aitn-glee-blog

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You are a perfectly acceptable human being right now, this minute. You are just as valid as any other human being, without changing a single thing about yourself. That doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to want to grow, evolve or improve yourself, or you can’t do better sometimes, it just means right now this instant, you are worthy of your own self love. Even if it is hard to love yourself sometimes (and boy, is it!), or you’re struggling with some really difficult stuff in your life, you still deserve it. So dearest you, be kind to yourself, be kind to others, and give the best version of you that you can give, but know that even in the tough times, you are still valid, worthy and deserving of your own self love.

Source: Fat Heffalump  (via riotsnotdiets)

word

(via neutresex)

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knowhomo:

DYK Fashion

At the turn of the twentieth century,  wearing a red neck tie was a “signal” for (and to) those in the know. Following the green carnation, but predating the pinkyring, gay men would adorn a red neck tie “outing” themselves quiety in public.

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gaywrites:

A new study of international attitudes towards homosexuality have found acceptance is going up in most countries - with the exception of former socialist countries. An Advocate.com summary of the findings is here. 

The study by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago looked at 31 countries and their opinions of LGBT people over the last two decades. The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, and Belgium-Flanders were the most accepting, and Russia, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, and Latvia showed a decrease in acceptance. 

The survey itself is linked above. It’s a bit long and dense, but the country-by-country breakdown is interesting. And honestly, this doesn’t really surprise me. What do you guys think?

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knowhomo:

Mattachine Society Inc, of New York 1966

(Poster reads:

Homosexuals are different…. but… we believe they have the right to be. We believe that the civil rights and human dignity of homosexuals are as precious as those of any other citizen… we believe that the homosexual has the right to live, work and participate in a free society.

Mattachine defends the rights of homosexuals and tries to create a climate of understanding and acceptance.)

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knowhomo:

DYK Gender Studies History

Did you know… San Francisco City College was the FIRST  to establish a Gay and Lesbian studies department (pre-dating gender studies) in the United States in 1989.

This program was made possible from the efforts of an English department which launched the first gay literature course for colleges in 1972.

  (above picture from Bentley University - which DOES have a gender studies program)

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knowhomo:

LGBTQ Literature To Keep On Your Radar

Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks and Other Outlaws is by transsexual author Kate Bornstein. The book should probably be on every required reading list in every high school, as it’s one of the most unique teenage suicide prevention manuals that I’ve come across. As the title suggests, there are 101 alternatives to suicide inside, and only one rule: “Don’t be mean.” The alternatives cover both the mild (moisturize) to the maybe-not-so-desirable-for parents (get laid). Bornstein writes a blog that serves as a kind of accompaniment for the book, Kate Bornstein’s Blog for Teens, Freaks, and Other Outlaws.

Recommended ages: I’d say 12 & up, but use your judgement. Some of the alternatives might not be the best for younger kids, but bullying happens at all ages.

Psst…if you’re looking for something for the five-and-under set, Barbara Lynn Edmonds’s When Grown-Ups Fall in Love is a great place to start. It’s never too early!

(above from offbeatmama.com)

(thanks offbeatmama.com and fuckyeahlesbianliterature.tumblr for sharing this)

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jettavegas:

(: (Taken with instagram)

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But they sure are fun! :)

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ridzzain:

LOVE

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knowhomo:

FOURTY Years of Fighting for Equal Marriage

From the earliest days of gay liberation, some activists demanded the right to marry. This may surprise some, who imagine that gay liberationists were united in denouncing marriage as a discredited patriarchal institution.  But the messy complexity as well as the fervent politicization of the gay liberation years is part of what made them so generative and influential. (p. 89)

Chauncey, George. Why Marriage?: the History Shaping Today’s Debate over Gay Equality. New York: Basic, 2004. 

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weddingequality:

Ellen Degeneres and Portia de Rossi, August 16, 2009

Beverly Hills, California

I just crossed the 1,000 follower mark today. In honor of the occasion, here is another picture of the first couple ever featured in this blog. How much do we love these two?

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pansexualpride:

A school in Florida elected a transgender prom queen:

They’ve bullied and taunted her, calling her names and writing on her locker.

And now, the seniors at McFatter Technical High School have elected Andrew Viveros their 2011 prom queen.

“They called my name and I was in total shock,” said Andrew, a 17-year-old who was born male but has publicly presented herself as female for the last two years.

And a school in Maine elected a gay couple prom queen and king

Senior Christian Nelsen was crowned queen and his boyfriend Caleb Jett won the title as king.

Both received enough write-in votes to win. They said they decided to run to break high school stereotypes and open some dialogue about tolerance and gay rights. “When I went for it, I was like this could change who wins for the rest of the year. It doesn’t matter if it’s a guy or a girl who wins prom queen. Anyone can win, and on that same notion any type of person could win,” said Nelsen.

Though the two men are proud of their win, not everyone is happy about having a gay prom king and queen.

News 8 talked with several people in Sanford who didn’t support the win, but none of them wanted to comment on camera.

I remember not too long ago, even when I was already in the blogging business, that either of these stories would have generated headlines for weeks. Now, not so much.

If the 90’s was the decade of the LGBT teens in school, then the 2000’s were the decade where the idea that teenagers had minds, identities, and sexualities of their own was normalized.

Instead, the stories of LGBT teens in school that make headlines now are stories where they’re treated as less than or excluded instead of stories where they’re accepted by their peers. That’s progress of a sort.

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pansexualpride:

For a long time, I have wanted nothing more than for our community to be a happy and successful family. It’s not right now. Infighting, as with any family. Wonderful times, too. We worked together to get the anti-gay Don’t Ask Don’t Tell military policy repealed (few more steps needed on that). I took a self-development course this weekend, Landmark Education’s Forum, and saw that an extraordinary LGBT community is possible.

We didn’t always play well together, particularly with the failure of the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act legislation to prohibit job discrimination. Marriage equality is chugging along, but some wonder whether trans anti-discrimination protections have been left in the dust because of it.

And yet, trans people have steadily been gaining ground, too, covered by more and more protective policies and laws both on the state and the federal level. Corporate policies, too, thanks to the Human Rights Campaign, though there have been rocky times with HRC, and the lesbian and gay community more generally. Bisexual and gay communities have been working more closely, too, though there’s still some biphobia in the community. Communities of color have been gaining ground in the community, with active groups and happenings like the National Black Justice Coalition, the Queer People of Color conference, and the Philadelphia Trans Health Conference. Those working within the system, like HRC, and those working outside the system, like GetEqual, have sometimes cooperated well to create effective results, as with DADT repeal.

But there’s still some nagging questions

Are we a community? Are we a family? Do lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender and transsexual people belong together? Should we go with courting those in power, as HRC has done, or protesting those who stand in the way of civil rights, as GetEqual has done? Do we support one another? Should we work for civil rights together? Or are we separate and distinct, never the twain shall meet, etc.? Are gays and lesbians out to throw trans people and bisexuals under the bus? Is there a viable trans community movement, or are they all just angry waiting-to-happen and seeking to pull down the citadel?

What would our world be like if the 10 million people in our U.S. community were to create an extraordinary context for our lives and our politics, working together as one. What if we were to create together the possibility of a world of love and respect for all? Not just about us, but for everyone? Not just our marriages, but all marriages. Not just our rights in the workplace, but creating just workplaces for all?

This past weekend, I participated in Landmark Education’s Forum, a weekend course which is designed to cause a positive and permanent shift in the quality of your life, redefine the very nature of what’s possible, and create a future of your own design. It worked, not surprisingly, by redefining the context in which I have lived, freeing me from the constraints of the past, and creating an extraordinary vision of what is possible. What was surprising is that it worked.

We all know that context is decisive. What we don’t know is how to alter that context for ourselves. But Landmark Education knows how. Very cool, and nothing short of mind-altering. I have known of this course, and the company that runs it, for a long time. They’ve been in business for 40 years. In fact, I took the course 25 years ago, and it had a profound effect on me then, as a law student soon to enter my new profession, and as a young person finding personal relationships difficult and trying. It made a profound difference for me then. I took it again this past weekend, because I wanted to do it with my son, Eric, now 19, and to offer him a new context for his young life that would make a difference for him.

One area I wanted to work on, amongst my various issues in work, advocacy, and personal relationships, was creating an adult relationship with my son. He’s about to move on from his teenage years, and he’s no longer a boy, but a man. How do I relate to this new creature?

One thing I told him, when he started college, is that I don’t want to be his aunt any more. My ex insisted, when he was young, that we tell people in his community that I was his aunt. I didn’t like it, but my ex didn’t want him being harassed or made fun of, and I went along. I particularly didn’t like the fact that this was a lie. I’m his father, or parent, or whatever you want to call it. Eric didn’t feel comfortable calling me mom, which is our language’s term for a female parent, as he already has a mom, but I understood his position. When we started the course this weekend, I introduced Eric to someone as my son. When the person said “oh isn’t that nice that you’re doing the course with your mom,” he said “this isn’t my mom; this is my dad.” The person didn’t even blink, just said “oh, okay.” We went on with the conversation. After this happened several times, we both got that we had been pussyfooting around the issue for no reason. People don’t care; they honestly do not care. They are far too busy with their own lives and concerns to really give a hoot. I realized that I, a staunch advocate for equality, had been operating as if I had something to be ashamed of. That was a revelation to me. I had no idea I was operating that way. I really thought I was as out as out could be. Not so. I’m now freed up to be myself. It’s not that I’ll be making an announcement to every person I meet, or put myself into unsafe situations, but that it’s my choice — freely chosen — to be out or not when I deem it appropriate, instead of being driven by dread. Now that’s redefining a context.

I also realized that there is something possible for our community, and more significantly, the world. LGBT equality isn’t just about our rights, it’s about making a better world. Yes, we deserve civil rights. But the movement for equality is about more than just taking what we deserve. It’s about creating a better world for everyone. Me having my rights gives you a better world to live in. Our creation of a context for working together as a community would make a difference, not only for our community, but also for our world. Through attending the Landmark Forum, I am now able to say that I am committed to a new possibility, the creation of a world of love and respect for all. I’ll still be working within my specific area of trans workplace rights, but I’ll also be working within a new context, and committed to the creation of a new context for our trans community, our LGBT community, and our world.

Here’s a video about the course. I think it has the potential to make a significant difference in our community. If you think it’s something that could make a difference, I invite you to check it out and to do it.

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Minutes 5-31-2011

Today we held elections for the following positions:

President – Shane Simmers

Vice President – Kitten

Treasurer – Dustyn Macarthur

Secretary – Beth Snodgrass

Head of Social and Membership Committee – Caley Lambert

Head of Political Committee – Kiel Thode

Head of Education and Outreach Committee – Essence Lipscomb

Next Meeting: Tuesday, June 14 12:00pm in Rm 2211