Logan Crane | If You Seek Amy Tufts Daily
As a heterosexual, I often take for granted the accessibility of hookups and matchmaking. I have a high regard for constituents of the queer community who live as minorities in our college hookup atmosphere. The Tufts social scene is a montage of frat parties and bars that encompass heterosexual norms. As I commonly joke with a gay friend that we should “man hunt” on Saturday nights, I have come to realize just how complicated that process can be. A queer in search of a relationship or sexual advice is often left with minimal resources.
The Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) Center is a great way to meet other queers. Their support groups make for a comfortable environment while providing a network outlet. The on-campus social scene lacks variety, as the options are Rainbow House or a queer-friendly house party. Those fortunate to own an ID are able to escape to a larger queer community within the Boston area. For gay men, Club Café is an extremely popular video bar. Paradise is for those interested in no more than a g-string and Velcro-seamed pants. For the lesbian ladies, Modern and Tribe are highly recommended to meet sexy singles. Midway Café is an excellent place for the transgender community. A themed night such as Queeraoke is bound to bring out your inner Sasha Fierce. An excellent suggestion from a fabulous queer friend is Guerrilla Queer Bar, which provides an alternative nightlife for the LGBT community. Finding a mate at Tufts comes with limited opportunities, but using social resources both at Tufts and in Boston can make the experience a little easier.
The resources available for sex and dating are more often than not geared to a heterosexual audience. It is rare to come across free dental dams, but there is always an abundant supply of cheap and uncomfortable condoms available. Finding resources about the intricacies of queer sex can be difficult. Although queer-themed TV has plenty of content flaws, shows like The L Word and Queer as Folk demonstrate ways to approach a sexual encounter. For someone new at queer sex, these shows might be helpful for getting started.
For those lesbians looking to explore sexual fantasies, Crashpadseries.com and Cyber-dyke.net are distributors of strictly lesbian porn, none of that bi-curious teasing that is labeled “lesbian” porn on other sites. All actresses involved are strictly interested in one thing — vagina.
Some feel uncomfortable diving into graphic cinema, so I suggest watching Annie Sprinkle’s Herstory of Porn. This documentary features the best and worst moments of queer porn. Because porn is not a sufficient instructor of sexual acts, the book Lesbian Kama Sutra is helpful and strictly for queer women. It provides more than your average scissor, so I encourage you to purchase this book for an increase in tongue teasers.
Gay porn is much easier to come by. Insertion of the words “gay sex” or “anal” will result in millions of Google pages on gay porn. But if you are looking for the specifics on sexually pleasing your partner, Gay-sex-positions.com provides written and visual description pertaining to the intricacies of anal and oral positions. Also, the LBGT Center on campus provides an excellent library of sex books and queer literature.
As the queer community on campus is incredibly small, these are some useful outlets to further your queer constituents and culture. As for sexual pleasure, one must never rely on the poor educational advice from health professionals and sex education teachers. Queer blogs, porn and Web sites are all useful means for sex tips. It’s important to recognize the avenues accessible to escape a social and sexual environment dominated by heterosexuals. The expansion of a social network and sexual lexis can be of great benefit.
–
Logan Crane is a junior majoring in political science. She can be reached at Logan.Crane@tufts.edu.
See Logan Crane | If You Seek Amy
Tufts Daily
| Published by |
 |
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/03/logan-crane-i…
Gay parents row splits French government Indopia
A French bill granting rights to stepparents sparked a row in government today when a minister described it as an under-handed way of recognising gay parents and vowed to fight the measure.
Housing Minister Christine Boutin, a staunch Catholic and vocal opponent of gay rights in France, said the proposed legislation contained provisions on homosexual couples that were surreptitiously included.
“I will not accept that we recognise homosexual parenting and adoptions by homosexual couples in an under-handed way,”said Boutin in a statement.
“ Recognising the status of stepparents will lead to the de facto recognition of homosexual parenting and adoptions by homosexual couples,”she said.
President Nicolas Sarkozy last month announced the new legislation giving stepparents rights over the children they raise, saying it would bring the law in step with the modern reality of reconstituted families. See Gay parents row splits French government Indopia
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/03/gay-parents-r…
Stand in and march by candlelight to overturn Proposition 8
To find an event near you, visit www.eveofjustice.com or www.marriageequality.org.
Many of these events feature faith leaders and are organized by people of faith. Join CA Faith for Equality, Marriage Equality USA, Equality California and other statewide and local cosponsors to share your voice and shine your light.
Statewide, March 4th, Candlelight Events and Marches. For information about locations and times in your area, visit www.eveofjustice.com or www.marriageequality.org.
Statewide, March 5th, 9am-12:30pm, CA Supreme Court hears oral arguments about overturning Proposition 8. Many supporters are traveling to San Francisco, others are gathering for viewing parties. If you are traveling to San Francisco, visit the CA Supreme Court website to know your viewing options. The California Channel will provide a live TV broadcast and online webcast.
Fresno, March 7-8th, Camp Courage. Brought to you by the Courage Campaign, this training offers us the opportunity to learn and sharpen our organizing tools and methods. For more information, please contact Lilia at lilia@couragecampaign.org.
Orange County, March 5th, 4-6pm Marriage Equality Rally hosted by Church of the Foothills. Join the Church of the Foothills to rally for marriage equality in pro-Prop 8 Orange County. 19211 Dodge Ave., (at Newport Blvd.), Santa Ana, 92705. For more information, contact Kergan at proud2bdad@yahoo.com
Pasadena, March 7th and 14th, 10am-2:30pm, Vote for Equality Canvasses. Talk to our neighbors about marriage equality. Training provided. Neighborhood Church, 301 N. Orange Grove Blvd., 91103. To RSVP or for more information, contact Laura Gardiner at 323-770-3188 or lgardiner@lagaycenter.org.
Los Angeles, March 11th, Jordan/Rustin Coalition Faith Committee Meeting. 7-8:30pm. Dinner from 6:30-7pm. At the first inaugural meeting of the faith committee, a joint project of the Jordan/Rustin Coalition and CA Faith for Equality, we will discuss and plan relationship building with African-American faith communities in the Los Angeles area. Contact Anne-Marie for more information: williams@jordanrustin.org.
Call for events!! If there are events in your area appropriate for folks interested in LGBT faith-rooted organizing, please email Kerry with details at kerry@cafaithforequality.org two weeks prior to the event. We will do our best to publicize them in our e-blasts.
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/03/stand-in-and-…
Bill would ban adoptions by unwed couples
The state had an infant, 2 weeks old, 10 weeks premature, HIV positive and abandoned at a hospital. The child wasn’t expected to live long but needed 24-hour care and parental nurturing.
Would they take the baby, asked the social worker who had evaluated and approved them for foster care.
“That was a Friday. We garage-saled all weekend and picked him up that Monday,” Morgan said. The couple later adopted the boy.
“Now we have this beautiful, healthy, happy, totally normal 18-year-old son. You tell me — what’s wrong with that?”
Morgan said he and his partner were the first openly gay couple to adopt in Tennessee.
If bills introduced in the Tennessee House and Senate this session succeed in the state’s new, Republican-dominated legislature, unmarried couples — gay and straight — could be barred from adopting.
People on both sides of the issue say their primary concern is the welfare of children. But that’s where the agreement ends about who should and should not be able to adopt in Tennessee.
The bills’ advocates say that Tennessee law was never intended to allow unmarried couples to adopt but that the state attorney general and Department of Children’s Services interpreted it incorrectly.
It’s clear children belong in “traditional” families, they say.
But those who oppose the bills say they would leave more children lingering in a state system that has made strides since a court ordered Tennessee to more swiftly connect eligible children with adoptive families.
“Remember that children in foster care don’t typically have a line of people going around the block waiting to adopt them,” said Adam Pertman, executive director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute.
See Bill would ban adoptions by unwed couples
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/03/bill-would-ba…
LGBT groups brace for tough economic times
Nearly three dozen major LGBT groups, including HRC, The Victory Fund, National Black Justice Coalition and the National Center for Transgender Equality, have begun a dialogue on ways to cope with declining financial support because of the struggling economy. Cost-saving options range from teaming up for health care, computer services and other administrative expenses to even combining groups with similar missions. Advocate.com
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/02/lgbt-groups-b…
Tennessee seeks to ban gay adoptions
For the second year in a row, a bill has been filed in the Tennessee Senate that bans adoptions by gay and unmarried straight couples.
Senator Paul Stanley (R-Memphis) filed the bill today (Thursday, Jan. 29) that “prohibits any individual who is cohabitating in a sexual relationship outside of a marriage that is valid under the constitution and laws of this state from adopting a minor.” See Tennessee seeks to ban gay adoptions
Out & About, TN -
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/01/tennessee-see…
Senator Larry Craig’s Appeal Denied… Tried To Withdraw Guilty Plea
MINNEAPOLIS — Idaho Sen. Larry Craig has lost his latest attempt to withdraw his guilty plea in the Minneapolis airport men’s room sex sting that effectively ended his Senate career.
A three-judge panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals on Tuesday rejected the Republican’s bid to toss out his disorderly conduct conviction.
Craig still has the option of appealing to the Minnesota Supreme Court, and he said Tuesday he was considering future options.
Craig was arrested June 11, 2007, by an undercover police officer who was conducting a sting operation against men cruising for gay sex at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
He quietly pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor and paid a fine, but changed his mind after word of his arrest became public that August. Craig insisted he was innocent and said he was not gay. His attorney argued that the police officer misconstrued Craig’s foot-tapping, hand movements and other conduct.
But the case brought widespread ridicule and effectively ended his political career.
Craig lost several GOP leadership positions in the wake of the scandal, and the Senate Ethics Committee said in February that Craig had brought discredit on the Senate. The committee members said they believed he was guilty, and that his attempt to withdraw his plea was just an effort to evade the legal consequences of his own actions.
See Senator Larry Craig’s Appeal Denied… Tried To Withdraw Guilty Plea
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2008/12/senator-larry…
Experts recommend advance planning for gay parents
While there is no law in Georgia limiting adoptions by lesbians and gays, prospective parents still face legal and financial challenges that require significant advance planning, according to speakers at a recent panel sponsored by Southern Voice and One Georgia Bank.
Jeffrey Cleghorn, a partner in the Atlanta law firm of Kitchens New, described adoptions options for gays and lesbians. The Georgia standard for legal adoption requires any adult to be at least 25 years old, a state resident for at least six months and financially, physically and mentally able to have custody, although married adults under 25 can adopt if living with their spouse.See Experts recommend advance planning for gay parents
Sovo.com, GA
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2008/12/experts-recom…
