"...any movement by an oppressed group to gain equal rights can only go so far until members outside the oppressed group begin to ACTIVELY campaign for the group's rights." When I wrote that line in July 2006 I was voicing my frustration or maybe even outrage that more straight folks were not more actively involved in the struggle for equal marriage but today I'm a little less frustrated.
While the struggle continues, we've made some great progress recently and there's a big push to pass equal marriage in New York among a diverse group of ACTIVELY involved heterosexuals.
The couple in the video have become actively involved in the fight for marriage equality and might just be a sign that there's no turning back. As I wrote in 2006 in comparing the fight for marriage equality with civil rights marches in the 1960s, "And one might argue that once non-blacks and blacks began marching hand-in-hand there was no turning back. A visible tide tide had begun to turn in support of major changes at least in terms of the laws of the land."
The active involvement of heterosexual couples like the one in the video will ultimately serve to ensure that all people are treated equal because when anyone group is not treated equally everyone's equality is in jeopardy.
Just when you were forgetting who Alice is dating, what Jenny's latest tantrum was about, or who went down on whom in last season's finale, the L Word's Season 5 is out on DVD and we are giving away some sets!
If you want to catch up on some luscious lady loving before the next and final season airs in January 2009, just post a juicy comment/response/critique to this entry, and the first 11 of you who do can get The L Word: The Complete Fifth Season. (If you are one of the first 11 to post, we will contact you off list to receive your full information and shipping details. Don't forget to enter your e-mail address -- giveaway ends Nov. 10, 2008).
I will be sorry to see them go but we'll just have to cross our fingers for the planned spinoff starring Leisha Hailey (there's something in that name...Alice!)
THE L WORD returns to DVD with THE COMPLETE FIFTH SEASON on October 21ST in a collectible 4-disc set. DVD includes all 12 dramatic and deliciously provocative Fifth season episodes from Showtime's successful long-running series featuring all the beauty, chaos and complexities of a group of women who inhabit Los Angeles' lesbian community plus behind-the-scenes special features.
In the primary against Mayor Guilani and Gov. Romney McCain stressed his national security experience and trashed mayors and governors as being unqualified in dealing with national security, "I am prepared. I am prepared. I need no on-the-job training. I wasn't a mayor for a short period of time. I wasn't a governor for a short period of time."
As we all know his running mate, Sarah Palin, is one of those mayors and governors with no national security experience. I guess he changed his tune. Opportunist? Liar? Flip flopper?
“Most of the time, I put gays and lesbians down. I know it’s not right, but I do it anyway. I say things like ‘gay men molest children.’ But that’s not true. Most of the time, I don’t even know what I’m saying. I say it all out of ignorance. I should find out what’s true first before saying anything about gays and lesbians.”
That’s one of the more memorable quotes from Debra Chasnoff and Helen S. Cohen’s 1997 ground-breaking documentary, It’s Elementary: Talking About Gay Issues in Schools. The film showed teachers launching open, non-judgmental, age-appropriate discussions with students of varied ages, locations, and backgrounds about what it means to be gay. Students spoke candidly about their perception and acknowledged stereotypes of LGB people, and educators testified about the importance of addressing LGB issues at an early age. Chasnoff and Cohen made the documentary with the hope of showing parents and educators that “children are eager and able to wrestle with stereotypes and absorb facts about what it means to be gay or lesbian,” and without a doubt, the film shows this to be true.
Openly gay retired general Keith Kerr, a self-proclaimed Log Cabin Republican, has riled up conservatives and right-wind bloggers who are crying foul over his participation in the CNN YouTube debate and accusing him of being a Clinton campaign plant.
Mr. O'Reilly couldn't get past the bedroom as he insisted that the only way to know for sure if gays were in committed relationships would be to go into their bedrooms since we can't show a marriage certificate like straight couples can. Ms. Tiven went head to head with Mr. O. trying to set the record straight (pun intended) that there's more to getting a green card for straight couples under current laws than just simply showing a marriage certificate and gay couples would also have to prove they are actually interdependent couples.
Currently 16 countries support same-sex immigration and allow their citizens to sponsor their same-sex partners that are not citizens including Brazil, South Africa, Australia, and Israel. In many cases queer Americans are leaving the US, their extended families and their homes and jobs to live in countries that don't force them to choose between love and country. This is a great loss for the US on many levels including, some argue a brain drain and loss of tax revenue.
So what do you thinks? Should US citizens be allowed to sponsor their same-sex partners for green cards? Should Americans be forced to choose between our partners and our countries? Take our Big Queer poll.
I know, we constantly hope that our country is run by people with brains, but sadly the zombies have taken over.
At first I had a hard time believing it but if the BBC says it's true, it must be, right? Apparently the Pentagon was considering building a "gay bomb." This non-lethal chemical weapon could be dropped on enemy soldiers and would, in theory, make soldiers irresistible to each other, therefore dismantling the enemy's morale by transforming them into homosexuals.
Just imagine what would happen if such a bomb fell into the wrong hands. All of a sudden anyone could be gay. Gay priests, gay children, gay grandparents, gay Christians, GAY REPUBLICANS! Evildoers could use such a device to plant homosexuals in all realms of society. No one would be safe.
But seriously, wouldn't the enemy soldiers fight harder if they were in love/lust with each other? Hmm, do I shield my love bucket or my buddy? There's also the possibility...dare I say it...that making soldiers gay might bring peace. I mean, all the queer people I know are pretty non-violent, so...maybe we SHOULD detonate gay bombs all over the world.
But seriously (again) CBS5 out in California (KPIX) reports that the Pentagon confirmed plans for building a gay bomb. The Pentagon insists that it is not, however, currently building it. A Berkley-based watchdog group that tracks Pentagon spending tells a different story. The group discovered the plans for a gay bomb under the Freedom of Information Act, CBS5 reports, BECAUSE the military began spending money on the project. 7.5 million dollars were requested for this project. Okay, but regardless of how far along the project is, the mere fact that the Pentagon is financing a thinktank of some kind in order to come up with ideas like gay bombs--I mean, damn. What about shit bombs, fire ant bombs, brussels sprouts bombs, dentist bombs, restless leg syndrome bombs, or my favorite Pamela Anderson Boob Bombs (if the enemy all grow enormous breasts they'll be too distracted and top-heavy to fight). What's YOUR favorite offensive bomb of the week? I swear the Pentagon should host a reality show where you get a gazillion dollars if your non-lethal bomb idea wins.
Sure enough, according to the BBC, the Pentagon has considered other weapons like the fart bomb and the bomb that makes rats attack you. It's totally righteous, dude.
I stumbled on this video essay about lesbians in mainstream media and I immediately sent a note to HikingSneakers asking if we could repost her video here on BQ (she said yes).
Intelligent, honest, and witty- take a moment and listen to this this essay.
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