DeFrank Center’s boss knows a challenge when he sees one in San Jose
Paul Wysocki was about to show me the drop-in center for youth at the Billy DeFrank Center when the silent burglar alarm went off. Wysocki fiddled with the box to accept his code and wound up calling the alarm company, telling them all was fine. “There’s usually a little lag time before they call the police,” he explained. The situation bore more than a little irony. As interim executive director, Wysocki is sounding the public alarm for the center, San Jose’s gathering place for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. But he has no lag time. Last week, he dispatched an e-mail that bluntly said the center would have to close its doors by Sept. 1 unless it raises $50,000. Wysocki hopes to coax backers to sign up for continuing contributions that would total $20,000 a month. “We had been talking about what we needed to do to get people’s attention,” said the red-haired 60-year-old, an exuberant and funny man who has become an expert in turning around nonprofits. “We decided we had to hit them right between the eyes.”
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
 |
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/defrank-cente…
(San Diego) A judge granted a sentencing delay last Tuesday to a man who assaulted a lesbian musician while she hugged her girlfriend. The lawyer for Vinzen Matthew Williams, 21, sought the delay.
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
Published by
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/man-who-assau…
Tags: Ads, Ali, Amp, Ba, Bia, Bisexual, Blog, Blog Blogspot, Blogger, Blogs, Border, Coord, Ego, Fo, Fr, gay, gay men, Gay New, Gay News, Gin, Girlfriend, google, Hell, Hellip, Images, Last Tuesday, Lawyer, Lea, Lead, Leads, Lesb, Lesbi, lesbian, Lesbian Musician, Lesbian News, Lt, Map, Matthew Williams, Mp, Mu, Mus, music, N News, Nbsp, Original Source, Pac, Pos, Pot, Rant, Rea, Rel Nofollow, Rig, San Diego, sex, Shap, Sic, Sourc, Ssa, Tag, Target, Ted, Tent, Transgender, Url, Verd, Vet, Wh
DC Law Helps Lesbian Couples Become Moms
A new D.C. law is making it a lot easier for a newborn to have two mommies from birth. According to the law, which went into effect on July 18, the District of Columbia will confer “the status of legal parent on both lesbian mothers who plan a child using donor insemination,” Nancy Polikoff reports.
In the past, the birth mother’s partner would have to go through an adoption process to become a legal parent of the child; now, the second mommy just needs to fill out some paperwork to demonstrate her “written consent” of parenthood. Polikoff notes that the new law is “marital status-neutral and gender-neutral,” so it will change parenthood policy in a couple of other situations as well:
See DC Law Helps Lesbian Couples Become Moms Washington City Paper
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
Published by
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/dc-law-helps-…
Tags: Adop, Adoption, Adoption Process, Ads, Aig, Ali, Amp, Anc, Ba, Bey, Bia, Birth Mother, Bisexual, Blog, Blog Blogspot, Blogger, Blogs, Border, Columbia, Coord, Cou, Coupl, Couples, Demo, Demon, Demons, District Of Columbia, Donor Insemination, Fo, Fr, gay, gay men, Gay New, Gay News, Gaymarriage, Gin, google, Grants, Images, Ins, July 1, Landmark, Ld, Lea, Lead, Leads, Lesb, lesbian, Lesbian Couple, Lesbian Couples, Lesbian Moms, Lesbian Mother, Lesbian Mothers, Lesbian News, Lot, Lt, Map, Marita, Marital Status, Marr, Marria, marriage, Mom, Mommies, Mommy, Moms, Mp, N News, Nan, Nancy, Nbsp, Original Source, Pac, Paperwork, Paren, Parenthood, Partner, Pi, Pl, Pos, Pot, Rant, Rea, Rent, Rig, Rita, Rr, Sec, sex, Shap, Sig, Sin, Sit, Sourc, Span, Tag, Target, Tent, Transgender, Url, Verd, Vet, Washington City Paper, Wh, Which Went Into Effect, Wor, Wou
A transgender star sparkles in India’s TV firmament
The neighbourhood is choked with rickshaws, bullock carts, spice stands, saree shops and bangle stalls. It’s India from central casting.
The TV star, not so much. With a long stride and a curvy sashay that sends her chiffon dupatta fluttering around her, Rose Venkatesan emerges from the dust and the crowd, more than ready for her close-up – but with a somewhat anxious air that suggests she is a bit worried about just what that close-up may bring.
Rose is, as she mentions at least once in every conversation, India’s first transgender television star. Once an engineer named Ramesh, she began to transition to female six years ago, to the horror of her conservative family.
Today she is a star, both in India and in the Tamil diaspora, including the large community in Canada. Her first TV talk show had an audience in the tens of millions. She has helped advance the political agenda of transgendered people, typically reviled but recently afforded a rare degree of accommodation by the government in Tamil Nadu. Her second show – which she is producing and directing and writing herself, as well as hosting – has just hit the air and early signs are that it’s a hit too.
Yet Rose, 30, also lives in a strange world of half-acceptance – sharing a home with a family that still calls her Ramesh and forbids her to wear a saree in front of them; hitting the town with her queer friends to flirt and party but insisting on a dark and empty restaurant when she meets a journalist to tell her story. “Weakness is death, strength is life,” she signs every e-mail – but strength, it would seem, can be exhausting.
See A transgender star sparkles in India’s TV firmament
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
Published by
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/transgender-s…
Tags: Ads, Agenda, Ali, Ally, Amp, Anc, Audience, Ba, Bea, Bia, Bid, Bisexual, Blog, Blog Blogspot, Blogger, Blogs, Border, Bullock Carts, Cal, Canada, Cho, Conser, Conservative, Conservative Family, Coord, Cr, Crowd, Dea, Direc, E Mail, Engineer, Eve, Fir, Firmament, First Tv, Flu, Fo, Fr, Friends, gay, gay men, Gay New, Gay News, Genda, Gin, Globe, Globe And Mail, Globe Mail, google, Gove, Hb, Hbo, Ids, Images, India, India Mail, Ins, Irs, Journalist, Larg, Ld, Lea, Lead, Leads, Led, lesbian, Lesbian News, Loc, Lt, Mail, Map, Mp, Mu, N News, Nbsp, Nme, Original Source, Pac, Peop, People, Pi, Pl, Political Agenda, Pos, Pot, Queer, Queer Friends, Rant, Rare Degree, Rea, Rh, Rickshaws, Rig, Rose, Roun, Rr, S Tv, Sashay, Sec, sex, Shap, Shari, Sig, Signs, Sit, Six Years, Sourc, Span, Sparkle, Sting, Strange World, Tag, Talk Show, Tamil Diaspora, Tamil Nadu, Target, Tele, Television, Television Star, Tent, Transgender, Transgendered, Transition, Tv Talk Show, Uni, Url, Verd, Vet, Wh, Wit, Wor, Wou, Zi
Pride House: A home for gay Olympians
t’s mid summer, so the 2010 Winter Olympics are just a few months away. Already in the host city of Vancouver, the GLBT community is making sure that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender athletes – and their families, friends and supporters – won’t be left out in the cold.
Gay Whistler – a group that works year-round promoting the Whistler ski resort (where skiing, bobsled and luge events will be held) to the GLBT community – is doing more than just welcoming gay competitors and fans. It’s opening Pride House, a meeting place in Pan Pacific Whistler Centre – located right in the thick of the Olympic hubbub.
Pride House will feature a lounge with TV screens. Information about upcoming Gay Games, Outgames and the Gay and Lesbian International Sports Association will be available. Athletes, coaches, families and friends who live in gay-intolerant countries can also obtain legal information about seeking refugee status in Canada.
See Pride House: A home for gay Olympians
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
Published by
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/pride-house-h…
Tags: 2010 Winter Olympics, Ace, Ads, Ali, Amp, Anc, Athlete, Ba, Bia, Bisexual, Blog, Blog Blogspot, Blogger, Blogs, Bobsled, Bod, Border, Canada, City Of Vancouver, Coach, Competitor, Coord, Cou, Countries, Cr, Era, Eve, events, Fans, Fo, Fr, Friends, Game, Games, gay, Gay And Lesbian, Gay Games, Gay Games Outgames, gay men, Gay New, Gay News, Gin, Glbt, Glbt Community, google, Grou, Hes, Host City, Hs, Hubbub, Images, International Sports, Ld, Lea, Lead, Leads, Led, lesbian, Lesbian News, Loc, Lt, Map, Mid Summer, Mp, Mu, N News, Nbsp, Olympia, Olympians, Olympics, Original Source, Ouse, Pac, Pan Pacific Whistler, Pi, Pl, Pos, Pot, pride, Prom, Rant, Rea, Refugee, Refugee Status, Rig, Roun, Screens, sex, Shap, Sig, Sourc, Span, Sports, Sports Association, Tag, Target, Ted, Tent, Tg, Transgender, Tv Screen, Tv Screens, Uni, Url, Vancouver, Verd, Vet, Wh, Whistler Ski Resort, Winter Olympics, Wit, Wor
Minister defends decision not to fund gay arts festival
OTTAWA — Industry Minister Tony Clement says his government had to consider “regional fairness” when doling out stimulus money to big tourism events - and that’s why a gay arts festival in Montreal didn’t make the cut.
The organizers of Montreal’s Divers-Cite festival, which features gay and lesbian performers from around the world, said they were shocked to find out this week that their application for funding under the new program had been rejected.
They had been told by bureaucrats they had met all the rigorous criteria for their $155,000 bid - a fact not disputed by the government.
Director Suzanne Girard had initially scoffed at suggestions that ideology might be at play in handing out grants, but now says she suspects politics were involved.
After some Conservative caucus members complained last month that Toronto’s Pride Week had received $400,000, junior tourism minister Diane Ablonczy lost responsibility for the file.
But Clement said Wednesday there had been an “avalanche” of applications under the $100-million Marquee Tourism Events Program and decisions had to be made.
See Minister defends decision not to fund gay arts festival
The Canadian Press
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
Published by
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/minister-defe…
Tags: 4m, Act, Ads, Ala, Ali, Ally, Amp, Anc, Ba, Bia, Bid, Bil, Bisexual, Blog, Blog Blogspot, Blogger, Blogs, Border, Bureaucrats, Caucus, Caucus Members, Conser, Conservative, Conservative Caucus, Consi, Coord, Cr, Decisions, Defe, Diane Ablonczy, Direc, Dn, Eve, events, Fairness, Fo, Fr, Fun, gay, Gay And Lesbian, Gay Arts, gay men, Gay Montreal, Gay New, Gay News, Gay Ottawa, Gin, google, Gove, Grants, Images, Industry Minister, Ld, Lea, Lead, Leads, lesbian, Lesbian News, Lost, Lt, Map, Members, Met, Minister Tony Clement, Money, Mp, Mu, N News, Nbsp, Nme, Npr, Organize, Organizer, Organizers, Original Source, Ottawa, Pac, Pl, politics, Pos, Pot, pride, Rant, Rea, Rig, Rigorous Criteria, Roun, sex, Shap, Shock, Sig, Sit, Sourc, Span, Spe, Stimulus, Suggestion, Suzanne Girard, Tag, Target, Ted, Tent, Tg, Tia, Tou, Tourism Events, Tourism Minister, Transgender, Uni, Url, Verd, Vet, Wh, Wor
Councilmen waver on new gay marriage bill
Porterville city councilmen rehashed a contentious issue Tuesday night — gay marriage.
Former mayor Cameron Hamilton proposed that council members show adamant opposition to a bill circulating among state legislators.
Senate Bill 54 proposes same-sex couples married outside the state, and before the passage of Proposition 8, are warranted the equal recognition as married spouses in California.
The council formerly engaged with a state issue on Sept. 2, 2008 by adopting a resolution supporting Proposition 8. The ballot measure, which was passed by California voters in November, codifies that marriage in California is only between a man and a woman.
This time the vote was not unanimous.
By a sliver — two in favor, two opposed, one abstained — council members allowed Hamilton to draft a resolution to approve or disapprove at a future meeting.
See Councilmen waver on new gay marriage bill
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
Published by
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/councilmen-wa…
Tags: Adamant Opposition, Adop, Ads, Ali, Amon, Amp, Ba, Ballot Measure, Bia, Bil, Bisexual, Blog, Blog Blogspot, Blogger, Blogs, Border, Cal, Cali, Californ, California Voter, California Voters, City Councilmen, Contentious Issue, Coord, Cordero, Cou, Council Member, Council Members, Coupl, Couples, Fo, Fr, Gag, gay, gay marriage, gay men, Gay New, Gay News, Gin, google, Images, Lea, Lead, Leads, Legislator, Legislators, lesbian, Lesbian News, Lot, Lowe, Lt, Man And A Woman, Map, Marr, Marria, marriage, Marriage Bill, Members, Mp, N News, Nan, Nbsp, New Gay, Opposition, Original Source, Ouse, Pac, Pl, Porterville Recorder, Pos, Pot, Rant, Rea, Rig, Rov, Rr, Sage, Same Sex Couples, Senate, Senate Bill, sex, Sex Couple, Sex Couples, Shap, Sig, Sit, Sourc, Span, Ssa, State Legislators, Tag, Target, Ted, Tent, Time T, Transgender, Tuesday Night, Url, Verd, Vet, Vote, Warrant, Waver, Wh, Wit, Woman
Church and Straight in CT
The Family Institute of Connecticut apparently blew too much money on Question 1 ads to afford a real lawyer.
We bet that’s why Pat Robertson’s non-profit firm, the American Center for Law and Justice, helped them bully the Connecticut Department of Children and Families into removing “open and affirming” churches from a list of gay-friendly resources on the department’s Web site on seperation of church and state grounds.
(No, really, the Family Institute of Connecticut accused someone else of misunderstanding the separation of church and state.)
“A handful of the links related to religious organizations considered to be — what are the words I want to use? — progressive on gay and lesbian issues,” explains Gary Kleeblatt, communications director for the DCF, who says the agency got a letter from the Family Institute inferring a lawsuit from Robertson’s team of cranks could be forthcoming.
Kleeblatt assures us the DCF is still “extremely enlightened to gay and lesbian issues. We welcome gays and lesbians to adopt. We also recognize there are gays and lesbians in our care. But we can’t be seen as endorsing any religious groups.”
Shirley Gadson, pastor of Bridgeport’s open and affirming Open Door Ministries, says, “I think that people have to realize Christ loves everybody and is open and affirming to everyone.”
Family Institute executive director Peter Wolfgang told our parent paper, the Hartford Courant, “We said all along that if same-sex marriage was imposed in Connecticut, the next thing that would happen would be an effort to reeducate Connecticut children.”
Yes, that’s right! First comes gay marriage and then comes … some constitutionally questionable links on the DCF’s Web site. Feel that? It’s the foundations of our society shaking!
fairfieldweekly.com
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
Published by
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/church-and-st…
Tags: Adop, Ads, Aig, Ali, Ally, American Center For Law And Justice, Amp, Ba, Bia, Bisexual, Blog, Blog Blogspot, Blogger, Blogs, Bod, Border, Bridge, Bridgeport, Bully, Chur, Churches, Cj, Communications Director, Conn, Connecticut, Connecticut Children, Connecticut Department Of Children And Families, Consi, Constitution, Coord, Cou, Cr, Dcf, Depar, Department Of Children And Families, Direc, Director Peter, Era, Eric, Erica, Eve, Exec, Executive Director, Family Institute Of Connecticut, Fir, Fo, Fr, Gadson, gay, Gay And Lesbian, gay marriage, gay men, Gay New, Gay News, Gays, Gays And Lesbians, Gin, google, Grou, Groups, Handful, Hartford Courant, Hes, Images, Ins, Irs, Law And Justice, Lawyer, Ld, Lea, Lead, Leads, lesbian, Lesbian Issues, Lesbian News, Lesbians, love, Lt, Map, Marr, Marria, marriage, Mis, Misunderstanding, Money, Moving, Mp, Mu, N News, Nbsp, Organization, Original Source, Pac, Paren, Pat Robertson, Peop, People, Pl, Pos, Pot, Rant, Rea, Reed, Religious Group, Religious Groups, Religious Organization, Religious Organizations, Remov, Rent, Rig, Roun, Rr, same sex marriage, Separation Of Church And State, Seperation Of Church And State, sex, Sex Marriage, Shap, Sig, Sin, Sit, Sourc, Span, Tag, Target, Ted, Tent, Transgender, Uni, Ups, Url, Verd, Vet, Wh, Wor, Wou
US May Lift Entry Ban on HIV Patients
For more than two decades, anybody who is HIV positive has been prevented from entering the United States. But with President Barack Obama’s support, the ban will likely expire soon, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) taking public comments until August 17. The department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will then make the final decision. “We’re trying to end the stigma and the discriminatory practice for a disease that doesn’t warrant exclusion for coming into this country,” said the director of the CDC’s division of global migration and quarantine, Dr. Martin Cetron. “We have to appreciate this is not a threat we face from abroad.” He acknowledged that “HIV is clearly a public health disease of significance,” but added that simply letting somebody with HIV into the country does not “immediately pose a risk to the public.”
The proposal could allow an average of about 5,000 HIV-infected people into the United States each year. And according to a CDC estimate published in the federal register, the lifetime medical costs of those admitted in just the first year would total almost $100 million. The United States is one of about 15 countries that prevent entry of HIV-positive patients, though it is possible to obtain a waiver under certain conditions. See US May Lift Entry Ban on HIV Patients
The New American
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
Published by
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/us-may-lift-e…
Tags: 100 Million, Ace, Act, Acti, Adm, Ads, Ali, Amp, Anc, Ba, barack obama, Bia, Bisexual, Blog, Blog Blogspot, Blogger, Blogs, Bod, Border, Cal, Cbe, Cdc, Centers For Disease Control, Centers For Disease Control And Prevention, Centers For Disease Control And Prevention Cdc, Control, Coord, Cou, Cr, Decade, Decades, Depar, Department Of Health, Department Of Health And Human Services, Direc, Discriminatory Practice, Disease Control And Prevention, Entering The United States, Era, Eric, Erica, Eve, Face, Federal Register, Final Decision, Fir, Fo, Fr, gay, gay men, Gay New, Gay News, Gin, Global Migration, google, Gus, health, Health And Human Service, Health And Human Services, Health Disease, Hhs, hiv, Hiv Patients, Hiv Positive, Hs, Images, Immigration, Irs, Ld, Lea, Lead, Leads, Lear, Led, lesbian, Lesbian News, Lifetime, Lt, Map, Mate, Medical Costs, Mp, N News, Nbsp, Obam, Obama, Original Source, Pac, Peop, People, Pi, Pl, Pos, Possi, Pot, president, Proposa, Proposal, Public Comment, Public Comments, Public Hea, Public Health, Rant, Rea, Register, Rig, Risk, Rr, sex, Shap, Sig, Sit, Sourc, Span, Stigma, Tag, Target, Ted, Tent, Transgender, Uni, United State, united states, Url, Verd, Vet, Warrant, Wh, Wit, Wou
For Gay Iranian Refugees, a Matter of Life or Death
NOTE: This is the second of two parts, the first, on the election revolt, was on EDGE in June.
The international media clamor surrounding last month’s Iranian election, which saw the contentious re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad result in weeks of protests, demonstrations and violence, may have died down, but the unstable atmosphere lives on for residents of the Islamic republic.
They continue to face major restrictions on free speech and threats to their safety if they choose to speak out. And they will not soon forget the street violence that resulted in the death, imprisonment and harassment of many protesters, activists and journalists–all part of the worst unrest the country has seen in thirty years.
This is particularly true for gay and lesbian Iranians, both those who remain inside the country and those who have escaped. They are familiar with oppressive treatment from their government, one which continues to outlaw homosexuality and crack down against any outward display of queerness. The first story (published here June 30, 2009,) examined the environment facing the Iranian queer community, particularly in light of the government’s attempts to silence any post-election voices of dissent.
Building from that story, we now take a look at the climate facing queer Iranians who have fled the country with the hopes of seeking asylum in the West. Forced, in many cases, to leave behind their families, friends and the culture of their blood, their dreams of living in freedom still face a number of challenges.
When gay Iranian refugees and asylum seekers leave, they are sent to live temporarily to a number of a different places, though most end up in small Turkish towns known as “satellite cities,” far from the larger cities like Ankara or Istanbul. They file a request to be granted official refugee status with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in order to legally move West, and then they wait. In many cases, that waiting period can last up to three years, a time during which employment is difficult to find and harassment is not unusual.
See For Gay Iranian Refugees, a Matter of Life or Death
EDGE Boston
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
Published by
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/for-gay-irani…
Tags: Ace, Act, Acti, Activist, Activists, Ads, Ali, Ally, Amp, Ankara, Asylum, Asylum Seeker, Asylum Seekers, Atmosphere, Attempt, Attempts, Ba, Bia, Bisexual, Blog, Blogger, Blogs, Bod, Border, Boston, Challenges, Cho, Climate, Coord, Cou, Cr, Dea, Death Note, Demo, Demon, Demons, Demonstration, Demonstrations, Different Places, Dissent, Dom, elect, Employment, Environment, Face, Fir, Fo, Fr, Free Speech, Freedom, Friends, gay, Gay And Lesbian, Gay Iran, gay men, Gay New, Gay News, Gin, google, Gove, Harassment, High Commissioner, Homo, Homosexual, Homosexuality, Images, Imprisonment, Ins, Iran, Iranian, Iranian Election, Iranian Refugees, Iranians, Irs, Islam, Journalist, Journalists, June 3, Kar, Larg, Ld, Lea, Lead, Leads, Led, lesbian, Lesbian News, Loo, Loy, Lt, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Map, Mate, Mis, Mp, Mu, N News, Nbsp, Nme, Ny Post, Offi, Officia, Original Source, Outlaw, Pac, Pl, Pos, Pot, Protest, Protester, Protesters, Protesters Activists, Protests, Queer, Queer Community, Rant, Rea, Reed, Refugee, Refugee Status, Refugees And Asylum Seekers, Rema, Rent, Restriction, Revolt, Rig, Rio, Roun, Rr, Satellite Cities, Sec, Seeking Asylum, sex, Sexuality, Shap, Sig, Silence, Slam, Sourc, Span, Spe, Sphere, Stab, Street Violence, Tag, Target, Ted, Tent, Ties, Transgender, Uni, United Nations, United Nations High Commissioner, United Nations High Commissioner For Refugees, Unstable Atmosphere, Url, Verd, Vet, Violence, Voices, Waiting Period, Wes, Wh, Wit, Wor
(San Diego) A judge granted a sentencing delay last Tuesday to a man who assaulted a lesbian musician while she hugged her girlfriend. The lawyer for Vinzen Matthew Williams, 21, sought the delay.
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/man-who-assau…
DC Law Helps Lesbian Couples Become Moms
A new D.C. law is making it a lot easier for a newborn to have two mommies from birth. According to the law, which went into effect on July 18, the District of Columbia will confer “the status of legal parent on both lesbian mothers who plan a child using donor insemination,” Nancy Polikoff reports.
In the past, the birth mother’s partner would have to go through an adoption process to become a legal parent of the child; now, the second mommy just needs to fill out some paperwork to demonstrate her “written consent” of parenthood. Polikoff notes that the new law is “marital status-neutral and gender-neutral,” so it will change parenthood policy in a couple of other situations as well:
See DC Law Helps Lesbian Couples Become Moms Washington City Paper
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/dc-law-helps-…
A transgender star sparkles in India’s TV firmament
The neighbourhood is choked with rickshaws, bullock carts, spice stands, saree shops and bangle stalls. It’s India from central casting.
The TV star, not so much. With a long stride and a curvy sashay that sends her chiffon dupatta fluttering around her, Rose Venkatesan emerges from the dust and the crowd, more than ready for her close-up – but with a somewhat anxious air that suggests she is a bit worried about just what that close-up may bring.
Rose is, as she mentions at least once in every conversation, India’s first transgender television star. Once an engineer named Ramesh, she began to transition to female six years ago, to the horror of her conservative family.
Today she is a star, both in India and in the Tamil diaspora, including the large community in Canada. Her first TV talk show had an audience in the tens of millions. She has helped advance the political agenda of transgendered people, typically reviled but recently afforded a rare degree of accommodation by the government in Tamil Nadu. Her second show – which she is producing and directing and writing herself, as well as hosting – has just hit the air and early signs are that it’s a hit too.
Yet Rose, 30, also lives in a strange world of half-acceptance – sharing a home with a family that still calls her Ramesh and forbids her to wear a saree in front of them; hitting the town with her queer friends to flirt and party but insisting on a dark and empty restaurant when she meets a journalist to tell her story. “Weakness is death, strength is life,” she signs every e-mail – but strength, it would seem, can be exhausting.
See A transgender star sparkles in India’s TV firmament
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/transgender-s…
Pride House: A home for gay Olympians
t’s mid summer, so the 2010 Winter Olympics are just a few months away. Already in the host city of Vancouver, the GLBT community is making sure that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender athletes – and their families, friends and supporters – won’t be left out in the cold.
See Pride House: A home for gay Olympians
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/pride-house-h…
Minister defends decision not to fund gay arts festival
OTTAWA — Industry Minister Tony Clement says his government had to consider “regional fairness” when doling out stimulus money to big tourism events - and that’s why a gay arts festival in Montreal didn’t make the cut.
The organizers of Montreal’s Divers-Cite festival, which features gay and lesbian performers from around the world, said they were shocked to find out this week that their application for funding under the new program had been rejected.
They had been told by bureaucrats they had met all the rigorous criteria for their $155,000 bid - a fact not disputed by the government.
Director Suzanne Girard had initially scoffed at suggestions that ideology might be at play in handing out grants, but now says she suspects politics were involved.
After some Conservative caucus members complained last month that Toronto’s Pride Week had received $400,000, junior tourism minister Diane Ablonczy lost responsibility for the file.
But Clement said Wednesday there had been an “avalanche” of applications under the $100-million Marquee Tourism Events Program and decisions had to be made.
See Minister defends decision not to fund gay arts festival
The Canadian Press
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/minister-defe…
Councilmen waver on new gay marriage bill
Porterville city councilmen rehashed a contentious issue Tuesday night — gay marriage.
Former mayor Cameron Hamilton proposed that council members show adamant opposition to a bill circulating among state legislators.
Senate Bill 54 proposes same-sex couples married outside the state, and before the passage of Proposition 8, are warranted the equal recognition as married spouses in California.
The council formerly engaged with a state issue on Sept. 2, 2008 by adopting a resolution supporting Proposition 8. The ballot measure, which was passed by California voters in November, codifies that marriage in California is only between a man and a woman.
This time the vote was not unanimous.
By a sliver — two in favor, two opposed, one abstained — council members allowed Hamilton to draft a resolution to approve or disapprove at a future meeting.
See Councilmen waver on new gay marriage bill
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/councilmen-wa…
Church and Straight in CT
The Family Institute of Connecticut apparently blew too much money on Question 1 ads to afford a real lawyer.
We bet that’s why Pat Robertson’s non-profit firm, the American Center for Law and Justice, helped them bully the Connecticut Department of Children and Families into removing “open and affirming” churches from a list of gay-friendly resources on the department’s Web site on seperation of church and state grounds.
(No, really, the Family Institute of Connecticut accused someone else of misunderstanding the separation of church and state.)
“A handful of the links related to religious organizations considered to be — what are the words I want to use? — progressive on gay and lesbian issues,” explains Gary Kleeblatt, communications director for the DCF, who says the agency got a letter from the Family Institute inferring a lawsuit from Robertson’s team of cranks could be forthcoming.
Kleeblatt assures us the DCF is still “extremely enlightened to gay and lesbian issues. We welcome gays and lesbians to adopt. We also recognize there are gays and lesbians in our care. But we can’t be seen as endorsing any religious groups.”
Shirley Gadson, pastor of Bridgeport’s open and affirming Open Door Ministries, says, “I think that people have to realize Christ loves everybody and is open and affirming to everyone.”
Family Institute executive director Peter Wolfgang told our parent paper, the Hartford Courant, “We said all along that if same-sex marriage was imposed in Connecticut, the next thing that would happen would be an effort to reeducate Connecticut children.”
Yes, that’s right! First comes gay marriage and then comes … some constitutionally questionable links on the DCF’s Web site. Feel that? It’s the foundations of our society shaking!
fairfieldweekly.com
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/church-and-st…
US May Lift Entry Ban on HIV Patients
For more than two decades, anybody who is HIV positive has been prevented from entering the United States. But with President Barack Obama’s support, the ban will likely expire soon, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) taking public comments until August 17. The department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will then make the final decision. “We’re trying to end the stigma and the discriminatory practice for a disease that doesn’t warrant exclusion for coming into this country,” said the director of the CDC’s division of global migration and quarantine, Dr. Martin Cetron. “We have to appreciate this is not a threat we face from abroad.” He acknowledged that “HIV is clearly a public health disease of significance,” but added that simply letting somebody with HIV into the country does not “immediately pose a risk to the public.”
The proposal could allow an average of about 5,000 HIV-infected people into the United States each year. And according to a CDC estimate published in the federal register, the lifetime medical costs of those admitted in just the first year would total almost $100 million. The United States is one of about 15 countries that prevent entry of HIV-positive patients, though it is possible to obtain a waiver under certain conditions. See US May Lift Entry Ban on HIV Patients
The New American
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/us-may-lift-e…
For Gay Iranian Refugees, a Matter of Life or Death
NOTE: This is the second of two parts, the first, on the election revolt, was on EDGE in June.
The international media clamor surrounding last month’s Iranian election, which saw the contentious re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad result in weeks of protests, demonstrations and violence, may have died down, but the unstable atmosphere lives on for residents of the Islamic republic.
They continue to face major restrictions on free speech and threats to their safety if they choose to speak out. And they will not soon forget the street violence that resulted in the death, imprisonment and harassment of many protesters, activists and journalists–all part of the worst unrest the country has seen in thirty years.
This is particularly true for gay and lesbian Iranians, both those who remain inside the country and those who have escaped. They are familiar with oppressive treatment from their government, one which continues to outlaw homosexuality and crack down against any outward display of queerness. The first story (published here June 30, 2009,) examined the environment facing the Iranian queer community, particularly in light of the government’s attempts to silence any post-election voices of dissent.
Building from that story, we now take a look at the climate facing queer Iranians who have fled the country with the hopes of seeking asylum in the West. Forced, in many cases, to leave behind their families, friends and the culture of their blood, their dreams of living in freedom still face a number of challenges.
When gay Iranian refugees and asylum seekers leave, they are sent to live temporarily to a number of a different places, though most end up in small Turkish towns known as “satellite cities,” far from the larger cities like Ankara or Istanbul. They file a request to be granted official refugee status with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in order to legally move West, and then they wait. In many cases, that waiting period can last up to three years, a time during which employment is difficult to find and harassment is not unusual.
See For Gay Iranian Refugees, a Matter of Life or Death
EDGE Boston
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
| Published by |
|
Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/for-gay-irani…
