March 2009
82 posts
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Morehouse College Trans/Homophobia Update
This is an e.mail I received from George Anthony Montgomery Jr. (National Co-chair: Youth Caucus):
“I have attempted to keep everyone up to speed on the article written by Mr. Gaynor of Morehouse College titled “Is Gay the Way?” Like I said I did write a lengthy letter to Mr. Mitchell and Mr. Gaynor expressing my opinions on his “opinions.” Well, on Feb. 23rd, Mr....
February 2009
59 posts
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dykes + fags podcast: episode 3
download [22.6mb]
Scantron talks about upcoming queer music events in North Carolina.
Music by:
Des_Ark - No More Fighting Cats, Okay? Yardwork - Posi Condor Sessions Kim Disco - Where We Are Jenn Grinels - No Better Emilyn Brodsky - Bombs Away
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Transcending Gender Roles
When Catharine MacKinnon walks on stage, you’re not entirely sure what to expect. At first glance, she appears a little grandmotherly, with gray hair piled high atop her head; however, as she begins to speak, her posture and locution allow her to assert herself, firmly, in front of a crowd of hundreds. And necessarily so. At her talk on sexuality and gender roles at the University of North...
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“Film buffs from around the world are still buzzing about this year’s Oscar...”
– Milk Acceptance Speeches Censored by News Corp Subsidiary : glaadBLOG.org
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Be Yr Own Hero/Queero meeting March 11th
Be Yr Own Hero/Queero meetings are the second Wednesday of every month at 7 p.m. at the Community Action Center (4th & Castle). Have a project you’ve been wanting to get off the ground? Bring your ideas to the meeting and watch what happens!
Check out beyrownhero.com to see what all of the Heroes have been working on: from a community garden and free food to bike rides and art shows,...
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Rowan board votes in favor of anti-gay marriage...
SALISBURY, N.C. — More than 100 people turned out to the Monday, Feb. 16 evening meeting of the Rowan County Board of Commissioners as elected officials took up the issue of same-sex marriage. In a standing-room-only board chambers, members of the board voted unanimously to approve a resolution urging the North Carolina General Assembly to pass a state constitutional amendment banning any...
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Bloggers Are Changing the Way the Gay Rights... →
This is a great article on Pam Spaulding of Pam’s House Blend (winner of the Lezzy Award in the Feminism / Political Category). She is also a North Carolinian, based in Durham NC. The article talks about how her blog started out of frustration when 11 states passed laws banning same-sex marriage. That was back in 2004 and now 5 years later, her blog is one of the most influential and most...
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Stop the Marriage Discrimination Amendment
“They’re at it again. With right wing legislators filing a constitutional amendment denying same-sex couples access to marriage and any other kind of relationship recognition this week, we need you to ask your elected officials not to sign on as a sponsor.
Take action now to ask your legislators to oppose the amendment. Have an even greater impact by putting the message below in...
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Commenting: It's for Everyone!
Did you know that you don’t have to be some sort of rocket scientist to comment and have your voice heard here on beyrownqueero.com? Well, you don’t! All you need is a name (which you can totally make up!) and an e.mail address (which remains anonymous!). So get to commenting! In the lower left corner of each post there is a link to the comments section where you can enter your info...
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THIS SHOW IS SO GAY (2/11/09) - w/ Jesse Archer →
This Show Is So Gay is now accepting donations for the Jesse Archer Duck Fund for Emotional Rapists. For more information, please listen to this week’s show. Thank you for your support.
Playlist: (lead-in) Love is a Battlefield - Pat Benetar Your Disco Needs You - Kylie Minogue Let’s Hear It for the Boy - Deniece Williams Slave to the Rhythm - Grace Jones (lead-out) Left to My...
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Gender? Paradigm! in Chapel Hill Feb 27th
Gender? Paradigm! is an awesome event that will be coming to UNC-Chapel Hill next Friday. The event will include a transformative film, workshop & discussion with artists Joie Rey Jana Lynn Cohen and Stephanie Kinney.
Gender? Paralleling the fluidity of gender itself, the film weaves participants’ stories, identities, and expressions into a powerful sound and video collage of gender...
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UNCW PRIDE's upcoming projects & events
Our fellow queero, Victoria, recently gave me an update on the projects and activities UNCW’s PRIDE group has in store for this semester. Here’s the run down. Thanks again Victoria for keeping the community outside of UNCW aware of all the hard work PRIDE is doing!
Pride week is going to be from April 13-18. UNCW Presents is already putting on a Diversity Week at that time so PRIDE...
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Utah lawmaker: Gays are "greatest threat to...
Speaking of UNCW PRIDE…. PRIDE’s Vice President, Caitlin just sent out an urgent message on facebook. Check it out and take action!
Hey everyone, I just heard an unbelievable interview by Utah State Senator Chris Buttars. He called LGBT Americans “probably the greatest threat to America…I know of.” With the country fighting two wars and the economy the way it is,...
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All You Need Is Love, Right?
I once remember thinking as a child that marriage was a ceremony in which two people who loved each other could make a commitment before friends, family and God, that “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.” When my dad, in the role of Justice of the Peace, performed ceremonies, he would often use the passage from First Corinthians in which Paul tells us what love is, and that...
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WatchHey, Queeros! Here’s a little preview of the awesomeness that was Valentine’s Gay 2009.
Check out more photos on BYOQ’s facebook page!
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Identity
For the past few months, the main three words in my journal have been “Who Am I,” with the words “I don’t know” coming in at a close second. I wouldn’t call it an identity crisis, but maybe an identity predicament.
Identity, after all, is shoved down your throat before you even take your first breath. It goes beyond genetic make-up; there are social...
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Morehouse College transphobia and misguided...
Yesterday, Babe Useless wrote about our experiences with homophobia while we were in Atlanta for the Campus Progress Conference. Just the other day, a writer for The Maroon Tiger, the newspaper of Morehouse College where the conference took place, wrote an op-ed in the school’s paper asking the question, “Is Gay the Way?” and then again asking in The Daily Voice “When does...
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Lezzy Award Winners Announced!
Last night, the winners of the Lezzy Awards were announced on the MyLesbianRadio talk show. Unfortunately, Be Yr Own Queero didn’t take the first place spot in the Feminism / Politics Category, but that’s okay! We were surprised we even made it into the top 3, especially since we have only been around since December of 2008 (and they were the 2008 awards!). We were up against some...
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Picket Human Rights Campaign Gala 2009...
Dear Friends,
I would like to inform you that I have set up a Demonstration with a picket line at the Westin Hotel and the Charlotte Convention Center on February the 21st. The Charlotte Police Dept has been notified in accordance with the law and is a legal Picket. The Demonstration will start at 5pm until 7pm.
The reason for the Protest is that HRC, the Human Rights Campaign in negations...
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Announcing: Gayest Picnic Contest Winners!
Congratulations to Megan and Ashley, the winners of our Gayest Picnic Contest! They won with their colorful fruit display and super cute wicker picnic basket.
Their prize? A pair of gay bears (no, not that kind)!
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“President Obama has appointed a gay man who helped raise funds for his...”
– Obama appoints gay fundraiser to White House role - Washington Blade
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Campus Progress and Homophobia?
You may remember a couple of weeks ago scantron and I went down to Atlanta for the Campus Progress conference. It was so wonderful being surrounded by so much diversity. I just felt so comfortable being around people from so many different walks of life. It was a nice change of pace from what we’re used to here in Wilmington. The conference was predictably fabulous, but what I really want to...
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“He’s the leader of a new and virulent brand of homophobia that serves up...”
– You Suck Huck: Why Mike Huckabee Needs to Be on the Gay Rights Radar / Queerty
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The L Word weekly potlucks: Trans Night Feb 22nd
This Sunday, February 22nd, please join us at the Rainbow Factory for a night of food, fun and the L Word. We will watch the L Word and have a discussion on the affect the show has on the LGBTQ community. February 22nd is TRANS NIGHT. The topic of discussion will be trans issues and we’ll talk about Max’s character on the show and the personal experiences of our trans friends in our...
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Out Impact Friday: March 6th
Please join Be Yr Own Queero and our friends at Out Impact for night of music, friends and activism. The event is a benefit for Equality NC, who have also been very, very active and supportive in LGBTQ efforts. They have been doing great work on anti-bullying policies. (If you attended our L Word potluck a few weeks ago, you might remember signing a petition about safer schools. Yep, that was...
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Rally in Tally!
Hey Queeros! It’s time for some Florida action - so let’s start the buzz! I’m just excited about people marching around the phallic capital city of Tallahassee and with good reason.
Ending Florida’s Ban on Gay Adoption is one of Equality Florida’s top goals for 2009 and they are going to have a rally and lobbying effort in Tallahassee on March 16th.
The Facebook...
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Raleigh's GLBT community call to action! →
This was sent to us in a newletter called “Raleigh GLBT Cultural Report & News”, and I believe you can sign up for the digital format via raleighGLBTReport@att.net. The next newsletter will be out Feb 23rd (so be on the lookout). Here’s a story that needs your help right away! There’s already a buzz of comments about the article, check it out here.
“On Feb. 24,...
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30 Days: Same Sex Parenting →
Babe Useless and I started watching 30 Days on Hulu last week while we were sick. This episode is about a very conservative, Mormon woman who lives with two gay dads for 30 days. Needless to say, she does not change her views about gay adoption. Watch the entire episode online
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Student sues L.A. City College district over... →
Weeks after Proposition 8 passed, student says, his public-speaking professor reacted inappropriately to his stance against same-sex unions. His lawyer alleges religious discrimination. -L.A. Times Click here for more on this story…
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Valentine's Gay is Almost Here! Are You Ready?
Here’s a checklist to help you make sure you’re 100% prepared for Valentine’s Gay 2009!
Be at the Rainbow Factory (314 N 26th St) promptly at 10pm on Saturday, February 14th.
Be monochromatic! Dress entirely in one color. Any color, but only one!
Have yr dance mix ready to go! Bring a CD of yr favorite dance songs for the Ninjatronics DJs to mix into the night’s...
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THIS SHOW IS SO GAY (2/4/09) - w/Casper Andreas →
This week, Ken and Becca talk about the closing of the Oscar Wilde bookstore in NYC, some happy transgender news, and other news happening in the LGBTQ community.
Filmmaker and actor Casper Andreas appears as the special guest. He directed Slutty Summer and is currently working on The Big Gay Musical. His newest film, Between Love and Goodbye, is now in theaters.
To find out if Between Love...
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Queeros Vote!
It’s now time to vote for Be Yr Own Queero! Voting for the Lezzy Awards begins today and ends in one week (Feb. 18). So click away and make sure all of your fellow queeros have voted as well! (And don’t forget to click on the confimation link in your e.mail.)
Thanks for doing such a fabulous job nominating us! We love you!
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Gaying up the Divorce Scene
On The Colbert Report last night the “Threat Down” series part of the show listed Gay Divorce as number 2! I’m feeling the sarcasm already…but I’m glad people are talking about it on a national level as it was in reference to a lesbian couple married in Canada, that sought out a divorce in New Jersey or was it the couple from Massachusetts?
In the case of our New Jersey couple, if states like NJ...
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Thanks, Queeros!
Thanks for helping to nominate Be Yr Own Queero as the Best Lesbian Feminism/Political Blog! BYOQ is officially one of three blogs nominated in this category, so now it’s time to start the real voting! Beginning tomorrow we’ll provide you with the link to vote for Be Yr Own Queero to win a Lezzy Award!
Thanks again! And check out this post to make sure you’re ready for this...
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OUTmusic →
Outmusic is a network of LBGT musicians and supporters. Great resource for performers and fans alike, plus a groovy way to support the community!
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What's going on this Week @ BYOQ
This is a very busy week at the Rainbow Factory (map), make sure you come and check out some of our events for this week: We have our first queer dance party scheduled for this Saturday, February 14. Valentine’s Gay is gonna be a blast, Ninjatronics (our very own scantron and teknacolorninja!) will be spinning your favorite tunes at the party and have asked that guests bring a mix CD which...
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WatchHere’s the music video for “Feed the Horse” from Danish band Fagget Fairys. The Copenhagen based lesbian ghetto-funk, pop-slamming MC/DJ duo Fagget Fairys met on the dance floor about a year ago and well….it was quite magical…cause soon after they met up, the creative duo started dating (oh man!), moved in together and got engaged.The delish Danish queeros behind the...
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L WORD RANT!
This past Sunday Be Yr Own Queero hosted yet another absurdly entertaining episode of the L Word. We all gathered around for a pre-show potluck and made sure to check the stats on the Super Bowl before the highly anticipated third episode of the final season. Personally I enjoy the trash talking amongst us Queeros of the L Word characters and the food we share more than the L word itself! But...
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Super Queeros and Heroic Lesbians
Comic books might not be the first things that come to mind when thinking of progressive, modern, trendy media… but they may be higher up on the list than you think. The lesbian-themed comic strip, known as DTWOF (aka. Dykes To Watch Out For) was published in 1983 and was actually one of the first mainstream media sources to openly explore lesbianism and the social issues that pertained to...
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amy goodman gives keynote speech at campus...
This morning we had the great opportunity to see Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! give the keynote speech. She told some great stories about how she got into media journalism. She said she was inspired by her younger brother, who was about 8 years old at the time, who started a family newsletter. Amy would help out putting stamps on the envelopes and what not. It wasn’t until Amy’s...
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BYOQ goes to the Campus Progress Conference →
Babe Useless and I will be heading down to Atlanta tomorrow for the first Southern Regional Campus Progress Conference. Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! will be giving the keynote speech. I’m really interested in the training session “How to Remain Progressive in the Conservative South”.
Hopefully we’ll run into some awesome heroes/queeros, eat at some yummy vegan...
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Even The Devil Can Cite Scripture For His Purpose
Ted Haggard is the founding pastor of the Evangelical New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In November 2006, Pastor Ted resigned from his esteemed position citing “sexual immorality” after allegations arose accusing him of participating in “homosexual conduct” and abusing Crystal Meth. Recently on Larry King Live, Pastor Ted, appearing with his wife of 31 years,...
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Top Queero
“The best moment so far though was when I went to use a restroom and the girl in front of me on line started talking to me about how she “loves Top Chef” and how she “hopes [I] win,” to which I replied, Thanks. And then we proceeded to pee in the stalls next to each other (can you say awkward?).”
Noooo! Jamie Lauren, the lone lesbian on season 5 of Top Chef was kicked off last...
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important Lezzy Award news!
IMPORTANT: Everyone who voted for BeYrOwnQueero needs to make sure they clicked the CONFIRMATION LINK in the email they received!!!
We just received word that there are A LOT of unconfirmed nominations for us. PLEASE, PLEASE check your email and click on the confirmation link!!
And don’t forget, you can vote every 24 hours so get to voting!