Stirling McDaniel

Hey everyone! I'm Stirling McDaniel, a senior at BASIS Scottsdale, a charter school in Scottsdale, AZ.

I'm really excited to start my senior project at One N Ten, an LGBTQ youth organization. I'll be volunteering at

their Youth Center in Phoenix. If you want to learn more about BASIS's senior project program, 

go to BASIS Scottsdale Class of 2017, or click here for my project proposal.   

Besides blogging each week on my journey at One N Ten, I'll also be writing up an LGBTQ book 

review each week, starting with Middlesex, a book by Jeffrey Eugenides. [EDIT: Middlesex tells the story of

three generations of an inbred Greek family, chronicalling the effect of a mutated gene on intersex

Cal/Calliope, who struggles with his gender identity.]

I'm also very passionate about conservation and the environment, so each week there will be a new extinct

animal featured on the sidebar to the right of my posts. Plus, there are just some really cool

(dead) animals out there, so why not share them with the world?

Outside BASIS, I am a black belt at Scottsdale Martial Arts Center, where I've 

trained in Wado Ryu (and more recently, Goju Ryu) since I was six. I fence through school, write at home, 

and try to sneak cuddles with my cat, Finnegan. (Funny story: We adopted Finns when he was six months old, and

 right away he was my cat and I was his human. Possibly because I'm quiet and he has always been sort of a

grumpy old cat. For eight years Finns slept in my bed (aka he slept on my pillow/face), until I 

noticed that when I woke up in the morning I couldn't breathe too well. My allergies escalated to the point 

where I could no longer spend ten minutes with him without sneezing and coughing repeatedly. Which is

 why I have to sneak cuddles, because my dad tries to protect my lungs from the cat hair. 

Joke's on him, though: a year ago we adopted another cat named Bob 

(he has half a tail, okay - we're not just unoriginal with names).

Bob

Finnegan

Since I've talked about my cats so much, I guess I should talk about my academic interests some more.
I use to want to be a veterinarian, but ultimately I decided against it (also I'm now allergic to cats and dogs).
I don't know for sure what I'm going to do with my life, but I think I want to study Environmental Science 
(or Zoology?) and Political Science (shout-out to Mr. Wells), and be active in conservation efforts. 

I suppose it probably seems strange that my SRP has nothing to do with either of those subjects, 

but I've always had an interest in human rights, especially LGBTQ rights. By volunteering at One N Ten, 

I hope to compile data on the most effective methods of promoting optimistic futures for LGBTQ youth, 

as well as positively affecting the community around me. Come follow me on my journey!

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*sniff*

My Final Post

Well guys, this morning I gave my SRP Presentation. 

I am officially done!

I have learned so much from this project and I know I have grown 

as a person, from fighting my anxiety and talking to people to 

becoming more of an advocate for human rights. 

I want to say a final thank you to all the people who helped me accomplish this.

Thank you to Megan Mitrovich, my college counselor who dedicates so much of her 

time to helping her students and ensuring they have the best experiences they can get.

Thank you to my on-site mentors, Gina Read and Mike Schneider, the program coordinators

at the Youth Center. Your passion and knowledge have helped me so much throughout

this process! My project would not be what it is without you. 

Thank you to all my followers as well, for asking questioning and starting conversations

and reading my blog every week. I know it was a homework assignment, but I hope you

got something out of it! And good luck on any APs!

And finally, a huge thank you to my faculty adviser Mr. Jacob Wells. You are fantastic

and an inspiration to all your students and I'm getting sentimental because 

it's the last day and it's over but I honestly don't know where I'd be without your support. 

I definitely wouldn't be studying Political Science and maybe I'd still be going to Colorado

College but the college application process would have been so much worse.

Your encouragement and support made this project an amazing experience.

I can only hope to someday inspire someone like you've inspired me.

Thank you. 

Here's a link to my powerpoint presentation if you want to see it! I also wrote a 

paper that's a good overview of LGBTQ history in the last hundred years in the USA. Thank you!

The Hour Between, by Sebastian Stuart

Arthur MacDougal is shipped off to the Christian Science boarding school Spooner School for his senior year after being kicked out of Manhattan's most fashionable boys' school. At the boarding school - known for its liberal homework policy and experimental classes - he befriends Katrina Felt, the daughter of a famous actress, and throughout their last year of school they bond over drugs, alcohol, and family problems. But by the end of the year, Katrina is in a treatment center, Arthur doesn't seem to have actually changed much, and their friendship is over.

And I realize that's a very short summary, but I think I've pretty much relayed everything that happened in the book. It also takes place in the 1960's, so they are all hippies. There are brief mentions of the war in Vietnam, whenever one of the characters is rebelling against their self-interested parents.

I don't think I like how this book was handled. It seemed like there was a lot of potential in how the characters related to each other and their revolt against classism and capitalism, but in the end this became a book about children taking drugs, or at least that's all I got out of it. It was quite sad to see Katrina's life fall apart, and to see how futile Arthur's struggle to save her was. But ultimately, Arthur's personality was just too passive for me. He orbits Katrina and the only thing he really does by himself is try to talk to her and to get with Lenny, another student at the school who came off as a very slimy weasel to me and I have no idea what Arthur saw in him.

Maybe someone else would have loved this book, but I think I'm just so different from the characters that I had trouble understanding any of their actions or motivations.  

Some other reviews you might like:
http://queerreader.com/?p=90
https://outinprintblog.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/the-hour-between-by-sebastian-stuart-alyson-books/

Saying Thank You and Good-Bye

As you guys know, this week was my last at One N Ten, which is very sad.

I couldn't go on Thursday because I was en route to a Las Vegas karate tournament,

but I made up the time by attending One N Ten's Second Chance Dance

at ASU's Secret Garden on Saturday. The theme was thrift shop, so 

the youth could dress up as much or as little as they wanted. It was a really nice

event; there was a brief dance-off, a 'know the lyrics' competition, and raffles.

And lots of food. I of course sat in the corner but everyone else seemed to

enjoy themselves!   

Posted with permission of the people pictured. Mike Schneider is on the left.

Prepare yourself. I bring the most unpleasant news. 

Guys, we lost a volleyball game to a team of two people. 

That's right. 

At least we're getting better?

The next day a veterinarian (and alumn of One N Ten) came to show off her 

mobile clinic and to talk to us about responsible pet care. I was really excited,

but some of the youth were more interested in hearing about her experiences with

exotic animals, which she wasn't prepared to talk about, than learning 

what cats should and shouldn't eat. Still, we did learn that Fancy Feast is

like McDonald's; it has a lot of carbs and fats. Also cats should not eat dog food. 

On Wednesday we ate fried chicken in honor of one of the youth leader's birthday

and spent the night playing games. It was a complete but marvelous coincidence that

my first and last days were both game days. We played Monopoly and feasted and welcomed

a new youth to the center. It was a good last day.

However, the upcoming presentation is starting to worry me. I've gotten in 

my interviews and am working on my paper (agh writing and writer's block and 

the surge of motivation that only ever comes at midnight), but now I've got to 

memorize a speech and practice clicking the clicker. Which comes easily to some 

people (I'm looking at you, Nicole Dominiak, who can memorize a speech and 

deliver it perfectly after like a day). Unfortunately, my brain likes to edit 

what I say as I say it, so while I generally write pretty well, my speech can end

up like this: "This is a picture of the Group area of the Youth Center except

this nice clean place over here usually has piles of donated food at least it did the

first couple of weeks I was there anyways but that food was in cans there wasn't just

like a rotisserie chicken hanging out there but it is a nice clean splace [space+place because should I reuse that word?] I swear also Group is the thing-meeting where all the youth 

gather for the day's activities (I might have said that already)" 

because there is no backspace button for verbal communication and I can't review an outline.

Oh well. It'll happen. I'll get through it. 

I want to thank everyone who has helped me with this project. I have absolutely loved it. 

One N Ten is fantastic - thank you to Rachel Sherman and Mike Schneider

and Gina Read and all the volunteers at the Youth Center for supporting and 

encouraging my research! You are doing amazing things.

Thank you also to Ms. Mitrovich for being a wonderful human being and 

college counselor. BASIS wouldn't be the same without you. I have no 

idea where I'd be (physically, mentally, emotionally, all the works) without your

help with the college process. 

And Mr. Wells! You know how great you are. All your students know how great you are. 

I've told you this like fifty times. Thank you so much for everything.

And thank you, dear readers! I know you just read and comment

because it's your homework, but I hope you've enjoyed it (or at least not hated it). 

Have a fantastic rest of the year!

A Single Man, by Christopher Isherwood

George is a middle-aged professor in California during the early 1960s. He has just lost his long-time partner, Jim, and the book follows a day in the grief-stricken man's life. The book begins with George's body waking up, going through all the mechanical and chemical motions before George's consciousness reconnects with his body. Throughout the book there is the motif of disconnect; between George and George's body, George and his students, George and the people around him, George and emotions. It seems like he struggles to care about his surroundings until talking about literature with his students - and even after that he once again quickly turns inward. The book's climax is George's rant and subsequent hook-up with one of his students.

To be honest, this book didn't do anything for me. It's supposed to be "devastating, unnerving" (Stephen Spender), a "sad, sly report on the predicament of the human animal" (David Daiches, New York Times), with "a biological melancholy running through it, a sense of relentless reduction, daily diminishment" (Elizabeth Hardwick, The New York Review of Books) and yet I just didn't feel any of that. And I know before I've knocked books that promise an emotional roller-coaster and don't deliver, but in this case I actually think it was me. I got the feeling that this book will have the most impact if you've suffered loss like George has, and I just haven't. I liked the writing and I felt that the characters were interesting and complex and real, but I wasn't affected by the devastation or the biological melancholy like so many others were. I do respect the book, and I think it was a very interesting concept, but for me it didn't do anything.

The one issue I had was the misogyny. George put down women, women put down women, and I couldn't tell if this was Isherwood's views or the characters' in the book but it made me uncomfortable. I found it harder to sympathize with George the more he dismissed women's emotions. But again, maybe this was just a facet of his character or a result of his grief. It was something I didn't like, but I won't knock the book for it just yet.

Some other reviews you might like:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/apr/20/100-best-novels-a-single-man-christopher-isherwood
https://angelmatos.net/2014/01/22/connection-failed-an-analysis-of-christopher-isherwoods-a-single-man/
https://theasylum.wordpress.com/2010/01/25/christopher-isherwood-a-single-man/

It's Almost Over!

I cannot believe that this is Week 9. It feels like I just started my project a week ago.

This has been an amazing experience. I've met great people and had a great time and 

learned a great deal about LGBTQ youth organizations. So yeah, pretty great. 

I've been thinking about continuing to attend the Youth Center every day, 

but unfortunately I don't think I'll be able to. It's an hour away, plus I don't

have a car of my own; I think my parents are tired of being forced to change up 

their schedules so I can use one of their cars. I am going to try to make

the April drag show though (April 21st, open to the public, come one come all).

But I do have some exciting news! As you know, dear readers of the blog, 

I am interviewing some youth and staff/volunteers from One N Ten to

supplement my paper. Because the interviews are just a supplement (and also because 

I know people don't necessarily like being interviewed), my goal 

was to get responses from three people. But guess what! Four people volunteered!

FOUR!

Huzzah!

Pride was fun! Although I was surprised that most of the booths at the festival 

were offering or selling services, not little souvenirs. There were booths

advertising housing and HIV/AIDS testing and even animal shelters.
I didn't see a lot of shops selling shirts or other items; if they sold anything
it was generally flags. I was sort of disappointed; I really wanted an ace
shirt, but they didn't sell those. Instead I got a shirt at the Human Rights Campaign
booth, which is super comfortable. Unfortunately, I also got sunburned. But not all over.
No, just on the left side of my upper lip, the area directly below the space between my
eyebrows, the left side of the tip of my nose, and around the perimeter of my forehead.

I know. It's weird. 

There was also less partying than I expected. Granted, we were there right in the 

middle of the day and too young to get into Erotic World (thank goodness)

and avoided the dance floors (because introverts). When we left at four there

were more people streaming into the festival in more of

a party mood. But overall, it was pretty fun.

I know I'm squinting. It was bright and I am a creature of the darkness.

The Youth Center was closed this Monday (Pride takes a lot out of you).
On Tuesday we played Would You Rather and had a good time. Some of the youth
got really into it and argued over the consequences of the options. Sadly,
Tuesday will be my only day at One N Ten this week. As I write this post
I am sitting in an airport waiting to board a plane and head out for
Denver, Colorado. I am attending Colorado College's Admitted Student Open House
and will be out of town until Friday night.
In addition to not attending One N Ten this week, this also means that
I have had to conduct my interviews over email, since I want the responses in by Friday.
I actually think this might be a better way of doing it, since the
youth and staff/volunteers will have more time to mull over the questions
and won't feel awkward talking face-to-face about their experiences being homeless
(for example). Plus this way I won't the interview awkward by being my awkward self.

And finally, to finish out this post, my book reviews. I know I'm behind a little,
but Week 8's book review should be going up soon. For Week 8 I read/am reading
A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood. It follows George, a gay Englishman
in middle age who has just lost his partner. It is set in Southern California in
the early 1960's. A film adaptation was released in 2009, and
I actually found this book through the movie (but I didn't watch it - no spoilers).
Colin Firth stars as George.
Isherwood was an English-American novelist who is known for his
semi-autobiographical novellas, The Berlin Stories, which were inspired by his time
in Weimar Republic Germany.

Week 9's book is a novel by Sebastian Stuart, The Hour Between. In it, Arthur
McDougal and Katrina Felt, fellow students at Spooner School. They forge a
tender friendship, which is put to the test by Katrina's secrets and Arthur's
struggle with his sexuality. Stuart is the author of numerous plays,
screenplays, political satire, and critically-acclaimed novels.

I'll see you guys next week!
 

The Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller

The Song of Achilles is a retelling of The Iliad, but that does not do the book justice. Achilles' story is told from the perspective of his closest friend and companion, Patroclus, the prince of Opus. Patroclus is exiled when he is only nine, and is sent to Phthia to be raised by Achilles' father, King Peleus. Although Patroclus is one of many young exiles fostered by Peleus, Achilles forms a special friendship with him, and their bond grows stronger with time, and eventually they become lovers. I do not want to spoil more, but I will say that if you know of The Iliad or really anything about Achilles' life, then you more or less know the plot of the book.

I absolutely loved this book. I am writing this review immediately after finishing it, and I am speechless. I don't know what to say except that this book is phenomenal and it is one of (or possibly the only) book I have ever cried over. I am so glad that I decided to take on this book review project simply because it pushed me to finally read this book.

It was fantastic. I know I'm repeating myself, but I spent a good five minutes sitting numb after finishing this novel, so really it's a miracle I can even form coherent sentences. The writing was amazing. Miller clearly knows so, so much about Greek myths and culture (which she should, since she studied it) but she avoids the pitfall that so may authors fall into: going into excessive detail to flaunt their knowledge. She doesn't add unnecessary explanations (except for one point where Patroclus mentions how in the Greek words have different genders - I think anyone who has studied any language other than English  knows that). I can easily see how someone without any real knowledge of Greek mythology would understand what's going on and enjoy the story. Having studied Latin for the past eight years and been fascinated with Greek mythology for 15 years, I really appreciated how smoothly the explanations and terms flowed with the story. Patroclus frequently comments on Greek culture, which may sound irritatingly like SparkNotes to some, but he seemed like such an observer (an exile, no longer a prince, a shadow to Achilles' flame, the quiet soldier who dislikes fighting and prefers medicine) that it felt appropriate.

And the story was amazing. The characters were people with flaws and you loved them all the more for it (except for Agamemnon). Miller gave such life to the people who were so pale in Homer's works. She spent ten years writing The Song of Achilles. Ten. The care and detail that went into writing this book is truly mind-blowing.

And it's so cool because there have always debates over whether or not Patroclus and Achilles' relationship was romantic or strictly platonic. The ancient Greeks fought over it. It's wonderful. I love it. I love this book. I don't know what else to say. Read it.

Some other reviews you might like:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/books/review/the-song-of-achilles-by-madeline-miller.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/off-the-shelf-/the-song-of-achilles-a-fo_b_11184848.html
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/aug/22/the-song-of-achilles-madeline-miller


(And this is her first book???? That's crazy! It's so good!)

EDIT: There was a weird random scene with Deidamea that I didn't understand the purpose of, but otherwise I loved the book.

Getting Ready for Pride

As you might know, Pride is this weekend! Everyone is very excited 

at the Youth Center, from people who have gone twelve times to people

(like me) for whom this will be their first Pride. If you want to go, tickets are

on sale on the Phoenix Pride website. I'll be going with a couple friends and family members.

It'll be the first time for all of us. I'll keep you guys updated!

(also if you are going or wondering if you can go remember that LGBTQ culture 

is often sexualized and you might see a little more skin than you are used to, 

but hey, body empowerment)

 If you don't really know what I'm talking about, you can find more information on the 

Phoenix Pride website, or you can read on for a cursory explanation. The Ten Days of Pride

(events that celebrate being LGBTQ over a span of ten nonconsecutive days) lead up to the Pride Festival and Parade, which interestingly are not part of the ten days. 

The festival goes all weekend, open from 12-9 PM, at Steele Indian School Park.

There will be booths and food and entertainment and probably lots of trinkets to buy. 

The parade, on the other hand, is free and beings at 10 AM on Sunday, April 2nd.

It will begin at 3rd St. and Thomas and will end at 3rd St. and Indian School (aka Steele Indian School Park). If you know Belinda Carlisle, Stacy T. Louis, or the

Grand Canyon Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, you can see them there!

(Also One N Ten will have a booth so you should come to see them)  

In other news, we won a volleyball game! YAY!!! (actually maybe we only won
a set of a game, which I don't really understand) (also we only won because
the other team didn't show up) (shhhhh)

On Tuesday we had ice cream sundaes and played games; I, again, tried my hand
at Monopoly and might have done well. On Wednesday a speaker came in to talk
to us about job readiness and how to apply/get a job, which was very helpful for
me since I am currently entering the workforce. We shared stories of bad jobs
or good interviews. I was surprised by how much of the speaker's advice
I'd heard already from my college counselor and faculty adviser
regarding resumes and applications and interviews and dress and basically everything.
So listen to your advisers and counselor; what they are telling you is
really really helpful and true.

On Thursday came the solemn discussion of the Stonewall Riots.
I had never heard the full story of the riots, especially not from someone who
had experienced the dingy clubs and fear of police raids. Gina Read, who runs the Youth
Center along with Mike Schneider and has served on the One N Ten board for over 15 years,
told us about what it was like to be gay in the 1960s - when being gay was illegal and being charged with homosexuality would ruin your life.

The Mafia ran the gay bars, called "clubs," which were really dirty. No
running water, little space. Although the Mafia paid off the police, brutal raids were still frequent. Women had to wear three articles of clothing (such as a bra, panties, hosiery) that only women could wear to show that they were not male crossdressers, or they would be sent to prison. If you stood or danced too close to someone of your sex, you could be sent to prison for sexual deviancy.
Police would threaten club-goers with prison to get money if they felt like it.
On June 28th, 1969, police raided Stonewall Inn, one of the smallest and cheapest clubs; but this time, the people fought back. This was huge. Never before had the gay community taken such a stand, and suddenly across the country riots popped up, inspired by the riot at the Stonewall Inn.
LGBTQ organizations were formed all over the nation.
I highly suggest you read more about the riots, as it was such a turning point.

Well, that was heavy. Let's end with a light note: here is a much-requested picture of my dog, Kayla!

 I'll see you guys next week, hopefully with some lighter topics!

Paper Preparation

Hi guys! Nothing special really happened this week at the Youth Center. Everyone 

remembered my name except for one person who doesn't remember anyone's name

and they also seemed pretty happy to see me, so that was exciting! 

We lost our volleyball game again (surprise surprise), this time against some 

tough old men in purple shirts. On Tuesday we watched a bit of 

Sweet Blue Flowers, an anime with a whole host of queer characters, and talked

a little bit about why anime is popular and how it has affected us personally. 

I've only ever seen Attack on Titan, so it was nice to learn of other anime shows. 

Many of the youth really enjoyed the freedom that the anime characters have,

whether it be the ability to jump ridiculously high or ignore traditional gender roles

or fall in love with whomever they want. 

On Wednesday a Building Block Counselling representative (who also happened 

to be a One N Ten alum) came in and led a discussion on substance abuse. Thursday 

was yoga, and while only half of the youth decided to participate, 

 everyone seemed pretty happy afterwards. 

Since it's already Week 7, my focus this week was on my upcoming paper. 

I met with my faculty adviser, the fantastic Mr. Wells, 

and planned out what exactly my argument was and what the format would

look like. Apparently it's going to be a sort of watered-down AP Research paper,

which is scary, but Mr. Wells seems to think I can do it so do it I shall. 

Over the weekend (and also early next week because there's a Speech and 

Debate tournament tomorrow) I will be working on coming up with interview questions

for a couple of willing youth and staff members. Then it's on to starting the first draft

of my paper and - it's all coming so soon! - my PowerPoint presentation,

since there's a workshop for that next Saturday. Ah!

It's really weird to think that in a few weeks I won't be going to One N Ten. 

I've made some nice friends there, and it's going to be weird not to see them every day. 

But I'm also really happy for them, because they're moving on to some great stuff. 

One has plans to fulfill her dream and move to Las Vegas, and the other will

soon be moving up to Montana for a job opportunity. 

See you guys soon!

Call Me by Your Name, by Andre Aciman

Elio, a seventeen year old boy, lives with his parents, a scholar and his wife, on the Italian Riviera. During the summer they host an academic, and this year the visitor is Oliver, an American editing a scholarly manuscript in order to ready it for publishing. During the six weeks that Oliver stays there, he charms everyone, confuses and pains Elio, and eventually begins a relationship with him.

The book is narrated by Elio - or rather, the book is a record of Elio's continual inner monologue. He is obsessed with Oliver. Within the first week he is mentally begging Oliver to touch him. And the reader has no idea what Oliver thinks of all this, because Elio is so wrapped up in himself and questions and rethinks Oliver's actions so constantly that there really is no way to tell what their interactions are really like. For a book that is supposed to be about an intimate, passionate romance, it's a little frustrating that the reader can't even tell what's actually going on.

And let me stress that Call Me by Your Name is about a boy's sexual awakening (which I don't understand because he sleeps with girls and clearly has had feelings for boys as well - he seems well aware of what he wants) and a romance so deep and powerful that Elio and Oliver still have feelings for each other twenty years later.

Which brings me to my main problem with this book: Elio and Oliver barely know each other before they confess their undying love to each other. Which is something I hate in romance novels. They chitchat for four weeks, go through strange acts of ignoring each other (although, because Elio is so trapped inside his mind, I have no idea what Oliver was doing during these periods. Was he aware of Elio's strange behavior? Did he reciprocate? Having an unreliable narrator is not a good way of convincing the reader that this is an epic romance), then suddenly have a weird moment of confession and get straight to molesting fruit and sneaking into each other's bedrooms.

This relationship progressed very, very fast but had no depth, no real intimacy. Yes, they got physically intimate, but they were never friends, either before or after they slept together. Did Elio talk to Oliver about his life in the States? No. Did he know anything about Oliver besides his obvious knowledge of scholarly texts? No. Did they even discuss favorite animals? Favorite colors? Favorite foods? No.

They could talk about anything as long as it was philosophical or physical, but they couldn't even laugh together. So no, Aciman, you have not convinced me that this is the most intimate relationship Elio or Oliver will ever have. This is not the happiest they will ever be. This is the story of a teenage boy lusting after a summer visitor.

I've complained about the content (or lack of content) but I can't write a review without talking about the writing. I didn't like it. Self-indulgent to the max, the book could have been a hundred pages shorter. And the language - vague to be vague, vulgar to be vulgar. The writing is supposed to sound scholarly and edgy, and it means nothing. Which violates a basic code of writing: If you're going to write, say something.

Other reviews you might enjoy:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/25/books/review/DErasmo.t.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/21/AR2007032102069.html
https://literaryfictions.com/2017/03/06/call-me-by-your-name-a-capsule-book-review/

Next week I will be reading The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, her first and most well-known novel. It is a retelling of the story of Achilles and Patroclus, who bond as they go to war with Sparta.

Back from Australia

As you might have guessed from the title of this post, I am 

back in the good ol' U S of A. And also jetlagged and confused. I've either 

been in a plane or in an airport for a good twenty hours today. Nothing feels real.

Before I go into this week's topic, I wanted to add a little to the discussion about Q High.

One N Ten hosts the site, but AZ Virtual Academy provides the classes and the 

teachers (although staff at One N Ten will help tutor). There are more than 130

core, elective, and AP classes available, so yes, the students are able to select from

a wide range of classes and follow their interests (while completing required

courses).  

Since I haven't been at the Youth Center all week, let's talk a little about 

homeless LGBTQ youth. I'll be referencing the research I compiled while planning this 

project.

Unfortunately, LGBTQ youth are over-represented among homeless youth, about 

comprising 9-45% (depending on the context of locality) of all homeless youth while

only 5-7% of the general population of youth, as found by the LGBTQ Homeless Youth Provider Survey (Cray). The most commonly-cited reasons for living away from home,

as reported by the homeless LGBTQ youth, are family rejection and conflict.

The youth seem to feel that they cannot stay at home once rejected, and

43% of the providers that were part of the survey state that youth were forced out

by their parents after coming out. However, the survey found that LGBTQ youth

are less likely to state that they were “thrown out” than their heterosexual and

cisgender peers, instead self-identifying as “runaways,” indicating that while

the LGBTQ youth may not be forcibly removed from their homes on a large scale,

they often feel that the familial conflict leaves them no choice but to leave (Cray).

None of the youth at the Center have spoken to me about why or how they became

homeless, but I'm not surprised by that. It also seems that the older youth

at least are more used to being homeless and just take each day as it comes.

No one should have to feel like this.

The CDC found that a disproportionate number of LGBTQ youth

engage in health-risk behaviors compared to the general population ("Sexual").

Homeless LGBTQ youth are three times more likely to participate in survival sex,

such as trading sex for food or shelter or other basic needs, than their peers,

thus increasing the risk of trauma, violence, rape, and disease (Cray).

I hope I don't need to explain how bad that is.

We can change these statistics by providing more GSA clubs

(some support is better than none, plus it's a nice message that the school

supports all of its students) and other institutional supports.

Youth Centers like One N Ten are doing a great job, but it would be nice

to prevent the homelessness and poor quality of life in the first place.

Sources:

Cray, Andrew, Laura E. Durso, and Katie Miller. "Seeking Shelter - Center for American Progress."

Center for American Progress, Sept. 2013. Web. 7 Nov. 2016.

"Sexual Identity, Sex of Sexual Contacts and Health-Risk ..." Center for Disease Control, 6 June 2011. Web. 3 Nov. 2016.

A Boy's Own Story, by Edmund White

Told out of chronological order, A Boy's Own Story follows an unnamed young narrator as he comes to grips with the nature of his homosexuality and his desires. Growing up in an inattentive family, he resorts to his fanciful imagination and obsesses over sex and power. He desperately wants an older lover to whisk him away and be under his command. He lusts over his father, his teachers, his peers.

I don't know what else to say in a summary of this book. The narrator is obsessive. He is lustful. He is arrogant. He craves power and the climax of the novel is him using and betraying a teacher because he feels used and betrayed by others, although I hesitate to say 'climax' because the act is pretty bland and predictable, plus there is absolutely no building of plot or conflict.

I did not like this book. I don't understand why this book is placed on such a high pedestal. Reading this, knowing it was semi-autobiographical, just disturbed me. I don't know if it's because I'm asexual or sex-repulsed or what but the narrator's constant desire for sex and constant sexual objectification of the people around me made me feel ill. All I could think of when reading this book was that this boy desperately needed to see a psychologist to help him out.

I didn't even like the writing, which has been praised endlessly for its poetic but frank style.

The only aspect of this novel that I found interesting is that the boy desires only men, and is aware of this desire, but doesn't want to be a homosexual. He hated the label "homosexual," but was perfectly fine discussing (even with others in the novel, as opposed to internal musings) how his sexual desire and obsession concerned only men.

And yes this review is curt because the narrator really made me uncomfortable and I got absolutely nothing else from this book.

Some over reviews you might like:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/jun/10/edmund-white-a-boys-own-story-rereading-gay-literature
http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/09/14/reviews/1355.html
http://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21598626-american-memoirist-recalls-lost-love-boys-own-story

Next week (week 6, I believe? someone correct me if I'm wrong. I have no sense of time and Australia isn't helping) I will be reading and reviewing Call Me by Your Name by Andre Aciman. Call Me by Your Name, winner of the 2007 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction, is the story of a sudden and powerful romance between a 17 year old boy and a summer guest at his parents' mansion on the Italian Riviera. Andre Aciman is currently a distinguished professor at the Graduate Center of City University of New York. He teaches the history of literary theory and the works of Marcel Proust. He is also well-known for his 1995 memoir Out of Egypt, which also won a Whiting Award.

Maurice, by E. M. Forster

Maurice follows young Englishman Maurice Hall as he matures from an adolescent oblivious to sex and sexuality to an undergrad at Cambridge just beginning to settle into his sexuality and finally to a thoughtful man willing to work and devote himself to a relationship condemned by society. 

Maurice is an unremarkable young man. He was born into a wealthy family, is more or less attractive, and doesn't think much of the lower classes (doesn't think too much at all, really). He does reasonably well in primary school and continues that trend at Cambridge - until he meets Clive Durham, a fellow student who introduces Maurice to ancient Greek writings on same-sex love. Although Maurice isn't as enthralled as Clive is by the writings, they quickly become fast friends and, after some brief internal conflict on Maurice's end, lovers.

Although Forster wrote Maurice in 1914, he felt it unpublishable owing to the homophobia of the time and the happy ending he insisted on. Any books with homosexual characters, especially men, were expected to end unhappily, so as to not promote a gay lifestyle. Interestingly, when Forster wrote this there wasn't even really a word for homosexuality; Maurice ends up referring to himself as "an unspeakable of the Oscar Wilde sort." The book is a great portrayal of homosexual lifestyle among upper class Englishmen.

I really liked this book. Maurice by himself isn't all that lovable, but watching him grow endeared him to me. And yes, the ending is an unrealistic "Happily Ever After," but after reading about so many troubled and painful lives and relationships, it made me so excited to read about Maurice's happiness with his partner (and this book I really don't want to give away too many details about the ending because I was a little surprised and you should all read it and it's a really nice happy book).

Some other reviews you might like:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jul/05/rereading-maurice-e-m-forster

https://thechicagolibrary.wordpress.com/2014/12/15/e-m-forsters-maurice-a-review/

http://www.polarimagazine.com/classicbooks/maurice-em-forster-extended-review/

Spring Break (and no WiFi)

Hey guys! I'm currently on spring break in lovely Australia. 

The idea was to get out a couple of book reviews, one on Maurice and the other

on A Boy's Own Story but we are currently staying in a place with very little WiFi.

It works for maybe a minute and then cuts out for at least five. 

So we'll see what happens with that.

I'll be back to posting regularly next week!

Q High

Hello, all! I have had a great week at One N Ten 

(although our team is really, really bad at volleyball)

and this week I wanted to share something that is little unique to One N Ten.

One N Ten hosts Q High, which is the product of a collaboration with 

AZ Virtual Academy. Mike Schneider, my on-site mentor and Program Coordinator 

for the Youth Center, describes it as a "blended learning center," which basically means

that youth (aged 14-24, the same as the Youth Center age) can come to the Center to 

take online lessons from AZ Virtual Academy according to a personalized curriculum that 

AZ Virtual Academy puts together with the student. Q High is an alternative to 

traditional high school and is open to straight allies as well as LGBTQ students - 

anyone who feels uncomfortable in a traditional high school setting

and who supports LGBTQ rights can attend. Those who finish high school

with Q High under 21 years of age receive an actual high school diploma,

while those over 21 can get their GED. 

I know I'm throwing a lot of information at you, but this is really exciting! 

Q High has been so successful that AZ Virtual Academy has actually incorporated

some of Q High's methods, although Mike didn't go into detail as far as what those methods were.

The One N Ten staff members also help to tutor students and help them turn in assignments 

on time. Currently Q High is at capacity with 16 students (who are automatically 

considered One N Ten youth) but they're hoping to expand it to 35 students.

Right now, One N Ten is the only LGBTQ youth organization in the state to

offer something like this program. The only other thing close to it that's

available to LGBTQ youth is a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) club at school,

which isn't the same thing. A GSA is a student-run club at a traditional high school

that does provide a safe space for students to meet and support each other,

but it doesn't provide the wholistic support that Q High does. It would

be fantastic if other youth organizations offered something as supportive as Q High, 

so that as many youth can feel comfortable and graduate from high school as possible.

So that's Q High! As far as the Group activities go, this week we lost at volleyball,

 ate chicken wings, had a very intelligent and impressive conversation on the 

pros and cons of legalizing marijuana, and watched "To This Day" to open

a discussion on bullying.

My Maurice review will go up soon, and next week's book will be the 1982
semi-autobiographical novel A Boy's Own Story by Edmund White. It is the first
in a trilogy of books describing the unnamed narrator's coming of age and experience of
homosexuality in the 1950's in Cincinnati, Chicago, and Michigan. Although it is part
of a trilogy, the books can be read independently of one another, and so I probably
will not be reviewing the other two on this blog. Edmund White writes primarily on
same-sex love, and is known for his book The Joy of Gay Sex and his biography of
 Jean Genet.

I will be going on Spring Break next week, so I will only be posting the book review.
I will be in Australia with my family for the next two weeks, but I will be posting the
second week. Hopefully I can find some interesting bit of LGBTQ facts in Australia!

Bye!

Giovanni's Room, by James Baldwin

Told on the night before Giovanni's execution, David, an American, attempts to ease his guilt and arrange his confused emotions by relating his months in Paris and his time spent in Giovanni's room.

A few months previously, wishing to "moor" himself to something, he proposes to his girlfriend, Hella, a fellow American. She travels to Spain to decide, and during the months that she is gone David begins a relationship with the Italian bartender Giovanni. Whereas David is afraid of his desire for men, Giovanni fully embraces his sexuality, and falls quickly in love with David.

They live together in Giovanni's room, which is dirty and has painted-over windows. Giovanni works hard to clean it and add shelves to the far wall, and David understands that his presence is supposed to make it a home. The room is both protective isolation and a prison to David, who gradually becomes disgusted with the Italian even as they engage in a passionate affair.

Hella eventually decides that she will marry David and returns from Spain. David instantly abandons Giovanni to seek comfort in conforming to social norms, although he admits to the reader that he is not in love with Hella, was probably never in love with her, and doubts Hella was ever in love with him.

After David left him, Giovanni becomes hysterical, killing his former employer and hiding under a bridge for a week before being arrested. Wracked with guilt, David has an affair with a sailor, and Hella leaves him. The book ends with David travelling to Paris for Giovanni’s execution.

James Baldwin published this book against his publisher’s wishes. He was told that his audience was solely African-American, and since every character in the book is white (and also since the book dealt with bisexuality and homosexuality), publishing it (in the 1950’s) could alienate his audience. But he went through with the publication, and gave us a classic. Baldwin’s writing style takes a little getting used to, especially since David switches between relating the past and narrating the present, and also there’s French everywhere in the dialogue and hopefully there weren’t secrets or something imbedded in the French because guess who can’t speak/read French (hint: me), but I would say that that is the only (minor) negative. David’s struggle to love and accept others’ love for him is heartbreaking, as is the effect of his turmoil on the people around him.

This book is so powerful and deals with so many themes that I feel a little unqualified to review it. I encourage you all to read it at some point in your lives. If you have read it, I would love to discuss it with you because I am blown away by this book. I don’t know what else to say. Read it. And if you need another reason to read it, February is Black History Month. Even though all the characters are white, there are shared themes such as fear of and hatred and violence towards the Other. Furthermore, there was a large African American expatriate community in France, which Baldwin was a part of. Though Baldwin lived a large part of his life as an expatriate and in the end, died in France, he became involved with the civil rights movement, and wrote on the racial tensions in America.

If you have any questions about Baldwin sources, contact Nicole Dominiak -- she wrote a Seminar paper on him.

Some other reviews you might enjoy:

http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-unsparing-confessions-of-giovannis-room

http://www.npr.org/2013/12/28/257375561/a-young-seminarian-found-comfort-in-giovannis-melancholy

http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/03/29/specials/baldwin-giovanni.html (from 1956, when Giovanni’s Room was published)