Daily Archives: July 9, 2015
Marco Rubio Makes Up His Mind on Antigay Constitutional Amendment
Marco Rubio Makes Up His Mind on Antigay Constitutional Amendment
Now that the Supreme Court has established marriage equality nationwide, Marco Rubio does not support a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
Sunnivie Brydum
New Zealander Sophie Sills on Being Queer & Playing Women's Sport
New Zealander Sophie Sills on Being Queer & Playing Women's Sport
Sophie Sills is a 22 year-old student from Auckland, New Zealand. Queer, and a long-time footballer, as part of her Master of Arts in Psychology Sophie is conducting a study on if and how being LGBTQ affects players’ experiences of playing women’s sport. I interviewed her for Impolitikal.com.
What led to your interest in queer experiences in sport?
I’ve always been interested in queer issues, and I was thinking about what I could do for my Masters, chatting with people. They were like, you’re really into sports, why don’t you do something about that? That resonated with me, because I get a little bit of homophobia – not a lot but a little bit – in my own sports stuff. Out of all the ideas that I had, that was the one that seemed to be interesting and important.
Do you play football in all-girl teams or are they mixed?
Yeah, all-women’s. It was mixed until I was 15 or so, because my club didn’t really have enough women, but now it’s split up, so all women.
When did you come out?
My coming out was long. It was probably from when I was about 19. It’s still ongoing, but I didn’t really ever officially come out to my teammates, some of them just knew. Because they were friends with me or whatever, so they knew.
Because others aren’t aware you’re gay, do you think it affects how they are around you?
I think so, although I think they aren’t as unaware as I’m making them out to be. I think it’s just a youth thing – it’s the language that they use, saying gay [in a derogatory way] or fag. I don’t think they’re really against it or anything, I think it’s just their socialization.
How does it make you feel when you hear people talk like that, even if they’re not consciously trying to slag you?
I think I’m such a political person, it annoys me on a political level as well as a personal level. But as my friend says, it’s hard for us, as queers, to call them out all the time, because then they just think that we’re offended because our feelings are hurt because we’re queer, but actually it’s a bigger thing. You get used to it I guess, and it doesn’t really affect you that much. You’re just sort of like, oh ok I don’t really want to hang out with you and I am annoyed at your politics.
If I have to explain it to you…
Yeah, exactly!
Have you or people you know been actively bullied or discriminated against in a sporting context?
To say it’s active is difficult. Because no one’s ever really like, oh you’re a lesbian, you can’t play with us. No one’s like that, because no one really would say that to your face. But they might be thinking it, and sometimes it comes across a little bit that they’re thinking it. So I don’t know if there’s been anything active, I think it’s more that sometimes things happen, and you can’t really tell if people are being homophobic. For example, you’ve told someone you have a girlfriend, right? You just drop it in the conversation, oh I’m doing this with my girlfriend. And then when they ask you about your day, how that went, they say ‘your mate’, or your friend instead of your girlfriend. Rather than the direct, you’re a lesbian, you can’t sit with us or whatever. That sort of invalidating thing, almost.
Do you feel pressured to spell it out for people? How old are you now?
22.
So it’s been two or three years that you’ve been going through coming out?
Yeah. In places like soccer – we were always quite a young team, so we never really talked about boys or girls, because we were just there to play. That was the environment, we were there to impress our coach and get on the top team or whatever. Now I’ve come through that long coming out I don’t really feel the need to prove myself. Sometimes people assume that you’re straight, and then you just correct them a little bit. But otherwise I just go about my day.
Quite recently there’s been a lot happening around, I guess normalizing homosexuality really, with same-sex marriage being legalized in Ireland and the US for example. Do you think that’s changed how people are around you?
I’m not sure. It’s hard for me to tell because I’m so young, you know? My experience of change has been, coming from being 12 years-old, when everyone’s sort of weird about it. The only bullying I ever had was when I was 12, and we weren’t even sexual beings. But it feels like it’s changing society in the sense that it’s in the news a lot, so like you say it’s more normalized. Not even for gay people to be accepted, but to hear about things that are relevant to us on the news. I think people are just like, oh ok, that’s a thing that exists and then they just carry on with their lives.
I guess that’s almost the worst part. The fact that a lot of stuff that’s still been in place, that has stopped gay people from living their lives as anyone else, has remained because change hasn’t been a priority for people who are straight. That actually really just sucks. Because it’s had really devastating consequences for a lot of people.
So around 12 is when you started to become aware of being attracted to girls, and that’s when you started dealing with bullying?
I think so. I started to become aware of it almost because other kids would call me a lesbian all the time. I didn’t want that, because it was associated with them bullying me, or teasing me for wearing tomboy clothes and stuff like that. I think 12 is the age where it started to become less acceptable to be a tomboy, and so that’s when I started to have to think about it. But I didn’t really think about it properly until I was a bit older.
Do you have older friends that you’re able to talk to about your experience now?
As in, older friends that are gay?
Yeah, who have been going through this stuff at a different time to you – culturally and socially.
I don’t really have many older friends that are gay, but one of the things that springs to mind is – with my older teammates, when I was sending around the information for my study and I used words like queer and cisgender. They were like, what are those? I don’t understand those. They wanted to know. I think interest is expanding and people are less like, oh, that’s yuck.
What do you hope to highlight with your dissertation, or find out?
I’m hoping to make LGBT experiences in sport more well known, more understood. I’m working with an LGBT charity as well. They’ve given me some money and asked me to put the research towards making some information for sports clubs, a little pamphlet type of thing, so they’ve got a resource that basically outlines what it’s like to be queer in sport. What sorts of things can come across as homophobia, and just sort of open up the conversation I guess, in places where it might not be brought up by queer people, or it might not be something that the team talks about. Just to even bring that up I think is a step.
Have you included men in the study?
Sort of. I’ve tried to make it trans-inclusive, so they have to have played a sport that’s typically designated for women, but their gender identity doesn’t matter. At this point only women have responded, but it’s open to guys as long as they’ve had an experience playing in women’s sport.
Do you have male or trans friends who have had bullying experiences in a male-dominated sport?
When we were younger all the boys played soccer, and soccer for men has a stigma of being – in New Zealand anyway – the soft sport compared to rugby. So they all sort of had their sexuality accused basically, when they were quite young, and turned to rugby to be more manly, straight men. I think lots of them would get told that they were playing the gay sport, and they were going to turn out like girls. Or, you know, that they should pick up a ‘real’ sport like rugby.
By adults, or by their teammates?
Mostly by teammates, but when you’re quite young – I’m thinking 10 or 11 type of thing – kids just start to worry about their public image. It’s not directly from adults but I think it’s that idea in society that football is a soft sport, and the men fall down easily and rugby is the man’s game. That’s part of New Zealand culture in a way. So it came from adults too, but not directly.
Have any of your participants brought up a cultural, or ethnic or racial element?
I haven’t had anyone that’s not white come through so far, so that’s a little bit tricky. But in the literature it’s talked about how it’s very different if you’re black for example, because you have this stigma of being animalistic, of being biologically better at sport. On the one hand you’re a woman and you’re not supposed to be as good as men at sport, on the other you’re black and so you’re supposed to be really, really good at sport. That comes through in Serena Williams, for example. When you’re really good at sport as a black woman you get called an ape, or unattractive. My participants haven’t come to me with that, but I think it’s definitely a part of it.
What are your thoughts on Caitlyn Jenner’s transformation?
That’s quite a contested issue. There are some activists in our queer community here that are sort of like, it’s all good for Caitlyn but she’s rich, and she’s white. But no, I think it’s a very, very brave thing for her to do. Especially after having such a public career living as a man. I think having that representation in the media is a really important thing, just for kids to see that it’s ok, they can do it too if they want to. That’s what I think, really. We just need other people to be brave and to come out as well, and keep coming out until it’s a normal thing. That people aren’t talking about for weeks.
Maybe this is cheesy, but do you have any advice for younger people who might come up against some of the issues you’ve faced?
It’s a bit cheesy back at you, but I would say just be yourself. You care so much when you’re a teenager and when you’re a kid about what other people think, but as soon as you get out of that school environment you’re like, oh this is what the adult world is like, I can just be whatever. So just get through I guess. Get through.
Read the interview at Impolitikal.com.
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Marco Rubio now against constitutional amendment allowing states to ban gay marriage.
Marco Rubio now against constitutional amendment allowing states to ban gay marriage.
US Senator Marco Rubio does not want to see the constitution amended so that individual states can ban same-sex marriage.
His remarks after a speech in Iowa this week were something of a surprise coming from the Republican presidential hopeful who in the past has said it is ‘ridiculous and absurd’ to consider same-sex marriage a constitutional right.
‘I don’t support a constitutional amendment. I don’t believe the federal government should be in the marriage regulation business,’ the senator from Florida said at the Cedar Rapids Country Club.
Rubio’s remarks come less than two weeks after the US Supreme Court decided in a 5-4 ruling that same-sex marriage is legal in all 50 US states.
‘We can continue to disagree with it,’ he said. ‘Perhaps a future court will change that decision, in much the same way as it’s changed other decisions in the past. But my opinion is unchanged, that marriage should continue to be defined as one man and one woman. The decision is what it is, and that’s what we’ll live under.
‘I disagree with the decision on constitutional grounds,’ he added. ‘Irrespective of how one may feel about the definition of marriage, we’re still all Americans.’
It was just six weeks ago that Rubio warned that gay marriage poses a ‘real and present danger’ to Christianity.
‘We are at the water’s edge of the argument that mainstream Christian teaching is hate speech,’ he had said during an interview with Christian Broadcasting Network. ‘Because today we’ve reached the point in our society where if you do not support same-sex marriage you are labeled a homophobe and a hater.’
H/T: Bloomberg
The post Marco Rubio now against constitutional amendment allowing states to ban gay marriage. appeared first on Gay Star News.
Greg Hernandez
HUD Publishes Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule
HUD Publishes Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule
Yesterday the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a new rule to aid jurisdictions in their efforts to fulfill their obligations under the Fair Housing Act of 1968.
HRC.org
Oregon Priest Investigated For Unholy Bathroom Behavior
Oregon Priest Investigated For Unholy Bathroom Behavior
There’s something shady going down at St. Francis Catholic Church in Sherwood, Oregon.
Local police just announced that the church’s priest, Father Ysrael Bien (pictured), is under investigation for an incident involving a hidden camera installed in the men’s bathroom.
It all started back in April when a 15-year-old boy noticed an oddly placed electrical outlet next to the toilet in the bathroom near the church altar. Upon further investigation, he discovered the outlet was actually a hidden camera. He yanked it out of the wall then told Bien, who assured him and his parents that he would contact police about the matter.
And that’s when things turned fishy.
Related: Catholic Priest Outed For Hosting Raunchy Judas-Themed Gay Sex Orgies With Male Prostitutes
Days later, the boy’s mother contacted Bien to ask if police needed a statement from her son. The priest told her everything was under control and that no statement would be necessary. Then he assured her that “a conclusion would happen soon, and that he would be sure to tell them when someone was arrested,” police records say.
Two weeks later, the boy’s parents emailed Bien for an update on the case. He replied that police didn’t have enough evidence and the investigation was “over.”
Not satisfied with this outcome, the parents contacted the deacon, who told them he didn’t know much about the case. That’s when the parents emailed Bien again, this time asking to see the official police report.
An hour later, the priest replied: “There is no police report and it is best if I explain this to you in person.”
“Father informed me that he had lied to me, and that there was no police report or investigation because he had not reported the incident or the device,” the dad later told police.
Bien claimed that he put the camera in a drawer in the vesting room, but when he went to get it later that day, it mysteriously vanished. He never contacted police because he was afraid of “the consequences of losing the device,” police records say.
A judge authorized search warrants for the church, Bien’s home, his car, phones and computers. He has been placed on leave by the Archdiocese of Portland.
We’re waiting for his Grindr profile.
Related: Catholic Church Preys on Exhibitionist Priests Who Serve Cocktails And Post Nude Pics
h/t: Raw Story
Graham Gremore
Trans White House Heckler Jennicet Eva Gutiérrez Explains Why ‘Unplanned’ Action Was ‘Not About Just Me’ – VIDEO
Trans White House Heckler Jennicet Eva Gutiérrez Explains Why ‘Unplanned’ Action Was ‘Not About Just Me’ – VIDEO
Jennicet Eva Gutiérrez, the undocumented trans woman who last month heckled President Obama during a special LGBT Pride reception at The White House, has written an op-ed for the Advocate in which she explains her unplanned action.
Gutiérrez writes that her action aimed “to demand the release of LGBTQ undocumented immigrants from detention centers and call for an end to all detentions.”
Arguing that commentary has focused on her actions to the detriment of the actual issues, she adds:
“It became a critical opportunity to interrupt the president during his speech on behalf of my undocumented trans sisters who are suffering daily in immigrant detention centers.
“Though unplanned, my action was about continuing to place trans immigrant women at the front lines of our movement. It was the result of an urgent need for my community to collectively lift our voices and bring visibility.
“[Advocate columnist Dawn Ennis’s] piece diverted attention from the real issues at hand — the dire conditions of trans women of color. And this is appalling. The writer missed a tremendous opportunity to inform her readers about the serious injustice that I was trying to bring to light: undocumented trans women facing horrific and inhumane conditions in detention centers.”
Gutiérrez is a member of Familia: Trans Queer Liberation Movement, an activist group that recently blocked a Los Angeles intersection to bring attention to “the murders that trans women of color are facing in this country.”
She continues in part:
“When faced with gendercide, deportation, and rape and abuse in detention centers, politeness is a luxury that trans women of color cannot afford. Authorities have reported in 2015 alone the murders of nine trans women of color.
“It is well known by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security, and President Obama that these trans women are often sexually abused while in detention.
“The interruption at the White House was not about just me. It is about the continuous state-sanctioned violence and oppression my community faces every day. It is about the silence inflicted upon us by media and many mainstream LGBTQ organizations.”
“If my organizations had been too concerned with respectability and politeness, our voices would still be silenced, the average person would still be unaware of the seriousness of trans women in detention centers, and trans women of color would still be abused and suffering in detention centers with no one to speak up for them.”
Watch footage of Gutiérrez’s action below.
(Image via Facebook)
The post Trans White House Heckler Jennicet Eva Gutiérrez Explains Why ‘Unplanned’ Action Was ‘Not About Just Me’ – VIDEO appeared first on Towleroad.
Michael Fitzgerald
Married Same-Sex Couples Can Now Access Full Federal Benefits
Learn Some Damn Theater Etiquette Or Patti LuPone Will Steal Your Phone
Learn Some Damn Theater Etiquette Or Patti LuPone Will Steal Your Phone
What the hell kind of feral beasts are you becoming, America? Last night, Patti LuPone had to confiscate a woman’s phone when she was texting in the front row of Lincoln Center Theater, and you know what? Patti LuPone is a goddamned American hero.
Enough is enough. It was just last week some other feral person jumped on stage at a Broadway show to charge his phone. At a Broadway goddamned show. First of all, your phone does not need to be charged, because it should be off. Second of all, IT’S A BROADWAY GODDAMNED SHOW.
Have some self-respect. Y’all are acting like you were raised by wolves. Self-involved wolves with opposable thumbs whose highly evolved nature has led you to stare constantly at your phones. But wolves nonetheless.
The theater used to be a place of elegance and high culture. There used to be a certain dress code, an inherent level of respect required walking in the door. Now, half of the audience shows up in flip flops, looking like they are about to tailgate a Little League game.
But fine, whatever, dress like a slob with no respect. Patti LuPone can’t make you have dignity. Patti LuPone can’t force you to refer to it as “intermission” and not “halftime.” But Patti LuPone can, 100 percent, definitely tell you to put your phone away. She can and she will, people.
Honestly, what are you even doing on your phone in the first place? Are you updating your Facebook status with “seeing patti lupone — feeling cultural”? Taking some selfies with Patti LuPone on stage in the background? Tweeting at Patti LuPone to tell her she’s doing a good job?
Next time you think the world wants to hear your every waking thought, check in with this quick, self-administered questionnaire:
— Am I Barack Obama? Y/N.
— Am I Malala Yousafzai? Y/N.
— Am I Beyoncé? Y/N.
If the answer to any of those questions is “yes,” then, fine, continuing being a thought leader during the two hours you should be relaxing and watching the show. Otherwise, do not be texting. Do not be tryna hop on stage to charge your phone. Honestly, even Beyoncé shouldn’t be allowed to get away with sh-t like that. But she never would because she is an elegant goddess and paragon of grace, so it’s a non-issue.
In conclusion: stop it. If you have any questions, please put throw them in the trash with your goddamned phones.
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
Swimmer on how life has changed since he sent out this tweet: ‘Yes… I AM GAY… Who cares?’
Swimmer on how life has changed since he sent out this tweet: ‘Yes… I AM GAY… Who cares?’
On his Twitter page, Javier Ruisanchez describes himself this way: Eat – Sleep – Swim.
But he also finds time to occasionally tweet.
This week, the 18-year-old member of the Puerto Rico Junior National Swim Team shared his story of what has happened since he decided to come out in late October 2013 via Twitter.
His tweet read: ‘Yes… I AM GAY… Who cares?’
At that time, he was 16 and attending West Springfield High School in Virginia.
His phone immediately blew up with activity – so much so that it died.
‘I vividly remember the next day at school,’ he writes in a story for Outsports posted this week. ‘It was a Friday and I guess everyone in school had seen the tweet. I remember walking into my first-period class and people I wasn’t close with came up to me to congratulate me. The overwhelmingly positive support lifted a huge weight off my shoulders.’
Much to his relief, his fellow swim team members were supportive as well.
‘I got to practice and was instantly bombarded with questions. They wanted to know every single detail of all the text messages, tweets and reactions at school. They were so proud of me. My favorite reaction was: “Finally, I can say you’re my gay best friend.”‘
But the difficulty his mother and one of his two sisters had in accepting the news sent the swimmer into what he describes as ‘a major depression.’ His mother helped him find a therapist and after a few months, their closeness returned.
Ruisanchez, who will swim for Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania this fall, writes: ‘My life improved dramatically since the tweet. Not only did releasing my truth take a huge weight off my shoulders, but it also changed my life. My training in the pool changed in a positive way. I was no longer thinking about other things outside the pool so I could really focus on the workout.
‘I’m blessed with friends and family that support and love me unconditionally for who I am. I’m truly grateful for everyone who has helped me along the way.’
The post Swimmer on how life has changed since he sent out this tweet: ‘Yes… I AM GAY… Who cares?’ appeared first on Gay Star News.
Greg Hernandez
