What's tougher to get than a same-sex marriage? A same-sex divorce.
posted on Jul 25, 2008 - View this thread

Couture by Gaahl (yt, nsfw)
posted on Jul 25, 2008 - View this thread

[G]ays do not belong in the U.S. military because American troops need to be hardened warriors. "We aren't the Brits. We're not the Europeans. We're not the Swedes," says Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter, who is the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee. The choicest quote from the 16 Dec 2007 60 Minutes investigation into gays in the military (recently updated).
posted on Jul 14, 2008 - View this thread

Lillian Ladele, a Christian registrar, has won her discrimination case after refusing to conduct same sex civil partnerships. " Islington Council cared too much about the "rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual" community, the panel ruled. "
posted on Jul 11, 2008 - View this thread

Will Photographing Same-Sex Ceremonies Hurt or Help Your Wedding Photography Business? Wedding photographer Sean Cayton wonders how to deal with gay weddings. "If you're thinking, 'I just won't do same-sex weddings because I don't need the headache,' it's not that simple." via
posted on Jun 20, 2008 - View this thread

Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon were the first to wed in California -- again. Martin and Lyon are best known for founding the Daughters of Bilitis, the first lesbian rights organization in the U.S. Congratulations, Del and Phyllis!
posted on Jun 16, 2008 - View this thread

An ancient tradition or despicable exploitation? As in ancient Greece and Shakespeare's theatre, boys dress as women to entertain men. A hint of Afghan homosexuality was included in the movie The Kite Runner. An Uzbekistan theatre group is presenting two plays on this theme in Seattle this month. The homosexual element of Afghan culture has waxed and waned depending on who is invading their country at the time.
posted on Apr 1, 2008 - View this thread

People with a History is "an online guide to lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans history." Ranging from the first stirrings of civilization to the modern day, People with a History gathers together original sources and academic articles dealing with queerness throughout history. To give you a feel for the wealth of material on the site, here are a few pages that caught my interest: The Vikings and Homosexuality, Coptic Spell: Spell for a Man to Obtain a Male Lover, an acount of a gay marriage ceremony described by Michel de Montaigne, But Among Our Own Selves (an 18th Century gay ballad), a chapter from The Life of St. Theodore of Sykeon, a 7th Century Byzantine monk and bishop, which mentions adelphopoiesis, or the rite of brothermaking, Wu Tsao, 19th Century Chinese lesbian poet, and finally Polari: The Lost Language of Gay Men.
posted on Feb 2, 2008 - View this thread

In 1955, at least twelve men in Boise, Idaho were arrested for "infamous crimes against nature.". In the resulting dragnet, the vice president of the Idaho First National Bank was sentenced to seven years in prison, while national magazines fomented a McCarthyite Lavender Scare with headlines such as Male Pervert Ring Seduces 1,000 Boys. This dark chapter in Idaho gay history was documented in both John Gerassi's 1966 book, The Boys of Boise and the recent film, The Fall of '55, by documentarian Seth Randal, but neither Gerassi nor Randal could identify The Queen, a closeted but politically connected homosexual who allegedly used his massive clout to stop the witch hunt.
posted on Aug 28, 2007 - View this thread

"So take that to your next rain dance and STFU" vs. "YOU GO BACK TO AFRICA AND DO YOUR GAY VOODOO LIMBO TANGO AND WANGO DANCE AND JUMP AROUND AND PRANCE AND ALL OVER THE PLACE HALF NAKED..." Emails between a gay black man and a Native American army recruiter. Copy of the email exchange here. (Quote at the bottom format, so read from the last page up.)
posted on Mar 26, 2007 - View this thread

Is Your Baby Gay? Southern Baptist theologian Albert Mohler has come out to support stem cell research: If a biological basis [for homosexuality] is found, and if a prenatal test is then developed, and if a successful treatment to reverse the sexual orientation to heterosexual is ever developed, we would support its use as we should unapologetically support the use of any appropriate means to avoid sexual temptation and the inevitable effects of sin.
posted on Mar 8, 2007 - View this thread

Is it a parody? That's the question on some bloggers' minds. Donnie Davies is a pastor for Love God's Way ministries, and he wants to Change Homosexuals into Ordinary People or C.H.O.P.S.
posted on Jan 23, 2007 - View this thread

Anders als die Andern ("Different From the Others") [IMDB|Wikipedia] was one of a series of films on sexual issues directed by Richard Oswald in the late 1910s and sponsored by Magnus Hirschfeld's Institute for Sexual Science. The 1919 movie (photo reconstruction), "the first major gay-themed film ever made," and "the world's first homosexual emancipation film," was made in part to protest against Paragraph 175, which was added to Germany's Reich Penal Code in 1871 and prohibited sex acts "between persons of male sex." [more inside]
posted on Dec 15, 2006 - View this thread

A multimedia exhibit on the Nazi persecution of homosexuals, Wikipedia on gays under the Nazis, Paragraph 175 - a documentary profiling gay survivors of Nazi era policies, and memorials of the gay Holocaust. A few Nazi-era gay and lesbian figures of note:

- A Berlin intellectual and pioneer in sexuality research, and an early advocate for gay rights, (controversial in part for his early support of outing) Magnus Herschfeld died in exile after Nazis destroyed his Institute of Sexual Science.
- The butch orchestra conductor Frieda Belinfante and gay artist William Arondeus were part of the same resistance group that first falsified papers for Dutch Jews, and then when Nazi's began to compare these falsified papers with city records, set fire to the Amsterdam Registry building.
- Lily Wust, the wife of a German soldier, fell for a Jewish woman at the wrong time. Their story became the subject of a book and film.
posted on Dec 15, 2006 - View this thread

Kissing is terrorist behavior now? From the article: 'Shortly after takeoff, Varnier nodded off, leaning his head on Tsikhiseli. A stewardess came over to their row. “The purser wants you to stop that,” she said...The captain told Tsikhiseli that if they didn’t stop arguing with the crew he would divert the plane.'
posted on Sep 20, 2006 - View this thread

You get the gay from your brothers. Or maybe not.
posted on Jun 26, 2006 - View this thread

When taking lessons in English from the BBC, be sure to follow up with remedial "playground-speak"
posted on Jun 12, 2006 - View this thread

Simply mad about the boy. I've learned my lesson from these gay-themed novelty records from the Sixties. I'd rather fight than swish.
posted on Feb 25, 2006 - View this thread

Married to the Wrong Sex. A short, poignant article on a gay man's decision to marry heterosexually, because it's what his family and society expect.
posted on Feb 15, 2006 - View this thread

Locked in a Timeless Embrace: A third possibility. First documented gay couple (manicurists to the King) or just a case of conjoined twins? Same-sex closeness in historical Egypt.
posted on Dec 21, 2005 - View this thread

Rusty's family tried to accept his kinkier interests. "Father, will you buy me that leash for my birthday?" "But Patches already has a leash," said Father. "I didn't want it for Patches," said Rusty. Father chuckled uncomfortably.
posted on Oct 28, 2005 - View this thread

You knew it was going to happen. God sent Hurricane Katrina to prevent the Labor Day celebration of homosexual sin known as "Southern Decadence". Apparently, he is also is not a big fan of the Girls Gone Wild video series.
posted on Aug 31, 2005 - View this thread

A federal court puts an end to Nebraska's ban on gay unions Although it doesn't mean that gay partners can start marrying each other, the court's ruling opens the doors to their appeals. Also, at the NY Times.
posted on May 13, 2005 - View this thread

FDA to ban sperm donations from homosexuals. Claims the rate of HIV among gay men is statistically high enough to warrant the exclusion. Gay community suggests discrimination. See also: Gay blood ban (in effect since 1985).
posted on May 5, 2005 - View this thread

Wedded by the revolution...
"Dare to struggle, dare to win ... as married gays. After raiding a few Army camps, two communist guerrillas hid in a forest gorge and fell in love. Deeply. That was three years ago. On Friday, under a romantic drizzle in a muddy clearing in Compostela Valley province in Mindanao, Ka Andres and Ka Jose exchanged vows in a heavily guarded ceremony before local villagers, friends from the city and their comrades in arms.
They are considered the first homosexual couple in the New People's Army (NPA) who were wed by the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)."
Some reactions. A wedding picture.
posted on Feb 22, 2005 - View this thread

So, ya got bears. And you've got bears, BEARS, Bears!, and guys who love Bears. (From here, probably NSFW) But bears? I had no idea. I guess they're everywhere. We know they're in Chicago, but they also inhabit northern woody areas, southern coastal habitats, and from June 10-12 they will ravage the countryside (can't deeplink, check "events"). These bears have their own spam portals, non-spam resource guides, personals, merchandise, graphic novels, newsfeeds, rules and regulations, and of course lots and lots of pr0n (that's not too graphic, but they're not called "bears" for no reason). I knew one of these guys my freshman year. I'm straighter than Peter North but he and his friends were some of the coolest people I've ever known. What are your favorite sex subcultures?
posted on Feb 11, 2005 - View this thread

Outing Closeted Republicans, part 1,574 --Ken Mehlman, the leading contender to become the head of the RNC, and one of the architects of Bush's anti-gay election campaign, has some secrets, it appears. And it was supposed to come out during the convention: Two New York newspapers received calls from the Bush-Cheney campaign during the Republican National Convention urging them not to run a story suggesting that the campaign manager and public face of the campaign was gay, RAW STORY has learned.
posted on Nov 11, 2004 - View this thread

French TV Gets Gay Channel (Guardian link, reg. req.)
From the story, "Pink TV, which launched last night, promises viewers a mixture of Wonder Woman repeats, prime-time opera and gay and lesbian porn. A daily cultural review will look at issues like tourism, health, poetry and clubbing from a gay perspective, in a style which aims to be 'more cosy than cheeky'."

So does it mean I'm gay if I watch Wonder Woman repeats?
posted on Oct 26, 2004 - View this thread

Not porn, just gay PayPal suddenly delists queer sites: “[H]e raised objections to PalPal’s action, saying his organization’s aim is to educate the public on ways to avoid AIDS. He said PayPal never responded to his concerns.... PayPal sent [another site owner] a reply saying the company would consider reinstating his account if he submits a statement promising to ‘remove the book covers wherein individuals are touching each other’ ”
posted on Oct 23, 2004 - View this thread

The Scissor Sisters (album art NSFW) seem to be getting the attention of the two primary community-owned radio stations I have bookmarked, to the point of becoming a guilty pleasure. The band is unapologetically camp riffing or perhaps just plundering the more popular glam rock lexicon and of course the music that we love to hate, disco. Of course, it may be all over. With the recent revelation that the Scissor Sister are favored by U.K. Tory co-chair Liam Fox they might suffer what the Guardian calls, the Curse of the Thrashing Doves. The wisdom being that while it is kosher for bands to endorse politicians, it is the kiss of death for politicians to endorse bands. Still, it is interesting to me how things have changed in that the Scissor Sisters are capitalizing on the gay card early in their careers. Melissa Etheridge took two albums before coping to what had been an open secret.
posted on Oct 5, 2004 - View this thread

I'll take Closeted Republican Congressmen for 800, Alex. Wonder why you haven't seen GOP Rep. David Dreier of California on tv lately? One of the most visible public faces of the GOP is outed, thanks to Blogactive, who gives him a Roy Cohn Award for 24 years of working against gay and lesbian rights while living as a gay man yourself. Raw Story/Blue Lemur has more, too, including the news blackout by local papers in his district.
posted on Sep 25, 2004 - View this thread

Gay Marriage Opponents See Fight Getting Tougher ...or from a liberal view: "Whoo hoo!" The Boston Globe has a good article about the 'setback' that is about to happen to society on May 17th. No, not Brown vs. Board of Education's 50th Anniversary, but the Mass. Supreme Judicial Court's decision that gays and lesbians deserve equal marriage rights under the Mass. state constitution. ---- The Globe has an exhaustive list of links and opinions from both sides of the issue, including video clips, a full timeline of the Goodrich case, and even national news and opinions on the issue. ---- (This is my first FPP.)
posted on May 14, 2004 - View this thread

MillionForChrist.com? Gays versus God? Looks like there's a race between people who support Christ and people who support same-sex marriages. They're both looking for a million signatures. Conincidence? Any bets on who's gonna win?
posted on Apr 12, 2004 - View this thread

Wages of hate - anti-gay attitudes damage the economy - conversely, Gay-tolerant societies prosper. Will GOP anti-elitism and the US religious right make the U.S. a 3rd world country? Paul Craig Roberts argues that we're on the fast track, and a Carnegie Mellon study (title link) shows that culturally repressive attitudes in America are driving away the "Creative" class. Virginia Postrel defines this class differently (manicurists and stone cutters) but in Richard Florida's "Creative Class War" (recently on Metafilter), "America is no long attracting creative workers from abroad because it is seen as an intolerant society". More than artists and programmers are shunning the US - scientists are staying away too. In the US, meanwhile, a bifurcation - Americans are geographically self-segregating, choosing to live with those who hold similar beliefs and values.
posted on Feb 27, 2004 - View this thread

Bush calls for same-sex marriage-ban amendment Pres. Bush called for a constitutional amendment against gay marriage today, blaming "activist judges", the Massachusettes Supreme Court, and the mayor of San Francisco, among others, for attempting "to change the most fundamental institution of civilization."

How this call for an amendment plays out remains to be seen, but Bush is taking a strong stance on this issue, in what some see as another 'big headline' proposal during the election season. What will this mean for the civil rights of homosexuals in this country? And how will voters react in November?
posted on Feb 24, 2004 - View this thread

Birds do it, bees do it... homosexual attachment and lovemaking are widespread in the animal kingdom, say biologists like Bruce Bagemihl, author of "Biological Exuberance." [For a longer, better-edited version of the same article, go here, but NYT reg. required.] Not everyone agrees, particularly those apt to quote the Bible to justify claims of a "natural revulsion to perverse sex."
posted on Feb 7, 2004 - View this thread

Welcome to the Relativist Fallacy. Conservative blacks in the United States are objecting to recent comparisons between the gay marriage and the 1960s civil rights movement, which fought segregation against blacks, arguing that sexual orientation is a choice.
posted on Nov 28, 2003 - View this thread

First Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender public high school to open in New York City. "I think everybody feels that it's a good idea because some of the kids who are gays and lesbians have been constantly harassed and beaten in other schools." says NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, but couldn't the same argument have been used against the racial integration of schools in the 1950s?
posted on Jul 28, 2003 - View this thread

A US Constitutional amendment to ban homosexual marriage. Bill Frist, the Majority leader in the US Senate, is spreading the Word.
posted on Jun 29, 2003 - View this thread

10 Great Gay Cars For 2003. I'm into leather...interior.
posted on Jun 14, 2003 - View this thread

I am happy to see that the GOP is expanding their reach to the more eclectic fringes of society. Although it may freak some other people out.
posted on Apr 30, 2003 - View this thread

Dan Savage takes on the Rolling Stone "bug chasing"/HIV+ gay sex story in his column today, and lambastes one of his favorite sacred cows, Gay Men's Health Crisis and other outreach groups that seem to have a lackadaisical attitude towards their clients' risky behavior. He's written about this before, in the case of Seth Watkins, an HIV+ sex education worker who admitted in the NYTimes he has unprotected casual sex at clubs. Does any of this coverage increase awareness of the still-plenty-big threat of HIV, or does it just make gay men look bad? Respectful discussion within...?
posted on Jan 29, 2003 - View this thread

The art of being Canadian is often making do. Same-sex marriage is a national hot-button issue right now. What rights should homosexual partners have? What does it mean to the church? There comes a new option in the debate: civil union, not quite marriage, but more than just shacking-up. Will this be enough to satisfy as many as possible under the circumstances?
posted on Nov 4, 2002 - View this thread

How gay panic gripped 1960s Royal Navy One sailor reportedly picked up a prostitute who he believed to be female. Realising he wasn't who she appeared to be, the sailor reportedly declared: "Blimey, you're all there!" Nevertheless, he apparently became "infatuated". This kind of incident led admirals to argue that most of the men accused were only inadvertently homosexual, rather than dangerous "perverts".
Just-released documents from the UK Public Records Office show some interesting attitudes among the Navy hierarchy at the time. The rationalising of the various activities uncovered is actually quite creative, and weirdly more tolerant than that in subsequent decades, when gay activity got people summarily thrown out of the forces. Even this particular 'crisis' eventually triggered a new 'education' programme on the evils of homosexuality though. In this instance, the pendulum seems not so much to have swung as to have careered wildly in all directions. A bit like the sailors.... (sorry).
posted on Oct 31, 2002 - View this thread

Mike Ovitz uncovers a sinister organization! He claims to be the latest victim of the "gay Mafia." By most accounts, he would also be the first. Is this simple bellyaching from a man who once dominated Hollywood? Or maybe, just maybe, we’re witnessing the birth of a new crime syndicate, and with it, fresh takes on the shopworn mob movies? LA Times link (sigh, registration req.)
posted on Jul 2, 2002 - View this thread

The American Academy of Pediatrics announces its support of adoption by same-sex parents. "...a new AAP policy statement, "Coparent or Second-Parent Adoption by Same-Sex Parents" supports legal and legislative efforts that provide for the possibility of adoption of those children by the second parent or coparent in same-sex relationships."
posted on Feb 4, 2002 - View this thread

Learning propper english gramar ain't gotta suck no longer. Someones made it fun and enjoyable for everybody! And when you meat someone who can't write good, you'll know why. This could even be the dearth of the MeFi grammar flames even! (nahhh)
posted on Dec 29, 2001 - View this thread

Gay suicide rates exaggerated, study says. Cornell psychologist Ritch Savin-Williams says gay teens are only slightly more likely than straight teens to attempt suicide.
posted on Nov 26, 2001 - View this thread

take back the night, darling (continuing today's theme). leave the gym bunnies behind, pick *any* bar, call all your friends, and presto: you're playing guerrilla queer bar. supercute!
posted on Sep 6, 2001 - View this thread

Boston Boy Scouts allow gay leaders
I have many friends who were Eagle Scouts. They all say that there were many openly gay scouts during their time. This whole issue strikes me as purely technical.

What do other Scouts at Metafilter think?
posted on Aug 1, 2001 - View this thread