If we define sexual orientation based on anatomy, as most people do, who would an intersex person be expected to be with in order to be heterosexual? We are destructive to heteronormativity, to the notion of “men and women”, even to ideas like “gay” and “lesbian” if we define sexual orientation purely by anatomy. So what’s next? Where do we go from here? And how do we get there without violating the bodies and identities of more intersex people?

Identity Theft: A Trans* Intersex Woman On Traumas and Surgery (via moreglitter)

This is why I talk about orientations based on gender, not genitals. Heterosexuality is the sexual attraction to people of a different gender, homosexuality is the sexual attraction to people of the same gender. 

(via fuckyeahsexeducation)

(via fuckyeahsexeducation)

Source: moreglitter

Queerability: My Perspective: Autism, Sexual Orientation (or Gender Identity) and the Intersection of the Two

queerability:

Oftentimes, when we discuss issues like autism and sexual orientation (or gender identity) we discuss them separately, but the fact is there is a lot of intersectionality between the two. Now, I am not saying that if you are LGBTQ+/GSM you are more likely to be Autistic or vice versa because…

(via fcyeah)

Source: queerability

ACTION ALERT! Stand Up & Be Counted in KY on February 23

by Maureen McCarty

The Kentucky Equality Federation is hard at work in the State to pass House Bill 171 and Senate Bill 28, adding sexual orientation and gender identity as a protected class under the Kentucky Civil Rights Act. This February 23, equality-minded Americans can stand in support of the bills, as KEF and its member organizations join Kentuckians Against the War on Women to rally in support of both women and the Commonwealth’s LGBT population.
 
Together we will fight for justice and equality. Show you stand with KEF and Kentuckians Against the War on Women by RSVPing on Facebook for the rally.

Nepal to host UN seminar on LGBTI human rights

BY ANNA LEACH
LGBTI rights activist Sunil Pant, chair of Nepal's Blue Diamond Society

Nepal has received funding from the Norwegian government to host a UN regional seminar into sexual orientation and gender identity human rights. ‘It speaks volumes to the success of the LGBTI rights movement in Nepal that the United Nations has identified is as the host country,’ said Sunil Pant, chair of Nepal LGBT activists Blue Diamond Society and a former MP.

Pant added that the fact that Nepal’s foreign ministry accepted the offer to host the event shows that they value the human rights of sexual orientation and gender identity minorities. The UN regional seminar on sexual orientation and gender identity will take place in Kathmandu in March or April 2013, dates to be confirmed. Government officials, scholars and activists from around the Asian region will attend the seminar and submit recommendations to the UN Human Rights Commission meeting coming up later this year in Geneva.

‘We are very exited that Nepal taking lead to promote LGBTI equality in the regions. Despite all the challenges in Nepal, we are proud that we stand by human rights and celebrate human diversity,’ Pant told Gay Star News. ‘This must tell something to India and China, our close neighbors.’

Pant said he thinks Nepal’s recent achievements in LGBTI rights - official recognition of a third gender on ID cards and sexual orientation and gender identity education in high schools - contributed to the UN choosing the Himalayan nation as the location for the seminar.

‘The meeting will help to sensitize other governments in the regions on LGBTI issues,’ added Pant. ‘But also the direct benefit will be a strong UN resolution that protects LGBTI rights.’ 

We don’t need to justify ourselves to anyone. We don’t need a reason to be queer. Maybe we were born this way, maybe we weren’t. Maybe sexuality is fluid for some people and not for others. It’s totally irrelevant either way. The message we need to send to heterosexists is not that our sexuality was foisted upon us and that they should be “tolerant” and “understanding”. The message is: our sexuality is perfectly valid and none of your business, we offer you no excuses, and we are never going away.
Social Justice League: Fauxgress Watch: “Born This Way”. (via feminismduh)

(via radicalsocialworker)

Source: socialjusticeleague.net

Ian McKellen: Shakespeare Enjoyed Sex With Men

By Jeremy Kinser

Ian McKellen X390 (GETTY) | ADVOCATE.COM

“Shakespeare obviously enjoyed sex with men as well as women,” says esteemed actor Sir Ian McKellen.

New York Post columnist Cindy Adams reports the 72-year-old actor, who has portrayed a number of leading Shakespearean characters including Macbeth and King Lear, as saying, “No doubt Shakespeare was gay. His predilection was evident from his works. An unmistakenly feminine portrait of his patron Henry Wriothesley adds evidence that early sonnets to ‘fair youth’ were probably meant for males.”

McKellen continues, adding, “Married, with children, he left his wife in Stratford to live in London. I’d say he slept with men. The Merchant of Venice, centering on how the world treats gays as well as Jews, has a love triangle between an older man, younger man and a woman. And complexity in his comedies with cross-dressing and disguises is immense. Shakespeare obviously enjoyed sex with men as well as women.”

ANONYMOUS QUESTION:

Since this question was a two-part ask, I decided to put the ask in full here - and make this particular question rebloggable for those interested.

Anonymous asked: Since Bisexuality Vs Pansexuality has come up tonight it seems, I’ve been struggling with something along those lines for a while. I thought I’d broach the subject here. I’ve always identified as bisexual. I like men and women. But lately I’ve been wondering if I should start using the term pansexual, since as I’ve heard it described as just being attracted to everybody, regardless of the gender binary.

Now I’ve got trans friends, and I see them as their preferred pronoun. Meaning as a man or as a woman. But then as I became more aware of the LGBT community as a whole, I became aware that there IS an in between. People who don’t really identify as either and I wondered, what about those people? Honestly, I’m attracted to who I’m attracted to, and body parts don’t really matter to me. And capable of loving anyone really.

So SHOULD I switch over? I just don’t really know.

————————————————————————————————

Hello there anon,

I have responded to similar questions before, and my answer remains mostly the same. Only YOU can decide who and what you truly are. It is solely up to you to define yourself. Therefore, only you can decide your true identity and who you are or are not attracted to.

I have no right to comment on who you are or are not attracted to or anything of the sort.

The best advice I can give is to not stress about your identity too much. Take your time to come into your own. Refer to yourself however YOU feel comfortable doing so.

Again, the decision is only up to you. Never let anyone else tell you who you are or should be - or anything of that sort.

Sincerely,

Riley (PQ creator/editor)

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: About LGBT Human Rights

We all have a sexual orientation and a gender identity, and this shared fact means that discrimination against members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community, based on sexual orientation and/ or gender identity, is an issue that transcends that community and affects all of us.

Sexual orientation covers sexual desires, feelings, practices and identification. Sexual orientation can be towards people of the same or different sexes (same-sex, heterosexual or bisexual orientation). Gender identity refers to the complex relationship between sex and gender, referring to a person’s experience of self expression in relation to social categories of masculinity or femininity (gender). A person’s subjectively felt gender identity may be at variance with their sex or physiological characteristics.

Amnesty International believes that all people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, should be able to enjoy their human rights. Although the Universal Declaration of Human Rights does not explicitly mention sexual orientation or gender identity, evolving conceptions of international human rights law include a broad interpretation to include the rights and the protection of the rights of LGBT people around the world.

The Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in Relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, developed in 2006 by a group of LGBT experts in Yogyarkarta, Indonesia

The Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in Relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, developed in 2006 by a group of LGBT experts in Yogyarkarta, Indonesia in response to well-known examples of abuse, provides a universal guide to applying international human rights law to violations experienced by lesbians, gay men, bisexual and transgender people to ensure the universal reach of human rights protections.

However, across the globe, there remain many instances where an individuals’ sexual orientation or gender identity can lead them to face execution, imprisonment, torture, violence or discrimination. The range of abuse is limitless and it contravenes the fundamental tenets of international human rights law.

Human rights abuses based on sexual orientation or gender can include violation of the rights of the child; the infliction of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment (Article 5); arbitrary detention on grounds of identity or beliefs (Article 9); the restriction of freedom of association (Article 20) and the denial of the basic rights of due process.

Examples include:

  • Execution by the state
  • Denial of employment, housing or health services
  • Loss of custody of children
  • Denial of asylum
  • Rape and otherwise torture in detention
  • Threats for campaigning for LGBT human rights
  • Regular subjection to verbal abuse

In many countries, the refusal of governments to address violence committed against LGBT people creates a culture of impunity where such abuses can continue and escalate unmitigated. Often, such abuses are committed by the state authorities themselves, with or without legal sanction.

Issues

Decriminalization
People detained or imprisoned solely because of their homosexuality - including those individuals prosecuted for having sex in circumstances which would not be criminal for heterosexuals, or for their gender identity - are considered to be prisoners of conscience and Amnesty International calls for their immediate and unconditional release.

Amnesty International calls for the decriminalization of homosexuality where such legislation remains, including a review of all legislation which could result in the discrimination, prosecution and punishment of people solely for their sexual orientation or gender identity. All such laws should be repealed or amended.

Read more

Marriage Equality
The right of adults to enter into consensual marriage is enshrined in international human rights standards.

Article 16, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.

Civil marriage between individuals of the same-sex is therefore an issue in which fundamental human rights are at stake. Amnesty International believes that the denial of equal civil recognition of same-sex relationships prevents many people from accessing a range of other rights, such as rights to housing and social security, and stigmatizes those relationships in ways that can fuel discrimination and other human rights abuses against people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Amnesty International opposes discrimination in civil marriage laws on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity and calls on states to recognize families of choice, across borders where necessary. States should not discriminate against minority groups based on identity.

Read more

In addition, AIUSA calls on states to:

  • Ensure that all allegations and reports of human rights violations based on sexual orientation or gender identity are promptly and impartially investigated and perpetrators held accountable and brought to justice;
  • Take all necessary legislative, administrative and other measures to prohibit and eliminate prejudicial treatment on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity at every stage of the administration of justice;
  • Ensure adequate protection of human rights defenders at risk because of their work on human rights and sexual orientation and gender identity.

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"College becomes first to ask students' sexual orientation"

bencrowther:

“Increasing diversity is part of our mission statement,” Rold told the Chicago Sun-Times. “This is simply closing the loop, in many ways, of another group who has a very strong identity. It may not be race and religion, but it’s an important part of who they are.”

Institute for Judaism and Sexual Orientation

pflagmom:

Jewish LGBT Organizations——From the Hebrew Union College- Jewish Institute of Religion

About this group:

It is an interpretation that any Jewish child with a crayon can tell you: that the Star of David contains, within it, the triangle. For those of us…who would a generation ago have been wearing the pink triangle as a badge of shame and a mark of death…it is time to complete the outline of your Jewish star. 

Let us learn that God’s image is reflected in each and every face. Let us not add to our heartache by separating or by letting ourselves be separated from the Jewish people. As Jews, together, let us search through the Torah, the written Torah and the Torah of life, to find those affirmations for which we yearn.
Rabbi Alexander M. Schindler ‘zl,
President of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (1989)

The Institute for Judaism and Sexual Orientation (IJSO) at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is a unique entity within the Jewish community with its explicit mission of preparing Jewish leadership with the capacity, compassion and skills to change congregational attitudes, policies, and, indeed, Jewish society so as to include each and every Jew, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. By encouraging dialogue on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues among the organizational arms of the Reform Movement in the United States, Israel and the rest of the world, as well as with local and national educational and social service organizations, the Institute will create a unique space where Jewish tradition, ethics and values combine in the spirit of social justice, holiness and community. 

The mission of the Institute for Judaism and Sexual Orientation is driven by Jewish religious values and the spiritual quest for holiness. The Institute for Judaism and Sexual Orientation seeks:
  • To achieve complete inclusion, integration and welcoming of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in congregations and communities.
  • To train and empower Jewish professionals, educate students, and support scholars and researchers in their quest to develop a theology and practice of inclusion.
  • To encourage dialogue between constituent organizations within the Reform movement on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender topics.
  • To foster collaboration with community based educational and social service organizations to further our mission.
  • To grow the Jeff Herman Virtual Resource Center (JHVRC) and develop new resources including a focus on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender liturgy and ritual.
  • To organize workshops and academic conferences and develop curriculum modules to be implemented within the HUC-JIR academic program.
The IJSO is unique in its place at the juncture of academia and professional training at the heart of the Reform movement’s educational matrix, where Jewish traditions and ethics combine in the spirit of social justice, holiness and community. It is also a responsibility that we plan to live up to. StatCounter - Free Web Tracker and Counter