In addition to winning the World Series, which caused a huge ripple of energy through the city, I have been trotting along the city and photographing presidential hopefuls (Obama rally) and a huge peace rally.
All photographs were taken by and belong to the author of this blog. All rights reserved.

Peace. Peace.
No rape, no racism, no theft.
With abundant ideas, stimulated children, and compassionate citizens.
End of sanctions, limited theory, explosion of art.
Breathless laughter, stretching skin and smooth, warm lips in the winter.
A healing system, a conservation of the Mother Earth, and blue, blue skies.
Rich, clean waters and swimming through pools of generosity.
There is no charity, only love.
And action.

This picture of soldiers’ boots are a part of a larger traveling display to honor the women and men who have given their lives in this war.

or is there something terribly ironic about this?

If it’s just me, fine, but if you’re catching my drift, tell me

argue

debate

talk

as to what you think this is all about.

This photo was taken by the author in Kauai, 2005.

Somewhere over the rainbow
where I can’t see
There’s a place that I dream of
called feminist equality

Somewhere over the rainbow
womyn of color fly
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true

Some day I’ll speak and be believed
And wake up where there is no rage inside me
Where oppression melts like lemondrops
and racism ends like lollipops
That’s where you’ll find me

Somewhere over the rainbow
womyn of color fly
I watch others fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh why can’t I?

Some days I read hooks and Lorde
And dream of Anzaldua’s sword
My words come from harvest crops
and carries to the mountain tops
That’s where you’ll find me

Somewhere over the rainbow
Freedom flies
I need to fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh why can’t I?

If feminism says I can fly
Beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why can’t I?

–adapted from the original song Over the Rainbow by Yip Harburg

I continue to do photography worship for This Bridge Called My Back. Playing around with the facets of the bridge and its relevance to women of color and feminism, I consider the elements of why Bridges are so fascinating, and the symbolic meaning of when they collapse.

It’s something I wonder about with my radical women of color bloggers and the future we are building for young women. In our contemplation of collective change and organization, we consider things very carefully. I wonder where and how we will strengthen and revitalize the Bridge built for us. I am more than aware of the warnings issued about the weak areas of the Bridge for young women of color. What can I contribute to ensure safe crossings into the future, to stabilize what weakens with the natural passing of time?

In my travels to the west coast, I traveled to the most indulgent city EVVVVERRRR, Las Vegas.

Despite my first time luck at the slots, I was more interested in the surrounding images. My feminist camera clicked clicked clicked to make the seemingly unknown connections between images, power, and gender for the common gambler. The sexualizing of everything woman, the porn industry mainstreaming into shopping malls – it’s enough to make one feminist crazy. What do womyn do with all images, money, gendering, cheapening, and power?

Well, there’s at least one billboard that tries to help. After a while, this feminist photographer started getting a bit sick to her stomach and stopped clicking. It’s hard to imagine how some folks still don’t GET IT when it comes to the sexualization of women.

As with the rest of the world, I left Vegas loving it and hating it. I’m awesome like that. I do a great job of living in the grey.

In unraveling the mystery of gender roles and understanding the impact of imaging through cultural messages, I took pictures of a few of my findings in Vegas.

Roll money and gender, power and sex, pleasure and alcohol and you have the most sexualized images for consumers. It’s not news that the sexualization of women is positioned to sell ideas, experiences, and objects, but it’s difficult for the feminist mind to wrap itself around the ubiquitous nature of sexualization found in Vegas. And when faced with gigantic pictures of women, there’s plenty of reminders to buy your way to fulfillment. RIGHT.