May 2011
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Nepal census recognizes 'third gender'
By Manesh Shrestha, CNNMay 31, 2011 10:06 a.m. EDT Members of the third gender community march in a gay parade in Kathmandu last year. STORY HIGHLIGHTS Nepal is registering “third gender” citizens in its national census State’s recognition of the rights of gender minorities, gays and lesbians has required pressure In 2007 Supreme Court ruled...
May 31st
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New memorial to gay holocaust victims to be built...
by Christopher Brocklebank 31 May 2011, 2:38pm          Over 50,000 gay people were arrested and imprisoned by the Nazis The German city of Munich, where the Nazis raided gay bars in the early days of the Third Reich, is to have a new memorial dedicated to the gay and lesbian victims of the holocaust. The location of the memorial is significant, as on 20 October 1934, the Nazis...
May 31st
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May 31st
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May 29th
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Gay-basher fails in attempt to reduce sentence
Posted: May 27, 2011 4:38 PM PT Last Updated: May 27, 2011 7:25 PM PT Convicted gay-basher Shawn Woodward failed in his attempt to have his assault sentence reduced. (CBC) B.C.’s highest court has rejected the appeal of a man convicted after sucker-punching a Vancouver bar patron, leaving him severely brain damaged. Shawn Woodward will have to serve out his six-year prison...
May 29th
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Dozens detained in failed Russian gay pride march
Reuters May 28, 2011 9:04 AM        Policemen, dressed in plain clothes, detain gay rights activist Daniel Choi (C) near the Kremlin during a gay pride parade, unsanctioned by the city authorities, in central Moscow May 28, 2011. Photograph by: Mikhail Voskrensensky, Reuters MOSCOW, May 28 (Reuters) - Dozens of people were detained by police in the Russian capital Moscow on...
May 28th
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Gender blender: Kids will figure it out
May 27, 2011 Jim Rankin FEATURE WRITER Criticisms aside, the parents of aptly named little Storm — the baby whose gender is being kept secret — already know what many parents with children exploring gender identity eventually discover. The kid’s going to figure it out. Be supportive. In his forward to the book Gender Born, Gender Made, Edgardo Menvielle, a doctor and regarded voice on...
May 28th
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Will gays be 'sacrificial lambs' in Arab Spring?
By Catriona Davies, for CNNMay 27, 2011 7:58 a.m. EDT Protesters in Beirut, Lebanon, on International Day Against Homophobia 2010. Their banner reads “What do you know about being normal?” (CNN) — The uprisings bringing political change and demonstrations across much of the Arab world have given millions of people hope of greater freedom. But...
May 28th
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May 27th
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Gallup Poll: U.S. Adults Think 25 Percent of...
from Towleroad: Wow: U.S. adults, on average, estimate that 25% of Americans are gay or lesbian. More specifically, over half of Americans (52%) estimate that at least one in five Americans are gay or lesbian, including 35% who estimate that more than one in four are. Thirty percent put the figure at less than 15%…Americans’ current collective estimate — which is...
May 27th
Texas Is Very Confused About Its Same-Sex Marriage... →
A Texas judge declared a marriage between a transgender woman and her firefighter husband invalid, yesterday. Nikki Araguz and Thomas Trevino Araguaz III, who died on the job last year, had been legally married for three years under the Texas Family Code, a law updated in 2009 to allow people who have undergone court-recognized sex or name changes to obtain marriage licenses. A 1999 appeals...
May 27th
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WatchWatch
alexorue: Belinda Carlisle and Son on Coming Out James Duke Mason has also started the ‘Trail Blazers Campaign’ to encourage celebrities to come out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mD8L94mgco
May 27th
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Conversion therapy: she tried to make me 'pray...
Two years ago, Patrick Strudwick began challenging therapists who claimed they could change a patient’s sexuality. This week he won his battle against one Patrick Strudwick The Guardian, Friday 27 May 2011  Patrick Strudwick visited a conversion therapist saying he wanted to be straight - he is really a journalist and gay rights...
May 27th
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May 26th
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Bigotry backfires: El Paso anti-gay ordinance...
File under ‘be careful what you wish for’. Then again, they probably don’t care about ‘collateral damage’. Q. LGBTQ Nation • Thursday, May 26, 2011 •     A federal judge has upheld a voter approved initiative that was intended to block same-sex partners of city employees from obtaining health care benefits, but actually strips away benefits from elected...
May 26th
May 26th
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Right-Wing Group Fuels Homophobia At The UN
An excellent piece by Eleveld at EqualityMatters, well worth the read! Q. May 24, 2011 1:59 pm ET by Kerry Eleveld The leader of a right-wing organization, who made a name for herself by pushing abstinence-only based programs in Africa and has ties to the virulently antigay Ugandan pastor, Martin Ssempa, is stepping up efforts to promote homophobic messages among delegates at the United...
May 26th
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A novel way of dealing with an unpleasant problem
Bioremediation Bottom feeders Apr 20th 2011 | from the print edition [The Economist]   For your delight and delectation DESPITE their name, disposable nappies are notoriously difficult to dispose of. Studies of landfills suggest they may take centuries to rot away. But Alethia Vázquez-Morillas of the Autonomous Metropolitan University in Mexico City thinks she has found a...
May 26th
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The great genderless baby debate
Another update on the Storm story with pundits jumping into the fray. I find Mallick’s article more about her than about the issues, while Porter seems to feel imposing boundaries is the most important parenting role. Which boundaries? Just because Storm’s parents refuse to instil gender IDEALS doesn’t mean ALL boundaries are ignored. And I do think Porter is confusing...
May 26th
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Teenage Students Speak Out: Fund Schools NOT...
Maybe if they spent more on education in the short term they would save on prisons in the long term? But nice to see students actively participating! Q. Published on Wednesday, May 25, 2011 by CommonDreams.org by Amanda Duprey and Crystal Pulle On Tuesday, April 26, Crystal and I boarded a bus to Harrisburg with other students, parents, and teachers to demand that Pennsylvania prioritize...
May 25th
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May 25th
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Rick Perry Signs Controversial Bill Requiring...
Yet another state attack on women’s bodies. If men could get pregnant abortion clinics would be more common (and cheaper!) than McDonalds. Q. By Marie Diamond at 11:33 am Yesterday afternoon, Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) signed the state’s controversial sonogram bill into law. The bill passed the legislature earlier this month and will require doctors to perform a sonogram at least 24...
May 25th
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Oakland school's lessons in gender diversity
You just know this is going to outrage the far-right. After all, why let the facts get in the way of a good opinion? And those who believe ‘homosexuality’ is unnatural in the animal world, have a look at Bruce Baghemihl’s seminal work Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity. Q. Jill Tucker, Chronicle Staff Writer Tuesday, May 24, 2011 Laura Morton /...
May 25th
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WatchWatch
I’m not much of a FOX fan but this rant rang true. Declining customer service and increasing prices. I much prefer my local farmers markets and local shops. Q.
May 25th
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May 25th
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Nevada governor signs first of three bills...
LGBTQ Nation • Wednesday, May 25, 2011 •  Brian Sandoval Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval on Tuesday signed into law a bill that prohibits workplace discrimination against transgender people. The bill, AB211, adds gender expression and identity to state employment law, which already prohibits employers from singling out job candidates based on race, religion, sexual orientation and other ...
May 25th
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Adult Bullying: Chaplains Insist Upon Ability To...
But a hostile environment for LGBT soldiers is OK? Q. By Zack Ford at 3:45 pm A group of anti-gay military chaplains are concerned that they will be “marginalized” by the end of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, because same-sex relationships will become normative. In a letter to the chiefs of chaplain, they express their dire concerns that marriages might take place in base chapels and that they...
May 25th
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Star readers rage about couple raising...
Follow up to the story I posted earlier on Storm. Hardly surprising there are those who find raising a child free of societal sex and gender constraints upsetting. But really, get over it people! Q. May 24, 2011 Jayme Poisson STAFF REPORTER A Saturday Star story about a Toronto couple who have chosen to keep the sex of their baby a secret has elicited a rush of responses from readers. ...
May 24th
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May 24th
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May 24th
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How Gays Helped Make and Remake America
A new history gives them a mission, and it isn’t to embrace marriage. By Johann Hari   Updated Monday, May 23, 2011, at 6:48 AM ET Michael Bronski The American right presents homosexuality as something alien to the American experience—an intruder that inexplicably gate-crashed America in 1969 in the form of a rioting drag queen clutching a high heel in her fist as a weapon. The...
May 24th
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May 23rd
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Teaching Sexuality In Schools Is Not a ‘Threat,’...
Sorry, there are two video clips associated with this article but I don’t know how to include them. One is from NOM and the other is an anti-gay ad using children to manipulate the viewer. You’ll have to head to the Wonk Room if you really want to see them. Q. By Zack Ford at 1:15 pm For decades, opponents of equality have used one tactic more than any other to scare voters...
May 23rd
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Coming Out: Audio, Photos, Stories of Gay Teens -... →
A new series from the NYT on LGBT youth. Q from NYT: Bullying and suicides of gay and lesbian teenagers are in the headlines, the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy has been repealed, and the debate over same-sex marriage continues to divide the country. Against this backdrop, many L.G.B.T. youth wonder how accepting society will be.
May 23rd
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Atheists have 'better sex lives than followers of...
This would be more interesting if they had interviewed a few same sex couples. One also has to wonder if some of those they did interview might be closeted, thereby adding to their feelings of guilt. Q. By Daily Mail Reporter Last updated at 8:47 AM on 20th May 2011   Atheists have far better sex lives than religious people who are plagued with guilt  during intercourse and for weeks...
May 23rd
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Foodies vs. Darwin: How Meat Eaters Ignore Science
I don’t necessarily disagree with McWilliams but I do eat meat. Not dino-portions ala Flinstones but a few slices of roast beast with accompanying gravy are comfort foods for cool or cloudy weekends (proving his cultural point!). Q. James McWilliams - James McWilliams is an Associate Professor of history at Texas State University, San Marcos, and author of Just Food: Where Locavores...
May 23rd
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May 23rd
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WatchWatch
Teaser clip of Chris Colfer on the Piers Morgan show scheduled to air on Monday night. Q.
May 23rd
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QQuips
        I am sitting in my backyard admiring the tulips and listening to the water in the pond tinkle as it trickles from the pump, providing both aeration and aural stimulation. The tinkling isn’t as ticklish to the ear as one might think as it also serves as a reminder the pump needs to be cleaned. Usually, it is much more of a giggling gurgle than a tinkling trickle. A raptor cry cranes my...
May 22nd
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State LGBT Watch: Transgender Protections...
By Zack Ford on May 20th, 2011 at 1:00 pm Both Nevada and Connecticut have advanced bills that protect transgender individuals from various forms of discrimination, but a Tennessee bill would rescind such protections in Nashville: - CONNECTICUT: The House of Representatives approved a bill barring discrimination based on gender identity in employment, housing, and public...
May 22nd
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Critics say Tennessee lawmaker’s latest target is...
By Darryl Morris • Saturday, May 21, 2011 • Tennessee lawmaker Stacey Campfield has spent the better part of the last seven years in the Tennessee legislature fighting for the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, a law aimed at prohibiting teachers from discussing homosexuality in kindergarten through 8th grade classrooms. Stacey Campfield On Friday, the Tennessee state Senate approved an amended version...
May 22nd
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May 22nd
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Gays in Egypt, Tunisia worry about post-revolt era
By DAVID CRARY, Associated Press Saturday, May 21, 2011(05-21) 09:06 PDT CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — While many of their compatriots savor a new political era, gays in Egypt and Tunisia aren’t sharing the joy, according to activists who wonder if the two revolutions could in fact make things worse for an already marginalized community. In both countries, gays and their allies worry that...
May 22nd
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In Asia, Raising the Wage Floor Toward Global...
Friday May 20, 2011 9:35 am By Michelle Chen Bangladeshi garment workers, who are mostly women, protest in Dhaka in July 2010.   (Photo Munir Uz Zaman/AFP/Getty Images) Garment factories have been fleeing from the American industrial landscape for decades now, and their destination is no mystery: faraway communities where the impoverished will work longer, for less, under worse conditions....
May 22nd
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The never ending parade of ‘hate’ in the news: A...
I tend to agree with Levesque. While I much prefer to (re)blog happy, heart warming stories I also feel there remains a need to shine a very bright light on inequality wherever it exists, in whatever form it manifests itself, which is why QBits is such an eclectic collection of gleanings. Or maybe I’m a tad ADHD? As sad or as mad as some of my postings may make me feel, I try to add a...
May 21st
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WatchWatch
(via William Shatner Sings O Canada by Jacob Medjuck - NFB) When William Shatner gets a Lifetime Achievement Award from Canada’s Governor General, he shows appreciation as only Shatner can. In this short film, the most famous space cadet in showbiz takes helm of our heritage and treats us to a memorable rendition of Canada’s national anthem. (NFB) My favourite line: “Our...
May 21st
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May 21st
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Wisconsin, Tennessee Try To Pull Planned...
Laura Bassett lbassett@huffingtonpost.com Posted: 05/20/11 06:05 PM ET Lawmakers in Wisconsin and Tennessee advanced legislation this week to pull state funding from Planned Parenthood because some of its clinics offer abortions. Wisconsin’s Joint Finance Committee voted Wednesday to block state family planning grants from any group that separately provides abortions or...
May 21st
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May 21st
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Angry beaver roams through N.W.T. town
Just because I like the headline. Q. CBC News Posted: May 20, 2011 2:21 PM ET Last Updated: May 20, 2011 3:03 PM ET Fort Smith beaver (video by Jason Mercredi)1:24   A large, agitated beaver attracted a crowd in Fort Smith, N.W.T., this week when it meandered through town and got hissy with a German shepherd. The beaver was spotted Monday evening wandering around a residential ...
May 21st