Nadya's House

In honor of Habitat for Humanity's Women Build Week, I worked for half the day on Saturday helping out at a Women Build site in Silverton, Oregon. This build is a project of the Mount Angel, Oregon chapter of Habitat for Humanity International. The new homeowner will be Nadya Sedekov, a mom with three kids, the oldest disabled. Her house will feature a roll-in shower to accommodate a wheelchair. 

It was a great day, and a great privilege.

OK, this next picture is VERY Oregon. Jeff, pictured here showing me what to cut and hammer next, is the crew supervisor for Nadya's build. A great teacher and kind soul, and a fan of the UtiliKilt. He lives "2 creeks over" from the build.

Comments

[Ronan O'Brien]

I'm sorry for leaving an off-topic comment here, but I couldn't find any other way to contact you.

I just wanted to mention, in response to another recurrence of your character "Simon," that it saddens me that you would have your cartoons be responsible for the perpetuation of negative, untrue stereotypes for the sake of humor-- stereotypes that when encouraged are nothing but harmful.
You were greatly pleased by Obama's election. If I may assume that you are politically liberal, it seems ironic that you would feed homophobia in this way.
You are such a talented and respected cartoonist.

[Jan Eliot]

On what planet would having a flamboyant gay hairdresser make me a homophobe? Please. Simon is modeled after my very own hairdresser. He's a FABULOUS character who is very happy about how I've developed him, and my hairdresser loves him too.

Do you know any gay people? If you do, you would have met many Simons. He's classic. And very real.

Cheer up.

[Ronan O'Brien]

I did not say you were a homophobe.
But when actual homophobes see your character Simon, it serves to confirm their beliefs that all gay men are effeminate and flamboyant.

Of course, Simon is a charming character. But he also embodies a harmful stereotype. Has it occurred to you how it affects real-life gay people?
For some heterosexuals, they only learn about gays through the media. And if you, the media, teach that gay men are effeminate fashionistas, many less-than-tolerant people will take it to heart.
So when they meet a gay man in real life, how do you think they will treat him? Often, not well.

I would like to "cheer up" as you say, but take my word for it, it hurts to see Simon and know that so many people will assume I'm like him before they even meet me.