By Jill Mullins

Dyke March April 21, 2021 Newsletter

Community Spotlight – Hothouse Spa
Long time Seattle Dyke March supporter and community creator, the Hothouse, has opened it’s doors on a limited basis. Prior to pandemic, Hothouse was a drop-in spa for cis and trans women. Recently it opened up for private rentals for up to four people. Dyke March organizer, Jill Mullins, and lover of the Hothouse was able to reserve some time at the Hothouse. It felt great to support this local queer-owned business – and most importantly, it felt safe. The spa was super clean. Masks are required to be worn while at the spa. Jill used her cloth face mask. Hothouse provides face masks and it was nice to use the disposable face mask they provided afterward (masks get damp and it was great to leave with a fresh mask). 
Owner, Julio, helped with the check-in. He was delightful and chatted, answering all sorts of questions about what it’s like to keep the Hothouse open so that it will survive the pandemic. He also had a phone attachment for the audio system and Jill and her spa partner got to enjoy their own playlist while soaking, steaming, and enjoying the sauna. He creates a super safe feeling at the spa and provides a 15 minute notice through a doorbell sound so you can relax and not think about the time. 
Go to https://www.hothousespa.com/ to book your visit!  Dyke March favorite, Naomi Ishisaka continues to publish interesting comments articles about race and social justice, continuing the conversation about Asian Americans discrimination and writing about a new Washington State Supreme Court holding Washington’s drug statute unconstitutional. Naomi and Anika Varty are creating a Seattle Times Equity & Inclusion Newsletter.
Gal Pals Watch Podcast dropped a new podcast discussing Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie’s Dead Aunt). 
After attending a StopAsianHate Rally, the Seattle Dyke March has a new favorite dancer, Tracey Wong! She has several videos and details about some great work she does in community.

Dyke Discussions – News, books, commentary, and more that has captured our attention
It is hard to think of anything other than racialized violence. The murders of Asian women at spas, members of the Sikh community at the FedEx facility, and the endless police violence and murders of Black and Brown folks. We think one of the best things we can do to express our solidarity is to amplify the family, community, and people doing work to create change. 

Black Lives Matter As the verdict came down, we have been captivated by the family of George Floyd and the way the horror of the death of their family member echoes Emmitt Till and his mother Mamie Till Bradley’s demand for an open casket to raise awareness. 
We also continue to turn to Dr. Angela Davis and her lifelong history of fighting police violence, talking about important changes to – prison reform, defunding the police, restructuring the bail system. 
We continue to support Black Voters Matter and pay attention to the Republican efforts to remake our democracy and radically extend the already discriminatory voting practices that exist in many states, especially after the U.S. Supreme Court ended some of the Voting Rights Act protections in 2013 in Shelby County v. Holder. 
We continue to say their names, most recently, Duante Writght, 20 and Ma’Khia Bryant, 16, and so many more that do not become as well know. The African American Policy Forum allows us to dig deep, with their most recent YouTube (4 hour) video, UCLA Law Review’s 2021 Annual Symposium (Day 1), Structural Inequality and the Law
We’re also excited to explore some films at Seattle Black Film Festival. As avid listeners to NPR’s Code switch, back in February, we listened to a podcast about Black romance novels and discovered Beverly Jenkins historical fiction novels that are fun to read while also providing some historical information. 
LGBTQ Issues and stories captivating us 
The LeGALs podcast provides interesting discussions about the issues impacting LGBTQ community in the courts, with a recent podcast about expected cases to come to the Supreme Court.
The ACLU At Liberty Podcast has so many good podcasts on all the issues, and in April they had a conversation with Chase Strangio about legislation attacking Trans youth. 
There’s also the push to get the Equality Act passed, which will clarify that LGBTQ people cannot be discriminated against n employment, housing, credit, education, public accommodations (things like restaurants, hotels, and theaters), and jury service (on the state level, in Washington, this is already the law). 
Inspired the by Seattle Lesbian Literature Meetup book club April read, we recently read, “Red at the Bone” by Jacqueline Woodson and loved the weaving of intergenerational stories and the way in which queerness has become a part of stories.