http://www.inthesetimes.com/archives/tags/lgbt/ In These Times features award-winning investigative reporting about corporate malfeasance and government wrongdoing, insightful analysis of national and international affairs, and sharp cultural criticism about events and ideas that matter. en-us Expression Engine jessica@inthesetimes.com seamus@inthesetimes.com Fri, 09 May 2003 14:15:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/446/the_court_takes_on_gay_rights/ Expectations are running high in the gay community as the United States Supreme Court will shortly hand down a decision in Lawrence v. Texas, a case that has the potential of reversing the infamous Bowers v. Hardwick decision from 1986. That case, which upheld as constitutional a Georgia statute that made same-sex “sodomy” a crime, has been used over and over to justify discrimination. Since certain conduct engaged in by sexually active gays and lesbians can be criminalized, states and the federal government have at different times claimed a right to deny the benefits of public employment (both military and non-military) and recognition of relationships (like adoption and marriage) to persons with a same-sex orientation. In Lawrence, we have an… government: judiciary LGBT social justice David Sirota Fri, 27 Feb 2004 16:03:01 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/400/no_romeo/ Defying the U.S. Supreme Court, the Kansas Court of Appeals in late January again upheld the legality of a state law mandating stricter sentences for gay youth engaged in sex with younger teens. Under Kansas’ so called Romeo and Juliet law, sexual relations with a minor is a lesser crime if the older teenager is under 19 and if the age difference is less than four years—so long as the youths are of the opposite sex. In its 2-1 decision, the Kansas court affirmed the original 17-year sentence of Matthew Limon, who turned 18 the week before he performed consensual oral sex on another boy, then nearly 15, while the two were at a private group home for people with… civil liberties LGBT social justice David Sirota Thu, 04 Mar 2004 09:00:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/519/it_raining_amendment/ The ugly clouds had gathered so long on the horizon that the first drop was a relief. Bush’s February 24 endorsement of a federal constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage came after weeks of foul bellwethers, including coded gay-bashing in his clinker of a national address in January and a host of hostile signs flashed by surrogates. Even First Wife Laura got into the action, sounding like a drag-queen caricature of incensed propriety when she called same-sex unions “shocking.” But the thunderclaps of repression against a ritual most Americans believe will become law in their lifetimes ring a bit hollow. Lost in the storm is the real risk to religious liberty that would come from embedding a particular religious bias… civil liberties LGBT politics religion social justice David Sirota Tue, 16 Mar 2004 09:00:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/151/doing_women_wrong/ The musical Hairspray, playing on Broadway for the past two years and now on tour, is about race relations and the growth of tolerance in 1962 Baltimore. It won a Tony Award for Best Musical, and its leading lady took home the award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical. More notably, Harvey Fierstein won Best Lead Actor for portraying the leading lady’s mother. A man winning plaudits for portraying a woman raises a few questions: Why do we celebrate performance in drag? Isn’t drag just yet another variation on a dominant group appropriating the identity of a disempowered group for its own ends? As Erika Munk pointed out in 1985 in The Village Voice, “Most men in drag are… gender LGBT social justice David Sirota Wed, 21 Apr 2004 08:00:01 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/725/transfeminism_let_her_rip/ It’s been in the New York Times, so it must be official: Transpeople are here in number and they’re here to stay. Transsexuals (those who medically change the hormonal and/or anatomical aspects of their biological sex) and transgendered people (those who change or redefine their gender that may not include any medical change) are, as illuminated in the March 7 Times article “On Campus, Rethinking Biology 101,” increasingly visible and vocal, and they’re out there doing shocking, subversive things—like going to college and working for appropriate living conditions on their campuses. These efforts bring up any number of issues about equal access, but also about the nature and meaning of personal attributes we’re taught to think of as fixed and… activism civil liberties gender LGBT social justice David Sirota Tue, 27 Apr 2004 08:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/728/notes_to_a_young_feminist/ A few years ago there was a conference in Minneapolis on “Feminism and Rhetoric.” I went as a doctrinaire, whiny feminist. The focus of my rant was directed at younger feminist theorists who were using an arcane language that I found an obstruction to my understanding. I thought not only was it arcane, it was an act of cowardice because they were talking in such high falutin’ language no one knew what the fuck they were saying! So I did my rant about how, if you people don’t clean it up, we’re lost—you can’t keep talking in this language that none of us understands. I just laid into them. Then, feminist theorist Judith Butler gave her talk, and she changed… activism gender LGBT politics social justice David Sirota Wed, 15 Jun 2005 17:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/2159/scott_bloch_sad_saga/ On freedom, the Bush administration speaks with a forked tongue. Executive rhetoric at the start of the second term has taken a welcome turn toward prodding other nations to respect human liberty. But such exhortations ring hollow--if not downright mendacious--in the face of what the president's appointee at the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is doing to undermine civil rights, the rule of law and the legacy of public service here at home. The saga of Scott Bloch and mismanagement at the OSC has persisted for a year and a half--under the radar of the national press. The agency upholds nondiscrimination policy and ensures protection for federal workers who blow the whistle on corruption, waste or abuse. The OSC is… government: administration LGBT David Sirota Fri, 26 Aug 2005 08:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/2300/wilde_second_coming_out/ When first published in England two years ago, Neil McKenna's The Secret Life of Oscar Wilde won universal critical acclaim. The praise was more than deserved, for this stunning piece of investigative historiography reveals for the very first time how Wilde was a militant precursor of the modern gay liberation movement long before his famous speech from the dock in defense of "the love that dare not speak its name." Making use of hitherto unpublished and unconsulted documents, diaries and letters, this extraordinary book--just published in the United States--also gives a new and revealing portrait of Wilde's sexuality that supercedes all previous Wilde biographies. Moreover, McKenna's book gives us, at long last, a definitive account of the political cover-up of… LGBT David Sirota Tue, 30 Aug 2005 08:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/2301/official_bigotry/ When Paul Day returned home to see "die fag" spray-painted on the steps of his smoldering mobile home, he was frightened, but not shocked. Day and his boyfriend had been harassed before, and their hometown of Lakeland in Florida's Polk County also boasts the First Baptist Church at the Mall, whose head pastor is spearheading the drive for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage--despite the fact that it's already illegal in the state. Brian Winfield, communications director of Equality Florida, says he's bracing for more events like the arson attack. He says that it stands to reason that if the anti-gay forces choose to make their home in Lakeland, it reflects "a community where people feel comfortable with their… LGBT David Sirota Wed, 14 Dec 2005 17:00:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/2433/cowboys_in_love/ "All happy families resemble one another; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way," writes Leo Tolstoy in the opening line of his saga of thwarted passion, Anna Karenina. All great love stories too are unhappy, but each in their own way. Brokeback Mountain is a tragic love story of epic proportions. The passion shared by Ennis del Mar (Heath Ledger) and Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal), grabs hold of the young men on a lonely mountain-side one summer and never lets go, marking them for a lifetime of sorrow and yearning that is the inevitable reward of true love. This is the stuff of Anna Karenina, Romeo and Juliet, Abelard and Heloise. Brokeback Mountain is just the latest iteration… LGBT David Sirota Wed, 04 Jan 2006 05:00:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/2458/iran_anti_gay_pogrom/ The Islamic Republic of Iran--under the new government of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad--is engaged in a major anti-homosexual pogrom targeting gays and gay sex. This campaign includes Internet entrapment, blackmail to force arrested gays to inform on others, torture and executions of those found guilty of engaging in "homosexual acts." Homosexual acts have been considered a capital crime in Iran since the 1979 revolution that brought the Ayatollah Khomeini to power. Iranians found guilty of gay lovemaking are given a choice of four death styles: being hanged, stoned, halved by a sword or dropped from the highest perch. According to Article 152 of Iran's penal law, if two men not related by blood are found naked under one cover without good… international affairs LGBT David Sirota Fri, 06 Jan 2006 12:43:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/2460/gay_rights_win_in_maine_heralds_progress_in_2006/ The unsung comeback of the past year belongs to the resilient gay-rights movement. Moxie and recommitment to state-based organizing have marked local and national leaders' rebound from the demoralizing gut-punch of 2004, when 13 states banned same-sex marriage through referenda. But this fall, a landmark win in Maine spoke volumes about regained momentum and refined strategy in 2006. The Nov. 8 ballot measure in Maine sought to kill a nondiscrimination law approved in the spring by the state legislature. It was the fourth time such a bill--protecting gay people from bias in jobs, housing, credit, and public accommodations--made it through both chambers in Augusta. It was also the third time the state's executive signed it. Current Democratic Governor John Baldacci,… activism LGBT David Sirota Wed, 01 Mar 2006 04:00:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/2514/an_anti_gay_easter/ Whose children will be allowed to participate in the White House's annual Easter Egg Roll on April 17? Not the sons and daughters of gay parents, if the Christian right gets its way. In November, when the Family Pride Coalition, a D.C.-based gay rights advocacy group, invited its members to participate in one of the "great traditions of our country" the religious right sprang into action. The Institute on Religion and Democracy, a religious think tank, accused the Family Pride Coalition of trying to "exploit a children's event for political purposes." Even the White House has weighed in. "Will the president take any measures to prevent these activists from using this non-political event as a way to push their agenda… LGBT David Sirota Mon, 17 Apr 2006 04:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/2571/broke_cowboy/ For folks like Samuel K. Beaumont, Sr., this year's Defense of Marriage Acts, set to appear in November on ballots in Alabama, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Idaho, Virginia and Wisconsin, do more than legislate the definition of marriage. They perpetuate a cruel injustice that Beaumont knows well. The documentary film Tying the Knot chronicles the five-year legal battle Beaumont waged to keep the Bristow, Oklahoma ranch that he and partner Earl Meadows shared for 24 years. When Meadows died in 2000, a gaggle of his long-lost cousins went to court and evicted Beaumont from the 80-acre ranch, taking at once his home and livelihood. Despite Meadows' notarized will--which left his estate to Beaumont--and what Beaumont calls the couple's "marriage,"… LGBT David Sirota Wed, 31 May 2006 05:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/2659/iran_exports_anti_gay_pogrom_to_iraq/ Shiite death squads in Iraq are carrying out a campaign that targets gay men for murder. This so-called "sexual cleansing" is happening under the nose of the U.S. military--but American authorities in the Green Zone have refused to do anything about it. The highly organized campaign of beatings, kidnappings and murders of Iraqi gays follows a death-to-gays fatwa issued last October by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the 77-year-old Iranian who is supreme spiritual leader of all Shia Muslims in Iraq. The fatwa, available on Sistani's official Web site, puts it this way, "The people involved [in homosexuality] should be killed in the worst, most severe way of killing." This reign of terror represents the importation into Iraq of the anti-gay… international affairs LGBT David Sirota Wed, 21 Feb 2007 05:00:00 -0600 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3027/a_politically_correct_lexicon/ In the late '70s, "politically correct," "PC" for short, entered the public lexicon. Folks on the left used the term to dismiss views that were seen as too rigid and, also, to poke fun at themselves for the immense care they took to neither say nor do anything that might offend the political sensibilities of others. "You are so PC," one would say with a smile. In the '80s, the right, taking the words at face value, latched on to the term and used it to deride leftish voices. Beleaguered progressives, ever earnest, then defended political correctness as a worthy concept, thus validating conservatives' derision. Today, on both the left and the right, being PC is no laughing matter; three… gender race lgbt David Sirota Fri, 16 Mar 2007 05:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3070/bisexual_healing/ Cringing is often a sign of unfinished political business," according to feminist author Jennifer Baumgardner. She should know. Since 2002, Baumgardner has been spearheading the confessional "I had an abortion" campaign--most recently captured in the documentary film Speak Out: I Had an Abortion (www.speakoutfilms.com)--and in her new book, Look Both Ways: Bisexual Politics, she's tackling a topic that makes both straights and gays wince: the explosion of young women experimenting with bisexuality. "The label bi sounds bad," writes Baumgardner, "because at least in some ways, bisexuals are an unliberated, invisible and disparaged social group." And yet, she notes, according to Alfred Kinsey's famous studies (and a more informal survey of Nerve.com personals), more than 30 percent of women have had… books lgbt David Sirota Fri, 04 May 2007 05:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3137/circumcision_promotion_divides_aids_activists/ The last time circumcision made headlines in New York City, the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene was objecting to an ultra-Orthodox Jewish practice in which mohels--professional circumcisers--sucked blood out of the wounds of newly cut infants. After three babies contracted herpes, the city tried to ban the obscure ritual in 2005, provoking an angry response from the Orthodox community and a media dust-up. Now circumcision is news again in New York, but this time the city is promoting the practice. The April 5 New York Times reported that the city health department has decided to encourage male circumcision as an HIV-prevention method among at-risk populations, particularly gay and African-American men. The move comes after several clinical studies in… lgbt medical health David Sirota Wed, 09 May 2007 05:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3132/defining_hate_in_the_united_states/ On Feb. 13, 72-year-old Andrew Anthos was attacked in front of his apartment building in Detroit after returning home from the public library. His assailant was a fellow passenger on the bus who had confronted Anthos because he did not like his singing. The youth asked Anthos if he was gay, followed him off the bus, and struck him in the head with a metal pipe. Anthos died after 10 days in critical condition. Despite witnesses on the bus and at the scene of attack, law enforcement has not successfully identified the suspect. Unfortunately, all too often, it is only the most violent hate crimes, like Anthos' murder, that are reported as such. Studies show that victims of hate crimes… civil rights lgbt David Sirota Thu, 21 Jun 2007 05:00:00 -0500 http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3243/a_glbt_center_of_their_own/ It's "not your average GLBT Center" declared the April 24 edition of The Advocate, the national GLBT newsmagazine. Indeed. The Center on Halsted, billed as the nation's most comprehensive GLBT community center, was unveiled last month in a flurry of local and national press. More than a decade of perspicacious planning and frenetic fundraising culminated in a 175,000-square-foot complex on North Halsted Street, the main drag of Chicago's Boys Town. The city's first community center serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community is also the first of its kind in the nation. The three-story, gleaming expanse of steel, glass and art deco style celebrates a coming-of-age for GLBTs in Chicago and beyond. It is also the fruit of a… architecture lgbt David Sirota