Word of the Gay: "Friend of Dorothy"

Gay men used to have several codes and slangs to make their sexuality known to other potential gay men. One slang is "Friend of Dorothy" or FOD which was a way of asking a potential stranger if they were gay without risking violence or embarrassment if they weren't. The term originates from the Wizard of Oz where Dorothy was considered a gay icon because of her openness to people who were different.

New Mass. Law Lets Out-of-State Gay Couples Marry

Fresh off the (Associated Press):

"Gay and lesbian couples from outside Massachusetts are now free to marry in the state.

Gov. Deval Patrick has signed a bill repealing a 1913 law that barred couples from marrying in Massachusetts if their union would not be valid in their own states.

Out-of-state gay couples will be able to marry immediately if a court waives the state's standard three-day waiting period for them.

Opponents had said repealing the law would make Massachusetts the "Las Vegas of gay marriage." But Patrick says the old law had its roots in racism as it was seen as a way of preventing interracial marriages.

The new law includes a provision waiving the customary 90-day waiting period for the change to go into effect."

"Call Terry Caster" Campaign

"Terry Caster owns A-1 Self Storage Company of San Diego. A-1 Self Storage has 40 locations throughout California with over 4 million storage units. Mr. Caster and his family have contributed nearly $300,000 to the Protect Marriage campaign. That makes the Caster family the biggest contributors from San Diego County, where 35% of the money came from to qualify Proposition 8 for the November 4th ballot."

Demand Terry Caster apologize, stop financing the marriage amendment and let him know of your plans to boycott his company.

Call Terry Caster at A-1 Self Storage Toll Free
Corporate Office Number: 800-219-4854 ext. 106
Customer Service Number: 800-210-8979

Click here to use E-contact Form

H/T to (Californians Against Hate) for the breaking news!

Word of the Gay: "Tranny"

"Tranny" is a short form of saying transsexual or transgender person. It has been used a pejorative word but recently has been reclaimed by trans activists as a word of pride and self identification.

Help Defeat Marriage Amendments in Florida and Arizona

A lot of attention has been focused on California and defeating the amendment to ban same-sex marriage there. We also must be focused on the two other states with amendments on the ballot this November, Florida, and Arizona.

Visit http://www.votenoprop102.com/ and help out by donating, volunteering, or speaking out against prop 102 in Arizona.

Also visit http://www.votenoon2.com/ to help defeat the amendment # 2 in Florida.

Blog Spotlight: A Gay Crows Nest

Today's blog spotlight and shout out goes to A Gay Crows Nest. "A look at our culture from the gay perspective". From politics, to support, to personal thoughts, you will find it all. So check it out...

http://gaycrowsnest.blogspot.com/

Pacific Gas & Electric Donates 250K to Fight Prop 8

PG & E which powers most of northern and central California with electricity and natural gas has donated $250,000 to fight the anti-gay marriage amendment (proposition 8)

Please take the time to show your support and appreciation for Queer friendly companies, contact them today!

http://www.pge.com/mybusiness/customerservice/contact/

Urge Mass Lawmakers to Repeal Discriminatory 1913 Marriage Law

UPDATE: Victory! The House of Representatives has voted 118-35, with five members not voting to repeal the 1913 law. Governor Deval Patrick has said he will sign the bill into law, effectively opening Massachusetts to out of state same-sex couples to be eligible to marry.

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Last week the Massachusetts Senate repealed a discriminatory 1913 law that barred out of state same-sex couples from marrying within the border of Massachusetts.

In order for the repeal to take effect the House of Representatives must follow the action of the Senate and vote for its repeal. Should this law be repealed it would open up the way for same-sex couples from other states to legally marry in Massachusetts.

Please copy and paste the emails below and urge representatives to repeal the "1913 law" that bans marriage in MA if the marriage would be considered invalid in another state.
http://www.mass.gov/legis/memmenuh.htm

Open Forum: Is Katy Perry a Hater?

Katy Perry is a singer/song writer who is most notable for her singles, "Ur So Gay", released in 2007, and the worldwide hit, "I Kissed a Girl" which made charts in 2008. Her material has been criticized as being homophobic and misandric.

The lyrics to "I Kissed a Girl"

This was never the way I planned
Not my intention
I got so brave, drink in hand
Lost my discretion
It's not what, I'm used to
Just wanna try you on
I'm curious for you
Caught my attention

I kissed a girl and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chap stick
I kissed a girl just to try it
I hope my boyfriend don't mind it
It felt so wrong
It felt so right
Don't mean I'm in love tonight
I kissed a girl and I liked it
I liked it

No, I don't even know your name
It doesn't matter
You're my experimental game
Just human nature
It's not what, good girls do
Not how they should behave
My head gets so confused
Hard to obey

I kissed a girl and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chap stick
I kissed a girl just to try it
I hope my boyfriend don't mind it
It felt so wrong
It felt so right
Don't mean I'm in love tonight
I kissed a girl and I liked it
I liked it

Us girls we are so magical
Soft skin, red lips, so kissable
Hard to resist so touchable
Too good to deny it
Ain't no big deal, it's innocent

I kissed a girl and I liked it
The taste of her cherry chap stick
I kissed a girl just to try it
I hope my boyfriend don't mind it
It felt so wrong
It felt so right
Don't mean I'm in love tonight
I kissed a girl and I liked it
I liked it

The Lyrics to "Ur So Gay"

I hope you hang yourself with your H&M scarf
While jacking off listening to Mozart
You bitch and moan about L.A.
Wishing you were in the rain reading Hemingway
You don’t eat meat and drive electrical cars
You’re so indie rock it’s almost an art
You need SPF45
Just to stay alive

You’re so gay and you don’t even like boys
No you don’t even like, no you don’t even like, no you don’t even like boys
You’re so gay and you don’t even like boys
No you don’t even like, no you don’t even like, no you don’t even like boys

You’re so sad maybe you should buy a happy meal
You’re so skinny you should really super size the deal
Secretly you you’re so amused
And nobody understands you
I’m so mean cuz cannot get you out of your head
I’m so angry cuz you’d rather my space instead
I can’t believe I fell in love
With someone that wears more make up and

You’re so gay and you don’t even like boys
No you don’t even like, no you don’t even like, no you don’t even like boys
You’re so gay and you don’t even like boys
No you don’t even like, no you don’t even like, no you don’t even like

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
La, la, la
La, la, la
Oh, oh, oh
Do, do, do, do, bop, bop, bow
Do, do, do, bop, bop. day
You’re so gay, you’re so gay

You walking around like you’re oh so debonair
You pull them down and there’s really nothing there
I wish you would just be real with me

You’re so gay and you don’t even like boys
No you don’t even like, no you don’t even like, no you don’t even like boys
You’re so gay and you don’t even like boys
No you don’t even like, no you don’t even like, no you don’t even like
You’re so gay and you don’t even like boys
No you don’t even like, no you don’t even like, no you don’t even like
No you don’t even like, no you don’t even like, no, no, no, no, no, no

http://www.katyperry.com

http://www.myspace.com/katyperry

So, what do you all think? Homophobic?, Sexually liberated exploration? Misandric?

Share your thoughts!

Tell Congress to Pass the Matthew Shepard Act

"A law protecting all of our citizens against senseless hate violence is long overdue. Last year, both houses of Congress passed a historic hate crimes bill known as the Matthew Shepard Act, which would have outlawed hate crimes based on both sexual orientation and gender identity. But the legislation never made it to President Bush's desk because of his veto threat.

Send a message to Congress today. Remind them that America still needs the Matthew Shepard Act to help ensure safety and security for ALL Americans."

Click Below to Fill Out the E-Contact Form...
http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/campaign/hatecrimes0708

Word of the Gay: "Lesbian Utopia"

"Lesbian Utopia" refers to the fantasy of a community of females who are not dependent on men for anything. In this society females would be able to cohabitate and reproduce with one another having only female offspring.

Nike - "That Aint Right" Ad Isn't

UPDATE: "Nike has announced that it has canceled its "That Ain't Right" campaign after it was widely criticized as homophobic by gay bloggers and advertising critics. Via ESPN, here is Nike's statement:

Nike is strongly opposed to discrimination of any kind and has a long history of supporting athletes regardless of their sexual orientation. The advertisement in question is based purely upon a common insight from within the game of basketball -- the athletic feat of dunking on the opposition, and is not intended to be offensive.

However, after listening to concerns expressed around specific executions, we have decided to drop them from the campaign to underline our ongoing commitment to supporting diversity in sport and the workplace.

Nike has a strong record of support for diversity and is proud to have been honored with a 100 percent score over several consecutive years in the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Corporate Equality Index.(Joe My God)

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Nike has released this ad and has plastered them along with others showing athletes faces pushed into crotches in an effort to demonstrate humiliation. Other tag lines seen on ads are “Your mama won’t let you come home after this. What would she tell the neighbors?” The ad campaign was created by Wieden+Kennedy.

Tell Nike that these ads create an atmosphere of homophobia and associate gay acts with shame and embarrassment.

Nike's E-contact form - click here!

Phone: 1-503-671-6453

Nike World Headquarters
One Bowerman Drive
Beaverton, OR 97005

John McCain Video on Gay Adoption

U.S. Presidential candidate John McCain appeared on ABC's This Week and was questioned on his position over same-sex couples adopting.

Shameless Self Promotion Sunday

Please feel free to share any links to Queer or Queer related topics of interest. You can post a blog entry you made, a website you found interesting. Anything goes as long as it is Queer in nature.

Open Forum: Is Any Publicity Good Publicity?

Anytime someone who identifies or appears to be part of the Queer community is in the public spotlight it reflects on us all. It shouldn't be the case because we are such a diverse community, comprised of various political, religious, and personal preferences. The fact is though the majority will judge any minority they don't know much about by the little information they do receive.

The question and conversation I pose this week is whether any publicity is good publicity? There is a long time internal debate within the Queer community of those that feel we should strive to show the world our families, our professions, and our religions to show that we are self respecting hard working people just like everyone else.

Many LGBTQ people are embarrassed by such things as the pride parades where people dress up in Halloween like costumes, go naked, or act perverse. At the same token many of the people who are parading around in such attire or making sexual or fun and outrageous statements feel that some Queers are trying to sugarcoat the community and are an affront to the efforts to advance civil liberties and sexual liberation.

Do you think any publicity is good publicity, and will ultimately desensitize straight people to our varied ways? Is the media perhaps only focusing on the outrageous and does this hurt the image of the entire community? Share your thoughts.