It’s Pronounced Metrosexual is a website created by Sam Killermann where millions of people learn about gender, sexuality, and social justice by reading and sharing articles, edugraphics, and other online resources. It’s free, uncopyrighted, and meant for advocates of social justice who are looking to do some good in their world via education and equity. IPM started as a comedy show performed on college campuses in 2011 (where the site got its name), before evolving into the online resource that it is today.
In both arenas (the show and the online resource) the goal was always to take complex ideas and present them in a simple, easy-to-digest fashion — making the experience fun & enjoyable whenever possible. Nothing here is meant to be the end of someone’s learning about a particular issue relating to gender, sexuality, or social justice, but rather an accessible entry point into the idea.
Think of IPM as an invitation to take the first few steps down a sometimes-daunting, lifelong road of investigation and learning about how to make your world more welcoming, inclusive, and socially just.
Navigating the Resources
If you’re not sure where to start, start with this post: 50+ Concrete Ways to Work Toward Social Justice Today. Or you can browse the start here tag for other recommendations.
For your convenience, I’ve broken the articles into three areas of learning: social justice, sexuality, and gender; and there are five verticals to break up the different kinds of content: articles, edugraphics, books, videos, and courses.
Most of what I write here is intentionally timeless (evergreen, as they might say), so a standard chronological news/blog format isn’t that helpful.
Peruse the categories at your leisure, and call back upon helpful articles when you’re looking for something to share with a troubled friend.
Three-Quarters Serious, 1/2 Not
The vast majority of what I do here is serious stuff. In the grandest of pictures, I write about oppression and provide resources to help advocates of social justice make positive change. Occasionally a less serious, more fun article will crop up. In both realms, I employ a bit of wry humor. I hope that’s okay.
Share/Borrow/Steal Uncopyrighted
Or as my dad says every time he steals a french fry, “You know what I learned in kindergarten? Sharing.” I write all of my articles with sharing in mind. I hope to provide useful, enjoyable resources on the themes I cover, that will lend themselves to a variety of uses in the future. Don’t hesitate to borrow a snippet of text, or even an entire post. And certainly feel encouraged to print and hang and share the graphics I create. I’m writing and creating these things for you, so run with them.
If you link back, great. I’ll appreciate you. If you have a good reason not to, but still want to use my content, that’s fine, too (but I encourage you to provide some sort of context for your readers, because the nature of how I do what I do here is… well, different). For me, it’s the message that counts, not who it comes from.
When I first started this site, I was concerned about my work being used for commercial reasons, but my thinking has evolved a lot along these lines. Now, all the work that I’ve created on this site is uncopyrighted, a decision I made in 2013 you can read about here. It’s something that I’m happy I did, and in short my goal in uncopyrighting is to create access and remove barriers, something I see as a core principle of social justice.
100% from Me to You
Everything I write here is coming from my slant. I know that should go without saying, but I want to say it nonetheless. Objectivity in writing truly doesn’t exist, particularly not in writing as heavily-loaded as what you’ll find here. So know that I’ll be coloring these subjects and issues with my personal hue. If that’s for you, great. If not, then I completely understand.
On the other hand, I do my best to research, and I speak with lots and lots of people about these subjects before I write anything, and don’t rattle off many unsubstantiated claims. Whenever I refer to a statistic, I provide you a reference. If it’s anecdotal, I mention that. Not to show you I’m telling the truth, but to allow you the opportunity to read whatever article, paper, or book I was reading. Odds are there’s a lot more of worth there than just the stat I’m quoting.
Oh, and I love Wikipedia. Like, with-all-my-heart-head-over-heels love. I’ve been a knowledge sponge since I was a kid. I’ve always wanted to know how everything works, and I love learning. Wikipedia is hands down the best place on the web to start learning about something. Many of my external links in my posts will be to relevant Wikipedia articles. If I’m linking to it, it will help you better understand whatever I’m talking about. If it’s already there, I probably won’t spend much time rewriting about it here.
This should be a conversation, not a lecture
These topics are heavy. Most people avoid them because they don’t know how to talk about them, or they’re afraid of what might happen when they do. Well, let’s give it a shot. I’m using the Disqus comment platform with fully open settings to make commenting on articles as accessible as possible, so don’t hesitate to provide your perspective. I want to learn from you.
As this site was getting off the ground, some of the best discussions and learning moments have taken place in the comments. I do my best to read them all and respond, and use them to shape and guide articles and resources I create.
If you’ve got something to say and you’re not comfortable sharing it in the open, you can also contact me directly and I’ll be happy to listen and respond. I’m always willing to field a question, hear a concern, or just help someone process a thought they just can’t quite get through. Don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Part of the hues Global Justice Collective
This site, and everything I create here, is part of hues, where I serve as the Director of Creativity. At hues, our goal is to create art that inspires action, tools that facilitate change, and resources that bolster efforts for global justice — all embodied in the spirit of the gift.