AFTER MATTHEW- AN INTERVIEW WITH JUDY SHEPARD

I failed posting this last October 12th (when Matthew was murdered) but it is still October and I’m afraid that not everybody (specially the new generations) know who Matthew Shepard was. We shall not forget him nor what was done to him, not only because of the nature of the (hate) crime, but also because we all (LBGTQ Community, specially) are living in the “Light” of  Matthew.

Vancouver at Spirit Day: It Gets Better.

Here is a 15 minute film highlighting the Vancouver Vigil held this week.
Adam Joshua Giesbrecht speaks around the 2 minute mark.

Please Watch.

President Obama: It Gets Better

As eloquent as always. But not the fierce advocate of the LGBTQ Community he was suppose to be, yet.

“It Gets Better!” 

That’s the message from the LGBTQ Community from Vancouver, Canada.

TAKING “LGBT” OFF THE MENU

gay.com reports:

Refer to me as a member of the LGBT community and I will probably correct you. Tell me I’m part of a bigger group with even more letters (LGBTQIA, etc.) and I’ll likely cringe. I am a gay man, and as far as I’m concerned that’s a perfectly good label.

Why?

Because I’m not a lesbian, a transgender, or a bisexual, and beyond a basic human level, I don’t relate to those who are.

It all started when lesbians seceded from the union. Prior to the sexual revolution, those who practiced non-heterosexual behavior were called simply “homosexual” or “homophile.” After that came the term “gay”—which, if you’re a fan of old movies, you’ll know used to mean “happy.” (This was back in the day when “gay” was strictly an adjective. Popular culture has since added an “s” and turned it into a noun, of which I am not a fan.) In my opinion, being labeled “gay” is fine, but evidently lesbians weren’t happy being lumped together with us. And I can’t say I blame them. The social practices and mating rituals of homosexual women are very different from those of homosexual men. In my opinion, they are completely different species.

But somehow this simple act of separation kicked off a wave of mass annexation. The term “gay and lesbian” worked so well that bisexuals wanted to be a part of it. Enter the acronym.

In the beginning it was simple enough: LGB or GLB, depending on the gender of the person using it. (As with a tennis score, you tend to put yourself first.) Then along came the transgenders and suddenly we had LGBT—or as I’ve heard it called, the “Gay BLT.” But once it became a multi-layered sandwich, there was no stopping it. And the more it grew, the harder it became to swallow. And identify with. The more groups it represented, the further away from my experience it drifted.

Now there’s LGBTQIAOP, which is just ridiculous. Especially when you break down the meaning. For the longest time I thought the “Q” stood for “queer”—a word I never use in relation to things homosexual because according to the dictionary it means “strange,” “odd,” “of a questionable nature,” or “mentally unbalanced.” Which is not how I wish to identify myself. Labeling yourself abnormal does not invite acceptance. We might as well call ourselves “outcasts.” But I have since learned that the “Q” actually stands for “questioning,” which means you can be a part of the Gay BLT simply by wondering if you’re gay. Evidently you can also be intersexed, omnisexual, pansexual, or even asexual.

Do you understand what that means? This acronym that once unified people who are drawn to those of the same gender now represents people who are drawn to both genders, people who are drawn to everything, and people who aren’t sure who they’re drawn to, as well as people who self-identify as the opposite sex, have atypical or no sex organs, people who associate everything they do with sex, and people who don’t have sex at all.

It reads like a bunch of dissimilar misfits grouped together. And if that’s the case, should we throw in battered women and the Amish? They probably have sex, too. And what about WWII-era Japanese Americans? Then it could be LGBTQIAOPBAAWW2JA. Talk about a mouthful.

My concern isn’t about the enormity of the sandwich. It’s about the plain and simple fact that a gaggle of marginalized groups don’t automatically form a cohesive community. And all forcing them together does is turn specific things generic. How’s an African American supposed to feel special if he’s relegated to a group called BLAH (blacks, Latins, Asians, and Hispanics). They’re all so-called ethnic minorities, some might argue, why shouldn’t they be lumped together?

Here’s why: Because each group has its own set of wonderfully unique qualities and, more importantly, its own unique set of struggles. While some of the struggles of some groups will occasionally coincide, others won’t—no matter how much you try and force them to.

While every group represented by the Gay BLT is worthy of respect and compassion, the same goes for every group outside of it. And don’t tell me we’re united by our need for equality, because every person on the planet fights for equality in one way or another. To say that the desire for “equality” is limited to people who are gay, lesbian, transgender, etc., is a gross misuse of the word.

If you put together enough isolated groups, you’ll eventually represent the entire population. Is that the point? To lump all of our diversity together in the hopes of creating sameness? Don’t get me wrong, solidarity is nice, but diversity is amazing. And when you think about it, aren’t most wars the result of feeble-minded attempts to make people think alike and/or follow the same practices?

My suggestion is we stop adding letters in an attempt to cling to people just because their sexual orientation and practices differ from the heterosexual community, and instead attach ourselves to society at large. There will always be minimizing of gay issues. Let’s not add to it by isolating ourselves with labels.

To a certain degree I agree. They have a point. I voted that still, we should use LGBT. What do you think?

Perez Hilton Pledges to Be Kind on Ellen

Let’s see if he’s serious about it.

gray37:

“Essence” features its first lesbian couple

Essence magazine, for the first time ever, is featuring a lesbian couple in its Bridal Bliss section of essence.com. Aisha and Danielle Moodie-Mills were married in August, and the black women’s lifestyle magazine is excited to feature them in the popular section of the website. Says Managing Editor Emil Wilbekin:

Essence has a history of covering the LBGT community and the inclusion of Aisha and Danielle’s wedding in our Bridal Bliss feature is a natural extension of that commitment, The Moodie-Mills’ are a wonderful couple with a beautiful love story, and Essence.com aims to support and celebrate Black women in all their diversity.

Aisha, president of Synergy Strategy Group, a Washington, D.C.-based political consulting firm, said she’s happy to be part of the first lesbian couple featured by the mag.

For 40 years, Essence has been the leading voice for black women. We are honored that Essence chose to tell our story of love and commitment as it makes this historic step forward.

It’s about time!

Lovely!

Paladino’s Gay Nephew Speaks Out

Whenever conservatives speak out against civil rights issues and, therefore, minorities groups, like whenever they say they’re against Illegal Immigrants and it turns out they’ve been hiring illegal immigrants; or whenever they say there’re not racist and it turns out they been sending racists emails; or even better, when they say they’re not gay and they are caught having gay sex at airport’s bathrooms; it’s just a blast for me to see them fall. 

This time once again Carl Paladino (New York’s Republican gubernatorial candidate ) got himself in trouble with the LGBTQ Community, a Rabbi and his own family.

 The Advocate reports:

Jeff Hannon, the 23-year-old gay nephew of Carl Paladino (he also works for the campaign), spoke out Tuesday about his uncle’s antigay remarks, saying that he was “very offended” by the comments.
According to the New York Post, “In a brief phone interview yesterday, Hannon, in his first public remarks on the incident, told the Post, ‘Obviously, I’m very offended by his comments.’”
The Post reported that Hannon has not reported for work at the Buffalo campaign headquarters since Sunday, the day his uncle told ultra-Orthodox Jewish leaders in Brooklyn that children should not be “brainwashed” into thinking homosexuality was an “equally valid or successful option.” He also criticized his Democratic opponent, Andrew Cuomo, for taking his children to the gay pride parade.
On Monday, Paladino adviser Roger Stone told The Advocate that Paladino, a wealthy Buffalo businessman, had embraced his nephew at a time in his life when other family members struggled with his sexual orientation.
As Paladinopalooza churned through day 3 in New York on Tuesday, the Republican gubernatorial candidate was greeted by gay protesters in New Paltz and Buffalo, who demanded that he apologize for his remarks, which he did in a statement later in the day.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports that state records show that Paladino once collected rent from two gay clubs located in buildings he owned in downtown Buffalo. One of them, called Cobalt, operated as a gay bar from 2004 to 2005 and was run by Paladino’s son, William. 

Let them talk, that they will soon fall.

Michael Lucas is Done With Russia

Porn entrepreneur and Advocate columnist Michael Lucas rejects the brutality and intolerance of his homeland by renouncing his Russian citizenship.

Click here to read the full story.

transpride:

Home Project 5: Young Trans Woman

THE HOME PROJECT is a performance piece developed from the true-stories of Chicago-area youth who have been disowned because of their gender or sexual identities. Many of the stories come students away at college. In this clip, a young trans woman experiences life on the streets after being kicked out of home by her mother.

Mourning at Howard

Students organizing memorial for

19-year-old lesbian student who

died by suicide last week

&

Gay Oklahoma teen commits suicide following ‘toxic’ city debate over GLBT history month

A Letter From The Divine Miss “M”:

Bette Midler

Bette Midler has written a letter in regards to the string of suicides in the gay youth community and coming from the heart, she implores people, especially parents, to go by the motto “live and let live” and teach this moral to the youth of today.

She writes:

It is a sad, sad day for America when young people would rather die than endure one more day of hatred and relentless persecution. As a mother, I am ashamed of all the parents who have failed to teach even the most basic human lessons to their children, “Live and let Live” and “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The normal, everyday kindness that we took for granted just a few years ago is a thing of the past, and I for one, mourn it deeply. Technology, the Internet, with its anonymity, have allowed people to behave like beasts, pouncing on the weak and howling with laughter when they inflict a wound, that only the strongest could survive. What are we doing to ourselves? How are we to survive as a nation, when hate seems to be the only thing that motivate us??

Four children are dead by their own hand because they just couldn’t take any more. How many more are we going to sacrifice to the hyenas? Isn’t it time to stop??

– Bette Midler

Chaz Bono: It Gets Better

Chaz Bono, son of Superstar & Living Legend Cher and the late Sonny Bono, is the latest notable LGBT person to lend his voice to the “It Gets Better” campaign. In a new video, Salvatore tells viewers “there are communities of people just like you, willing to embrace you and support you and love you.” He also says that he only came out as a transgender man a year and a half ago and even as an adult he was living with a secret and feeling weird. After coming out, he says ” I feel great and found myself in a new community and embraced.”

Here’s a fair description of the place I learnt to call home, from The October issue of The Advocate Magazine.

Perhaps owing to its West Coast vibe and multicultural and tolerant population, Vancouver, in Canada’s British Columbia province, is an enviably habitable city that seemingly has more in common with Seattle—a short two hours’ drive—than the next large Canadian city, Calgary, 11 hours away and past some serious mountain ranges.

Since Vancouver is geographically confined on a peninsula, its urban sprawl is kept in check. In Yaletown, the city rises up in eco-friendly glass towers (“EcoDensity” is a planning initiative that aims to reduce the city’s carbon footprint by encouraging walking and biking and using new efficient materials and systems in buildings). In historic cobble-paved Gastown, 19th-century buildings, now home to locavore restaurants, wine bars, and pubs, are impeccably maintained. Gastown’s smart, award-winning Boneta features a fresh, vibrant menu and a slick open kitchen, and nearby Salt Tasting Room offers local charcuterie and regional wines in a cellar-like communal dining environment.

Residents are a diverse and gregarious mix, ready to offer directions or suggestions on a place to get a bite. In this Pacific Rim port city, a quarter of the populace speaks Chinese as a first language, and generally everyone gets along amicably. Gays are found throughout the city but make up a sizable percentage of the residents ofCommercial Drive, a lesbian-popular neighborhood of organic cafés and consignment shops, and the West End, where one can find Davie Village, a concentration of bars, pubs, and clubs like 19-and-over dance hall Celebrities, leather and Levi’s bar Pumpjack, and frenetic yet friendly Club 816.

The city has an unparalleled combination of metropolitan bustle and gorgeous vistas; an urban transaction can almost be set on pause with a moment’s glance at the striking mountain peaks or gorgeous harbor views, including from the balconies at the stylish, comfortable Westin Grand, walking distance from Granville Entertainment District (bars and clubs, mostly straight) and Davie Village.

Gay men aren’t confined to meeting one another in bars or online. With its temperate climate and laid-back attitude, Vancouver is a prime city for outdoor cruising—and straight residents don’t seem to mind. Wreck Beach, a clothing-optional spot just west of downtown, features a gay-popular section as well as an area full of adults, families, and students—gay and straight—basking in the sun during summer months. Nude merchants walk the beach, selling everything from trinkets to sandwiches to beer to pot brownies. No hang-ups here. And while nongay residents don’t mind what gays do behind closed doors (er, tall trees?) many do take interest in the city’s annual gay-pride events in August.

For sports enthusiasts, WinterPride, the gay ski week in nearby Whistler, 78 miles from Vancouver and the site of many of the 2010 Olympic venues, takes place January 30 to February 6, 2011, and features skiing, snowboarding, après-ski tea dances, and culinary events for gay men and lesbians.

Ellen DeGeneres & Anderson Cooper On Bullying