Everyday life best argument for gay marriage

A really interesting analysis on the SF Gate by C W Nevius, on how homosexual marriage will become accepted as normal. Here's the full text, which I mostly agree with.

When defenders of the "sacred union of marriage" held a news conference last Tuesday after oral arguments on same-sex marriage at the state Supreme Court, they weren't facing a friendly crowd.

A small group of activists tried to drown out the comments with songs, chants and heckling. I'm sure they thought they were carrying the banner of freedom, standing up for principle and advancing the cause.

They're wrong.

At the end of the day, when the change comes to allow same-sex marriage - and it's coming, don't kid yourself - it won't be because of protests. It will be because people in this state, and across the country, are talking to gay and lesbian co-workers and neighbors, meeting same-sex couples and their kids at Little League games, and working at companies with domestic-partner health plans.

"It is the normal interaction in everyday life," said City Attorney Dennis Herrera, who is leading San Francisco's legal effort along with attorneys for 23 same-sex couples. "It is the guy at the water cooler at work, seeing them with their kids - that's what drives it home for people."

It is that familiarity driving the change in perception. Polls tell us that those born before 1940 are probably a lost cause. But those in their 40s, for example, have seen a dramatic uptick in support for same-sex marriage. And the real sea change is among the teens and twentysomethings who seem to wonder what the fuss is all about.

When our son told us he was gay, he was in high school (he's a junior in college now). I remember hugging him and saying, "Don't worry. It will be fine." What he didn't hear was my inner voice adding, "I hope."

I worried about him having a miserable time at school, harassed by narrow-minded kids and forced to withdraw into a shell. It wasn't without rough moments, of course, but overall, his problems seemed minor.

He played high school sports, was active in school events and ran for student body president. During the election, a Neanderthal jock anonymously posted an incredibly offensive and obscene comment on an Internet site. My wife and daughter saw it and so did much of the student body. Here we go, I thought.

But his friends rallied around him. They took on the jock, identified him and told him to offer an apology. When he did, my son's group quickly accepted it and moved on. He won that election.

Frankly, with a few blips, that's how it has gone. Having a gay son has been a lot less of a big deal than I ever dreamed. And among his fellow students and contemporaries, it seems to be a big shrug.

As Herrera says, the youth mind-set represents an undercurrent of change that is sometimes overlooked.

"If you look at the poll numbers in 2000 for Proposition 22 (reaffirming a 1974 law that said marriage was between a man and a woman) the support was 61 percent," he said. "But those numbers have changed dramatically. And when you look at the younger demographic, it is totally different."

A California Field Poll conducted in March found that those born in the 1970s and '80s support same-sex marriage by 51 and 58 percent, respectively.

The change in values seems to leave the same-sex opponents struggling to find a rational objection to the question posed by one of the justices: "What are the adverse consequences that could occur?"

Randy Thompson, president of the California Coalition for Children and Families, could only offer that banning same-sex marriage would "be a role model for the next generation. What dream do you want children to have, to grow up and marry a nice girl?"

Yep, that's the dream. I suppose many never guessed it would be a girl's dream, too.

The news conferences went on too long for both groups. At the end, a gentleman who represented the group Stand With Children stood at the podium, talking away as TV crews packed up their cameras and microphones.

No one was listening. He was talking to himself - with one exception.

One of the gay and lesbian activists stayed and heckled him. As the crowd dispersed, the two bickered back and forth. It's funny, because while they are arguing, real change is taking place all around them.

HIV and gay in Tunisia: A twin taboo

By Sonia Ounissi

TUNIS, March 7 (Reuters Life!) - Homosexual men living with HIV/AIDS In the Arab world face a twin taboo, but Karim doesn't look like someone burdened by stigma. Smiling and self-assured, the healthy looking Tunisian says his peace of mind comes from accepting what he cannot change, living in the moment and taking care to present a normal face to the world. The 34-year-old draws the menace from his infection by seeing it as his offspring. "Personally, I accept the illness. I consider the virus my little baby. Together, we make up the same person," he said.

Dressed in jeans and a V-neck pullover, Karim sounds matter-of-act about his condition, but acknowledges that it wasn't always so easy. Karim first learned he had HIV when he returned to his native country from France in 2005. He was infected during an eight-year relationship with a French man. "First, I thought I had flu. But my health kept worsening and analysis showed I had AIDS. A person who was so important to me had infected me," he said.

"I WAS FURIOUS"

"At the beginning, I was furious. I hated everything. But afterwards, I thought that it's better to be hopeful than crying." He decided to face up to the illness, sensing that a positive mental attitude would translate into stronger physical health. Also, he is on anti-retroviral medication. "I'm quite good. My health situation is stable. HIV-positives who can't move or even walk are people who refuse the fact that they're infected with HIV. They suffer because they're in very low spirits and not because of the virus." "I have a principle in my life which says we must make the most of life while we still have its advantages. So, I still enjoy my life. I consider AIDS a flu." He lives with his Tunisian boyfriend, who is uninfected. They have protected sex. "I was sincere. I told him the truth and he accepted. His attitude really moved me," said Karim.

"ENJOY THE MOMENT"

Unlike most Tunisians, Karim refuses to draw up plans for his future, even in the short-term, as he doesn't know when AIDS will bring his life to an end. "I can't do long-term projects. I can't even plan for the summer holidays. I think just about what I can do in the next week and enjoy the moment." HIV/AIDS is a common topic of conversation widely discussed in many Western countries. But it is still an invisible disease in north Africa and many other parts of the world. Karim, one of 1,428 Tunisians who live with HIV, has learnt to keep his status a tightly guarded secret in a society where fear, prejudice and ignorance about the disease prevail.

Seventy new cases are declared per year in the North African country, according to official figures.

HIV-positive people who become known as such are shunned by society. "To live in Tunisia, people infected with HIV have to lie and never say they suffer from AIDS," he said. "I told my boss, because he's French. If I told a Tunisian about that he'd have a cardiac arrest", said Karim.

"I hate the Tunisian way of thinking. They present themselves as open-mind people and cultured. But it's just a mask," he said. "In reality, they still think they can be infected via the air."

(Reuters, reporting by Sonia Ounissi, editing by William Maclean and Paul Casciato)

Spain pre-election promises, promises, promises...

With most eyes focused on the American campaign, I've just following, like most Spaniards, the moves of our pre-elections season. Eventually, the Popular Party leader Mariano Rajoy disclosed some amount of the changes to bring about on society: contract agreements for immigrants to "behave like Spaniards" and "fulfill the existing laws" (I had never guessed that any person coming to Spain, tourist or permanent settler, had not the obligation to respect and fulfill our laws, and that Spanish behavior might mean they will have to shout and scream in bars for most of the Saturday evening, drive fast and half drunk, and learn how to throw papers and all sorts of other rubbish out of the wastecans when walking the streets); of course, on homosexuality the Party is starting to appear more the wolf they are than the sheep: the first (notice: the first) proposal is to ban homosexual marriages from adoption. It's just a first step, I'm afraid, later on it'll come the banning of homosexual marriage too. But the implications are broader: if homosexual couples can't adopt, it must be because they are not able to raise children correctly, and hence... what will we do when a lesbian couple give birth to a baby? Of course, call the social services and find a suitable home. Preferably traditional, catholic, and conservative.

On other parts of the world, Romania's Senate is trying to amend the Romanian Civil Code on marriage to explicitly forbid same-sex marriages, though that's a move which could bring about some sort of admonition from the European Union. When joining the EU in 2007, Romania had to "recognise same-sex couples registered in other member states". A couple of cases brought before the European High Court could oblige lawmakers to rewrite their homophobic moves.

And just two interesting links to finish: Patrick Chapman makes a brief but interesting critic to the NARTH Journey into Straight, showing that studies of ex-gay organizations are not always trustable, while Ziggy on High posts The Gay Agenda according to the US ultraconservatives.

Bollywood stars on homosexuality

According to NewKerala.com, via Topix news, an increasing numbers of Indian movie stars are asserting their own position on changing the laws on homosexuality in India. Statements on the issue by some of the most renowned Bollywood stars are:

Lillete Dubey: Of course, the laws pertaining to homosexuality should be revised. They are archaic and inhuman. An individual's sexual preference is a completely private matter. It falls under the realm of the law when there's a public display of obscene behaviour. Any such conduct must be equally punishable for straight and gay persons. If gay behaviour offends publicly, the law has every right to react. Otherwise, we're the largest democracy and sexual freedom is our democratic right.
Celina Jaitley: My closest friends are gay and I wouldn't let anyone hurt them. The laws need drastic change. Homosexuality has existed since the invention of civilisation. Some of our greatest artistes today are gay. At this time of HIV and AIDS, gay rights should be our primary concern. In Britain, they've gay marriages. So why are we stuck with their obsolete laws? They left the country long back! Also science proves homosexuality is genetic.
Randeep Hooda: I've lots of gay friends, both male and female. As long as they respect my heterosexual space, I've no problems with their sexuality. As far as the gay party on Saturday night is concerned, if the partygoers were disrupting the neighbourhood's peace then they deserve to be pulled up. Alternative sexuality must not be an excuse for extra rights and privileges. If you want to be equal then fight it out in life just like any of us.
Manoj Bajpai: Yes, the law should be revised. All citizens have the right to decide how they live their lives.
Rohit Roy: I'm not very clear about gay rights and laws in India. But I must say this sort of raid gets us thinking about the priorities of the police. Shouldn't they crack down on elements dangerous to society rather than gays who just want to live in peace?
Nandana Sen: Yes, absolutely! The laws need a change. No one has the right to invade a peaceful private gathering. It's against our democratic principles to treat homosexuality as crime.
Tanushree Dutta: Oh my god! This is ridiculous. The laws need desperate change. Or maybe homosexuality is legal and the cops don't know about it?
Imtiaz Ali: Of course, the laws need to be revised. An act that is natural to some cannot be illegal in a free democracy.
Riya Sen: Everyone in a democracy should enjoy the freedom to do what he or she likes. I think it is uncivilised to question anyone's sexuality. Invasion of privacy is a bigger crime than any. Not just homosexuality, we need to open up our minds against all kinds of prejudice if we want to really go global.
Amrita Arora: Gays have just the same rights as straight people. I party with them and I find them sensitive and dependable. Why single them out to ridicule? High time people stop being judgemental about how others live their lives.
Vipul Shah: Yes, laws need revision. Nobody has the right to decide for others. It's every individual's birthright to decide his or her sexual preference. And nobody has the right to interfere. Unless they were behaving obscenely, the gay partygoers shouldn't have been raided.
Shefali Shah: I don't see why there should be laws against individuals based on their sexual preferences. It's a free world. People are entitled to make their own choices as long as their choices don't hurt anyone.
Samir Soni: I don't think the laws should vary according to sexual orientation. What is unlawful should remain so regardless of whether you are gay or straight.
Mahesh Bhatt: The state has no business to step into people's bedrooms and question their sexual preferences. It's a matter between two consenting adults.
Neil Nitin Mukesh: It's a sensitive subject that needs careful consideration.

Which reminds me to the fact that, in Spain, we lived our sexuality half in the closet and half openly, but it was only when Boris Izaguirre came out on full display of his queerness in Cronicas Marcianas, a late show which was followed by quite a number of Spaniards, when homosexuality happened to start to be viewed as something between curious and appealing... and that was the beginning of the so many changes we have witnessed in these last ten years.

Gay memorial in Berlin

Because not only Jews were murdered in the Holocaust, gays too, this piece of news is most welcomed:

A multi-media memorial to the thousands of gay men who died in Nazi concentration camps should be ready in a matter of months.

Read the full article in Pink News.

Pride and Prejudice - Straightly gay from China

Pride and prejudice
By Xie Fang
Updated: 2008-01-14 07:26

Two bold young men kiss each other during a kissing contest held by a Beijing department store on the Valentine's Day in 2006. Li Fangyu

Name: Tong Ge Age: 57 Occupation: Writer and independent researcher

Tong Ge was married to a woman for more than 20 years, and has raised a son.

But Tong is gay.

"If I could turn back time, I would never have married a woman," he sighs.

"Even though my wife has forgiven me, I cannot forgive myself, and feel guilty all the time."

Tong says he has been attracted to the same sex since he was a boy. The son of a rich family, Tong was sent to the countryside to learn from farmers during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76).

His best friend, a former classmate, was willing to follow him. No matter how tough the living conditions got, no matter how poor they were, they were always deeply attached to each other.

One day after both had been drinking, they had sex for the first time.

"It had never crossed our mind that we were gay, and also we had no idea how to define our behavior," Tong recalls.

Two years later, his friend was called to the city. It would be the darkest moment in Tong's life - having to say farewell to his first lover.

"It might sound silly nowadays," he says with a laugh. "But I have missed him a lot over the years."

At age 27, Tong went back to the city, where he was astonished to discover scores of secret places where gay men met at night, such as public parks and toilets.

According to Tong, the phenomenon emerged in the mid-1970s when the "cultural revolution" had yet to come to an end.

"The more you try to oppress sex, the more resistance will rise up," he explains.

He says that men rarely used condoms at the time. "They were not available in any shops. Only the birth control offices of Stated-owned companies had them, and of course it was impossible for us to ask," he says.

Tong declined to explain what drove him to tie the knot, except to say "in the past, it was right and proper to get married when people reached a certain age".

Tortured by his double life, Tong studied various medical books, trying to figure out what was wrong with him. Finding no answers, he decided that the only way he could live with himself was to confess to his wife.

"I thought she would be furious after I told her," he recalls. "However, she said that she had known it for a long time."

Tong was waiting for his wife to ask for a divorce, but she chose to stay with him. He says that despite their past difficulties, their relationship remains strong.

"A lot of Chinese gay men have had similar experiences," he says.

As an independent researcher, Tong has devoted himself to the academic study of homosexuality, not only from a social perspective, but also how to best combat AIDS.

"My goal is to make a general report on Chinese gay relationships," he says.

Name: Ruo Zhe

Age: 33

Occupation: Webmaster of the first gay website www.gztz.org in China

Ruo Zhe used to think he was a monster, because of his attraction to the same sex. He even tried having a girlfriend at university, even though he knew that he felt nothing for her. "It's like your left hand touching your right hand," Ruo says.

The Beijing native decided to leave for Guangzhou after graduating from university, partly because there were job prospects and partly because he didn't want his parents to discover the truth. In 1997, he spent all his savings on a computer, which led him to a bigger world than he had ever imagined. "By visiting foreign websites, I realized that I was not the only gay man in the world," he says.

In order to meet other gay men, Ruo put his personal information both in English and Chinese on the Internet. A few months later, someone responded. Rather than feeling overjoyed, Ruo says that the prospect of meeting anyone face to face was terrifying. "I do care about being called a gay man in public, therefore emails are safer for me," he admits.

Eventually he met more men after being taken by a foreign friend to a local gay bar. "I was shocked to see so many people there. It seemed like a totally different world, where people all looked so relaxed, chatting and smiling," he says.

Ruo then launched the first Chinese website for gay people at the end of 1998, which aims to provide a platform for people to meet each other. The website offers news, health tips, entertainment listings and overviews of gay and lesbian communities in other countries.

Despite being the only full-time staff, Ruo says hundreds of people have offered to help out. The current registered membership has grown rapidly and now stands at 220,000. According to Ruo, most of these are young people aged between 20 and 30, up to 80 percent of whom are college educated.

Ruo has been living with his partner for six years. Even so, they seldom show their affections - such as holding hands - in public. "I know many gay men don't dare to do it either, because of social pressure," he says. "We have to wait till someday when we are accepted."

Ruo hopes to buy a car for his partner, dreaming of the day when they can drive wherever they want, listening to their favorite music.

Name: "Never give up", her online nickname

Age: 26

Occupation: Clinical doctor

For this 26-year-old, telling her parents that she is lesbian is the hardest thing she has ever done in her life. The young woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, says that her mother and father were simply not ready to hear what she had to tell them.

"No parent is able to accept such a fact. That's always been true in China," she says.

Since the young woman came out of the closet, she has hardly spoken to her parents. The young woman says that ever since she was a child she preferred to dress like a male, despite her parents' efforts to make her more feminine.

She loved casual clothes, shunned high-heels and was always playing with boys, even though she felt no sexual attraction towards them. While studying medicine at university in Shenyang, Liaoning province, the young woman actively started seeking female partners.

Oblivious to her sexual preferences, her parents were busy arranging men for her to date.

"The pressure to marry increased dramatically after I graduated from university. At the beginning, I had to obey my parents' wish to date the young men they chose for me," she says. "I would find any excuse to end the relationships."

But this didn't discourage her parents, who worked even harder to find the "right guy".

It was around this time that the young woman's charade began to weigh down on her.

"I didn't want to hurt anyone anymore," she says. So she decided to open up to her family.

"Both my parents believe that I have certain physiological problems," she says. "They claim that it is a natural law for a woman to get married and give birth to a baby. How can I be an exception?"

They even took her to a top clinic in Beijing to seek advice. But the parents were disappointed when the doctor said their daughter was perfectly normal.

"Understanding from your family is more important than that of the outside world, because you have to face them everyday," she says. "If they were willing to accept me, I would be less depressed."

The young woman now has a girlfriend, a former university classmate who has not told her parents about the relationship.

The pair hopes to live together one day but don't have enough money to buy an apartment.

She envies men as their incomes are generally higher, and more jobs are available for them.

What's more, she says that it is traditional for a Chinese family to pay for their son's wedding and first house.

However, money is only one stumbling block for the couple. "Even if we were rich enough to buy a house, would our parents allow us to live together?" she asks.

Yet despite the rift between her and her parents, the young woman says she doesn't regret her decision to be honest with them.

"It is my life, and it is my right to choose the lifestyle I want," she says.

Take it like a man.

Around early September, 2006, ABC news said that four prison inmates in El Salvador were discovered with mobile phones inside their anal cavities, according to Slate (the original ABC link is no longer working). That prompted Slate to wonder (and answer too) how much stuff a person could handle up the anus. The writing is way too interesting and enlightening to leave it away, though found in a moment of procrastination. Since Slate tends to keep their old articles for quite a bit of months, here's the link. But the answer, for those who don't want to browse there to find out what you can and what you shouldn't stuff up your ass, is this:

In general, it takes a fair bit of training to conceal something that's more than a couple of inches in diameter. As a general rule, the medical literature on "retained colorectal foreign bodies" considers anything bigger a "large object."

For the full fun, of course, go to Slate and read the full article.

Technorati tags: Retained colorectal foreign bodies

EHRC offers funding to grassroots organisations

Copypasting from Pink News due to its importance. If any reader's got a programme that can be included in these terms, go ahead and seek funding.

A grants programme worth up to £10 million aimed at funding grass roots organisations across all areas of equality was launched by the Equality and Human Rights Commission yesterday.
The funding scheme has developed three areas for priority funding.
Applicants from organisations working to promote good relations, highlight equality and human rights and case work will be encouraged.
Examples include reducing the impact of hate crime, working with the media to promote greater awareness of equality or human rights issues and providing legal advice to victims of discrimination.
In Scotland the Commission is not currently empowered to fund activities promoting human rights but will be able to fund eligible activity to promote good relations, promote equality and carry out casework in Scotland.
Trevor Phillips, chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission said:
"Learning to live together is essential if we are to prosper in these times of rapid change.
"Managing the consequence of this change at a local level is essential.
"I am therefore delighted to be announcing a grants programme of £10 million to harness and nurture grass roots equality and human rights organisations.
"By working in partnership with local and community organisations we will ensure advice and support is delivered into every part of Britain."
The Commission will launch a consultation regarding its permanent funding scheme in April 2008. The results will be announced next year.
The deadline for grant applications is 5pm, February 4, 2008.
Successful organisations will be announced on March 31, 2008 and will be funded for a 12 month period commencing from April 1st.
Awards can be made of up to £120,000 per application.
Application packs along with eligibility, guidance notes, good practice examples and frequently asked questions are available online here.

I don't heart Huckabee

I'm not sure that Mike Huckabee deserve the time and effort needed to publish an entry here at Party for the Rights, but I got trapped in some sensationalist headline at Gay News Watch, saying that Huckabee Warns Gay Marriage Threatens Civilization. Immediately I thought about Mike depicting hordes of Gay Terrorists crashing red roadsters onto all major Evangelical Churches in America and Europe, in a weird alliance of homosexuality and Islamic integrism; or maybe it was just a matter that now that 16 US Intelligence Bodies have disclosed that Iran stopped any nuclear weapon program back in 2003 George W. Bush "Arbusto" and his gang wanted us to present with, next World War would have to be on homosexuality because conservatives and ultrarreligious fellows always need a foe to fight, be it sin, the devil or the gay family next door. Well, I followed the given link to the GQ interview and I can't find any mention of Western Civilization Downfalling, at least in the Internet version. However, it's certainly curious that former Arkansas Governor (whom I can't really recall whether he was supporting creationism when Republican presidential runners were asked) gave this answer to the question of teaching Evolution at school: "I think people should be exposed to evolution. They should be taught that, yes, this is the prevailing scientific view, but that there are others who happen to view things differently." That's great, and proves my point that Huckabee and similar people will always try to appear the weak side, so that people should be taught that while there is one prevailing view, there are people who have other viewpoints too — except of course when Fundamentalist Christian is the prevailing view, in which case it becomes The One And Only Absolute Truth To Be Followed By Everybody Worldwide, as it's the case with homosexual marriage, just to mention the most obvious.

Or maybe now that Ahmadinejad isn't an atomic foe, they can dine together after executing some more homosexuals.

Technorati tags: Mike Huckabee, homosexual marriage, Christian double rule

Party for the Rights news: how to split a blog in two

For all our readers who have voted in that poll last month, where the majority asked for eye candy to be published in Party for the Rights, here are the news.

We have decided to keep Party for the Rights within its first limits of politics, opinion and news, but since a majority wanted to see pictures (at least) we must give people what people want, so we're creating a brother blog called Candy for the Eye where we're going to publish pictures of models taken from public domain sites and mailing lists. Such picture sets will include nudity most of the time, some times will depict explicit sexual action among men, and some other times will include some particular fetish. We're not taking a single line of model ethnicity and we're open to suggestions, submissions of pictures you want to see in the blog, and every other idea you want to point out.

As a first starting point, here's the model whose photoset is being published today at Candy for the Eye. We don't have much details on his career and those pictures are dated long ago (we mean several years ago) but we do think that he can keep us guys in the mood for mambo anytime.

Oh, and finally, where's the link for that new blog? Well, you'll have to discover yourself. Hint: drag your mouse over the picture and see what happens.

Technorati tags: Blogging, Eye candy, Latino, Gay pictures

Maybe a positive output from Larry Craig affaire

According to Gay City News, Craig told KTVB-TV that he "would take a very serious look" at legislation to protect people from police entrapment in restrooms and other public places. We have read a lot of words and articles about Craig's hypocrisy for not coming out, for supporting homophobic laws and actions, and all the hype, but I personally think that if the output of the whole case leads to some point closer to give people an enhanced chance to eye for sex in public places, that'll be good; whether they be homosexual or not, whether they be in the closet or completely out, an adult should not be put into traps for seeking sex. If you don't want sex with other adult, homosexual or heterosexual, simply say "no". That's all. Maybe the USA need some better sexual education. Just my two cents.

Technorati tags: Larry Craig, Sex liberation, sexual freedom, ban entrapment

Ex Gay movements turning violent

Ex-gay Watch, a blog devoted to keep an eye on ex gay movements, writes about the relationship between JONAH, (Jews Offering New Alternatives to Homosexuality) and NARTH. Among the many points of similarly neo totalitarist rhetoric of NARTH, these bloggers count the following:

• NARTH sports a guide to “taking back” schools from pro-tolerance activists, written by Scott Lively. Lively is a former American Family Association state chapter leader (he’s still listed as an active director) and the author of the book The Pink Swastika, which (according to the SPLC) falsely asserts that more gays were involved in the perpetration of genocide than were murdered under the Nazi regime. Lively has used The Pink Swastika to achieve popularity in Eastern Europe and among Russian-speaking U.S. immigrants. Lively is now a leader of a Slavic organization called Watchmen on the Walls (Google translation link), which has applauded the murder of a Sacramento gay man by Slavic skinheads, used West Coast Russian-language radio shows to promote anti-gay ethnic cleansing, and taught audiences that homosexuals have a contagious disease that must be quarantined and treated. If you think this sounds eerily familiar, you’re right.
• Paul Cameron, previously reported to be a supporter of a “Final Solution” for homosexuals and an admirer of Nazi officer Rudolph Höss, is still quite pervasive in NARTH’s library. Articles that cite his work can be found here, here, here, and here.

Another author enlisted in NARTH ranks is Joseph Nicolosi, who, with Gerard J. M. van der Aardweg, the latter being a psychologist deeply involved with the Opus Dei, make the core project of the Catholic Ex-Gay movement, which tried to root in Spain as well as in Latin America apparently without much success, as one can deduct from the site Es Posible El Cambio, promoted by a so called Grupo Juan Pablo II.  It's likely that Courage Latino be more active around Latin America, though.

Finally, and about the involvement of Mr. Scott Lively with Watchment on the Walls, we recommend you an interesting reading, this article from Alternet published on October 5th.

Anti-gay movements are out there and homosexuals are their target. Even physically. Beware.

Technorati tags: Religion and Homosexuality, Ex gay, Violence against homosexuals, Catholic, NARTH, JONAH, Ex gay watch, Courage Latino, Es Posible El Cambio, Watchmen on the Walls

And the Ig Nobel prize goes to...

The Air Force Wright Laboratory, Dayton, Ohio, USA, has been awarded the Ig Nobel Price of Peace, for instigating research & development on a chemical weapon -- the so-called "gay bomb" -- that will make enemy soldiers become sexually irresistible to each other. The reference work: "Harassing, Annoying, and 'Bad Guy' Identifying Chemicals," Wright Laboratory, WL/FIVR, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, June 1, 1994.

Such "gay bomb" would fall into Cathegory 3 chemical weapons: those which "affect human behavior so that discipline and morale in enemy units is adversely affected. One distasteful but completely non-lethal example would be strong aphrodisiacs, especially if the chemical also caused homosexual behavior."

 

Apart of the joke of gay bombs, gay sprays or whatever you might consider, what's clear from this work is that by 1994 at least, the USA Air Forces, or at least some of their personnel, were trying to find new ways on chemical weapons, while some years later accussing other countries of their own procedures. Now who's got WMDs?

Technorati tags: Gay WMDs, Ig Nobel Peace Price 2007, Gay bomb, USAF

Religion and Homosexuality (I)

Just to make the Wiki entry shorter, we're briefing the diverse religious views on homosexuality here. As most of us are familiar with the Christian and Islamic views, we're going to get biased on both and just offer different opinions. For Christianity, that of the former Archbishop of York, John Habgood, who states in a book review that: "What in our day might seem to be an unequivocal reference to homosexuality, did not originally refer to a kind of sexuality at all. When Leviticus was written, the real offence in the idea of “a man lying with a man” was that it entailed a violation of male superiority. It was seen as shameful for a man to be treated as a substitute woman. In short, it was more about gender relationships than sexual orientation." For Islam, that of Abdennur Prado from the Catalonian Islamic Board, who views the story about Lot's people which is basic for the islamic ban on homosexuality more a compound of verses "in which homosexuality is never explicitly mentioned, but rather a case of mass rape" (the whole article is in Spanish). Thus, against orthodox doctrine we can find scholars arguments. But what happens outside Christianity and Islam? That's going to be the subject of further posts.

Technorati tags: LGBT, Religion, Homosexuality

Story of David and Jonathan

David and how he slew the mighty giant Goliath. He was a warrior, a musician, a poet and the subject and admiration behind Michelangelo's famous sculpture, "The statue of David", which stands in Florence as a detailed representation of the male anatomy; demonstrating the beauty of male human body. However, this handsome king also caught the attention of another young man during his time on earth.

Story of David and Jonathan

The Meeting

After slaying Goliath it so happened that David was brought before Saul, King Of Israel, Father of Jonathan. 1 Sam 18:1 tells us "And it came to pass, when he [David] had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul." The Book of 1 Samuel then continues to explain the extent of the love that Jonathan had for David telling the story of how he took his own robe from his back , along with his other worldly possessions and shared them with David in order to form a covenant with David because of the love he had for him.

The Trials and Tribulations

The people of Israel were also fond of David. So much so that Saul became jealous and attempted to kill David. However, 1 Sam 19:2 states "But Jonathan Saul's son delighted much in David: and Jonathan told David, saying, Saul my father seeketh to kill thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself:" We go on to learn that during the private time they shared David tells Jonathan "Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes." (1 Sam. 20:3). Jonathan then replies 'Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee..."



Jonathan evetually approaches his father during dinner. Saul tells his son "Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse [David] to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother's nakedness'" (1 Sam. 20:30). Jonathan leaves the dinner table angry and saddened. Out of grief Jonathan does not eat meat the second day of the month. He goes to David at the hiding place. "David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded. And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, The LORD be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city." (1 Sam. 20:41-42).

The Death of Jonathan

Saul continues to pursue David (1 Sam. 21-23:14); David and Jonathan renew their covenant together (1 Sam. 23:15-18); and eventually Saul and David reconcile (1 Sam. 24:16-22). When Jonathan is slain on Mt. Gilboa by the Philistines (1 Sam. 31:2), David laments his death saying, "I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, surpassing the love of women." (2 Sam. 1:26).


Surely there was a great love between both David and Jonathan but the question remains: what kind of love was this?...platonic? romantic? sexual? Or is it just left to one's own interpretation; guiding you how to live a life of worthy love?

Revisiting Nigeria

And here we go again with this favorite country of mine, Nigeria. Yesterday I was slightly pointing a link to some news about the 18 guys arrested and almost lynched for cross-dressing in Bauchi, northern Nigeria, and since I'm not a national of the country (but have had some Nigerian experiences before) I'll give voice to Akin who writes a beautiful article in his blog on the issue — let's make it extensive to most fundamentalist religions, faiths and creeds, and don't forget Akinola, who seems to be heading towards the Fred Phelps direction (by the way, his latest rant says God hates Mexico too, hurricane Dean is the proof. St. Lucians, Jamaicans and other Caribbeans are just collateral casualties, as in "friendly fire").

But again an old sketch on Naija: on a BBC report apparently dated 2004 we can read that a senior football (soccer for the US readers) official in Nigeria "ordered the removal of any unacceptable players at an upcoming junior tournament. He said their behaviour was not culturally acceptable and promoted homosexuality." What was the fuss over? Hairstyles, no less.

Technorati tags: Nigeria, Religion, Homophobia, Homosexuality, God hates Mexico

Comment on Post "A Story in First Person: Gamal Speaks from Egypt"

Hello 'Gamal'.

Abit about me : Gay Arab 22y born and living in an Arab Country (and yes with parents and no they dont entirely know about me).

Before I start I would like to thank you for having the courage to write about this. But what I am going to write to you might be harsh. But do not take it the wrong way, I am here to help.

Yes, when the time you first get the feeling of getting attracted toward another man, you just feel that you are the only person on earth having this strange feelings. And it is true that it is not in our hands to be which sexuality. It is not a choice; it just comes in birth 'bulit in' (genetics that I believe in).

You will hear so many people say, a person is gay, because he was raped or abused by a man especially when young, or because father is a bad guy just hitting him, or even that because you have gay friends, etc etc.. And it is all bull, none is true. If you were abused or raped in chilhood, that will actually make you hate men not sexually arouse you. But for some it is like a trigger that hey i like it with a man, like the trigger for some might be looking at their male teachers, drivers, friends, each person's trigger is different.

Now talking about your parents, it is so typical for arab families to threaten; because we are week towards them. But i tell you what, you are not obliged to accept what they say, your only duty is give them respect but NOT respecting their wishes or fullfilling their needs, wants and wishes.

Ya Gamal, those who love you will try to understand you, they dont need to accept it, but they can understand. Parents, family members, friends, who threaten you for money, for house, for friendship for what so ever, do not really love you. You need to start depending on your self and make them feel that you can live without their help. Do not make yourself helpless in front of them, even toward your relative that you adore more, if he damn loved you one bit, he/she would never react that way.

Say to yourself and to others, that you are not going to torture yourself in going into this money making therapies and degrading immoral inhuman therapies. Yes I know life can be tough in Egypt, but dude you are a graduate and you need to try harder to depend on yourself.

Now about listening to your parents needs and wishes. I simply call it just blackmails of parenting. Mothers will start saying I wanna see you married before I die, and once you are married her story flips into I want to see my grand children before I die. This is so typical manipulation. And please do not get offended, I am not trying to disrespect your parents, I am just telling you the plain truth. Even if you were Straight, it is your choice who and when to marry, and it is your choice to get and when to get kids or not.

Now if you stick upon your parents wishes, here is a glimpse of what and how you will like like:

1. You will get married to a women you do not love.
2. You will not be able to make love correctly with her because your emotions and thoughts are somewhere else, thus not being fair to her too.
3. Your mind will be imagining guys that you like while she is next to you.
4. You even might have problems getting it up while in bed with her, and you might start using tools to please you to get it up and of course your thoughts are on the guys.
5. You will be frustrated and will start cheating your wife to go out with guys, which causes more lies more deceits etc etc.
6. If you do get a child or children, you want be able to give full concentration to them. And what if your child would be gay, how would you deal it with your wife.
7. Depression for not having what you want.
8. Two lifes one for public, and one for yourself.
9. Regreting the things you have done.
.... And the list goes on ...

So habibi, you got to choose what you want, nobody else. Dramas, manipulations, threatnings, if you let those things control you, you will suffer.

Lastly, you are not a shame for anybody. Its just a shame that parents do not converse with their kids but rather threaten them. Again, you do not need to be ashamed of yourself for anything. Plus, keep God close to you, and doesn't matter what people think. And I hope somebody sometime stop those cruel so called doctors from what they are doing.

Thanks and please take nothing personally. I am not attacking or trying to hurt anyone.

Straight Commentary on the "Down Low" lifestyle

Hi Juan, thanks for the invitation to post. I have a small contribution i think your readers may find interesting.

I received an interesting youtube video in my email recently. It was a short documentary/discussion by straight black Americans about DL/Gay/Lesbian Americans. In it they talk about what they like or don't like about the choices made by the DL community, and how they should be treated. While i may not agree fully with the content of the discussion i see the fact that the discussion is occurring and questions are being asked as a vital first step. For this reason, i encourage everyone to share this video, consider its content and spread the discussion.

Link to youtube video: Downlow Real talk