A new advocacy group, tentatively named the LGBT Foreign Policy Project, is asking the U.S. State Department for greater action and involvement in addressing the LGBT-rights issues mentioned in the department’s annual report. AIDS counselor Jason Hair-Wynn recently applied for a new passport so he could go to Africa and use his expertise. The U.S. […]
From New York magazine’s March 24 article on Eliot Spitzer: One local $1,000 girl known for a thoroughgoing reading of the Times op-ed page said she knew right away it was a Democratic sex scandal, “because if it was a Republican the hookers would have been guys.”
Last week, I urged readers to nominate their favorite LGBT moms for the title of “America’s Favorite Mom” in Teleflora’s Mother’s Day contest. I thought it would be a good opportunity for visibility. Two days after my post, I received an e-mail from a publicist at Edelman, Teleflora’s PR agency. She thanked me for helping
“Gay” is the number-one insult among schoolchildren, reports the BBC, although most use it to mean “lame,” without any intended reference to sexual orientation. The article charts how the meaning of the word has changed over the years (remember when it used to mean “happy” or “festive”?), and notes “This mutation of the word is
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted to approve legislation that would repeal a travel and immigration ban on those who are HIV positive. A new study shows that the California Supreme Court wields an influence far beyond the Golden State’s borders, when one counts up the number of times the decisions of state high courts
A new Kenneth Cole ad campaign, “We All Walk In Different Shoes,” features a lesbian couple and their two-year-old daughter as one of several examples of “non-uniform thinkers.” (Thanks, Family Equality.) While I applaud the use of black clothing (hides mud, strawberry jam, and worse), I have to question the shoes. Both moms are wearing
As if Oklahoma Rep. Sally Kern’s anti-gay rant wasn’t bad enough: Kern is one of the authors of House Bill 2211, which requires public schools “to guarantee students the right to express their religious viewpoints in a public forum, in class, in homework and in other ways without being penalized.” The bill was just approved
Here’s a chance for a bit of fun activism: 2008 is the 100th anniversary of Mother’s Day. In honor of the occasion, Teleflora is presenting “America’s Favorite Mom,” a weeklong contest airing on NBC in May. Finalists in five categories will appear on NBC’s Today Show the week before Mother’s Day, and in a prime-time
Four heroes in the news: Trans activist Jenn Burleton, founder and executive director of TransActive Education & Advocacy, a Portland, Oregon based organization that works with parents and schools to support transgender and gender-variant children. 18-year-old student Clyde Calloway, for helping to organize a Gay-Straight Alliance at his high school in rural Kentucky, despite threats
Logo has launched a public service announcement in response to last month’s hate-crime murder of 15-year-old gay student Lawrence King and other young hate-crime victims. The PSA seems aimed at young people. Many of Logo’s sister brands across MTV Networks will carry it, though Logo is making it available to other networks as well. The
