A photo of a solemn Filipina girl holding up a barbed wire circle. She is in a field of sugarcane.
“Langit Lupa” — Heaven and Earth, Life Beyond Death

On Nov. 9 and 10, 2024, Enzo Camacho and Ami Lien screened their newest experimental labor-activist documentary, Langit Lupa (Heaven and Earth) (2023), at 2220 Arts + Archives in Historic Filipinotown. The documentary braids personal testimonies from survivors of the violent Escalante Massacre with vivid phytograms taken from a sugar plantation in Negros, Philippines, raw 16 mm film, and theatrical performances by Escalante children. The weekend screenings and related programs were part of Camacho and Lien’s artist residency with Active Cultures, a public arts nonprofit in Los Angeles that explores the intersection of art, food, and ecologies through artist-led projects and programs.

A photo of a solemn Filipina girl holding up a barbed wire circle. She is in a field of sugarcane.
“Langit Lupa” — Heaven and Earth, Life Beyond Death

On Nov. 9 and 10, 2024, Enzo Camacho and Ami Lien screened their newest experimental labor-activist documentary, Langit Lupa (Heaven and Earth) (2023), at 2220 Arts + Archives in Historic Filipinotown. The documentary braids personal testimonies from survivors of the violent Escalante Massacre with vivid phytograms taken from a sugar plantation in Negros, Philippines, raw 16 mm film, and theatrical performances by Escalante children. The weekend screenings and related programs were part of Camacho and Lien’s artist residency with Active Cultures, a public arts nonprofit in Los Angeles that explores the intersection of art, food, and ecologies through artist-led projects and programs.

A black-and-white Victorian-era photograph of two white AMAB people dressed as women.
Misgendering the Misgendered

I first witnessed a transgender character misgendered by her own author in “The Man Who Thought Himself a Woman,” a short story published anonymously in 1857. The text was assigned for a queer short stories course at UCLA, and while I wasn’t surprised that a transgender character was misgendered by a writer in 1857, I was surprised that a professor of queer studies in 2023 would as well.

The Gender Conundrum: An Introduction

Does anyone remember when “gender” and “sex” used to be synonyms? Language constantly evolves, especially during times of social change. As America grows more and more PC nowadays, it can seem overwhelming to keep up with all the new words…

By Any Other Name: What UCLA’s Preferred Name Policy Means for You

The cold sweat. The pit of dread in your gut. The gnawing sense of unrest as the professor moves down the list, calling out student names in alphabetical order. And then they reach you, call out a name you no…

Why You Should Download the LGBT Healthcare Bill of Rights

For a majority of queer youth, coming out to a doctor is extremely nerve-wracking– especially since it is someone who will decide what medical care you should receive. The chance of receiving subpar medical treatment deters some queer individuals from…

Transgender Day of Remembrance

Photo by Ben Townshend/Creative Commons At 2:30 am on Thursday, October 2nd, Aniya Parker was shot point-blank in the head on an East Hollywood side street. She was Black, and she was transgender. She did not die instantly, but passed…

Stop Dan Savage: Your LGBT “Activist” is Actually a Bigot

Image by Josh Rodriguez/Creative Commons Asexual people should stay at home. Bisexual people are not worth trying to settle down with. Sh*male. Tr*nny. These are all things said by renown activist Dan Savage. Dan Savage is a well-known gay man…

Racism and Sexism: Not the Tale of Generations Past

Photo by Fred Murphy/Creative Commons Though election season this year, as ever, focused largely on the question of the presidency, it was in the matter of Congress that America bore witness to several surprising and heartening changes. Among these are…

UCLA Spotlight: Women’s Bodies, Women’s Votes, With Gloria Steinem

Photo by Gage Skidmore/Flickr On October 7, 2012, Gloria Steinem came to UCLA to offer a lecture called “Women’s Bodies, Women’s Votes,” and, amidst the crowded hall in Broad (one which she would comment later as disliking—as she does many…