DearAmy.net

See you Thursday at Queer Porn-ucopia

2008-07-23T01:44:02Z

Like queer/ dyke porn? Who doesn't! Come to the Leather Archives & Museum on 7/24/08 for a very special kind of "ladies night." San Francisco sex writer Amy Andre and Chicago's beloved Early To Bed co-present Queer Porn-ucopia, a red-hot evening of the sexiest scenes of queer lust ever caught on film. This event is open to adults of all genders. Bring a date - or get ready to go home with one…

Date: Thursday, 7/24/08

Time: Doors open at 7 p.m., show starts at 7:30.

Location: Leather Archives & Museum, 6418 N. Greenview Ave. @ W. Devon Ave., Chicago, IL.

Suggested donation: $8 - $10, no one turned away for lack of funds.

Tickets: Available at the door, or in advance at Early To Bed, 5232 N. Sheridan, Chicago, IL.

For more info, please call Early To Bed at 773-271-1219 or email amy@amyandre.com.

Queer Porn-ucopia in Chicago

2008-07-01T03:16:50Z

PLEASE FORWARD TO YOUR CHICAGO FRIENDS!

Like queer/ dyke porn? Who doesn’t! Come to the Leather Archives & Museum on 7/24 for a very special kind of “ladies night.” San Francisco sex writer Amy Andre and Chicago’s beloved Early To Bed co-present Queer Porn-ucopia, a red-hot evening of the sexiest scenes of queer lust ever caught on film. This event is open to adults of all genders. Bring a date – or get ready to go home with one…

Date: Thursday, 7/24/08

Time: Doors open at 7 p.m., show starts at 7:30.

Location: Leather Archives & Museum, 6418 N. Greenview Ave. @ W. Devon Ave., Chicago, IL

Suggested donation: $8 - $10, no one turned away for lack of funds.

Tickets: Available at the door, or in advance at Early To Bed, 5232 N. Sheridan, Chicago, IL

For more info, please call Early To Bed at 773-271-1219 or email amy@amyandre.com. Or visit www.amyandre.com/queer.html for details.

reminder: Bisexual Wednesday

2008-06-21T18:19:40Z

Hi, everyone,
Don’t forget: this Wednesday in San Francisco is going to be bi-fabulous! :D Forward this message widely…

Bisexual Wednesday:
Come celebrate Bisexual Wednesday! June 25th will be the bi-est day of the year. Join us for the following bi-fabulous events:
6 p.m. BiBQ in Dolores Park, by the picnic tables at the playground. All hungry bisexuals and friends are welcome! Bring some food or drink to share.
9 p.m. Bisexuals on Parade! Full from the BiBQ? Time to walk it off, with a sparkly Bi Pride parade to the Roxie Theatre for the next event….
9:30 p.m. Bi Request at the Roxie Theatre. Watch bisexual porn and other bi films, at this annual SF International LGBT Film Festival show!
11 p.m. Bi Request After-Party, sponsored by the Lexington Club! What’s better than watching bisexual porn? Partying with hotties at the bar afterwards, while enjoying bi-tastic drink specials.
For more info on Bisexual Wednesday, visit http://amyandre.com/journal/2008/06/bisexual-wednesday/.

Bi Request:
I’m so excited to announce: Bi Request, the bi-themed film program that I volunteer to curate for Frameline’s International LGBT Film Festival, is back this year – and it’s better than ever!
Here are the details:
Date: Wednesday 6/25/08
Time: 9:30 p.m.
Location: Roxie Theatre, on 16th at Valencia, San Francisco
Tickets and program info: http://www.frameline.org/festival/film/detail.aspx?id=1537&FID=42
There were tons of great short films to select from this year, all of which are either made by bisexual filmmakers or feature bi characters, or both. Frameline staff and I picked the best of the best, and I can’t wait for you to see what we found.
First of all, there is sizzling hot bisexual porn, in the form of a film titled The Bi Apple. It’s directed by the multi-talented Audacia Ray, who is, among many other things, a writer for the Village Voice and editor of $pread magazine. The gorgeous star of the film plays a journalist interviewing – and interacting with – a multi-racial cast of bisexual characters who all live in a very sexy and very unusual apartment building in New York.
In addition to sexed-up bi housemates, I’ll also be showing films about Frida Kahlo, Ukrainian immigrants, Swiss teenagers, and star-crossed Danish lovers. Each one is so beautifully shot, with sharp acting and very moving compositions. I’m really looking forward to seeing you at the theatre and sharing this selection with you.
But, wait, there’s more! The fabulous Lexington Club has offered to sponsor the after-party! And, I’m telling you, after watching bisexual hotties get it on onscreen, you’re going to want to head to the party. They’ll have drink specials, champagne, and more. (Don’t worry: if you’re a non-drinker like me, they also have non-alcoholic stuff.)
So, mark your calendar, and get ready for a tasty evening… Bring your friends, and let’s really fill the theatre. This is the second year of the Bi Request program, and last year we had a packed house. I’d love to have that again this year, to show that bi programming at Frameline is important and appreciated. Frameline is one of the most highly regarded LGBT film festivals in the world, and films that get shown here often then get selected for other festivals. The success of a bisexual film here will set the stage for bisexual films getting shown internationally. By supporting this event, you can impact the experiences of bisexual people around the world – by being a part of us getting to see ourselves, our stories, and our lives on the big screen. For history on how the Bi Request program got started, click here: http://amyandre.com/journal/2007/12/great-news-bi-request-is-happening-again-in-2008/. Be part of it again this year…

Cheers,
Amy

Bisexual Wednesday! 6/25/08

2008-06-12T04:11:11Z

My friend Allegra and I just invented Bisexual Wednesday! Check it out...

Come celebrate Bisexual Wednesday! June 25th will be the bi-est day of the year. Join us for the following bi-fabulous events:

6 p.m. BiBQ in Dolores Park, by the picnic tables at the playground. All hungry bisexuals and friends are welcome, whether you’ve got a hot dog, or a bun – or both or neither! Bring some food or drink to share.

9 p.m. Bisexuals on Parade! Full from the BiBQ? Time to walk it off, with a sparkly Bi Pride parade to the Roxie Theatre for the next event….

9:30 p.m. Bi Request at the Roxie Theatre. Watch bisexual porn and other bi films, at this annual SF International LGBT Film Festival show!

11 p.m. Bi Request After-Party, sponsored by the Lexington Club! What’s better than watching bisexual porn? Partying with hotties at the bar afterwards, while enjoying bi-tastic drink specials.

For more info on Bisexual Wednesday, visit http://amyandre.com/journal/2008/06/bisexual-wednesday/.

Bi Request film night in San Francisco

2008-06-03T23:36:53Z

Hi, everyone,

I’m so excited to announce: Bi Request, the bi-themed film program that I volunteer to curate for Frameline’s International LGBT Film Festival, is back this year – and it’s better than ever!

Here are the details:
Date: Wednesday 6/25/08
Time: 9:30 p.m.
Location: Roxie Theatre, on 16th at Valencia, San Francisco
After-party: Lexington Club, on Lexington (between Valencia and Mission) and 19th, San Francisco
Tickets and program info: http://www.frameline.org/festival/film/detail.aspx?id=1537&FID=42

There were tons of great short films to select from this year, all of which are either made by bisexual filmmakers or feature bi characters, or both. Frameline staff and I picked the best of the best, and I can’t wait for you to see what we found.

First of all, there is sizzling hot bisexual porn, in the form of a film titled The Bi Apple. It’s directed by the multi-talented Audacia Ray, who is, among many other things, a writer for the Village Voice and editor of $pread magazine. The gorgeous star of the film plays a journalist interviewing – and interacting with – a multi-racial cast of bisexual characters who all live in a very sexy and very unusual apartment building in New York. In addition to sexed-up bi housemates, I’ll also be showing films about Frida Kahlo, Ukrainian immigrants, Swiss teenagers, and more. Each one is so beautifully shot, with sharp acting and very moving compositions. I’m really looking forward to seeing you at the theatre and sharing this selection with you.

But, wait, there’s more! The fabulous Lexington Club has offered to sponsor the after-party! And, I’m telling you, after watching bisexual hotties get it on onscreen, you’re going to want to head to the party. They’ll have drink specials, champagne, and more. (Don’t worry: if you’re a non-drinker like me, they also have non-alcoholic stuff.)

So, mark your calendar, and get ready for a tasty evening… Bring your friends, and let’s really fill the theatre. This is the second year of the Bi Request program, and last year we had a packed house. I’d love to have that again this year, to show that bi programming at Frameline is important and appreciated. Frameline is one of the most highly regarded LGBT film festivals in the world, and films that get shown here often then get selected for other festivals. The success of a bisexual film here will set the stage for bisexual films getting shown internationally. By supporting this event, you can impact the experiences of bisexual people around the world – by being a part of us getting to see ourselves, our stories, and our lives on the big screen. For history on how the Bi Request program got started, click here: http://amyandre.com/journal/2007/12/great-news-bi-request-is-happening-again-in-2008/. Be part of it again this year…

Cheers,
Amy

reminder: not to be missed!

2008-05-23T07:52:33Z

Hi, everyone,

Mark your calendars for Saturday May 24th, at 7:30 p.m., because there is going to be some smart, sassy, and sexy stuff going on at the LGBT Center. My film-making partner, Kami Chisholm, is showing the US premiere of her latest short film, The Insomniacs, a butch-femme romantic comedy starring local actor Skyler Cooper. And she'll be showing FtF: Female to Femme, a festival-favorite feature-length documentary about one of my favorite subjects and probably one of yours: femmes.

Come check it out. Tickets are $12 in advance at www.altcinema.com, and $15 at the door. This is a fundraiser for Altcinema, which is a nonprofit film company making the best in queer/ bi/ trans work by independent artists.

I hope to see you there, because it's gonna be a hot night!

For a sneak peak at some hot pics from The Insomniacs, visit www.altcinema.com/insomniacs.html. Stars from the films _will_ be in the audience...

xo,
Amy

San Francisco entertainment

2008-05-16T04:27:35Z

looking for bi youth (18 to 20 years old) to talk on panel abt health care exp.

2008-03-29T01:04:27Z

Hi, everyone,

Please spread the word. A friend of mine, Emily Williams, is looking for participants to speak on a panel about their experiences with health care. Read on, and then email her at emilycwilliams (at) fastmail (dot) fm.

"Here's the plea: I need people who are available to come to New
Haven, CT next Tuesday (April 1st) from 4-7 to sit on a panel and discuss their experiences with health care as out LGBTQ youth.

I'm organizing a talk and panel discussion for health professions
students about providing competent primary care to LGBTQ youths. It is on 4/1 from 5-7pm (dinner included) on Yale's medical campus. Due to a sudden change of opinion by my Dean's office THIS WEEK, I'm no longer allowed to have panelists who are under 18; I want to avoid filling it up with Yale undergrads because I'm afraid I'll lose some diversity of background and worldview.

Also, though I made it a goal to include bisexual and trans voices,
I've had a hard time finding willing panelists. I've been asking for
volunteers on the younger end (between 18 and 20), but for the sake
of having a full panel (and especially if I can convince one of my
trans,genderqueer, or bisexual comrades to make the trek on the Metro
North!)

Oh, and you are more than welcome to crash on my couch if you need to.

I am in your debt,
Em"

Bi Request film reminder

2008-02-09T23:48:10Z

Hello, bi community folks,

Great news: Bi Request is happening again in 2008!

Bi Request is the bisexual short film program at the annual San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival, the largest and most prestigious LGBT film festival in the world. This is the festival that sets the standard for film fests on a global scale. If a film is shown at the San Francisco International, it often gets requested by dozens and dozens of other festivals, many of whom create their roster in part by going through the program guide of this festival. That means big exposure for the film, and the opportunity for the filmmaker to share their art with LGBT people around the world.

A couple of years ago, the B and the T were added to the end of the SF International name – but I noticed right away that that didn’t correspond to having any bi films in the program. I riled up a bunch of bi folks and our allies and turned into a major squeaky wheel about this. Frameline, the organization that puts on the festival, was quick to respond, and worked with me to actively solicit and promote bi material in last year’s festival. Yay!

With Frameline’s support, I volunteered to curate the first ever Bi Request program. It was a huge success, with a packed theatre and fabulous short films about bisexual lives and by bi film-makers from around the world. Five of the film-makers were in attendance, including one who flew all the way from Australia to proudly show her work.

And now, we’re doing it again! Frameline has asked me to volunteer again this year to curate Bi Request, and I jumped at the chance – it’s so much fun! So please help me spread the word. Bi film-makers (and film-makers who have make films about bisexual lives/ featuring bisexual characters) can send their short films directly to me for consideration in Bi Request, or they can go through Frameline. If they want to send their films to me, the deadline is approaching, and the address is:
Amy Andre
PO Box 14821
San Francisco, CA 94114

Let your film-making friends know about Bi Request. And, if you’re in San Francisco in June, please make plans to attend Bi Request, too!

Here are some links of interest:
To send a submission to Frameline: http://www.frameline.org/filmmaker-support/festival-submissions/ (you’ll see the new statement about looking for films from underrepresented communities – including bi folks!)
To read about my “squeaky wheel” dialogue with Frameline: http://www.amyandre.com/film.html
To read about Bi Request: http://laughingsquid.com/squidlist/events/index.php?com=detail&eID=168645&year=2007&month=6
And info about Bi Request in Wikipedia, of all places!: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frameline

Cheers,
Amy

Come watch bisexual movies with me...

2007-06-14T03:17:52Z

San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival presents:

BI REQUEST

Saturday June 16 | 6:00 pm | Roxie Theatre

$9 members | $10 general | BIRE16R

For our first ever Bi Request shorts program, volunteer guest curator Amy Andre selected films made by bisexual directors and/or about bisexual subjects. Bi Request was inspired by Frameline's ongoing commitment to promote bisexual visibility and display bi images in film.

In a spoof of the 1950s educational film style, Shady Bi warns of the "dangers" of bisexual women. A bisexual transwoman documents her transition in Whatever Suits You. Single Sexy Bilingual is a short, black comedy about being bilingual, bisexual and bipolar. In Checkout, friends (and ex-lovers) Corey and Max compete for the same woman at the grocery store. In Lauren's Call, a Cuban immigrant couple fights to make their relationship work in the midst of a sexual identity crisis. A scorned bisexual goes postal in One Useless Prick, and nature-loving bisexuals go camping in Bi Camp.

Total Running Time: 94 mins

Tickets are available at Superstar Satellite video store located at 474 Castro Street (between Market and 18th Street in San Francisco), online at www.frameline.org/festival, and by fax at 415 522 5543.

Mark Your Calendar: Bi Request at Frameline!

2007-05-27T21:26:49Z

Hi friends,
Please join me at Frameline Film Festival's Bi Request program, which I curated! See fabulous bi shorts from all over the world! It's at the Roxie Theatre, on 16th @ Valencia, on 6/16, at 6 p.m. Details are below. I can't wait to see you there...
xoxo,
Amy

Frameline31
San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival
June 14-24, 2007
www.frameline.org

BI REQUEST
Saturday June 16 | 6:00 pm | Roxie
$9 members | $10 general | BIRE16R

For our first ever Bi Request shorts program, volunteer guest curator Amy André selected films made by bisexual directors and/or about bisexual subjects. Bi Request was inspired by Frameline’s ongoing commitment to promote bisexual visibility and display bi images in film.

From Jan Krüger, the director of Unterwegs and The Whiz Kids, comes Hotel Paradijs, a film about the magic and darkness of desire. Though happy with his boyfriend Christian, Paul finds himself seduced by Claire. But is it really Claire, or just the idea of falling in love with a woman, that makes Paul turn away from his lover? Less concerned with the external forces that attract, Krüger instead focuses his lens on the unpredictable desires within that can tear a loving couple apart.

In a spoof of the 1950s educational film style, Shady Bi warns of the “dangers” of bisexual women. A bisexual transwoman documents her transition in Whatever Suits You. Single Sexy Bilingual is a short, black comedy about being bilingual, bisexual and bipolar. In Checkout, friends (and ex-lovers) Corey and Max compete for the same woman at the grocery store. In Lauren’s Call, a Cuban immigrant couple fights to make their relationship work in the midst of a sexual identity crisis. A scorned bisexual goes postal in One Useless Prick, and nature-loving bisexuals go camping in Bi Camp.

Shady Bi dir April Hirschmann 2007 USA 4 min
Bi Camp dir Wayne Bryant 2007 USA 3 min
CHECKOUT dir Jenn Garrison 2006 U S A 9 min
One Useless Prick dir Punkvert Films 2007 USA 6 min
Whatever Suits You dir Ashley Altadonna 2007 USA 7 mn
Lauren’s Call dir Enrica Perez USA 23 min
Single Sexy Bilingual dir Barbara Karpinski 2006 Australia 12 min
Hotel Paradijs dir Jan Krueger 2007 USA 30 min

Total Running Time: 94 mins

Frameline31, the 31st San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival, screening June 14-24 at the Castro Theatre, Roxie Film Center the Victoria Theatre, and at the Parkway Theater in Oakland is the oldest and largest event of its kind in the world. Tickets go on sale to Frameline members Friday, May 25. General public ticket sales begin Friday, June 1. Tickets are available at Superstar Satellite video store located at 474 Castro Street (between Market and 18th Street in San Francisco), online at www.frameline.org/festival, and by fax at 415 522 5543.

Godspeed Film Event

2007-05-22T03:12:30Z

Altcinema presents:

a GODSPEED Film Benefit

June 9, 2007 at 7:00 p.m.
The Women's Building
3543 18th Street
(between Valencia & Guerrero)
$10 - $100 sliding scale donation

Join host Lynn Breedlove for a benefit to support the GODSPEED film project. Based on Lynn Breedlove's novel Godspeed (St. Martin's Press, 2002), the GODSPEED film will premiere in late June at Frameline's San Francisco LGBT Film Festival.

The June 9 benefit will feature:
* Advance roughcut screening of GODSPEED
* Hilarious short films by local San Francisco filmmakers
* Q & A with filmmakers Lynn Breedlove & Jen Gilomen
* Raffle
* Food & Beverage

For more information and advance tickets, visit http://altcinema.com/godspeedben.html.

Broke? We need volunteers. Email us at volunteer@altcinema.com.

Bisexual Health publication just released by NGLTF!

2007-03-20T01:31:27Z

I couldn’t be more proud or more thrilled to share my news with you! Last year, the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) commissioned me to co-author a publication on bisexual health for their acclaimed Policy Institute. This document, titled Bisexual Health: An Introduction and Model Practices for HIV/ STI Prevention Programming, represents the first time a national LGBT nonprofit organization has devoted resources like this to the topic of bisexual health, and I was extremely honored to be a part of it.

I spent over a year working on it, and on March 13, the 143-page report was officially released! The past week has been an absolute whirlwind, as I participated in a national press conference on the release date, and, just early this morning, was interviewed live on the radio at KPFK in Los Angeles.

Bisexual Health is downloadable as a *free* PDF on the Task Force website here: http://www.thetaskforce.org/downloads/reports/reports/BisexualHealth.pdf, and is described on the Task Force website here: http://www.thetaskforce.org/reports_and_research/bisexual_health and in this press release: http://www.thetaskforce.org/press/releases/prBI_031407.

I urge you to check out the report, which contains information about the state of bisexual health (in a word: heart-breaking) and what we can do about it (aka, the good news!). In a nutshell, there is very little research on bisexual health, but what’s out there indicates that bisexuals are experiencing the following *in higher rates than lesbians, gays, and heterosexuals*:
-- depression and other mental illness
-- alcohol and drug abuse (For example, bi women are 3X more likely than heterosexual women and twice more likely than lesbians to be heavy drinkers.)
-- smoking (For example, bi women smoke slightly, but significantly, more than lesbians and 2 to 3 times more than heterosexuals. Major cancer risk.)
-- intimate partner violence and physical assault (For example, significantly higher numbers of bisexual women experience being punched or beaten, compared to lesbians and heterosexual women.)
-- stigma and phobia (For example, in studies comparing attitudes toward groups such as Protestants, pro-lifers, people with HIV, African Americans, etc., bisexuals are rated second only to IV drug users in level of stigma.)

Most research that even mentions bisexuals lumps us together with gays and lesbians, which skews our understanding of lesbian/ gay health, too; only when identities are teased apart, do we see these significant differences. The bottom line is, no matter what someone’s orientation identity, none of this okay. Something needs to be done.

That’s where you come in. I just finished the publication, but the real work starts now. There is a lot that health care providers, medical researchers, and the bi and LGBT communities can do to address these issues, and the report outlines some critical – and easy to implement – low-cost and no-cost steps!

So if you’re bi or know someone who is (and since you know me, the answer is “yes”), please help spread the word. Tell your doctor, your local health department, your LGBT community, and everyone else you know to download the report (it’s free!) and take action. Press coverage is especially important. If you have media contacts, tell them too. I’ll be doing the same, and together, we can improve the health and lives of bisexuals.

Be healthy,
Amy

P.S. You can listen to the KPFK radio interview (!) by clicking here, and selecting the “Uprising” show on Monday, March 19, 2007 at 9:01 a.m.: http://64.27.15.184/parchive/index.php?sort=dateza. I'm interviewed from 0:30 to 0:42 minutes in the program.

looking for connections

2007-02-19T06:38:01Z

Hi, LJ-friends,
Kami and I are going to NY in March, for a little vacation, and we want to show her ground-breaking film, FtF: Female to Femme (www.ftfthemovie.com), while we're there! I'm thinking that university students might be very interested in seeing the film, especially folks who are in Gender Studies, Women's Studies, Queer Studies, or Sexuality Studies. Does anyone have any connections to faculty and/or student groups at NYC-area schools, like NYU, Columbia, CUNY, etc.?
Kami is a lecturer at SFSU, a PhD candidate, and an incredible educator -- and she is available to lecture about the film, do Q&A, and so on. For more on her work, visit www.altcinema.com/kami.
Thanks, all,
Amy :)

"Nobody Passes" book reading

2006-12-03T18:49:51Z

I'm in this book -- come join me at the reading!

Nobody Passes: Rejecting the Rules of Gender and Conformity
Edited by Mattilda, a.k.a. Matt Bernstein Sycamore

BOOK LAUNCH
Tuesday, December 5, 2006
San Francisco Main Library
100 Larkin Street
Latino/Hispanic Community Meeting Room
6 p.m. sharp
FREE
Featuring Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, Kirk Read, Dean Spade, Tommi Avicolli Mecca, Amy André, Dominika Bednarska, Nico Dacumos, Irina Contreras, Jennifer Blowdryer, Logan Gutierrez-Mock, Jen Cross, Amy André and Mattilda a.k.a. Matt Bernstein Sycamore

Delicious Reading and Devastating Discussion
City Lights Bookstore
Thursday, December 7, 2006 @7 p.m.
261 Columbus Ave. at Broadway
(415) 362-8193
Featuring Benjamin Shepard, Irina Contreras, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, Kirk Read, Nico Dacumos, Jennifer Blowdryer and Mattilda a.k.a. Matt Bernstein Sycamore
FREE

From activism to academia, immigration to appropriation to cruising for sex, hip-hop to disability culture to trans communities, Nobody Passes challenges societal mores and countercultural norms, asking, "If we eliminate the pressure to pass, what delicious and devastating opportunities for
transformation might we create?"

“Smart, sassy, and long overdue, this collection of essays by Mattilda and hur badass posse of evil geniuses gleefully demolishes the smug propriety that lurks within most contemporary debates about gender and diversity. What a breath of fresh air!”
—Susan Stryker, transgender activist, historian, and filmmaker

“In this beautiful, surprising collection of essays, Mattilda brings together the smartly told, diverse stories of social refuseniks. The result is a provocative critique of the act of passing, and a lively, challenging, often moving account of the pleasures and pains of not passing. Nobody Passes kicks ass. It will mess you right up.”
—Joshua Gamson, author of The Fabulous Sylvester

“These essays, in all of their militant heterogeneity, with all of their ease and rage at being on margins, chart some of the most important ground on which the desire for a new society is finding expression. They show rebels that we are far from alone in feeling such desire.”
—David Roediger, author of Working Toward Whiteness: How America's Immigrants Became White

“Nobody Passes is a fascinating example of how feminism and gender studies can support radically new identities that develop at the speed of life—or it may be part of the end of identity politics as known so far.”
—Naomi Zack, author of Inclusive Feminism: A Third Wave Theory of Women’s Commonality

looking for bi films and bi filmmakers

2006-11-26T21:41:56Z

Hi, friends,

I am currently working with the folks at Frameline Films on curating a bi film show at their 2007 San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival! The show would feature short films featuring bi characters or made by bi filmmakers. So... I'm on the look-out! If you are or know of a bi filmmaker, please let me know. They do not have to be making films with a bi theme. Also, if you have seen a bi film that you think would fit my wish list (below), please let me know that too.

Thanks so much! I can't wait to hear from you.

Cheers,
Amy :)

Bi Film wish list:
* no biphobic content, or at least none that goes unchallenged or unexamined
* bi _characters_, not stereotypes (ie., cheater, liar, villain, confused, indecisive, commitment-phobic, heart-breaker, traitor to LGBT community, etc.)
* bisexuality is not used as a plot device (ie., the bisexual character cheats on someone of one gender with someone of another gender; the bisexual character breaks hearts or is villainous, bisexuality is the cause of conflict in the film for the characters who are not bisexual)
* bisexuality is portrayed in a respectful manner, as a normal (not necessarily normative), celebratory (not just tolerated) sexual identity

fun survey, with thanks to an LJ friend

2006-10-06T02:54:45Z

Please indulge me with your details...
Amy :)

Your Middle Name:

Age:

Single or Taken:

Favorite Movies:

Favorite Songs:

Favorite Bands/Artists:

Dirty or Clean:

Tattoos and/or Piercings:

Do we know each other outside of LJ?

What's your philosophy on life?

Would you have my back in a fight?

Would you keep a secret from me if you thought it was in my best interest?

What is your favorite memory of us?

Would you give me a kidney?

Tell me one odd/interesting fact about you:

Would you take care of me when I'm sick?

Can we get together and make a cake?

Have you heard any rumors of me lately?

Do you/have you talk(ed) crap about me?

Do you think I'm a good person?

Would you drive across country with me?

Do you think I'm attractive?

If you could change anything about me, would you?

What do you wear to sleep?

Would you come over for no reason just to hang out?

Would you go on a date with me if I asked you?

If I only had one day to live, what would we do together?

Will you repost this so I can fill it out for you?

only 96 of 4,700 -- the saddest, angriest I've felt in a long time!

2006-09-02T00:59:37Z

University of California System: Dip in African American Admissions Despite An Increase In Qualified Applicants

This fall, only 96 of the more than 4,700 incoming freshman at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - a mere 2 percent - are African American. All nine universities in the University of California (UC) system have similarly dismal enrollment figures for African-American freshman despite the implementation of admissions policies designed to achieve diversity in the wake of Proposition 209, according to a June report by the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies.

Proposition 209, sponsored by California businessman and former UC regent Ward Connerly, was passed by California voters in 1996, banning affirmative action in the state. The Bunche Center report found that African Americans represented only 3.4 percent of all freshmen offered admission to a UC school, despite an increase in the number of qualified African Americans and an overall increase in African-American applicants. UCLA is consistently ranked at the bottom of the nine schools regarding the number of admissions it extends to African Americans despite receiving the greatest number of African-American applications.

Source: By Tyler Lewis http://www.civilrights.org

Professor Explains Something About Sexism

2006-07-15T04:18:04Z

This is the second time today someone has brought this article to my attention, and it makes me so angry!!! Why is it fucking "news" when a man (trans or not) all of a sudden has a revelation about sexism? Have women not pointed out these issues already? The last sentence makes me want to throw up.

By LISA LEFF, Associated Press Writer Wed Jul 12, 7:05 PM ET

SAN FRANCISCO - As an Ivy League-trained neurobiologist who oversees a research lab at Stanford, Ben Barres feels qualified to comment on whether nature or nurture explains the persistent gender gap in the scientific community.

But it wasn't just his medical degree from Dartmouth, his Ph.D from Harvard and his studies on brain development and regeneration that inspired him to write an article blaming the shortage of female scientists on institutional bias.
Rather, it was that for most of his academic life, the 51-year-old professor who now wears a beard was once known as Dr. Barbara Barres, a woman who excelled in math and science.
"I have this perspective," said Barres, who switched sexes when he started taking hormones in 1997. "I've lived in the shoes of a woman and I've lived in the shoes of a man. It's caused me to reflect on the barriers women face."
Barres' opinion piece, published in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature, was a response to the debate former Harvard president Lawrence Summers reignited last year when he said innate sexual differences might explain why comparatively few women excelled in scientific careers.
Summers' clashes with faculty including over women in science led to his resignation, though not before he committed $50 million on childcare and other initiatives to help advance the careers of women and minority employees.
Even so, Barres thinks a meaningful discussion of what he calls the "Larry Summers Hypothesis" ended too soon, leaving missed opportunities and a bad message for young female scientists.
"I feel like I have a responsibility to speak out," he said. "Anyone who has changed sex has done probably the hardest thing they can do. It's freeing, in a way, because it makes me more fearless about other things."
In his article, Barres offers several personal anecdotes from both sides of the gender divide to prove his own hypothesis that prejudice plays a much bigger role than genes in preventing women from reaching their potential on university campuses and in government laboratories.
The one that rankles him most dates from his undergraduate days at MIT, where as a young woman in a class dominated by men he was the only student to solve a complicated math problem. The professor responded that a boyfriend must have done the work for her, according to Barres.
Barres makes a point of saying that he never felt mistreated or held back as a female scientist. At the same time, he wonders if his personal experience somehow shielded him from the more insidious effects of gender bias.
"I wasn't subject to the same stereotype threat because I never identified with women when I was growing up," he said. "In a way that was one of the lucky things for me about being transgender."
Aside from his unique vantage point, the thrust of Barres' article is that neither Summers nor the prominent scientists who defended his position used hard data to back up the claim that biology makes women less inclined toward math and science.
He cites several studies including one showing little difference in the math scores of boys and girls ages 4 to 18 and another that indicated girls are groomed to be less competitive in sports to support his discrimination argument.
"If a famous scientist or the president of a prestigious university is going to pronounce in public that women are likely to be innately inferior, would it be too much to ask that they be aware of the relevant data?" he writes in Nature.
"It would seem just as the bar goes up for women applicants in academic selection processes, it goes way down when men are evaluating the evidence for why women are not advancing in science."
Harvard University psycholinguist Steven Pinker, whom Barres names in his commentary as a leading defender of Summers, already has written a letter to the editors of Nature criticizing the piece as "polemic" that "contains numerous falsehoods and scurrilous statements."
Pinker said both he and Summers relied on "a large empirical literature showing differences in mean and variance in the distributions of talents, temperaments, and life priorities" among men and women to explain why women might be underrepresented in some scientific disciplines.
"He should learn to take scientific hypotheses less personally," Pinker said.
Barres said he won't be surprised if the Nature article makes him the kind of lightning rod for criticism that Summers was last year. He said he is disappointed that more senior women faculty have remained silent on the issue.
"Women have heard this stuff so much from people like Larry Summers, some corner of their brain starts to believe it," he said.
###

Free Screening of "FtF: Female to Femme"

2006-07-02T22:50:42Z

Hi,
I thought you might be interested in this message (below) from my fiancée, Kami, who co-directed FtF: Female to Femme, a feature documentary about femme lesbians and starring Jewelle Gomez.
Cheers,
Amy

*****
Hi all,

FtF: FEMALE TO FEMME premiered last month at a sold-out screening in Frameline30: The San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival. Since over 100 people were turned away at the door, Frameline is bringing FtF back for an encore screening in July at their free monthly series, Frameline at the Center. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion.

Coming to SF for the Femme Conference? FtF will be screening there too!

Lastly, if you are in Philadelphia this month, check out the world premiere of my hot new documentary, "Seven Questions about Desire," at the Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.

Here are the nitty gritty screening details:

7/13 @ 7:30 pm - FtF: FEMALE TO FEMME and panel discussion
Frameline at the LGBT Center
1800 Market Street @ Octavia, San Francisco

7/14 @ 5:15 pm - SEVEN QUESTIONS ABOUT DESIRE
Philadelphia International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
The Wilma Theater, Philadelphia, PA
http://www.phillyfests.com/piglff/templates/film_details.cfm?id=5349

8/13 @ 2:15 pm - FtF: FEMALE TO FEMME
Femme2006
The Cathedral Hill Hotel in SF

For more info on FtF, visit http://www.altcinema.com/ftf.html
For more info on SEVEN QUESTIONS, visit http://www.altcinema.com/desire.html

best,
Kami

re: An Open Letter to Frameline

2006-06-20T04:12:36Z

Hi, friends,

As you know, I recently shared with you an open letter that I wrote to Frameline, about bi visibility in their film festival selections. Frameline staff responded promptly and thoughtfully, and we are in continued dialogue! Visit this page on my website to get the whole scoop (including their response and what happened next): www.AmyAndre.com/film.html. Most importantly, if you forwarded the original letter to others, please do the same with this message. Thank you!

Cheers,
Amy :)

Please re-post: An Open Letter to Frameline

2006-06-16T00:03:53Z

Friends, please re-post this open letter to Frameline, and help address biphobia and bi-
invisibility in film. Imagine if the film festival didn't have a single (respectful) film about trans people, or lesbians, or gay men?! We bisexuals and bi allies deserve better...

June 2006
Dear Frameline,

We the undersigned wish to express our great concern regarding bi invisibility in this year’s film festival selection. Based on a careful reading of the catalog, we have come to the conclusion that there is not one film being shown this year with a discernable stated focus on bisexuality or (positive) portrayal of bi characters. For a film festival of Frameline’s caliber, ie., the finest and most respected LGBT film festival in the world, this
is completely unacceptable. Are we to believe that not a single bisexual film was available and good enough for selection? That hardly seems likely, and, given that Frameline bills itself as an “LGBT” film festival, we are thus forced to ask:

Frameline, where is the B?

Besides a description of a film about New York’s Harvey Milk High School, the one instance where the catalog’s description of a film actually includes the word “bisexual” is for a film called "the sex movie". The description tells us that one of the characters in "the sex movie" is “a rampant bisexual.” Not a single one of us bisexuals and bi allies who have signed this letter have a clue as to what a “rampant bisexual” is, and we wonder what this phrase is meant to imply. When it comes to sexual orientation identities, is there such a
thing as a “rampant gay man” or a “rampant straight person” or a “rampant lesbian?” No, there
is not. The idea that someone with a bisexual identity is “rampant” is more than just grammatically incorrect; it’s offensive, derogatory, and biphobic.

It’s a widely known fact that LGBT film festivals around the globe base their selections each year on Frameline’s film festival catalog. Frameline, what you choose to screen literally sets the stage for the viewing LGBT world. If you don’t have anything bisexual to offer, then neither will other film festivals, and bisexual images in film will continue to be silenced. We the bisexuals and bi allies who have signed this letter expect better of you.

Finally, your use of the word “hasbian” in your description of the film Puccini for Beginners is sexist, as it implies that it is okay to ridicule women whose sex lives are fluid and include relationships with men following their relationships with women. For a film festival that has done so much to promote and shed light on female sexual agency, this type of sexism is shocking and uncalled for. As feminists, we say, Frameline, shame on you.

Sincerely,

Amy André, M.A.
Tom Geller
Shelli Rawlings-Fein
Michelle Chase Cardenas
Jon Spinner
Lindasusan Ulrich
Dominque Akoury
Gerard A. Palmeri
Wallace J. Mueller
Lisabeth Castro-Smyth
Verlena Johnson
Alisha Diego Klatt
Logan Gutierrez-Mock
Oneida Chi
Isabel Millan
Lila Ponce
Heather Cassell
Bonnie Brooke Bullock
Carolyn Nork
Tina Amina Zaman
Dolissa Medina

show coming up!

2006-06-03T22:15:26Z

I'm very excited about the fact that the film I made, On My Skin/ En Mi Piel, will be showing at the San Francisco LGBT Center on June 9th! Also, it's going to have its world premiere at Frameline's 30th Annual International LGBT Film Festival on June 18th -- how cool is that?! I can't wait...
Amy :)

once again

2006-05-17T16:06:57Z

Once again, I'm low on questions for Dear Amy this week. :(
Okay, let me clarify: I love it when everybody's having such hot drama-free sex that they don't need any advice, but I also love having a fresh new Q&A column each week, too! I just got a message from a reader that they would like to see even more questions and answers. I thought, "me too!" I would totally add more questions and answers each week -- if I had the capacity.
That said, any of my LiveJournal friends got any questions about sex? I'll answer 'em!
xoxo,
Amy

Gala Event in San Francisco: An Evening of Queer Short Films

2006-04-28T05:50:14Z

AltCinema Productions

presents

An Evening of Queer Short Films
A Gala Event to Benefit FtF: Female to Femme

Featuring:
HEAL WOUND HEEL, CHA-CHA-CHA, by Vivian Giourousis
HEART, by Vivian Giourousis
ON MY SKIN/EN MI PIEL, by Amy Andre
A PLACE TO BEGIN, by Mónica Enriquez
SEVEN QUESTIONS ABOUT DESIRE, by Kami Chisholm
SIGMUND FREUD: PROFESSIONAL PSYCHOANALYST, by Kami Chisholm & Jennifer Gilomen

Plus:
a trailer from the upcoming feature documentary FTF: FEMALE TO FEMME, by Kami Chisholm & Elizabeth Stark

Friday, May 12th 2006 @ 7:00 pm
LGBT Community Center, 1800 Market Street at Octavia

FtF: Female to Femme is the latest documentary by Kami Chisholm & Elizabeth Stark, slated for world premiere this June at Frameline's 30th Annual International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.

Colorful, sexy, funny and moving, FtF features a host of fabulous femmes, including actress/ writer Guinivere Turner, novelist Jewelle Gomez, rock stars Leslie Mah (Tribe8) and Bitch (Bitch & Animal), professors, activists, artists and dancers. FtF: Female to Femme makes use of parody and costuming much the way femme does: to create a saucy, indelible impression of a people and a politics central to the gender revolution.

Come support the lesbian community as well as independent filmmaking!

For more information or to purchase advance tickets, contact tickets (at) altcinema (dot) com, or

visit our web site at altcinema (dot) com.

$10.00 advance tickets
$15.00 - $100.00 sliding scale donation at the door
Broke? We need volunteers! Email us.