Prodigal Sons

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oz2BHFH4fc here is a link to the trailer of Kimberly Reed's movie Prodigal Sons. If you missed her ath talk last night I suggest watching this movie. We watched the first 1/2 hour last night and it was very interesting.

"Dallas Buyers Club"

There have been a lot of interesting responses from the online queer community to the upcoming movie "Dallas Buyers Club." Here's the trailer if you haven't heard of the movie: http://youtu.be/fvMPU0WaPcc

I encourage you to look at other responses, but here's one that I found particularly interesting: 

"Macklemore, Warped Queer Advocacy, and Why 'Dallas Buyers Club' is One of the Year's Worst Films"

This article raises for us once again the question of who can be an ally and how they can best fulfill that role. 

Marriage Equality Debate Within the Cheney Family

Given our discussion on marriage equality today, I thought this article about the public conflict between Liz and Mary Cheney (daughters of Dick Cheney) would be of some interest:
Liz Cheney's Sisterly Homophobia Ruins the Cheney Family Thanksgiving (Note: this is a Jezebel article, meaning it has a very liberal slant with some humor.)

For context, Liz Cheney is currently a Senate candidate and Mary Cheney is married to a woman named Heather Poe. In a recent Fox News interview, Liz said she does not support marriage equality, but, as an aside, said: "Listen, I love Mary very much. I love her family very much. This is just an issue on which we disagree."

Until reading this article, I hadn't realized that I subconsciously assumed that political families have generational disagreements about marriage equality (as in, parents conflicting with their children). I thought this was a compelling, though very upsetting, example of discord between siblings in the public eye.

Transitioning at the Claremont Colleges

The colleges have just released a set of Transitioning Plans for trans* students, designed in collaboration with the Queer Resource Center.  The guide includes information about Student Health Insurance, coming out to faculty and staff, and housing and name changes on each campus.

The LGBT Community in DC

The New York Times has an interesting video and related article on the presence and acceptance of the LGBT community in Washington, DC. According to polls, the capital has the highest percentage of LGBT adults (10%) compared to the rest of the nation (average 3.5%) and that LGBT life, particularly in terms of bars, is quite integrated which is interesting considering the history of the lavender scare and government suppression. It's suggested in the video that DC attracts the LGBT community because they have the opportunity to influence national issues in terms of LGBT rights.

http://www.nytimes.com/video/fashion/100000002554781/washington-comes-out.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/17/fashion/Washington-DC-has-thriving-gay-lesbian-and-transgender-population.html

"Facts" about Lesbians, circa 1963

Autostraddle posted an interesting list of 16 "facts" about lesbians from a book published in 1963. Although some of them are quite hilarious, you can also see how some of the "facts" published in the 60s perpetuated very negative lies about lesbians.

Whole list can be found here: http://www.autostraddle.com/16-hard-core-facts-about-lesbians-from-1963s-a-new-look-at-the-lesbian-205071/

Coast Guard enacts non-discrimination policy

This article is a great example of progress within the current gay movement, especially when compared to the military/government policies that we studied earlier in the semester.

Outing in Politics

The Debate section in our Eaklor reading for today says that in 1992 "the topic of outing seemed to fade quickly. It was taken up in another form by academics..." implying that the issue has faded from mainstream attention or political relevance (Eaklor, 193). However, the film Outrage from 2009 describes an activist who continues to work to out those whom Eaklor calls "the worst offenders (gay congressmen voting against gay rights)." 

Mayor Moscone's son marries his partner:
http://www.advocate.com/politics/marriage-equality/wedding-channel/2013/11/12/son-late-sf-mayor-moscone-marries-partner

Politico article on Maine Congressman Mike Michaud who came out to the public last week making the 7th openly gay House member.

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/gay-congressman-mike-michaud-glad-for-support-99629.html

Think B4 You Speak

Here's the website for the "Think B4 You Speak" campaign, which we discussed at our Ath lunch. You can find many of the commercials on Youtube. You might also be interested in learning about GLSEN (the Gay Lesbian & Straight Education Network), the organization that sponsored the campaign.  Thanks for the discussion on Friday!

ENDA passes the Senate

ENDA which we discussed in class earlier this week passed the senate today by 15 votes. The only opposition came from Republican senators (out of those who voted) and the against arguments focused on morality and religion according to the New York Times. The article is here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/08/us/politics/senate-moves-to-final-vote-on-workplace-gay-bias-ban.html?nl=us&emc=edit_cn_20131107&_r=0
And they also did a breakdown of the votes by party, senator and state which was interesting as it gave some indication of how opinions on the issue vary geographically:
http://politics.nytimes.com/congress/votes/113/senate/1/232?ref=politics

Kids React To Gay Marriage

I am sure many of you have seen this buzzing around the internet but for those of you that haven't-- check it out!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/04/kids-react-gay-marriage_n_4212543.html  

More on ENDA

Yesterday, the Senate began debate on the Employment Nondiscrimination Act. Here's the report from the New York Times, and here's its editorial on the topic.  Note the exemption for religiously-affiliated institutions.

Senate to vote on ENDA

The Senate may soon vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a federal law that would make it illegal to discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Currently, 29 states lack workplace protections for gay, lesbian, and bisexual people, and 33 states lack workplace protections for transgender people.  The Senate last voted on ENDA in 1996, when it failed by a single vote.

This piece from the Washington Post suggests that the bill has a good chance of passing in the Senate this time, and that opinion polls show that a majority of voters in every state supports efforts to make employment discrimination illegal. The article predicts, however, that even if the bill passes the Senate, its future in the House of Representatives is uncertain.

For opposition to the bill, see the Fight ENDA website.

An ad featuring black lesbian comedian Wanda Sykes from ThinkB4YouSpeak.com about not saying"that's so gay" that seems relevant to what Professor Selig was talking about for that high school seminar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWS0GVOQPs0

Article about Germany allowing a third gender option on birth certificates.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57610467/germany-to-allow-third-gender-designation-on-birth-certificates/