The Movement: February 2010
Making Trouble: Why
Filed by Antonia D'orsay | February 24, 2010 5:00 PM |So in my last column, a few statements were made by various commenters that raise issues that go well beyond the scope of just a single comment on one thread. All of them raised issues with the specter that's haunting...Read More
Jesse's Journal: Gay Resistance, the Lessons of History
Filed by Jesse Monteagudo | February 23, 2010 5:00 PM |Resistance takes many forms. For some of us, it means staging a demonstration or starting a political action group. For others, it means being defiantly different in a society that hates difference. As John Rechy and Charley Shively noted more...Read More
Get hitched or get ditched!
Filed by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore | February 23, 2010 4:30 PM |The Skinny in Edinburgh asked me to write a short piece on marriage (no, my dear, you're not the only one), and here's how it starts: My mother, a straight white woman in her early sixties, recently moved to a...Read More
DADT: It's Showtime
Filed by Sara Whitman | February 23, 2010 2:00 PM |Not such a great start to the week yesterday. I hurt my back. I never hurt my back. As my sister said to me, you getting OLD. OLD. Yes, I am. All that happened was I was horsing around with...Read More
War is inherently anti-gay, but....
Filed by Alex Blaze | February 22, 2010 3:00 PM |Homocon James Kirchick was justifiably excited to score the interview with Joe Lieberman in which the Senator confirmed that he plans to cosponsor DADT repeal legislation (go him), but keep that rocket in your pocket, Kirchick! It's unbecoming. Adam Serwer...Read More
Leave a number and let me know if it is safe to call you
Filed by Guest Blogger | February 19, 2010 4:00 PM |Editors' note: Guest blogger Roberta Sklar is a communications activist and consultant to LGBT and other progressive movements. She is the former Director of Communications for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. In the same historic week that Hate...Read More
Why DADT repeal gets more attention than ENDA
Filed by Alex Blaze | February 18, 2010 7:00 PM |Adam Bink posed some interesting questions yesterday about how DADT is taking attention away from ENDA, whether that's fair, and what it means for the LGBT movement. In 2009, Congress kept on kicking ENDA further and further down; now it's...Read More
Interview: Che Rudell-Tabisola from US Census
Filed by Bil Browning | February 18, 2010 3:00 PM |I had a chance to sit down with Che Rudell-Tabisola. Che works for the US Census and he's also the head of Our Families Count, the joint collaboration between dozens of LGBT business and community leaders. Che answers a lot...Read More
Trans Bathroom Scare Smear used against Gay Gainesville, FL Candidate
Filed by Waymon Hudson | February 18, 2010 12:00 PM |Our readers may remember last year's battle in Gainesville, Florida where anti-LGBT forces came together to try to repeal Gainesville's Human Rights Ordinance, which included sexual orientation and gender identity & expression. The fierce battle at the ballot box included...Read More
The military can move faster on DADT
Filed by Guest Blogger | February 17, 2010 6:00 PM |Editors' note: Gina King comes from a family with a strong tradition of military service is a veteran of the US Navy. She identifies as intersexed and trans identified. Currently she works within the military industrial complex as a vital...Read More
The military can move faster on DADT
Filed by Guest Blogger | February 17, 2010 6:00 PM |Editors' note: Gina King comes from a family with a strong tradition of military service is a veteran of the US Navy. She identifies as intersexed and trans identified. Currently she works within the military industrial complex as a vital...Read More
NYC Grand Marshals Announced
Filed by Father Tony | February 16, 2010 5:00 PM |Heritage of Pride (HOP) has this week, in two separate statements, announced the names of its grand marshals for the 2010 New York City Pride march. One name caused a dust up, the other none at all....Read More
LA Gay & Lesbian Center and NGLTF lead misguided action about Social Security
Filed by Nancy Polikoff | February 16, 2010 12:00 PM |The LA Center and the Task Force are mobilizing the gay community to "Rock for Equality." The equality in this instance is access to Social Security spousal and survivors benefits available to heterosexual married couples. But there's an enormous problem...Read More
Compromise 3 - Analysis of the DSM-V PRs
Filed by Antonia D'orsay | February 15, 2010 6:00 PM |I have looked at some of the more simple aspects of the PR's thus far in the first and second parts of this series. This time around, I will look at the little things in there that are both good...Read More
We aren't over the rainbow yet
Filed by Alex Blaze | February 15, 2010 5:00 PM |In case you were operating under the false assumption that L, G, B, or T oppression was over, several studies to the opposite effect were released these past couple weeks on youth suicide, transgender employment discrimination, health care, and bullying...Read More
Creating Change with a Kid
Filed by Paige Schilt | February 14, 2010 5:30 PM |Long before my son was born, my dear mother turned to me and said, "your kids are going to turn out so conservative." I think this was her special way of saying that 1) my activist lifestyle is a little...Read More
Nathaniel Frank: DADT polling & the paperback edition
Filed by Bil Browning | February 14, 2010 1:00 PM |Right after I sat down with the Palm Center's Nathaniel Frank to talk about Don't Ask Don't Tell, he published one helluva piece on the Huffington Post about the military's announcement that they will poll the troops about their opinions...Read More
Compromise 2 - Analysis of the DSM-5 PRs
Filed by Antonia D'orsay | February 13, 2010 3:30 PM |This is part two of a series of columns analyzing the impacts of the DSM-V revisions on LGBT people. The proposed revisions to the DSM-V are out, and they are a startling compromise. If compromise is the art of given...Read More
Creating change right where you are
Filed by Phil Reese | February 13, 2010 2:00 PM |This past week I attended the Annual Creating Change Conference put on by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in various locations throughout this big gay nation of ours every year. This year the all-encompassing leadership conference was held...Read More
Compromise: Analysis Of The DSM-V Revisions, Part 1
Filed by Antonia D'orsay | February 12, 2010 3:00 PM |A multi-part series on the finer points of the DSM-V proposed revisions to certain disorders and the clinical structure behind them. It is a mixed bag, this proposal for revision. Make no mistake, it is not fixed in stone (although...Read More
Freedom to Marry Day 2010
Filed by Davina Kotulski | February 12, 2010 2:30 PM |On 12, 2001 I went down to the San Francisco City Hall and asked for a marriage license with my then bride, Molly McKay. Not surprisingly, we were turned away. We continued to go ever year to San Francisco City...Read More
Interview: Freedom to Marry 2.0 with Sean Eldridge
Filed by Bil Browning | February 11, 2010 2:30 PM |Freedom to Marry's new Communications Director, Sean Eldridge, was hired at the same time that Bilerico contributor Michael Crawford was brought on board to run online campaigns. Is it any surprise that one of the biggest buzz items of the...Read More
Video Interview: Charles Robbins, Executive Director of the Trevor Project
Filed by Waymon Hudson | February 11, 2010 12:00 PM |I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Charles Robbins, Executive Director of the Trevor Project. The Trevor Project runs the only nationwide, around-the-clock crisis and suicide prevention helpline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth. It's an...Read More
Interview: Queer youth issues with Greg Varnum from NYAC
Filed by Bil Browning | February 11, 2010 11:30 AM |One of the most interesting parts of my interview with Greg Varnum, Executive Director of the National Youth Advocacy Coalition (NYAC), is the work they're starting to do around social media and innovative fundraising to keep the doors open. We...Read More
The End Of Disorder
Filed by Antonia D'orsay | February 10, 2010 7:00 PM |On February 9th, 2010, The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, version 5 (DSM-V) revision working groups released their Proposed Revisions for the areas in the manual under consideration for deletion, removal, revision, and addition. The current version of...Read More
Live large - Think big
Filed by Kate Clinton | February 10, 2010 5:00 PM |That was the slogan of the 22nd Annual National Conference on LGBT Equality in Dallas, Texas. Good thing we weren't in Rhode Island. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot of LGBT organizing happening in RI. Two thousand activists from...Read More
Exclusive Interview: Evan Wolfson of Freedom To Marry
Filed by Bil Browning | February 10, 2010 12:00 PM |I had a chance to sit down with Evan Wolfson, Executive Director of Freedom to Marry, and talk to him about why marriage recognition is such a personally important issue for him. Of course, I also had to ask him...Read More
Birthright
Filed by Antonia D'orsay | February 10, 2010 11:00 AM |Let's pause for a moment and look at one thing, though. One thing that reaches outside that, so that people know why it is that I note, casually and consistently, the importance of our recognizing the kinship we have with each other within the LGBT. It starts when we are kids.Read More
Building political power: One interview at a time
Filed by Kate Kendell | February 10, 2010 9:30 AM |I'm back at my desk after four days in Dallas at the annual Creating Change conference organized by The Task Force. Every year I return re-energized and inspired. What I love most about Creating Change is the energy and vibe....Read More
Creating Change Round-Up: A Broad Approach to Achieve Broad Goals
Filed by Waymon Hudson | February 09, 2010 6:00 PM |By the end of the nearly week-long Creating Change Conference held by the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force in Dallas, many of us had joking begun calling it "queer bootcamp." It was a rigorous schedule of sessions, trainings, discussions,...Read More
Exclusive Pics: Lt. Dan Choi back in service?
Filed by Jeff Sheng | February 09, 2010 9:30 AM |This past weekend at the NGLTF Creating Change conference, there was a notable absence that many have already tweeted and remarked about. Lt. Dan Choi was supposed to lead a Knights Out sponsored workshop on Friday morning about ending "Don't...Read More
Sarah Palin wants YOU to point fingers and shut up
Filed by Kip Williams | February 08, 2010 6:00 PM |I just watched Sarah Palin's speech to Tea Party Nation on MSNBC. She is a used car saleswoman. A deceiver. And she doesn't care about people of color or queer folk, poverty or children in jail. Her message is self-serving...Read More
Children Ask, Children Tell: Iraq war vet struggles to raise sons while closeted
Filed by Dana Rudolph | February 06, 2010 11:30 AM |[Author's note: I first published this piece two years ago, when I had the honor of interviewing a lesbian-mom couple, one of whom is an active-duty military officer. Given the recent news about possible progress on a repeal of Don't...Read More
DADT and the Silence / Silencing of Queer Anti-War Voices
Filed by Yasmin Nair | February 05, 2010 7:00 PM |The news of a possible repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell has gay and straight liberals billing and cooing at each other like long lost pigeon lovers. If the words of military top brass are to be believed, they really,...Read More
Want to Create Change? Take a Look in the Mirror
Filed by Waymon Hudson | February 05, 2010 6:00 PM |I was having a chat with a friend at the Creating Change Conference where we were catching up, talking about our current projects, and chatting about the community in general. We got into the topic of what we both agreed...Read More
The State of the Movement: Speeches aren't change, change is more than words
Filed by Bil Browning | February 05, 2010 4:00 PM |NGLTF Executive Director Rea Carey presented the annual State of the Movement address today at the 22nd Creating Change conference in Dallas, Texas. The speech was a real barnburner that brought the crowd to their feet multiple times as Carey...Read More
We're not even laser-focused on jobs
Filed by Alex Blaze | February 04, 2010 6:00 PM |The executive branch is saying that it'll take a year to study the implementation of a repeal to DADT, and the legislative branch is apparently not even going to try to come up with an excuse for ignoring DADT until...Read More
Creating Change Day 2: Got Issues? We're Talking About Them Today!
Filed by Waymon Hudson | February 04, 2010 5:00 PM |Everybody has an issue near and dear to their heart, but it's not just preaching to the choir at Creating Change. It's also about learning about other issues that are going on in the LGBTQI community. Today in Dallas is...Read More
It's economic interdependence, not marriage, that should afford benefits to partner of deceased state trooper
Filed by Nancy Polikoff | February 03, 2010 7:00 PM |Missouri highway patrol officer Dennis Engelhard died in the line of duty on Christmas day. His surviving partner of 15 years, Kelly Glossip, is not entitled to a lifetime benefit of $28,000 a year. That benefit is reserved for spouses...Read More
Creating Change Day 1: Institutes, Trainings, & Activists... Oh My!
Filed by Waymon Hudson | February 03, 2010 3:00 PM |It's day one of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force's Annual Creating Change Conference, which is the largest annual gathering of LGBTQI activists from around the country. It's my second year attending and again I'm blown away by just...Read More
When our Honor Code becomes a Jilted Lover, it wants revenge
Filed by Guest Blogger | February 02, 2010 2:00 PM |Editors' note: 1st Lt. Dan Choi was a West Point graduate with degrees in Arabic language and Environmental Engineering. He was an infantry officer and Iraq combat vet, co-organizer of the National Equality March, and co-founder of Knights Out. Secretary...Read More
Congress and the public don't see eye-to-eye on ENDA
Filed by Alex Blaze | February 02, 2010 1:00 PM |Update: People are providing links to state-level anti-discrimination legislation in the comments. If you know of any, please pass it along. I'd like to see how much there is and make another post out of it, since the numbers are...Read More
Gay, trans, man, and pregnant: Let's talk about cognitive dissonance in the media and the movement
Filed by Antonia D'orsay | February 02, 2010 11:30 AM |...for all our effort to show how we are just as normal as anyone else, what we are saying is that we are not different from the het/cis people out there. And, in point of fact, we *are* different. And those differences shouldn't matter. We speak of how coming out is so awesome - how it frees us to be ourselves, how it loosens the shackles of conformity and enables us to truly be ourselves - to be an individual, different from others...Read More
