<3
14 years
08 Monday Oct 2012
Category Archives: glbt
delight in astonishing being
15 Tuesday May 2012
I feel like we haven’t talked in awhile. Here is what my life has been for the past few weeks:
A beautiful car at the local pub, a strange sign on the elevator at work, democracy + beer, a beautiful cake, flying kites, relaxing at home. Not a bad life.
This, though, is the picture I’ve snapped most recently that has me feeling a whole mess of feelings.
What to say here?
I think I always believed that this was the case for Obama, that he would come around. I fully expected that he would wait until after the 2012 election cycle, to have confirmation of his future. I am astonished – pleasantly so – that he chose to stand up earlier than that, though I know it’s due in no small part to Joe Biden’s clumsy effort at doing the same. (I have to say, Joe Biden is a verbal klutz, but I do love him.)
In the wake of Obama’s endorsement, a wave of support has been rising:
Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee announced the state will recognize same-sex marriages performed out of state
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn also endorsed marriage equality
Now even Jay Z is on board
It seems slightly ridiculous that I should care what Jay Z thinks about marriage equality – but I do care, and I think his public support of marriage equality, and of Obama’s move to endorse it, is important. We already know that the American public is changing course, that the split between supports and opponents is narrowing (in favor of). Jay Z’s endorsement signals another cultural shift: one of the most famous names in an industry where homophobia is, at times, seen as a badge of honor has now indicated he thinks gay people are just regular people. That’s kind of a big deal.
I don’t care if Obama’s “evolution” is motivated by politics. I don’t care if Jay Z’s public endorsement is the result of strategic PR planning. I do care that these things are working in the right direction.
ETA: Leave it to ThinkProgress to round up the major political figures who support marriage equality.
good news
07 Tuesday Feb 2012
Posted in California, dying of yay, glbt
You probs already know by now (after all, this is Teh Interwebz and it’s been more than an hour since the ruling was released), but Prop 8 was ruled unconstitutional by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in California.
Hooray!
A few quick quotes about today:
from Steven Goldstein, who heads up New Jersey’s own Garden State Equality (NJ is due for a full State Senate and Assembly vote on marriage equality next week):
Today’s victory also renders Governor Christie’s call for a statewide referendum on marriage equality far less credible, as the Court of Appeals today ruled that a referendum like Proposition 8 is impermissible because it takes away the constitutional right of marriage equality.
There are tons of great responses showing up on my Facebook feed; some verbatim status updates:
from Cristina: This is awesome!!!!!!!! and also: Huge victory in California
from David: Another victory. Here is a bit from the decision. I expect this will be appealed in the Supreme Court next. “Although the Constitution permits communities to enact most laws they believe to be desirable,” the opinion states, “it requires that there be at least a legitimate reason for the passage of a law that treats different classes of people differently. There was no such reason that Proposition 8 could have been enacted.”
from Jessy: Damn straight. (a commenter responded to this: Or damn gay, as the case may be.)
from Matt: Good news, America!
from Alex: its days like this that makes me happy
and mine: FUCK YEAH, ALL YOU FORWARD-THINKING PEOPLE
And my favorite tweets so far about this decision:
hey girl.
11 Tuesday Oct 2011
I took a long, long break from reading feminist blogs. It hurt a lot to read them every day, so much so that there were days I felt like I couldn’t get out of bed. The world is just so incredibly broken. But then today I had a frustrating conversation with a coworker about what it’s like for girls who date girls when guys make jokes about watching those girls make out with other girls. So I did what any frustrated bisexual feminist would do on National Coming Out Day: I sought out feminist discussion.
After a totally awesome discussion on Facebook about what it means to identify as bisexual, I then surfed over to Feministe and found these Two. Awesome. Things.
Awesome Thing #1:
Jill posts on why it’s totally not cool for dudes to pressure their ladies to change their names after marriage.
Awesome Thing #2:
Feminist Ryan Gosling
Happy National Coming Out Day, kids.
institutionalized homophobia & how it made me disappointed in Cee Lo
21 Tuesday Jun 2011
Today I saw a RT on Twitter from What Tami Said, my current favorite blogger for issues of equality. Here it is:
I clicked on the link with some skepticism – that tagline is not the most promising, and I was more than a little surprised, since The Root provides a lot of insightful and thoughtful commentary on culture and society from multiple black perspectives, and actively seeks to engage its non-black readers (like myself). But I figured since it was being RT’d by Tami, a blogger I have come to trust for her even-headedness and intelligence, I should give the article a shot.
Boy, am I glad I did.
coming back in.
22 Wednesday Dec 2010
Dear President Obama,
Thanks for keeping your promise about DADT. I’m done being mad at you now.
Hugsnkisses,
Rachel
p.s. – you look so happy to be signing this law today, and that makes me happy. you’re awesome.
Note: Somewhere in this poem there may be people alive and I’m trying like mad to reach them.
01 Friday Oct 2010
Posted in glbt, identity, sexual violence, sexuality
(this post title thanks to BJ Ward’s fantastic poem which can be viewed here)
This post is for Asher Brown.
This post is for Seth Walsh.
This post is for Billy Lucas.
This post is for Tyler Clementi.
This post is for Raymond Chase.
There are no numbers here. There are faces and names and people who will be missed.
This post is for everyone who feels like they might need to do it, too.
**
What do we do to make this stop?
newsweekgate or whatever they’re calling it.
14 Friday May 2010
I haven’t blogged about this for a few reasons (book ban, work, writing, tennis, karate, etc.), but I think it deserves some attention here, at least for the attention it’s getting at Autostraddle:
Ramin Seetodeh wrote an article for Newsweek about gay actors not being able to convincingly play straight. Alan Cumming (yes, that Alan Cumming) has a good round up of the hoopla, so I’m not getting in to that.
What I do want to say is HALLELUJAH for websites like Autostraddle, which posted one of the best articles I have read in a long time on gender stereotypes and roles:
Let Us Now Praise Effeminate Men
YES and PLEASE.
Just a small slice of heaven from the article (which is not the most eloquent, but certainly gets the job done):
But an equally pressing Cultural Issue — AND DARE WE SAY IT A FEMINIST ISSUE* — has been simmering beneath the debate but not quite yet cracked the surface — perhaps ’cause it’s the most complicated bit of all…Here’s the question, ladies, gents, and all permutations thereof:
What is wrong with being effeminate?
To Setoodeh, it’s the Wrongest thing of all. Actually, Setoodeh isn’t so much afraid of gays as he is afraid of People Who Don’t Play Gender Right…
And they give a huge shout out, of course, to Alan Cumming, whose blog on this whole matter is spot on.
Check out the links. They’re wonderfully entertaining and enlightening.
And just because I love him, here’s a fantastic picture of Alan Cumming:
a closer walk
14 Wednesday Apr 2010
So if you’re not tapped in to the queer community or the Christian community, you might have missed this particular bit of news:
If you’ve been involved in the evangelical Christian community in any way in the last 15 years, the name Jennifer Knapp is probably as familiar to you as Kelly Clarkson. Knapp is a million record-selling, Dove award-winning artist, whose candid lyrics, raw voice and mad guitar skills rocketed her to Christian music stardom in the late ’90s and early ’00s.
In 2003, Knapp disappeared from the music scene and the public eye, and now, seven years later, she’s coming out with a new album — and she’s coming out as a lesbian. (source: AfterEllen)
Big news for someone like me, a former church member and Jennifer Knapp fan. Continue reading »
my absolute favorite thing
27 Wednesday Jan 2010
Posted in glbt
about the Prop 8 trial:
David Boies: NO singularly accepted universal definition of marriage. Marriage constantly evolving.
David Blankenhorn: Yes sir. I wrote those words in my book.
David Boies: No further questions, your honor.
