Urvashi Vaid. On fire with poetry and blazing wisdom...I love this woman.
Category Archives: Homophobia
Buy Pepsi!
A group of religious conservatives, ever vigilant for another group or entity at which to wag a collective, scolding finger, have ratcheted up rhetoric aimed squarely at PepsiCo for its alleged support of "the homosexual agenda."
The American Family Association, which has been promoting a boycott of Pepsi since January, said in a statement Tuesday it has secured more than 500,000 signatures from those pledging to stop buying Pepsi products, which include soft drinks, salty snacks, juices and oatmeal (as if there were anything less wholesome than oatmeal, for chrissake).
AFA's beef with Pepsi is for what it calls the company's financial support of groups promoting the "homosexual agenda." AFA points to two gay-rights groups in particular: Human Rights Campaign and Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, better known by the acronym PFLAG.
PepsiCo didn't respond to queries about the boycott, or whether it donates to these groups. But it does note on its website that it earned a top score, 100 percent, in HRC's 2009 Corporate Equality Index, an annual measure of gay-friendly employment policies. PepsiCo achieved the same score in the 2010 index, along with 305 other companies, according to HRC. PFLAG notes on its site that PepsiCo is among its corporate sponsors.
AFA will continue the boycott for as long as PepsiCo continues to support "a lifestyle that is extremely unhealthy and dangerous," said the group's president, Tim Wildmon, in a statement.
The Pepsi boycott seems to be having some effect within the Christian conservative community. Last month, the Westboro Baptist Church, of "God hates fags" fame, protested in downtown Atlanta with signs that read "God hates Diet Pepsi."
One question: Where's Coke?
Oh…and we should still tax "juice drinks" and soda as a means to support universal healthcare.
Defend Harry Hay’s Reputation at the National Equality March
As thousands of LGBT activists prepare to march on Washington, Harry Hay, one of the most important and beloved founders of the modern gay movement, is being used by right wing extremists as a bogeyman to destroy the career of Kevin Jennings, the Obama Administration's highly qualified Assistant Deputy Secretary of the Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools.
Most recently Sean Hannity has mounted the attack.
Harry Hay is being branded as a pederast and anyone who has ever spoken praise of Harry is being condemned as a supporter of pederasty.
As one of the six heirs to the Estate of Harry Hay and John Burnside, I feel it incumbent upon myself to defend his reputation against the attacks that have become a staple of those members of the right-wing establishment who are bent on destabilizing the Obama Adminstration and destroying the careers of members of his administration through guilt by association.
Let us make it clear:
HARRY HAY WAS NEVER A MEMBER OF THE NORTH AMERICAN MAN BOY LOVE ASSOCIATION, known as NAMBLA.
His defense of the organization at several points in his 90-year history of speaking truth to power was based on his experiences as a young teenager exploring the world of sexuality with older men, himself being the aggressor. These experiences were very positive for the young Harry and are described in Stuart Timmons’ excellent biography, The Trouble With Harry Hay. There are no records of the adult Mr. Hay ever having had sexual relations with under-aged youth. It is also innacurate to say, as it is frequently written, that NAMBLA promotes the “legalization of sexual abuse of young boys by older men.” Hay agreed with NAMBLA that in many cases initiation into sexuality, as has been the case across cultures and millenia, is better suited to those with experience than with other youth who also have no knowledge of the complexities and responsibilities of sexuality. Hay also concurred with NAMBLA that age of consent laws are out of step with the age of sexual awakening and exploration. Harry Hay’s ideas concerning youth and sexuality were based on his desire to protect youth, not to exploit and abuse them.
The second instance of his defense of NAMBLA was in 1994 at Stonewall 25: Spirit of Stonewall March in New York City. ILGA, the International Lesbian and Gay Association had been granted NGO status by the UN theprevious year. As a result, the US Senate unanimously passed a motion sponsored by the right-wing senator Jesse Helms that the USA would withhold funds of more than 118 million dollars due to the UN and its sub-organizations unless the President of the USA could certify to the Congress that no agency of the United Nations "grants any official status, accreditation or recognition to any organization which promotes, condones or seeks the legalization of pedophilia or which includes as a subsidiary or member any such organization." On June 23, the week of the march, NAMBLA was expelled from ILGA, on the motion of the executive committee, and it was decided that "groups or associations whose predominant aim is to support or promote pedophilia are incompatible with the future development of ILGA." Hay felt that if the emerging gay movement allowed the outside to define it, outside forces would then control it. It was in this context that Hay was critical of ILGA’s position and stood in defense of NAMBLA. We again stand at a similar crossroads.
It is morally and intellectually dishonest and patently false to reduce the life and work of Harry Hay to one of pederasty. He was a courageous hero who pioneered the movement for the equal rights of an entire class of people denied the basic civil rights guaranteed to them under the Constitution of the United States of America. A Dutch friend who spent some of his youth in a Japanese Concentration Camp in Indonesia told me recently that if Americans remain silent at this critical juncture in our history we will live to regret it.
Speak out. Defend the reputation of our beloved Harry Hay.
Robert Croonquist aka Covelo
(Seen on the left with friend, and White Crane publisher, Bo Young, right.)
Congratulations Pete & Dan
Jesse’s Journal
Gay Bar Raids: A Double Standard at Work
As long as gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people gathered together in urban areas, there have been gay bars. And as long as there have been gay bars, there have been bar raids. Since the beginning, governments have used their power to regulate businesses that sell liquor to go after sexual or gender minorities who they considered to be sick, immoral and/or illegal. Until the 1960s, it was against the law for taverns to employ or serve homosexuals, which made gay bars illegal. Even after the laws were abolished, law enforcement agencies continued to find excuses to raid gay bars. Sometimes, GLBT people fought back, as we did 40 years ago at the Stonewall Inn.
Today, police no longer raid gay bars just for being gay, and the laws that regulate behavior in pubs and clubs apply equally to all. However, while all bars are the same in the eyes of the law, enforcement of the law often differs. If there is a state or local law that regulates “vice” in places that sell liquor, it’s more likely to be enforced against gay bars than against straight bars. There is a double standard at work, if only because many law enforcement officers share their society’s prejudices, including homophobia.
During the last few months, several gay bars in the Southern United States have been the target of
organized bar raids. Though the various raids have nothing to do with one another, they indicate that, at least in the Southland, homophobia is alive and well and often wears a uniform. On June 28, the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, the Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth, Texas was raided by agents of the Fort Worth Police Department and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC). Though the raid was described as a “routine check,” it led to seven arrests for public intoxication and a patron in intensive care with a head injury. Later the Forth Worth police explained its behavior by claiming a “gay panic” defense to sexual harassment on the part of the Rainbow’s gay patrons, a ridiculous response that no one took seriously.
Two weeks later (July 10), TABC agents raided the Eagle in Dallas. Though the raid was not as spectacular as the one in Fort Worth, agents shut down the Eagle for having an incorrect address on its liquor license. Never mind that the Eagle had been operating legally for years at the “wrong” address, which happened to be a few yards from the current location. The law is the law, especially when it applies to gay bars.
In all fairness to the Dallas/Fort Worth area, which enjoys one of the largest and most active GLBT communities in the south, recent bar raids are not solely a Texas phenomenon. On September 6 Backstreet in Memphis Tennessee was raided by undercover Memphis police officers, which led to the closing of that city’s largest gay dance club and the arrest of Backstreet owner Shane Trice. Undercover officers claim that they witnessed illegal drug sales, illegal alcohol sales, and gambling inside the club on at least six occasions. Trice was arrested and charged with aggravated gambling promotion, storage of liquor for sale, possession of gambling device, and unlawful sale of alcohol while three of his bartenders were issued citations for selling alcohol after permitted hours. Trice hotly denies these allegations, arguing that he and his bar have always complied with the law. But, meanwhile, Backstreet remains shut.
Four days later (September 10), the Atlanta Eagle was raided. (Many gay bars share common names like the Eagle or Backstreet, though happily not in the same town.) Atlanta Police officers detained 62 Eagle employees and patrons and made them lie on the floor while the cops searched them and conducted background checks. The cops then arrested eight bar employees and underwear-clad dancers for providing “adult entertainment” without a license. Witnesses claimed that the officers were overly aggressive, making anti-gay slurs and threatening them with violence. The APD claims that the raid was in response to reports of drug sales and backroom sex, but no one was arrested on drug or sex charges. That this happened in Atlanta was an outrage, since Atlanta has the South’s most diverse and politically-active GLBT community.
Why so many gay bar raids? Some critics claim there is more than meets the eye. Andrew Sullivan thinks the raids are part of a recent wave of conservative attacks against the Obama Administration and all the changes that it brought in its wake. I don’t agree. Gay bar raids remain popular because GLBT people and our social hangouts continue to be despised by a large segment of our population. To a hard-working police officer, raiding a gay bar is relatively easy, Stonewall notwithstanding, and relatively violence-free. Unlike “straight” bars, where fights are an almost nightly occurrence, gay bars are notorious for their lack of violence. In spite of this, gay bars continue to be raided at a higher rate than their nongay counterparts. But the law is the law, police spokespeople continue to tell us, and the cops are only trying to enforce it. They may be right. I only wish that police officers would crack down on antigay violence with half of the zest that they employ to enforce liquor license violations.
Jesse Monteagudo (jessemonteagudo@aol.com) is a South Florida-based, gay author and activist.
‘What do you think we fought for at Omaha Beach?
Testimony given for and against Maine’s marriage equality bill on April 22, 2009. Nearly 4,000 people attended the hearing, with marriage equality supporters out-numbering the opposition 4 to 1.
GET A TICKET!
Gavin Creel…from Broadway's HAIR…sings about Going to D.C. for the GLBT March
Largest National Study of Clergy Sexual Misconduct
Baylor University Conducts Largest National Study of Clergy Sexual Misconduct with Adults
Misconduct with Adults More Common Than Previously Thought; Occurs Across Many Religions, Denominations
Baylor University's School of Social Work today announced that findings from the nationwide study of the prevalence of Clergy Sexual Misconduct (CSM) with Adults have been accepted for publication later this year in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. The findings come from questions included in the 2008 General Social Survey (GSS), a widely-used and highly-respected survey of a random sample of more than 3,500 American adults conducted by the National Opinion Research Center. Respondents were asked if, since turning 18, they had ever been the object of a sexual advance from a religious leader. The responses were used to establish a statistically reliable baseline for discussions about CSM with adults.
The findings suggest that the prevalence of Clergy Sexual Misconduct with Adults is higher than many people realize and that it occurs across denominations and religions.
"Because many people are familiar with some of the high-profile cases of sexual misconduct, most people assume that it is just a matter of a few charismatic leaders preying on vulnerable followers," said Dr. Diana Garland, Dean of the School of Social Work at Baylor University and lead researcher in the study. "What this research tells us, however, is that clergy sexual misconduct with adults is a widespread problem in congregations of all sizes and occurs across denominations. Now that we have a better understanding of the problem, we can start looking at prevention strategies."
The study found that 3.1 percent of adult women who attend religious services at least once a month have been the victims of clergy sexual misconduct since turning 18. To explain another way, in the average U.S. congregation of 400 adult members, seven women, on average, have been victimized at some point in their adult lives.
"This is the largest scientific study into clergy sexual misconduct with adults. We hope these findings will prompt congregations to consider adopting policies and procedures designed to protect their members from leaders who abuse their power," said Garland. "Many people – including the victims themselves – often label incidences of clergy sexual misconduct with adults as 'affairs'. In reality, they are an abuse of spiritual power by the religious leader."
Funding for this research project was provided by the Ford Foundation, the Christian Life Commission of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and the JES Edwards Foundation of Fort Worth, Texas.
For more information on the full research project, visit the study web site, which includes a project overview, case studies of clergy sexual misconduct survivors, and other information.
Sinead’s Hand
With thanks to Franklin Abbott, a perfectly concise picture of marriage equality, from Ireland.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=6ULdaSrYGLQ
Top Chef
Like any self-respecting Gay Foodie, I’m a long time fan of Top Chef…and I must admit to a crush on Tom Colicchio (both a culinary crush and a flat he’s-hot-crush). Now I have another reason. An upcoming episode of the show has one of the Lesbian chefs balking at a “wedding challenge”. Kudos to her. But to add complement to spine, Colicchio had this to say in a blog post of his own:
I don’t think I’ve seen it expressed quite so well, anywhere, by anyone else. Bravo, indeed.