JCrew: Gender Warriors?

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Dear People of JCrew,

I’m writing to send you hugs and kisses. I love your stylish but classic clothes. I love that you sell ties with embroidered whales on them. I love your “weddings and parties” dresses – my sister is getting married in July, and you will not believe the relief I felt when she sent all of us bridesmaids a link to your website as a starting point for dress shopping. But above all, I love that you recently showcased a photo of your creative director/company president a mom painting her son’s toenails pink.

I know you’re probably getting a lot of hate mail for this one! After all, it came to my attention via a slew of blogs and newspaper articles criticizing her for promoting transgenderism. At the risk of sounding flip… WHATEVER! I don’t know any child who doesn’t love to play dress up, and I believe that supporting our children in their fullest expressions of selves is key to their longterm happiness. (His glasses are cute too!)

For all of the flack you might be getting right now, I bet that most of your target demographic (stylish people who secretly dream of hanging out at a clambake even though they have high-pressure jobs nowhere near the sea – yes, I’m describing my mid-western self) wouldn’t even have paid any attention to this photo except to smile. And frankly, because of this controversy, I’m paying more attention to your offerings this season. Partly out of spite, and partly because my 2 year old daughter finally fits into the Crew Cut line.

Keep it up!

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Balm vs. Gloss: No Contest

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I know this is a shocker for many of you, but I have a lot of lip gloss. A lot. Almost all of it the same colours. I mean, you have to know what works for your colouring, and I look great in Orange, Raspberry, and Gold. Nothing too pink (red hair) and nothing too purple (I want no part of anything that might bring out the yellow in my teeth). Sometimes I feel a moment of pause when I pull out my wallet to pay for yet another variation on the same shade, but it really is just a pause. Lip Gloss isn’t just about colour. It’s about shine, taste, lasting power, stickiness… different consistencies for different events. When you think about it, it is actually HELPFUL to have the colour you like in about 5 different variations. Just. In. Case. (Don’t ask me just in case of what….)

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Airing Our Dirty Laundry

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Last month, I was invited to speak on a panel at the Goodman Theatre. The topic? Airing our dirty laundry – a discussion about what stories marginalized artists are allowed to tell, especially for “mainstream” audiences or institutions. Of course, the conversation turned to casting and representation in Hollywood. Listen here for an excerpt of the conversation on WBEZ (91.5), in which I explain my love/hate relationship with Modern Family.

Ahhh… Finally Got a Makeover!

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Amores, if you’re one of the people who visited my website in the past couple of months… okay, who am I kidding… YEARS… you might have wondered why I was still sporting the same hairdo from 2006, why I never seemed to age, and why I hadn’t directed a show or held a job since 2007. Or maybe (more likely) you wondered why someone with so many talented and artistic friends couldn’t get it together to update her website.

Well, I finally did!

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Going Pro

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Amores, for years my favourite lip gloss was MAC Lip Glass or MAC Lustreglass or MAC Dazzleglass – basically, MAC could do not wrong by me. If they made it, I’d buy it. And then, a few things happened. One, I realized that despite wishing and hoping, I’m not rich… And for the cost of one MAC lip gloss, I could buy two, three, four of the drugstore variety (and 14 if I bought E.L.F.!).  Two, MAC got caught up in that ugly glamourizing/ignoring the horrible violence against women in Juarez thing, and shopping there felt kind of gross. And three (somewhat related to item one in this list), I realized that Revlon’s Super lustrous lip gloss is really really good, and has some amazing colours. Which I acquired. Repeatedly. All of them. Even the unflattering shades. (Anyone want some mauve lipgloss?)

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Raise Awareness. Yeah Yeah Yeah… So What?

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I don’t have any love lost for FaceBook campaigns that ask you to change your status in support of This N’ That or Blah Blah Blah, so when people started changing their profile pictures to cartoon figures and posting statuses that said they were doing so in the name of raising awareness about child abuse, I just rolled my eyes, ignoring it. After all, that strategy worked when I got message after “secret” message asking me to post where I keep my purse or what colour bra I’m wearing, so I figured I’d just ride this one out too. But this one has a different tone than the others. People have been remarkably insistent, posting statuses that say “you should do this too” and even going so far as to directly post on my wall that I should change my picture. I’m amazed at how many people have jumped on board, as well as how many people seem to think a campaign like this really makes any kind of difference at all.

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Hola Todos!!!! Aqui Estan Los ANNOUNCEMENTS!

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Hola Todos!!!! Aqui Estan Los ANNOUNCEMENTS!

QUITA MITOS OPENS THIS WEEKEND!!!!!! The play, written by the VERY TALENTED Tanya Saracho, is beautiful. I really love it, and I feel very honoured to be directing it. It is different from Teatro Luna’s usual offerings, pero claro… its not like we’re suddenly doing a Las Vegas style musical. It fits right into our mission of creating original work that honours Latina lives. That’s TWICE now I’ve used the word honour – maybe I should add it to my list of favourite words! Anyway, its been a bust week and I’ve to remind myself to take lots of deep deep breaths. But the play is beautiful. And I hope I’ll see you there!

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