14-year-old Graeme Taylor, You Are Amazing

Watch and listen. I can't wait to see how awesome this kid continues to be.

Your Friday Awesome: Awesome Mom, Awesome Kid

This burned through the internet yesterday, but I think it bears sharing because it is simply an example of an awesome kid, his awesome mom, and her awesome parenting.

That adorable kid is Boo, he is five, he loves Scooby Doo, and for Halloween he wanted to go as Daphne. So his mom, Cop's Wife who blogs at Nerdy Apple Bottom, bought him a Daphne costume and let him wear it to preschool.

It is a once a heartbreaking tale of homophobic parents and a five year old who already seems to understand that wearing a skirt and wig as a costume will cause him to be judged. But more importantly it is an example of awesome parenting. Boo's mom supports her kid and stands up to the bullies for him, even if they are three feet taller and three decades older than him, and wrap their bullying in the guise of "concern."

And, as she so smartly argues:

If you think that me allowing my son to be a female character for Halloween is somehow going to ‘make’ him gay then you are an idiot. Firstly, what a ridiculous concept. Secondly, if my son is gay, OK. I will love him no less. Thirdly, I am not worried that your son will grow up to be an actual ninja so back off.

 Now, go read the whole thing.

YouTube Loves Boobies, Hates the Gays

Today I was made aware of this awesomeness:



It gets pretty epic in the second half - camp and choreography and bears, oh my!

The first time I watched it at Jezebel it played just fine, but when I clicked through to YouTube I got an "18+" warning. Hmmmm...

So, being surrounded by investigative journalists and with two degrees in spotting the kyriarchy at work, I hopped on over to see if the original Katy Perry video had the same warning.

Yeah, nope. I emailed the director of the parody, Ryan James Yezak, just to make sure that YouTube was to blame for this censoring of superfun gaydom and this was his response:

YouTube put it up & I don't know how to get it off. There's nothing inappropriate & so I don't know why someone would flag it. You should TOTALLY blog about it. What about the video is inappropriate? I'm going to look into it.

Well, you bet I will, Ryan! For reference, here is the original:



So, YouTube deems boys in short shorts dancing with beach balls and maybe a very, very, very, very veiled reference to boy on boy beach action as "adult content," but a bare-naked Katy Perry dancing with a whipped cream ejaculating bikini top and a not at all veiled message that she and the women (and all "California Gurls" to which I as a woman from California take offense) in the video only exist for your consumption, is not?

Sounds like a homophobic double standard to me, YouTube.

Quote of the Day - Jos on Adam Lambert and the Patriarchy

"Hey male gaze, your arousal is showing."

Read more about Jos' take on Adam Lambert's performance and subsequent ousting from Good Morning America, on Feministing.