Living: November 2007
"Won't somebody PLEASE think of the CHILDREN?!"
Filed by Gina de Vries | November 30, 2007 3:51 PM |According to Saving Childhood: Protecting Our Children from the National Assault on Innocence, Teh Homosexuals MADE ME CHOOSE A SEXUAL ORIENTATION before my time! Yep, it's all there, right on Amazon.com! I mean, I would say my experience of coming...Read More
"Won't somebody PLEASE think of the CHILDREN?!"
Filed by Gina de Vries | November 30, 2007 3:51 PM |According to Saving Childhood: Protecting Our Children from the National Assault on Innocence, Teh Homosexuals MADE ME CHOOSE A SEXUAL ORIENTATION before my time! Yep, it's all there, right on Amazon.com! I mean, I would say my experience of coming...Read More
"Won't somebody PLEASE think of the CHILDREN?!"
Filed by Gina de Vries | November 30, 2007 3:51 PM |According to Saving Childhood: Protecting Our Children from the National Assault on Innocence, Teh Homosexuals MADE ME CHOOSE A SEXUAL ORIENTATION before my time! Yep, it's all there, right on Amazon.com! I mean, I would say my experience of coming...Read More
What we all want to know
Filed by Michele O'Mara | November 30, 2007 2:52 PM |Recently I opened an email in which I was asked, "How can I balance being true to myself while pleasing my partner?" That's what we all want to know, isn't it? How can I be in a relationship without compromising...Read More
Let's Not Forget About AIDS on World AIDS Day
Filed by H. Alexander Robinson | November 30, 2007 10:45 AM |As we embark upon another World AIDS Day we must continue to keep HIV/AIDS as a strategic priority and to not allow it to become an afterthought among the emerging and ongoing socioeconomic and political issues before us....Read More
Metastasizing Meth Is Eroding Our Moral High Ground
Filed by Karen Ocamb | November 29, 2007 3:30 PM |For over 25 years, Lorri L. Jean, CEO of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center, has been a kick-ass advocate for LGBT rights. So like the old E.F. Hutton commercial – when Lorri Jean told 1,000 people at the Center’s...Read More
Poisonous Parenting for the Holidays
Filed by Terrance Heath | November 29, 2007 12:46 PM |I guess it was the combination of Parker's fifth birthday and Thanksgiving that brought this series back to mind. After all, it happened that this year Thanksgiving fell on the fifth anniversary of the say we first saw our son...Read More
Poisonous Parenting for the Holidays
Filed by Terrance Heath | November 29, 2007 12:46 PM |I guess it was the combination of Parker's fifth birthday and Thanksgiving that brought this series back to mind. After all, it happened that this year Thanksgiving fell on the fifth anniversary of the say we first saw our son...Read More
Guilty pleasures open thread
Filed by Sara Whitman | November 29, 2007 10:30 AM |We all have one, right? Last night, Jeanine took the kids to a concert at Berklee College of Music. I'm sure it was wonderful as Stephen Webber is an amazing musician and the premier expert on turntables. He, quite literally,...Read More
My Dinner with Elizabeth Edwards
Filed by Eric Marcus | November 29, 2007 10:00 AM |No doubt about it, there were breadcrumbs on my dinner companion’s chin. As we discussed the unusually mild late fall evening that made it possible for us to sit under an open sky in the garden of a New York...Read More
Karma and Money
Filed by Michele O'Mara | November 27, 2007 12:43 PM |Michele, do you feel that there is such a thing as financial karma. If so how would you recommend me getting over this negative hurdle? In Buddhist teaching the law of karma says: `for every event that occurs, there will...Read More
Allies?
Filed by Bruce Parker | November 27, 2007 7:50 AM |I am taking a seminar in my Ph.D. program focused on the work of James Baldwin and reading for my final paper I came across this quote, In 1963, when speaking to a group of public school teachers in New...Read More
Are Pets Worth the Money?
Filed by Nina Smith | November 26, 2007 7:20 PM |“If dogs could talk, it would take a lot of the fun out of owning one.” – Andy Rooney When I first met my partner, we both had our “deal breaker” issues about getting involved in a long term relationship....Read More
Turkey Day w/ Boyfriend's Family, Digested
Filed by Dustin Kight | November 26, 2007 6:55 PM |What began as a conversation about me joining my boyfriend at his parent's house in Durham, NC for a quiet, introductory Thanksgiving turned into me and my boyfriend driving from DC to an extended family Thanksgiving extravaganza in the suburbs...Read More
HIV "Modern Epidemic" In DC
Filed by Eric Leven | November 26, 2007 5:17 PM |According to this Washington Post article, DC is hit hard with HIV/AIDS. The article states the old stereotype that HIV/AIDS is a "gay disease" can no longer hold and is now, more than ever, clearly untrue. The African-American and African-American...Read More
Whitewashed
Filed by Sara Whitman | November 26, 2007 10:30 AM |I read a friend’s blog today and looked back over my own from the last few days and realized we were both guilty of a bit of whitewashing. You know, censoring out the unpleasant and making lovely pictures of events....Read More
Open or Closed
Filed by Fannie Fierce | November 23, 2007 7:36 PM |Dear Fannie, What are your opinions on polyamorous relationships? After a rough relationship that ended over infidelity and trust issues, it became clear that the man I loved could only operate in an open relationship. For my personal comforts,...Read More
Ron Paul and Money
Filed by Nina Smith | November 23, 2007 9:15 AM |We’ve learned before at The Bilerico Project, that some like him and some don’t – regardless of your stance, Ron Paul has interesting views on monetary policy. Bill Long at Queercents gives the topic some coverage. He writes: The Federal...Read More
Black Friday open thread
Filed by Bil Browning | November 23, 2007 9:00 AM |Ah, the day after Thanksgiving - another low visitor day - is upon us. You know what that means! Open thread!! You've stuffed your bellies with a Thanksgiving feast. You've watched football until your eyes bled and you've heard all...Read More
Thanksgiving open thread
Filed by Bil Browning | November 22, 2007 8:30 AM |Since Thanksgiving is historically the lowest day for both visitors and posts here on the Project, I thought I'd throw out an open thread for those who stop by. Every year for Thanksgiving, I do a list of things I'm...Read More
Happy Thanksgiving!
Filed by Don Sherfick | November 22, 2007 8:10 AM |There may or may not be any semblance of agreement among the contributors to The Bilerico Project, or its regular or casual readership generally, as to whether or not "we have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving." Your...Read More
Happy Thanksgiving!
Filed by Don Sherfick | November 22, 2007 8:10 AM |There may or may not be any semblance of agreement among the contributors to The Bilerico Project, or its regular or casual readership generally, as to whether or not "we have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving." Your...Read More
"I had sex with Larry Craig" guy can keep "POOFTER" plates
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 21, 2007 3:08 PM |I posted two weeks ago that David Phillips's "POOFTER" vanity plates were being recalled by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Well, this story has a happy ending, as Phillips wrote to Pam: This morning the Virginia DMV notified me by phone...Read More
Churches Refuse to Marry Straight People
Filed by Waymon Hudson | November 21, 2007 11:08 AM |A group of local churches in the Minneapolis/St.Paul area have begun to refuse to marry heterosexual couples in protest of the ban on same-sex marriage. The churches will still hold ceremonies and blessings for both straight and gay couples, but...Read More
Three Stories about Anti-Transgender Related Violence
Filed by Bruce Parker | November 20, 2007 5:42 PM |The annual Transgender Day of Remembrance Ceremony is always a time of reflection and consideration for me as I go through life being friends with, dating, and/or partnered with transpeople. More recently, becoming an activist and scholar focusing on transgender...Read More
More gay questions for the GOP YouTube debate
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 20, 2007 1:53 PM |Michael Crawford posted this weekend some gay YouTube questions for the upcoming Republican CNN/YouTube debate. Here are a few more, like this one from a Christian lesbian about marriage: They're pretty interesting, and there are a lot more after the...Read More
More gay questions for the GOP YouTube debate
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 20, 2007 1:53 PM |Michael Crawford posted this weekend some gay YouTube questions for the upcoming Republican CNN/YouTube debate. Here are a few more, like this one from a Christian lesbian about marriage: They're pretty interesting, and there are a lot more after the...Read More
More gay questions for the GOP YouTube debate
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 20, 2007 1:53 PM |Michael Crawford posted this weekend some gay YouTube questions for the upcoming Republican CNN/YouTube debate. Here are a few more, like this one from a Christian lesbian about marriage: They're pretty interesting, and there are a lot more after the...Read More
Gay Ole Holiday Stress
Filed by Michele O'Mara | November 20, 2007 9:30 AM |Why is it that the holidays always have to be so incredibly stressful for me and my partner? ~ Anxious Alexa...Read More
HIV and Surviving Retirement
Filed by Nina Smith | November 19, 2007 7:10 PM |“You live and learn. At any rate, you live.” – Douglas Adams A few weeks ago, Ann Marsh at the Los Angeles Times profiled a gay man in the Money Makeover column entitled: AIDS survivor now needs a retirement plan....Read More
Monday morning open question
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 19, 2007 7:36 AM |I haven't done one of these in a while.... I was talking with an old college friend of mine the other day and was reminded of a conversation we once had. He's been in a relationship with another man for...Read More
Was I bashing God?
Filed by Sara Whitman | November 18, 2007 3:30 PM |My sister asked me this morning why I wrote that "anti-God" post. "Huh? The one about the Bibles?" "Yes." "I said bring on the Bibles. I said, the more the merrier. How is that anti-god?" She had a heavy sigh....Read More
God and Mammon: a queer perspective
Filed by Nina Smith | November 17, 2007 5:28 PM |“When it’s a question of money, everybody is of the same religion.” – Voltaire Poet and fiction writer, Aundi Howerton recently introduced a multipart series at Queercents exploring the connections and disconnects of money and religion both past and present....Read More
Happy Anniversary, Take Two
Filed by Sara Whitman | November 17, 2007 10:05 AM |I am going to try this anniversary thing a second time. First, I’m sending the kids off with Walter to the basketball game. Second, I’m going to pull out a bottle of red wine that is from the year 1991....Read More
Barebackers, Meth Heads, Young Guys, Sex Parties and Everything Else We Love to Blame
Filed by Eric Leven | November 16, 2007 3:24 PM |I admit it. I used to be that kind of person too. The kind of person that upon seeing an article about a surge or spike in HIV would immediately blame the so called monsters of the barebacking, anonymous, sex...Read More
passive AGGRESSIVE!
Filed by Fannie Fierce | November 16, 2007 9:34 AM |Dear Fannie, I’m a 21 year old straight college guy. My best friend is a 21 year old girl. We had a brief sexual fling early in our friendship, but that was over two years ago. Since then we’ve...Read More
I <3 American Family Association
Filed by Dustin Kight | November 15, 2007 4:05 PM |As part of my job, I keep an eye on the conservative "family" groups out there. They spew a lot of hate, especially via emails intended for their members eyes only. These folks have A LOT of money. Anybody who...Read More
Ex-gays: They've come a long way
Filed by Guest Blogger | November 15, 2007 8:25 AM |[EDITOR'S NOTE:] This guest post comes to us from Jim Burroway of Box Turtle Bulletin. Jim is an expert in the ex-gay movement. I have the deepest respect for Jim and appreciate his post about the inner workings of Love...Read More
A word about Michael Savage’s recent diatribe
Filed by Ellen Andersen | November 14, 2007 4:20 PM |Alex posted about Michael Savage’s most recent hateful lesbian=nazi diatribe yesterday. You know, the one where Savage refers to a woman he assumes is lesbian as “the type that stuffed ovens in Hitler's concentration camps,” who is now “pos[ing] as...Read More
What Mormons Really Say About Gays
Filed by Serena Freewomyn | November 13, 2007 11:04 AM |It's not easy for me to talk about the Mormon Church (aka "The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints," aka the LDS Church) without coming across as angry. But I wanted to offer some additional information about the...Read More
CohabiDating
Filed by Michele O'Mara | November 13, 2007 9:35 AM |dating, lesbian, Read More
A celebration of unconditional love and acceptance
Filed by Guest Blogger | November 13, 2007 8:20 AM |[EDITOR'S NOTE:] This guest post was written by Marcia Neff. Marcia is one of those remarkable women who will change your life just by knowing her. She's also my PFLAG mom, so keep your language clean or she'll wash your...Read More
The Airport Couple: Homophobia Over the Loud-Speaker
Filed by Waymon Hudson | November 13, 2007 8:00 AM |I was asked by a few people to relate the story of what happened to my partner and me this summer at the airport here in Fort Lauderdale. It was an eye-opening experience for both of us that helped push...Read More
Lesbian Baby-Making
Filed by Nina Smith | November 12, 2007 7:15 PM |“Love and eggs are best when they are fresh” – Russian Proverb Recently, the FedEx driver and recognizable sistah, dropped off the latest batch of medication flown in from the Freedom Fertility Pharmacy in Byfield, Mass. Tucked inside was a...Read More
Straight Online Sex: Uh, What Condom?
Filed by Eric Leven | November 12, 2007 6:11 PM |According to this article and recent study: "It's confirmed: Online dating is the way to go if you're looking to get lucky. According to a recent survey published by the Sexuality Research and Social Policy research journal, one-third of women...Read More
New study on teen sexuality debunks delinquency-sex link
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 12, 2007 3:29 PM |Abstinence-only programs are required to teach that teen sex leads to juvenile delinquency. If there was ever such an explicitly sexophobic idea, I can't think of it. And, like most ideas that stem from our culture's widespread anxiety about sex,...Read More
Gay Men are Bigger and Now There's Research to Prove It
Filed by Michael Crawford | November 11, 2007 10:53 AM |A new Canadian study has added new fuel to the nature vs nurture debate over the origins of sexual orientation. The study looked at the brains of healthy, right-handed, 18- to 35-year-old homosexual and heterosexual men using structural Magnetic Resonance...Read More
YGST: 10 Couples
Filed by Michael Crawford | November 11, 2007 7:30 AM |The ACLU and Public Interest teamed up on a series of video clips sharing the stories of same-sex couples to show why same-sex couples need and deserve the rights and responsibilities. The story of Delia and Persephone is among...Read More
Abstinence Programs Suck
Filed by Michael Crawford | November 10, 2007 11:01 AM |A new report by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unwanted Pregnancy provides further evidence that abstinence only programs have done nothing to reduce teen sex and can be downright harmful to LGBT youth. At present there does not...Read More
Coming out of a Heterosexual Marriage
Filed by Michele O'Mara | November 09, 2007 12:37 PM |Coming out is a challenging process, whether you are 15, 21, or 50. The first step toward “coming out” is self-awareness or recognition of having feelings of attraction for persons of the same sex. This awareness may lead to confusion,...Read More
Anxiety Attack
Filed by Fannie Fierce | November 09, 2007 10:34 AM |Dear Fannie, I've got a girlfriend. All the other girls I've dated have been long distance or some variation of not really girls (one closet MTF who didn't want to be seen as a girl just yet, and one...Read More
Landmark Guidelines for Transgender Vets' Care
Filed by Steve Ralls | November 09, 2007 9:36 AM |Just in time for Veterans Day, the Veteran Affairs (VA) Boston Healthcare System has issued a landmark memo to its employees about providing quality care to transgender veterans who use the medical facility. According to Bay Windows, "The memo mandates...Read More
LDS church changes position on same-sex lovin'
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 08, 2007 6:56 PM |The Mormon Church has released a new pamphlet on homosexuality: Not long after, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued "God Loveth His Children," a treatise that said same-sex attractions themselves are not sinful, even though homosexual activity...Read More
Arizona Bar Bans Trans Customer
Filed by Serena Freewomyn | November 08, 2007 10:05 AM |A bar in Scottsdale, Arizona is under investigation by the state Attorney General's office for banning a transgender customer from using the restroom. The customer, Michele deLaFreniere , filed the suit after she was banned from Anderson's Fifth Estate after...Read More
For Phyllis, who surprised me with love unending...
Filed by Marla R. Stevens | November 07, 2007 11:51 PM |In all the drama of late, 'SPLENDA in the Mud', if you will, I neglected to announce that Phyllis and I celebrated our twenty-third religious wedding anniversary recently. The original event was on Sweetest Day in 1984 and, ever since,...Read More
Pulling teeth
Filed by Sara Whitman | November 07, 2007 6:15 PM |As I painfully watched my community implode over an ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act) debate yesterday, a debate over a hollow, pointless victory that only proves we are willing to sacrifice a limb, or two, in order to have some crawling...Read More
Hypocrisy, Alarm, or Something Else, Oh MY!
Filed by Dustin Kight | November 07, 2007 6:00 PM |For those of you paying close attention in 2004, you probably saw the Barna Group numbers around Born Again Christians and divorce. I was 20 at the time, and paying more attention to research papers. I won't lie. A little...Read More
Gay Muslims in the NY Times
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 07, 2007 2:00 PM |The NY Times has an excellent article up about gay Muslims in the US and some of the theological inroads they're making into changing religious prohibitions against same sex loving. They're making headway in the West to develop a queer-affirming...Read More
HIV/AIDS Basics: What Do You Know?
Filed by Eric Leven | November 07, 2007 11:02 AM |This past weekend I took my camera out and decided to do a little interviewing. I wanted to know if people knew the basics of HIV/AIDS. Hmmm? Peep this: Did you know all the answers? Some of the interviewees knew...Read More
Gays unfairly blamed for Episcopal Church’s problems
Filed by Rev Irene Monroe | November 06, 2007 5:24 PM |Is the Episcopal Church’s impeding schism really about the theological rift that sprung up after the consecration of its first openly gay bishop, the Rev. V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire? Or, is the brouhaha really about a church in...Read More
Election Day open thread
Filed by Bil Browning | November 06, 2007 4:40 AM |I'll be gone for most of the day today so it's up to the other contributors to keep you company. Today is Election Day! Not only should you go vote for The Bilerico Project, but also go vote for your...Read More
Spending Money on Same-Sex Anniversary Gifts
Filed by Nina Smith | November 05, 2007 7:20 PM |“True love comes quietly, without banners or flashing lights. If you hear bells, get your ears checked.” – Erich Segal My partner and I celebrated our fifth anniversary recently. We never had a commitment ceremony and although we consider ourselves...Read More
What Makes a Family?
Filed by Terrance Heath | November 05, 2007 2:55 PM |So, I was on the radio Friday afternoon. On NPR, actually. I was invited to be on the broadcast of News & Notes, which was focusing on the question of "What makes a healthy family?", specifically where black families are...Read More
What Makes a Family?
Filed by Terrance Heath | November 05, 2007 2:55 PM |So, I was on the radio Friday afternoon. On NPR, actually. I was invited to be on the broadcast of News & Notes, which was focusing on the question of "What makes a healthy family?", specifically where black families are...Read More
Insanely cute couple voted cutest couple
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 05, 2007 1:10 PM |Lupe Silva and Brandy Johnson were voted cutest couple for their school's yearbook in Waukegan, Wisconsin. There was some controversy, but in the end the school is allowing their photo to be run. Because, if they didn't, people would know...Read More
Were You Born Gay, or Just Plain Stupid?
Filed by Dustin Kight | November 04, 2007 10:10 PM |Eliminating prejudice and oppression is no easy feat. Like viruses, prejudice and oppression mutate and change. They adapt to the times. When you go at them from one direction, they move in another. When you cut off one of their...Read More
Conservatives Try to Overturn Safe Schools Law
Filed by Michael Crawford | November 04, 2007 1:11 PM |Proving once again that the "hate the sin, not the sinner" adage is nothing more than empty rhetoric, conservative evangelicals have launched a drive to force a statewide referendum on a California law that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation...Read More
The Evolution & Diffusion of Gay Culture
Filed by Terrance Heath | November 04, 2007 11:15 AM |Come the revolution, we will all live in "The Gayborhood." It's nothing new. In fact I've written about it before, and now the The New York Times has printed yet another article lamenting the loss of "the gayborhood." The article...Read More
Remember Lesbian Chic?
Filed by Gina de Vries | November 03, 2007 5:02 PM |My phone rings. My friend Elana, who works as a sex educator for fifth graders in Boston: Gina, Gina, I have to talk to you! I was just going through the file cabinet at my office, and—Okay, do you remember...Read More
Sticks and Stones
Filed by Sara Whitman | November 03, 2007 4:30 PM |This letter is from TransActive Education & Advocacy, a group supporting youth of all genders in Portland, Oregon. As a parent of a son who struggles with gender roles and the constraints of society, I needed to share it. The...Read More
Sticks and Stones
Filed by Sara Whitman | November 03, 2007 4:30 PM |This letter is from TransActive Education & Advocacy, a group supporting youth of all genders in Portland, Oregon. As a parent of a son who struggles with gender roles and the constraints of society, I needed to share it. The...Read More
BET Spices Up HIV Prevention
Filed by Michael Crawford | November 03, 2007 3:15 PM |The powers that be at BET are stepping up their HIV prevention efforts with a new one hour special that will air on Monday night at 7:30pm EST. The program called How You Know 'Bout That: BET Rap-It-Up Sex Quiz...Read More
I'm off to see the ex-gay wizard (and a few evil witches)
Filed by Bil Browning | November 03, 2007 7:05 AM |Today is the day. My new friend Ryan McCann of the Indiana Family Institute challenged me to attend Love WON Out, the ex-gay reparative therapy conference, and I'm up and getting ready to go. Wish me luck. It looks like...Read More
I'll Take Some Happiness, Please
Filed by Michele O'Mara | November 02, 2007 2:50 PM |Are you happy? For some the question is irrelevant because happiness is not a goal. If it is your goal to be happy, then consider these thoughts on happiness. 1. Happiness is possible. Somewhere along the way we have come...Read More
Effective?
Filed by Eric Leven | November 02, 2007 2:49 PM |I think so. I found this image on the net.This is right up my alley. In my opinion and experience, all it takes is an image like this to remind sexually active gays and straights to simply put on condom...Read More
Castagna on Dan Abrams and Curtis the Prodigal Child
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 02, 2007 1:51 PM |Here's a video commenter Lucrece pointed us to on my post yesterday about Washington State rep. Dick Curtis's shenanigans. It's Cody Castagna, the prostitute and would-be blackmailer, being interviewed on Dan Abrams's Show along with Pat Buchanan and Laura Flanders:...Read More
Hey Teenagers: What is a "Virgin"?
Filed by Eric Leven | November 02, 2007 12:51 PM |This New York Post Article is just another example of why Sex Ed & Sex Communication classes are needed now: November 2, 2007 -- Is your teenager a virgin? That depends on your teen's definition of "is" - as well...Read More
"The State of the Movement," or, "A Red Sox Fan-Becoming"
Filed by Dustin Kight | November 02, 2007 12:10 PM |I never liked sports growing up. I only pretended to be a fan of traditional "turns-boy-into-man sports," like baseball, when I had to be, to fit in with the other kids, when I slept over at my friends' houses and...Read More
Apathetic Activists!
Filed by Fannie Fierce | November 02, 2007 11:08 AM |Dear Fannie, I'm a twenty-something living in Boston. As recently as spring 2007, I was a part of the movement to protect gay marriage in Massachusetts. Now that that battle seems to be won, I'm kind of at a loss...Read More
In Regulation of Sexuality news...
Filed by Alex Blaze | November 01, 2007 11:50 AM |A Washington State legislator, Richard Curtis (R, La Center), resigned yesterday after busting himself on soliciting prostitution with someone of the same sex. According to the police report, they met up in a porn shop, Curtis was engaged in some...Read More
It's STILL Elementary
Filed by Guest Blogger | November 01, 2007 7:45 AM |[EDITOR'S NOTE:] This guest post comes to us from Debra Chasnoff. Debra is the director of It's Elementary-Talking about Gay Issues in School, which will be re-released on DVD in December along with the companion documentary, It's STILL Elementary. She...Read More
