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Argentine Congress Considers Same-Sex Marriage

Posted by girl2grl at 9:50 AM 0 comments 


Girl-on-Girl Dodge Ball Tournament 

The Craneway Pavillion
1414 Harbour Way SouthMarina District

- Motive (http://www.djmotivedoesit.com/)

Posted by girl2grl at 9:47 AM 0 comments 

President Obama Signs Hate Crime Bill into Law

On Wednesday President Obama signed a law that makes it a federal crime to assault an individual because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity.

He cited the work of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and others "to make this day possible."

Later Wednesday, Obama stood with Shepard's parents and relatives of Byrd at a separate White House event honoring passage of the expanded hate crimes law.

Noting reports of 12,000 crimes based on sexual orientation over the past 10 years, Obama called the bill another step in the continuing struggle for protecting human rights.

"Because of the efforts of the folks in this room, particularly those family members standing behind me, the bell rings even louder now," Obama said. When he finished his remarks, he hugged the weeping relatives as the audience applauded.

Several religious groups have expressed concern that a hate crimes law could be used to criminalize conservative speech relating to subjects such as abortion or homosexuality. However, Holder has said that any federal hate-crimes law would be used only to prosecute violent acts based on bias, not to prosecute speech based on controversial racial or religious beliefs.

Among other things, Obama has called for the repeal of the ban on gays serving openly in the military -- the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. He also has urged Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and pass the Domestic Partners Benefit and Obligations Act.

However, some advocates for stronger rights for the lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender community have complained that Obama's administration is moving too slowly on his legislative promises.

Opponents of the expanded hate crimes bill challenged the need to specify one particular community in federal legislation. They contended that existing federal hate crimes laws were sufficient to protect the rights of people based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Source: CNN

Posted by girl2grl at 9:39 AM 0 comments Labels: Don't Ask Don't Tell, Gay Rights, gender identity, hate crimes, Hate crimes law, Homosexuality, Matthew Shepard, sexual orientation


Results from the 14th Annual Gay & Lesbian Tourism Study

Posted by girl2grl at 7:23 PM 0 comments 


Lesbian & Gay Couples Face Big Disadvantages in Retirement

A new study released this past week details the inequalities faced by same-sex couples in employer-sponsored retirement plans. Without legal recognition of their relationships under federal law, the report concludes, lesbians and gay men have less retirement income and are disadvantaged in their ability to pass on savings to their families after their death. The study, called "The Impact of Inequality for Same-Sex Partners in Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans," provides the first detailed demographic portrait of older same-sex couples. It was released by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law with funding support from Merrill Lynch in conjunction with National Save for Retirement Week.

"The findings show that, in particular, female same-sex couples have far less retirement income than different-sex married couples," says study author Naomi Goldberg. Key findings of the report include:

Lesbian couples over 65 have almost 20% less income than heterosexual married couples. Only 50% of lesbian couples have at least one member eligible for an employer-sponsored retirement plan. That compares to 56% of heterosexual married couples and 79% of male same-sex couples. Older same-sex couples receive less income from traditional retirement sources such as retirement, survivor, and disability pensions, than older heterosexual married couples. Men in same-sex couples earn less than their heterosexual counterparts, but appear to work for more years.

The study also analyzes the ways in which elderly lesbians and gay men are disadvantaged when their partner or spouse dies. Upon death, unlike married different-sex couples, 401k balances and remaining assets cannot be passed tax-free to the surviving same-sex spouse or partner. In particular, these studies conclude:

Even in states where same sex couples can marry, private employers can discriminate against same-sex married couples for the purpose of welfare and pension plans because of the reach of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA); thus, same-sex couples typically cannot avail themselves of pension survivor benefits. Surviving same-sex spouses or partners are unable to access social security spousal or survivor benefits. As a result, they lose out on an estimated $5,700 each year in benefits. Because same-sex surviving spouses cannot have the balance of their dead spouse's 401k transferred directly to them, they must begin making withdrawals immediately- often resulting in a higher tax rate and missing out on potential earnings and the ability to withdraw when they are really needed.

"The bulk of these inequalities are a direct result of the Defense of Marriage Act, which forces the federal government to treat same-sex couples differently than married couples when it comes to retirement savings or estate taxes after death," said Goldberg.

"Even without repealing DOMA, Congress could address these inequalities similar to the way it allowed same-sex partners to rollover the balance of their dead spouse's 401ks in 2006. While not perfect, the Pension Protection Act has at least moved same-sex couples closer to equality in the treatment of their retirement assets."

The full report is available at www.law.ucla.edu/williamsinstitute/home.html.

The Williams Institute advances sexual orientation law and public policy through rigorous, independent research and scholarship, and disseminates it to judges, legislators, policymakers, media and the public. A national think tank at UCLA Law, the Williams Institute produces high quality research with real-world relevance.size:78%;">SOURCE: Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law

Posted by girl2grl at 9:13 AM 0 comments Labels: California Same Sex Marriage, DOMA, Gay retirement, Lesbian retirement, same sex couples, same-sex retirement


Vagina Mints...Really???

Being a lesbian blogger I tend to read other lesbian Blogs, one of them being Geek Porn Girl, who’s author happens to be an acquaintance of mine. I always enjoy her erotic stories and insightful articles and fun comic strips. And earlier this week she was blogging about a product called Linger, a special mint for women. But this mint isn’t the kind you put in your mouth... nope, this one goes somewhere else…yes, I do mean your vagina!

Linger's website states that this product is "A small, naturally sweetened flavoring, free of artificial dyes, which was created to flavor the secretions of a woman when she is sexually aroused." And I was soooo disquested by this product and its marketing, that I had to blog about it myself.

First I need to start by saying, “ what the hell is wrong with the way women taste naturally?” I mean as long as your woman is practicing good basic hygiene, then there should be no problem. And second, anyone who has ever used a sweet flavored lube or sugary substance of any kind while having sex and has subsequently suffered a yeast infection, knows what a terrible idea it is to put a sugary mint inside themselves.

Jen Phillips at Mother Jones, recently received a press kit for Linger and after some investigative work, she found that Linger was being distributed by a company called Admints, a company that makes trade show mints. And the Linger samples that were sent to her were actually the exact same shape, taste, and ingredients as Admint's regular trade show mints.

So how can they get away with passing off regular trade show mints as special vaginal flavoring mints? Well, the directions never actually tell you to put the mints in your vagina, and on the box of mints they added a label that says "for novelty use only."

Charlie Glickman, who is the education program manager at Good Vibrations, says this is common practice in the sex product industy. And by adding that statement on the label, it gives manufacturers some cover in case something goes wrong. "They could say, 'It's just a novelty toy. You weren't actually expecting to use this were you?'"

So please be warned, the primary ingredient in Linger Mints is sugar, which is not safe for your vagina. It throws off your pH and will often cause a yeast infection, which I guarantee will be anything but a pleasant experience. And ladies, please understand, no matter what the various marketing products out there say (i.e. douches, deoderant pads and sprays, etc.), there is nothing wrong with the way you smell, or taste for that matter. So if your significant other is complaining about the way you taste" down there," then send me an email, because I can think of quite a few people I know who would happily take on that task for them!

Posted by girl2grl at 12:40 PM 1 comments Labels: Linger, Sex Mints, Vaginal Flavoring, Women's hygiene


Lesbian Horoscopes for November 2009


"....and it's strange...you got to pick up every stitch..must be the season of the witch!?"
Nothing stranger than our weather as the South is still hot and the North had its first snow!

I always find that as November unfolds, some of the chaos and challenges of October seem to resolve themselves however, this November will bring in a whole new set of challenges.

Saturn, the 3 ringed planet that is the task master and teacher, the planet of focus, rules, contraction, obstruction, as well as longevity, will shift from the earthy Mercury ruled-sign of Virgo to the Venus ruled sign of Libra.

Whenever these distant planets shift signs, you can bet that the world and your lives will manifest signatures of such shifts as well. We will retro back to Virgo on April 8 til July 22 which will probably see the final version of Health Care Reform pass into law.

With the Sun in Scorpio for the first part of the month, some of these energies may feel hidden at first but for sure they will be simmering in hot water by the time Sagittarius rolls around.

Saturn in Libra, the sign of relationships, will surely bring the issues of Gay Marriage, as well as Equal Rights, front and center at long last. Saturn is the Law, and Libra is Equality, so I think this will be the time when Equality for All could become the Law of the land. One would have thought that this was our birthright. There can be a global feeling and need for all to GET ALONG.

Libra is the sign of the Peacemaker and hopefully we will actually see our Nobel Peace Prize winning Prez get us out of some wars and enable us to work with a peacetime economy.
Whether it be the relationships of countries or the relationships between people, we will all be seeing what will and what will no longer work for us. Yes Libra is the Peacemaker yet more wars are fought under Libran aspects because most issues revolve around fairness and equality. You know if you have always let her decide on the movies and restaurants or better still the terms of the relationship itself, this may be the time when that lack of fairness begins to wear thin and a new regime will begin or the relationship could be in big trouble. Sometimes Librans can be fence sitters because they really want everyone to like them and when treaties and relationships are bound together by needs and truths that are silenced, sooner or later that dam will burst and problems that seem "Out of the Blue" arise.

In the outer world, we could well see treaties between various countries come apart. In short the rules of the game are changing and relationships will either attain some balance or they will end! This theme will be manifesting more and less through the next couple of years as Saturn makes its way through lovely Libra so this is just the beginning of this topic and we will discuss this theme more fully in future columns.

Let us not forget the beautiful Full Moon in solid Taurus on Nov. 2 which could be a very stabilizing influence. I find this to be the best Full Moon for a Prosperity Ritual. I will be doing one here and you can see a full description of this ritual on my BLOG Flashes of Insight on my website www.Flashsilvermoon.com

I would have to say that this will be good prep for the Holiday Season because on Nov 15 til the end of the month, Saturn and Pluto will square each other and those two planets together in hard aspect can mean harder times for the world. It can tend to create a situation where our survival issues are threatened. Keep your ears to the ground on that one. I don't like to be a gloom and doomer as it only serves to inflate the fear mongering that is used to scare us into settling for fabricated desperate solutions. I prefer hope and evolving consciousness which supports working together to create good and sustainable solutions. We could also see more sharing of power and resources as this will be a path of enlightened self interest.
With Jupiter still nestled close to Neptune and Chiron alternative solutions for healing and energy are not only possible but necessary as these aspects can also bring trouble with toxins and disease.

Everything that we need to heal ourselves can be found in nature somewhere so it is important for us to make that effort and not just"drink the koolaid" of the AMA who sit with needles poised to maybe heal what they probably created!! Oops did I say that??

Ah my Pluto transit is loosening my lips ever more to their radical edge where I am most comfortable living. Funny I must be picking up the style of Sagittarius as I move to the later days of the month. Sagittarians will boldly go where angels may fear to tread and often say things that a wise Scorpio would just keep to themselves.

All and all a fascinating month ahead with many opportunities for growth and elevation. Shed the fears, find your smoothest road and see it opening wide before you with all of your wildest dreams fulfilled!

ARIES - Seems like a whole lot of shakin' will be going on. Hope its not the EARTH? Don't get me wrong, I love live action as long as my feet have something solid underneath. I don't know about any of you other signs but I am feeling like making a big fire. Seems like a lot of good things can happen around a fire.

TAURUS - I love my Full Moon. It's my favorite time of the year when it's just cool enough to really want to cuddle up with something warm and delicious. You know, like me . Good food, good woman, and something sensual in the tune department. Set the mood for the time of your life.

GEMINI - I am finally feeling like I can slow down enough to read the pile of books that are towering over my bed at this point. What to do? Long conversations, hours of reading, meeting new friends, posting on FB, or should I Twitter? OK so what if I am an information junkie at times, I am cute and so interesting. Where would networking be without people like me anyway.

CANCER - Any good excuse to nest works for me and I am ready. Hard to get too comfortable though feeling all the shifts in the Universe. I mean the world for me is like a gigantic full wave water bed. Something moves in Nepal and I feel it in my left foot. Joy breaks out as a well needed rain heals the draught in Texas and I feel it. So, I work on my own environment making it as peaceful as possible.

LEO - Oh Cancer you call me a drama queen! Honey you put me to shame. I just know all will be well wherever I am and that's all there is to it. When you radiate, it makes it really hard to absorb any one's crap. Try it you may find a whole new experience. Works for me anyway and comes so naturally.Let the Sunshine In.

VIRGO - OMG!! Is Saturn really going to take its 3 ringed hoof off of my neck for 6 months? I'll take it. What a relief! I mean I have gotten used to a certain level of frustration and restriction. Some of it really has been useful but hell i am so ready to feel free, to bust my world wide open and take that leap of faith that i have been contemplating for the last 2 years.

LIBRA - Gulp! I guess it's my turn to toe the line. Hopefully this new dance with Saturn will not make me even less decisive. I do want a real relationship with integrity first with myself and then with another. In the meantime, perhaps Saturn will help me shape my creative bursts and not stifle them.

SCORPIO - Why talk so much about it, just do it, feel it and let your essence emanate from your pores. Draw people in so that they see the real you, don't give it to them all at once, who can handle all that? That's the way I do it. If you don't know what to say, just sit there and look mysterious and brooding. Works every time and adds to your intense persona. Muy caliente'

SAGITTARIUS - Shaking the remnants of Pluto's backtrack off of my wings. Thought I was done with that driven feeling but I guess there was a little bit left to kick loose. The cosmos are calling and a quick ride on my magic carpet would be the perfect solution to soaring air fares. I need the exotic and perchance the erotic to soothe my weary soul.

CAPRICORN - Thanks Saggie so glad to have old Pluto kicking me from the underworld once again. I know there are some deeper aspects of myself that I need to explore in order to let go of my baggage and Yes, I will feel much better as that is accomplished but you can't fault me for not wanting to go there just yet. Any chance I can book a seat with you Sag on that carpet of yours.

AQUARIUS - My menage e trois with Jupiter,Neptune and Chiron seems to be lasting all year. Granted it gets stronger and weaker and some days I feel as inflated as Jupiter, full of positive intentions only to feel them dissolve in a few days when Neptune has her way with me calling me like a siren to her undersea reams. After that I am dazed and confused and just when I think this will drive me bonkers, Chiron shines its healing light and i am flooded with wisdom but geez, what a process.

PISCES - I feel for ya my Uranian sister, but then I feel for everybody and everything and since Uranus has been in my sign lo these many years,I never know just what feeling is going to come flying out of the ethers to throw me headlong into a new direction. Since I have had 26 degrees of this wild ride already, I have become adept at free style body surfing the white water but it can be hell on the physical body I can tell you that!

If you know your Rising sign, your reading will be more accurate if you read the passage for that sign as well as your Sun sign.

For deeper questions and readings of an Astrological or Psychic nature, feel free to check out my website.


Posted by girl2grl at 9:54 PM 0 comments Labels: Astrology Signs, Lesbian Astrology, Lesbian Horoscopes


BBC unveils a new drama about Anne Lister, "the first modern lesbian" The life and times of Anne Lister, a woman who is often considered "the first modern lesbian", is to be the subject of a new BBC drama based on her sexually explicit diaries.

Lister had written about her life and travels in a four million-word collection of diaries prior to death at age 51.

The majority of Lister's diaries were deciphered in the 1930s, as she had developed special encryption to exchange letters with her first lover, Eliza Raine and the married Marianna Belcombe Lawton, with whom she indulged a 16 year long relationship.

In her sexually explicit diaries, Lister referred to orgasms as “kisses”, and marked her diary with a cross to indicate each time she had experienced one.

An October 1820 entry in her diary revealing her attraction to the same sex, read: ‘I love and only love the fairer sex and thus beloved by them in turn, my heart revolts from any love but theirs.’

In another excerpt from the same year Lester said: ‘Yet my manners are certainly peculiar, not all masculine but rather softly gentleman-like. I know how to please girls.”

Maxine Peake, whose previous role include Myra Hindley, is set to play the Anne Lister in special for BBC Two. The film is expected to get underway next month at Listers 19th century home Shibden Hall near Halifax which she shared with her “wife” - another local heiress named Anne Walker, with whom she underwent a same-sex marriage ceremony.

If your interested in reading more about Anne Lister, an author by the name of Helena Whitbread invested six years exploring and decoding Lister's diaries. In her book, I Know My Own Heart: The Diaries of Anne Lister 1791-1840, she offers the diaries a fascinating story about the "everyday" life led by an early 19th century lesbian.

Posted by girl2grl at 8:55 AM 0 comments Labels: Anne Lister, BBC Two, first modern lesbian, Gentleman Jack, lesbian drama, Lesbian film, Myra Hindley


The Real L Word Now Casting!

THE REAL L WORD: Los Angeles is now casting.

Posted by girl2grl at 2:04 PM 0 comments 


International Drag King Community Extravaganza Heads to Tuscon

The 11th annual International Drag King Community Extravaganza (IDKE XI) will take place from October 21-25, 2009 in Tucson, Arizona.

IDKE is five days of drag king and gender performance culture, featuring workshops, performances, youth activities, an art & film festival and special keynote speaker Kate Bornstien.

The mission of IDKE is to bring together drag kings, queens, burlesque, and other types of gender performers (fans too) as a community to share ideas, techniques, and experiences in performance.

Schedule of events:

*Wed 10/21: 12-4 Art @ Dinnerware Gallery. 8pm BRU Kick Off Show @ The Surly Wench Pub.

*Thurs 10/22: 12-4 Art @ Dinnerware Gallery. 2-6 Films @The Screening Room. 6pm Art Reception@ Dinnerware Gallery. 8pm Meet & Greet @Hotel Congress. 11pm Optimist Dance Part @ Hotel Congress.

*Fri 10/23: 9-4 workshops @ Hotel Arizona. 12-4 Art @ Dinnerware Gallery.12-4 Films @The Screening Room. 430pm Youth Dragdom @ The Screening Room. 8pm Dragdom @ The Rialto Theater.

*Sat 10/24: 9-12 workshops @ Hotel Arizona. 12-2 keynote speaker Kate Bornstein. 12-4 Art @ Dinnerware Gallery. 2-6 Films @The Screening Room

8 pm Showcase @ The Fox Theatre. 11pm Showcase after party @ the Starlight Ballroom.

*Sun 10/25: 9-1pm Brunch @ The Tucson Museum of Art. 2-6pm Art @ Dinnerware Gallery. 2-6pm Films @The Screening Room.

Costs associated with attending the event: Full conference price $135 (excludes kick off show and burlesque), some events are no cost.

Visit website for full details at www.idkexi.com.

Posted by girl2grl at 8:48 PM 0 comments Labels: burlesque, Drag King, Drag King Community Extravaganza, gender identity, IDKE

Defying Inequality: The San Francisco Concert If you live in the San Francisco/Bay Area, love music and support LGBT Equality, then head over to the Palace of Fine Arts on Monday, October 26th for Defying Inequality: The San Francisco Concert.

This concert will be featuring celebrity performances and appearances by the cast of WICKED and other many other celebrity guests.

The concert will begin at 7:30 pm and the Post-Event VIP Carnival will begin at 9:30 pm.

For more information or to buy tickets, check out their website at http://www.defyinginequality.com/sanfran/

Posted by girl2grl at 1:28 PM 0 comments Labels: Defy Inequality, Gay Events, Lesbian Events, LGBT Equality, LGBT Events, Marriage Equality


California Governor Signs 3 LGBT Bills

I am happy to announce that Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law three historic LGBT rights bills today that were sponsored by EQCA:

The Harvey Milk Day bill, authored by Senator Mark Leno, will honor the slain civil rights leader with the nation’s first “day of special significance” for an openly LGBT person in the country;

The Family Protection and Marriage Recognition Act, also authored by Senator Leno, underscores that same-sex couples married out of state are entitled to full recognition in California, and

The LGBT Domestic Violence Programs Expansion Bill, authored by Assemblymember John A. Pérez, will expand funding for LGBT domestic violence programs in California.

Three more steps toward LGBT equality in California!

Posted by girl2grl at 3:25 PM 1 comments Labels: Equality California, Governor Schwarzenegger EQCA, Harvey Milk Day, LGBT domestic violence, LGBT Equality, The Family Protection and Marriage Recognition Act


Domestic Violence: Abuse in Lesbian Relationships

Article from Womensweb.com

Violence against women in now recognized as a significant health issue. Abuse in lesbian relationships must also be recognized as a major health concern in our communities. Victims of abuse may be affected sexually, physically, emotionally, and psychologically.

Although violence against lesbians occurs in other contexts (e.g., lesbian bashing and heterosexual rape), this article focuses on abuse in intimate relationships. Although the principles presented in this article apply equally to these contexts, this article also presents additional dynamics in cases of abuse against lesbians outside their intimate relationships. It provides guidelines for lesbians, friends, and helping professionals responding to lesbian abuse.

Fears about coming forward and discussing abuse

Until fairly recently, violence in lesbian relationships has been a taboo subject and one best kept "behind closed doors". Only in the recent past have women begun to name and discuss their abusive relationships. One reason is that, until recently, abuse has been hidden. However, additional factors have made it more difficult for lesbians to discuss abuse in their relationships.

For many lesbians, a same-sex relationship is a positive alternative to heterosexual relationships. It's often assumed that women interact in a caring and supportive fashion and that as a result, they cannot be abusers. Consequently, it's commonly thought that abuse occurs only in heterosexual relationships. Consider also society's prejudices and misconceptions about lesbians. There is fear that open discussion will generate even more negative images and notions about the lesbian community.

The larger social context

In speaking about violence in lesbian relationships, we must always consider the larger social context of lesbians' lives. Violence against lesbians may stem from hatred of women (misogyny) and fear of homosexuals (homophobia). It can also be linked to other forms of domination within society, such as racism and classism. These can provide the framework that allows abusive relations between people.

For instance, in our society, women often report feeling devalued or commodified—feeling like little more than sexual objects or property. Because they are seen as sexual deviants threatening the social and moral fabric of society, lesbians are often ostracized and discriminated against.

Where heterosexist and misogynist views exist, anger, fear, and rage can be misdirected at partners who have come to represent those things we've been taught to hate in ourselves. Like others in our society, lesbians are a product of their upbringing; they could have been been exposed to unhealthy patterns of dealing with conflict and anger. They may have learned about relationships from abusive families and may not have learned how to behave appropriately in an intimate and caring relationship.

Violence and violent patterns may be learned. A person who has learned violent patterns may use violence as a means to gain and maintain control of another person. Therefore, as a result of societal influences, abuses of power, ownership, and control can exist in lesbian relationships.

Types of abuse

As seen, abuse is a pattern of behavior in which physical violence and/or emotional coercion is/are used to gain and maintain power or control in a relationship. Abuse may be continuous, or it may be a single incident of assault. Abuse may be physical, sexual, psychological/emotional, or ecomonomic. It can include threats, the destruction of property, and/or stalking/harassing behavior. (See Types of Abuse for more information and concrete examples.)

Prevalence of violence

At present, there are no reliable statistics clearly demonstrating the scope of lesbian abuse. Although studies have attempted to identify the incidence of lesbian violence, there has been little consistency in the results. Therefore, lesbians must often rely on anecdotal reports to fully appreciate the scope of abuse within the lesbian community. Some report having been subjected to psychological and emotional abuse. Others report physical or sexual assault. Unfortunately, few victims of abuse seek counseling or legal/medical services. It seems even fewer turn to police, shelters, or distress lines, believing social service workers, health care officials, and police need to become educated in order to address the issue properly and appropriately.

Why does lesbian abuse happen? Myths and facts

Although there are many explanations as to why abuse occurs in lesbian relationships, these are often myths fueled by stereotypes, fear and prejudice. Below are some common myths:

Posted by girl2grl at 8:22 PM 1 comments Labels: Butch Femme, Lesbian abuse, lesbian community, Lesbian Domestic violence, Lesbian Rape, same-sex relationships, Types of abuse


Support Rises for Civil Unions for Gay Couples

Posted by girl2grl at 2:27 PM 0 comments 


Gay Rights March to End a Century of Persecution

By Margot Canaday, Philadelphia Inquirer

This weekend, thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans will march in the nation's capital. They won't be marching for marriage rights alone. They'll be marching for complete federal equality - an end to second-class citizenship.

Organizer Cleve Jones sees Sunday's National Equality March as introducing a shift in movement strategy, from an emphasis on the patchwork progress made in states and localities to an unqualified demand for national equality. Such a move would hold the federal government more accountable not only for its current policies - some of which, such as the Defense of Marriage Act, interfere with progress on the state and local levels - but for its long history of anti-gay discrimination.

Few realize how long that history actually is, but federal hostility to homosexuality is at least a century old. Indeed, 2009 can be considered a centennial that offers another reason to march: 100 years have passed since federal officials first began to build a citizenship policy that excludes or degrades gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.

In 1909, an immigration official named Marcus Braun sat down to type out a report warning of a "new species of undesirable alien" who he believed should be barred from entering the country: "the moral degenerate," or homosexual. The Braun report was a quiet, bureaucratic start, but it represents nothing less than the beginning of gay and lesbian expulsion from the rights and obligations of national citizenship.

After Braun stood up from his typewriter, the architecture of second-class citizenship for homosexuals was gradually constructed across the federal bureaucracy. By the middle of the 20th century, the U.S. government had distinguished itself from other Western democracies in its hostility to homosexuality.

Homosexual aliens were explicitly prohibited from entering the country and from naturalization. They were barred from serving in the military and fired from jobs in the civil service. Washington even tried to steer government benefits away from homosexuals by reserving the most generous benefits for married couples and by excluding homosexuals from programs such as the GI Bill.

And while states and localities generally policed homosexual conduct, the federal government often went beyond the issue of conduct to police homosexual status or personhood. To do so, federal officials used ill-defined and ambiguous concepts. The military's historical policy on homosexual tendencies, for example, punished the homosexual, as one man put it, "less for what he does than for who he is."

Once in place, federal exclusion has proven remarkably durable. Today, only its sharpest edges have been blunted.

The ban on gay federal employees has been lifted, but the community still has no umbrella of protection against employment discrimination comparable to that of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Congress ended its restriction on gay immigrants in 1990, but gays and lesbians cannot secure legal residency for their same-sex partners through marriage, as straight people can. The prohibition against openly gay personnel in the armed services is still in place. And Social Security and other federal benefits do not extend equally to gays, who are ineligible to receive benefits accrued by a life partner upon his or her death.

Furthermore, the 1996 enactment of the Defense of Marriage Act demonstrated that the federal government's backwardness goes beyond perpetuating retrograde policies to actually inaugurating new ones.

This is, of course, why gay activists have for so long directed their efforts toward making change at the state and local levels; that has simply seemed to be the best use of their time. Their victories there have been nothing short of astonishing. Gay marriage is now legal in six states, and many more have laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in housing, employment, and other areas.

I hope we not only continue to "fill in the map" on those issues, but also build on momentum coming out of the states to demand more change at the national level. My reasons for this are grounded less in contemporary political calculations than in the history of national citizenship, including this unhappy centennial for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans. We merit the attention of federal policy makers - and our issues are not merely state and local matters - because of this long period during which the federal government has been not just an inadequate protector, but a key inflicter of our pain.

Consider the words of one young soldier accused of homosexuality who found herself in front of a military board facing an undesirable discharge. "I don't feel that I am being treated like an American citizen," she said. "I would like to know why."

The year was 1958, and this brave woman did not need the experience of 100 years of federal discrimination to motivate her very simple question. How many more years do we need to answer it?
Margot Canaday is an assistant professor of history at Princeton University and the author of "The Straight State: Sexuality and Citizenship in Twentieth-Century America." For more information, see www.press.princeton.edu.

Posted by girl2grl at 9:25 AM 0 comments Labels: anti-gay, Cleve Jones, Defense of Marriaggay federal employees, Homosexuality, Margot Canaday


National Coming Out Day is October 11, 2009

Posted by girl2grl at 9:30 AM 0 comments Labels: bisexual, gay, HRC, Lesbian, National Coming Out Day, Transgender


Obama to take on military gay ban at `right time’


Jones appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union."

Posted by girl2grl at 1:04 PM 0 comments 

GLBT History Month 2009 Icons Monday, October 5 - Sunday, October 11th October 5th - Ruth Ellis
"I never expected I'd be 100 years old. It didn't even come to my mind."Ruth Ellis, who lived to be 101, was credited with being the oldest known lesbian and GLBT civil rights activist. More... October 6th - Rainer Fassbinder
"I'd like to be for cinema what Shakespeare was for theatre, Marx for politics and Freud for psychology." Actor, director and screenwriter Rainer Fassbinder made over 40 films in his 15-year career. He is among the most important figures in New German Cinema. More... October 7th - Michel Foucault
"It's not enough to affirm that we are gay, but we must also create a gay life."Michel Foucault was a French philosopher, sociologist and educator who had a profound impact on academic thought. He is best known for his critical studies of psychiatry, the prison system and human sexuality. More... October 8th - Harry Hay
"In order to earn for ourselves any place in the sun, we must work collectively for the first-class citizenship of minorities everywhere." In 1950, Harry Hay founded the Mattachine Society, an underground network for homosexuals. It was one of the first American gay organizations. More... October 9th - Magnus Hirschfeld
"Soon the day will come when science will win victory over error, justice a victory over injustice, and human love a victory over human hatred and ignorance."Pioneering sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld devoted his life to the scientific validation and political liberation of homosexuals. He helped lay the groundwork for the modern GLBT civil rights movement. More... October 10th - Zora Neale Hurston
"Mama exhorted her children at every opportunity to 'jump at de sun.' We might not land on the sun, but at least we would get off the ground."American author and folklorist Zora Neale Hurston is the author of "Their Eyes Were Watching God," a book heralded as one of the most poetic works of fiction by a black writer in the first half of the 20th century. More... October 11th - Jasper Johns
"To be an artist you have to give up everything, including the desire to be a good artist." Jasper Johns is one of America's most successful and influential contemporary artists. His paintings and prints, often incorporating objects and symbols from popular culture, inspired a new generation of artists and laid the groundwork for the Pop Art movement. More...

Posted by girl2grl at 10:45 AM 0 comments Labels: Gay Icons, GLBT Civil Rights, GLBT History, Mattachine Society, Ruth Ellis


Nevada's New Domestic Partnership Law

"Passing it was another footstep in the right direction."

Source: Las Vegas Review Journal

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October is GLBT History Month

Modeled after Black and Women’s History Months, GLBT History Month highlights annually the achievements of 31 gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender Icons—one each day—with a free video, bio, bibliography, downloadable images and other resources.

For details, check out the video below.

Posted by girl2grl at 10:12 PM 0 comments Labels: Gay Icons, GLBT History, Lesbian Icons
