Is Santa gay?

originally posted by xowie

With a dance remix of Madonna's "Die Another Day" playing on his computer's hard drive, he took a miniature torch to the end of a glass pipe and inhaled the ghostly smoke, proclaiming it "the martini of the future."

originally posted by xowie

"After my bio was read, there was no question that I had 400 pairs of eyes on me," Sparks said. "There was an instant where I was uncomfortable but my position is to never be ashamed of who I am. I made it a point to make eye contact with people, on both sides of the aisle."

originally posted by xowie

Ruth Hubbard: I was absolutely horrified listening on the radio to some of the congressional hearings on the Gays in the Military...and to hear...I remember one...I don't remember whether he was an officer or what...testifying before the Committee and saying 'I've been to my minister. I've been to psychiatrists. Do you really think I would choose this life...if I had a choice?' Now that's just heartbreaking.

Frank Aqueno: I know. It is. It seems like almost everyday the question comes at me: 'why would anyone choose to be homosexual'...these are homosexuals asking that...

RH: ...yes...

FRA: ....I always respond: Can you think of a more homophobic question to ask? That goes right over their heads.

She needed the rewrite by Wednesday. I told her that I’d do my best but that my lover, Walta, was having brain surgery on Tuesday. A shunt was being placed in his cranium to drain fluid that was building up because of an AIDS-related infection. Sarah listened to me. When I was finished, she paused and said, "Well, that excuse might work in Boston, but it won’t fly here in New York."

originally posted by daiichi

"There are so many issues facing the gay community I don’t think a gun club is the answer or is even something that automatically gives us respect," says longtime local gay activist Randy Pesqueira. "I don’t think you necessarily project strength with a gun. In a way, you lose something; you’re becoming like the fanatics who hate you." Then he paused and continued, "That being said, I absolutely understand where this is coming from. I mean, myself, part of me has always fantasized about gays having this really cool vigilante group that would take care of all of our enemies."

originally posted by xowie

My mom wrote to Courtney Joslin at the National Center for Lesbian Rights and told her the story. She told us to look in the handbook, and we did. And then she took it to the ACLU. That’s how the lawsuit got started.

originally posted by daiichi

Rawhide Kid, Marvel’s leather-slappin' cowboy.

originally posted by xowie

I did a triple-take when I saw this gay-themed Snapple ad at a Metro station this morning.

San Jose Mercury News: Gay hip-hop innovators refute common stereotypes by Davey D.

We could go on and on naming gay artists who have made an impact on hip-hop. Gays have always been down with hip-hop. The question is: Do we accept our gay brothers and sistas?

On a daily basis as a straight person…

• If I pick up a magazine, watch TV, or play music, I can be certain my sexual orientation will be represented.
• When I talk about my heterosexuality (such as in a joke or talking about my relationships), I will not be accused of pushing my sexual orientation onto others.
• I did not grow up with games that attack my sexual orientation (IE fag tag or smear the queer).
• I am not accused of being abused, warped or psychologically confused because of my sexual orientation.
• People don't ask why I made my choice of sexual orientation.
• People don't ask why I made my choice to be public about my sexual orientation.
• I do not have to fear revealing my sexual orientation to friends or family. It's assumed.
• I don't have to defend my heterosexuality.
• I can easily find a religious community that will not exclude me for being heterosexual.
• I am not identified by my sexual orientation.
• I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help my sexual orientation will not work against me.
• I can choose to not think politically about my sexual orientation.
• I can go for months without being called straight.
• In everyday conversation, the language my friends and I use generally assumes my sexual orientation. For example, sex inappropriately referring to only heterosexual sex or family meaning heterosexual relationships with kids.
• People do not assume I am experienced in sex (or that I even have it!) merely because of my sexual orientation.
• I can kiss a person of the opposite gender on the heart or in the cafeteria without being watched and stared at.
• People can use terms that describe my sexual orientation and mean positive things (IE "straight as an arrow", "standing up straight" or "straightened out") instead of demeaning terms (IE "ewww, that's gay" or being "queer").
• I am not asked to think about why I am straight.
• I can be open about my sexual orientation without worrying about my job.

Mamatron.org was created in response to an amazing community message board coming to its end. The closing of the HipMama (HM) community boards left innumerable mamas (including this one) feeling like they'd lost their homes, support systems, and friends. Mamatron.org was created to fill the void. In many ways, HM was used as a model.

According to their mission statement, HM was a place for "mamas of color, bi/lesbian/poly mamas, very young mamas, mamas on public assistance, sex worker mamas, single mamas, artist mamas, socialist mamas, green mamas, anarchist mamas, and pro-choice mamas." Mamatron.org will strive to be the same sort of place.

No gay bears will leave this store!

The Bomb With A Loaded Message (washingtonpost.com)

“Is taking the picture down the right response?” asks Cathy Renna, GLAAD’s New York spokeswoman. “I actually want the picture to run, but with context. It gets to something we need to discuss, which is that it’s okay to be in the Navy and to write ‘fag’ on a bomb and drop it on a terrorist. That word is still okay with some people, and these are the kinds of things you might see if you happened to be gay and were serving in the military. It exemplifies every single reason why our work is as relevant as it was on September 10."

When I first did the Lawrence story, the biggest problem was for the very small papers in the United States. The editors may have agreed with it, but they couldn't run it. One editor told me someone broke windows at his paper, and another said his kids got beaten up at school and someone spray-painted his dog.

The Jiffy Lube sex art hurt no one and bothered only bigots. Its censorship bodes ill for the future of Black Rock City, which is rapidly deteriorating into an RV park/fun fair with really lousy weather. My favorite sign on the entrance road read, ‘If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space.’ Maybe it’s time for someone to move over.

originally posted by xowie

Police ordered the removal of gay artwork from Burning Man.

originally posted by xowie

"Why are you starting with that gay stuff?" Lewis asked Rahman. "I'm 100 percent a woman's man. If he has worries about that bring your sister, bring anyone."

originally posted by xowie

Lesbian fans invisible to WNBA, except in Girl Bar.

originally posted by xowie

Lesbian Girl Scouts. Cookies. Uniforms.

originally posted by xowie

These men live privileged 21st-century gay lives, complete with live-in boyfriends and jaunts to Black Gay Pride weekend in Washington, D.C. They enjoy all the benefits of gay liberation while colluding in the popularization of primitive ideas about gay people. They don't set out to make this music, but neither do they object to it in any way.

Sarah Rothe, an eighth-grader at Lake Braddock Middle School in Burke, said such words "are as common as the word 'like' " at her school. Classmate Christina Jagodnick said "there's a big difference" between anti-gay slurs and other derogatory terms. "If we were to say other words which we all know are wrong," she said, "someone would stop us."

The remarkable thing is that via the Internet, gay teenagers are now able to partake of the normal Sturm und Drang of adolescent life, which before was largely off limits to them. "Now that we have youth who are coming out during adolescence, that means they can experience the normal developmental milestones in time as opposed to off-time," says Caitlin Ryan. "If you have to delay being an adolescent until later in life, I don't think it's a healthy thing."

Perhaps we're looking at places comparable to 17th-century Amsterdam at the time of Rembrandt and mercantilism--places that have figured out a way to translate open-mindedness and tolerance into economic dominance.

In Florida, NPR profiles the first retirement community for openly gay and lesbian senior citizens.

Put simply, so long as our society is one in which certain folks -- say, white, heterosexual men -- are disproportionately found in prominent decision-making positions, and certain other folks -- say people of color, women of all colors, and gays and lesbians -- are disproportionately found in subordinate positions, it will be seen by many as quite obvious that those straight white guys must be smarter, or harder working than the rest, and thus, "deserve" their position, while those without power must likewise "deserve" their subjugation thanks to one or another genetic, cultural or moral flaw. This is how the myth of meritocracy works with regard to class, and it works just as well with race, gender, or sexual orientation: inculcating the mindset that the "winners" won because the "losers" are, well, losers.