Know Your LGBT History - Venus Xtravaganza

I am featuring a rather sad edition of Know Your LGBT History



From Wikipedia:

Venus Xtravaganza (died 1988) was a transgender American saving up money for sex reassignment surgery while earning a living as a prostitute in New York City. Venus Xtravaganza came to national attention appearing in Jennie Livingston's Paris Is Burning, a 1990 documentary film about New York City ball culture. The story of her life as a transgender person living in New York City and subsequent murder form a story arc within the film. Venus was featured on the original 1990 theatrical release poster in for the film.
Born to an Italian American family, she took the female name Venus in her early teens. As is the tradition of the gay ball culture, she took the name Xtravaganza upon becoming a member of the House of Xtravaganza in 1983. The house, like similar houses, is named in the style of European fashion houses (e.g. House of Chanel) and is an affiliation of young drag queens, transgender and gay youth who have come together around the underground Harlem drag ball scene.

In Paris Is Burning, she says she wanted to be "a spoiled, rich, white girl living in the suburbs." ^[1] She shares a story of her time as a prostitute where one of her clients became enraged upon the discovery that Venus was not a cissexual woman. Venus fled through a window and, fearing for her life, claims to have left the prostitution business as a result, opting instead to work as an escort. On her life as a prostitute, she claims "If you're a married woman living in the suburbs, a regular woman, married to her husband...and she wants him to buy her a washer and dryer set, in order for him to buy that I'm sure she'd have to go to bed with him anyway - for him to get what he wants, for her to get what she wants. So in the long run, it all ends up the same way".

According to her transgender adopted House mother Angie Xtravaganza as told in the film, Venus Xtravaganza was found strangled and stuffed under a bed in a New York hotel room in 1988. Her body was discovered by a stranger four days after her death.

To me Venus was an awesome child with a lot of potential. She made bad choices and those choices subsequently caused her death. But she was led into those choices by an ignorant and uncaring world.

It's something we should all remember. We justifiably get shocked when we hear about our lgbtq brothers and sisters getting beaten up or murdered, but what about those whose spirits are slowly crushed by ugly words, nasty stares, and deliberate isolation? What about those who have the potential to change the world for the better but are never given the chance because of boot of the haters on their necks?

Venus was one and unfortunately she isn't the only one. Let's never forget to encourage each other every now and then.  Give a smile or a kind word to one of your lgbtq sisters you may see passing on the street. It doesn't matter whether you know them or not.

You would be surprised what good it could do.

Past Know Your LGBT History posts:

'15 African-American Clergy Oppose North Carolina's anti-family amendment' and other Friday midday news briefs

Meet The “Legal Experts” Supporting North Carolina’s Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment - Looks like the forces attempting to push that awful Amendment One in North Carolina have been caught lying about their "legal experts." It's not a new tactic. The National Organization for Marriage did it last year when attempting to keep marriage equality from coming to New York.

15 Interfaith African-American Clergy Oppose North Carolina’s Discriminatory Amendment - All of those folks who give the African-American community hell on the subject of marriage equality should pay attention. This is huge.

Maine's 'marriage protectors' fighting publicly; anyone else want popcorn? - Meanwhile, the folks attempting to keep marriage equality out of Maine are engaging in a knock down, dragged out fight . . . with each other.

‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill Sponsor Complains That His Bill Is Misunderstood - This explanation should be epic.

Awesome video makes excellent point about marriage equality and love

This video is from the UK and it makes the point regarding marriage equality better than a thousand words.




It's produced by Produced by the Coalition for Equal Marriage, a British marriage equality advocacy group.

Alright, you all can wipe your eyes now. Or is it just me.

NOM - Same-sex households and their children don't matter

Whether it meant to or not, the National Organization for Marriage just demonstrated how ugly they are when it comes to children living in same-sex households:



This what NOM's blog says about the matter:

Kalley Yanta of the Minnesota Marriage Minute explains why marriage should not be redefined because some same-sex couples are raising children:

"Very few same-sex couples are raising children. According to the Williams Institute, only 22% of same-sex couples are raising children. Many if not most of those couples involve children from a previous heterosexual relationship. The census bureau shows only 0.55% of all U.S. households are households of same-sex couples. Only 0.12% of U.S. households are same-sex couples raising children."

Yanta sums up the coldness of NOM's anti-marriage equality campaign beginning at 1:14 with this statement:

"Why should the definition of marriage that has served us so well be redefined for the 99.88 percent of households in order to accommodate the desires of the 0.12 percent?"

First let's get that question out of the way. Protecting same-sex families in no way redefines the marriages of heterosexual families. Nor does protecting same-sex families cause harm to heterosexual families.

I'm just struck by the basic callousness of Yanta's statement. I refuse to argue whether or not her points are accurate because it is irrelevant. It doesn't matter how many percentages of same-sex families raising children exist in America. Shouldn't these families be treated equally as heterosexual families?

Not according to Yanta and definitely not according to NOM. To hear them, since same-sex families are not as numerous as large as heterosexual families, they don't deserve protection under the law.

To Yanta and NOM, these families and their children don't matter. It's a contradiction of the statements  made by former NOM head Maggie Gallagher during a Congressional hearing last year. Remember when she said that "there are some gay people who are wonderful parents."

So Gallagher thinks that gays make wonderful parents, but according to her organization, they don't deserve protections for their partners and especially their children.

Is this the new Christian ethic in which we value families not by the love and support they give, but by the number of them exist?

It's an ugly thing to ponder, especially when one remembers the Biblical story of the lost sheep. According to the Gospels of Matthew (18:12–14) and Luke (15:3–7), Jesus told a story of a shepherd who left his flock to find one lost sheep because he cared about that one lost sheep as much as he cared about those 99 others.

The shepherd did not say "forget that sheep. It's just one and I have 99 others." No, the shepherd looked for that sheep until he found it.

The point is that we all have value, not by the number of us who may exist, but because we exist, period.

And that's a value which needs to be upheld. It doesn't matter how many same-sex families raising children exists in this country. They count just as much as heterosexual families raising children. And they should be treated with the same amount of fairness because it is the right thing to do.

A truly ethical and Christian organization would know this. But what does NOM know about true Christianity and true ethics?

No matter how much NOM tries to deceive us, the organization's mask seem to always fall off, showing its true ugly face.

'Romney catching hell for flip flops on gay issues' and other Thursday midday news briefs

Ebony finds gay religious Atlantan Darian Aaron - Don't let the National Organization for Marriage and their band of liars fool you. Many African-Americans support lgbtq equality and there are many African-American oriented magazines focusing on our issues. Ebony magazine is one of many.

FRC Slams Romney On Homocon Hire - Uh oh, Romney is in trouble part 1.

Tony Perkins, Gary Bauer Side with Bryan Fischer on Romney's Openly Gay Staffer - Uh oh. Romney is in trouble part 2.

GLAAD notes Romney's support for inclusive scouting (fittingly tying social conservatives' tummies in knots) - And part 3 - Romney once believed that the Boy Scouts should admit gays. That's what you get for being such a blatant flip flopper. But I still ain't a Romney supporter. Remember he did sign that ugly NOM pledge.

Fox’s Starnes Misinforms About Kansas Non-Discrimination Ordinance - Equality Matters catches a Fox pundit in a HUGE lie about a non-discrimination ordinance. And in other news, water is wet.

Attacks on Jay Bakker's family is not a Christian virtue

Jay Bakker

For anyone dumb enough to think that the American Family Association's One News Now is a Christian publication, today's articles should erase that notion.

The fake news publication is on a tear about the gay community. Let's look at two items.

In the article, EEOC's 'gross distortion' of Civil Rights Act, One News Now quotes the Liberty Counsel and Truth4Time member Matt Barber to make gross distortions regarding a recent case in which a transgender woman won a landmark case against discrimination. First the actual story courtesy of ABC news:

A Bay Area woman has won a landmark discrimination case in favor of transgender rights.

Mia Macy applied for a job at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms while she still identified herself as a man.

During the hiring process, Macy revealed that she was transitioning to life as a woman. Days later, the ATF said it eliminated the position. Macy later learned someone else was hired for that job.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled the former police officer had been discriminated because of her gender identity.

"It's important because every person from this point forward falls under that federal protection and that was something that maybe I had a part in," said Macy.

This is what Barber said the case would lead to:

"This ruling basically says that a Bible bookstore owner, for instance, could not turn away a homosexual, cross-dressing man, a man who likes to wear a miniskirt and lipstick -- this would protect that man from being denied a job at a Bible bookstore that holds sincerely held religious beliefs that are opposed to that individual's lifestyle," Barber explains.

That, according to the attorney, is another example of the Obama administration stomping on religious rights and "using the EEOC as his henchman to get the job done."

Barber isn't interested in discussing the case on its merits. He is only interested in inflaming fear by appealing to stereotypes about our transgender brothers and sisters.

But believe it or not, that article is merely a prelude to an attack which I found to be ugly, even for One News Now.

Jay Bakker, son of former televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, is himself an evangelist and, as far as I am concerned, a breath of fresh air from the preachers collecting gobs of money while simultaneously whining about being persecuted.

He is also a supporter of the gay community. He was in North Carolina recently holding a rally against that awful Amendment One. In an article, One News Now quoted Mark Creech, a supporter of Amendment One, to make a low attack on Bakker:

Rev. Mark Creech of the Christian Action League of North Carolina is not surprised by Bakker's "feel-good" stance that requires "no real holiness."

"It's unfortunate that, as a child, he was injured … by a lot of hypocrisy that he witnessed in the church, and I think he was also the innocent victim of forms of unjust religious condemnation that seriously, negatively impacted him and made him vulnerable to acceptance of a false message.

Creech is referring to the PTL scandal which took place over 20 years ago which led Bakker's father to serve time in jail for fraud.

I don't know what's worse - the fact that Creech felt the need to throw that mess up in Bakker's face (he was only a child when it all took place) or the fact that he tries to make his comments seem that of a concerned Christian.

Why was it necessary for Creech to make such a nasty dig at Bakker's family? At his father and his deceased mother (Tammy Faye Messner died of cancer in 2007)?

Bakker's father served his time and has returned to the ministry. His mother became a gay icon after spreading a message of love and self-acceptance. And I might point out that she had more Christian love and charity in one mascaraed eyelash than Creech has in his entire Bible thumping body.

Creech and One News Now epitomizes the phoniness of some American Christians and give adequate reasons why so many folks are abandoning the religion.

Who wants to be associated with such nasty hypocrites?

See the Religious Right Dance

When I wrote the post Monday about the secret Facebook group Truth4Time, I knew it had the potential to be a huge story.

However, I never expected for it to explode in the manner which it did. I didn't expect to be interviewed by Michelangelo Signorile and I certainly didn't expect for it to be the number one story in the Huffington Post Gay Voices section.

Now I did expect some negative feedback from members of the group and administrator Michael Brown didn't disappoint.

He was allowed to publish what he called corrections to the Truth4Time article Signorile wrote. I found these corrections to be disingenuous and wrote so in the comments section and in more detail on a blog post.

I felt the story should have ended there. Let folks read it and make up their own minds.

But for some reason, neither Brown nor the other members of the group will let the story go.

Brown not only parlayed the story into a ludicrously transparent post on the conservative Town Hall (comparing my post to Protocols of the Elders of Zion - the legendary fraud document which claimed that Jewish people plotting to take over the world)  but also a feature on his radio show. I have no doubt that there may be a future column on the American Family Association's One News Now.

His spiel seems to be claiming that the group was merely innocent Christians who was inundated by homosexuals simply because they were merely condemning them to hell and supposedly telling the truth that God hates "their lifestyle," whatever that is. Brown also seems to be claiming that those documents I posted detailing plans of jamming and flagging pro-gay sites and sending school districts and physician offices' bad information on gay health were "mere suggestions." He also seems to be saying that just because some people had access to the group's resources didn't mean that they were members.

Doesn't Michael remind you of that Eddie Murphy comedy routine in the movie Raw, where a man's wife catches him redhanded cheating on her and when confronted by her, he continuously says "it wasn't me" until she begins to doubt what she saw. 

Another member of Truth4Time, a sad African American pastor, D.L. Foster who claims that he is an 'ex-gay," cited Brown's ridiculous column to claim that my post was a bomb. Ironically,  I wrote him a note disputing this. Of course it is no longer on his page.

All you need to know about Foster is that he was one of the participants in Peter LaBarbera's failed protest against the Southern Poverty Law Center.

But probably the funniest, albeit creepiest response from a Truth4Time member I've gotten is from small-time radio host Stacy Harp. I wrote this morning about how she spent 30 minutes of her broadcast calling me a nobody for my post (in between insulting Rachel Maddow and Michelangelo Signorile) and also sent a post demanding that I apologize:

It gets funnier. Girlfriend just can't quit me:

Sorry Stacy. You are not my type. And we are not two ships passing in the night. If we were,  I would throw my anchor on your deck in hopes of sinking you.

Ironically, Foster claims that I wrote the post because I wanted wide media attention. Now in reality, I am not that naive. I know that the media has more important stories to attend to, such as interviewing the woman who spilled yogurt on President Obama.

My purpose of posting the Truth4Time post (which I stand by) was basically to expose the lies and deceptions of Brown, Harp, Foster, and the rest who exploit Christianity and who seem to think that Jesus died on the cross for them to lord over folks and gave them the right to decide what makes a family.

They have a serious sense of entitlement which needs to be broken.

The fact that I am making them dance like puppets on a string is merely gravy.

But I do have three questions.

If this is such a non-story, then why are they all spending so much time and effort on it? 

Just who are they really trying to convince?

Lastly, can any of them do the macarena or tootsie roll?

'Chris Matthews' favorite hate group leader guest embraces birtherism' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Perkins: Questions About Obama's Birth Certificate are a 'Legitimate Issue' - Chris Matthews of Hardball now has a dilemma. In the past, he has been known to eviscerate "birthers" or people who don't think that President Obama is a United States citizen:



So now what is he going to when someone whom he has defended as being a guest on his show, Family Research Council's Tony Perkins, is now flirting with birtherism:



The ball is now in your court, Chris.

In other news:

Ruling Extends Sex-Discrimination Protection to Transgender Woman Denied Federal Job - Awesome news!

NOM to supporters: Dump Starbucks is now a global failure - We know this already but its always fun to hear.

Anti-Amendment One videos: Sen. Hagan, Gov. Perdue, Rev. Barber, and a jaw-dropping domestic violence video - I have so much admiration for folks fighting in NC against Amendment One.

Truth will stop NOM's race-baiting

Editor's note - It's one of those two post days. After reading about this sad attempt by the National Organization for Marriage to yet again divide the black and gay communities, pan down and read the hilarious post about Truth4Time members demanding that I apologize.

The National Organization for Marriage has come out with a doozy of a nasty video which plays into its infamous wedge strategy:




That's the darkness. The following videos are the light:

Civil rights leaders Julian Bond:



Civil rights leader and Congressman John Lewis:



Finally, as the following video shows through its simplicity, lgbtqs of color exist. And NOM's race-baiting strategy hurts them:

Hilarious homophobes want me to apologize

Members of the secret anti-gay Facebook group Truth4Time have been steadily trying to play defense in light of being discovered.

Yesterday, I talked about Michael Brown's silly attempt to accuse me of distorting the purpose of the group. This morning, a friend sent me the following:

 

Stacy Harp runs a small-time radio program, supposedly of the Christian variety. However when one hears her, I doubt they would mistake her for a Christian. She is egotistical, nasty, and extremely hateful. The best way to describe her is an offshoot of the Phelps family without the doom and gloom but still no charm.

But she can be amusing. On her program yesterday, she talked about how much of a nothing I was for probably 30 minutes. Apparently she missed the Biblical admonition of knocking dust off of her shoes.

At any rate, if girlfriend expects an apology from me for my truthful accounts of Truth4Time, she is going to be waiting a loooooong time.

Secret anti-gay Facebook group leader fails miserably to refute charges

Michael Brown

One of the administrators of the Truth4Time site, Michael Brown has taken it upon himself to make an attempt to refute the article written about the group in the Huffington Post. I personally think that he was being disingenuous. Allow me to break down his comments:


Michael Brown - 1) “Shortly after he wrote about the secret Facebook group, named "Truth4Time," he reported that the group disbanded.” That is completely false. The group did not disband, nor was that a subject of consideration for the group.

My source, a member of the group said differently. However, it is possible that the group felt the need to start up again.

Michael Brown - 2) It is stated that “the group included a ‘member of a state legislature,’ a ‘Fox News pundit,’ and various other unnamed prominent individuals,” which were then named, including Maggie Gallagher of the National Organization of Marriage and Dr. Keith Ablow of Fox News. This is actually quite misleading, since access to the site was given to people like Maggie and Keith, but to my knowledge they were never active on the site and might not even know of its existence.

Brown is being extremely deceptive here. All of these folks are listed on the membership roster. If this is a secret group, then wouldn't access be given to members?  Also Brown is not clear on whether or not they knew of its existence. While it is true that people can be added to groups without their say-so, they are generally made aware of their addition. So the question is why didn't they remove themselves from the group. It's a question they need to answer.


Michael Brown - 3) According to Signorile, “McEwen said that tactics the group planned to employ included ‘ganging up’ on ‘pro-gay pages with comments and flagging Facebook pro-gay pages multiple times with the intent on getting these pages removed.’” This is patently false, from beginning to end. The group was actually formed with the intent of doing the exact opposite of this. Some of our conservative colleagues documented for us attempts by some gay activists to have their Facebook pages removed by constantly reporting them to Facebook as containing “hate speech” or “hateful” content. One of the goals of our group was to be alerted to tactics like this so we could report this to Facebook in the interest of fairness and so as to combat cyber-bullying.

I don't even need to give a written refutation of this. Brown omitted this mission statement from the site's leader:

Seems to me that Brown is being "patently deceptive" with what he is omitting.

Michael Brown - 4) Lastly, McEwen claimed that one former member of the group (who somehow was approved for acceptance) was “especially disturbed by a plan, whether it will come to fruition or not, to bombard physicians and school boards with negative and distorted information about the gay community.” This again is as misleading as it is untrue. There was no such plan, but there was always encouragement to raise the issue of the health risks of homosexual activity, as reported by the Centers for Disease Control and the like, whenever relevant in different discussions and blogs.

Brown calls it "encouragement," I call it a "plan." Read and decide for yourself:

And if I can nitpick just a bit, Brown makes it seem that the lgbt orientation is the cause for negative gay health choices, when in fact the CDC has said that racism, poverty, and homophobia play a big role.

Poor Michael. Other members of this group - with the exception of Peter LaBarbera via sad tweets - have opted to keep quiet about this controversy.

But not him. 

There is an old saying which speaks so aptly here to Brown's sad attempt to refute my information:

It is better to be thought of as a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

'Secret anti-gay Facebook scandal explodes on Huffington Post' and other Tuesday midday news briefs

Facebook Group, Included NOM Co-Founder, Fox News Pundit And More - Lord give me strength. I just made the top story of the Huffington Post.

Ministers Betray the Black Community by Defending Race-Baiting Group - Well this WAS going to be the leading post in today's news briefs. It is something I wrote then forgot about. The basic gist - any black minister who supports the exploitation of his/her people deserves a scathing so vicious that it would take the paint off of walls. I hope I did a good job here.

Video: Newt hopes he can impart his electoral karma onto North Carolina; me too - So Newt Gingrich, a man who has been married three times is giving advice on protecting marriage? Puleazeeee!

Missouri Don’t Say Gay Bill Sponsor: ‘There Is No Need To Talk About Billy Wanting To Marry A Goat’ - I've been known to date some "dogs" but I have never felt the inclination to marry a goat. LOL

Some are furious at my post on secret anti-gay facebook group

Some members of the religious right are no doubt raising hell amongst themselves about my Truth4Time, yesterday, looking at each other with heightened suspicion.

Like I actually care that these folks are angry. To paraphrase one of my favorite television show characters, their anger only makes the lgbtq community stronger. And I recommend that folks not get discouraged at these groups and the phony facts they attempt to throw out. The gist of the matter is that my post yesterday gave some of these folks a deserved kick where it counts.  And if any of them are reading this post, please be aware that your plans are being watched.

Now - cheap plug time - if you haven't heard the interview I had yesterday with Michelangelo Signorile in regards to the secret Facebook group Truth4Time, please take a listen again:



It's interestingly funny how I pivoted from not wanting to reveal the names of the people in that group to naming quite a few. Hopefully that ends the debate which was started on whether or not some of these people should have been named and also quells notions from a bitter blogger (who shall remain nameless) that I made up the entire thing.

Some of these allies weren't exactly happy with me either. I hope they are now.

Unfortunately, some of my friends are deaf and therefore could not hear the video, so allow me to break down the juicy parts that some of you have been wanting to know. The names I listed include:

Oklahoma legislator Sally Kern
Peter LaBarbera
Bradlee Dean
Matt Barber
Scott Lively
Jennifer Morse
Maggie Gallagher
Brian Brown
Phyllis Schafly

These are the people listed as members of this organization. Now how they got involved the group or whether they are fully involved in the group is for them to say. That's not my problem.

But knowing these folks, they will probably ignore this controversy, hoping that it goes away.

That's all very well, but it's like I said before. There are members of the lgbtq community more savvy than those in the past. And while we don't march or shout, we plot and plan because we have to. Our very survival depends upon it.

And to the religious right - your plans are being watched.

Naming names in the secret religious right Facebook group

I caught some flack when it came to my post regarding Truth4Time, the anti-gay secret Facebook group, because I did not give the names of the individuals involved.

However during an interview today on the Michelangelo Signorile radio show, I go into detail about Truth4Time, including giving the name of several prominent figures involved with the organization. No private citizens were called out. Like I say during the interview, I have proof of all of my charges:

'Secret anti-gay Facebook group disbands' and other Monday midday news briefs

Editor's note on Truth4Time - According to my source, the secret anti-gay Facebook group Truth4Time have dismantled itself. As far as my source knows, the group is disabled/gone from Facebook. I'm not gloating by saying this but you all can run, but you can't hide. Seems to me that if you are doing God's work, you shouldn't be ashamed of said work.


Related post - Secret religious right Facebook group plotting cyber attack on gay community


In other news:

I have to give it up for the folks fighting that awful Amendment One in North Carolina. They didn't just come to fight, they came to win. Check out these two commercials:







Also:

Video: And the proud mother merit badge goes to… - This video is too awesome. This is the family environment that the religious right tries to unsuccessfully blot out.


Iowa Paper Spotlights Bullying On Front Page - Good. A problem which needs a spotlight.

Mat Staver says Day of Silence is a Tool of the 'Radical Homosexual Agenda' to push 'Deviant Lifestyles' - Maybe I'm old fashioned but to me, it's deviant to allow children to be picked on and fear coming to school. Staver needs to check himself.

Secret religious right Facebook group plotting cyber attack on gay community

Based upon information I received from an anonymous source, there is a project afoot by members of the religious right to strike at the gay community via sites like Youtube, Twitter and Facebook.

This project is conducted by a secret Facebook group called Truth4Time. According to the creator of the group (whose name shall remain anonymous because he is not a public figure), Truth4Time is supposed to be a library of anti-gay articles, blogs, and other materials for its members to use in their fight against the supposed "gay agenda." Apparently the group has a large lists of documents which contains anti-gay information (i.e. propaganda) that members are invited to use. The founder says that the group is supposed to be a sort of a "behind the scenes support system for the religious right. He seems to think that he is on some type of divine mission. If that is the case, I seriously doubt that it is God who is dictating his marching orders. :

In all fairness, the group isn't breaking any rules (or any laws) with this idea. Members of Truth4Time also encourage each other to go on webpages featuring anti-gay or pro-gay articles and freely comment. Some members of this group who have written columns in publications such as the conservative Town Hall also encourage fellow members to bombard the prospective sites with comments:

 Again, the group isn't breaking any rules or laws by doing this.

But it is the following questionable tactics, such as "ganging up" on pro-gay pages with comments and flagging Facebook pro-gay pages multiple times with the intent on getting these pages removed, which is sure to raise eyebrows. Truth4Time seems to be under the ludicrous impression that gays stoop to this action, so they figure "what's good for the goose is sauce for the gander:"

One member of the group, a certain Georgia pastor (who has a long history of maligning the gay community) provides tips on what he calls "leveraging public perception on the subject of homosexuality," or in layman's terms, providing an inaccurate picture of whether or not there is support for lgbt equality:

And just who are the members of this group you ask?  I have the list of the members, but  I won't reveal it because many are ordinary citizens, not public figures.

However, that's not to say that Truth4Time does not many contain public figures and prominent members of the anti-gay industry, including:

• a Fox News pundit,
• former employees of Concerned Women for America and The Family Research Council,
• a prominent member of the American Family Association,
• long term anti-gay activists, including those who testified in front of Congress,
• prominent members of the so-called "ex-gay" movement,
• a member of a state legislature, 
• college professors from right-wing universities,
• activists who have called for laws declaring homosexuality illegal,
• members of a prominent anti-gay marriage equality group, and
• various religious right talking heads who us bloggers have had to refute many times in the past.

I should also add that I did not steal this information. A member of the group - who has been disturbed by the comments and plans of this group  - freely gave me this information. The member in question was especially disturbed by a plan (whether it will come to fruition or not) to bombard physicians and school boards with negative and distorted information about the gay community:

Gayterribletruth is a quackery webpage. It's filled with headlines implying that gay men are beset with all sorts of awful diseases due to their orientations alone. However, if one took the time to read several of the articles, they clearly demonstrate that the bad health besetting these gay men have less to do with their orientation and more to do with how homophobia leads to their poor health choices. And other headlines lead to biased religious right articles on the gay community.

Studies already show that the gay community faces negative health problems in part due to the perceived homophobia of their health physicians. Information such as this sent out to physicians can only serve to exacerbate this problems.

And I don't think that I have to mention what would happen to gay youth if at least one school board takes this information as fact.

One hilarious thing about Truth4Time is how members absolutely despise Joe Jervis of the famous blog Joe.My.God (which of course makes me jealous as hell). Many members of the right have been on a tear against Jervis since he won the GLAAD Blogger of the Year award two years ago. Also Jervis has never been known to mince words when it comes to confronting members of the religious right. Naturally that drives them nuts:

I omitted the post in which members speculated whether or not Satan whispers in Jervis' ear.

Lastly, according to my source - the member of the group who gave me this information - several members have a serious hang up about "gay sex"  like such:

While I am not an armchair psychiatrist, that last point brings to mind the recent study which says that those who speak out the loudest against homosexuality are secretly gay themselves.

But there is something else you should know. According to my source, there is one other secret Facebook group like this one which refers to the gay community in a viler language. And a few folks from Truth4Time are members of that group.

While it is not my intent to make the gay community paranoid as to the plots of the religious right, I am a firm believer of knowing all you can about those who designate themselves as your enemies.

Perhaps it's time for members of the gay community to stop laughing some of these folks off as mere homophobes and take into account the depths they will stoop to in their homophobia.

After all, you never know who is lurking on Facebook.

Editor's note - I deliberately obscured all the names in the listed graphics because the comments of private citizens are mingled with those of religious right public figures. I thought it would be best to be consistent and obscure all of the names.

'It Gets Better' at the University of South Carolina

I have to give extreme kudos to University of South Carolina students, faculty members, and staff for an awesome "It Gets Better" video.

I'm proud to say that I know many of these folks featured on the video and consider them as friends as well as people I extremely admire.

And it illustrates a point that the gay community must address. Unfortunately those of us from the South are written off by some members of the mainstream gay community for fighting a "losing battle."

Some allow their ignorant stereotypes of the South to blind them to the fact that those of us down here have talent and the wherewithal to create a highly successful and highly powerful gay community. And we have done this.

It all comes down to a clique mentality and unless some members of the mainstream gay community abandon this mentality, a lot of talent will be wasted.

Religious right hatred and insanity on display at The Awakening

Even as we enjoy the leisure of a Saturday, religious right talking heads are gathering for something they call The Awakening.

Personally, the event sounds like some God-awful horror movie I once saw starring Charleton Heston. We would all be so fortunate if it actually was that. But it's worse.

Apparently The Awakening is when various religious right spokespeople and heads gather together to simultaneously pat themselves on the back for their deluded belief that God favors them most of all and also to whine about the "secularlists" and "gays."

 While I can't give you a report of this dreary affair, People for the American Way's Right-Wing Watch has a twitter feed which details the highlights lowlights of this monstrosity complete with the usual cast of characters spewing their hatred:

Right Wing Watch ‏ @RightWingWatch 

Rena Lindevaldsen says "Satan is hard at work" pushing gay rights #Awakening2012

Right Wing Watch ‏ @RightWingWatch

Matt Barber says gay rights supporters say "the most vicious and vile things" #Awakening2012

Right Wing Watch ‏ @RightWingWatch

Matt Barber says pro-choice and pro-gay rights advocates will "be remembered akin to those who supported slavery" #Awakening2012

 

Right Wing Watch ‏ @RightWingWatch

Matt Barber says it is "an act of hate" to affirm gay people's sexual orientation #Awakening2012

 

  Right Wing Watch ‏ @RightWingWatch

Ryan Sorba says gay rights leads to "tyranny" #Awakening2012

Right Wing Watch ‏ @RightWingWatch

Ryan Sorba says gay rights is a sign of "the return of paganism" #Awakening2012

 

Right Wing Watch ‏ @RightWingWatch

Matt Barber: "homosexualists" and "sexual anarchists" using "Glee" to "indoctrinate" kids #Awakening2012

  Right Wing Watch ‏ @RightWingWatch

Greg Quinlan: "There is zero scientific evidence that anyone is born a homosexual" #Awakening2012

Mercy! It's going to be a wild day! The irony is that these are the same folks who whine about the gay community doesn't show the tolerance. You should never tolerate someone who kicks you in the ribs, whether it be literal or rhetorical.

Know Your LGBT History - LGBTs who are changing the world for the better

As expected, GLSEN's Day of Silence was a massive success this year and so I want to end it with a positive note.

When I was a young African-American, my heritage and history was drilled into me by adults seeking to make me realize how much potential I had for greatness.

And I think the same needs to be done for not only our lgbt youth but also lgbt adults. We may not be related by blood, but lgbts are related through our similar struggles.

We have potential to change the world for the better and that's something we must never forget. Enjoy this video montage of our lgbt brothers and sisters who have done positive things in their life, thereby enriching the lives of others. Let's never forget what they did and especially the simple fact that we are capable of doing the same:








Past Know Your LGBT History posts:

GLSEN's Day of Silence is about safety and love

Today is GLSEN's Day of Silence.

In the past days, I focused on how the religious right are pathetically attempting to undermine this day.

But not today. Today, I want to present a series of video as just a way to remind us all - me included - what this day is all about.

It's not about indoctrination or "forcing people to accept homosexuality." The Day of Silence is not about none of the junk the right likes to claim it's about. It's about our children. Our children. And even though during this day, many of them will choose not to speak, please take a gander at this video montage, listen, and pay attention:

'Ex-gays' attempt to undermine GLSEN's Day of Silence will fail

Tomorrow will be GLSEN's Day of Silence and I anticipate it being a huge success.

Of course, as they attempt every year, various religious right groups will attempt to undermine it. From the ridiculous Day of Dialogue to encouraging students to be absent, these folks just don't quit with their futile tactics.

And now one can add the supposed 'ex-gays' to this list.

 From One News Now:

Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays (PFOX) is encouraging students to celebrate the "Day of Silence" by distributing flyers discouraging ex-"gay" bashing at school.

The "Day of Silence," scheduled for tomorrow, is an annual event put on by Gay-Straight Alliance organizations in schools nationwide and sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). The purpose is to draw attention to alleged homosexual discrimination and bullying by remaining silent throughout the school day. But PFOX board member Peter Sprigg sees the event as an opportunity to get his group's message out as well.

"One way that we're encouraging people to do that is by going to the PFOX website … downloading some of these flyers and publications, and distributing them yourselves in the schools," he says.

He reports there are a variety of downloadable flyers aimed at students who might want out of a homosexual lifestyle, and they include facts about youth and sexual orientation, gender identity, and pointing out that discriminating against ex-gays is wrong.

Please bear in mind that Sprigg did not even elaborate just how those who call themselves "ex-gays" have been bullied in our nation's schools. Of course we all know why he didn't. This is nothing more than a ridiculous attempt by PFOX  to disrupt and undermine the Day of Silence. And it won't succeed.

However, let's not allow this moment to escape us without demonstrating the religious right's hypocrisy yet again.

You will notice that Sprigg was quoted extensively in this article. Too bad the article omitted questioning him about when he said that homosexuality should be outlawed:



Or when he said that gays should be exported out of the United States:



Seems to me that if Sprigg is truly concerned about anyone being bullied, he would first watch his own tongue.

'Rachel Maddow demolishes ex-gay movement' and other Thursday midday news briefs

Rachel Maddow give the ex-gay movement a deserved swift kick:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

In both this video and the one I posted with Dan Savage, one fact is clear. The fight for lgbtq equality will not be fought simply in the streets. It will be fought online and in the halls of public opinion. In our zeal to become angry and call upon the protests of the past, we forget to use all of our resources in combating the right. We allow them to have the advantage by not studying their distortions and using our voices to not only shout slogans but also to expose their distortions to the world. Our fight shouldn't entail solely marches, but quiet rooms where we study their lies, formulate rebuttals and use these rebuttals aggressively and on the offensive instead of waiting for the right to attack us.

In other news:

Conservatives’ Anti-Gay Day Of Dialogue Encourages Students To Promote Shame, Depression, And Substance Abuse - Lest we forget, today is the religious right's sham event, the Day of Dialogue. I wouldn't have said a word about this but Think Progress published a dynamite rebuttal to this lie of a day and it needs to be read by as many folks as possible.

Uganda President Defends Anti-Gay Laws - This, my friend, is what you call a super hot mess.

Vote For Marriage NC is bombing - It couldn't have happened to a nicer group of homophobes.

Richard Land's Terrible Week Gets Even Worse as ERLC Launches an Investigation - Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones at gays.

Dan Savage exposes religious right talking head for his lies

I've given Dan Savage hell before, but when he nails something, I've given him his props.

And in this case, Savage gets tremendous props for doing something I have done only once and have dreamed of doing more times - Calling out a religious right talking head on his/her deception.

Equality Matters gives the full story:

On the April 16 edition of KCTS 9’s new show, Public Affairs with C.R. Douglas, the program spotlighted Washington state’s recent decision to legalize same-sex marriage. Panelists included Joseph Backholm – leader of the Protect Marriage Washington effort and president of the Family Policy Institute of Washington (FPIW) – and prominent gay activist Dan Savage.

While much of the episode followed the show’s signature use of the Socratic Method, the debate became more confrontational after Backholm began discussing same-sex parenting:

BACKHOLM: I think there’s a general understanding of the fact that if you have a million kids who are raised by their mother and father and a million kids who are not raised by their mother and father, knowing nothing else about them, that the million kids who are raised by their mother and father are going to do better.

SAVAGE: That’s bullshit.

BACKHOLM: Now there’s certainly going to be outliers in that–

SAVAGE: Sorry, that’s bullshit.

DOUGLAS: What is your basis for that?

BACKHOLM: I think it’s observable reality. And of course, to my left here, Professor Schwartz knows a lot more about the data, and as she just admitted there’s a lot that we don’t know about this because we have not been -- we haven't been far enough down this road. We don’t have longitudinal data to really be able to study this. But I think most people understand that it’s good for kids to have a mom and a dad and that’s one of the reasons why the current definition of marriage is one that we are in support of.

Savage went on to point out that Backholm’s “observable reality” and “general understanding” actually contradicted the majority of data relating to same-sex parenting. As Savage noted, opponents of marriage equality incorrectly cite studies about single parenting, usually ignoring the “mountain of evidence” – including longitudinal studies – demonstrating that committed same-sex couples are capable of effectively raising children.

Notice how Savage's take down reduced Backholm to ridiculous explanations of his distortions. Savage's ability to call Backholm out for his distortions came no doubt from studying how the opposition works and distorts.

And that highlights something sorely missing from our side. It's not enough to call these folks bigots. We have to study how they lie. And believe it or not, it's relatively easy because these folks are lazy. They rely on the same tactics using the same junk science and the same cherry-picked studies time and time again. It's sad to say but a matter of truth to realize that the only reason why they have gotten away with it is because we have not done the work to call them out.

Savage has clearly shown how it's done.. Now if more of us can do this when we are debating folks like Maggie Gallagher, etc (even though Gallagher will probably talk over you and whine about being unfairly attacked), just think of how much ground we would gain.

And how much ground folks like Gallagher would lose.