Sympathy for the Devil
“You have a demon inside of you that is making you gay,” she stammered quietly. “I know because I used to have a demon that gave me a gluten intolerance. But then I, uh, prayed and God cast it out.”
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Posts Tagged: gay rights
The Rumpus Interview with Michael Lowenthal
Michael Lowenthal’s new novel, The Paternity Test, goes well beyond questioning whether two guys should be allowed to walk down the aisle together. It asks what they are willing to risk to stay married.
...moreFormer Eagle Scouts Fight The Boy Scouts Of America’s Anti-Gay Policy
Maggie Koerth-Baker documents the ongoing confrontation centered around the Boy Scouts of America’s anti-gay policy.
Many former Eagle Scouts are combating the policy by writing to the Boy Scouts of America and returning their badges, an effort that is being documented on the Eagle Scouts Returning Our Badges tumblr:
“So here’s a point that may be obvious: Fifty years ago, when I was a Scout, hard-core conservatives and segregationists opposed civil rights based on tradition and their constricted views of society.
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The Rumpus Interview with Inga Muscio
Inga Muscio is the highly acclaimed, and equally controversial (and unapologetic) feminist author of Cunt: A Declaration of Independence, Autobiography of a Blue-Eyed Devil: My Life and Times in a Racist, Imperialist Society, and her latest, Rose: Love in Violent Times.
...moreThin Opposition
“…Prejudice is a kind of cartel that works best when there is no real dissent. Once one person breaks away, others who may have had doubts find it easy to speak up. Moreover, those who never really had objection–but were just kinda going along–also fall away.”
As more public figures express their support for marriage equality, Ta-Nehisi Coates analyzes the nature of same-sex marriage opposition.
...moreJoining Forces
“Whatever your personal opinions and your insecurities about homosexuality and the various liberation movements among homosexuals and women (and I speak of the homosexuals and women as oppressed groups), we should try to unite with them in a revolutionary fashion.”
That’s Huey Newton, co-founder of the Black Panther Party, in a 1970 speech that focused on gay rights.
...moreThe Rumpus Interview with Cassie Jaye
Documentary filmmaker Cassie Jaye landed the Best Documentary Award at Cannes Film Festival for her film, Daddy I Do in 2010 — about the controversial religious ceremony Purity Balls, where girls from six to sixteen pledge their virginity to their fathers until marriage.
“The Love That Dares”
At Mother Jones, our friend Mac McClelland reports from Uganda, focusing on the defiance of the country’s gay community in the face of bigots (some of whom have American allies). McClelland calls attention to the fact that despite the media’s recent focus on Uganda, anti-gay violence and attacks on gay rights is occurring elsewhere, including here in the United States.
...moreIs the Gay Bar Dying?
June Thomas in Slate asks, in the light of the most recent victory for same-sex marriage rights for gays and lesbians and greater acceptance across American society, if the gay bar is in danger of disappearing.
It’s an interesting question because as Thomas points out, “gay liberation is the only civil rights movement that began in a bar.
...moreAn Odd Definition of Losing
The Southern Poverty Law Center recently added the Family Research Council, along with a number of other fundamentalist Christian groups, to its list of hate groups because of their anti-gay rhetoric. The Family Research Council didn’t much like this, and responded in part by saying this:
” The Left is losing the debate over ideas and the direction of public policy so all that is left for them is character assassination.”
They then go on to mention the more than thirty states which have constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage and the recent Supreme Court elections in Iowa in which 3 justices who earlier found in favor of same-sex marriage were removed.
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