Living: December 2011
Feeling Backward into 2012
Filed by Kyle Bella | December 30, 2011 | 3:00 PM |A personal examination of my assault in New York at the beginning of 2011, how this experience changed my my views throughout the course of the year, and what this redefinition reveals about political goals in 2012.Read More
Christians Put Gay Couples in the Crosshairs
Filed by Bil Browning | December 30, 2011 | 12:00 PM |I'm guessing there's some Freudian explanation why the North Carolina Family Policy Council went with this imagery to promote the state's upcoming vote on whether or not to ban on same-sex marriage, but, geez, I just can't figure out what it could be...Read More
Chicago's Cardinal George Doubles Down on Bigotry
Filed by John M. Becker | December 29, 2011 | 4:45 PM |Refusing to back down from comments he made in a recent interview where he compared the LGBT movement to the Ku Klux Klan, Cardinal Francis George, Archbishop of Chicago, opted instead to double down and defend his inflammatory rhetoric.Read More
Top 10 Lies the Black Church Tells About Being Gay
Filed by Viktor Kerney | December 29, 2011 | 11:30 AM |I want to address the myths many LGBT people continue to hear in the black church. Here's a list of the top ten lies the black church tells about being gay, lesbian, or transgender.Read More
The 'Game-Changing' Year in HIV/AIDS
Filed by Karen Ocamb | December 28, 2011 | 3:00 PM |2011 has been a game changing year in the fight against HIV/AIDS. There have so many positive advances that advocates are celebrating while we still mourn.Read More
Christmas 2.0: Who Could Be the New Santa?
Filed by Don Davis | December 26, 2011 | 5:30 PM |As an intellectual exercise, I started thinking about what a different Santa might be like, who a few candidates might be for "Santa 2.0" and why. So go grab a cookie and let's have some post-Christmas fun.Read More
New Year Guide: Top Ten Bi Gifts
Filed by Amy Andre | December 26, 2011 | 3:00 PM |Whether you are a member of the bi community, or an ally, you've probably got some bisexual people in your life - and they deserve holiday presents even if they don't celebrate Christmas! So why not give New Years presents instead?Read More
Accepting the Angel Food Pie Challenge [Comment of the Week]
Filed by Bil Browning | December 26, 2011 | 1:30 PM |I warned readers that my mom's alchemical formula recipe for angel food pie is difficult and a couple commenters said they were willing to face the challenge head on. There's three comments to lift up today - with a funny ending.Read More
Queer Families: Poignant Holiday Letter
Filed by Tobi Hill-Meyer | December 26, 2011 | 12:30 PM |The holiday season can be very difficult for queer people who have strained or non-existent relationships with their families. I grew up in a queer family and have been lucky enough that being trans was only an issue for a couple of years.Read More
Cardinal George Should Resign for Comparing Gays to the KKK
Filed by D Gregory Smith | December 26, 2011 | 11:00 AM |People expect more tolerance and compassion from the spiritual leader of a million people - at least I do. I also think Jesus would have expected better, too.Read More
The Greatest Gift We Can Give
Filed by Patricia Nell Warren | December 25, 2011 | 9:00 AM |This Christmas morning, the best gift I can give is a story about gifts. Unwrap it, and take it wherever you need to go.Read More
Anita Mann Reads 'Twas the Night...' with a Twist
Filed by Mark S. King | December 24, 2011 | 5:30 PM |It's that special day, my friends, when the stockings are hung (!) and it's time to get cozy and listen to a drag queen deliver "Twas the Night Before Christmas."Read More
My NY Times Profile: The Red Kettle Menace
Filed by Bil Browning | December 24, 2011 | 11:30 AM |Jerame says I'm going to be insufferable today. I told him to address me as "The Red Kettle Menace" when he refers to me from now on, so I guess he's right. *grins*Read More
Mom's Angel Food Pie Recipe [Open Thread]
Filed by Bil Browning | December 23, 2011 | 9:00 AM |My favorite holiday treat is my mom's angel food pie. They're a Thanksgiving and Christmas tradition. There's really not much to it; it's a sugar/starch base with a whipped cream topping, but I'm a horrible cook and this recipe is rather difficult.Read More
Will Defenders of DADT Stand By Their Dire Predictions?
Filed by Dr. Nathaniel Frank | December 22, 2011 | 5:00 PM |This week marks a full year since Congress passed, and President Obama signed, the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell and three months since the new policy went into effect. So how do we assess the change, and, equally important, does it even matter anymore?Read More
What's In a Greeting?
Filed by Rev Irene Monroe | December 22, 2011 | 3:00 PM |With Ramadan, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, and Christmas all going on this time of year, one would think that an all-inclusive seasonal greeting emblematic of our nation's religious diversity would be embraced by us all with two simple words - Happy Holidays.Read More
Exploring the Troublesome Link Between Body & Identity
Filed by Drew Cordes | December 22, 2011 | 1:00 PM |Lately, I've been falling into heated debates with myself on a contentious problem - my body. Or rather, our collective bodies, and what they mean (if anything) in relation to who we are.Read More
The 2011 Gay Picture of the Year
Filed by Bil Browning | December 22, 2011 | 11:00 AM |After Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta won the ship raffle to be the first sailor to get a homecoming kiss when her unit made it back to port, the servicemember made history as part of the first gay couple to participate in the tradition.Read More
Zimbabwe MP Arrested for Saying Prez Mugabe Is Gay
Filed by Bil Browning | December 21, 2011 | 1:30 PM |You know what they say about the lady who protesteth too much...Read More
A New Place for Queer Homeless Youth in Atlanta
Filed by Toshio Meronek | December 21, 2011 | 12:00 PM |Rick Westbrook and his Atlantan Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are helping some queer youths facing a problem that affects the LGBTQ community more than almost any other segment of the population: homelessness.Read More
Canadian Official Asks Trans Woman to Accommodate 'Spooked' Royal Representative
Filed by Mercedes Allen | December 21, 2011 | 11:00 AM |A human rights complaint has been filed against Northwest Territories' Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger over an incident that occurred during the December 9th visit to Aurora College by Canada's new Governor General, David Johnston.Read More
Denver Broncos Pass on Making 'It Gets Better' Video
Filed by Viktor Kerney | December 21, 2011 | 9:00 AM |Last week, a petition went out urging the Denver Broncos and Tim Tebow to make an 'It Gets Better' video. The petition quickly garnered 8000 signatures, however, yesterday morning the team passed on the idea.Read More
HIV 2 fer 1: Early Treatment Works & Truvada Prevents
Filed by D Gregory Smith | December 20, 2011 | 5:00 PM |Today's HIV news shelf is crowded. Two stories on the HIV front involve good news about early HIV treatment and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) to reduce infection rates among high-risk persons.Read More
The 'My Fabulous Disease' Holiday Spectacular!
Filed by Mark S. King | December 20, 2011 | 3:00 PM |My mother's home here in Shreveport was fraught with excitement last week. Christmas decorations littered the living room, the almond scent of cookies filled the air, and last minute arrangements made it feel like a major production was underway.Read More
Lesbian Partner Denied Hospital Visitation
Filed by Bil Browning | December 20, 2011 | 11:30 AM |Looks like Rolling Hills Hospital staff in Franklin, Tennessee didn't get the memo from the Obama administration that they can't deny partners of LGBT patients visitation rights.Read More
Will VA Hospitals Care for Gay & Lesbian Veterans?
Filed by Guest Blogger | December 20, 2011 | 10:30 AM |By the end of 2011, more than 40,000 U.S. troops will return home from Iraq. Many of those troops will seek medical support from their local VA hospital. But is our VA system prepared to care for our gay and lesbian soldiers?Read More
Helping Out on the Resolution Front
Filed by Leslie Robinson | December 19, 2011 | 5:00 PM |I've taken the liberty of composing New Year's resolutions for individuals who are just too busy to do it themselves.Read More
Iraq War Is Over but Suffering Continues for Gay Servicemembers
Filed by Karen Ocamb | December 19, 2011 | 3:00 PM |As soldiers left behind the sand, dust and struggle of the first American pre-emptive war and the gates between Iraq and Kuwait were closed on Sunday morning, dustups were just getting started in the US political arena. Was it worth it?Read More
The Pope Might Be Dying & Kim Jong Il Is Dead
Filed by Bil Browning | December 19, 2011 | 1:00 PM |Looks like last week was a bad week for unbridled dictators, eh?Read More
The Season of Giving & Receiving
Filed by Davina Kotulski | December 18, 2011 | 2:30 PM |The other day I was flying to Los Angeles. The woman sitting next to me on the plane seemed pleasant. She looked like any other new-age Californian, only she wasn't.Read More
Ghosts from Christmases Past
Filed by Guest Blogger | December 18, 2011 | 10:00 AM |It may not be possible, but try to let Christmas escape Facebook for at least a couple of hours, just long enough to unwrap a few presents and partake in the annual family squabble.Read More
Choosing a Better Browser
Filed by Terrance Heath | December 17, 2011 | 2:00 PM |I've been a loyal Firefox user almost since version 1.0. I've branched out a bit. Right now, I use Chrome for work-related stuff, but when Chrome started acting up on me, I decided to give Opera a try.Read More
Santa Claus is Coming to Town?
Filed by Guest Blogger | December 17, 2011 | 10:00 AM |Guest bloggers Jennifer Lau and Eileen Wacker argue that Christmas commercialization is a first world problem and grinches should just embrace it - and throw any negativity out like old wrapping paper.Read More
This Is Love in Action
Filed by Jeff Lutes | December 16, 2011 | 4:00 PM |It seems to me that part of celebrating community is to rejoice in the successes, triumphs, and blessings of others. The following little video made me laugh, cry, and cheer for these two dads and their growing family... even though I have never met them.Read More
Advocates Applaud UN Report; LA City Council Denounces Nigeria
Filed by Karen Ocamb | December 16, 2011 | 12:30 PM |African human rights activists applauded the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for releasing the first-ever U.N. report documenting discriminatory laws, practices and acts of violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.Read More
Bachmann Backs Down on Ex-Gay Therapy Bill
Filed by Bil Browning | December 16, 2011 | 9:30 AM |Truth Wins Out staffer John Becker, who went undercover at the clinic, got a bill for "missed appointments" from the charlatan and Bachmann even called Becker to demand payment. Now the huckster has backed down.Read More
CA Appeals Court Upholds Lesbian's Parenting Rights
Filed by Karen Ocamb | December 15, 2011 | 5:00 PM |Of all the knock-down, drag-out fights for equal rights, the battle over who gets the children at the end of a same sex relationship is one of the most excruciating. Read More
8 Tips To Lower Holiday Stress [Rerun]
Filed by D Gregory Smith | December 15, 2011 | 3:00 PM |Feeling stressed and/or depressed lately? You're not alone. The holiday season is reported to be "problematic" for about forty-five percent of the general population, and there may be added concerns for LGBTIQ persons. Read More
Burned By the (Kindle) Fire
Filed by Terrance Heath | December 15, 2011 | 12:00 PM |A couple of months ago, I mused about possibly getting a Kindle Fire. Ultimately, I ended up getting a Kindle Touch, and I'm glad I did.Read More
I'm the Red Kettle Menace?
Filed by Bil Browning | December 14, 2011 | 6:00 PM |Every year I do a post around the holidays to remind readers that the Salvation Army is a rightwing organization that discriminates against LGBT people. It's an old boycott stretching back over a decade, but this year my annual post really took off. Read More
How to Explain Marriage Equality to an Idiot
Filed by Bil Browning | December 14, 2011 | 10:15 AM |Tired of hearing the rightwing nutjobs claim that if gays and lesbians can get married, soon people will be marrying their dog or their toaster? Here's a handy dandy chart to help you patiently explain the obvious differences.Read More
'Groundswell' Movement Defends Muslims and Gays
Filed by Karen Ocamb | December 14, 2011 | 9:15 AM |In our post-9/11 world, Muslims and Sikhs have endured extensive harassment and fear. One effort to overcome that religious bigotry is an eight-week reality show on TLC called "All-American Muslim" that follows five Lebanese families in Dearborn, Michigan. Read More
Tyler Clementi's Parents Speak to Today Show
Filed by Bil Browning | December 13, 2011 | 5:00 PM |While most of the details about the circumstances of Tyler Clementi's suicide have been gleaned from court filings since his parents have refused all media interviews, Clementi's family has now started speaking out to promote an anti-bullying organization they founded following their son's death.Read More
Gay Syndicated Writer Paul Varnell Has Died
Filed by Karen Ocamb | December 13, 2011 | 4:00 PM |Perhaps the most prominent consistent voice for libertarian/independents was Paul Varnell, a one-time academic-turned-activist-turned-columnist, mostly for the Windy City Times. Some of Paul's columns would drive liberals and leftists crazy.Read More
Give Till It Hurts
Filed by Guest Blogger | December 13, 2011 | 12:00 PM |You have probably heard the rumors that the economy isn't so great these days. It is the holiday season and we're all spending money, whether we have it or not. I spent $20 bucks on a tree topper last week - and I'm Jewish.Read More
This Is Not a Paperweight
Filed by Bil Browning | December 13, 2011 | 11:00 AM |Wait until Mom finds out what it really is...Read More
FedEx & Me, Or, Gee, Thanks Joan
Filed by Annette Gross | December 13, 2011 | 10:00 AM |Once a month, I go to a FedEx/Kinko's office in my neighborhood. The employees there know me. Yesterday I went in to make copies for my PFLAG chapter's Bullied event and things took a turn for the worse.Read More
Do Ya Wanna (Kindle) Touch?
Filed by Terrance Heath | December 12, 2011 | 2:00 PM |The answer, as far as I'm concerned, to the question in the title is the same as in the Joan Jett song I borrowed it from: "Yeah! Oh yeah! Oh yeah!"Read More
Catholic Priest Arrested for Possessing Child Porn
Filed by Bil Browning | December 12, 2011 | 1:00 PM |Here's a story that I'm sure will rock you to the core. A Catholic priest has been arrested for possession of child porn. I know, you never saw that one coming, eh?Read More
Stereotypes about Black Lesbians
Filed by Amy Andre | December 12, 2011 | 10:00 AM |This language feeds into a negative stereotype about black lesbians: that they don't know themselves - don't understand their own sexuality - as well as or as quickly as white lesbians know themselves.Read More
Craig Fox Stereotypes Rural Indiana [Comment of the Week]
Filed by Bil Browning | December 11, 2011 | 7:00 PM |Over on the post about a Bluffton, Indiana man being harassed at a local gas station by an employee because of his sexual orientation, Projector Craig Fox weighs in with some arrogant assumptions about people from rural Indiana.Read More
My Three Closets
Filed by Guest Blogger | December 11, 2011 | 5:30 PM |I guess you could say my closet door is transparent in the gender identity and sexual orientation departments. Oddly enough, though, I have one closet door that remains closed.Read More
Entertainment Financial Advisor Scott Maziroff Commits Suicide
Filed by Karen Ocamb | December 11, 2011 | 4:00 PM |That a well-liked, physically fit gay man who moved easily in the worlds of entertainment and WeHo social circles commits suicide at the age of 51 speaks volumes about how such deep depression is not limited to bullied LGBT teens.Read More
Ravi Rejects Plea Deal in Clementi Suicide Case
Filed by Bil Browning | December 11, 2011 | 3:00 PM |Dharun Ravi has rejected the state's offered plea deal in the case alleging he caused Tyler Clementi's suicide. Ravi faces 15 criminal counts including violation of privacy and evidence tampering, but the plea deal seemed pretty lenient.Read More
Hungry for the Holidays
Filed by Terrance Heath | December 11, 2011 | 1:00 PM |Just in time for the holidays, conservatives are presenting their latest gift to America's political discourse. Not satisfied with having creating climate change denialism, it looks like conservatives are applying their denialist model to another area: hunger.Read More
Gay Man Dies Waiting for Courts to Grant Marriage Rights
Filed by Karen Ocamb | December 10, 2011 | 12:00 PM |Watch this loving couple and tell me why it is conscionable to have allowed 78 year old Ed Watson to die before he was "granted" the freedom to marry the love of his life, Derence Kernek, before Alzheimer's claimed his memory of that love and his life.Read More
Memorial for Cassidy 'Chase' Vickers on Dec 17
Filed by Karen Ocamb | December 09, 2011 | 1:00 PM |On Saturday, Dec. 17 from 2:00 pm - 4:00pm there will be a memorial for Cassidy "Chase" Vickers. The location will be at N. Gower St & Lexington Ave in Hollywood, the location where she was murdered last month.Read More
Indiana Clark Gas Station Declares 'F--k U Homos'
Filed by Bil Browning | December 08, 2011 | 5:25 PM |After Bluffton, Indiana resident Josh Love walked into his local Clark station for a refill on a soda pop, he didn't expect to be verbally assaulted and short changed. Even worse, when he tried to contact the store's owner, he was cursed at and told not to come back to the store.Read More
Don We Now Our (Censored) Apparel
Filed by Adam Polaski | December 08, 2011 | 11:00 AM |In Michigan this week, a music teacher came under fire for changing the words of "Deck the Halls," the super famous Christmas carol, so that the word "gay" didn't have to be a part of the lyrics.Read More
Advanced Hole Cleaning [Caption This]
Filed by Bil Browning | December 08, 2011 | 10:00 AM |Okay, folks. What's your best caption for this one? I know some of you are experts on this subject...Read More
The Greatest Predictor of the End of Your Relationship
Filed by Jeff Lutes | December 08, 2011 | 9:00 AM |What is the greatest single predictor of relationship break-up? Can you guess the correct answer?Read More
The Value of Asking for What You Want
Filed by Mark S. King | December 07, 2011 | 2:00 PM |Wanting is not limited to children, my friends. But we might take a lesson from their transparency.Read More
Hungarians Win! European Penis Size Map
Filed by Bil Browning | December 07, 2011 | 1:00 PM |I was originally going to title this post "Hungarians Have Huge Hardons" but then I did the conversion from centimeters to inches.Read More
In Defense of Affirming Christians
Filed by Mercedes Allen | December 07, 2011 | 11:00 AM |This post is long overdue. When I decry some of the radical and unhinged rhetoric that comes from some people who use the Bible as their justification, I try to be clear that that these harms shouldn't be attributed to all Christians.Read More
Troy MI Mayor Gets Earful Over 'Queer' Remark [Video]
Filed by Bil Browning | December 06, 2011 | 1:00 PM |Troy, Michigan's tea party mayor, Janice Daniels, is in hot water after posting an anti-gay slur on her Facebook page. The new mayor posted "Going to throw away my I Love New York bag now that queers can get married."Read More
How Wall Street Can Stay Greedy & Be Well Loved
Filed by Anthony Carter | December 06, 2011 | 11:00 AM |I have taught and worked in a variety of places with a variety of young people and some annoying and not always productive adults. Money is not the issue here. We have to change our thinking.Read More
The $68 Louis Vuitton Condom
Filed by Bil Browning | December 06, 2011 | 10:00 AM |Yes, it's a real thing. Why screw like a commoner when you can be sheathed with a luxury designer brand rubber?Read More
Anti-Gay Book Placed in Las Vegas Hotel
Filed by Mike Rogers | December 05, 2011 | 7:00 PM |In Las Vegas I encountered a book titled How to Kill Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Americans. I asked myself, "What do I do next?"Read More
Gratuitous Oiled Turkish Men Wrestling
Filed by Bil Browning | December 05, 2011 | 6:00 PM |Projector Josh sent in this video saying, "I know how you appreciate sports." Oh, I do, Josh. I do.Read More
Albany Newspaper's Extensive Pieces on Trans Community (Featuring Me!)
Filed by Drew Cordes | December 05, 2011 | 5:00 PM |The Albany Times Union, the newspaper of record for New York's capital, is running an extensive four-day report on the transgender community in the region.Read More
HIV Receives Its First Hate Mail in 30 Years
Filed by Anthony Carter | December 05, 2011 | 4:00 PM |Dear HIV, I am sending you this brief note because once again you have pissed me off.Read More
The Saddest (& Most Empowering) Video You'll See Today
Filed by Adam Polaski | December 04, 2011 | 10:00 AM |Last night my Facebook news feed blew up with friends posting links to this video, created by Jonah Mowry, an eighth grader who wanted to share his personal experience with the Internet. Just watch it. Read More
They Ate the (Pizza) Pie!
Filed by Bil Browning | December 03, 2011 | 6:00 PM |After hearing about eight AIDS activists jailed in an Occupy Wall Street protest complained that the NYPD ate the pizzas other activists sent them, I'm reminded of Al Sharpton's MSNBC commercial. They ate the pie! The pizza pie!Read More
The Rightwings' Worst Nightmare
Filed by Joe Mirabella | December 03, 2011 | 12:00 PM |Right wingers should learn something from this child. We can get to married to anyone we love.Read More
PCP Pneumonia: It's Still With Us
Filed by Patricia Nell Warren | December 02, 2011 | 3:00 PM |ot long ago, I wrote about the fact that Kaposi's sarcoma may be coming back. Another blast from the past that's still around is pneumocystis pneumonia, or PCP, which is what pop star George Michael may be battling in a London hospital. Read More
PA School Refuses Admission to HIV+ Student
Filed by Bil Browning | December 02, 2011 | 12:00 PM |You'd think all schools would have heard about Ryan White by now, but apparently the prestigious Milton Hershey boarding school doesn't teach modern history.Read More
A Kiss in the Hand: Explicit Vintage Photo [NSFW]
Filed by Gloria Brame, Ph.D. | December 02, 2011 | 10:00 AM |I was looking for shots of people kissing so almost missed the hand action going on down below. Once seen, never forgotten, though!Read More
The Long Road Home from Relapse
Filed by Mark S. King | December 01, 2011 | 5:00 PM |The drug relapse came over me like a sickness, slowly, over weeks. My addiction had already begun rearranging my thoughts in a bid for dominance over the vigilant recovery I had practiced for nearly three years.Read More
Wendy Williams: 'Ending HIV Is Not Magic'
Filed by Michael Emanuel Rajner | December 01, 2011 | 3:30 PM |Like most gay men, I absolutely love it when our divas stand tall in their high heels and speak out to end HIV. I'm willing to put on high heels and stand up to end HIV along side Wendy Williams. Will you?Read More
Love in the Afternoon: Vintage Photo
Filed by Gloria Brame, Ph.D. | December 01, 2011 | 3:00 PM |Two dapper, handsome men showing some love on a park bench, ca. 1920s-1930s.Read More
Bear Finds Homo Home
Filed by Paige Schilt | December 01, 2011 | 2:00 PM |Fellow Bilerico Project contributor Jeff Lutes has a new book called Okin the Panda Bear Finds His Family. It's a magical tale about feeling different and finding your peeps, a fable for all ages about deaf culture, adoption, and non-traditional families.Read More
Do You Know Someone Who Died of AIDS? [Open Thread]
Filed by Bil Browning | December 01, 2011 | 10:00 AM |This post originally ran in late 2009. I'm reposting it for World AIDS Day since it resulted in one of the most beautiful comment threads in the site's history. I'm hopeful several of you will share your experiences and recreate the magic.Read More
