We Are the Youth gettin some love on MPD today, thanks mark!
Braxton, 20, Auburn, Alabama from WE ARE THE YOUTH, a project profiling lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer young people throughout the United States.
We Are the Youth gettin some love on MPD today, thanks mark!
Braxton, 20, Auburn, Alabama from WE ARE THE YOUTH, a project profiling lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer young people throughout the United States.
Accepting gay Boy Scouts, but only until they turn 18 isn’t acceptance at all.If you want to learn how to measure the vast distance between “tolerance” and “acceptance,” join the Boy Scouts. Today, 61% of 1,400 voting members of the BSA’s National Council voted to “remove the restriction denying membership to youth on the basis of sexual orientation alone.” Before you start writing “thank you” letters though, read on. The official statement, released this afternoon continues, “A change to the current membership policy for adult leaders was not under consideration; thus, the policy for adults remains in place.”
Homophobia is most dangerous when it has a good editor. What makes the BSA’s statement so galling is how it deftly attempts to sidestep the blatant hatred and disdain of gay people packed in between the lines. Instead of sending a clear message that all boys, gay, straight and in-between, should to be embraced as well as introduced to the kinds of role models BSA is in the business of fashioning, the organization’s National Council chose has chosen instead to further the idea that gay adults are pariahs and pedophiles.
And so, Boy Scouts can come out as long as they have no desire, at the age of eighteen, to become role models themselves. That’s just about as logical as Canada’s recent decision to end its anti-gay blood donation ban: gay men can donate blood there now, as long as they haven’t had sex with another man in the last five years. In both cases, the subtext is that gay people, ultimately, are dirty – innately and unforgivably. We will be tolerated but not, at least for now, truly welcome.
— (via aztiray-ritz)
(via bisexual-community)
Happy Friday via Judith Butler Explained by Cats. And I’m with the cat—-Judith Butler is awesome and all, but hella confusing.
I’m not in Lewisville anymore. I’ve lived in New York City, traveled the world, and settled in San Francisco, another city of refuge, since then. And if I’ve learned anything, it’s been a hard lesson in the difference between the idea of a city and the reality of the city itself. The seven anti-gay attacks that have taken place this month in New York City are a disturbing, if clarifying, example. There have been 29 attacks so far this year compared with 14 at this point last year. The recent spate is baffling as much because of the lack of a clear explanation for the sudden frequency of attacks as it is because gay people are people assaulted, sometimes fatally, in the very neighborhoods we’re “supposed” to be safest in. Mark Carson was gunned down just a few blocks from the iconic Stonewall Inn.
I’m reluctant to call this a trend, as there are too many factors and, frankly, too much emotion involved to be sure. There are theories, of course, however inadequate: Crime tends to increase as the weather gets warmer. Perhaps we’re hearing about more crimes because LGBT folks are more empowered to report these attacks and draw attention to them. Maybe it has something to do with gentrification and neighborhoods “in transition” and conflict between new gay residents and reluctant “native” residents. We could go on and on, and likely will, because the news is terrifying and we want to understand why this is happening and what we can do about it.
”— “There’s No Such Thing as a ‘Safe’ City for Queer People,” By Saeed Jones, Buzzfeed.
— Florida Teen Arrested for Dating (via HelloGiggles)
(Source: jessiben)
About time!
A coalition of activists and Council Speaker Christine Quinn rallied Wednesday in support of the Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act, known as GENDA, which would ban discrimination against transgender people in housing, employment and public assistance programs.This weeks edition of What’s Happening Wednesdays brought to you by sensible-tips
[image description: a blue banner reading “queer books for ravenclaw” is surrounded by six book covers of the titles listed below]
This is the second of four recommended reading lists of queer and queer-ish books, organized by Hogwarts houses! Gryffindor can be found here. ENJOY.
Nobody Passes: Rejecting the Rules of Gender and Conformity edited by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore
This collection of short works on identity, community and authenticity covers a lot of territory - “passing” as related to gender, race, disability, work, nationality, sexuality, and more. Pick it up if you’re itching for more complex perspectives on social justice.
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
Besides being an absolute masterpiece of the comics format, Bechdel’s memoir about her cold and inscrutable father earns major Ravenclaw appeal with its highbrow literary allusions. If psychology is more your thing, try her other memoir, Are You My Mother?
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
This book tells the story of two Mexican-American teens - Ari, an angry loner, and Dante, a quirky intellectual - who form a transformative bond and ponder over poetry, philosophy and life’s many mysteries. I haven’t gotten my hands on this one yet, but I’ve been told it’s one of those rare transcendent young adult books, emotionally resonant and masterfully crafted.
Israel/Palestine and the Queer International by Sarah Schulman
This latest work from the prolific author and longtime activist chronicles her travels through Tel Aviv and the West Bank and her growing consciousness of the occupation of Palestine. Read it for a knowledgeable queer perspective on a divisive topic.
Adaptation by Malinda Lo
There’s not much on this list for science aficionados, but hopefully some science fiction will suit you. Did you know Malinda Lo did graduate work on The X-Files? This novel, the first in a forthcoming series, has flavors of the 90s TV show and should delight fans of Mulder and Scully, creepy conspiracies, and queer representation in sci-fi lit.
Transgender History by Susan Stryker
For the history buffs - this concise text on transgender people in America between the mid twentieth century and early twenty-first puts trans communities and movements in historical context and offers a compact but comprehensive chronicle of our stories.
Happy birthday, Harvey. Thanks for everything.
