Homosexuality exists EVERYWHERE in nature. The heterosexist notion that homosexuality is absent from certain cultures, regions, religions, species, or peoples is absolute balderdash and indicative of a concerted effort to distort or erase history.
Son of Baldwin (via sonofbaldwin)
not from a queer muslim but totally relevant
(via queermuslims)(via queermuslims)
Source: sonofbaldwin
Professor Says Antigay Activist Misused Her Research
Yet another scholar has complained about religious right activists distorting her research to back up their antigay stances, bringing the count to at least a dozen.
Theodora Sirota, an associate professor of nursing at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, says an adviser to the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality — which claims homosexuality is a disorder that can be “cured” — has mischaracterized her findings in a parenting study, using them to oppose adoption by gay people, Box Turtle Bulletin reports.
Rick Fitzgibbons (pictured), a psychiatrist and member of NARTH’s scientific advisory committee, wrote an article published online in November citing Sirota’s research, saying women with gay or bisexual fathers experienced more difficulties in adult relationships than did women with heterosexual fathers. Fitzgibbons used the research to support his claim that “children raised by same sex couples fare less well than children raised in stable homes with a mother and a father.”
Fitzgibbons, however, left out some key information about Sirota’s findings: “The gay and bisexual fathers in Sirota’s study were married to the mothers,” Box Turtle Bulletin reports.
Sirota contacted the blog this week for help in rebutting Fitzgibbons’s assertions, and she has contacted Fitzgibbons as well, but he has not altered the article. In a statement about his misrepresentation of her research, she writes:
“My study was only about women raised in the context of heterosexually-organized marriages where fathers were identified as gay or bisexual. My research was not about and did not measure anything in women raised by gay parent couples or by single gay fathers. The women I studied were not raised in the context of gay or lesbian partnerships or by single gay fathers actively rearing their children. Therefore, no conclusions about gay or lesbian fitness to adopt children or quality of active gay parenting can be drawn from the findings of my research. No conclusions about the well-being of children who are or were actively raised by gay or lesbian parents can be drawn from the findings of my research.”
According to Pam’s House Blend, at least a dozen individuals or groups involved in scholarly research have complained in recent years about antigay organizations misusing their data. Read more here.
John Bercow Attacks ‘Appalling’ Treatment Of Homosexuals Worldwide
John Bercow has attacked regimes around the world for persecution of homosexuals, in a New Year message to the gay rights campaign group the Kaleidoscope Trust.
According to PinkNews, the Speaker of the House of Commons said it was “appalling” that people were being executed for being gay.
“In places there have been arrests and convictions for being gay, with prison sentences of many years being meted out for these so called ‘crimes’,” he said.
“In other parts the clock has actually been turned back and homosexuality has been made a criminal offence for the first time.
He added: “Most appalling of all there have even been reports of executions of men accused of homosexual offences.”
Bercow is proud of his support for gay rights, and recently featured the rainbow flag and pink triangles on his newly minted coat of arms.
The London based Kaleidoscope Trust, of which Bercow is honorary president, was launched in September to promote diversity and respect for all regardless of sex, sexual orientation or gender identity.
David Cameron recently threatened to withhold development aid from governments that do not ditch legislation banning homosexuality.
Being gay is still illegal in many countries, including 41 of the 54-member Commonwealth - largely as a result of laws left over from the time of the British Empire.
Source: huffingtonpost.co.uk
Homosexuality a 'Curable Disorder': Israeli Textbook Stirs up Controversy
The mental health curriculum of a number of Israeli academic institutions has stirred up a controversy by retaining a portion in a textbook which states that homosexuality is a “disorder” that should be treated to aid “normal sexual development.”
QBits: UN official tells nations to end gay executions
U.N.’s High Commissioner For Human Rights, Navi Pillay urged countries to outlaw all forms of abuse based on sexual orientation.
GENEVA (AP) — The U.N.’s top human rights official urged countries Thursday to abolish legal…
Source: google.com
Ghana Official: Homosexuality Will Be "A Thing of the Past"
An education official in Ghana who in the past has blamed homosexuality on “single-sex schools” is reportedly claiming that HIV education will limit the number of gay people in the country.
Via the Accra Mail, Pink News writes:
A spokesman for Ghana’s Education Ministry has told the Accra Mail he is confident a programme in which teachers warn students of the “adverse consequences” of being gay will make it “a thing of the past”.
Paul Krampah, a Public Relations Officer, said his department’s HIV/AIDS Secretariat had been training teachers to educate students on the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
The Mail says calls had been made to better equip students with knowledge about the health risks involved in a sexually active lifestyle.
SUBMISSION: Evgenia Melemina: Kids from Another Side of the Moon (on Juvenile Homosexuality in Russia)
Thank you for the submission from chimyen:
According to the law, “promoting homosexuality will be punished with a fine from 1,000 rubles ($32) for individuals to 50,000 rubles ($1,630) for legal entities”.
Gay Penguins Buddy and Pedro Will Reunite Once They've Helped Propagate Their Species!
Last week we reported the heartrending story that Buddy and Pedro, a “gay penguin” couple at the Toronto Zoo, were being forced to separate to help propagate their species with fewer than 250,000 African Penguins in existence.
But now it looks as though Buddy, 20, and Pedro, 10, who “pair bonded” at the zoo, will be reunited in the spring once they’ve done their duty on behalf of the African Penguin population.
The zoo’s bird curator said that if the couple wished to get back together at the end of the mating period, “they will be welcome to do so,” according to The Daily Beast.
Buddy and Pedro came from Toledo, Ohio where they were members of an all-male flock. When it comes to describing sexual orientation in animals, scientists do not use the terms gay or straight, so in zoo-speak, their relationship is called “pair bonding,” and has not changed since arriving in Toronto.
The mating behaviors that Buddy and Pedro exhibit include making a “braying” sound, similar to a donkey, as a mating call. They stand alone together, defend their territory and groom each other.
The zookeepers are hesitant to discuss the issue of their relationship with the public, but they have all noticed the penguin pair’s bond. “It’s a complicated issue, but they seem to be in a loving relationship of some sort,’’ Joe Torzsok, chair of the Toronto zoo board, told The Star.
Time Magazine Cover Story 42 Years Ago Today: The Homosexual In America
(TRIGGER WARNING: heterosexism)
by
A controversial Time Magazine cover story, “The Homosexual In America,” dated 42 years ago today, (October 31, 1969,) stated that greater tolerance of homosexuals might lead to less of them, as society would become less strident about what constitutes manliness.
The piece also asked, “Is there a homosexual conspiracy afoot to dominate the arts and other fields?,” and blamed homosexuality on “many emotionally disturbing experiences during the course of several years.”
Georgia University Forces Employees To Sign Pledge Rejecting Homosexuality | truthwinsout.org
by Evan Hurst
I know that, in Fundamentalist Christian Land, they want to keep their heads in the sand and pretend that there are no gay people among them, nobody different from them, etc. Therefore it’s common for fundamentalist schools to force their employees to sign “lifestyle statements,” wherein they proclaim their fealty to whatever that particular institution’s version of fundamentalism entails. My high school had one, even for the parents. It was taken seriously by a handful of people, as I remember.
Shorter University in Georgia has a new policy in place, wherein new hires and employees renewing their contracts have to sign a document that, among other things, declares that they will not engage in any sexual conduct outside [that particular school’s interpretation of] Biblical teachings. It’s causing a bit of a controversy:
‘Is Homosexuality a Sin?’ — What this question is really asking…
“Is homosexuality a sin?” is the question that today is splitting Christendom like nothing has since Luther the Reformer asked (in so many words), “Indulgences? Really?”
What “Is homosexuality a sin?” really means—what anyone asking that question is really asking — is, “Are acts of homosexual sex sinful?” That’s the question to which the whole Christian debate about homosexuality invariably and necessarily boils down.
To discuss the relative merits of homosexuality is to discuss acts of homosexual sex. There is no reason or purpose for separating the two; nobody is trying to morally evaluate an abstract condition that never manifests in real life.
Click the link above to read the full article.
Dan Savage challenges Herman Cain to prove being gay is a choice (NSFW)
Outraged at the presidential candidate’s claim that a person chooses to be gay, columnist Dan Savage has challenged Herman Cain to prove that this is a choice by turning gay himself.
He posted the following open letter to Cain on his blog:
Dear Herman,
If being gay is a choice, show us the proof. Choose it. Choose to be gay yourself. Show America how that’s done, Herman, show us how a man can choose to be gay. Suck my dick, Herman. Name the time and the place and I’ll bring my dick and a camera crew and you can suck me off and win the argument.
Very sincerely yours,
Dan Savage
When someone argues that being gay is a choice, he’s not just insulting gay people. (And ignoring the science of sexual orientation.) He’s insulting straight people. If homosexuality is a choice, then so is heterosexuality. Last night on CNN Herman Cain said that being straight is something that a straight person can take or leave. Herman Cain believes that heterosexuality is something a heterosexual can decide to walk away from, like a underwater house or a lousy meal. Straight people should get angry when they hear a straight person making this argument.Is this the right way to make a point?
(via vrbpresents)
Source: gaywrites
Calif. Theology Univ. Makes Gay Friendly Mini-Movie | advocate.com
California’s Claremont School of Theology recently made a gay-positive short film with a message that homosexuality and religion need not be mutually exclusive.
The film, Beyond Inclusion: Sexual Diversity and Claremont School of Theology, was compiled by television producer and CST alumna Brenda Bos. It features school faculty and professors talking about the inclusion of queer people into mainstream religion.
“I’ve long been convinced that Claremont School of Theology and Claremont Lincoln University could be very attractive to queer students, many of whom have a desire for spiritual exploration, but have been disenfranchised for so long and have no idea where to turn,” Carleen Mandolfo, an out professor at CST, said regarding the impetus for the video.Click the link above to watch the video.
