UCLA made me disabled.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been ill my whole life. I was diagnosed with Marfan Syndrome at 18 months old, a rare genetic disorder that makes my connective tissue more elastic and prone to spontaneous breakage. I hear from every medical professional I see that I am a textbook marfanoid; there was even a photo of 6-year-old me on The Marfan Foundation’s “Signs & Symptoms” page for a decade. I am a literal poster child for my condition.
A Trip in Westwood
Why Pride This Year?
Picture this: it’s June 28, 1970, nearly a year after the monumental Stonewall riots, and you’re attending the first Pride Parade in New York City. Except it’s not a parade, and it’s not entirely about Pride: it’s the Christopher Street Liberation Day March. Here, we recognize the familiar names of Marsha P. Johnson, Sylvia Rivera, Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, and the lesser known names of the march’s organizers Craig Rodwell, Fred Sargeant, Ellen Broidy, Linda Rhodes, Brenda Howard and many more. Unlike today’s Pride Parade, this march in New York was dedicated to Gay Liberation in the forms of political speeches, demonstrations, and gay visibility.
Being My Mother’s Son: A Review of Queer Korean Documentary “Coming to You”
On May 5, 2023, UCLA screened “Coming to You” (“한글: 너에게 가는 길”) directed by Gyu-ri Byun (she/her), a groundbreaking Korean documentary about the mothers of queer adults in Korea. The documentary centers on the mothers, Nabi (she/her) and Vivian (she/her), who are members of PFLAG Korea (Parents, Families and Allies of LGBTAIQ+ People in Korea). Both women are cisgender and heterosexual. Prior to their children coming out to them, they held little to no knowledge about the queer community and harbored discriminatory opinions about queerness. Nonetheless, the documentary made no excuses for their past queerphobia and followed their journeys into wholehearted queer activism.
The Homophiles, the Liberationists, and Us
Activism is rough, and we throw a lot of words around at each other. “Assimilationist!” “Unrealistic!” “Conformist!” “Aggressive!” LGBTQ+ activism has not only been met with virulent backlash from the cisgender, heterosexual side of society but also has been plagued by intra-community conflict on the best ways to do things. The tension surrounding LGBTQ+ activism boils down to a push and pull between outright rebellion and more incremental forms of justice. This conflict is not specific to the LGBTQ+ community; all sorts of movements spanning different identities and ideas encounter the contentious dichotomy between abolition and reform.
Art as Activism with Rhiannon Salt: Disability Pride (Month) Spotlight
Photos and Artworks by Rhiannon Salt (They/He) **Content Warning: brief mentions of abuse and toxic relationships, mentions of dissociating and other symptoms of chronic illness and mental illnesses** This article will highlight the moments when the CW is relevant, but…
LGBTQ+ Research Symposium Uplifts Underrepresented Scholarship
On Friday, April 26th, the UCLA LGBTQ Studies program will present its 6th annual Q Scholars Undergraduate Research Symposium entitled “Our Existence is Resistance: [Art]iculating our Lives, Identities, and Activism in the New Millennium.” The symposium offers a safe space…
Facing Expanding Class Sizes and Dwindling Resources, LA Teachers Go On Strike
Teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) continue to strike this week amidst increasing class sizes and insufficient support for low-income students across the city. Demonstrators cite a lack of school nurses, librarians, and counselors, as well as…
Trans and Trapped: Behind the Wrong Bars
Graphic by Hannah Boston Life inside of a men’s prison is not easy for anyone, but it is especially difficult for trans women. The U.S. prison system houses transgender individuals on the basis of their genitals instead of their gender…
Silence = Death: Lessons in AIDS Activism
Credit to ACT UP Over on Bruinwalk on a cold February day, at least three fundraisers are taking place. Most are for Dance Marathon, an event that enlists thousands of students to raise money to fight pediatric AIDS. They’re wearing…
A Minute of Your Time: Notes from the Canvassing Trail
The door standing in front of me is worn with age. It may have once been a pleasant shade of blue, but its extended life has stripped it of color. This weary door is my most daunting enemy. All I…
