Week 4, Gay Pride in Amsterdam

Week 4, Gay Pride in Amsterdam

8/01/12-8/6/12

In this last week in Amsterdam I noticed extra enthusiasm among the group, it was as if everyone wanted to express his or her love for the group dynamic and take in every last breath of Holland. In class, we analyzed gender identity, the various spectrum of gender in South Asia (culturally, they recognized 5 genders), and sexual reassignment surgery. I had to cross my legs extra tight during the lecture from the Vrije Gender Clinic, especially during the slide show visually explaining the steps to invert a penis or attach a penis to an individual.

Our last week in Amsterdam happened to be the Dutch national gay pride week, the second biggest celebration in Nederland (after Queens’ Day). Hundreds of thousands of people gather from all over Europe to enjoy the LGBT art exhibitions, gay history, gay bars and clubs, the Homomonument, and all the House and Dub shows. Saturday was the gay pride canal parade and Gert Hekma offered me his spot on the Universiteit van Amsterdam boat, open to UvA students and professors, and paid my 50 euro entrance fee. He said he did not want to learn the dance and I would enjoy it much more, so I graciously accepted—what an honor and privilege! Gert has been the single most influential person on this trip; he really has done a lot for me. A girl in my program, Erica, won some kind of contest through UvA and got a spot also—we were the only Americans on the boat and the only people that didn’t speak Dutch. Wednesday night was the dance rehearsal to Nicki Minaj’s “Starships” and a song by the famous Dutch drag queen Dolly Bellefleur who accompanied our boat. The rehearsal was great fun and everyone was very helpful with translating the Dutch for me and Erica. The choreographer winked at me a few times before flirting with me in Dutch. Even though I did not understand what he said, I know when I’m being hit on. I met a cute, tall German guy named Fabian who was doing an internship in Amsterdam—we hung out before and during the parade on Saturday and went out for dinner and drinks that Sunday. Fabian had a great sense of humor and adorable smile and even though we only saw each other three times, I’ll never forget him. He got me excited to travel to Berlin! Laurens Buijs, one of our former lectures, helped organize the boat so it was nice to see a familiar face at the rehearsal. He came in with a buff, gorgeous, 23 year old blond guy named Robin and both of their necks were covered in hickeys. Of course I assumed they were together but Laurens, Robin, and I had a good laugh after I called Laurens out at Thursday’s goodbye borrel. Apparently they are best friends and the hickeys were a total coincidence.

Thursday was our last class at UvA so we spent the period giving presentation on our observations and curiosities in the Netherlands and how they affect our research topic. Everyone in the class spoke for about 10 minutes and most presentations ended in tears. It was an absolutely beautiful way to end the trip. Even I cried! After class was our goodbye borrel at the bar café t’mandje accompanied by Casey Butler, Laurens Buijs, and even Mattias Duyves! Mattias had just come from visiting Berlin, so he gave me a list of gay and historical places to check out in Berlin. The class spent a few hours drinking and socializing at café t’mandje before dispersing off a few people at a time for dinner plans. Elaine, Emily, Katy, and I were the last ones at café t’mandje with Professor Grant who did not have dinner plans. Her partner and two daughters visited her in Amsterdam for two weeks and her sister came to visit the next week; however she was alone for the last week of the trip so she took us out for Thai food at Bird (the same place I went with Hiro)! As three broke college students abroad, we are very lucky to have had such a generous professor. The meal was fantastic and the conversation was engaging as Emily, Elaine, Prof Grant, and I are all involved with James Madison. Katy didn’t say much because she’s not familiar with JMC, but she seemed content stuffing her face with rice. We mentioned the acronyms for the four JMC majors: SRP, CCP, IR, and PTCD and at one point Katy looked up from her plate of Thai and said in a mumble, “all the letters…” Katy later admitted she ate a space cake and was feeling a little spacey. On the way home from Bird we stopped into a sex shop to browse and when I walked out I felt a drop on my head. It was brown and looked like some type of oil but I soon realized a bird had just pooped on my head. The girls almost fell over from laughter (including Prof Grant) after Katy said, “Usually you have to pay 50 Euro for that.” I got some tissue from the sex shop owner who assured me that getting pooped on by a bird is a sign of good fortune to come in his home country of Poland. Too bad I’m not in Poland.

Thursday night marked the official opening of Amsterdam’s week long gay pride and the class spent it at the Homomonument where a dubstep/house show was going on. It was similar to a single stage at D.E.M.F. where the party goes all night but the DJ switches every 2 or 3 hours. Huge stages were set up in every major plein (plaza) of Amsterdam so there were about a dozen parties going on all over the city, every night Thurs-Sunday. Casey came to that show also and brought some “Casey Express” which kept us going all night. At one point Marie jumped on stage with her hula hoop and torn it up with her crazy hula hoop moves. Leah was pulled on stage by one of the female DJs and they began dancing together in front of the crowd. Danni and I definitely appreciated the quality of the show (and the free cover) as we have seen many house shows. This was one of the better ones! The European house music has less bass than we’re used to in the US, however it emphasizes more “beats” and electronica. Street parties in Amsterdam get rowdy but the only substances I saw being used were cannabis and alcohol which I cannot say about DEMF or other shows in Detroit. The next morning was spent sleeping & recuperating but everyone made it to the program’s farewell dinner at Mati Hara, the last group activity of the Spicy Dutch Bitches—(that’s our secret Facebook group name) ;). After dinner we pregamed at a street party on Zeedjik before going to the Homomonument show. Friday night was like the night before: beats, bumps, and boys.

Legitimately right around the corner: Point A is our flat. Point B is the Homomonument.

Saturday’s Gay Pride Canal Parade was the best experience I had in Amsterdam, possibly the best experience of my life. Erica and I took a bus to the meeting point for the boat: an industrial bay off of the River Ij. Each of the 129 boats (we were 79) had their own theme and a message about equality. The theme of our “University Boat” was openness and acceptance in education. We wore black gradation caps and gowns and everyone was assigned a color of shirt to wear—the idea was to create a giant rainbow underneath the black gowns. My color was green which was perfect because I brought a really sexy, tight green v-neck from H&M. Laurens, Robin, and Fabian were there so Erica and I talked to them while we waited for the parade to start. Lunch and alcohol were provided…perhaps a little too much alcohol for many people. The Dutch Minister of Education, Marja van Bijsterveldt, spoke to our boat specifically about the national tolerance of homosexuality and christened the boat with a bottle of champagne. Since the boats are designed like barges each boat is pulled by a towboat. Once we got to the River Ij, before entering the canal, a rain cloud passed over and it started hailing! The rest of the day was beautiful but thankfully everyone was given a poncho to prepare for Holland’s bi-polar weather. Fabian and I were huddled under a poncho together, so I stole a kiss—very romantic, heat of the moment type thing. I noticed we weren’t the only ones though; a few other people were sharing ponchos and kisses as well. Amsterdam canals have very low bridges so each time we went under one, everyone had to crouch or lay and people were stealing kisses then too. The parade took place on the Prinsengracht canal which, amazingly, is the same canal as our flats. When we came up to our flats, I saw a big MSU flag hanging out Danni’s window and a rainbow flag hanging out Elaine’s window. I noticed Professor Grant, Justin, Elaine, Danni, Abbie, Katy, and Nic in the window taking pictures of our boat so I took one of them! The parade was the best experience because I met so many cool, young, locals and added them on FB of course. We bonded over sharing cultural ideas and Dutch political perspectives, and participating in THE gay party of Nederland.

Saturday night, most of our group went to the house show at Rembrandtplein (the biggest of the “plein parties”). It was an AWESOMEEEEEEEEEEE show. I hope all the “E”s adequately capture how awesome this show was. They had drag performers, men in leather, LED storm troopers (like Dayglow), and a stage that shoots fire. Dancing next to me was a cute Dutch guy with a Confederate flag on his shirt. I thought it was strange so I asked him if he knew what it meant; he had no idea about the Confederacy or the American slavery stigma associated with it. Later that night, our whole class got together in Emily’s room with multiple bottles of wine and said our goodbyes. Fabian took me out to dinner on Sunday and we spent a few hours swapping cultural experiences and travel stories. We also took turns showing each other YouTube videos  from our native country—he thoroughly enjoyed the “twerk it” video.

Elaine and I were scheduled to depart from Amsterdam to Berlin by bus at 11:15pm on Monday, August 6^th. Gert offered to let us store our luggage in his penthouse in the red light district so we left our Prinsengracht flats at noon and headed there. Leah and Marie had a flight to Norway later that night so Leah met us at Gert’s house for tea. Mattias joined us also. Gert and Mattias are quite possibly the most interesting and friendly men I have ever met and the conversation was engaging as always. Gert showed me a book of illustrations done by a German artist of various themed parties from a Berlin gay sex club which made me a little…intimidated to go to Berlin. Little did I know at the time, I would be visiting a Berlin sex club where most of the illustrations were set.  Elaine and I spent a few hours strolling around the city one last time before going back to Gert’s for our luggage. When we returned, Gert and Mattias offered us some wine and snacks and water for the bus ride. They have interesting perspectives on gay life, culture, and politics and they explained some implications behind a common gay relationship—often, married gay men in the Netherlands have monogamous love for one another, however sex is playful and not connected with intense emotion, therefore it is common to take other lovers. After another hour or so of chatter, I said goodbye to those beautiful men and Mattias walked us to the metro station. Elaine and I took the metro to the bus depot at Amstel Station, ate a special cupcake, and before I knew it, it was 9am and the adventure in Berlin began.

Things I’ve learned: Looking for a cheap place to eat? McDonalds!

Things I need to learn: German or Dutch! I want to be able to communicate with the greatest people in the world!

Shopping: H&M will forever and always be the greatest. There are 4 in Amsterdam.

I would be a water bender… and live in Amsterdam

Amsterdam would be a marvelous place for a water bender to live– if water benders existed. The following is an explanation written in a Facebook comment by Adriel Flores Román. He has only met me in person three times and barely knows me. It’s shocking how accurate he is in this evaluation of me, so I am sharing it with you:

 

“LONG NERDY COMMENT TO FOLLOW.

Why I think it suits you? Water tends to be easy going and molds easily into whatever is holding it and I see that in the way you act: you arre very carefree and easy going. You tend to fit in nicely even when you think you are being awkward, or at least that’s the impression I get from you.

Water tends to be an element attached to motifs of caring and nurturing, -which is also why it’s also attached to femininity-, as you can see that the two main waterbenders in Avatar are both Korra and Katara. From the impression I got of you, you are caring about your friends and people close to you, you are kind to them and they are the world to you. The people around you are what makes you go around, caring about them deeply and that’s one of the reasons why, If I’m allowed to say so, I was interested in you in the first place.

Water is also a fluid, which means that their own particles are in constant movement inside of it. Again, it’s the same: those of us who have seen you and got the pleasure of meeting you know that it’s the inside person, the very core of Max who is the most likeable and adorable. You have an inner world that it’s interesting and compelling, and the best part is that you let anyone in very easily, just like water has a very easy to break superficial tension. Yet, when the right people is around you, you can be supportive of them, again, just like water does to some insects who use the superficial tension to navigate over it.

The other side of water is when it gets cold, it turns into a frigid stone: hard and inconsiderate. Again, from the very little impression I got out of you, when you get mad you tend to act really cold and hard. It’s not easy to get you there, it would take a while, just like water tends to take a while to get frozen hard.

Then there’s also steam: water when heated changes form and becomes unstable, almost dissipating into the air. Also what I’ve seen from you is that when you get too emotional and too carried away, too heated by emotions, it’s when you get to be the most unstable. This is good and bad at the same time: Emotions may take you to get motivated but at the same time, too much of it and it will make you “dissipate” and tire you. That’s why you tend to avoid drama at all costs or so I’ve seen.

And that’s as much as I can get. Sorry I can’t get much more and sorry it’s not that deep, but these are the main reasons why I think you and water as a metaphorical element go hand in hand. I may be wrong in some of the things I’ve said, but again this is what I interpret from what I know about you.

And sorry again, didn’t want to bump in with so much info and hope Ricky doesn’t get mad at me for invading this thread! LOL.”

^^ He hit the nail on the head, right?!?

Could you imagine being a water bender in Amsterdam? You would be invincible with all the canals and rivers. It rains very often so there are almost always puddles on the street; puddles that could be harnessed into this…

7/16/12 – 7/31/12 part 2

Week 2 and 3, approx.

7/16/12 – 7/31/12 part 2

The grade in this class is based on participation, academic blog posts and comments (not this blog obviously), leading discussion for a day, 10 page weekly academic journals, and a research paper. We are allowed to choose any topic dealing with sexual politics in the U.S. or the Netherlands—e.g. sex work, transgender issues, LGBT Muslim refugees, whatever—I decided to do mine on radical gay groups in the Netherlands, how they mobilized, and if they met their radical goals. I am specifically focusing on the Rode Flickkers (Red Faggots, 1964-1980), of which Mattias Duyves and Gert Hekma were both members. That is actually where they met. The Red Faggots was a radical group that protested the heteronormativity of society, for example, they advocated for pedophilia and open sex among many other theories on gender. Part of their message was sexual freedom: we are free beings; children are young and free and at the best age to enjoy sex. I met with Professor Grant last Wednesday morning at Coffee Company to discuss my thesis and potential sources. Gert is the perfect primary source so I interviewed his yesterday. We had a great interview over tea, he showed me many of the Red Faggot journals and handouts, and I got an hour and a half of recorded audio! He also connected me with one of his students in Berlin, Koen. Speaking of Berlin, Elaine and I officially booked a hostel in Berlin! We leave Amsterdam by bus at 23:15 on August 6^th and arrive in Berlin at 9:15 the next morning. Then from there we go to Paris but we haven’t quite planned that far yet. Gert lives right above the flat Professor Grant in renting, so I ran into her and her sister Sheila and had a glass of wine with them on her porch.

This past weekend about half of the group went to Paris and/or the South of France. I spent the weekend in Amsterdam with Elaine, Danni, John, Katy, Kaleb, Bishop, Nic, Emily, and Seth. Elaine and I already have plans to see Berlin and Paris so we wanted to spend the weekend chilling in Amsterdam, taking in more and more of the city.On Friday we took the train to Haarlem and from there a bus to get to Bloemendaal Beach on the North Sea. There were countless rolls of sand dunes composed of fine white sand. Everyone in the group went and we had a straight up beach party. When we got back from the beach, Danni and I went to Vondel Park by Leidseplein. Vondel Park is a beautifully wooded area with plenty of small lakes and lots of places for picnics and what not. Since it was such a hot day, there were many people there who had started campfires and were drinking and smoking under the sun. Vondel Park is a popular cruising area for gay men to have sex at night. Danni and I left just as the sun was setting–too bad. Saturday we spent wandering the city. Our small group visited the Van Gogh museum which was very inspiring even though I do not care for Van Gogh’s style of brush stroke. Later that day we went to the Prostitution Information Center to interview some former sex workers for Emily and Elaine’s research papers. We got a much needed history lesson on the rise of prostitution in Amsterdam. Sunday we visited the small farming village of Willemsbrug on the outskirts of the city, took a ferry to Volendam fishing village on the North Sea, and toured the medieval windmill park of Zaanse Schans. After that adventure, Danni and I had a little rendezvous with our good friend Shayna from MSU that spent her first day in Europe in Amsterdam—she is on her way to Scotland for a Golf Turf Management study abroad. We visited Prix D’Ami, the best coffeeshop in Amsterdam in my opinion, then went to The Bulldog Bar in the Red Light District. I also ran into a girl that I had math with first semester of my freshmen year. She is going on the Golf Turf Management program also. I keep running into people I know in Europe—Small world!

The use of the word “queer” here in Amsterdam refers to human beings that consciously live outside the norm.  Many do not self-identify based on sex, gender, and sexuality.  The basic idea is that “people are people” and everyone deserves the right to experience their reality as they choose.  Labels can have the effect of restricting the range of human connection, so we strip ourselves of them in order to promote full inclusion, free expression, and limitless connection.  This is a very different context than the mainstream gay and lesbian scene.  The queer scene is very underground and typically takes place in non-commercial spaces, such as squats and bars.

Cities I’ve seen thus far: Amsterdam, Brussels, Bruges, Haarlem, Utrecht, and various parts of the North Holland country side.

Shopping: H&M will forever and always be the greatest. There are 4 in Amsterdam.

7/16/12 – 7/31/12 part 1

Week 2 and 3, approx.

7/16/12 – 7/31/12 part 1

I haven’t made an entry in a while, but Amsterdam has been so captivating and the class work load has been so intense that I have not found time. A lot has happened that I couldn’t possibly get into in this blog; some things I couldn’t even explain in written text. My free time for writing in dedicated to the intense class workload. Of course, I have gone out almost every night this week… don’t tell my mom, she’s worried that I spend too much money on the nightlife. I did go to a peep show last week! It was only 2 euro for 2 minutes of watching a naked girl dance around on a rotating table… and then another 2 euro for the second time we watched. My friend Leah who was in the booth next to me mentioned to the stripper that it was her birthday. Small world, it was the stripper’s birthday too! So she proceeded to make small talk with Leah while playing with her vagina. The Red Light District is one of my favorite places in the city. The prostitutes are mostly very friendly and GORGEOUS. It’s important to remember that they are people too, so you can smile and wave at them. They will wave back, sometimes wink, sometimes whisper a price to go behind the window. I would like to be able to say the Red Light District is “clean,” but I have gotten offers for coke and ecstasy from obvious trash-bag drug dealers. I do believe the soft drug industry (e.g. marijuana, hash) creates an economic benefit for the Dutch market; obviously they have a monopoly on that segment of tourism because North Holland is the only region in the world that outwardly tolerates cannabis tourism. The Red Light District is very (physically) clean as street sweepers wash streets throughout the city every morning.

The city really does feel like home. Even though I have only been here three weeks, it feels like months. Everything is so close and such a short walk, yet every new canal and alleyway holds a little treasure. The other day some friends and I were walking through a 17^th century residential district on the way home from a flea market—an older Dutch woman sitting in her third story window realized we were tourists and gave us some history on this neighborhood during Nazi occupation. She pointed to a plain looking black door and told us to go inside. She said it belonged to an old woman with cats and they wouldn’t mind the company in their courtyard. Inside was a beautiful garden surrounded by a stone wall and elaborate Gothic steeples. This makes me curious about all plain looking doors in Amsterdam… you never know what’s behind them.

Our excursion to the Kröller-Müller Museum 2 weekends ago offered a much needed break from the enclosure of the city. They had plenty of Van Goghs there as well as hundreds of acres of bike path, sand dunes, lakes, and forests. There are a few sculpture gardens throughout the museum property. Bender didn’t know how to ride a bike until this trip! Marie brought her hula-hoop so we made sure to stop on a beautiful sand dune, hula-hoop and enjoy life.

Sexuality here is a much different concept than in the States. Heteronormativity does not exist and sexuality is very open and publicly discussed. However, most of the gay men I have come across do not like the idea of “pride” and are more masculine. Clubs like Club Church and Club Fuxxx are the most provocative clubs. At Club Church, Thursday night is a comedic drag show (and the only night women are allowed in the club), Friday is an underwear party, the weekend is reserved for sex parties of different themes, Monday is ass fucking night, Tuesday is a S&M/leather night, and Wednesday is naked bar. The entire class went to Club Church last Thursday night. We met one of our lectures, sexy 30 year old PhD Laurens Buijs, at Viva la Vie lesbian bar. Professor Grant also showed up accompanied by Gert Hekma (remember, Gert lives above the flat Professor Grant is renting) who was taking her on a lesbian bar crawl. I talked to Gert quite extensively that night, we shared some things with each other and had a very nice conversation. After he left, Laurens walked us to Church. Professor Grant also came with us despite her initial reaction to hearing that Club Church is an erotic S&M bar. It was mostly 25-40 year old men at Church, but our group inhabited a corner of the stage and had an awesome night dancing away. Many of the men there thought I was Dutch because of the face symmetry, my height, and blond hair. Of course, the moment I speak it is obvious that I am American, especially with my strong Michigan accent. When a gay European male asks me where I am from and I say Michigan, I always hear the same shriek, “MADONNA!!!” I guess she still rules Europe. I have asked some Dutch, French, and German guys my age what they think of Lady Gaga and many of them have said they do not believe she is authentic even though they appreciate her music.

Club Bump is a much more relaxed, fully clothed club that has some dancing and a few amateur drag shows. Queer Night at the Vrankrijk punk swat has been interesting both nights we went. Last week was Rocky Horror themed and they had performances to a few Rocky songs topped off with a professional Frankenfurter. Casey, our UvA summer assistant, performed as Janet with his hairy chest and all. The idea for this club is to create a safe, fun, queer space where queer-minded individuals in Amsterdam could meet up once a week, have some cheap drinks (€1.50 beers), dance, chat, and enjoy/participate in performances.  Entrance is free.  Each week has a different theme, and you can choose to dress up or not. Next week is “Olympics Are Gay As Fuck.” The punks ended the Rocky night with “Time Warp” and everyone surprising knew the Time Warp. De Trut is my favorite club in Amsterdam because of its “underground” status (both literally and metaphorically, its 1 Euro beers, and young crowd. “Dykes and Faggots Only” is the only sign above the door indicating that location as De Trut. De Trut literally means (the bitch/slut) but from what I’m told it’s more like “beaoch.” Heterosexual PDA is not allowed, only homosexual PDA and camera/camera phones are also not allowed. Danni, Bishop, and I talked to some very interesting people in line for De Trut—a 19 year old and 22 year old, both very “bro” looking but both very gay. They were funny and understood many American media references. They said they were disgusted with prescription drug abuse and FOX News for making Amsterdam look like an anarchist city.

The use of the word “queer” here in Amsterdam refers to human beings that consciously live outside heteronormativity.  Many do not self-identify based on sex, gender, and sexuality.  The basic idea is that “people are people” and everyone deserves the right to experience their reality as they choose.  Labels can have the effect of restricting the range of human connection, so we strip ourselves of them in order to promote full inclusion, free expression, and limitless connection.  This is a very different context than the mainstream gay and lesbian scene.  The queer scene is very underground and typically takes place in non-commercial spaces, such as squats and bars.

Two weekends ago (I know, I’m trying to catch up) I met up with a guy named Hiro at Club Bump and we hit it off.  Hiro was a 28 year old Japanese guy living and working in Dubai. Having studied abroad in Dubai my freshmen year, we had a lot to talk about. He works for a Japanese global communications company in Dubai but they send him to a different city every 2 years. At least he gets to pick the city, and that is why he was touring Europe. Madrid, London, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, and then Berlin. It’s funny because I studies abroad in Dubai, I was just in Brussels, I am in Amsterdam now, then I am going to Berlin and Paris—coincidence? Anyway, Hiro and I exchanged WhatsApp info and met up again for another date the following Monday.  Hiro met me at my flat and brought a box of Patchi from Dubai, which is a chocolate delicacy in the Arab World, this Patchi had pictures of various attractions in Dubai. He was very sweet, alas, we only had a couple days together so I didn’t want to get romantic. Too complicated. Well, I think I ended up falling in love with him. I think my favorite part about him is the fact that he does not speak English very well, only Japanese. I must resort to using basic grammar and vocabulary when communicating with him, so much of our communication was done by looks and smiles. We went to the Anne Frank House on our date, ate at Bird Thai (best Thai place in Amsterdam hands down), and spent the evening walking around the Red Light District. Hiro had heard of legal prostitution is Amsterdam, however he had no idea about the red light windows or how the sex industry is operated so walking him through was great fun. He left the next morning  for Berlin so I will most likely never see him again.

Things I’m learning: At a club, white light means bathroom. Red light means darkroom.

Things I’ve seen: Mostly Americans walking in and out of sex worker’s windows.

Sex Education is Key in the Netherlands

ACADEMIC BLOG:

7/26/2012 – Mirjam Schieveld

The entire group made it to class on time today, despite a Rocky Horror themed party the night before, so I knew it was going to be a successful day. The pleasantries kept coming as our scheduled lecturer had canceled and Mirjam Schieveld, one of the summer program directors, stepped in to lecture.  This lecture was so pleasant because, besides Schieveld’s warm nature, she opened with an overview of the Dutch political climate and presented how sex education fits into that climate. She explained that sex education is commonly first taught at home by the parents and then reinforced with sex education sponsored by public schools.

Kids must have knowledge of sex education before hitting puberty and becoming sexually active. I do not think discussing sex for educational purposes will encourage children to be more sexual. Discussing sex will foster openness and communication between the parent and child.

brabantsdagblad.nl

The parents are able to answer most of the child’s questions to ensure he or she is comfortably informed about sex. In my opinion, this will lower the pregnancy rate because youths will either be knowledgeable enough to properly use contraceptives or not curious enough to experiment with sex.

Many parents in the US use scare tactics in sex ed which can create rebellion or damage the family relationship. Parents in the Netherlands tell teenagers they are ready to have sex when they say so. The family culture is more open and there are generally less secrets between parents and children. Upon mentioning the Dutch idea that teenagers should be able to have sex if they are in love sparked a class debate about whether or not that is a permissible argument. I think that most teenagers are too naive and inexperience to claim to be “in love.” I also think that adolescent relationships and infatuations do not last long enough to be investing sexual emotion in them. Perhaps some teenagers are mature enough to understand love, but what do you think—should teenagers be encouraged to engage in sexual and romantic relationships?

Linda Berne and Barbara Huberman explain the extensive sexual education elsewhere in Europe by writing, “While sexuality education is taught as a specific health unit in Germany and France, it is also widely and naturally integrated wherever it is relevant—in literature, languages, social studies, religion, sciences, or current events in all three nations. The teaching is a collaborative effort among school personnel, community youth workers, reproductive health clinicians, parents, and communities” (p. 15). I think this is a good model because it reinforces appropriate sexual knowledge which I think leads to sexual responsibility–that is proper contraceptive use, safe sex from STIs, etc.

In discussing sex education, Schieveld explained a few aspects of Dutch society that affect the political climate for sex ed.

Taxes

The lowest income tax bracket in the Netherlands is 33% and the highest is over 50% (Schieveld, 7/26). In the U.S. the lowest tax bracket is 10% and the highest is 35%. The social care in the Netherlands is far superior to the U.S., for example the functioning health care system, which justifies the high tax rate. Look at the education system: Masters Programs are tens of thousands of dollars in the U.S. and a mere 1,400 Euro at the University of Amsterdam. I think there are a lot of perks in the Dutch social system, but I would rather live in the U.S. with a lower tax rate and seek health care and other services from private companies— In my opinion, the high taxes are arbitrary and the social system allows for too much government involvement.

Do you think the Dutch social system justifies the 33-50% tax bracket? Would you rather live in the Netherlands with high taxes but many social services or in the U.S. with lower taxes and more individualism?

Pillarization

The Netherlands has a long history of trade that has made it a multicultural country. Despite the terrible atrocities committed by Dutch colonists to Indonesians natives, international trade has allowed international communication and multi-national business pioneers to erupt in the city of Amsterdam.

The symbol of the Dutch East India Trading Company

I think this international communication began the fostering of tolerance and has contributed to the tolerant nature of the city. Mirjam added that the canals of Amsterdam have also led to the international integration of the city. Water management requires cooperation between the government and workers and among workers of different ethnicity. Economic gain and urban development helped bring pragmatism and tolerance to Amsterdam. I think the progression of politics is very interesting in the Netherlands because it was this same multicultural-ness that developed the different pillars of politics. Schieveld shared a personal example from her childhood by explaining that her family would only visit the Catholic butcher and the Catholic milkman. Even in the 60s and 70s, pillarization was still embedded in Dutch society. In my opinion, Islamic schools and the tight-knit Islamic community could bring back pillarization which might complicate Dutch politics once again. I do not think pillarization is a good structure for politics because ideology often expands outside a specific community. For example, if Muslims were to get significant representation in pillarized politics, they might try to lobby against homosexuality which would not be in the interest of LGBT Muslims.

Secularization

Sex education and the use of “the pill” indirectly contributed to the secularization of the Catholic community in the Netherlands. Once contraceptive pills were introduced in the Netherlands, many women, even Catholics, began using them. When the Pope found out about this he banned usage of the pill among Catholics. However, Dutch Catholics were not willing to give up their new means of birth control, which led to many of them stepping out of the church. As Mirjam said, “The Netherlands was the rebellion in the Catholic world” (Schieveld, 7/26). Do you think that Dutch Catholic women could have maintained their faith even though they were violating the Pope’s ban? Why do you think the Dutch were so willing to give up their faith?

Rutgers Visit

The second part of the day considered of our visit to sexual education center, Rutgers WPF in Utrecht. We saw part of the sexual education database, a library filled with educational board games and books, most of them related to sexuality in science. Their collection began in 1968 and continues to grow. I will quite possibly use their online database for research sources. More information about Rutgers can be found on their website, RutgersWPF.org. Places like Rutgers play an important role in community health. The “empowerment game” we played, ‘Girls’ Choice,’ was designed to inform and challenge girls to make smart sexual choices like setting their boundaries and how to say “no.”

Rutgers online database can be found here: http://www.rutgerswpf.nl/content/test-database#node-1519

Good luck on your papers everyone!

-Maxwell

Day 7 – Day 11

Day 7 – Day 11  7/11/12 – 7/15/12

Church bells toll about every fifteen minutes in Amsterdam. It’s a nice thing to wake up to unless it beats my 8:00am alarm. Wednesday marked the beginning of a two day lecture from sex work scholar and PhD student, Marie-Louise Janssen. She lectured on human-trafficking around the world and the legal sex work industry—including the strict legal and moral differences between the two. This lecture included a spur of the moment walk through the red light district. From the previous Monday tour with Mattias and individual exploration, I’m already familiar with the red light district however this day tour was a little more interesting. We heard Janssen’s personal story and how most sex workers come into that profession. Many are [extremely hot] single mothers who have no education or work experience and simply need to pay the bills. They are all required to be legally registered with the state and their personal information is listed at the P.I.C (prostitute information center). Of course there are some sex workers illegally standing in the window, often a result of human trafficking or illegal immigration. Girls must be at least eighteen years old to work in the sex industry and clientele must be sixteen and older.

Girls were still standing in their red-lite windows while whiffs of pot were floating in the air. I was surprised to see how many girls were out at 11:00am but apparently late morning/early afternoon is one of the busiest times in the sex industry. Sure enough I saw more men come in and out of the windows during that walk than I had seen at night. Most tourists walk through exclusively at night… ya that’d be a buzz kill. I think some men go on their lunch break because there were quite a few with suits and briefcases. A man brought a stroller and two small children into the district and one of the children, a young girl, put her face against a working girl’s window. To my surprise, the sex worker opened the window, knelt down, and kissed the girl on the forehead—she let the girl’s dad film everything! The next street we walked down was a transgender window street. Transgendered sex workers make the most money fulfilling a certain fetish, male genitalia and a female body. Janssen stopped the group to make a point on transgendered sex work and I noticed an Asian transgendered sex worker staring at our group from her window. She proceeded to stick an arm length dildo out of her window and flop it up and down, waving it at us and smiling.

This past weekend the class went to Brussels to visit the European Parliament & EU and then city of Bruges for the day. Brussels was much nicer than I thought—very medieval and elaborate. Belgians speak Flemish, French, Dutch, and some German.  We toured the chambers of the European Parliament and I even ran into my friend, Kimberly, from my study abroad to Dubai. She was there with a different MSU program. A very young and cute Frenchmen named Bruno gave a presentation on behalf of the EU Intergroup for LGBT Rights. After leaving the EU, we visited the Rainbow House charity bar/organization and heard Belgian speakers discuss transgender issues in Belgium. Our shared hotel rooms were fancy and clean, right next to Brussels’ gay street. To say the least, we tore the street up. A group of us bar hopped six different places (including the Rainbow House), met some Germans in town for the Madonna concert, Elaine and I even performed a choreographed dance to “Marry The Night”…on stage.

The next day we went to the city of Bruges. Here are some pictures to tell the story!

Things I’ve learned: Get to De Trut earlier. It was an incredible European club full of new experiences but we had to wait in line for about an hour. Talking to cute boys in line made the wait fly by.

New People: The NYU theater department is staying in our building. They have a summer workshop at a theater school here.

Things I’ve seen: The streets covered in trashed umbrellas after a storm.

Dutch lesson: Cooking with all Dutch labels is hardddd. I’m 19, I don’t know how to cook period. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

Day 5 – Day 6

Day #5 – Day #6    7/10/12

Classes started yesterday at the Universiteit van Amsterdam. I sense I will do very well in these eight credits, Sexual Politics (4) and Advanced Topics in Public Affairs (4). The university is in a medieval style building that was built as a headquarters for the Dutch East India Trading Company. Like most places in this district, also on a canal. Class is from 9.30-14.30 (9:30am-3:30pm) with a few breaks and an hour for lunch in between. Our first guest lecturer was Dr. Gert Hekma, author of “Queer in the Netherlands: Pro‐Gay and Anti-Sex; Sexual Politics at a Turning Point” and “Depoliticization of Homosexuality and Homosexualization of Politics.” Gert was tall, had salt & pepper hair, and wore a bright orange and plaid yellow shirt with the faces of Jamaican blacks in the plaid boxes. His shiny black sequence pants reflected his lustrous walk and matched the black crocs on his feet…however they did not match his purple, blue, and pink striped socks. This was hardly the most unique thing about him.

Gert gave his theory on sexual politics with the most liberal arguments I have ever heard.  During one of our class breaks, Gert thanked me for my participation and suggested a trendy underground bar in Amsterdam called De Trut. I have heard of De Trut amongst the city chatter and after hearing about it from Gert, I knew it was worth checking out. He told me the guest lecturer for Tuesday, Robby, was a bartender at the club and I should ask him about admittance. After class, the group embarked on our last “welcome” event—a walking tour of the red light district. Coincidently, this tour was led by Gert’s lover and history expert, Mattias Duyves. Mattias kept me entertained with his slick wit, extensive knowledge of the city, and sophisticated gay style. On the tour we passed a coffee shop called Abraxas that looked like it could have been visited by Harry Pothead on Diagon Alley. We also saw dozens of red-lit windows peering into small room, each with a small bed and curtains. Sex workers (female and some transgender) of all ethnicity stood posing in lingerie. The sex work system is legal and easy—slip your money into a slit in the door, the door opens and you get what you pay for. The government gets a portion too. Dinner was paid for by MSU, I split a bottle of Pinot Meunier red wine with Seth.

This morning Robby Davidson, grad student at the UvA and from Illinois, lectured on the pillarization of Dutch politics and the shift towards a multi-party parliamentary system. His lecture seemed to be boring to most of the class, but as a public affairs scholar I was captivated by his intelligence and words. He was also very cute. After the lecture I asked him about De Trut, just as Gert had suggested. Robby gave me the address and offered a complimentary beer as the bartender. De Trut is an exclusively gay & lesbian club in which heterosexual PDA or the use of camera phones will get a person thrown out. Only 230 people are allowed in a night so Robby suggested arriving around 9:30pm and bringing beers for the wait. Beers are only one Euro inside. De Trut is only held on Sunday nights from 10pm-3am and is a short 4 blocks away from our flats. Danni just confirmed her `attendance; we’re going this Sunday night after returning from Brussels.

Walking back from class, some classmates and I tried a new coffeeshop and went grocery shopping. Going out almost every night is getting expensive.

Trip Highlight: Last night’s dinner was a bonding moment for the group.

Things I’m learning: Besides class work, the gay community in Amsterdam is almost as tightly-knit as the community at MSU— Casey, Gert, Mattias, and Robby all know each other!

Research update: I haven’t decided on a research topic yet. Gert talked a lot about his membership in the radical gay group, Rood Fikkers (Red Faggots), in the 60s and 70s. I would love to interview him about reclaiming the LGBT identity through radicalism.

Things I could do better: Remember to bring a shopping bag to the store. Or at least buy one.

Day #4 7/8/2012

I have a lot of studying to do tonight so I will make this entry brief. We took the tram to a community center for Muslim immigrants, most of whom are Moroccan, doing community services work—painting, minor maintenance work, and gardening. We were provided with more Dutch deserts and Moroccan fish dishes for lunch. Some of the Muslim women and Dutch social workers spoke about topics like Moroccan immigration, Muslism/Dutch educational policy, and many other social issues effecting Dutch-Muslim relations. I just returned to my flat from a little party on the floor above me and now I am going to do work!

Things I’m learning: Order something every time sitting down in a bar or café. Dutch bartenders, as polite as they are, have an evil stare reserved for those who take up precious space in his or her bar.

Dutch lesson: Tom and Ingrid marked their favorite places in Amsterdam on my map, including a Thai place!

New experiences: hearing Moroccans and Dutch speak in Dutch and Arabic to each other.

^^ Five story H&M!

Day #3 7/7/2012

Today is my first full day in the city. For breakfast, a few people in the group walked down Prinsengracht to a small basement café next door to the Anne Frank Huis. I got the Wifi password, ordered a stokbrood en ham, and ate it on the way to the groups’ next rendezvous point for a walking tour of the city—Amsterdam is a big chuck of history and engineering accomplishment so we were only able to cover a small part. 

The group met our British tour, Tom, in Dam Square under the Dutch national monument. The monument commemorates all those who suffered under Nazi persecution during WWII. The Dutch Royal Palace is also in Dam Square. Tom explained that the 16^th century Amsterdam inhabitants built a dam in the town square in order to control flooding—the first of MANY dams and dykes to control water flow in the city. The dam was built on the river Amstel. Amsterdam. It was during Amsterdam’s 17th Golden Age that numerous other canals were built in order for merchants to sail directly to their shop fronts. The saying goes, “God created the world but the Dutch created Holland.”

Tom showed us historical locations all over the city—small castles, old churches, a medieval prison, a hidden Catholic church (Catholicism was once illegal), coffee shops, and a popular place for rallying and protests– across from the American Book Center. We learned a lot about Dutch law, for example that marijuana is technically illegal but that law has not been enforced in over 35 years. He also explained that Dutch law is very loose and easily interpreted. 

Illegal acts are not punishable if the person committing the act can argue three requirements:

1)      “Money speaks louder than God.” This idea asserts that “immoral” behavior is sometimes acceptable if there is money to be made.

2)      The act must not be harmful to society or any of its citizens.

3)      The act must remain fairly unseen and unheard. This is still the case today with Amsterdam marijuana shops—they must be referred to as “coffee shops” and cannot mention any form of the word ‘canabis.’

The tour ended on the Homo-monument commemorating homosexuals that died in WWII, right behind Prinsengracht and the Anne Frank Huis.

My classmate with dreads (dreaded people have an awesome sense of community by the way!), Marie, and I went to visit her friend from Michigan who has an apartment in the lower-income area of the city. She only pays 150 Euro a month but has to pull a string against the wall to open her front door. Her name is Ingrid and she has lived in Amsterdam for a few years. She made a list of a dozen or so of her favorite places in the city—there are definitely a few we will be checking out. From there, some of my classmates and I visited a coffee shop and had dinner at a bar. Being Saturday night, the bar was very busy. I am developing a very simple vocabulary and grammar structure because that is the easiest way to communicate with the Dutch and visiting foreigners. I met a guy from Norway that was in Amsterdam on couchsurfer.com and had only great things to say about it. If I can convince Elaine that we won’t get kidnapped on our way to Paris, maybe we could save some Euros and couch surf.

New things I’ve seen: so many beautiful European boys—like is he gay or European?

Dutch lesson: Hoe gaat het? — How are you?

My recognizable landmarks: I’m getting very good at navigating along the banks of the canals, Dam square & the national monument, the Anne Frank Huis, and a few recognizable shops and clubs.

Things I’m learning: Take pictures while walking. Europeans are obviously annoyed with tourists stopping in the middle of the road to take a picture.

Day #2 7/06/2012

My first day in Nederland was extremely hectic. The plane landed at 10:00am and I had planned to rendezvous with my professor at her flat in the “wild-er” part of Amsterdam, the Oude Zijde district. When I say “planned” I mean I had Elaine text me the directions right before boarding the plane from Chicago to Amsterdam… I had not printed them out while I was in North Carolina so I was relying on the group to help me navigate. I rode the tram from the Schiphol airport to Amsterdam Centraal Station and lugged my two carry-on bags to the flat I thought Professor Grant was staying at. It turns out she sent me the directions to our Universiteit van Amsterdam flats which we could not move into until 16h30 (Dutch time for 4:30). Without any means of communication, I wandered the straat of Prinsengracht in search of wifi to contact the professor.

I went into a very artsy bar, ordered my first European beer—a Jupiler—and used their wifi. Professor Grant responded about an hour later with the correct address to her flat and the bartender called me a cab. She was very, very nice about it—everyone in the city is very polite and helpful. I have not run into a single rude person and I have asked dozens of people for help. The majority speaks English so communication is possible, however it is broken English. The pronunciation is slurred and the grammar is simple. I sense myself adopting a simple grammar structure in conversation because that’s how I speak to most Dutch people. There is a language barrier in the city because most menus, tram signs, labels, etc. are in Dutch.

Professor Grant lives on this enchanting flat on a canal. It is owned by a millionaire who must have been an art collector because his flat was beautiful! There were painting covering every wall and a skylight garden in the middle of the living room.  We sat on her front porch for a few hours and soaked in the surroundings while we waited for our university flats to be ready. My classmates whom had already arrived and the other trip supervisor, Dee (the LGBT resource director of MSU), walked to the flats in which we would be living for a month. We passed by a sex worker in a window— but the Red Light district tour is Monday so I will talk about that then.

The apartments are on the Prinsengracht canal, the same street as the Anne Frank Huis which is about three blocks down the canal. We all have hot pads for cooking, a fridge, a microwave, cooking utensils, pans, and cleaning supplies. I do not have Wifi in my flat so I use an Ethernet cord for internet. The best part about my flat is: I have my own room! The rooms are quite large. I have a backyard garden view whereas the other side of the hall overlooks Prinsengracht.

I spent my first evening exploring the city with Danni. After taking in the warm weather and calmness of the canals, we visited my first Dutch coffee shop. Danni’s mother is staying in the city for a few days so she took us out to dinner on Leidsestraat. Leidsestraat is a very flamboyant area of Amsterdam, known for its clubs and cuisine. We ate at an authentic Italian place and I had a Peproni, my first Italian beer. After that I passed out in my apartment for a much, much needed slumber.

Dutch lesson: Straat means street or canal.

Things I could do better: plan a route.

Things I’m learning: tipping is not customary. Waitresses make much more in Europe therefore the tip is commonly included.

New things I’ve seen: coffee shops and sex workers…for a start.