Sunday Styles and Weddings Section left me with a bitter taste in my mouth after CA passed Prop 8.
Kyle Frederick Reed and Carl Rudolph Fischer IV affirmed their partnership Saturday evening at the Foundry, an event space in Long Island City, Queens. The Rev. Leslie Harry, an interfaith minister, led the commitment ceremony. via
Though this couple had a commintment ceremony not a formal ceremony (because they cannot in the state of NY), the legal standing of their relationship is still haunted by Proposition 8. And honestly I believe my marriage is haunted by it. It so sad and unfair that couples who have been together much longer than my husband and me cannot get married. Of course, I have heard many gay and straight people say they don’t want to be defined by an outdated custom/ ritual that they believe marriage is. I respect that so, so much.
Can Obama repeal prop 8 at all? I know he can’t do it state by state. What happens to all of these marriages?
CA Supreme Court overturns Gay Marriage Ban!
This makes me so happy!
The California Supreme Court decided today that same-sex couples should be permitted to wed, ruling that gay unions must be given the “respect and dignity” of marriage.
In a 4-3 vote, the court became the first in the country to apply the constitutional protections reserved for race and gender to sexual orientation. The Massachusetts high court struck down bans on same-sex marriage in 2003, but under a different legal theory.
I must admit a slight guilt that I can be married to my true love because I am heterosexual (I hate defining myself in such binary terms), but my gay peers cannot. This is a great step for the future in equality for marriage.
SLC = Salt Lake City!
This article really enlightened me
At the moment, Massachusetts is the only American state where civil marriage is legal for gays and lesbians. But surprisingly, Holly and P.R.’s wedding was more than just a public demonstration of their commitment. In September 2005, Salt Lake’s then mayor, Rocky Anderson issued an Executive Order granting same-sex partners in the City proper the same health and other employment benefits available to heterosexual couples. Executive orders have the force of law based on existing statutory powers, and require no outside backing for them to be enforced.
I had NO idea that this law was enacted. Neither did I think that Mormon SLC could *perhaps* lead the way for some gay rights laws.
I hate to report on celebrity death but this deserved a post:
Members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., are trying to find out where the 28-year-old actor’s funeral will be held and have already made signs to hold outside the Oscars that read “God Hates Fags and Fag Enablers,” “Heath in Hell” and “Mourn for Your Sins,” Shirley Phelps-Roper, daughter of the church’s controversial founder Pastor Fred Phelps, told ABCNEWS.com. via
Last month, I read some books like I do every month. Wow. That was an inspired opening. I just read A Desired Past by Leila J. Rupp. Its a history of same-sex relationships and love. As a history student, I thought this book was perfectly written. Rupp was very careful to identify her terms with careful definitions. For example, she does not provide the reader with terms homosexual to describe a monolithic group. One of the major threads throughout the book is that “social minorities” like gay people cannot be defined in a vacuum.
She also goes to lengths to explain that people who were identified as lesbians or gay by historians and scholars did not always regard themselves as such. She uses her current relationship with her partner to make parallels that appeal to the reader’s emotion. Rupp does write exquisitely about her relationship to her subjects and it is apparent why she cares and she believes is at stake. One hopes that other scholars can carefully write about subjects that they find integral to their own lives with the same reflection and dedication to reporting the truth that they have worked so hard to uncover.
This book is great for people who want to learn more about GLBT studies, women’s studies, history or to just read a great historical study. I know I will be referring to this as I delve further and further into my own studies.
After Substitute shows “Brokeback in class,” Family of girl, 12, sues
The girl, Jessica Turner, and her grandparents Kenneth and LaVerne Richardson, are seeking more than $400,000 in damages under the suit filed Friday against the Chicago Board of Education and others.The suit claims Jessica continues to suffer from emotional distress caused by watching the film and is currently undergoing psychological treatment and counseling.
Oh dear. I have two thoughts here. The teacher should have realized the possible consequences of showing a film like this in school. Or the parents of the girl should chill out and chalk it up to a mistake, settle for the dismissal of the substitute teacher etc.
BUT I am liberal and I know they are trying to set a precedent.
(1) Lawrence Downes writes “It’s my first suburban Long Island middle school talent show” in the NYTimes. He describes feeling uncomfortable while watching middle schoolers dance to lyrics like “Jerk it like you’re making it choke. …Ohh. I’m so stimulated. Feel so X-rated.”
The article is called “Middle School Girls Gone Wild.”
Indeed.
(2) The “blog slut” goes to battle in the courts.
(3) FEW LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL TEENS TELL THEIR DOCTOR
(4) “Coming out in Kansas” or “Up yours Rev. Phelps”
Ms. Slayton, the Mission Hills resident, likes to tell the story of the elderly lesbian aunt of a friend. When the woman died some years ago, Ms. Slayton said, the family learned for the first time that she had been in a long-term relationship with a woman. She came out at her funeral, through the medium of her tombstone. She requested that it read: “I didn’t miss half the fun you think I did.” From the article.
All My Children is setting a new precedent for daytime television and primetime television with their story about Zarf, a male who wants to become a female. AMC broke ground several years ago when they turned the character of Bianca Montgomery into a lesbian. She shared the first daytime kiss with a female. However since then, daytime has shied away from portraying full-blown homosexual romances.
In an article from today’s Baltimore Sun, Matea Gold discusses all of the planning that went into the storyline including consulting with the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. The ultimate point of the story is to perhaps turn Zarf (aka Zoe) and Bianca into a couple.
The most interesting point of the article for me was the idea that even though soap operas are not afraid to portray storylines that include DNA paternity tests, advanced plastic surgery and other controversial storylines, they avoid storylines that involve homosexual relationships.
The best line from the article is:
Carol Dickson, who runs the official All My Children fan club, is excited about the story line.
“They’re not playing it safe, which is what I like,” she said.
(1) Seriously!
(2) “Mary Cheney’s child will, in fact, have loving parents.”
(3) DUH! Homosexuality and Abortion are a Threat to National Security
(4) Men coming over to Women’s Studies classes for more than a date…maybe
Hewitt says he was “not interested in feminism before taking courses on feminism and women’s issues”. If he had not taken the courses, he says, he would not be so keen on teaching his pupils about women’s history. Thereby, a new generation of boys and girls will benefit from the knowledge and perspective that just one man picked up from a type of course that many would argue is going out of fashion.
(1) Lesbian mom-to-be (Cheney’s daughter) is slammed by all sides.
I’m going to come out (hahha funny!!!) and say I feel bad for Mary Cheney. She probably didn’t ask her dad to be the way he is. She could disagree with him on several issues BUT maintains a relationship because he is her dad and she loves her family. Someone has to be Dick Cheney’s child and so it has fallen onto Mary Cheney and her sister’s shoulders. She deserves some privacy RIGHT NOW! This is all I’m going to say about it.
(2) Girls wanna strip for other girls but feminist picketers don’t like it much
(3) Mom insists talking barbie doll says “slut”
(4) California parents seem to welcome HPV vaccine for their daughters