Pathogen Talks about Why We Fight

Over at idieyoudie, Matt Pathogen discusses why fighting oppression in our scenes is important, especially to those of use who've seen the changes.

“We as a group might pride ourselves on being radically inclusive, of welcoming the weirdos, the freaks, the outcasts and the ostracized, but there’s a side of that coin which often goes ignored: with that kind of radical inclusiveness, you’ve also left the doors open to people who will prey upon those weirdos, freaks, outcasts and ostracized folks you’re happy to let in. By sticking your head in the sand and assuming that the egalitarian state of the industrial scene will continue to exist without any care and handling on any of our parts, you blind yourself to the encroachment of the racism, sexism, classism, and any other ism that mainstream culture has to offer, rendering yourself unprepared to deal with this onslaught until it’s already on your doorstep, calling your gay friends faggots and your female friends dumb sluts.”

Click here to read the full article. 

What's great about this quote is that it applies to every radical circle and counterculture scene I have ever been part of. We as those who wish to make room for the downtrodden, often leave ourselves wide open to those who will exploit our kindness. Pseudo-radicals, poser macho frat boys in black, and so on. These people are the grade school bullies of adulthood and putting on steampunk goggles or a black bandanna and hoodie and spouting radical language does not change the fact that their actions and cruelty often mimic the dominant culture we want to see an end to. Remember to look through people, not just at what they put on the outside. Listen to your gut, and your heart, not just your eyes.

Looks like Pathogen and I started in similar places. I remember the same shows, the same changes. I have been very pleased at how much public outcry against oppression in our scenes seems to be growing the the blogosphere. And Pathogen here was one of the firsts to talk about it. Props.

Coilhouse: Misogyny in Industrial Music

A great article from Coilhouse has been posted with a long and detailed history of the evolution from taboo, boundary pushing music of Throbbing Gristle to the bro-tastic misogynistic and racist music of some artists today. Thanks for mentioning us in your article, but that's not the only reason we're posting you here. Fantastic article filled with great history lessons. They even interview Mollena Williams.

From the article:

In other words, the answer is not censorship (it’s never censorship), but more context. If you care for your audience to include people other than basement-dwelling virgins and 35 year old aggro muscle heads, but you’re artistically moved to repeatedly depict women being punished, called sluts, beaten and humiliated - talk about what that means publicly. Write a blog post. Engage with your audience. Talk about consent. Talk about your inspirations. Own what you’re doing, but talk about the problematic nature of it. Don’t hide behind cheap defenses like “it’s art” or “it’s just a character” or “it’s grindhouse” or “some of my best friends are women.”  You may find that your audience may expand, because, guess what? Sexual violence is a fascinating topic, and within the right context, it’s something that people of all ideologies (GASP – feminists included!) can find interesting, appealing, fun, and exciting. And isn’t being an artist more fulfilling when your fans come from all walks of life?
 ...
Ultimately, we shouldn’t be too worried about the future of “dark music.” It doesn’t belong to the Confederate-flag-waving assholes. It may not even lie in the industrial genre, but with musicians such as Spoek Mathambo, Fever Ray, Light Asylum, HTRK, Chelsea Wolfe, Cat’s Eyes, and Kate Stelmanis. Or, musicians in the industrial scene can rise up and continue to call bullshit on the misogyny as it happens, following Ad·ver·sary and Antigen Shift’s lead. It would be great to see the scene’s most lazy and pandering art replaced with more discourse, critical thinking (both about oneself and one’s peers), compassion, inclusivity, and diversity. At its core, this is an issue of othering, of negation, and a lack of basic recognition of others’ humanity. Modern incarnations/offspring of the industrial scene can still be angry, hard, heavy… but not hateful or abysmally ignorant.
Until then, industrial music will continue to replicate the tired, boring, old cliches of the mainstream:

Image descrtiption: 3 panels pasted vertically together show three male artists flanked by two women being used as sexualized props. The first image centers Snoop Dogg who is dark skinned, staring at the screen with both arms up and fingers pointed towards the camera. On each side of him is a medium brown skinned woman wearing a bathing suit bottom and nothing on top, each giving the camera a sultry look. The second image centers Thomas Rainer of Nachtmahr who is very light skinned with dark hair. He is standing with his face have masked in black with a hooded green jacket so you can only see his eyes and forehead. On each side is a light skinned thin woman with a tight skirt, shirt, tie, and military cap and nazi-like armband with an N on it. The third image centers Andy Laplegua of Combichrist and other projects who is light skinned with light hair. He is wearing a spiked football uniform with a 6 emblazoned on the front and black smudges around his eyes. On each side of him is a white light skinned woman with long dark hair, bondage collars, and a tight cheerleader uniform, each also with a 6 on the front. They are holding pom poms and have their arm around Andy's and are all standing in front of lockers. Longest image description!

With the spooky costumes and makeup stripped away, it’s the same old, tired story. 
 

Click here to read the article.

On Trans Gender Day of Remembrance: Genesis P Orridge and Lady Jaye

EDIT JUNE 20, 2017: We read and discussed Cosey Fanni Tutti's autobiography and have come to the conclusion that Genesis is a person with a horrifically abusive history detailed up until extremely recently which makes us believe Genesis has not changed. Rather than delete this entry, we've decided to post a note instead in the interest of showing how learning and growth are good things. Now we know better.

ORIGINAL POST:
Trans gender day of remembrance started to bring visibility to the struggles and deaths of trans people we have lost from our communities over the years whether it be due to suicide, murder, or natural causes. How do I make it work for this blog? Being a person that likes to work on positivity, I also want to remember the survivors, the weirdos, those still living, to celebrate the good things as well.

What a better way to do that than to talk about someone who has fucked gender so hard and good it doesn't know which way is up.

Image: Genesis P. Orridge holding their child. Both are light skinned and looking into the camera. The child is pointing into the camera, her hand obscuring part of her face, and is wearing a striped had. Genesis has short cropped hair and an earring.

Meet the Pandrogyne: The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye

 Genesis Breyer P-Orridge is best known as the godfather of industrial music -- specifically, as the founding member of Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV, and Thee Majesty. But long before DJs and record-collectors sought out his (nowadays) highly-prized vinyl, P-Orridge first established himself as an artist who thrived on challenging the boundary between the sacred and profane -- including ejaculating in front of an audience of uptight British art patrons in a performance piece...

The depth of P-Orridge's frightening brand of genius is both difficult to grasp and nearly impossible to describe...

Image: Lady Jaye and Genesis P Orridge close-up face shot. Both of them are light skinned and wearing large dark sunglasses. Lady Jaye is wearing a striped black and white hat and both of them are wearing gold earrings.

 And it need not be described or defined. Gender is mine, and yours, and ours. A social construct to be molded in anyway we desire. And Genesis Breyer P-Orridge does just that. I think it's romantic.    

“My project is not about gender. Some feel like a man trapped in a woman’s body, others like a woman trapped in a man’s body. The pandrogyne says, I just feel trapped in a body. The body is simply the suitcase that carries us around. Pandrogyny is all about the mind, consciousness.” -Genesis Breyer P-Orridge

“The body is not sacred. It is, as Lady Jaye used to say, ‘a cheap suitcase.’ And it carries around the real you, which is your consciousness, your mind, your thoughts, your aspirations and dreams,’” said P-Orridge, 62, speaking by phone from New York. “Surely, the container should be as wonderful and amazing and imaginative as you can make it.” -More on Pandrogyne here.