Word of the Gay: "Ghey"

"Ghey" is a postmodern redevelopment of the pejorative usage of the term gay. The term is supposed to convey a sense of being lame or uncool without offending gay people.

Word of the Gay: "Leather Spinster"

A "leather spinster" is a happily unmarried heterosexual or asexual woman who feels no desire for a mate.

Maryland Delegates Holding up Marriage Equality!

Maryland is poised to become the sixth state to gain marriage equality unless the opposition forces change delegates minds. Democratic delegates who previously promised to support marriage equality are now backtracking and holding up a vote. It is essential to contact your state representative and urge them to support full marriage equality.

The following delegates are particularly crucial committee member votes, please email and call them to demand they vote for marriage equality immediately.

Delegate Sam Arora
(410) 841-3528
sam.arora@house.state.md.us
*Now citing religious beliefs for opposition (Arora Twitter account shows former support for marriage equality).

Delegate Tiffany Alston
(410) 841-3692
tiffany.alston@house.state.md.us

Delegate Jill Carter
(410) 841-3283
jill.carter@house.state.md.us

Delegate Melvin Stukes
(410) 841-3544
melvin.stukes@house.state.md.us

The Maryland Senate has passed marriage equality and Governor O'Malley has pledged to sign the legislation should it reach his desk. The House of Delegates is our last hurdle and our opposition is out in full force.

Please repost, forward and tweet this to your friends #Marryland.

Kids of LGBT Parents: "We're All Right"

The Human Rights Campaign has begun the "We're All Right" video campaign to showcase the stories of kids of LGBT parents. The point is to demonstrate to the world that LGBT families are not that different than heteronormative families and that kids raised by queer parents grow up just as bright, loved, and successful as they with heterosexual parents.

In the word of Zach Wahls (19 year old son of 2 moms): "The sexual orientation of my parents has had zero to do with the content of my character."



Submit your video or help spread the word about the "We're All Right" video campaign.

Word of the Gay: "Santorum"

"Santorum" was a word proposed in 2003 by sex advice columnist Dan Savage to poke fun at then Senator Rick Santorum's egregious statements about homosexuality. The term means a frothy mixture of lube and fecal matter that is sometimes the byproduct of anal sex.

Buying for Workplace Equality 2011

The Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBT civil rights organization in the country has released their 2011 "Buying for Workplace Equality" guide. This comprehensive listing shows which companies are supportive of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality and treat their employees fairly.

Support the companies who stand with our community in the fight for liberty and justice.

http://www.hrc.org/buyersguide2011/index.html

Word of the Gay: "Brokeback Marriage"

A "brokeback marriage" is a current or former marriage where one partner is gay/lesbian.

Organization Spotlight: The National Association of Lesbian and Gay Bisexual and Transgender Addiction Professionals

NALGAP; The National Association of Lesbian and Gay Bisexual and Transgender Addiction Professionals is a membership organization founded in 1979 and dedicated to the prevention and treatment of alcoholism, substance abuse, and other addictions in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer communities.

Dr. Phil on "Extreme Gay Marriages" and "De-Confusing" Gender Variant Kids

So called "doctor"Dr. Phil continues to give bad advice to millions of families across the nation when it comes to the subject of sexual orientation and gender identity. His current advice column suggests how to "fix" a gender variant child and another part of his website paints LGBT marriage as "extreme".

Whether it's giving a platform to transphobia, bi-phobia or anti-gay voices there seems to be a fairly consistent message that paints our community in a damaging and inaccurate way.

Dr. Phil has been most inaccurate and down right offensive when it comes to the transgender and gender variant community. His current online advice column called "My 5 year old son prefers girls clothes and toys" encourages a mother to modify her child's behavior.

"Direct your son in an unconfusing way. Don't buy him Barbie dolls or girl's clothes. You don't want to do things that seem to support the confusion at this stage of the game ... Take the girl things away, and buy him boy toys. Support him in what he's doing, but not in the girl things." (Dr. Phil)

Dr. Phil operates under the premise that gender variance is abnormal and that the child must be confused when it is really the adults in this situation who are confused because they are faced head on with their own internal misconceptions of gender identity/expression.

Dr. Phil also has a section of his website called "Extreme Marriages" where he talks about marriages involving LGBT individuals. Scary right? If he wants to convey unusual or challenging circumstances there are different words that can be used to express that.

There have been changes in recent months that indicate that perhaps he is softening his heart and standing with the LGBT community. He has spoken out against gay bullying and admits that being gay is not a choice. We must continue to pressure him to accept our transgender brethren and eliminate all forms of queerphobia.

Send your comments to Dr. Phil demanding he stop his anti-LGBT commentary. Demand he pull these and other offensive columns and segments.

Dr. Phil show
5482 Wilshire Boulevard #1902
Los Angeles, CA 90036

Word of the Gay: "The Life"

"The Life" was a term used to describe homosexual society in early to mid 1900's.

16th Annual Rainbow Families Conference in Minnesota

The Rainbow Families Conference is the premier community building and learning event for current and prospective LGBT parents, their children, family members and friends, area educators and community members.

This incredible conference is a special resource for Minnesota and surrounding states and is the largest of its kind in the nation. Participants enjoy a day of learning and sharing together and also leave with concrete skills and information relevant to their own lives and needs.

April 9, 2011
Anwatin/Bryn Mawr Schools
256 Upton Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55405

Click here to register and/or learn more.

Word of the Gay: "Sociosexual"

"Sociosexual" is a term pertaining to interpersonal relationships in human sexuality.

Chick-fil-A Tied to Anti-Gay Funding Campaigns

U.S. fast food chain Chick-fil-A has been receiving LGBT media attention over its ties to anti-gay groups and sentiments. Through its foundation the company has been sponsoring anti-marriage events and organizations throughout the country.

Chick-fil-A's charitable arm, the WinShape Foundation, has been particularly active in the fight against marriage equality. They've hosted conferences with some of the leading opponents of gay marriage in this country. A higher up at WinShape has even praised the efforts of anti-gay activist David Blankenhorn for working against marriage equality, and for articulating a solid reason why American culture should reject same-sex couples (Change.org)

But there's more...

WinShape Foundations Retreat Center does not cater to LGBT people!

"WinShape Retreat defines marriage from the Biblical standard as being between one man and one woman. Groups/Individuals are welcome who offer wholesome, educational conferences and programs that are compatible with Biblical values and WinShape's purpose."

"We do not accept homosexual couples because of the statement in our contract." (Good as You)

Sign the petition demanding Chick-fil-A pull its sponsorship of anti-gay events.

Urge U.K. Prime Minister to Denounce Anti-Gay/Anti-Trans MP

Roger Helmer a conservative member of the British Parliament has made a controversial tweet defending so called "reparative therapy" for gay, lesbian and bisexual people. He ignorantly compares sex-change operations to sexual orientation an offense that should be taken by the entire LGBT community being that sexual orientation and gender identity are not the same thing.

In his tweet he says:

"Why is it OK for a surgeon to perform a sex-change operation, but not OK for a psychiatrist to try to "turn" a consenting homosexual?"

His remarks not only show that he believes sexual orientation can be altered but it also goes to show that he considers a sex-change operation to be a choice. While electing for surgery is a choice in the respect that one is not forced to undergo the procedure, it is often a life-saving procedure for transgender people who would otherwise not want to live in a physical body that does not correspond with their gender identity.

Urge Prime Minister David Cameron to reject MP Helmer's controversial and dangerous suggestion that "conversion therapy" works.

camerond@parliament.uk

You can also contact the representative himself at roger.helmer@europarl.europa.eu

Word of the Gay: "Gayties"

"Gayties" is a word combining gay and eighties and describes the fashion, music and culture of what some consider a very queer decade.

Lesbian/WOC/Queer Positive Rap Song "Hell Yeah"

Rapper Jayne Dooe has released a new song called "Hell Yeah" which is unapologetic and proud of queer orientation. The song is both a celebration of women of color who are same-gender loving and all LGBT people as well as a call for peace, justice and equality!

Word of the Gay: "AVENite"

An "AVENite" is a member of the Asexual Visibility Education Network an online forum and website dedicated to the asexual community and allies.

Vote for Pro-LGBT Miss America Contestant!

Ms. Claire Buffie a contestant for Miss America is the first ever pageant queen to campaign on an LGBT rights platform. Having won the nomination for Miss New York the beauty queen/photographer and activist now vies for the top crown.

Ms. Buffie has been active in educating students about respect and acceptance for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. A straight ally herself, Buffie has a lesbian sister whom she wants to see have equal rights in her lifetime.



Visit the Miss America site to vote for Buffie, or text MANY to 24470.

Be sure to tune in on January 15th to see if she is selected to the top 15!

Word of the Gay: "Gayzilla"

"Gayzilla" is a disparaging term for an extraordinarily large homosexual man who is considered aesthetically unpleasing.

NCIS Star Pauley Perrette Wears NoH8 Dress

Pauley Perrette an actress on the hit drama Naval Criminal Investigative Service has continued in her outspoken opposition to proposition 8. The actress showed up at the People's Choice Awards in the politically motivated "NoH8" gown.

Perrette has been an outspoken critic of the ban on same-sex marriage and has urged Californians to oppose the measure. She refuses to wed her partner until LGBT people are given equality in marital rights.

Thank this awesome civil rights activist via twitter:
http://twitter.com/#!/pauleyp

Word of the Gay: "Tuxeda"

A "tuxeda" is a spin on the word tuxedo and was designed with butch women in mind.

Tell NM Governor Martinez to Honor AG's Finding on Marriage

New Mexico will now recognize same-sex couples married in other states and countries where marriage equality is law even though the state governor is opposed.

The Attorney General Gary King said that:

"A comprehensive legal analysis by my office concludes that valid same-sex marriages in other states would likely be valid in New Mexico"

Nobody can tell how the New Mexico courts or legislature will respond but it appears that should there not be interference this will be an option for LGBTQ couples in New Mexico.

The Governor Susana Martinez is on the record opposing same-sex marriage:

A spokesperson for New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez issued a statement saying, "Gov. Martinez made it clear during the campaign that she opposes same-sex marriage. It's important to note that no New Mexico court has ruled on this issue." (Advocate)

Please urge Governor Martinez to honor the Attorney Generals finding even though she is personally against marriage equality.

Office of the Governor
490 Old Santa Fe Trail
Room 400
Santa Fe, NM 87501
(505) 476-2200

Word of the Gay: "Polyfidelity"

"Polyfidelity" is a form of polyamory where there is faithfulness within a set group of sexual partners.