Living: April 2012
USASF Brings It On by De-Gaying Male Cheerleading
Filed by Adam Polaski | April 30, 2012 1:15 PM |The national cheerleading organization recently released a new rule book requesting males to "minimize exaggerated or theatrical movements." In other words, male cheerleaders, please stop being so damn gay. Read More
Being Transgender Is Not a Rare Disorder
Filed by Davina Kotulski | April 29, 2012 3:30 PM |To my dismay, the mother of a trans child said she'd interviewed dozens of therapists and only one or two had any experience counseling transgender clients and told her that being transgender is a rare disorder.Read More
Student Debt Free, At Last
Filed by Terrance Heath | April 29, 2012 11:30 AM |When I graduated from high school, my parents expected that I would go to college. I say "expected," but it was really closer to a demand than an expectation. As my father said, "I don't know where you'll go, but you're going to somebody's university."Read More
Sacred Heart Still Says No Graduation Speech for Gay Alumni
Filed by Waymon Hudson | April 29, 2012 10:00 AM |As pressure continues to mount, both from students and from the general public, one thing is clear - the controversy is far from over.Read More
Moving Day [Open Thread]
Filed by Bil Browning | April 28, 2012 11:30 AM |Today is moving day at Rancho Bilerico. It's not a big move though, we're just going to a bigger apartment on a different floor of the same building.Read More
Plaid Dad
Filed by Paige Schilt | April 27, 2012 4:30 PM |"There's this picture you have to see," my sister said, when we had a moment in private. "It's Mom and Dad right after their honeymoon. They actually look kind of hip. It's weird. I need to have that picture."Read More
God's Man on the Gridiron
Filed by Leslie Robinson | April 27, 2012 2:30 PM |Ron Brown is an assistant football coach at the University of Nebraska. He also leads a Christian ministry, hosts a Christian radio show and writes a column for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes' magazine. Are you sensing trouble?Read More
The Quest for a Good Veggie Burger [Vegan Ain't All Bad]
Filed by James Holmes | April 27, 2012 12:30 PM |It has been my quest to find a burger recipe that does not fall apart. With out the usual egg binder found in non-vegan veggie burgers (and even then they often fail) they tend to ooze out with the first bite. Read More
A Dashing Protest [What You Need to Know]
Filed by Bil Browning | April 27, 2012 11:00 AM |These dashing protestors were on London's Saville Row on Monday to protest the opening of an Abercrombie store on the famous fashion strip. Nothing says "hardcore activists" like a three piece suit, eh?Read More
Catholic School Rescinds Invitation to Gay Commencement Speaker
Filed by John M. Becker | April 26, 2012 6:00 PM |The Catholic campaign of spiritual bullying against LGBT people continues...Read More
Sugar Daddies - The Only Way to Travel
Filed by James Holmes | April 26, 2012 5:00 PM |I've always dreamed of having the money to hop around the world. Unfortunately my most promising options are flight attendant school or the military. But know I have another way out! Read More
Freedom Versus Community?
Filed by Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer | April 26, 2012 1:00 PM |All day yesterday and still this afternoon - I couldn't help it - I have the Joni Mitchell song "My Old Man" in my head: "We don't need no piece of paper from the City Hall keeping us tight and true, no, my old man, keepin' away my blues."Read More
Raul Castro's Daughter Speaks Out About LGBT Rights
Filed by Patricia Nell Warren | April 26, 2012 10:00 AM |In a must-listen radio interview with Brian Kahn of Home Ground Radio, Mariela Castro Espin talks movingly about Cuba's recent efforts to bring about economic improvements and social change for its people.Read More
This Is What Discrimination Looks Like
Filed by Bil Browning | April 25, 2012 2:30 PM |While we often talk about queer issues and we try to be dispassionate, strategic, and political as we fight to overturn these archaic discriminatory laws, there is a real price being paid while the politicians pander and quibble. The payment is in tears.Read More
On Religion in the Military
Filed by Karen Ocamb | April 24, 2012 4:00 PM |Among the many still-outstanding issues is one that is not discussed much, at least openly - the prevalence of anti-gay religious leaders and attitudes in the US military.Read More
Latino GLBT History Project Honors Chávez; Announces DC Latino Pride Schedule
Filed by James Holmes | April 24, 2012 2:00 PM |Last night the Latino GLBT History Project honored civil rights activist and LGBT ally César Chávez. The History Project also used the event to announced the schedule for DC Latino Pride 2012.Read More
EEOC Ruling: Trans Discrimination Violates Title VII
Filed by Dr. Jillian T. Weiss | April 24, 2012 12:30 PM |The United States Equal Employment Commission, the federal agency that oversees all federal discrimination complaints, has ruled that transgender discrimination is per se sex discrimination. Read More
Can You Walk There? [What You Need to Know]
Filed by Bil Browning | April 24, 2012 11:30 AM |When we moved here I gave my car to Jerame's mom; we use public transportation, ride bikes, or walk just about everywhere. How walkable is your city? Do you own a car?Read More
What Men Say About Women When They Think You've Never Been One
Filed by Guest Blogger | April 24, 2012 10:00 AM |Guest blogger Levi Pine has noticed one stark and tangible difference in how the world responds to him - the types of things that men (specifically cis-gendered straight men) talk to him about.Read More
Women & LGBT People Under Attack: 1930s & Now
Filed by Guest Blogger | April 23, 2012 5:00 PM |Though I rarely offer comparisons between events transpiring before and during the ascension to power of the German Third Reich with resemblances to contemporary United States, I am haunted by certain parallels that demand expression. Read More
Celebrating Safe Space at the 'Rainbow Reception'
Filed by Adam Polaski | April 23, 2012 12:00 PM |Next month, when I graduate from Ithaca College, I'll walk across the stage and receive my diploma wearing my cap, my gown, and something extra: my rainbow cords, a gift from the Center for LGBT Education, Outreach & Services at Ithaca College.Read More
Teddy Bears Are Masculine [What You Need to Know]
Filed by Bil Browning | April 23, 2012 11:00 AM |We've talked before about the absurdity of exclusionary rhetoric on hookup apps and websites, but this Grindr user takes the cake. Maybe if these sexually prejudiced guys opened their boundaries a bit, they'd find someone for longer than a one night hookup.Read More
Snapshots of Austerity: Despair
Filed by Terrance Heath | April 22, 2012 2:30 PM |Dimitris Christloulas's suicide offers a snapshot of austerity's consequences for the elderly, the young, the middle- and working classes, and just about everyone outside of the one percent -- and not just in Greece, but right here at home too.Read More
The 'Good' Death
Filed by E. Winter Tashlin | April 22, 2012 1:00 PM |When I met Carol, one of the first things she said to me was "You need to know, I'm going to be dead in a few years." The statement was neither a dire prediction nor a statement of fear, but rather a declaration of intent.Read More
Getting a Piece of the Pie
Filed by Mark Segal | April 22, 2012 11:30 AM |We have many more hurdles to jump, but the question is no longer will it be built but, rather, when is the ribbon cutting?Read More
Steven Fales: A Gay Mormon Boy Grows Up [Interview]
Filed by Kergan Edwards-Stout | April 21, 2012 4:00 PM |For the first time ever, actor/playwright Steven Fales will be performing The Mormon Boy Trilogy in repertory in Los Angeles. He graciously took time to share with me more about these plays, his life, and his continuing journey as a gay father. Read More
Vegan Ain't All Bad: Tempeh Sloppy Joes
Filed by James Holmes | April 21, 2012 1:00 PM |I have tried this recipe before with mixed results. The first time turned out lacking in flavor, but I love tempeh, and was feeling childishly munchie, so thought I'd give it another try this week but tweak it a little. The results were much better.Read More
Dinner Conversation
Filed by Sara Whitman | April 21, 2012 10:00 AM |Dinner last night, the boys and I were having a lovely time chatting. Okay, the truth is, Ben and Jake were going at it. I said, STOP. Jake kept up.Read More
Unconditional Love
Filed by Sara Whitman | April 20, 2012 5:00 PM |The definition of motherhood has no absolutes; perfection, except in freshly baked cinnamon rolls, is not meant to be. What, then, does it mean to love someone unconditionally? Does it mean you are perfect in that love?Read More
Latino GLBT History Project Honors Cesar Chavez
Filed by James Holmes | April 20, 2012 4:00 PM |The Latino GLBT History Project will be honoring the late civil rights activist and LGBT ally César Chávez with a public event marking the anniversary of his death on Monday April 23 in Washington DC. Read More
Marriage Equality for Public Health
Filed by Annette Gross | April 20, 2012 3:00 PM |As the parent of a gay son, I've long felt that discrimination can cause physical, emotional and psychological problems in LGBT people. Wednesday night this theory was corroborated by five physicians who spoke at a forum at the Indiana University Medical School.Read More
Milk's Favorite Cookie [What You Need to Know]
Filed by Bil Browning | April 20, 2012 2:00 PM |Over in Korea, they're not as shy about breast feeding as the prudes here in the States. This ad for Oreo cookies would never fly in America, but Nabisco Korea is still raising eyebrows in the Asian country and not for the reason you'd think.Read More
When Even Silence Offends; When Silence Fails
Filed by Mercedes Allen | April 20, 2012 9:30 AM |It boils down to affirmation. Beneath all the rhetoric, the issue is not about speech or parental rights, but about fears that affirmation might enable or "encourage" someone to be gay or trans.Read More
Louisiana Lawmakers Shelve Bullying Bill
Filed by Bil Browning | April 19, 2012 6:00 PM |You'd think that something as simple as legislation to prevent bullying would be an easy lift for politicians on both sides of the aisle, but the religious right has managed to interject bullshit into the conversation yet again.Read More
The Back of the Bus Edition [What You Need to Know]
Filed by James Holmes | April 19, 2012 5:00 PM |Bad Timing? The White House tweeted a photo yesterday that should be iconic, but instead is mostly ironic. Read More
Iowa Teen Kenneth Weishuhn Committs Suicide After Bullying
Filed by Karen Ocamb | April 19, 2012 4:30 PM |Fourteen year old Kenneth Weishuhn Jr. took his own life after suffering repeated anti-gay bullying at his school.Read More
From Bullying to Genocides: From Micro to Macro
Filed by Guest Blogger | April 19, 2012 3:15 PM |As we approach Yom HaShoah, the Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day, guest blogger Warren Blumenfeld reflects on his familial history: two scenarios with somewhat varied outcomes. Read More
Unbelievable: Woke Up Gay
Filed by Bil Browning | April 19, 2012 12:00 PM |So what do you think? This Welsh former rugby player claims that he "woke up gay" after having a stroke. Now he's "on a quest" to find out why he's decided to become every gay stereotype possible.Read More
Dick Clark Dies at 82
Filed by Bil Browning | April 18, 2012 4:00 PM |Beloved TV personality Dick Clark has died at age 82 after suffering a "massive" heart attack during during a surgical procedure. He will be missed, but somewhere in heaven the angels are dancing.Read More
My Initial Reaction: With Friends Like These
Filed by Bil Browning | April 18, 2012 2:30 PM |You know how sometimes you just have a gut reaction that surprises you? I had one in response to this story out of Canada.Read More
The Creepy Continues [What You Need to Know]
Filed by Bil Browning | April 17, 2012 4:30 PM |If you thought this morning's video ad for Miroslav underwear was creepy, their print ads aren't any less disturbing.Read More
Rainbow Equality Walker Richard Noble Now in Mississippi
Filed by Karen Ocamb | April 17, 2012 3:00 PM |On Friday, April 13, Richard Noble crossed into Mississippi in his long trek across country to promote full equality with the American Equality Bill.Read More
It Doesn't Get Better: Internet Celebs Take On Homophobes
Filed by James Holmes | April 17, 2012 2:00 PM |Some internet celebs have teamed up with FCKH8.com to create their own spin on the "It Gets Better" campaign - specifically for that deeply oppressed group of anti-gay crusaders out there.Read More
The Creepiest Thing You'll See Today
Filed by Bil Browning | April 17, 2012 11:30 AM |This ad for Miroslav underwear is bound to be the creepiest thing you'll see today. I like the sight of a hot guy in his skivvies as much as the next gay guy, but this is something else.Read More
Day of [One Sided] Dialogue: Focus On The Family Goes to School
Filed by James Holmes | April 16, 2012 5:30 PM |Focus on the Family is sponsoring the "Day of Dialogue" as a way for students to open up with friends about Jesus approved recommendations for the who, how, where, when, why, and how often for showing off your furry bits. Read More
Gun Control: When Org Leaders Say Stupid Shit [Part 6,384]
Filed by Bil Browning | April 16, 2012 4:30 PM |Obviously everyone is fallible and no one can sound like the brightest bulb in the room all the time, but when you're the leader of a major national organization it's commonly assumed you'll stop and think before you speak.Read More
Pink Wigs Can Be Dangerous [What You Need to Know]
Filed by Bil Browning | April 16, 2012 11:30 AM |At yesterday's Tea Party rally, Boston's finest stepped in to rough up young queer protestors and their supporters. This young man was choked for holding a dangerous object - a pink wig.Read More
Oh, My Lands! [Open Thread]
Filed by Bil Browning | April 15, 2012 3:00 PM |Since I've moved to DC, I've had several folks poke fun at my Hoosier accent. Apparently some of my more redneck phrases or words can spawn giggles from the most serious of politicians or pundits.Read More
ACT UP/LA Protester Pete Jimenez Dies at 48
Filed by Karen Ocamb | April 15, 2012 11:00 AM |In August 1991, when AIDS protesters were non-violent but rude, loud and at times militant, 27 year old Pete Jimenez and about two dozen ACT UP/LA activists headed down to Anaheim, Orange County and took over the offices of US Sen. John Seymour.Read More
Vegan Ain't All Bad: Soba Noodle Soup
Filed by James Holmes | April 14, 2012 4:00 PM |This soup from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's The Vegan Table is simple and light, but the noodles are filling. We bulked it up this week by doubling the mushrooms and adding some broccoli.Read More
LAPD Announces Historic New Trans Guidelines & Policies
Filed by Karen Ocamb | April 14, 2012 2:00 PM |Since the early 1990s Los Angeles LGBT activists have advocated for the right of transgender individuals to be treated appropriately by law enforcement officers. On Thursday night, the results of that long, hard slog seemed to come to fruition.Read More
Worlds Apart? I'm Just Not Sure
Filed by Guest Blogger | April 13, 2012 4:00 PM |Guest blogger Brian Tofte-Schumacher's assignment: meet and accompany Johana Esmeralda Ramirez to the UN for a series of meetings and hearings where she would testify to the conditions faced by LGBT people in her country - Guatemala.Read More
Friday the 13th Edition [What You Need to Know]
Filed by Bil Browning | April 13, 2012 1:00 PM |I've never really understood what was so darn scary about the Phantom of the Opera. Apparently neither do other troubled villains...Read More
It's Okay Boys: It Gets Bigger
Filed by James Holmes | April 12, 2012 3:00 PM |While I have never faced this problem, I did need the laugh today. But whether or not a format parodying a movement to end teen suicide is appropriate for a penis joke is a different question. Read More
If You're Homophobic...
Filed by Terrance Heath | April 11, 2012 6:00 PM |Here's one for the the "Things We Didn't Need a Study To Tell Us" file: If you're homophobic, you're probably queer.Read More
It's Not 'Gay Marriage' [What You Need to Know]
Filed by Bil Browning | April 11, 2012 4:00 PM |One of the most interesting facets of the fight for LGBT equality has always been the linguistic connections to how people interpret our struggle. What else should you know other than the current marriage talking points? Here you go:Read More
More to Life
Filed by Sara Whitman | April 11, 2012 11:00 AM |I thought there was more. More to fucking life.Read More
Racing Uphill
Filed by Sara Whitman | April 10, 2012 6:00 PM |I had a dream last night that I was diagnosed with cancer and only had a couple months to live. In the dream, a good friend of mine came along and challenged me to a race uphill in wheelchairs.Read More
Disqualified from High School Contest, Gay Teen Speaks Out
Filed by Kergan Edwards-Stout | April 10, 2012 12:30 PM |I was curious as to how today's youth were coping with harassment on campus, as well as in their daily lives, and sat down with Kearian Giertz, the California high school student disqualified from a school competition for saying he wanted to marry a man.Read More
Play With Your Joystick for Cancer [What You Need to Know]
Filed by Bil Browning | April 10, 2012 11:30 AM |If you need an excuse to play with yourself in the shower at least once a month, here you go. I don't suggest dragging the PS3 into the tub with you.Read More
Catholics & Gay Marriage: Schisms-R-Us
Filed by Leslie Robinson | April 10, 2012 10:00 AM |The Catholic church in this country, while not in its death throes, is suffering from a rupture and a nervous condition. The church's hold on its members has ruptured, and that's going to make any denomination nervous.Read More
Rick Warren: 'When the Church Accommodates Culture, It Weakens It'
Filed by Karen Ocamb | April 09, 2012 6:00 PM |ABC News' Jake Tapper interviewed Pastor Rick Warren on This Week on Easter Sunday and surprise, surprise - he has not changed his antigay point of view.Read More
Happy 100th, Harry Hay! The Frog Has Become the Princess!
Filed by Karen Ocamb | April 09, 2012 2:30 PM |I met Harry Hay roughly 20 ago when asked to cover his 80th birthday. Festivities were poignant as young people revered and doted on him, clearly aware they were in the presence of the man recognized as the founder of the modern gay rights movement. Read More
Alexis Rivera: Community Leader & Transgender Advocate
Filed by Davina Kotulski | April 09, 2012 1:00 PM |On April 7, 2012, I attended a memorial service for Alexis Rivera, a beloved community leader and transgender advocate. I did not know Alexis. However, she was so beloved by the LGBT community that she was honored in both L.A. and SF. Read More
Behind the Scenes of SFGMC: 'Journey to Testimony'
Filed by James Holmes | April 09, 2012 11:00 AM |In the new mini-documentary Journey to Testimony SFGMC gives us some one-on-one stories and includes clips of various performances of the song leading up to the recording of their "It Gets Better" anthem, "Testimony." Read More
Vegan Ain't All Bad: 'Jello' Shots [Open Thread]
Filed by James Holmes | April 07, 2012 10:00 AM |Last week I shared with you the Cookie's and Cream Cupcakes I made for Jerame's birthday. Well, it is birthday time again, and I am going to try something new - with liquor. Read More
Gay Student: 'You Do Not Leave Your 1st Amendment Rights at the Gates of the School'
Filed by Karen Ocamb | April 06, 2012 4:30 PM |Bravo to Kearian Giertz, the Fullerton Union High School student who said he said he hoped he'd see gay marriage legal again in California in 10 years. Read More
Federal Appeals Court Hears Historic DOMA Challenge
Filed by Karen Ocamb | April 05, 2012 5:30 PM |Mary L. Bonauto, Civil Rights Project Director for Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders argued on behalf of seven married same-sex couples and three widowers in Gill v. Office of Personnel Management before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.Read More
The Unfortunate Pursuits of a Gay Porn Critic
Filed by Mark S. King | April 04, 2012 5:00 PM |This morning as I chomped down my Raisin Bran Crunch, I opened email from an aspiring writer who wanted feedback on his work. Attached was a piece of gay erotic fiction called "Michael's Awakening."Read More
'Savage U' Premieres on MTV
Filed by James Holmes | April 04, 2012 4:00 PM |Last night my partner, David, and I caught Dan Savage's new MTV advice show Savage U. In the series he is touring college campuses and brings some "Savage Love" Q&As to college students and some one-on-one advice sessions. Read More
Overcome the Misinformation
Filed by Jeff Lutes | April 04, 2012 2:00 PM |False stereotypes about gay and lesbian relationships are deeply woven into the fabric of our society, but a growing body of social science research shows the distortions in these long held assumptions.Read More
Do You Celebrate Easter? [Open Thread]
Filed by Bil Browning | April 04, 2012 11:00 AM |As Easter approaches this weekend, I'm curious... How many of you celebrate the holiday?Read More
A Scavenger Hunt with Queer People for Justice
Filed by Amy Andre | April 04, 2012 10:00 AM |Wouldn't you want to spend a day wearing a feather boa and hanging out with these folks?Read More
The Case Against Children
Filed by Drew Cordes | April 03, 2012 2:30 PM |Let me say, at the outset, that I recognize this essay likely will be aggressively unpopular. Few people take the anti-children platform, and for good reason. People like children.Read More
Transformational? Trayvon Martin & Matthew Shepard
Filed by Guest Blogger | April 03, 2012 12:00 PM |As tragic as the death of Trayvon Martin is, his death has within it the transformational power for justice that we all experienced following the death of Matthew Shepard. In their deaths, both of these young men touched the hearts of millions.Read More
Is Peru Behind the Rest of South America on Gay Issues?
Filed by Adam Polaski | April 02, 2012 5:30 PM |When I studied in Argentina, gays and lesbians were everywhere - marching in parades, partying in bars. In Peru, they seemed to be almost nonexistent. The only rainbow thing I saw all week was the flag of Cuzco, which is nearly an exact replica of the Pride flag.Read More
Family of Black Former Marine Shot by Police Ask for Justice
Filed by Karen Ocamb | April 02, 2012 1:30 PM |As the controversy over the shooting death of Trayvon Martin continues to raise questions about racial profiling and the use of deadly force - another story has surfaced about the police shooting of a 68 year old former Marine in his own home.Read More
A Train Ride With Avraham
Filed by Guest Blogger | April 02, 2012 12:30 PM |Fix it or improve it. I think that's finally what put me over the edge. The pain was searing. Read More
Trans Advocate Alexis Rivera Dies at 34
Filed by Karen Ocamb | April 02, 2012 10:00 AM |Trans advocate Alexis Rivera died on Wednesday, March 28 in Los Angeles. She was 34. A memorial was held at Fiesta Hall at Plummer Park in West Hollywood, on Sunday.Read More
