Lez Keep It Real

After all of this talk about ENDA and the actions of the Human Rights Campaign, I wasn’t surprised in the least to see the following article this morning.

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Before I get into the nitty gritty of this post, I would just like to take a quick moment to apologize for my absence over the past couple of days. When holiday time comes around, everything seems out of sorts. It always takes me a few days to get my groove back … even as I type this sentence, my fingers aren’t going where I tell them to go! I was on vacation for about a week, so bear with me. I hope you all had as good of a Thanksgiving as I had.

Onto the point of this post, in which I came across a column where someone finally said something poignant about the “gay lifestyle” and said it right.

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Let’s forget, for a moment, the fact that this war is clouded in controversy. Let’s forget about the millions of dollars being wasted. Let’s forget that “don’t ask, don’t tell” does more harm than good. And let’s even try to forget about the thousands of lives lost for a seemingly unnecessary cause.

I want to focus in on something else at the moment. I want to draw your attention to one, single story. Just one, out of the billions that occur on a daily basis because of this war, because maybe it will open your eyes even wider to the fact that GLBT casualties of war are just as serious, just as important and just as newsworthy as everything else.

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“It’s the same, old song … but with a different meaning …” la, la, la. I love that song. I’m a fan of Motown, have been ever since I was little. Though I didn’t grow up in that era, I can appreciate the simplicity of the lyrics and the harmonious arrangements.

Here’s a song I’m sick of hearing. It goes something like this, “I was gay but then I turned to God and he made me straight,” la, la, la.

When I hear this song, I just want to turn the dial.

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I know, I know. I’m beating a dead horse here. You already know my stance on ENDA. But I saw the following article in the Advocate and thought I might make an example out of it.

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This week has started out on the negative side for me. I usually try to rise above it, mixing in lighthearted posts with serious rants, but that’s just the way the cookie is a crumblin’ these days.

In the words of Destiny’s Child, I say, “No, no, no, no, no” even if HRC says, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.”

The Human Rights Campaign organization was one of a few Civil Rights groups to back the gay-only version of ENDA, otherwise known as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

Am I the only one who’s confused by this?

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Last Friday I was seething. I had my panties all in a bunch. It started off as a pretty good day, nice and low key. And then I read this.

DAYTONA BEACH — A former Daytona Beach city commissioner and a local high school teacher arrested Thursday during a sex sting at a [SEARS] Volusia mall bathroom were released from the Volusia County Brach Jail today, authorities said.

Former commissioner and mayoral candidate Mike Shallow and David Behringer, an athletic trainer and teacher at Seabreeze High School, posted $1,000 bail today after midnight, a jail spokesman said.

Behringer resigned today, according to officials with the Volusia County School District.

Shallow and Behringer were among nine men charged with lewd and lascivious conduct and exposure of a sexual organ, both misdemeanors, police said. READ MORE

I was so extremely ticked off, for a variety of reasons that I couldn’t even attempt to address the story. So, I let it ride. I sat with it. I let it marinate. And then I saw it again this morning.

So this time, I’m going to say something. I’m going to break down my frustration one point at a time.

Here we go.

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I think not.

For all of those Bible waving fools who profess that HIV and AIDS is a gay disease that originated through gay sex, I’ve got some startling news for you. In case you weren’t already aware, that little theory is not only absurd, it has now been scientifically proven to be wrong.

Don’t believe me?

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It seems that the best way to get adolescents to pull up their pants instead of wearing them around their knees these days is to threaten their sexuality.

I’m sure you’ve all heard about the campaign to rid this country of saggy pants. (sigh, aren’t their more important things to focus on???) I’ll confess that when I see a youngin’ walking around with his pants hanging just above his knees, I roll my eyes. Not because it offends me, but because that style is sooo 1998.

Kidding. But seriously, isn’t that fashion statement as played out as the flipped-up collar or the Ashton Kutcher trucker hats? Not only does it look absolutely ridiculous, it looks horribly uncomfortable as well. I’m all for a shift in the tides of baggy pants, but I wouldn’t threaten someone’s sexuality in order to do it.

According an article on NPR, “a new campaign by the city of Dallas, TX targets the hip-hop style of wearing your pants low enough that your boxers are showin - and part of your posterior, too.” The campaign even has a signature song called, “Pull Your Pants Up.” The song links saggy pants to being gay with its use of what could be considered, homophobic lyrics. An accompanying billboard has also been erected (horrible pun, my bad!) saying that it is just plain rude to be, “walking around showin’ your behind to other dudes.”

Shame on the campaign organizers for this one. Since when is it a good idea to shame adolescents in order to get a point across? How about the fact that you are spreading homophobia? “Pull your pants up or people will think you’re gay?” Amazing concept, because really,  what youth would want to be perceived as being gay, especially those who wear their pants low, listen to hardcore rap and build their whole reputation on being hard. In their minds, being gay means being soft. So, these campaign geniuses may think they are brilliant, flipping the so-called script on the whole baggy pants issue. What these morons don’t realize is that they are simply enforcing a stereotype that is detrimental to gay men - that all gay men are weaklings, that being gay is wrong, and that gay men lack any masculinity.

I work in the advertising industry, and I would never use racism, homophobic rhetoric or sexism to get my point across in a “clever” campaign.

But, hey that’s just me.

Don’t forget about the Lez Keep it Real Contest!

pull your pants up, saggin’, baggy pants, homophobic lyrics

Lame title?

Yeah, I know. Just trying to be creative. Anyway, the title says it all. Ellen’s dog is gone. And she made a big stink about it on the Ellen Degeneres show yesterday. It caused such a stir in fact that the pet adoption agency which took the dog back is now receiving death and arson threats as well as numerous calls for a boycott.

OK. So. We all know Ellen’s primary audience, right? Who are these people making death threats? The stay at home mom? The gay couple with two Chihuahuas dressed in matching argyle sweaters? Oh wait, I got it. It’s the 70-year-old, busy knitting a pair of booties for her grandchild while watching Ellen plead for the return of her puppy, who was so upset that she bought a couple of cases of kerosene and placed a call from an undisclosed phone booth around the corner of said target. Seriously, this is crazy!

I admit that I got a little teary-eyed from watching Ellen beg for the release of her former dog. It was a heartfelt plea. You could tell that she felt horrible about what happened. She hadn’t read the “fine print” of the contract. And, in all honesty, who does? Unless it’s a house or a car, usually I just sign my name and go on my merry way. So I can understand where Ellen is coming from. And, yes I felt bad. I wanted the agency to just give up the pup. But in no way, shape or form did I feel the urge to make a death threat or call up the pet agency in a heated rage. Who knew Ellen’s audience had that much hutzpa?

It sounded as though the people who Ellen had given the dog to were taking good care of it, so what’s the big deal? Isn’t a good, loving home better than anything? I think the pet agency merely wants to make a point by saying they won’t be bullied around by anybody, even a celebrity. But what’s more important? Pride or a good home for a dog in need?

People’s priorities seemed so messed up lately. Britney would rather party than clean up her act to get her kids back. The Uganda Cleric wants to rid his country of gay people. And a wacked out dentist claims that touching a patient’s breast uninvited can helped her TMJ.

What happened to human decency?

For those of you who missed Ellen’s weepy plea, here’s the clip:

ellen degeneres, ellen’s plea, the ellen degeneres show, pet adoption agency

Being gay isn’t the easiest thing in the world. It’s confusing and tormenting, yet at the same time it’s both beautiful and wonderful. It’s a mixture of things really, a blender filled with endless thoughts and emotions all thrown together to form one, whole individual. That’s the best way I can describe it.

As hard as being gay is sometimes, or was since it really hasn’t been hard for me lately, I know that it wasn’t as close or as hard I guess, to being transgender.

I’ve always been enamored with the transgender aspect. For a time being, I thought I wanted to be a boy. I remember even pretending that I was a boy to other kids I met in the neighborhood who didn’t know any better. I, and don’t ever repeat this, even stood up in front of the toilet to try and pee like a boy! I don’t know why, all I know is that I wanted to be one. It could be because I had two brothers and no sisters, so that’s all I knew. Or it could be the fact that all of my friends were boys because the neighborhood I grew up in lacked other girls for me to play with. Whatever it was, I eventually grew out of it.

My attraction to girls never wained, but as I grew older I began to appreciate my body. There was nothing inside of me that yearned to be the opposite sex, other than the simple fact that I liked to wears boy’s clothing more than the frilly girl’s clothing. There was no longing to have a different anatomy either, I was perfectly content with my breasts and vagina. The penis frightened me actually. What would I want with that thing?

Growing up and finally becoming comfortable in my own skin, I realized that I was a lesbian. But the wonderment and intrigue into transgender issues always captivated me.

I thought, imagine being trapped in the wrong body? Imagine having to deal with that concept. What if I hadn’t grown “out of” wanting to be a boy? What would I have done? How would I have handled it?

The fact is that I have more respect for trangender people that I do for most. They are brave, they are beautiful and yes, they have it harder than I could ever imagine. So why do they keep getting the short end of the stick?
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It has often been argued that there is no existence of homosexuality in the animal kingdom. And because of this, many religious proponents like to say that homosexuality isn’t natural, that God didn’t intend for humans to be that way.

They say, “Do you see animals doing that? No! It’s not natural. It’s not normal. It’s blah blah blah.”

Well … now I say, “On the contrary, my friend!” ( I didn’t know how to spell the French version … say la vie!)

Celebrities aren’t the only ones coming out of the closet!
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New York Times bestselling author Suzanne Brockmann has given every penny of her earnings from her upcoming novel, All Through the Night, to MassEquality, an organization dedicated to preserving equal marriage rights in Massachusetts. The mother of a gay son, Brockmann takes equal marriage rights very seriously.

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It seems that people who commit hate crimes will do just about anything to get out of them … from saying, “he or she hit on me,” or “he or she tried to molest me” to “well, it wasn’t a hate crime because I’m gay too.”

This latest excuse was used by a man who testified for the defense in the death of Michael Sandy, a gay man who ran into on-coming traffic after being chased by three attackers. He was hit by a car and killed.

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I’ve decided to take you all to school … well, I’ve decided to let the Advocate take you all to school actually. It’s time to brush up on your GLBT history. And the Advocate has taken the liberty of outlining the past 40 years for us. I’ve already gone through some of the key time periods … and even I’m a little wet behind the ears. I’m beginning to think that GLBT history should be a course taught in schools. I think it’s available as a college course, but some of this stuff is not only noteworthy, but essential in the teaching of tolerance.

I’ve taken the liberty of posting time periods below, linking you to the Advocate’s website on 40 years of gay history. Each time period discusses key events covered by the magazine with articles, video clips and more. Please take a moment to read, watch, and more importantly, learn.
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