 NY1 | For Supporters of Gay Marriage, a Dashing of Great Expectations New York Times, United States - By JEREMY W. PETERS When Senate Majority Leader Malcolm A. Smith spoke to a hotel ballroom in Manhattan packed with hundreds of gay-rights advocates, ... Smith says NY Senate lacks gay marriage votes Gay Marriage In New York Unlikely, Smith Says Smith: Gay Marriage Not Likely To Pass This Year |
 On Top Magazine | An About-Face on Gay Troops New York Times, United States - The Clinton argument, based largely on protecting the civil rights of gay troops, was systematically dissected by senior officers and legislators, ... Dating Websites Present Opportunities & Challenges for Military ... The Gay Slant: Clinton Stumbles With Gays At State Military just catching up |
Kansas Guard discharges first gay soldier Kansas City Star, MO - TOPEKA | The Kansas Army National Guard has discharged its first gay soldier under the federal “don’t ask, don’t tell†policy. Amy Brian, who served nine ... Gay soldier's ouster a loss to the military |
Safe Zone trains faculty and staff in LGBT awareness Bowling Green News, OH - "The purpose of this workshop is ... to see the campus be blanketed with the LGBT buttons and cards," Russell said. The workshop outlined the myths of being ... |
6th Annual LGBT Conference in Fresno ABC30.com, CA - By John-Thomas Kobos Fresno, CA, USA (KFSN) -- An Oscar-nominated movie played a big role as hundreds of gay, straight and bi-sexual students met in Central ... |
 Cambridge Network | LGBT month in Cambridge Cambridge Network, UK - The University will host a networking event for LGBT networks and staff groups this Wednesday (11 February). The session will allow participants to share ... |
Kalamazoo City Commission talks about GLBT Ordinance WWMT, MI - (Newschannel 3) - Kalamazoo City Commissioners are asking for community input on an GLBT discrimination ordinance that's been put into place and repealed in ... Kalamazoo appointees get high marks from city commissioners |
Coming Out + conservative christian background = sucktasticness. AfterEllen.com - The only thing that is keeping me from going to the GLBT resource place on campus is that it's in Memorial Union, and that is where all of my friend from ... |
NEW FESTIVAL FOR EMERGING GLBT ARTISTS PREMIERING IN PHILADELPHIA PitchEngine (press release), WY - Philadelphia, PA-- A new non-profit Arts organization in Philadelphia is in the planning stages for its first annual Philadelphia GLBT Artists Festival. ... |
Happy New Year from Straight for Equality!At this time of year everyone is celebrating all things new: new year, new beginnings, etc. So, in the spirit of the season, let’s take a look at all the brand-spankin’-new things that Straight for Equality has to offer:
Straight for Equality message boards! Here you can connect with other allies and discuss anything your heart desires, from current events to personal stories. Start a conversation today!
Training programs: they’re not all new, but they’re all improved! Interested in moving equality forward at work? Check out Straight for Equality in the Workplace! For a straight ally 101, take a look at our How to be an Ally training. Are you an experienced advocate for equality looking to reach out to and engage more allies? Give The Care and Feeding of Straight Allies a try.
Updated Resources! On our new Resources page, you’ll find an updated recommended reading list, a selection of films for allies, a great glossary of helpful terms, and even an “Ask an Ally†column.
And coming soon in 2009…
The First Annual Straight for Equality Awards Gala:
On Thursday night, February 5, 2009, in New York City’s Times Square, PFLAG and Straight for Equality will make history by hosting the first annual Straight for Equality Awards Gala. At this event, we take time to honor and celebrate a few straight allies that embody the values of PFLAG and Straight for Equality.
This year, we are proud to recognize Dr. Maya Angelou, Sigourney Weaver, Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole and IBM. We’ve also got CNN’s Soledad O’Brien as emcee, Gala Chair J.T. (Ted) Childs, Jr., and Judy Reyes from ABC’s Scrubs as our auctioneer.
Click here to purchase tickets and learn more about this fabulous event!
Also coming in 2009: Straight for Equality in Healthcare! Are you a straight ally in the healthcare field? We’re in the process of developing Straight for Equality in Healthcare, a set of resources for anyone who works in healthcare, from doctors to nurses to psychologists to receptionists working in doctors’ offices, and anyone in between. Look for Straight for Equality in Healthcare on www.straightforequality.org in early 2009!
Happy New Year everyone, and have fun exploring Straight for Equality!
- Julie Handy
Christine Holcomb was PFLAG National's summer intern last year, and returns to our blog to tell us about the screening of Straightlaced that she attended recently...
In a "perfect" heterosexist, homophobic world, guys would be straight, macho and muscular, dress in masculine clothes (whatever that is), be taken care of by women, be the protector, the breadwinner, the brains; women would be straight, petite and curvaceous, doing the cooking and cleaning, raising the children, and not be threatening with skills or brains that could challenge those of men.
But we’re passed this, aren’t we? After all, women can get an education, vote, run for president, be CEO’s, even fight in the military. And yet heterosexist and homophobic attitudes have a serious impact on how our children act and who they become. Straightlaced: How Gender’s Got Us All Tied Up, brings the heterosexist and homophobic norms to life and unveils the mask we’ve been using to fool ourselves into thinking we live in any other kind of world.
By interviewing teens from high schools all across the country, we hear what teen age boys are told about what it means to be a man and how women are told to act in order to attract them. It’s still the case that some men won’t date women smarter than them, or that women are told that they are too strong, too loud or too aggressive, and it’s still true that men sleep with women to gain status and women have to walk the line of being considered prude and promiscuous. These kids confess that the colors they wear, the accessories they wear and the way they wear them threaten the homophobic and heterosexist norms; their sexuality is monitored and challenged all the time. One guy said he wanted to wear a scarf because he was cold, but knew he’d be called gay for it and sure enough, “Someone asked me, ‘Why are you wearing that scarf, dude, are you gay?’ I said, ‘No, man, my neck is cold. You got a problem with that?’†And while adults often wonder why there is so many of our youth are having sex so young, it might have something to do with guarding their sexuality and controlling how others perceive them because, “if you don’t talk about how much sex you’re having, other guys think you’re gay.†And yes, being called gay is the worst insult. It will make students “part like the red seasâ€, be weary of being alone with you and cause teammates to challenge your motives, as one cheerleader had to defend another cheerleader telling other girls on the team that she’s not touching you inappropriately, “she’s trying to save you from falling to the ground.â€
Yup, sadly, many of the things a lot of adults have fought to expose and change are still effecting our youth today in a strong way- and not for the better- because it means women are still treated like objects, and men are still confined to only express certain feelings, like anger instead of sadness. The heterosexist and homophobic system that Straightlaced exposes goes beyond values and preferences and is shown to threaten the very uniqueness that makes our children beautiful.
Join Groundspark in sharing and viewing this film with the adults and children you love and then talking about it, because as the producers of Straightlaced found out: youth are dying to talk to someone about all of this, so why not you?
In a "perfect" heterosexist, homophobic world, guys would be straight, macho and muscular, dress in masculine clothes (whatever that is), be taken care of by women, be the protector, the breadwinner, the brains; women would be straight, petite and curvaceous, doing the cooking and cleaning, raising the children, and not be threatening with skills or brains that could challenge those of men.
But we’re passed this, aren’t we? After all, women can get an education, vote, run for president, be CEO’s, even fight in the military. And yet heterosexist and homophobic attitudes have a serious impact on how our children act and who they become. Straightlaced: How Gender’s Got Us All Tied Up, brings the heterosexist and homophobic norms to life and unveils the mask we’ve been using to fool ourselves into thinking we live in any other kind of world.
By interviewing teens from high schools all across the country, we hear what teen age boys are told about what it means to be a man and how women are told to act in order to attract them. It’s still the case that some men won’t date women smarter than them, or that women are told that they are too strong, too loud or too aggressive, and it’s still true that men sleep with women to gain status and women have to walk the line of being considered prude and promiscuous. These kids confess that the colors they wear, the accessories they wear and the way they wear them threaten the homophobic and heterosexist norms; their sexuality is monitored and challenged all the time. One guy said he wanted to wear a scarf because he was cold, but knew he’d be called gay for it and sure enough, “Someone asked me, ‘Why are you wearing that scarf, dude, are you gay?’ I said, ‘No, man, my neck is cold. You got a problem with that?’†And while adults often wonder why there is so many of our youth are having sex so young, it might have something to do with guarding their sexuality and controlling how others perceive them because, “if you don’t talk about how much sex you’re having, other guys think you’re gay.†And yes, being called gay is the worst insult. It will make students “part like the red seasâ€, be weary of being alone with you and cause teammates to challenge your motives, as one cheerleader had to defend another cheerleader telling other girls on the team that she’s not touching you inappropriately, “she’s trying to save you from falling to the ground.â€Yup, sadly, many of the things a lot of adults have fought to expose and change are still effecting our youth today in a strong way- and not for the better- because it means women are still treated like objects, and men are still confined to only express certain feelings, like anger instead of sadness. The heterosexist and homophobic system that Straightlaced exposes goes beyond values and preferences and is shown to threaten the very uniqueness that makes our children beautiful.
Join Groundspark in sharing and viewing this film with the adults and children you love and then talking about it, because as the producers of Straightlaced found out: youth are dying to talk to someone about all of this, so why not you?
PFLAG supporter (and Navy veteran) Jason;) Jason Knight (pictured) blogs about the new Showtime series United States of Tara over at his blog My Normal Gay Life. "The new series follows Tara, played by Toni Collette, a struggling mom dealing with disassociative identity disorder, commonly known as multiple personality disorder," Knight writes, adding that, "With the support of her husband Max (John Cobett) and children Marshall and Kate (Keir Gilchrist / Brie Larson), Tara attempts to juggle all there is to being a mom."
"That includes raising a family of acceptance."
"Teen son Marshall, played by Keir Gilchrist, bakes, is highly articulate, and a snappy dresser; steering away from what the world would see as normal gender roles for male boys," Knight notes. "However, he is embraced and supported by his family, a loving PFLAG family - despite jabs from Buck, one of Tara's alter personalities who refers to Marshal as 'Marsha.'"
To read the full write-up about Tara, and watch the premiere episode in its entirety, visit My Normal Gay Life online.
At noon on Saturday, approximately 30 gay and lesbian activists started kissing close to the entrance of Dallas Museum of the Arts. They reportedly played kissing games with candy, blew bubbles and offered pedestrians passing by free “queer” hugs and chocolates. Blake Wilkinson, founder of Queer LiberAction, who organized the “Queer Kiss-in.” said; “We have a right [...]
This story broke my heart. I can’t even imagine the pain she went through, barred from being with her loved one during her last moments on earth. This is why we need a federal gay marriage amendment, because otherwise individual states or even just hospital workers can say, “We don’t recognize your [...]
Dave Grohl, the lead singer of the Foo Fighters, has come out in support of same sex marriage. The singer is one of the first in Hollywood to start wearing a white ribbon as a show of same-sex solidarity and equality. Grohl asked on the red carpet at the MusiCares benefit; “Anybody know about whiteknot.org? You know [...]
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