Despite its compelling message, I feel that our queer generation has forgotten this message and instead succumbed to believing the stereotype that gay people are only in WeHo, San Francisco, and similar explicitly gay-friendly urban areas. The Williams Institute’s Census Snapshots of the United States and of each individual state reveal that there is much truth behind “we are everywhere” and that same-sex couples truly do reside in nearly every pocket of the country.
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Ahh, the Republican Primary – what a thrill it has been to watch that hot, sticky mess play out. And while Mitt Romney has emerged as the likely nominee, he hasn’t exactly come out clean. Observers across the political spectrum see him as a flip-flopper. A fake. And, of course, an “Etch-a-Sketch.” His constantly “evolving” beliefs have made for some very sketched-out Republicans, while inspiring endless SNL skits and YouTube rips from Democrats.
Obama, clearly, is loving this, pitching himself as the genuine, reliable alternative to the multiple personalities of Mitt. But his actions on gay marriage have been testing the patience of many of his supporters. Is Obama really keeping it real, or is he just another fake?
Since 2004, Obama has opposed efforts granting LGBTQ people the freedom to marry. Even as his presidency has helped win big gains for the gays through action on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and hate crime legislation, Obama hasn’t really budged on marriage. Although he’s suggested his views on the issue are “evolving,” he’s ignored mounting pressure from Democrats to make a move on gay marriage before the 2012 election.
But Obama’s own record suggests he might be pulling a Romney. In 1996, he told a Chicago newspaper, “I favor legalizing same-sex marriages, and would fight efforts to prohibit such marriages.” Indeed, Massachussetts Congressman Barney Frank and other Obama groupies argue that the president’s ambivalence is motivated by politics, not ideology; his claim that he opposes gay marriage on religious grounds has been called “a political maneuver,” not a genuine problem of faith.
If Obama really is flip-flopping on this one, he might want to take a look at recent poll numbers showing that more Americans favor marriage equality than oppose it. Is it really so risky for Obama to admit what many see as blatantly obvious – that he supports gay marriage? Especially given the ugly, messy fight ahead, Obama needs to be putting Romney on blast for flip-flopping, not getting caught in contradictions of his own.
On Tuesday April 24th, Queer Alliance put on its 3rd annual Anti-Fashion Show, previously known as the Drag Fashion Show. It was held in Covel Commons, and it incorporated personal videos, spoken word, and fashion …
As someone who often has questions about what it means to be a queer feminist of color surrounded by whiteness, I immediately saw this lecture to be of particular importance. While the very …
I sit on my bed with my laptop, my back against the wall so nobody can see what I’m doing. The website I’m signing up for is called Adam4Adam. The margins are mosaics of gay …
They are ‘making it work’ in a 2×4 foot enclosure in a drafty corner of a college apartment, with only shards of alfalfa and some stale pellets to eat, and a very full litter box, but love conquers all….
Seeing With a New Spectrum
by Dylan Chouinard and Kim Lau
“There are three kinds of gays. Party gays like to have fun and get drunk. Political gays are activist-y and fight for rights and stuff. Normal …
The door standing in front of me is worn with age. It may have once been a pleasant shade of blue, but its extended life has stripped it of color. This weary door is my …
Like many in our community, I’ve been following the Republican presidential primary process with an ever-increasing amount of pure, unadulterated glee. As many have argued, the longer this circus goes on, and the zanier it …
Fight fight fight
Kill kill kill
They are the enemy
Not good like us
I am the teen lesbian
Kicked out by my parents
She is not my daughter
Not good like us
Nowhere to run
Nowhere to hide
No money, no love
Nothing to live …
30+ Examples of Cisgender Privilege
- Use public restrooms without fear of verbal abuse, physical intimidation, or arrest
- Use public facilities such as gym locker rooms and store changing rooms without stares, fear, or anxiety.
- Strangers don’t assume they can ask you what your genitals look like and how you have sex.
- Your validity as a man/woman/human is not based on how much surgery you’ve had or how well you “pass” as non-transgender.
- You have the ability to walk through the world and generally blend-in, not being constantly stared or gawked at, whispered about, pointed at, or laughed at because of your gender expression.
- You can access gender exclusive spaces such as the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival, Greek Life, or Take Back the Night and not be excluded due to your trans status.
- Strangers call you by the name you provide, and don’t ask what your “real name” [birth name] is and then assume that they have a right to call you by that name.
- You can reasonably assume that your ability to acquire a job, rent an apartment, or secure a loan will not be denied on the basis of your gender identity/expression.
- You have the ability to flirt, engage in courtship, or form a relationship and not fear that your biological status may be cause for rejection or attack, nor will it cause your partner to question their sexual orientation.
- If you end up in the emergency room, you do not have to worry that your gender will keep you from receiving appropriate treatment, or that all of your medical issues will be seen as a result of your gender.
- Your identity is not considered a mental pathology (“gender identity disorder” in the DSM IV) by the psychological and medical establishments.
- You have the ability to not worry about being placed in a sex-segregated detention center, holding facility, jail or prison that is incongruent with your identity.
- You have the ability to not be profiled on the street as a sex worker because of your gender expression.
- You are not required to undergo an extensive psychological evaluation in order to receive basic medical care.
- You do not have to defend you right to be a part of “Queer,” and gays and lesbians will not try to exclude you from “their” equal rights movement because of your gender identity (or any equality movement, including feminist rights).
- If you are murdered (or have any crime committed against you), your gender expression will not be used as a justification for your murder (“gay panic”) nor as a reason to coddle the perpetrators.
- You can easily find role models and mentors to emulate who share your identity.
- Hollywood accurately depicts people of your gender in films and television, and does not solely make your identity the focus of a dramatic storyline, or the punchline for a joke.
- Be able to assume that everyone you encounter will understand your identity, and not think you’re confused, misled, or hell-bound when you reveal it to them.
- Being able to purchase clothes that match your gender identity without being refused service/mocked by staff or questioned on your genitals.
- Being able to purchase shoes that fit your gender expression without having to order them in special sizes or asking someone to custom-make them.
- No stranger checking your identification or drivers license will ever insult or glare at you because your name or sex does not match the sex they believed you to be based on your gender expression.
- You can reasonably assume that you will not be denied services at a hospital, bank, or other institution because the staff does not believe the gender marker on your ID card to match your gender identity.
- Having your gender as an option on a form.
- Being able to tick a box on a form without someone disagreeing, and telling you not to lie. Yes, this happens.
- Not fearing interactions with police officers due to your gender identity.
- Being able to go to places with friends on a whim knowing there will be bathrooms there you can use.
- You don’t have to convince your parents of your true gender and/or have to earn your parents’ and siblings’ love and respect all over again.
- You don’t have to remind your extended family over and over to use proper gender pronouns (e.g., after transitioning).
- You don’t have to deal with old photographs that did not reflect who you truly are.
- Knowing that if you’re dating someone they aren’t just looking to satisfy a curiosity or kink pertaining to your gender identity (e.g., the “novelty” of having sex with a trans- person).
- Being able to pretend that anatomy and gender are irrevocably entwined when having the “boy parts and girl parts” talk with children, instead of explaining the actual complexity of the issue.
Just to make sure we’re all on the same a page, a woman was found dead and the first sentence in the New York Times story about the incident was: “She was 25 and curvaceous, and she often drew admiring glances in the gritty Brooklyn neighborhood where she was known to invite men for visits to her apartment, her neighbors and the authorities said.Transgender Woman Dies in Fire, So Of Course the News Is About Wild Sex (via tarakutz)
