Happy 20th anniversary! Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters celebrating two-decade milestone

On Sunday, this blog reached a milestone of 20 years in existence. I can barely believe it myself. This blog, which began as a way to publicize a book which I was self-publishing, took a life of its own and has lasted this long. 

And after 20 years, over 10,000 posts, over 10 million hits, national and international acclaim (including one GLAAD Media Award and seven nominations), I think I still have work to do.

To put it plainly, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters is an extension of my anger at how the anti-LGBTQ industry was poisoning our existence with lies they spread about us. 

You know what lies I am talking about:

 We are violent, 

we are constantly trying to have sex with kids,

 we are "recruiting" or "grooming" kids, 

we have a multitude of diseases, we have hundreds to thousands of encounters, 

we have no capacity to love, we hate and want to hurt Christians, 

we lead unhappy lives and will go to hell when we die. 

I can remember an America before Pete Buttigieg, 'RuPaul's Drag Race,' and gay marriages and it wasn't a pleasant place to be.

So many of us lived in rock solid or plexiglass closets even where we had to endure the constant possibility of violence which could kill us, ugly whispers which could be turned into vocal rumors threatening our employment and family relationships, and very vocal AIDS jokes which denigrated our dignity as we lay dying while government officials did very little about it.  LGBTQ people were fed a steady diet of reasons why we should hate ourselves and we had very little power to push back. To some, those awful situations I described still exist, but the difference is we have the power to push back and we do.

It's rather funny to contemplate all of this now that I am older, but back then when I was trying to navigate my way through college and young adulthood in the 1990s, it was a huge detriment to know that there were people out there judging me and throwing roadblocks in my life designed to maneuver me (and so many others) in directions self-hatred. And not because of anything I had done, but because they felt they were ordained by God Himself tell me what my life will entail. They were so determined to save my soul from the fires of hell when I died that they have no problem making my life a living hell while I'm alive

And they didn't have any problems telling lies to accomplish their goals. That's where my blog came in. When I was in college, I promised myself that I would do something about it. That "something" came over 10 years later.  The book I was trying to self-publish came and went as disasters generally do. 

But this blog has lasted. It has endured. For 20 years, I have attacked, called out, and brought receipts against just about every lie about LGBTQ people. I have called attention to the deliberate falsehoods, bad science, cherry-picked science, and basic bullshit that groups like the Family Research Council and people like the late James Dobson have thrown at us.  And I'm still doing it when it comes to the new haters like Donald Trump and Libs of Tiktok.

 I hope that folks who view this blog become empowered by what they read. I also hope that they use it as a historical and reference guide. Our community has come a long way since 2006. Some of it has been wonderful, some of it has been ugly and disappointing, but through it all, here we are. And while it may not seem so at times, we are in a much better place than we were in 2006.

I think my blog contributed to that. It's my legacy and contribution to LGBTQ people and our history. It's been a hell of a ride, but it ain't over yet. 

Not by a long shot. Thank you all for taking this journey with me.

Below what I wrote as the first post of Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters 20 years ago. It clarifies the goals of this blog for folks who remain curious:

There are a bunch of organizations in this country who thrive on ignorance, fear, and a sense of entitlement.

They refer to themselves as "pro family" and even members of the gay community regard them as the religious right


With all due respect, I don't see them as that. They are an anti-gay industry who seeks to gain political power by building on the religious beliefs and ignorance of people of faith. And they have been pretty successful.

Central to this success are their so-called studies on the gay community. In order to prove that gays and lesbians should not have any protection of laws, they have created a written and oral pattern of deception that is not only blatant in its attempts but shameful in its audacity. In their zeal to prove the worst about the gay community, the anti-gay industry runs roughshod over science and truth. They have created a houses of pseudo-scientific studies based on distortions, lies, headless monsters, and legitimate studies taken out of context, which are then pushed by fake experts, Ph.D.s, conservative columnists and bloggers, and ignorant people of faith all willing to sacrifice their integrity on the altar of an alleged higher calling.

We know the claims these studies make:

gays have a short life span
gays molest children at a higher level than heterosexuals
lesbians abuse their partners at a high level
gays are more violent and are prone to crimes
gays are promiscuous and cannot handle the concept of marriage.

For two years, I have studied the methodologies of so-called "pro family" groups (i.e. Focus on the Family, Concerned Women for America, the Traditional Values Coalition, etc) and am glad to say that their claims are rooted in lies, outright deceptions, and legitimate studies with portions cherry picked out.

In 2007, I will publish my book, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters, detailing just what how the anti-gay industry propagandizes about the gay community. Through this blog, I will publish some of my findings and update everyone as to the progress of my book. I will update this blog on a weekly basis.

Now I must emphasis that I am not attacking anyone's religion. I respect a Christian's right to believe that homosexuality is an abomination. I also respect the right of the Boys Scouts of America to prohibit gays from serving as members. Of course, I also believe that if the organization had any integrity at all, it should refuse any form of public monies because some of this money is derived from gay sources via taxes. And isn't accepting money from those who you feel will not conform to your moral code just as bad as allowing them in your group.

But I digress.

What I am saying through my book and my blog is that distortions and lies in the name of God are still distortions and lies. And anyone who knowingly uses them and can still refer to themselves as a person of faith needs to examine themselves.

Six times anti-LGBTQ activists have been caught lying about drag queens and children

In 2022, anti-LGBTQ activist Seth Dillon claimed that this was a picture of a children being encouraged to tip a half-naked drag queen. The allegation was a lie.

Editor's note - This blog post is a portion of one I published last week. Someone requested that I make it into a blog post of its own and I thought that was a wonderful idea.

Attacks on drag queens have been a cause celebre for Republicans, the anti-LGBTQ industry, the far right, and conservative evangelicals for a number of years. They claim drag in itself is sexually explicit - even when it's merely drag queens reading children's books to kids - and that it's a plot by us to supposedly "groom" children to become LGBTQ. In the past, they've accused us of simply trying to "sexually recruit" children. Now they say we are playing Invasion of the Body Snatchers in that we are seeking to convert children by wrecking "their innocence."

 Also in the past, they simply accused us of "recruiting" children for sexual behavior and back then, it was just words in publications or accusations made in speeches and interviews. 

These days, social media has become their tools of bigoted storytelling. Memes playing upon people's hidden and unhidden prejudices have become their weapons. Lies backed by doctored photos and out-of-context videos spread at a rapid pace and poison the conversation before the truth comes out. By the time truth does in fact come out, it doesn't matter because the lie has become unkillable.

But there are times in which they get caught in their lies and have to pay a price. Sometimes they have to scamper back to their holes while licking their figurative wounds which come from heavy public ridicule. Other times - and I wish there were more of these times - they have to pay significant monetary penalties:

Six times anti-LGBTQ activists have been caught lying about drag queens and children

In two separate court cases, drag queens have won a settlement of $200,000 and a court judgement of $1.1 million after being falsely accused of being a sex offender, dancing lewd with children, or exposing themselves to children.

Drag queens will get $200,000 settlement and apology from lawmaker who falsely accused them of obscene behavior with children - In 2024, New Hampshire Republican lawmaker David Love paid a combined $200,000 to two drag queens to settle accusations that he defamed them by falsely calling one a sex offender and claiming the other danced with children in a sexual manner. 

Drag performer awarded $1.1 million judgement against blogger who falsely accused him of exposing himself to kids - Earlier that same year in Idaho, drag performer Eric Posey received a $1.1 million judgement against a far-right blogger after she falsely accused him of exposing himself to adults and children at a Pride event in June 2022. 

__________________________________________________

A video posted by anti-LGBTQ activist Robby Starbuck allegedly showed a drag queen in Tennessee encouraging a little girl to stroke his crotch. The allegation wasn't even close to the truth.

Taken out-of-context video fuels ugly lie about drag queens 'grooming' children - In September 2022, a video from Tennessee allegedly showing a drag queen inviting a little girl to stroke his crotch went mega viral. But that wasn't the case at all. None of it was true. 

__________________________________________________

Via a dishonest use of a screen block, anti-LGBTQ activists spread a lie that a drag queen exposed himself to children during a Drag Queen Story Hour event. And a lot of people on social media believed it.

BUSTED! Far right caught spreading false story that a drag queen exposed self to children - In June 2022, bigots altered a photo to spread a false claim that a drag queen exposed himself to children during a drag queen story hour event. 

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Conservative anti-LGBTQ activist Seth Dillon claimed that this was a picture of a child tipping a half-naked drag queen (top photo). This was a lie and the bottom photo shows that he was informed of this by those responding his tweet.

Babylon Bee editor Seth Dillon caught spreading false story about a child tipping a half-naked drag queen - In that same month in 2022, a far-right activist Seth Dillon, tried to spread a claim that a child was encouraged to tip a half-naked drag queen. Except there weren't any drag performers involved in the incident.

_________________________________________________

Mass Resistance, an anti-LGBTQ hate group in Massachusetts, said during a Drag Queen Story Hour event, children were exposed to a lewd book about underwear. The book in question, 'What Color is Your Underwear,' is a children's book.

Hate group makes fool of itself with latest attack on Drag Queen Story Hour - In 2019, Massachusetts hate group Mass Resistance claimed that during a drag queen story hour event, children were being read a lewd book about underwear. This was a lie.

Drag is an art It is an old and very respected art. This is not to say that it's never lewd because sometimes it can be lewd or X-rated. But to automatically designate drag as lewd and to spin ridiculous conspiracy theories that LGBTQ people and our allies are using drag to somehow "groom" or outright sexually molest children is bigoted.  It's the latest way in which those who oppose our equality scapegoat us as the "dangerous other" out to wreck American society. 

With regards to the possibility of kids attending drag shows which are adult-oriented, it is in the hands of parents to make that judgement and also where the blame should lie if in fact the occasion may arise. Not drag queens.

But generally speaking, I have a question to all of the conservative evangelical, anti-LGBTQ activists, and the rest of that bunch who like to point the finger of accusation against drag queens:

Who has been arrested the most for molesting kids? Drag queens or the folks in YOUR ranks?

'SC Arts Commission demand that LGBTQ groups prove themselves 'worthy' of funding' & other Mon/Tue news briefs

Greenville Gay Men's Chorus - one of the two groups in the middle of a funding controversy with the SC Arts Commission. (taken from group's webpage)

South Carolina Pulls Funds From Just Two Out of 180 Arts Orgs: A Gay Men’s Chorus and an LGBTQ+ Theater Company​ - Do NOT let anyone fool you. This is all about discrimination against LGBTQ people. And as a taxpayer of South Carolina, I have a serious problem with what was done here. 

 For more details about this situation, check out the article below from The Post and Courier:

Arts leaders fear SC making LGBTQ+ arts groups re-prove merit for funding sets dangerous precedent - Basically, the SC Arts Commission is "questioning the artistic merit of these LGBTQ groups." It is demanding that these LGBTQ groups prove that they are deserving of funding. This is a request the Commission did NOT demand from other fund seekers.

In other news: 

Pete Hegseth’s crusade drove a transgender veteran from military service and into homelessness - Under Pete Hegseth, the military is withholding more than $66,000 from Chloe Shapiro, a transgender woman and a former member of the Army National Guard. Cruelty is definitely the point with the Trump Administration. 

Supreme Court will decide if preschools that decline children of same-sex couples may receive state funding - Pay attention to this case. The ability of religious entities to discriminate against LGBTQ people while grabbing tax dollars has finally coming to SCOTUS. With this court, nothing is for sure. But if we lose this, a hornet's nest of bullshit will be opened. 

LGBTQ+ adults are delaying getting healthcare for 2 alarming reasons - The two reasons may not shock you, but the usual culprit isn't one of them. 

New book examines Trump cuts to LGBTQ healthcare - "‘Aftershocks’ details impact of policy shifts on HIV response, broader public health"

BOOM! Federal judge strikes down 2023 Texas anti-drag show law as unconstitutional

Fantastic news out of Texas!

From NBC News:

A federal judge in Texas struck down a 2023 state law Tuesday that sought to restrict drag shows, ruling it was unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge David Hittner, a Reagan appointee, said the measure, known as Texas Senate Bill 12, improperly restricted speech, violating the First Amendment of the Constitution. The ruling prevents state Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is running for the Senate, from enforcing the law and denies his motion for a new trial. In the ruling, Hittner also had advice for “those who find such activities as described in this case offensive.” “The solution is relatively simple ... just don’t go,” he wrote. 

 . . . Hittner struck down the law Tuesday after having followed the framework the higher court asked him to follow. In his ruling, Hittner mentioned Dolly Parton, whose death was announced Tuesday, and criticized the law’s definition of banning performances that “[appeal] to the prurient interest,” citing people who would chastise Parton “as a voluptuous sex symbol because of her big hair, flamboyant clothes and breast exposure.” “There are ‘erotic’ elements in countless popular performances that could be subject to both civil and criminal penalties under S.B. 12,” he wrote. 

 . . . Hittner added that the law was so overly broad as to lead even activities such as “cheerleading, dancing, live theater, and other common public occurrences” to be treated as civil or criminal violations. He also said that the law was vague on its face and that it failed “to give a reasonable person notice of what is prohibited.”

Attacks on drag queens have been a cause celebre for Republicans, the anti-LGBTQ industry, and the far-right for a number of years. They claim drag in itself is sexually explicit - even when it's merely drag queens reading children's books to kids - and that it's a plot by us to supposedly groom children to be LGBTQ.  In the past, they simply accused us of "recruiting" children for sexual behavior. These days, they not only accuse us of wanting kids for sex, but also to impose some type of Invasion of the Body Snatchers plan on America.

It's an ugly lie and speaking of ugly lies, below are a number of incidents in which these folks have been caught lying about drag shows and drag performers:

Drag queens will get $200,000 settlement and apology from lawmaker who falsely accused them of obscene behavior with children - In 2024, New Hampshire Republican lawmaker David Love paid a combined $200,000 to two drag queens to settle accusations that he defamed them by falsely calling one a sex offender and claiming the other danced with children in a sexual manner. 

Drag performer awarded $1.1 million judgement against blogger who falsely accused him of exposing himself to kids - Earlier that same year in Idaho, drag performer Eric Posey received a $1.1 million judgement against a far-right blogger after she falsely accused him of exposing himself to adults and children at a Pride event in June 2022. 

Taken out-of-context video fuels ugly lie about drag queens 'grooming' children - In September 2022, a video from Tennessee allegedly showing a drag queen inviting a little girl to rub his crotch went mega viral. But that wasn't the case at all. None of it was true. 

BUSTED! Far right caught spreading false story that a drag queen exposed self to children - In June 2022, bigots altered a photo to spread a false claim that a drag queen exposed himself to children during a drag queen story hour event. See photo below:

Babylon Bee editor Seth Dillon caught spreading false story about a child tipping a half naked drag queen - In that same month in 2022, a far-right activist Seth Dillon, tried to spread a claim that a child was encouraged to tip a half-naked drag queen. Except there weren't any drag performers involved in the incident.

Hate group makes fool of itself with latest attack on Drag Queen Story Hour - In 2019, Massachusetts hate group Mass Resistance claimed that during a drag queen story hour event, children were being read a lewd book about underwear. This was a lie.

Right-wing pastor Franklin Graham now has $300 million more reasons to continue kissing Donald Trump's butt

One of Donald Trump's biggest defenders over the years has been Pastor Franklin Graham. On many occasions, Graham has either lied about or made excuses for Trump's many excesses (such as when Trump compared himself to Jesus.)  Graham has also anointed Trump as a great defender of Christianity.

 One reason for this could be that Graham enjoys the prominence which comes with being a close ally to the president of the United States. Another reason could be seen as good old-fashioned greed. Trump's Administration gutted the USAID after he came back into office. Now Graham will be benefitting from it.

 From The Bulwark: 

 WITHIN WEEKS OF TAKING OFFICE, the Trump administration fed “USAID into the wood chipper.” And immediately, it had one vocal supporter among international aid groups. 

 One of Trump’s most stalwart evangelical allies, Franklin Graham—son of famed evangelist Billy Graham and founder and CEO of Samaritan’s Purse, one of the largest Christian aid organizations—not only defended the administration’s actions, but repeated, at times verbatim, Elon Musk’s false claims about USAID’s waste, fraud, and abuse, even speculating that its staff’s diversion of funds into ideological “DEI” projects had cost human lives. He said he doubted USAID had “ever” been subject to meaningful oversight. “Ever.” 

 Graham undoubtedly knew better. Before 2025, Samaritan’s Purse received roughly $76 million annually in government funds (though not all of it from USAID). His personnel worked closely with USAID officers on the ground. His own organization had undergone USAID’s rigorous auditing of its grants, as he himself acknowledged. 

 . . . Graham said he trusted Trump’s team to “make good decisions.” 

 Those decisions have at least been good for Samaritan’s Purse. Almost immediately, Secretary of State/USAID undertaker Marco Rubio exempted the organization from the initial aid freeze. 

 Now, a year and a half later, Graham’s aid agency is receiving almost double the government funding it had before: $300 million over two years. And it’s one of a few organizations that form the centerpiece of the administration’s new evangelical-heavy aid regime, the contours of which have come into sharper focus with the administration’s announcement on August 6 of a $2 billion grant that will be disbursed over the next two to five years to mostly evangelical Christian aid organizations.

Editor's note - I've written extensively over the years about Graham's public embracing of Trump. Here are just a few of the posts:

Franklin Graham declares that Donald Trump welcomed God back into the White House 

Pastor publicly blasts Franklin Graham, calling him a 'liar' and 'poster child for Christian nationalism'

Remembering all of the times Franklin Graham and other conservative evangelicals kissed Donald Trump's a$$ 

Franklin Graham shamefully implies that Trump's impeachment is like the betrayal of Jesus Franklin 

Graham debases himself by implying that a vote for Trump = a vote for Jesus.

From the archives: Hate group makes fool of itself with latest attack on Drag Queen Story Hour

Editor's note - For this post, I am going way back in the archives to show how ridiculous some anti-LGBTQ groups are when they attempt to push the "drag queens are grooming children" narrative.

In 2019, a Massachusetts hate group, Mass Resistance, raised a fuss about a Drag Queen Story Hour event and central to their message was the claim that the book being read was perverted. That was far from the truth, and it was my distinct pleasure to show how the hate group made a complete fool of itself with this lie.

From July 29, 2019:

No matter how they try, anti-LGBTQ groups and personalities can't seem to get a moral panic started over the popular event Drag Queen Story Hour. But that doesn't mean they don't try. Almost on a daily basis via various conservative sites, I read articles with lurid inferences about what drag queens are doing to children during this event. Usually, these lurid inferences translate to innocent situations exaggerated by homophobic need to exploit the "LGBTQs recruit children" lie

A perfect example is the hate group Mass Resistance's rendition of a recent Drag Queen Story Hour in Dallas. It was a perfectly harmless event, so the group had to be creative with details:

The “Drag Queen” disruptions in public libraries across the country are becoming more frightening and weird. But parents and citizens are fighting back! A bizarre pair of “Drag Queens” led a disturbing “Drag Queen Story Hour” event at the Grauwyler Park Public Library in Dallas, TX on July 13. A few of our people were inside documenting it, but a much larger group, organized by our new Dallas chapter of MassResistance, held a rousing protest outside.

Don't be fooled by the prose or the pictures on the webpage. Mass Resistance has a reputation going overboard on self-aggrandizement.

And speaking of exaggeration, the hate group bent over backwards to weave the notion that the drag queens were doing something nefarious to the children instead of simply reading to them.

 This event pushed the envelope even beyond the usual perversion. A particularly creepy part was when one of the Drag Queens read “What color is your underwear” to the young kids. It’s a shabby looking children’s book that is not specifically LGBT-themed but has a troubling focus – given what we know about “Drag Queens.” In the book, various animals show the others their underwear. At the end the elephant says, “I’m not wearing any underwear.” Is this a subliminal encouragement for the young children? At one point the “Drag Queen” reader blurted out, “Oh, don’t moon me!”

 

 As you can see via the video above (which the group has on its site) Mass Resistance even admits that this is a children's book which isn't LGBTQ-themed. This is the book in question:

And ad for the book on Scholastic says the following:

This hilarious lift-the-flap features animals and their underwear! Kids will roar with laughter as they lift each flap and reveal cherry red boxers on a horse, furry yellow undies on a crocodile, wooly green bloomers on a sheep, and more! We save the best for last, though — on the final spread, an elephant is hiding behind a large leaf... for good reason. He forgot to put on any underwear! This is a fun way to teach colors... and the importance of wearing your drawers!

So basically, it comes down to the fact that Mass Resistance is angry at drag queens for  (wait for it) reading a children's book to children, which is the purpose of Drag Queen Story Hour.  I guess we should be relieved that none of the drag queens read Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. 

'Lawsuit alleges WI school board teamed up with Moms for Liberty activists to wreck gay principal's' career' & other Mon/Tue news briefs

Editor's note - some folks have commented on my two-day posting weeks. They weren't bad comments, but simply questions of concern. I am alright but I am moving a bit slower, emotionally. Please bear with me and enjoy these posts - even if some of them are news briefs (gotta do that aggregation thing) - because I'm still here and still raising hell as the 20th anniversary of this blog comes up next month.

Now, on to the news . . .

Wisconsin educator Jeff Peterson is suing his former school district, alleging that several board members worked anti-LGBTQ activists, including a Moms for Liberty official, to push false allegations of pedophilia against him in an attempt to destroy his career.

School board conspired with Moms for Liberty activists to destroy gay principal’s career, lawsuit says: 

 A Wisconsin educator is suing his former school district for discrimination, alleging that several members of the district’s board worked with anti-LGBTQ+ activists to fabricate a pretext to fire him because he is gay, going so far as to allegedly write an “anonymous” letter falsely accusing him of “inappropriate conduct” with children and distributing flyers blaming him for bringing “liberal extremists” to the community. 

 According to Jeffrey Peterson’s lawsuit, the campaign against him included spreading false allegations of “grooming,” cooked up by board members affiliated with anti-LGBTQ+ groups Moms for Liberty, the Natural Family Foundation, and the Convention of States.

Gay principal says school board made up fake pedophilia allegations to fire him - An LGBTQNation gives more details about the lawsuit, including allegations that school board officials gave a local anti-LGBTQ activist access to school employee records and that the activist used these records to coordinate with a Moms for Liberty vice chair and another school member to push a false allegation that Peterson was being investigated for inappropriate contact with children.

Trans CIA analyst explains how Laura Loomer got her fired from her job briefing Trump officials - Lara Loomer is trash. Full stop.

MAGA’s newest gay-hating Congress hopeful is *checks notes* a former male underwear model who partied in WeHo? - Another fake seduced by the money.

New emergency shelter aims to give Houston's LGBTQ+ youth a place to stay - We need more places like this one.

How LGBTQ+ Higher Ed Leaders Are Navigating the Political Moment - Good luck because you KNOW that it's not an easy thing to do.