberg, Carr notes:
“In a technique familiar to students of vintage German propaganda, (Steinberg’s) ears were pulled out, his teeth played apart, his forehead lowered and his nose widened and enlarged in a way that made him look more like Fagin than the guy I work with.” (For more Click Here)

Lastly, I want leave you with this ill doctrine clip which proves that no matter how many times O'Reilly tries to discredit Nas by saying his name wrong all he's doing is showing his bigoted immaturity and making himself look and sound like a fool.


Props to Nas, Color of Change and Move On.

I like my pants down low

In Flint, Michigan wearing pants hanging off your butt can land you in jail. The charge is being led by Flint Police Chief David Dicks who says wearing pants that sag below your waist is unsanitary and constitutes indecent exposure. The new ordinance also gives police probable cause to search "saggers" for weapons or drugs. Similar measures have also passed in In other places, mainly suburban areas. The measures impose monetary fines and even jail time in some cases. Check out the full article at Free Press.

It's crazy that the punishment for wearing a fashion born out of hip hop's fascination with prison culture is now actually punishable by jail time. I don't know why everyone seems to be obsessed with how low many Black and Latino@ youth are wearing there pants. I suspect it's because the fashion is catching on with white youth in suburban areas.

Baggy pants were even featured in the New York Times. CLICK HERE to listen to Times fashion photographer Bill Cunnigham talking about how the pants are dropping with the stock market (he's bugging).