The Hound

Setting the record straight. Annotations are below if you don’t want to watch the video. It’s long.

I’ve been reading, and hearing some things lately. Usually, I don’t really react to  the negativity people spew about me, or my writing/projects. 

However, I hold this project very dear to my heart, and some of these things people are writing/saying are simply untrue and obviously a personal attack on me. Initially, I wasn’t going to respond at all, but the comments keep coming in and they are back in the paper this week, so I felt the need to clarify.

Not all these comments are pointless though, you guys bring up some very good points and questions! So, I’m going to do my best to answer them. If I’ve left anything out, please message me on FB or email me at Cakey56@hotmail.com.

“We already have an award-winning magazine that produces exactly what Ms. Thomas is promising and more”

I wasn’t aware that Insight produced a Queer Student Union column, in addition to a NOW column along with Non-fiction and Poetry. The Hound is alternative focused, it is not themed every month. The Hound won’t be centering on “Nightlife” or “Science and Technology.” Insight is bad-ass because it has a set focus every month, allowing you to really go deep into a subject. But, that isn’t The Hound. I wouldn’t reach out to ASUN to start a magazine that already existed (and not to mention, already worked for). I don’t know what my intentions would be.

Insight is great, but I don’t know if one piece or issue that deals with diversity or sexuality a year is going to build consistent tolerance. At the Hound, we are all about building tolerance. With the recent outbreak of suicides in the LGBT community, I truly believe that now is the time for these publications. With the recent controversy with DADT, I think it’s an appropriate time for these publications. It’s an exciting, and intense time.

Bottomline: Insight and The Hound have two completely different goals. It seems ridiculous to compare them.

“Finally, while it may be true that Ms. Thomas is not the “soul” of The Hound, it is most certainly her project and the article is focused almost entirely on her”

It’s true, the article is focused mostly on me. Yet, I’m but a small part of this project. QSU is playing a huge part in this, as well. I have around 20 plus submissions, all written by THESE PEOPLE. Everyone has a wonderful, unique voice. While I’m putting these pieces together in a way that makes sense to me, I have little hand in the edits and am against all censorship. Evynn and I look at the submissions, and we decide what should go in the magazine, and what should be left out.

I have a small staff of about 6 people (I don’t trust easily, ha), and we all make our sections our own. Meaning, we have artistic freedom over every detail. I’m not standing behind anyone telling them to do it “my” way.

I think one of the most liberating things about this publication is that most of the staff hasn’t really worked at the other publications. Most of us are refreshed, coming in and making everything their own. Complete control.

You’ll be reading some pieces from new people on campus. Doesn’t that sound fantastic? Some surprises are in order, as well.

“It is, without hyperbole, entirely pointless drivel detailing the minutia of her everyday sex-life with an Ex-ASUN president. If that’s the sort of thing she wants to publish within The Hound, then I don’t think that this is the writer we should be throwing money at”

Every day sex with an Ex-ASUN president? EVERY DAY?! That’s a lot of sex.

This is completely unnecessary. You could have just said I was a horrible sex columnist, instead you choose to unleash who I may or may not be intimate with. That says a lot.

All personal details aside, I wish you wouldn’t just judge my 500 words on handjobs every week. My goal for the sex columns are to make them light. Fluff. Yeah, sometimes they may not be amazing writing, but keep in mind on top of these columns I’m trying to ace all my classes, work, and put together a magazine.

I’ve written numerous arguments and essays on all types of feminism (I’m obsessed). I’ve written movie reviews. I’ve been writing the sex column for over a year, and published in three literary magazine (poetry and prose). I’ve worked at both Insight and the Sagebrush. I’ve gathered so much knowledge from both these publications, it’s helped me very to move on to my own ambitions.

On top of this, I have some great mentor(s).

I wish you’d wait till the publication was out before you tore it apart. You’re being negative about something you’ve never even seen.

“Ms. Thomas was fired from her paid position at Insight rather unceremoniously.”

Fired? How would you know if I was fired or not? Was this public?

I wasn’t happy at Insight, it was clear. My head was somewhere else (Hello, Hound), and Amy said I couldn’t work for both publications anyways. No bad blood at all (hence me still writing a sex blog). Insight rules.

“What is the difference between The Hound and Brushfire?”

As far as I know, The Brushfire is a literary journal comprised of art, photography, and various forms of writing. The Hound is a magazine consisting of different classifications (Feminism, LGBT, Activism, Music, Sex, Non-fiction, etc). Each section has stories, opinions, and photos. It’s ALWAYS about diversity (which the Brushfire does a nice job with as well).

The only thing we really have in common is the fact publish non-fiction, photography, and poetry.

We are just a bit more focused on a unique/alternative essence. You’ll see.

I hope this answers some questions. Contact me with any other concerns, and thanks for reading.

I love you,

Caitlin Thomas

By Evynn Tyler McFalls

If you care about feminism at all, I encourage you to reblog this.y

Recently I had a discussion with a gentleman named Carlos at a party. Carlos, several others, and myself were sitting around a large fire, drinking liquor and discussing a number of issues as they pertain to sexuality. I then mentioned to one of the other people present that I felt that the public perception of sexuality was still in need of work, and that women in particular are still very much victims of a society that views sexuality with a mixture of great disdain and undeniable desire. Our society is tantalized by sex, but scornful of it as well, particularly where women are concerned.

“I don’t think that feminism really matters anymore. Women have equal rights now,” Carlos had interrupted. Surprisingly, in spite of my intoxication at the moment, I thought very rationally about what he had said and offered a rebuttal.

“Feminism is still relevant,” I told him. “It is relevant because, contrary to what most people believe, all people are not, in fact, treated equally. Perhaps feminism is sounds a little bit unfair, especially to those of us who believe in egalitarianism, but feminism is one of the first steps toward an equal society. Women make up half of the population, or something like that. If they can be free, then everyone can be, some day.”

I do not know if Carlos was convinced, because our conversation was quickly ended by a sudden return to the shallow nature of party-conversations, but he seemed to be genuinely interested in what I had to say on the matter.

In the days I’d lived after that party, I found my mind suddenly attuned to a universe of examples wherein females are not, in fact, free. I thought of how often women are criticized even now, and especially by their fellow women, for “abusing” their sexuality or using it much in the same that a man would. Despite the act that feminism has come so far, as I mentioned earlier, there are still many negative connotations when it comes to women and the mastery of their sexuality. If you do not believe me, consider this: how often do you hear that women are “sluts” within your social circle? How often do you find that women are considered “gold-diggers” and strippers, call girls, and prostitutes considered the worst parts of our society, while the men who interact with such people are not seen in the same negative light?

The truth is, there is still a double standard where sex is concerned between men and women.

This much can be made clear to the reader if only he or she takes a look at a number of recent popular stories in the media. Think of the somewhat lazy comparisons drawn between songstresses Christina Aguilera and Lady GaGa, both of which are highly accomplished vocalists and performers in their own right. While they admittedly do have similar vocal styling and appearance, there is much about both women that is dissimilar, and yet those dissimilarities are often dismissed in favor of suggesting that one is “better” than the other and that two highly-talented women cannot exist. One must, by this logic, destroy the other, because how dare two talented women exist in an industry that is controlled—dominated—by men? The same case can be made for female rap performers Lil’ Kim and Nicki Minaj who, in spite of performing sexually charged lyrics (and when we are being honest, we cannot deny that the majority of “mainstream” music is sexually charged), are quite dissimilar stylistically. Again, we have two highly talented and accomplished women being pitted against one another, as if both of them cannot exist and be successful. One must be “better” in our culture. Rap is, more so than pop, considered a masculine art form, and therefore it should not come as any surprise that because of the attitude that there “can only be one”, popular female rappers are rare and their careers often short. Meanwhile, I don’t think it is possible that one could name all of the male rappers currently existent, and while many of those male rappers are, quite frankly, less talented than Lil’ Kim or Nicki Minaj, they are allowed to exist without nearly as much scrutiny. There can be as many male rappers as male rappers would like.

Some suggest that the reason that this double-standard exists because there is an inherent need within the human race for women because of the female’s vital role in reproduction. Some feel that this role is so critical to the general male populace that we are trained as a society to associate sexual freedom among women and power among women with bad things. Perhaps this is why so many female-centric stories in the mainstream media detail women coming into power only to become drunk with it or otherwise unable to control it. Tales of women in power are, more often than not, cautionary tales within our society though the reality is that women are just as capable of maintaining power and ruling their lives as well as men do, if not better from time to time. Not every woman is a Jean Grey—a mutant in the popular X-Men mythos whose power became so great that she had to be killed or risk the destruction of all things. Not every woman is an Edna Pontellier—who realized only too late in some interpretations of The Awakening that the power granted by a woman’s self-expression could only lead to self-destruction. Some women are Emma Frosts—women unafraid to take their sexuality and power all at once and use it for whatever means they see fit. Some women are Mademoiselle Reiszs—fully capable of expressing themselves without fear of being destroyed by their own thoughts and feelings.

Until the world is willing to concede this point, feminism will remain relevant.

The fact I’ve managed to lift this project off the ground amazes me. The second I started at UNR I knew I wanted to add another publication in Reno, one that catered to an independent audience, the wildflowers.

My first semester at this school was inspiring. I started writing the sex column for the Nevada Sagebrush, throwing my soul out the window for the sake of feminism and entertainment. I wanted everything to be raw, real, and not-so-innocent.

But the column wasn’t enough-No, I needed more. I needed some shade of extension for my confessions, a second home for my secrets. So I joined Wolf Pack Radio as a DJ, and edited at Insight Magazine on the side. I needed more projects because I had to keep this wave of productivity going. My voice needed to be heard at high volume.

Notice how many times I’ve written, “I needed,” or “I need.” Satisfaction is so foreign to me.

And then I thought: This isn’t just about me anymore. I can’t keep telling people what I need, begging them for something.

I thought, “What do we need?” Is there something missing on this campus? At every ASUN debate I’ve been to, there has been one word that kept coming up, demanding attention. This word was diversity. We need it. We need to embrace it.

We need tolerance, and tolerance is something that must be built continuously. We need voices, independent voices, not just the same ones in the paper every week.

Meet, “The Hound.” This is a place for artists, lovers and haters. A venue for the alternative voice. The highs, the lows, and the right in between.

Submit. Join our team. The hound doesn’t bite. Hard…

I love you,

 Caitlin Aly Thomas