Living: May 2009
Non-travelogue: Istanbul, Turkey
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 31, 2009 | 5:30 PM |Back in February, I took a week off this site and went on down to Istanbul with Alberto. Well, I had to tell Bil where I was going, and he mentioned the Four Lads song, famously covered by They Might...Read More
MN Gov. Tim Pawlenty Vetoes Safe Schools Bill
Filed by Dustin Kight | May 31, 2009 | 4:00 PM |Nearly one week ago, Minnesota Governor (and rising GOP star/presidential hopeful) Tim Pawlenty vetoed the "Safe Schools for All" bill, a long overdue update to the state's anti-bullying and harassment laws governing schools. Anyone familiar with Pawlenty's politics might shrug...Read More
MN Gov. Tim Pawlenty Vetoes Safe Schools Bill
Filed by Dustin Kight | May 31, 2009 | 4:00 PM |Nearly one week ago, Minnesota Governor (and rising GOP star/presidential hopeful) Tim Pawlenty vetoed the "Safe Schools for All" bill, a long overdue update to the state's anti-bullying and harassment laws governing schools. Anyone familiar with Pawlenty's politics might shrug...Read More
I Don't Care What You Do in the Privacy of Your Own Home...
Filed by Waymon Hudson | May 31, 2009 | 1:00 PM |I'm just sick of them rubbing it my face. I don't "hate" them, I just don't want to see it. They can do it in the privacy of their own home, but stop forcing it down my throat. Familiar arguments...Read More
Shirtless Levi Johnston: Oh baby!
Filed by Bil Browning | May 31, 2009 | 10:00 AM |Okay, we all know Levi Johnston isn't the most sophisticated, but that doesn't mean we can't appreciate his half-naked deliciousness parenting abilities. Plus, it just begs for a "Caption This" post, doesn't it? What've you got Projectors?...Read More
Rory: Then and Now
Filed by Guest Blogger | May 30, 2009 | 2:00 PM |Editors' Note: Projector Rory Gould sent in this Then & Now. If you'd like to participate too, send in your before and after photos and lists. THEN: (1986) I was a dyke. It was very much a part of my...Read More
Being Falsely Accused of being a Pederast
Filed by Robert Ganshorn | May 30, 2009 | 12:00 PM |As many of you may know I am an alumnus contributor to the Bilerico Project. Little did I imagine that this activity would be used in the manner it was here in Thailand. Firstly, I serve on the condo committee...Read More
Keep Parenting Queer
Filed by Paige Schilt | May 29, 2009 | 3:00 PM |A while back, I attended a workshop for LGBT families. At lunch, the organizers asked parents to break into small groups and talk about "things that sustain us." My group was chewing its sandwiches in awkward silence, so I decided...Read More
Bar Harbor's Day of Decision protest photos
Filed by Bil Browning | May 29, 2009 | 11:30 AM |Thanks to Projector Andrew C for sending in these pictures from Bar Harbor, Maine's Day of Decision protest this week. Only a dozen people participated, but they look like they had a great time; I wish I could have been...Read More
Finding LGBT Friendly Legal Counsel
Filed by Michael Hamar | May 29, 2009 | 11:00 AM |It can be a challenge for LGBT Virginians to find "gay friendly" legal counsel to handle their legal matters from a sympathetic and respectful perspective. Since my firm has been marketing to the LGBT community for a number of years...Read More
Happy Birthday Alex!
Filed by Bil Browning | May 28, 2009 | 6:30 PM |A quick break in our regular programming... HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEX!! *takes off chasing Alex with a switch*...Read More
Kalamazoo/Lansing Day of Decision protest photos
Filed by Bil Browning | May 28, 2009 | 4:30 PM |Projector Adam T sent in these photos of the Day of Decision protests in Kalamazoo and Lansing, Michigan. Don't miss our other photos of Indianapolis, Indiana's rally and the protest in Dallas, Texas. It's great to see all these pics...Read More
You've Got (Hate) Mail
Filed by Waymon Hudson | May 28, 2009 | 3:30 PM |Like any good online geek, I stumbled out of bed this morning and went straight for the computer to check my email, Twitter, and Facebook. Green tea in hand, I opened my computer and started scrolling through the tons of...Read More
The Slut Who Won't Shut Up
Filed by Father Tony | May 28, 2009 | 10:30 AM |Dear Father T, Our friend "The Slut" has an annoying habit that we don't like. At. All. He reads you so we hope he will see the mirror when he reads this. We are a group of gay men...Read More
Trans Youth and Color Lines
Filed by Simon Aronoff | May 27, 2009 | 11:00 AM |A long time ago (the 1990s), in a galaxy far, far away (Northampton, MA), I was a young trans person. This week is "National LGBTQ Awareness Week," and it's got me thinking back to the days when I qualified as...Read More
Oh, Indianapolis media...
Filed by Bil Browning | May 27, 2009 | 10:30 AM |I went to the Channel 6 (ABC) website last night hoping to see the video they shot at yesterday's protest. So far there's nothing on the site - even today. But it's nice to see they've got the important breaking...Read More
Hello South Florida, this is your wake-up call.
Filed by Father Tony | May 27, 2009 | 10:00 AM |There were protest rallies all over the country, and yet, in one of the gayest communities in the known world, Fort Lauderdale/Wilton Manors, silence. To be sure I wasn't missing something that was indeed scheduled, I contacted the editor of...Read More
Cold Comfort Farm
Filed by Kate Clinton | May 27, 2009 | 8:00 AM |A tip of the hat for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, but after the Prop 8 ruling the fact that 18k couples can "stay" married is cold comfort....Read More
California's Prop 8: Limited Edition Married Gays, Still Separate and NOT EQUAL
Filed by Waymon Hudson | May 26, 2009 | 6:00 PM |My head is spinning. After the long wait, the decision on Prop 8 has come. It was something my husband and I were watching very closely, since we are 1 of the 18,000 couples married in California while it was...Read More
Indianapolis Day of Decision protest
Filed by Bil Browning | May 26, 2009 | 5:30 PM |Slideshow after the jump. Bilerico-Indiana contributor Zac Hart (pictured: top) has a running photostream of the Indianapolis Day of Decision rally on that site....Read More
Prop 8: Edge of My Seat
Filed by Sara Whitman | May 26, 2009 | 12:30 PM |Anyone else on the edge of their seat? In a half hour, a decision from the Supreme Court of California will be announced. Will there be violence, regardless of the ruling? How will this change the tenor of the Supreme...Read More
Sins of the Father
Filed by Waymon Hudson | May 25, 2009 | 5:30 PM |Thirteen years. Nearly half of the 30 years I have been on this earth. That's how long it has been since I've spoken to my father. 13 years of silence, of therapy, of anger, of making peace, of hate, of...Read More
What about a 50 state march?
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 25, 2009 | 4:00 PM |Last week we discussed the possibility and calls for a march on Washington this October. A few people brought up the possibility of a march on the 50 state capitals instead, so I thought we'd continue the conversation here on...Read More
Call to Action to Urge Trans-Affirming Position Statements by the APA
Filed by Kelley Winters | May 25, 2009 | 1:00 PM |On May 18, I presented a paper to the Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association on the diagnostic categories of Gender Identity Disorder (GID) and Transvestic Fetishism (TF) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Coauthored...Read More
Memorial Day open thread
Filed by Bil Browning | May 25, 2009 | 8:30 AM |Ah, the joy of a three day weekend. Posting will be light today as we enjoy the holiday. Consider this your Memorial Day open thread. Random, self promotional, actual news, whatever - the floor is yours....Read More
Alberta Tops Itself (and North America) Again With Bill 44
Filed by Mercedes Allen | May 24, 2009 | 4:00 PM |On the heels of delisting Health Care funding for Gender Reassignment Surgery without consultation with the medical community, the Government has taken further ridiculous steps to alienate the closeted moderates in the Province. A small concession is being made in...Read More
Alberta Tops Itself (and North America) Again With Bill 44
Filed by Mercedes Allen | May 24, 2009 | 4:00 PM |On the heels of delisting Health Care funding for Gender Reassignment Surgery without consultation with the medical community, the Government has taken further ridiculous steps to alienate the closeted moderates in the Province. A small concession is being made in...Read More
The Master's Tools, Pt. 2
Filed by Terrance Heath | May 24, 2009 | 2:30 PM |(Read part 1.) For the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change. ~ Audre Lourde The...Read More
The Dangers of Fundamentalism -- John Dominic Crossan
Filed by Donna Pandori | May 24, 2009 | 12:00 PM |Many of the points John Dominic Crossan makes in this video hits home when we think about how "fundamentalist" Christians demonize the LGBT community. The video speaks for itself:...Read More
California: Families, No Matter What the Court Rules
Filed by Sara Whitman | May 24, 2009 | 11:30 AM |It's quiet today, minus the cats howling at my ankles looking for food. The sun is out, and we have many projects around the house lined up. Zachary is off at a sleep over, Ben just rolled out of bed,...Read More
Dyssonance: Then and Now
Filed by Guest Blogger | May 24, 2009 | 10:00 AM |Editors' Note: Projector Toni D'orsay sent in this Then & Now. She is an advocate and activist for the trans community based in Arizona. If you'd like to participate too, send in your before and after photos and lists. THEN:...Read More
White House Garden Connection #1
Filed by Patricia Nell Warren | May 23, 2009 | 4:00 PM |Gardeners are applauding Michelle Obama's launch of an organic vegetable plot for the First Family and White House kitchen. Hopefully it will inspire many Americans to create some healthy, home-grown, inexpensive food for themselves. But you don't need a half...Read More
Hook 'Em
Filed by Kate Clinton | May 23, 2009 | 2:00 PM |Despite threats of secession from Texas Governor Rick Perry, the Lone Star State was still connected to the mainland when I visited San Antonio to speak to the Equality Texas folks. I called down the ghosts of Ann Richards and...Read More
Sex: Part III
Filed by Michele O'Mara | May 23, 2009 | 12:00 PM |When it comes to desire, the partner who is least interested in sex is the one who holds the most power in the couple's sex life. If you are a low-desire partner, this may come as a shock to you,...Read More
Trey Malicoat: Then & Now
Filed by Guest Blogger | May 23, 2009 | 10:00 AM |Editors' Note: Projector Trey Malicoat sent in this Then & Now. If you'd like to participate too, send in your before and after photos and lists. THEN: I was a quirky kid who drove a 1973 orange WV Thing. I...Read More
This will make the long weekend even longer
Filed by Father Tony | May 22, 2009 | 5:30 PM |On Tuesday, May 26th, the California Supreme Court will rule on the constitutionality of Prop 8. 10AM Pacific time. In case you have forgotten why the court is involved in a review of what had been passed by voters' initiative,...Read More
Angry parents file frivolous lawsuit with activist judges to silence a Christian pastor and indoctrinate our children
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 22, 2009 | 3:00 PM |OK, that title's long enough. But I think I hit at least half of the right-wing talking points this idiotic case violates: The Castro Valley School District is facing a lawsuit by dozens of parents who want more information about...Read More
A Trans Person's Photo in the Hall
Filed by Tobi Hill-Meyer | May 22, 2009 | 2:00 PM |I've heard of administrators or parents complaining when a trans speaker talks to a class, when a teacher comes out as trans, or even when a student does - but I never expected that the mere presence of a photograph...Read More
Wine or Win? Seeking Quality Part 4
Filed by Bo Shuff | May 22, 2009 | 1:00 PM |I want to go back to the fundraiser that sparked this conversation with Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern. The event itself is not the issue. I commend Equality Ohio Campaign Fund for actually doing something. To have a high...Read More
Austin goes full time
Filed by Bil Browning | May 22, 2009 | 12:00 PM |Congratulations to Bilerico-Indiana's Austin Crowder! Austin announced this morning that she is living full-time as a woman now. She was worried about her employment situation, but even in Indianapolis her new employer accepted her transition without batting an eye. I...Read More
From boy to girl in one week or less
Filed by Austen Crowder | May 22, 2009 | 10:00 AM |I didn't really have much time to consider the consequences or the potential pitfalls; sometimes, when an opportunity presents itself, you just have to follow your gut. It is with this thought in mind that I want to announce that...Read More
A Virtual GLBT Community Center?
Filed by Father Tony | May 22, 2009 | 9:00 AM |"The numbers of people we reach are very limited. We gotta do better," said Ed Straub who is with Switchboard of Miami's GLBTQ Helpline and Suicide Awareness Program in a momentary aside during his imaginative slide show entitled Developing...Read More
Should we ditch the queeny lingo?
Filed by Bil Browning | May 21, 2009 | 6:30 PM |Village Voice columnist and hilarious cable news pundit Michael Musto asked an interesting question on his blog earlier this week about stereotypical gay slang. Certain pre-Stonewall-ish lingo is still thrown around by old queens like bottles of Poppers, and it...Read More
Wearing Rainbows: Simple Acts to Show Your Faith Inclusion
Filed by Dustin Kight | May 21, 2009 | 4:30 PM |Last week the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's Institute for Welcoming Resources, Family Equality Council and COLAGE launched a multimedia, LGBT family-inclusive faith curriculum called All in God's Family: Creating Allies for Our LGBT Families. (Click here to read...Read More
Wearing Rainbows: Simple Acts to Show Your Faith Inclusion
Filed by Dustin Kight | May 21, 2009 | 4:30 PM |Last week the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's Institute for Welcoming Resources, Family Equality Council and COLAGE launched a multimedia, LGBT family-inclusive faith curriculum called All in God's Family: Creating Allies for Our LGBT Families. (Click here to read...Read More
Evansville Pride picnic coming up soon
Filed by Bil Browning | May 21, 2009 | 2:30 PM |Just in from Wally Paynter: The 29th Annual Tri-State Alliance Pride Picnic will be held June 7 from 12 noon - 6pm at Evansville Burdette Park. (Directions here) This is the largest and longest continuing LGBT event in our region....Read More
Love Thy Neighbor
Filed by Chip Clapp | May 21, 2009 | 1:00 PM |Honestly, how much hate can the Westboro Baptist Church spew before they realize that nobody takes them seriously anymore? They went from anger-inspiring to downright ridiculous and now they're attacking anyone they can just to try to get more attention....Read More
A Conversation with the Chair: Seeking Quality Part 3
Filed by Bo Shuff | May 21, 2009 | 12:00 PM |This is an ongoing series that began at Bears Left. This is part three and was originally published on May 18th. Further posts will be simultaneous. Today I sat down with Chris Redfern, Chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party to...Read More
When A Challenged Man Wants Casual Sex
Filed by Father Tony | May 21, 2009 | 10:30 AM |Dear Father Tony, I am a very lonely and sex-starved 23-year-old gay man with mild Tourette Syndrome characterized by motor and facial tics. I repeat, mild tics. I am well aware of the fact that I am different and...Read More
Rodger and Out
Filed by Kate Clinton | May 21, 2009 | 8:00 AM |Celebrate Memorial Day with your baseball hats and plastic cups full of adult beverages, but I'll be remembering my good friend Rodger McFarlane who passed away this week....Read More
Owning The Present
Filed by Sara Whitman | May 20, 2009 | 4:30 PM |You know, a day of chores, busy work and hunting stalker barbies has been great for me. My friend last night was right- out of the weeds! Breathe! As I walked down the beach today, I kept thinking... I have...Read More
Needle exchange isn't a priority and probably won't happen
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 20, 2009 | 12:30 PM |A few weeks ago I posted about how the White House website was de-gayed. The site offered a lot of policy proposals right when Obama was sworn in, but many were removed several months later as, I suppose, the Obama...Read More
Goodbye, Octavia St. Laurent
Filed by Monica Roberts | May 20, 2009 | 11:30 AM |The first time I saw Octavia St. Laurent , I was at the River Oaks Theater back home watching the 1990 blockbuster documentary Paris Is Burning. I was starting my own transition at the time and the movie was on...Read More
Have an Impact: Seeking Quality in Equality 2
Filed by Bo Shuff | May 20, 2009 | 10:30 AM |This is an ongoing series that began at Bears Left. This is part two and was originally published on May 11th. Part 3 will appear here on Thursday. The organizations that speak for us have the highest of responsibility. Even...Read More
Stonewall at 40
Filed by Jesse Monteagudo | May 20, 2009 | 8:00 AM |As an event and as a symbol, the Stonewall Riots of June 27-29 1969 continues to shape our lives. Forty years later, a gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender generation that was not even born in 1969 looks back fondly...Read More
Jillian T. Weiss -- Then and Now
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | May 19, 2009 | 6:30 PM |In this picture, it was 1979 and I was 17 years old, wearing a suit and tie, and standing next to a grand piano with several harp-shaped trophies. By that age, I had won or placed in the state-wide...Read More
More Quality in our Equality...
Filed by Bo Shuff | May 19, 2009 | 4:30 PM |This is an ongoing series that began at Bears Left. This is part one and was originally published on April 15th. Part 2, published there on May 11th will follow tomorrow, with Part 3 on Thursday. The only way that...Read More
Warm, warm, and warm
Filed by Sara Whitman | May 19, 2009 | 3:30 PM |Ok, enough. Enough with the cold, enough with the bad coffee, enough with the compost toilet. Enough with the silence. I left downeast and came to Ogunquit. I've never been so happy to see traffic....Read More
"Yasmin Nair: Eat This!" Or: How to Leave Comments Without Going up In Flames
Filed by Yasmin Nair | May 19, 2009 | 1:00 PM |I recently began my stint as a regular contributor on queercents.com. The blog, devoted to queers and money, has a tagline that reads: "We're here, we're queer, and we're not going shopping without coupons." My first post was about the...Read More
Pillar of Strength
Filed by Michele O'Mara | May 19, 2009 | 9:30 AM |I've been seeing a lady for about two months now and all has been well. However this is the first relationship where i find myself being the man emotionally, and its left me feeling very guarded and unhappy with...Read More
Rodger McFarlane
Filed by Father Tony | May 19, 2009 | 8:00 AM |Statement by Friends & Family of Rodger McFarlane on his Death It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of our friend, colleague, and hero, Rodger McFarlane. A pioneer and legend in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender...Read More
Statement by Friends & Family of Rodger McFarlane on his Death
Filed by Guest Blogger | May 18, 2009 | 4:00 PM |Editors' Note: The following statement was released by Bruce Brothers, Patricia Evert, Tim Gill, Howard Grossman, M.D., Patrick Guerriero, Larry Kramer, Ilana Lobet, Caz Matthews, John McFarlane, Lulu McFarlane Crawford, Brad Miskell, Dean Prina, M.D., Susan Richardson, Tim Sweeney, Ted...Read More
Still Work To Do
Filed by Sara Whitman | May 18, 2009 | 3:00 PM |Life here on the Point is very different. There is no drip coffeemaker, with a timer, to have a lovely cup ready the first moment I open my eyes. Instead, a peculator pot sits on the stove and cooks some...Read More
Change Policy, Change Behavior
Filed by Terrance Heath | May 18, 2009 | 12:00 PM |As a parent, I’m familiar with the powerful effect that even the threat of a “change in policy” can have on behavior. It can bring troublesome, annoying, or even hazardous behavior to an abrupt end. That change in behavior suggests...Read More
Scuba diving
Filed by Sara Whitman | May 18, 2009 | 9:30 AM |It's pouring rain this morning. The water is fairly still and if I weren't such a baby, I'd be out there fishing. Perfect time to catch fish. A friend sent me a note yesterday talking about the depths in which...Read More
Wilton Manors Annual Gay Pride Festival in Financial Crisis
Filed by Father Tony | May 18, 2009 | 8:00 AM |On Saturday, May 16th, I attended a meeting of 35 business owners who gathered at Georgie's Alibi to discuss a financial crisis that, if not resolved, might mean the cancellation of Wilton Manors' annual Gay Pride event, Stonewall Street Festival,...Read More
Michael Steele, I'm unimpressed
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 17, 2009 | 5:30 PM |Michael Steele thinks he's going to blow us away with a new argument against same-sex marriage that pretty much amounts to "Equal pay for equal work is too expensive, so we have to preserve a two-tier system of benefits distribution."...Read More
Full speech: Obama addresses Notre Dame graduation
Filed by Bil Browning | May 17, 2009 | 3:36 PM |President Obama used his commencement address at the University of Notre Dame to stress the importance of diversity and dialogue. The speech seemed a direct challenge to those rightwing nutjobs who've been protesting his honorary degree since Obama supports a...Read More
Non-travelogue: Cork and Killarney, Ireland
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 17, 2009 | 2:30 PM |I'm finally buckling under the pressure to write about the vacations I take. We'll try it this time and see how it goes. I've hesitated to write about this because I don't think it's all that interesting and feels like...Read More
Meanwhile in Moscow
Filed by Father Tony | May 17, 2009 | 12:00 PM |While states topple like dominos in favor of gay marriage and polls show a waxing of public acceptance of gay rights, in other lands, demonstrators get carted away in paddy wagons, just like the Stonewall rioters of forty years ago....Read More
Mindful Living
Filed by Sara Whitman | May 17, 2009 | 11:30 AM |It is hard to let go. To be totally present in the moment, not look forward, not look back, just be. Buddhists call it mindful living. Being aware of the present, all of the present. For me it's like listening...Read More
PFLAG Pride
Filed by Annette Gross | May 17, 2009 | 10:00 AM |On Saturday, June 13th, Indianapolis will once again celebrate the 2009 InPride Parade and Festival. The Parade begins at 10:00 a.m. on Massachusetts Avenue near College, and the Festival follows the Parade. This will be the 5th year that I...Read More
PFLAG Pride
Filed by Annette Gross | May 17, 2009 | 10:00 AM |On Saturday, June 13th, Indianapolis will once again celebrate the 2009 InPride Parade and Festival. The Parade begins at 10:00 a.m. on Massachusetts Avenue near College, and the Festival follows the Parade. This will be the 5th year that I...Read More
Signs of Progress
Filed by Dana Rudolph | May 16, 2009 | 4:00 PM |This is an older piece I published at Mombian a while back. I thought it bore reposting here, however, in light of Alex's post about NOM and their fear that children will be "confused" by LGBT parents. There's always a...Read More
Monica Helms: Then & Now
Filed by Guest Blogger | May 16, 2009 | 2:00 PM |THEN: I liked girls and women, but also liked what they wore. I loved science and science fiction. I launched model rockets and even started a model rocket club. I was very mechanically inclined and loved building things with...Read More
Bil: Then & Now
Filed by Bil Browning | May 15, 2009 | 6:00 PM |THEN: I was a high school senior in Winchester, Indiana. I had already come out to my parents, teachers and classmates. My favorite class was journalism; I was the editor for the yearbook and features editor for the school...Read More
Family Matters
Filed by Guest Blogger | May 15, 2009 | 12:30 PM |Editors' Note: Guest blogger Jeff Buppert's work has appeared in Frontiers, Drummer and The Family Business Report, as well as BuzzFlash and on stage at the Powerhouse Theater in Santa Monica; his story on gay adoption will appear in the...Read More
Fifty Bucks and a Card Game
Filed by Sara Whitman | May 14, 2009 | 2:30 PM |A friend of mine, who I'll call John, phoned the other day. He was on the way to the nursing home to say goodbye to his father, long ill, and finally succumbing to age. He was heartbroken but ready- he...Read More
What if gay marriage were legal?
Filed by Bil Browning | May 14, 2009 | 1:30 PM |An interesting question to pose to Projectors today... What would America be like if gay marriage were legal? The right wing likes to say everything!! would change, but what do you think would really change?...Read More
Before you go over the Falls
Filed by Father Tony | May 14, 2009 | 10:30 AM |Dear Projectors, This week, I thought I'd invite a lawyer into my Confessional for some advice and guidance that will be useful for any gay couple considering marriage. Peter Zupcofska, a Massachusetts licensed family law lawyer with Burns & Levinson...Read More
Florida recognizes second-parent adoption from elsewhere
Filed by Father Tony | May 14, 2009 | 9:00 AM |Nancy Polikoff tells us about a surprising Florida Court ruling: There's little I hate more in our community than a lesbian mom who creates a two-mother family and later decides to pretend there was only one mother. Well today Florida,...Read More
Marriage Wows
Filed by Kate Clinton | May 14, 2009 | 8:00 AM |New York's marriage bill advances, Wanda Sykes does the Correspondents' Dinner, Dick Cheney has been found and my bank passed a stress test! What a week!...Read More
Your Healthcare Stories Are Needed
Filed by Jeremy Bishop | May 13, 2009 | 4:00 PM |The AFL-CIO is doing a health care survey to help determine priorities as they move forward, working with the administration to push through health care reform. Last year, there was a good response from the LGBT community telling the stories...Read More
A lesson in "spoonfuls of sugar"
Filed by Austen Crowder | May 13, 2009 | 3:30 PM |I always keep my eye out for positive stories of transition. While this may not be the most, say, "realistic" portrayal of that terrible coming-out moment, I do want to post it here for one simple reason. Sometimes, when trying...Read More
Telling the Story... Finally
Filed by Sara Whitman | May 13, 2009 | 2:00 PM |Yesterday, as Beanie and I walked down to the pump with our wagon and container for water (our well is very shallow and not drinkable), we passed a man in a truck. He was working on one of the cottages,...Read More
Texting Boston trolley driver is transman
Filed by Bil Browning | May 13, 2009 | 10:30 AM |The texting trolley driver that caused an accident in Boston is transgender. Forty six people were injured in the crash. He was texting his girlfriend at the time of the collision. ...Aidan Quinn, is a female-to-male transsexual, according to a...Read More
I'm Here
Filed by Sara Whitman | May 13, 2009 | 9:30 AM |I'm here. Finally. I thought I was coming into major fog season but in fact, the sun is out, the sky almost clear, and it feels like it might get to a rockin' 60 degrees today. I won't mention how...Read More
An 82 year old monk comes out of the closet and we....
Filed by Father Tony | May 13, 2009 | 9:00 AM |An 82 year old monk comes out of the closet, and we cry applaud spit yawn. Retired Milwaukee Archbishop and Benedictine monk Rembert Weakland has written his memoirs. I will read his book for only these reasons: to see if...Read More
A Jihad for Love, the struggle of Islamic gays
Filed by Guest Blogger | May 12, 2009 | 12:15 PM |Editor's Note: Guest blogger Charles L. Ross is a Fort Lauderdale resident and the Editor and Art Director of the Stonewall Library's publication, Archeion. This is his review of A Jihad for Love. You will find information about the upcoming...Read More
Miss California Blames Satan
Filed by Michael Crawford | May 12, 2009 | 9:30 AM |UPDATE: Donald Trump held a news conference today and announced that Carrie Prejean will retain her title as Miss California despite the controversy raging around her anti-gay activism and topless photos. Trump said "She gave an honest answer and for...Read More
Industry proposed health care reform isn't a game-changer
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 11, 2009 | 6:00 PM |I'm sifting through various opinions on the industry-proposed plan to reduce health care costs by $2 trillion over the next ten years, but I thought I'd put something on this site. First, here's Obama announcing it (transcript): Of course he's...Read More
Overrated/underrated
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 11, 2009 | 1:00 PM |I'm game for this meme Courtney posted over at Feministing, where she listed the four most overrated and the four most underrated things related to feminism. What about when it comes to the queer community and politics? Here are my...Read More
HIV disclosure laws strike again
Filed by Alex Blaze | May 11, 2009 | 9:30 AM |One of the arguments people who support HIV disclosure laws generally make in their defense of such legislation is to think about the "victim" - the person who consensually had unprotected sex with someone whose serostatus they didn't know, but...Read More
We can all get they-ah from hee-ah
Filed by Guest Blogger | May 10, 2009 | 7:00 PM |Editors' Note: Guest blogger Sue Hyde is a Massachusetts resident and longtime staffer at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Some folk say, "You can't get they-ah from hee-ah." But in the great region of New England, we know...Read More
Patricia Nell Warren -- Then and Now
Filed by Patricia Nell Warren | May 10, 2009 | 4:00 PM |THEN April 22, 1970 -- the first Earth Day in history. I was running "unofficially" in the Earth Day Marathon in New York City. The 26.2-mile course was taking us several times around the carriage loop in Central Park. The...Read More
Questioning Queerness: The Movie
Filed by Brett Abrams | May 10, 2009 | 1:00 PM |The Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association National Conference in New Orleans featured a presentation of Libbie Searcy's documentary Questioning Queerness last month. The English Professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University observed that among the predominantly male student body of engineers and...Read More
Helping the Next Generation
Filed by Zac Hart | May 10, 2009 | 10:30 AM |We can all remember what it was like to be young. For some, it may be harder than others (don't worry I'm not naming names). But for those who grew up around the Indianapolis Area as a "Queer Youth," we...Read More
PHDP : a better HIV Strategy
Filed by Father Tony | May 10, 2009 | 10:00 AM |Has it really taken our world health leaders 25 years of this plague to figure this out? I suppose I shouldn't be cynical, but it does seem obvious to me that if HIV positive people are stigmatized, they do...Read More
Genderqueer Mommy
Filed by Paige Schilt | May 10, 2009 | 10:00 AM |Lately, when I've been blogging about my wife, Katy Koonce, it's been about her role as dynamic front man for the "silicone cock rock" band Butch County. In honor of Mother's Day, I asked her to talk with me about...Read More
Two Days
Filed by Sara Whitman | May 09, 2009 | 2:00 PM |Two days and counting... Yesterday, I unpacked boxes of glasses from my mother's house. They have been in the basement for two years. I finally went through them to get the wine glasses I wanted to take Downeast. They still...Read More
Singing Through the Silence of Crystal Meth Addiction
Filed by Dan O'Neill | May 08, 2009 | 3:00 PM |In early spring 2002, Jimmy Garza used methamphetamine ("crystal meth" or "meth") for the first time, in a casual situation and out of a "morbid curiosity." He was a 32-year-old, local gay man that had abstained from drug use his...Read More
Cathy Renna: Then and Now
Filed by Cathy Renna | May 08, 2009 | 11:30 AM |THEN I willingly wore a dress. This changed after age 7. I made funny faces in all photos. My parents grudgingly bought all new toys for me when I rejected my sisters hand me down like Barbies. Although I...Read More
Rice Queens, Potato Queens and Everything in Between Queens: Into the Thicket of Interracial Relationships
Filed by Sean Bugg | May 08, 2009 | 11:00 AM |A few years ago, before I got married and I was still part of the dating scene, my then-boyfriend took me to an afternoon cookout sponsored by AQUA, D.C.'s gay Asian group. It was pleasant picnic, complete with hotdogs and...Read More
Single-Payer Advocates Arrested at Senate Hearing
Filed by Patricia Nell Warren | May 08, 2009 | 9:30 AM |It was a eerie moment that reminded me of all those Bush-era overreactions to protest. On Tuesday, May 5, during a Senate Finance Committee "round table" on healthcare reform, eight activists stood up one by one to protest the fact...Read More
Strange Day
Filed by Sara Whitman | May 07, 2009 | 5:30 PM |Strange day today... all around. A friend who is always loud and exuberant was quiet and reserved on a phone call. Hmmm. I read a financial update that looked very good, in light of the economy. Hmmmm. I had to...Read More
Dear Ms. McGreevey (Jimmy, that is)
Filed by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore | May 07, 2009 | 3:00 PM |I didn't pay that much attention to you when you gave your "I'm a gay American" speech -- I just thought oh no, another closeted politician coming out and wrapping himself in the flag and soon he'll be the next...Read More
Cambridge Welcoming Ministries honors a "Reconciling Saint"
Filed by Dana Rudolph | May 07, 2009 | 2:00 PM |(Originally published in Bay Windows, April 16, 2009. I wrote this as coverage for a local event, but I think it has broad interest, especially in light of a recent ruling by the Judicial Council, the highest court of the...Read More
How to Miss the Bus
Filed by Father Tony | May 07, 2009 | 10:30 AM |Have you ever seen the bus you want to catch depart before you could get to the stop? You run across traffic, wave your hands and shout to the driver, but you are too far away, and your baggage and...Read More
Domestically Partner Registered: Why We're Doing It
Filed by Guest Blogger | May 07, 2009 | 9:30 AM |Editors' Note: Born and raised on Long Island in New York, guest blogger John Farina moved to Cleveland in 1991 where he resides with his partner, Adam Tully, and their two cats, Emma and Hex. He is a fundraiser for...Read More
Domestically Partner Registered: Why We're Doing It
Filed by Guest Blogger | May 07, 2009 | 9:30 AM |Editors' Note: Born and raised on Long Island in New York, guest blogger John Farina moved to Cleveland in 1991 where he resides with his partner, Adam Tully, and their two cats, Emma and Hex. He is a fundraiser for...Read More
Oh Mama!
Filed by Kate Clinton | May 07, 2009 | 8:00 AM |Oh, Mother's Day. What's it all about? And more importantly, will Supreme Court Justice David Souter return to New Hampshire to get gay married?...Read More
How Motherhood Earned Me a Free Sex Toy
Filed by Paige Schilt | May 06, 2009 | 4:00 PM |When I was pregnant with my son, I heard a comedienne talking about the aftereffects of childbirth: "I'm peeing all the time. I'm actually peeing right now," she said. That will never happen to me, I told myself. I was...Read More
How Motherhood Earned Me a Free Sex Toy
Filed by Paige Schilt | May 06, 2009 | 4:00 PM |When I was pregnant with my son, I heard a comedienne talking about the aftereffects of childbirth: "I'm peeing all the time. I'm actually peeing right now," she said. That will never happen to me, I told myself. I was...Read More
McDonalds settles case with Indianapolis gay men denigrated in Louisville
Filed by Bil Browning | May 06, 2009 | 12:30 PM |Nine months after an employee at a McDonald's restaurant in downtown Louisville called a group of gay customers a series of anti-gay slurs, the American Civil Liberties Union announced today that McDonald's has agreed to a cash settlement and diversity...Read More
Maybe he's got Bette Davis eyes?
Filed by Bil Browning | May 05, 2009 | 7:30 PM |Hahahahahahaha. Gary Welsh, bless his heart, is a true treasure to the Indiana blogosphere. Where else could I get this much entertainment for free? Upstarts Miley Cyrus, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears have nothing on him; his diva performances rank...Read More
Virginian Partisans Endorse Brian Moran for Governor
Filed by Michael Hamar | May 05, 2009 | 4:00 PM |At the Equality Virginia Commonwealth Coalition Dinner on April 4, 2009, the boyfriend and I had the opportunity to meet and have a substantial conversation with Brian Moran, one of the Democrat nominee candidates for Governor of Virginia. I was...Read More
The "De-Gaying" of the Whitman-Walker Clinic and More: A Review of the Recent Allegations by Council Member Catania
Filed by Dan O'Neill | May 05, 2009 | 12:30 PM |I've been writing and re-writing this post for nearly four months while the turmoil surrounding the Whitman-Walker Clinic (WWC) has continued to unfold. The matter recently came to a head on Monday, April 27th, during a public roundtable concerning DC...Read More
Keeping out the swine flu
Filed by Father Tony | May 05, 2009 | 10:00 AM |Some would call this a form of censorship and argue that the gay community should be the last to endorse this sort of government action. Others, including me, feel that it sends a good strong message that intolerance and homophobia...Read More
Celebrating Obama's first 100 days
Filed by Kate Clinton | May 05, 2009 | 7:30 AM |What do Republicans have to do to get elected? Become Democrats....Read More
Here I am: Then and Now
Filed by Nathan Strang | May 04, 2009 | 2:30 PM |I had a stressed relationship with my hyper-religious mother. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my hair. I was kinda gay. I was dating a grumpy bear, and managed to be happy, if not content....Read More
That old house across the street
Filed by Bil Browning | May 04, 2009 | 1:00 PM |If you follow me on Twitter, you know I spent most of last Thursday morning and early afternoon watching them demolish the abandoned house across the street. I tweeted the play-by-play and sent pictures too. Here's a small slideshow of...Read More
The Countdown Begins
Filed by Sara Whitman | May 03, 2009 | 2:30 PM |In eight days, I leave for my two week solo vacation. Well, I am taking the dog so almost solo. I have had a few folks say, you'll never make it. I say, as long as I don't have to...Read More
Miami wants to see you. Now.
Filed by Father Tony | May 03, 2009 | 10:00 AM |On Thursday April 30, 2009, I stopped by 450 West 31st Street in Manhattan and headed up to the 12th floor for the vacation-dream-inducing Gay and Lesbian Travel Expo sponsored by HX Magazine. (Click the link for the dates when...Read More
Proud Mom
Filed by Sara Whitman | May 01, 2009 | 4:00 PM |Today, my son Ben ran his first track meet. He was.. um.. a little wound up and nervous. But all smiles when he was done. He ran a 2:59 in the 800meters, and to me, he seemed like he was...Read More
Swine flu precautions at Jesus MCC
Filed by Bil Browning | May 01, 2009 | 1:00 PM |Jesus Metropolitan Community Church, Indiana's largest LGBT church, released a statement Wednesday about the recent swine flu epidemic sweeping the nation. Protecting Ourselves From the Flu Given international concerns over swine flu, we want to ensure Jesus MCC is a...Read More
Swine flu precautions at Jesus MCC
Filed by Bil Browning | May 01, 2009 | 1:00 PM |Jesus Metropolitan Community Church, Indiana's largest LGBT church, released a statement Wednesday about the recent swine flu epidemic sweeping the nation. Protecting Ourselves From the Flu Given international concerns over swine flu, we want to ensure Jesus MCC is a...Read More
Six things I wish I knew six months ago
Filed by Austen Crowder | May 01, 2009 | 9:30 AM |April marked six months of hormones for me. This makes me a fair shake less experienced than many of the trans activists peppering the Bilerico site; where they have had years to cogitate over the issue, I'm dragging everyone along...Read More
